Page 19 of Only if You Catch Me
“No. I mean, maybe, but that’s not the reason he’s never had a girlfriend. He’s never been in love. He doesn’t think the one is out there for him. He hasn’t come across the one that can make him want to settle down and be with only her, and I respect it. It’s better than being with a woman and cheating with every hoe that has a hole,” she finished dryly.
Her comments about Kastian made me think about love. I thought I was in love my junior year in high school. I dated Ferrin for two years and when we broke up, I thought I was going to die. It hurt so bad. I couldn’t eat. All I wanted to do was sleep. Then I met Caleb, and I liked him a lot until I found out he was dealing with another girl. Then, came David. He wanted to marry me, and I felt that was the best I was going to get. So in hindsight, I didn’t think I’d ever been in love for real. Like that grown up feel like you can’t breathe without the other person kind of love.
Qua came back and stole Tesha’s attention. Simultaneously, I sipped my drink and scrolled through my phone. Once I finished my drink, I had to use the restroom. On the way back to the bar, Kastian stepped in front of me. My steps halted, and my brows hiked.
“Excuse you,” I stated in a nonconfrontational tone.
“I still want my twelve hours.” His tone was low. Voice deep and sexy.
I tried to keep my voice even, but my heart was racing. “What is your obsession with me and twelve hours?”
“Should I make it twenty-four?”
Chuckling, I shook my head. “You can’t even get twelve, so why do you think you would get twenty-four?”
“What are you afraid of? Tesha can vouch for me. I’m not a creep. And you’re single now. Unless you went back to that nigga.”
Something flashed in Kastian’s eyes. It couldn’t have been anger. David was my husband, and Kastian didn’t even know me. “Single doesn’t mean that I should jump at the chance to be alone with you. I don’t know you.”
“Afraid you might fall for me?”
Running my tongue across my teeth, my eyes scanned the length of his frame. “Cocky are we?”
“Not at all.”
“And where would we spend these twelve hours because I’m not going to your home.”
“We can start on my yacht.”
My eyes ballooned out of my head. “Oh hell no. You won’t get me out in the middle of the ocean, kill me, and toss my body overboard.”
Kastian laughed. “What reason would I have to kill you?”
“What reason did Jeffrey Dahmer have to kill people?”
“Yo, you’re crazy,” his laugh lowered to a chuckle. “I don’t want to hurt you. That would never be apart of the plan.”
The seriousness in that last statement made my heart skip a beat. Being on a yacht in the middle of the ocean with Kastian wasn’t smart. It would probably be one of the most irresponsible things I could do, but I wanted it. I wanted it more than I’d ever wanted anything.
“I’m going to give you twelve hours. After that, you can check that off your list and stop hounding me about it.”
“Or they might be the best twelve hours of your life, and you’ll want to spend another twelve.”
“Don’t push it.” Reaching in my purse, I pulled out a business card and handed it to Kastian so he’d have my number. Without another word, I pivoted and walked away.
The next day, I was so nervous it was insane. Thank God, I didn’t have anything planned, and I could give Kastian from noon to midnight. I told my sister where I was going and who I would be with in case anything happened. Of course, she made me regret telling her. She ran around the living room squealing like an idiot. Tina acted like I told her I was marrying Kastian.
I dressed in denim Bermuda shorts and a white fitted tee. After moisturizing and fluffing my curls, I added mascara to my lashes and gloss to my lips. Large gold hoops topped off the look, and I sprayed some perfume. I insisted on meeting Kastian at the dock rather than him picking me up from Tina’s house. One of the most confusing things was trying to figure out what this was. A date?
As I climbed into my car, my phone rang from a number that I didn’t recognize. “Hello?”
“Persia when you got your things from the house did you happen to go in my closet?” It was David. He must have been calling me from someone else’s phone because I had blocked him.
“Why would I go in your closet?” I asked dryly. Him having the nerve to call and ask me about the money pissed me off. Money that he would rather keep than pay a debt to Kastian. Since he liked to play games, I was going to play too.
“Persia, I know you’re pissed with me. I can’t tell you sorry enough. I just couldn’t be comfortable giving Kastian everything I had.”
“But you were comfortable giving him your wife?!” I yelled. “You were comfortable with me pretty much giving him everything I had while you hid money in the closet? You are a vile sack of shit. Please don’t call my phone again. I’m going to file divorce papers tomorrow. Take that fifteen grand off the tab of what you owe me.” Kissing my teeth, I ended the call and tossed the phone onto the passenger seat.
