Chapter 7 Skye
SKYE
It’s crazy how easy it is to take the little things for granted.
Something as simple as sleep often became a forgotten necessity. Last night showed me just how long it had been since I’d actually rested.
I lifted my head and watched Ocean sleep. He looked calm, almost peaceful. But the edge was still there.
It always was.
I reached across him and grabbed his phone from the nightstand to peek at the time.
It was almost noon.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept in so late, but it felt nice. For once, I wasn’t chasing time or feeling like I had to be alert. Right now, I felt at ease and safe. Like nothing could touch me.
Still holding his phone, my eyes zeroed in on several missed calls and texts he’d gotten throughout the night. They were all from Melina, one of his employees that I was ninety-nine percent sure he was fucking.
She had a way of making it known without saying it, and I’d only crossed paths with her ass once.
“You see something interesting?” Ocean asked, stretching his arms over his head.
Shit!
“Um...no.” I dropped his phone back on the nightstand and hurried back to my side of the bed. “I just...I was looking at the time.”
Laughing, he slid his arms under my waist and pulled me back into him.
“You were definitely doing more than looking at the time.” He pressed his lips against my shoulder, making every thought in my head disappear.
“Don’t worry about Melina. She thinks she’s the CEO or some shit when it comes to the club. She calls me for every damn thing.”
“For some dick too, huh?”
I could feel his smirk. “Sometimes.”
I knew it.
I fucking knew it.
I wanted to scoot out of his grasp, but I couldn’t. He was holding me too tight.
“Do you know when the security system will be done?” I asked, refusing to look his way.
I didn’t want him to see how irritated I was.
Mecca used to love seeing me get all in my feelings about him screwing another bitch. It was his way of controlling me and feeding his ego. As long as I was acting a fool over the women he was screwing, he knew he had me.
Never again.
“Nah, but I’ll check.” He slid his finger under my chin and turned me toward him. “What’s up? You good?”
“I’m fine.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Well, that’s unfortunate.” I finally freed myself from him and scooted out of the bed.
“Is this about Melina?”
“No.” I lied, but I knew I said the shit too fast.
This was the part where I expected him to start laughing and tell me I was tripping.
“If it is, just tell me the truth.”
He stood up.
I could feel the weight of his footsteps as he rounded the bed and walked behind me.
“Even if it is, I have no business feeling any kind of way about who you’re messing around with. I—”
“Shit, you have every right to feel some kind of way.” His voice dropped. “If I came across the name of a nigga you were fucking, I’d be ready to smash his skull in.”
I spun around. “What? But—”
“But nothing. You think I want to know you letting somebody else lick that pretty pussy? Hell no. I know we’re not locked in like that, but a nigga still got feelings.”
My insides quivered.
This is exactly why I need to get the fuck away from him.
My phone rang in the other bedroom.
“Um...I better go get that.”
“Go ahead.”
I cleared my throat, wondering if he was actually going to let me leave.
When I didn’t move right away, he stepped to the side.
I swallowed hard, then moved away from him.
Once I made it to the other room, I plopped down on the bed and answered my phone. “Nyx, hey.”
“What the hell are you doing? I’ve been calling your ass all morning.”
“Sorry, I...I left my phone on the charger.”
“Really? Why? Because you were fucking Ocean?”
I laughed. “No, I wasn’t. I told you we’re not on that.”
“Mmhmm.”
“I’m serious, Nyx. I’m trying to get my shit together, and getting involved with another man so soon after Mecca is not the way to do that.”
“I said the same thing after Eli, and it didn’t take long for me to end up in Shade’s arms.”
“That’s different. Shade wanted you, and he was determined to get you.”
“Oh, Ocean definitely wants you.”
“Ocean wants to fuck me.”
“He already did that.”
I sucked my teeth. “Ha, you’re funny.”
“What? It’s the truth though.”
“Whatever. Anyway, you know what I mean. He would be okay with a friends-with-benefits type of situation, and I’m trying to steer clear of that.”
“Because you have feelings for him, don’t you?” she said. “I told your ass not to do it. The very first night, I told you—”
“I know, I know, and believe me, I was fine. Had we just left it at that, I would’ve been good.
But then it happened again, and then he turned into somebody that I just enjoyed being around.
We have real fucking conversations. We laugh, we talk, and he looks out for me.
Even when we’re not together, he’s checking in on me and making sure I’m good. ”
Silence.
“Nyx, you there?”
She cleared her throat. “Yeah, I’m here. Sorry, I got dizzy for a second.”
“Dizzy? What—”
“Never mind that. Like I was saying...I just find it crazy how fast all of this happened. It’s only been a few weeks since you guys even met.”
“I know. It’s crazy to me too.” I sighed. “It’s just...he does things for me that no man has ever done before. That’s why I’m falling, and I’m trying so hard not to.”
“Yet, there you are, spending the night in his home.”
“I know. But I swear, as soon as he tells me the security system is done, I’m going straight back to my place.”
“Yeah, okay.”
“Don’t do that, Nyx. I need your support. I need you to stop me from making the same mistakes that I made in the past. I’m listening to you, I promise.”
She sighed. “Honestly, I don’t know about this one.”
“What do you mean?”
“As much as I want to keep scolding you about getting mixed up with him, a part of me feels like I shouldn’t. Like, the vibe is different.”
“Really? How?”
Silence.
“Nyx?”
“Look, I’m staying out of it. If you want to focus on yourself, you should definitely do that. That’s all the advice I have for you.”
“Seriously? This is coming from the same person that spent my whole situationship with Mecca giving me her two cents. Now, your ass wants to go silent?”
“That’s because I watched Mecca’s dumb ass play in your face nonstop. I haven’t witnessed Ocean do that. I’ve just seen him practically body niggas for fucking with you.”
“Wow, just wow.”
I couldn’t believe Nyx. She was supposed to be my voice of reason even when I was acting like I wasn’t going to listen to a damn thing she was saying.
“I’m sorry, but you’re on your own with this one. I suggest you figure out how to stand your ground because if you show even an ounce of weakness when he gets too close, your ass is going to lose. Trust me, I know.”
“That’s not going to happen. Ocean isn’t Shade. He’s not trying to settle down with one woman.”
“Did he tell you that?”
“No.”
“Have you guys even had that conversation?”
“We don’t have to. I’ve seen this song and dance before.
I got involved with a man that made it clear with his actions that he wasn’t going to choose me.
I’m not doing that this time. Ocean likes what he likes, and it’s not just me.
He may handle me differently than Mecca did, but it’s all the same in my book.
He could never love only me, and I’m not going to trick myself into thinking otherwise. ”
“Fair enough,” Nyx said. “But just remember what I said, stand your ground. You deserve to have peace and true happiness.”
“Yeah, I do, and as soon as everything is all good at my place, I’m going to let Ocean know that we can’t hang out anymore.”
“Are you sure that’s what you want?”
“Positive.”