Page 31 of For the Lover in You
"You're welcome. I couldn't help but think about how hard it must be for you to be trying to reach stuff in here. I just want to make your life easier."
I fought hard to hide my stupid blushing.
"You don't think you're doing that already?" I lifted my hand in the air to reference the apartment.
He smiled, which sent a chill down my spine. "Nah, I'm just getting started."
"Mr. Houston, I?—"
"Aye!"
I spun on my heels and saw Owen standing there holding a cup of wine.
"I need you in here, Trey. They done whipped out some UNO cards, and this wine is good as hell." Owen walked away before Trey could even respond.
"Again, I'm sorry for intruding on y'all like this."
I shrugged. "It's cool. Come on in."
Nine
Tremaine
All of us sat on the floor waiting for Chasity to deal the cards. As soon as I stepped in, Chasity made it her business to introduce me to Trina. I could tell both were drunk. Vance sat next to her, watching her every move as she worked the cards. Owen was on Chasity's other side, scrolling on his phone. Trina was on Vance's other side, placing her beside me, and Mila on my other side. The four of them were randomly talking about other things while Mila sat there quietly. I wondered if my being here threw her mood. I would understand if she wanted us to leave. We popped up at her house unexpectedly and invaded her girls' night. It also didn't help that I was her boss.
Chasity passed out the cards while still talking amongst themselves. I leaned over and got closer to Mila's ear. I didn't want anyone to hear what I had to say.
"You good? We don't have to play the UNO game. I'll jack these niggas up out of your space," I said.
When I told Owen and Vance that I needed to make a quick stop before we headed to our late-night hoop session, I didn'tthink they would follow me up the stairs to Mila's apartment. After leaving Mila's house yesterday, I went to the store to grab a few personal items. Somehow, I found myself on the aisle searching for a pink footstool. Next thing I knew, I was in the checkout line with my personal items and a pink footstool. There was a feeling that had taken over my body, which was to make Mila's life easier, and I didn't know how to control it.
"Mr. Houston, you're fine. Believe me, if I didn't want you here, I would tell you."
"Oh yeah, I remember how spicy you can get," I teased.
She playfully slapped my arm. "Let's not bring up the past." She giggled.
"What's so funny over there?" Chasity asked. "We want in." She bounced her eyes back and forth between Mila and me.
"Man, Chas, just pass out the cards."
She sucked her teeth.
"I did. If you hadn't been having sidebar conversations with my cousin, you would see that everybody is ready but y'all."
I looked around and just like Chasity said, everyone was waiting on Mila and me. Vance and Owen had stupid grins on their faces. The entire ride over to Mila's apartment, they kept trying to pressure me to say I had a thing for Mila, but that wasn't it. Mila was now a single mother in need of help.
Don't get me wrong, Mila was beautiful. She was the type of woman I would want to bring home. However, knowing what Mila was going through, she had sworn off men. I wouldn't dare try to make a move on Mila with everything that she was dealing with. However, if I could make her life easier, then I would do that.
I looked at Mila. She tried to hide her blush but failed. My heart leaped and flopped. I took a deep breath. I wasn't sure if a heart attack was coming on, but I had felt nothing like thatbefore. I made a mental note to make an appointment with my doctor, then turned back toward Chasity.
"Whose go, is it?"
Mila and I ended up losing both rounds of UNO. Because we were the losers, we got assigned the task of picking up the pizza. It was now ten o'clock at night, and Mila and I were cruising down the highway. She sat comfortably in the passenger seat as the Quiet Storm playlist I'd made played through the speakers. She nodded her head and snapped her fingers to the music. By the time we finished our games of UNO, Mila had consumed five glasses of wine, and I could tell she was feeling every ounce.
"This is a bomb playlist. Where'd you get this from?" she asked.
"I made it."
