Page 27 of Harlem

Juniper:I’m bored. Feel like catching a movie with me?

Setting my glass down, I type out a reply.

Me:Sure. Let me check with Ash first.

Walking into the living room, I smile, seeing Ash sleeping on the couch with our daughter tucked safely against his chest. Ash turns his attention away from the muted television and looks at me.

“Can you two hold the fort without me for a few hours? Juju wants to go to the movies.” I smile. “I sense she needs some girl time.”

Since the birth of my daughter, I haven’t been able to hang out with my best friend as often as we used to. Juniper has been amazing and understanding of my time since becoming a mommy. In return, I make it a point to have a girls’ night at least every other week. Ash, of course, doesn’t mind because he is completely gone for his little girl. He greedily soaks up all the father-daughter time he can get.

Ash grins. “Give me your mouth before you go.”

Doing as I’m told, I make my way over to the couch, lean down, and give my man what he asked for. Ash’s hand grips my neck as his mouth devours mine. When we pull away, I’m left breathless.

“Be good,” he tells me.

I kiss my sleeping daughter on her forehead before straightening. “I’m always good.”

Ash grunts because he knows all bets are off when I’m with Juniper.

The drive to Juniper’s doesn’t take long. She still lives in the apartment above the salon, so I park in the alleyway behind the shop. As soon as I pull up, the motion lights kick on and illuminate the entire alley. After what happened last year—being kidnapped and Harlem nearly losing his life—, Ash had lights and a security system installed behind the salon.

Using my key, I let myself into the apartment. “Juju!” I call out.

She shouts from her bedroom at the back of the apartment. “I’m almost ready!”

Spying an open bottle of wine on the kitchen island, I head into the kitchen, open the cabinet, and pull down a glass. Juniper emerges from her bedroom wearing a black skin-tight bodysuit and black jeans. She’s also wearing black boots and a black baseball hat. I wouldn’t call her attire suspicious, but I’m questioning the black duffle bag she’s carrying.

“Uh… Juju, what’s with the outfit? If you’re planning a bank heist, I need to know so I can tell Ash I’ll be home late.” I take a sip of wine.

“This is my spy gear,” she says with a shrug.

I look at my crazy best friend in confusion. “Come again? Your spy what?”

“We’re not going to the movies,” she adds.

Then it dawns on me my best friend has got some hare-brained idea up her sleeve. I should have known.

The crazy heifer confirms my suspicion when she tells me, “We’re going to spy on Sukie and her date.” Juniper blinks at me smugly because she knows me too well.

“This is a bad idea.” When she says nothing, I shake my head and add, “We’ll get in trouble.” Ash’s earlier words come back to me. “Sukie will kill us if we get caught. And I don’t want to think about what Harlem will do.”

Juniper continues to stare at me with a knowing gleam in her eye.

Finally, after a long pause, I relent. “Fine, I’m in. But this better not be like when you tried to catch your high school boyfriend cheating. Ash will not be happy if I have to call him from jail.”

“That was one time, Sage. When are you going to let me live that down?” Juniper huffs. “And if I recall, your dad found the whole situation amusing.”

“That’s because my dad is cool. Ash won’t find any humor in me getting arrested.”

Juniper rolls her eyes. “Please, don’t act like you aren’t dying to see how this whole thing plays out. Harlem blew a gasket when we fed him what we had discovered about Sukie and her date. I swear, Sukie better thank us later when Harlem ravishes her and gives her endless orgasms.”

“Hopefully, she will be thanking Harlem for the orgasms, because if she’s saying our names, that would be weird as fuck.” I make a face.

“Orgasms that wouldn’t be possible without us.” Juniper shoves her phone into her pocket and grabs her keys. “Now let’s go. I don’t want to miss the show.”

I set the glass down on the counter. “Did I mention this is a bad idea?”

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