Chapter 20 - Blossom
“Hello.” I huffed as I placed my cell phone to my ear and answered the unknown call. “Who is this?”
“Baby, please don’t hang up!” I frowned when TJ’s voice flowed through my receiver.
There was a time when the sound of his voice made me smile, but now, all I wanted to do was vomit.
Since blocking TJ’s number on vacation, I had been constantly receiving calls from all kinds of numbers where he was on the other line.
Each new number he tried was immediately blocked after I hung up on his ass.
He tried to plead his case, but none of that mattered to me.
There was nothing he could say that would make me take him back, especially now that I’d given myself to a mysteriously handsome man named JJ.
“I just want to talk to you, Blossom. Please don’t do this to me… to us. How can you just throw everything we have away?”
Walking through the basement of the home I was showcasing today, I stopped at the bar display and realigned some of the décor pieces.
When I showed a house, I invested a lot of money and time to make it look as realistic as possible.
Today, I was in Highland Meadows, selling a starter house to someone who was relocating within the city.
He told me he didn’t want to spend too much on his place until he knew for sure this was where he wanted to live for a while.
“TJ, listen, I’m busy right now, and I don’t really have time to talk.
” I sighed heavily as I cut the lights off and ascended the stairs to the upper level of the home.
I smiled at how slick and shiny the railings were.
Stacy and I had taken extra care of this house during renovations.
“The moment you decided to give yourself to someone else was the moment that what we had was thrown away. You did me a favor, honestly. I haven’t stopped smiling since I ended things with you and went on vacation. ”
As soon as the words left my lips, flashbacks of the time spent with JJ came to mind.
That man worked my body and stretched me in ways I didn’t think were possible for two days straight.
The first night, he made love to me all over the beach, so much so that I just knew we were going to get caught.
I had never been so reckless and free in my entire life. Surprisingly, I regretted nothing.
“You better not have been around no niggas.” The hushed anger in his voice was laughable.
The noise in his background went from several voices to silence.
When he spoke again, I could tell he was more comfortable with raising the volume of his voice.
“If I find out you’ve been around somebody! So help me G—”
“What are you going to do, TJ?” I stopped once I reached the top of the stairs and entered the living room.
The smell of fresh pine hit me instantly.
“You gonna put your hands on me like you did Lisa?” Stacy snapped her head up from her phone and glared at me.
“It’s not going to be as easy as you think. ”
“Friend, I know that ain’t cheetah, cheetah!
Hang up that phone with that fuckboy before I have some niggas show him how a real one gets down.
” She slid from her stool, stomping in my direction.
“You just got the bottom knocked out of your coochie, and you’re not about to be arguing with that stud trying to disguise himself as a man. Hang up.”
“Bottom knocked out? You been fucking?!” he screamed so loudly in my ear. “I’m going to kill—”
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Disconnecting the call, I glanced up and met Stacy’s angry expression.
I couldn’t help but throw my head back in laughter.
She was so reckless with her mouth and didn’t care who she offended at times.
I was sure TJ was going to call me privately a hundred more times tonight based on her comment alone.
“Add on to my problems, why don’t you?” I giggled as I did one more sweep of the living room.
With this home, I decided to go with all-black everything, mixing gold and cream undertones throughout the various rooms. Fluffing the pillows on the loveseat for the thousandth time, I heard Stacy groan loudly behind me.
“Blossom, you’re going to walk a hole in this damn floor if you don’t sit your ass down. Move.” She pushed me from the couch and grabbed the throw from my hand. “You do this with every damn house you sell, and it’s for nothing. You got this in the bag, friend.”
After engaging in a brief stare-off, I dropped my head and sighed deeply. She was right, but regardless of how many times I had showcased a home, I didn’t think I would ever not be nervous.
“You got that.” I did one more quick look around the well-decorated room before glancing down at my watch. “The buyer will be here in a moment, and the last thing I want is for him to see me sweat. Let me grab a bottle of water really quick to settle my nerves.”
Eyeing me skeptically, she gave me a stern nod before she placed the throw back onto the couch and retook her seat across the room.
It had been three weeks since we had come back from vacation, but you wouldn’t know it from how wound up I’d been.
Not only had I been stressed about this house showing, but my personal life too.
Between my brother’s antics and now TJ’s denial that we were no longer together, I didn’t know if I was coming or going.
“Get your shit together, Blossom,” I mumbled to myself as I grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler.
Taking a sip, I threw my head back, taking deep breaths.
Nausea was taking over my body from being anxious all day, and getting sick was the last thing I needed to do in front of a client.
“When this is over, take some real time off to get your mind right. A small weekend getaway would do some good.”
My vacation to the Virgin Islands was the best time of my life.
Stacy and I ate and drank so much that it was ridiculous.
While I wasn’t expecting to connect with a man, the time spent with JJ McKnight was something I would never forget.
Since the night he popped up on me at my townhouse, he and I had spoken daily.
Popping up was his signature move because, since then, I found him walking into my office or knocking on my front door more times than not, and I liked it.
He was so sweet and attentive to me and my interests, always showing up with food, flowers, or a sweet treat.
I wouldn’t admit it out loud, but I really like JJ.
With TJ refusing to go away, I’d been thinking about falling back from him a little to keep any potential drama at bay.
I still didn’t know the underlying issues between them, and I didn’t want to be involved in any of their matters.
The best part of coming home was that it had been weeks since I’d heard or possibly seen my stalker.
There hadn’t been any more disturbing calls, pictures or letters taped to my cars, and feelings of being followed—nothing.
Life was good, with my only bother being TJ and my conflicted feelings for JJ.
JJ was showing me he was nothing like TJ, and that had my stomach in knots.
I thought I would feel bad about giving myself to a man that I barely knew, but I’d given TJ my devotion and time, and he turned out to be the biggest threat to my heart.
Having sex with JJ proved that losing my virginity was never about TJ deserving it, and more so about me choosing what I wanted for me.
And I’d chosen right because just thinking about Dr. McKnight made me hot all over.
Ding! Dong!
Jumping from my thoughts, I hurriedly discarded the water before heading back into the front sitting area to greet my newest client. Wiping my hands dry, I smoothed my slacks, squared my shoulders, and prepared to make this sale.
“Good evening and welcome,” I greeted the handsome man who was engaged in conversation with Stacy when I entered the room. “It’s nice to see you again, Mr. Mitchell.”
“I told you to call me Sean, or Bino.” He frowned, accepting my outstretched hand to shake. Looking around, he nodded in appreciation. “This house is nice as hell.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet.” I grinned, noticing the way Stacy was eyeing him. “Stacy.” She snapped her eyes toward me as if she had been caught. “Would you like to conduct the tour?”
“I don’t know…” She dragged her eyes back up to Sean, who was clearly amused by her antics. “Am I showing this home to a man who’s single, or a man who’s single with a wife, kids, and three girlfriends?”
“Stacy!” I shrieked, eyes wide and mouth on the floor. “Mr. Mitchell, I am so sorry—”
“It’s all good.” He laughed heartily, waving me off.
“To answer your question, Stacy, I’m single.
” He smiled at her, causing her to do the same.
“I’m talking about you can park your car in the driveway and spend the night with no worries of a bitch flattening your tires in the middle of the night, single. ”
“Ohhh! Well, let me show you around then.” He extended his elbow to her, which she happily accepted. “Now, tell me more about how single you are.”