Chapter 23 #2
After our facials, we sat in the relaxation lounge with cucumber water and herbal tea with our skin glowing and our bodies completely relaxed. As much as I enjoyed my day, the night Christian dedicated to me with a bath and massage with him was a million times better.
Even when he refused sex…
"I haven't felt this good in months." Tezni sighed, stretching her arms above her head. "We're making this a regular thing when I'm here."
Her words were like a gut punch. She was already processing that things were changing in my life, which meant things would be changing with our friendship.
"Tez…"
And like always, she read my mind.
"You're going to be wherever your man is and he's here. I'm not mad at that. You're my girl for life, so if you're here, I'm here as much as I can be and your ass had better not try to replace me with anybody here."
I grinned. "I could never do that. You're irreplaceable."
"Hoe, I know that. You just make sure you know that."
"I do." I blew her a kiss.
"And your man better know that too."
"He knows. You're important to me, which makes you important to him."
"Aww, I love you friend."
We walked into the house and I heard Christian's voice coming from his office so we headed to the living room and settled on the couch to wait.
A few minutes later, Christian was crossing the room. He had changed out of his suit into dark jeans and a gray graphic tee, showing off his chest, shoulders, and arms that I wanted around me. His eyes landed on me first and the smile that crossed his face made my stomach flutter.
"How was the spa?" He walked right to me and kissed my temple before turning his attention to Tezni.
"Perfect, thank you for that. This is Tezni. Tez."
Tezni stood and extended her hand, grinning too hard as she did a full assessment. "So you're the man who's been keeping my girl so happy and held hostage?"
Christian shook her hand and chuckled. "I do my best. Good to finally meet you."
"Same. I was starting to think Scot made you up since I couldn't get a face to face."
Christian smiled sexily then his eyes dropped to me in a way that had my stomach tightening. "Definitely real."
"That you are and now I'm glad I'm finally here to make sure you're worthy of my girl."
"Fair enough. Am I passing so far?"
"The jury's still out, but so far so good. You did your due diligence, sir." She dropped down on the sofa next to me and Christian sat on the arm near my side.
"I figured if I was going to be judged, I might as well make a good impression first."
"Smart man. Now tell me, what's your biggest flaw and don't give me one of those bullshit answers like I work too much, I care too much, or I love too deeply. I want the real dirt."
"I'm possessive as hell when it comes to Scotlyn." His hand moved to the back of my neck and he squeezed gently in a way that said so many things. I want you, I need you and I'm going to have you. It was the type of possession that had my pussy on alert.
Tezni looked at me, then back at him. "That's not necessarily a flaw."
"Maybe not a flaw but it's definitely a problem for any man who feels like he has the right to look at her."
I rolled my eyes. "He's exaggerating."
"Am I?" Christian's thumb brushed across my skin.
"Okay, possessive but honest. I can work with that." Tezni grinned. "What's the best thing about my girl?"
He looked down at me when he answered. "There is no best thing. Everything about her is best, but if you need an answer, the best thing about her is that she's mine."
My eyes shot up to his and he winked before he stood and turned his attention to Tezni. "I hope you enjoy your time here. If you need anything at all…"
She shook her head. "I'm good. You've done more than enough."
He nodded then turned his attention to me. "I'll let you two catch up. I'm meeting Krew at Flavor."
"You don't have to stay away all weekend. This is your house too," I said, hoping he wasn't feeling put out.
He smirked and moved closer, sliding his hand along my jaw before he gripped it firmly and kissed me in a way that damn sure didn't need an audience. When he pulled back, I felt breathless.
"I'm just giving you the time you need to get caught up. Plus, I'm sure Tezni has more questions she would rather ask without me here."
"Smart man," Tezni said, grinning.
"Enjoy the concert tonight. I made sure you have everything you need."
"Thank you."
"My pleasure." He kissed me again, but this time near my ear, then said quietly, "And your pleasure is mine when you get home tonight."
As soon as he was gone, Tezni turned to me with a raised brow. "Okay, I like him, and based on that kiss, he likes your ass too."
"Maybe a little bit." I held up my hand then we looked at each other and fell out laughing.
"But really though. He's confident without being arrogant and he clearly adores you. You need this and you better take full advantage of letting that man be what you need."
