Page 39 of Only if You Catch Me
“Yeah, with your hiding birthdays ass.”
“When is your birthday?” I giggled as Janet walked into my office with furrowed brows. She stopped in her tracks when she realized I had company. She gave me a strange look and it was more than likely because I was smiling.
“I’m sorry to interrupt. I didn’t know you had company but um, you saw the door, right?”
“Yes, I did,” I sighed. “Someone is on the way to fix it. If I had to guess, I’d say it was probably my idiot ex.”
“Wow. Okay, I’ll be in my office. Let me know if you need anything.”
Kastian looked down at his phone. “He’s here. I’ll go out and holla at him.”
All I could do was nod. My gut churned as fear that he wouldn’t be able to get it off took over. David didn’t know where I lived, but he knew where I worked. He was going to be a thorn in my side until he decided to move on. Shit was sad. And I still wasn’t giving him the $15,000 back. I forced myself to look over some emails while Kastian and Truce were outside.
Twenty minutes later, he came back into the office. The smell of his cologne was still lingering in the air even after he left the office, but it was subtle. The smell came back full force as he entered. “I have to run.” He walked around my desk and kissed me on the lips. “You’re as good as new again.”
“Really?” relief oozed off me. “Oh my God, thank you so much. Tell him I said thank you. How much did he charge? You just spent a grip on me. If you paid him, I’m reimbursing you and not taking no for an answer.”
Kastian frowned. “Picture that. And that’s my homie. He didn’t charge me, so you don’t have to worry about that. Bye.”
Staring after Kastian, I bit the inside of my cheek. I didn’t want to get in over my head, but he was making it so hard not to. Kastian was everything that any sane woman would want in a man. Between the two bags and the watch, I was sure he hadn’t spent less than $40,000. That much money on three items was insane.
It wasn’t just money. Kastian could have bought me ten Chanel bags, but if he was arrogant, disrespectful, rude, etc. I would have told him he could keep them. But the fact that he was rich, single, didn’t have kids, charming, and sexy as fuck man I wanted to thank his parents for creating his ass. If love and another relationship were on the agenda, I’d be trying to snatchhim up. I made myself feel better by reminding myself that if we were meant to be, he’d still be there when I was ready.
“Damn, he was fine. Who was that? Is he single?” Janet asked, and I raised my brow.
“He’s very single, but I’m on my good bullshit with him while I get over my relationship. You can try him out but fair warning. I’m not coming up off that dick.”
Janet tossed her head back as she laughed. “I know that’s right. Do your thing Boss Lady. I’m not even mad at you.”
Bev sipped her wine and set her glass back on the table. “I don’t know friend. I think a month maybe two months tops is enough time to heal. You depriving yourself of a man like Kastian is absolutely insane.”
“I absolutely can’t be one of those women that can’t be happy unless she’s with a man. I was with David for a long time. It would be crazy to go right back to being tied down.”
“Yeah, it would if you were running into a ton of great options to have fun with. I condone sometimes whorish behavior because shit, we only live once. But the dating pool is trash. There’s debris, pee, and a lil’ feces in it. You wouldn’t be missing anything by being with Kastian. I’d hate for you to realize that then find out he’s been snatched up by another woman.”
“But I would be missing something, Bev. It might seem odd to you, but I have to get to know myself. I need to figure out who Persia without a man is. Relationships are beautiful, but they’re also a lot of work. I just want to be happy. And happy doesn’t always have to mean a man. It’s okay to just be by yourself sometimes.”
“I hear you, and I love the fact that you’re trying to find yourself. But damn friend. I just don’t want you to miss out on a big ass blessing.”
“Shoot, I don’t want to miss out on a big blessing.” I laughed. “But if we’re meant to be, he’ll be there when I’m done healing.”
Bev picked her glass back up. I’ll drink to that. On the way home, every time I thought about Kastian, a smile a wide long stretched across my face. Bev and I met up for drinks and appetizers, but I had food at home in my slow cooker. I had plans to invite Kastian over for dinner, and I was nervous. Why I was nervous to invite a man to dinner that had literally eaten my ass from the back was crazy. Kastian gave me butterflies. He made me feel things I hadn’t felt in a long time. He made me feel things that I’d never even felt for David. My husband. My gut knew that David wasn’t the one for me. Silly me went along with the scenario because it was the safe thing to do.
In the words of my mother, it was the sensible thing to do. I didn’t use David. He benefited from me being his wife just as I benefited from him being my husband. I cooked, kept the house clean, gave him great sex, made our home a place of peace, and worked my ass off so I could hold us down if he ever fell off. So, what he wasn’t the love of my life? I treated him with the utmost respect, and I was everything a wife should be. He messed the marriage up. Not me. I didn’t even desire to be married again, but what if it happened the right way? What if the man that made my knees buckle and my heart race proposed? Would I say no?
I pushed out a low groan as I pulled into my parking garage. Overthinking. I was doing a lot of it, and it wasn’t supposed to be. I had been looking forward to healing and getting to know me all over again, and Kastian came along and shook that shit right on up. The only decisions I were supposed to be making should have consisted of dinner and wardrobe choices, decidingwhere to vacation, if I wanted to keep renting or buy a house. I definitely wasn’t supposed to be trying to figure out whether or not to run for the hills or to give Kastian what he wanted.
I was deeply flattered. A man that never had a girlfriend in his life was hinting around at something exclusive with me. A. man like Kastian. Hell yeah, I felt likethatgirl. But being flattered wasn’t a good reason to deviate from my plan. After checking on my food, I went to take a shower and put on some cute lounge wear. Since it was fall, I’d purchased a twenty-eight-inch ginger wig and let my stylist cut it into layers that framed my face. I was going to finish cooking, so I pulled it back into a ponytail and did my skincare routine. Feeling good from the drinks, hot shower, and clean space I was in, I sauntered into the kitchen singing and humming.
I even sang as I texted Kastian and invited him over. If he couldn’t make it, that was cool. I was still going to eat. It only took two minutes for him to reply, and the message said he was on the way. If I had a dollar for every time that man made me smile and blush, I’d be able to buy a good meal and a strong drink to go with it. Kastian must have been close because my doorbell was ringing fifteen minutes after he replied to my text message.
“Damn, that was fast,” I mumbled. As I walked to the door, my pulse quickened, and I blew out a shaky breath. Simply knowing he was on the other side of the door had me damn near coming undone. Crazy.
The moment the door swung open and our eyes locked, Kastian took me in. The way he bit his lip as his gaze poured over me made my nipples harden. I was dressed in grey shorts, a matching grey sports bra, and a grey sweater that hung to the floor. It felt almost like a robe but not as heavy. Kastian’s gaze trailed all the way down to my pedicured feet and white toenails.
“Damn,” he marveled as he stepped over the threshold.
The one word compliment made me giggle. But there wasn’t a damn thing funny when Kastian stepped into my personal space and placed his finger underneath my chin. He gazed at me briefly before placing a soft kiss on my lips.
