3. Leilani #2
My attention went to her, and I couldn’t believe how much she and Boss favored. It was almost as if I was staring at the younger, female version of him. Nervously, she stepped closer with one hand out and used the other to tuck her long, knotless braids behind her ear.
“I can’t believe I’m finally meeting you,” she spoke, lips spreading into a smile. “I’m Paisley, PaiDai7 on FameVsYou. I absolutely love your work, Leilani. Seeing you on live, painting and listening to your music is always a vibe.”
I took her hand in mine, gently pulled her into me for a quick hug, then held onto her hands. “Thank you so much, Paisley. I truly appreciate your support. You’ve always shown me love, and words can’t express how much I appreciate you. You stand up for me and everything.”
“Because people love trying to come for you and compare you to Willow.” Paisley paused and turned toward Willow and continued. “I think you’re dope as hell, too, but I can’t stand when they try to come for Leilani.”
“Girl, neither of us can,” Willow responded, snickering. “I don’t take any offense to what you’re saying. I know my cousin and I are different. So, are you going to introduce us to your brother?”
Leave it to Willow to speak on Boss.
Paisley looked back and forth between Willow and Boss with the corner of her lips curving up.
The swirling in the pit of my stomach was evoked by the green emotion poking at me.
I lowered my head and dragged my tongue across my top row of teeth to keep myself in check.
I had absolutely no reason to feel the way I did, so why did I?
It wasn’t the first time an attractive man had stolen the attention of my cousin.
As Paisley introduced them, a few more people walked up to my station.
I transferred my attention to them, brushing off the unwanted, negative vibes and remembering what I was here for.
I took a few pictures and showcased some of my art.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop myself from peering over at Boss every so often.
He and Willow were engaged in a conversation, but it was evident his eyes were on me.
Their conversation didn’t last long before Willow was skipping over to me with Boss in tow.
I didn’t have time to prepare myself. It seemed as if Boss only took two strides, and he was invading my space.
He stood directly in front of me with his hands resting in front of him.
My tongue wanted to follow his across his bottom lip as it slowly glided over it.
Why was he so damn fine?
“Leilani, this is Boss. He wanted to come over and personally thank you for saving the picture for Paisley,” Willow explained, then scurried away without another word.
Silence engulfed us. Boss removed his sunglasses, giving my eyes access to his full face.
My pussy suddenly grew a heartbeat. The throbbing between my legs was sinful for how badly I was lusting after this man.
When those suckable lips curved into a smirk, I wanted to drop my panties for him right then.
I was sure every woman he encountered felt the same.
“You’re beautiful, you know that, right?” were the first words to leave his mouth, and I was positive he could see the steam flowing off my body from how heated he made me.
“Th—” I cleared my throat to find the rights words. “Thank you, Boss. You’re not so bad yourself, but I’m sure you hear that all the time.”
He stepped in close to me. “Call me Banks. And yes, I do. Shit. It hits different coming from you. You got me feeling some unexplainable things, Leilani. Why is that?”
If only you knew how you made me feel…
“You tell me, Banks. I’d love to hear about it. Or is this how you swoon all the women you encounter?”
Was I flirting? Did that man really have me batting my eyes and shit?
Indeed, he did, and it had nothing to do with his caliber.
He was simply attractive as hell, but he screamed player.
Most men in the league were. I wasn’t familiar with baseball, but Banks had definitely highlighted some of the blog’s headlines.
His reputation wasn’t the best from what I saw.
I wasn’t the one to judge, so I would continue to entertain him.
Banks ran his hands over his low beard and chuckled. “Oh, you think I’m one of those type of men?”
“I never said you were anything. I simply asked a question. Are you giving me Boss or Banks?”
“Your mouth is slick. I like that. Let me find out you got something in your life I need.”
I tipped my head to the side and hiked a brow. “Exactly what do you mean by that?”
Before Banks could answer, another slew of his fans came rushing over.
He winked at me, placed his sunglasses on, and grabbed Paisley’s hand to whisk them away.
Someone had already taken her painting for her.
I watched Banks until he was out the door, no longer in sight.
Willow was at my side within seconds, bouncing on her toes.
She whistled and said, “That man wants you, Lei.”
“Whatever.” I waved her off. “He screams trouble, and that’s not something I need in my life.”
“You need some dick in your life, that’s what you need, and Boss looks like he has a third leg.”
“Willow!” I squealed, shaking my head. “I don’t need anything but to sell this art, so help me. We can talk about this later.”
And I couldn’t wait.
Banks plagued my mind for the rest of the day. His words replayed in my mind like a scratched record. No matter how I tried to shake them off and chalk them up as him being a man, I couldn’t help but to think there was some hidden meaning behind them. Like I truly possessed something he needed.