"I am."
She narrowed her eyes and I rolled mine. "I said I am, damn girl."
"Good, now let's go figure out what we're wearing to see my man."
Later that night Miles pulled up to the curb and escorted us to the large metal door with McCall's printed on it.
He handed us off to security who I assumed was arranged by Christian based on the way he opened the door and protectively ushered us inside like he was expecting us.
At another checkpoint, a hostess took over but he followed, lingering close behind.
"This way, ladies." She led us through the main club toward the stage. The place was packed but I wasn't surprised knowing Sol was performing. He'd just dropped an album and this was part of his promotion before the world tour.
The host led us to what looked like a seamless black wall until she pressed something and a hidden entrance opened.
The blackout section was near the stage but completely private, with a black leather barrier closing off our space from the rest of the club.
Three large glass partitions separated us from the main floor, muffling the noise just enough that we could actually talk without yelling.
"Damn, this is nice. Okay, Devereaux."
A server entered a few minutes after we got settled, ready to take our order.
"Good evening, ladies. I'm Jai and I'll be taking care of you tonight. Can I start you with drinks?"
"What's good here?" Tezni asked.
"Our signature cocktail is the McCall. It's a special blend with Black Ops Bourbon but we have a full bar. Whatever you're in the mood for, we have."
"No, we'll take two of those to start with."
Jai nodded and disappeared.
Tezni found a spot on the leather seating that curved around one wall and grinned. "Your man really went all out. I'm feeling this."
"Yeah, he did his thing."
After a few minutes, the lights dimmed and the crowd went crazy the minute the stage illuminated, showing Sol. Even through the glass partitions, the energy was chaotic. His voice filled the space and we were both on our feet, singing along with our arms in the air and imaginary mics in our hands.
Jai returned with our drinks, giving us a quick refresh before Sol moved into my shit, "Midnight Conversations", one of his newer songs.
I grinned immediately, thinking about Christian.
The song was about how midnight conversations were the best because that was when you were the most raw and exposed and they always ended in bomb ass sex.
"Damn, he sounds even better live," Tezni said, lifted her drink, and shook her head smiling.
"Looks better too. That man is just sexy upon sexy upon sexy."
"And is! That man is fine as hell."
We sang along like we were the ones on stage, and when he got to "Golden Hour", we went crazy, circling our hips and dancing seductively, singing every word about being woken up with amazing sex.
"I love this damn song," I yelled, now fully speaking from experience which had Tezni side-eyeing me.
"I bet you do, hoe. I'm so jealous."
I laughed and shrugged. "You're the one who told me to be all in. Don't be mad."
"I'm not mad; I'm jealous. Similar but not the same. I'm also happy for you." She threw an arm over my shoulder and dropped a kiss on my cheek.
I leaned into her. "I love you too, friend."
Jai kept our drinks flowing, and by the time Sol reached his final song, we were both tipsy, hoarse, and having the time of our lives.
Tezni pulled me up to dance and we moved together, completely free and not caring that we had no coordination because of the liquor in our systems, laughing and falling into each other.
When the lights went down and he thanked everyone for coming out, we dropped onto the leather seating and I felt exhausted.
"That was so damn good."
"Best concert ever."
Jai appeared with water and a small platter of appetizers. "From the house. The owner wanted to make sure his VIP guests were taken care of and Sol will be coming by to say hello in a few minutes."
"Sol is coming here?" Tezni's eyes got big as hell. Even I wasn't expecting that.
"Mr. Devereaux made sure he knew you were special guests."
Tezni looked at me and rolled her eyes. "If you don't fuck him tonight, I will."
"Girl." I barked a laugh and she narrowed her eyes.
"I'm serious, friend. You know how I feel about taking one for the team."
"And you know how I feel about ruining friendships. Stay the fuck away from my man."
"You know I would never."
I did because we were better than that.
We met Sol, took pictures, and I was pretty sure Tezni slid him her number knowing that man was very married and didn't play about his wife. I guess she figured it was a once in a lifetime deal so she was shooting her shot.
Miles was waiting outside and we both crashed on the drive back to the house. But one thing was for sure, I was going to properly thank my man for this because my night had been perfect.