Page 3 of Suleem and Yahzi
“I deleted your passcode. How did you get in here?”
He angled his head to the side and smiled arrogantly. “Yeah, I noticed, but I’ve seen you enter the main one enough to remember that shit.”
“You need to leave.”
I lifted my phone, tapped my security app, and began the process of changing my passcode as soon as my face unlocked the screen.
“Nah, I can’t do that. We got some shit we need to handle.”
My eyes shot up from my phone and dropped down to his. “Whatever you need to handle you can do somewhere else. Get the fuck out of my apartment, Dexter.”
His boys chuckled. “Damn,Dexter, you not gon’ handle that.”
He turned his attention on the one who spoke with a glare that shifted to me seconds later before he lifted from the sofa and grabbed my arm. “Come holla at me for a minute.”
I snatched away and he bent his neck, delivering a narrowed stare before he spoke. “I get that you don’t know who I am but you’re about to find out in the worst way if you don’t calm the fuck down and take your ass to the bedroom.”
I tensed at the venom in his voice and decided it was best to just roll with this for now. He was right. I didn’t know him nor did I know these men in my living room. There were automatic weapons on the floor, coffee table, and my dinette set. My brain kicked into survival mode and I followed Dex down the hallway to my bedroom where he walked in and slammed the door behind us.
“We’re not together. Why are you here?” I asked, trying hard to keep the anger from my voice.
He walked up on me and brushed a finger over my jaw. “We’re together, Yah. You found out something about me that you don’t like but it doesn’t change what we are. I was just giving you a minute to wrap your mind around what us being together looks like now that you know how I get down. I am who I am.”
I laughed amusedly because he had to be delusional. I would not change my mind about us but I decided to choose my battles and deal with the present situation. I wanted him out of my damn apartment.
“Whatever you and them need to do can be done somewhere else. I’m tired. I had a long day and want to relax in my apartment without a bunch of strangers I don’t know. You need to leave.”
He moved until his body shadowed mine. “I’m in the middle of some shit right now. I need a place to chill that’s not attached to my life. I’m gonna be here for a minute which means I’m handling business here but gon' head and do your thing. I’ll order you some dinner and come check on you in a little while. As soon as I’m done with them, we can talk.”
“Dex, I’m serious. You need to leave. I’m not in the mood to deal with you or whatever the hell you have going on.”
He nodded, gripped my chin, and tried to kiss me but I jerked away enough to prevent his lips from touching mine but not enough to free myself. His grip tightened and he tilted my head back and lowered his face to mine. “I’m gonna give you a pass, because again, you don’t know me, but tread lightly, Yahzi.”
His mouth touched mine for a kiss that was much more gentle than the grip he had on my jaw then he pulled back. “Now… you said you had a long day, so I’m gon’ let you do your thing while I go handle business then I’ll come handle you.”
He brushed his lips over mine again, smiled, and let me go. He left my room and closed the door behind him. I immediately locked it and stared blankly at the door for a minute, trying to decide what the hell I was going to do. I wanted this man out of my apartment and there was no way I could make that happen without doing something that would make this worse.
I had a solution but knew if I made that call I would have to face things I wasn’t prepared to deal with.
My heart wanting something, or rather, someone who wasn’t good for me…
I also knew making that call would solve any problems I couldn’t handle on my own, like Dexter.
“You call me I’m there.”
I could trust his word as much as I could trust that the air I inhaled into my lungs would keep me alive.
Reluctantly, I unlocked my phone, moved through my contacts and pressed his name. Two seconds before I thought the call was going to be ignored, the voice that haunted my dreams over the past three years flowed through my line.
“What’s good, Yah.”
“I need your help with something.”
He was quiet for a minute and my heart raced. “You ready to come home?”
I closed my eyes and braced myself.
“No…”
