Page 49 of Devanté
“Pictures, right?” Devanté smiled at the waitress. I watched them take a few selfies and then Devanté signed her apron using a metallic sharpie she made materialize from thin air.
“Can I make some music suggestions while we ride back to the office?” He asked, clicking his seatbelt into place. His scent was warm and clean with the faintest hint of cologne lingering around his neck.
“I’m driving so I’m the DJ. Deal with it,” I fired back with a laugh. Everything between us flowed like water now. Like the waters that were chocked full of salt and healed broken things. Like water that flowed cool over bruises and shattered hearts alike.
“Okay, let’s compromise,” he said. “I’ll pick the songs from your phone.”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help smiling. “Okay. But only songs from my Apple Music account.”
“I got you,” he said taking the phone from my hand. The moment I turned my phone over, I realized what he’d see when he opened up my music app.
“Devanté, wait a minute let me see the phone.” I tried to grab it from him but he held it out of my reach with his long-ass arms.
“What is this, Blake?” His deep chuckle told me he found exactly what I didn’t want him to find. When he started sending me Starbucks with different songs attached to the receipts, I made a playlist with all the songs at the end of the week. I named it Devanté.
“Wow, so you secretly loved the Starbucks and music, huh?”
“It was alright.” My shoulders rose and fell.
“Whatever. You put a whole-ass playlist on your phone named after me. You liked it. You know what though? I liked sending you songs to listen to. I wish I could have seen the smile on your face every morning.”
“How do you know I was smiling?”
“Because even though I stopped talking to you, I never stopped knowing you, Blake.” He pressed play and the sound of New Edition filled the car.Still In Loveplayed and my heart squeezed.
“Devanté,” I whined. “Why are you making things so damn hard right now?”
“I’m making them easy. You’re making them hard. You do a very good job of making things hard too by the way.”
“Oh my god!” I laughed in a way that felt so good and nourishing. So rich and decadent. You couldn’t tell me I didn’t gain five pounds from it.
“What? I’m being honest.”
While I was at a red light, Devanté slid his hand over and traced my collarbones so gently that I would have thought I imagined it if he wasn’t right beside me. “Come to dinner with me tonight, Blake.”
“I just told you I live with my boyfriend.”
“What’s his name?”
“Devin.”
“I’ll extend the invite to Devin too.”
“Seriously?” I couldn’t believe my ears. “You don’t have to do that. It would be…so awkward.”
“If inviting him means you’ll come, then I don’t care. I just want to see your face again before I leave for San Francisco.” The thought of him leaving LA and not seeing him again made an answer leap from my mouth.
“Okay. I’ll come to dinner with you.”
“Alone or…” His fingers skimmed my skin, tracing the column of my throat.
“With Devin. We’re trying to work through some issues right now so it would look suspicious if I went to dinner with you alone.” I shook my head at the thought.
“It’s fine, Blake. Like I said, as long as I get to see you before I leave.” His thumb slipped against my cheek before he moved his hand away for good.
What the hell was I getting myself into?
…
