Chapter 13 Skye
SKYE
As soon as I pushed my front door open, something came over me, and it wasn’t the kind of something that made me feel at ease.
“You good?” Ocean asked, his hand on my arm.
I heard him, but my mouth wouldn’t move. It was like I was frozen in time, and it wasn’t a time I wanted to be stuck in.
All I could feel was pressure against my mouth. It felt like if I made the wrong move, something bad would happen.
“Skye?” Ocean called out, standing in front of me. “Can you hear me?”
I nodded.
“Say something.”
I shook my head, my only way of expressing that I couldn’t speak. My foot wouldn’t cross the threshold.
Ocean glanced over his shoulder, then back at me.
He tried to pull me inside, but my body refused.
Grabbing the doorknob, he snatched the door closed. “Let’s go.”
I couldn’t do anything but follow him.
The ride back to his condo was silent. He held me in his arms the entire way.
When we made it inside, he closed the door slowly, then walked me over to the couch. I sat down, finally feeling my body start to calm down from everything.
My head fell against his shoulder. “I can’t go back there.”
“You don’t have to,” he said, his hand sliding into my hair. He caressed my scalp, soothing me in ways I didn’t know I needed. “You don’t ever have to go back there.”
“But that’s my home.”
“Not anymore. You can stay here until you find something else.”
“I didn’t know that was going to happen. I thought I was okay.”
“I know,” he whispered. “I know.”
I hated the way I felt.
Never in my life had I been overwhelmed with so much defeat. There wasn’t enough security to make me feel safe in that place again. Too much had happened.
“Listen, nothing’s changed about what I told you. You can stay here for as long as you need. I’ll make sure all of your things get packed up and put into storage. Anything you want to keep with you, just let me know and I’ll have it brought here.”
I lifted my gaze. “Are you sure? I don’t want to—”
He pressed his finger against my lips. “You’re not doing anything other than what I’m telling you. So don’t trip.”
I sighed, relief washing over me.
I almost felt like I didn’t deserve a man like Ocean in my life, but at the same time, he was exactly what I deserved if the timing was right.
“Thank you,” I said softly.
“You’re always welcome.” He kissed the top of my head. “Now, what can we do to help you relax? I can still feel the tension in your body.”
My bottom lip slipped between my teeth, and a tingle trickled down my spine. I knew exactly what I wanted to do to relieve the tension.
Sadly, that wasn’t an option.
“I think I’m just going to take a hot bath and call it a night,” I answered.
“Say no more. I’ll go get it started for you.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I know, but I want to.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He cupped my cheek, his eyes holding mine a little longer than necessary. Then, finally, he pulled away and headed upstairs.
I told myself to focus on anything other than what I wanted to do to him.
It didn’t work.
My thoughts betrayed me, circling back to Ocean no matter how hard I tried to redirect them. I wanted him, and I wanted him in ways I couldn’t make go away.
When I realized I couldn’t fight it another second, I pushed off the couch and started up the stairs. I could hear the water running in the bathroom at the end of the hall.
But it wasn’t the only thing I could hear.
It sounded like Ocean was on the phone.
“Give me a minute to finish handling business here. Once I’m done, I’ll slide through,” he said.
I could feel heat surging through my body.
If he was on the phone with another bitch, I was going to lose it.
Calm down, Skye. It could be anybody.
I cleared my throat, letting him know that I was in the room.
“Let me call you back,” he spoke into his phone.
“Nah, don’t hang up. I want to hear the rest of the conversation.”
He shrugged. “It’s not really much to hear.”
“Mmhmm, finish the damn conversation. I want to hear all about how you’re about to slide through and see another bitch.”
“Bitch?” I heard a woman say on the other end.
My eyes widened. “I fucking knew it!”
Livid, I spun around and stormed out of the bathroom.
What the hell was I thinking? This man was still a man. After spending hours trying to make me feel comfortable in his arms, he was literally preparing to spend the night with the next trick.
“Skye!”
“Leave me the fuck alone, Ocean,” I shot back as I raced down the stairs.
“Skye, come back here.”
“No.”
I snatched my purse from the couch and hurried toward the door. But before I could open it, Ocean’s arm was around my waist, pulling me against him.
“Let me go.”
“No.”
“Yes! I can’t stay here,” I shouted. “I can’t believe I was about to come upstairs and fuck you, meanwhile you’re making plans with another bitch.”
He spun me around, his eyes flooded with confusion. “What are you talking about? I thought we weren’t on that.”
“We’re not.”
“Then why did you just say that?”
I squeezed my eyes shut. “Does it matter?”
“Hell yeah, it matters.”
“I...I can’t do this. It’s too much. Why would you make me feel all comfortable if you were planning to be with someone else tonight.”
“I wasn’t planning to be with someone else.”
“You sure could’ve fooled me. I’m pretty sure I just heard you tell another bitch that you were about to slide through. Don’t lie to me and make me feel like I’m stupid. You know how I feel about that shit.”
“Yeah, I do. And like I said before, I wasn’t making plans to be with someone else.”
“Bullshit! Who was it? Sanya or Melina?”
“Neither.”
“Oh, so it’s a new hoe? Let me guess, she probably lives in the building or—”
“Yo, Skye, chill.”
“I’m not going to chill until you tell me who the bitch is.”
“Fine, you really want to know?”
“Yep.”
“Alright, cool.” He snatched my hand and pulled me toward the front door.
“Where are we going?”
He didn’t respond. Instead, he tightened his grip on my hand and pulled me out of his condo. He locked the door behind him, and we traveled down the hall until we were on the elevator.
“Ocean—”
“No, we’re done talking.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m not repeating myself.”
“Where are we going?”
He kept his eyes straight ahead, his hand still holding mine.
I didn’t know whether to be nervous or start bracing myself to smack a bitch.
But if it came to that…would I even be justified? We’re not even together like that.
Fuck, Skye. What are you doing?
My shoulders dropped, and the elevator doors opened.
“Ocean—”
“I meant what I said. We’re done talking. You want answers, I’m about to give them to you.”
When we stepped out of the building, his car was parked outside of the entrance.
“Here you go, Mr. Ocean.”
“Thank you.” He grabbed his key from the valet and opened the door on the passenger’s side. “Get in.”
“Where—”
“Get the fuck in!”
My mouth flew open.
I was almost offended, but I was too turned on to hold on to that feeling.
Realizing that I might have bitten off more than I could chew, I cleared my throat and slid inside.
The door slammed shut, and he made his way to the other side of the car.
I opened my mouth to speak, but—
“If you ask me again, we’re going to have a problem. Sit your ass back and ride.”
Yes, sir.