Page 37 of Devanté
CHAPTER TEN
I slid out of bed while the sun was still tucked safely on the other side of the earth and tip-toed in the black silence to the guest bathroom. If I used my bathroom, I’d wake Devin and honestly, I wanted to get out of the house without dealing with him. Every day, it became harder to coexist in the same space with him. It was like having a teenage roommate.
My house felt like a prison. I looked for any excuse to work late, or take the long way home, or grocery shop. Shit, anything to keep me away from Devin and his annoying ass friends. I was running from my problems. That wasn’t me. I had to talk to him about this.
I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and got dressed in an electric blue tank top that had the Watson ‘W’ on the front and a matching pair of leggings. I tied my hair up in a messy bun and got ready for my morning workout at the company gym.
I paused when I got to the foyer and realized I hadn’t grabbed my work clothes.
“Fuck!” I muttered under my breath. I thought I was free. I took my shoes off and crept back up the steps and into the bedroom where Devin was sprawled out on my California king, snoring like he’d been working hard all day. He hadn’t been getting much money from his sponsors or the ads that played on his videos lately. It meant I was stuck pulling most of the weight and he didn’t seem to give a damn.
“Shit, you leaving already, babe?” Devin’s sleepy voice rumbled from beneath silk sheets and a down comforter far too expensive for his ass to be laying in.
“Yeah. I gotta go work out,” I told him, slinging my duffle bag across my body. Devin was on his feet in a few seconds, walking over to me.
“I got a workout for you.” He pulled me against his lean body, digging his fingertips into my hips. His lips on my neck felt wrong. My stomach roiled as I eased out of his grasp. What was happening between us? I used to love feeling him on my body.
“Can we try later tonight when I get home?”
“You’re always so tired. Let me take care of you now.” He went back to my neck and all I could focus on was his lack of motivation and the blatant disregard he had for me and the space we were supposed to share.
Maybe I needed to try harder but the disconnect was already present. It bobbed in the water like a buoy reminding me that my relationship wasn’t what it used to be. My body didn’t respond to him the way it used to before he moved in and became more of a child than a partner.
Shit, if I was going to pay all the bills then I didn’t need Devin for anything. A grown man taking up space in a house I paid for without offering anything was a violation of my sanity.
Devin’s hands inched up my sides then slid over my breasts, squeezing and cupping them through my sports bra. “I’m gonna be late, Devin,” I whined.
“Late for the gym?” He laughed a little. “It’s not like you’re losing any weight. I don’t know why you keep going.” My body felt like a heap of rubble. Yet I wanted to protect it from him.
“I work out to stay healthy, not to lose weight.”
“But losing a little wouldn’t hurt.” After that, I found the confidence to push away from him completely. A ribbon of disgust rippled through my body. “Come on, Blake, you know I didn’t mean it like that. I wasn’t trying to hurt your feelings. I just don’t get the point of working out if you’re not trying to lose weight. It’s not like you’re skinny.”
“Wow!” I scoffed, tossing my hand in the air so I didn’t toss it at Devin’s face. “So, not only are you trying to fuck me when I told you I had to go. You thought that somehow, insulting me would turn me on.”
“I wasn’t trying to insult you, Blake. Stop twisting my fucking words.”
“I don’t have to twist your words. You did a pretty good job of saying what you meant.” I tightened my grip on the strap of my gym bag and narrowed my eyes at Devin. “I’m leaving. Excuse me.” I stepped past him and hurried out of the door. If I had to spend any more time under the same roof with him, I would explode.
He had the unmitigated gall to tell me I should lose weight. I was the same size when he met me and he didn’t have any objections. He begged me to go out on a date with him after I finished working on The Blue Boyz campaign. I kept turning him down because…client.
We ran into each other at the premiere of a movie he had a small role in and he made me laugh all evening. He ignored his boys to talk to me, he texted me daily to see how I was doing. He remembered small details about me.
He worked his way into my heart little by little and before I knew it…we were inseparable. I used to love being around Devin because he made me laugh. Now he made me cringe.
I was so tightly wound by the time I got to the gym that I didn’t even stretch before I hit the elliptical machine. My workout flew by. I didn’t even realize when I was done. If it weren’t for my Apple watch buzzing against my wrist, I would have gladly worked out the entire morning.
I glanced down to see the time, then I hit the shower and changed into an orange silk dress that hit at my knees. I slipped my feet into a pair of sensible Tory Burch flats because I knew I’d be standing most of the day doing presentations. I took my hair out of its messy bun and ran my fingers through it before plugging in my flat iron.
My mind kept going back to Devin. We needed to sit down and have a serious talk. I couldn’t allow my mind to be taken hostage. I couldn’t allow my personal space to be used as a weapon either.
He needed to find the motivation to put out better content for his followers and mobilize his friends to go out for endorsements. Honestly, he needed to do the same. It was time to diversify his social media comedy videos and turn them into other streams of income.
I straightened my hair and combed it until it behaved and fell in soft, dark layers framing my face. I sprayed my throat with perfume then packed my bag and headed to the office.
“Morning, Blake. You okay?” Noa snapped her fingers in front of my face, reading my expression. I blinked a few times and nodded absently. I hadn’t even started working and my energy was already drained. “Uh-oh, I know that look. That’s the look of someone who needs to talk. Let’s go in your office before Perez comes out here and starts running his mouth.” She ushered me into my office then dropped the blinds and locked the door.
I dropped my bags on the floor then fell into my plush leather office chair. When my eyes finally settled on my expertly organized desk, I noticed a cup of Starbucks coffee sitting on top of a receipt.
