Chapter 3
Chapter
Three
J unicia
I was so embarrassed when I saw my neighbor come home and Leo was on my porch acting a fool.
I wasn’t sure why it was so hard for him to leave.
I was sure he had somewhere else he could go.
I guess I surprised him by putting him out.
Hell, I surprised myself. I lost it, and there was no turning back.
I didn’t even care that it was cold outside.
The neighbor didn’t even bother looking in our direction, but I was sure he heard everything since our houses were close.
He never spoke to me whenever Leo was around.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Leo had said something to him before or something because Leo had jealous tendencies.
He should have been because my neighbor was fine, and he looked like he had money.
Not that I wanted or needed his money, but it was a bonus that he had something going for himself.
I saw him sitting on his porch all the time.
Sometimes I caught him leaving for work or coming home, and he always had a suit on.
He seemed like the nerdy type with his glasses and shit, but to me, that made him even sexier.
He was dark skinned with a full beard, and with tattoos he usually covered up, but I saw them one time when he was outside cutting grass.
A few times, I watched him from my window, but that was about it.
There wasn’t anything wrong with looking, and he was some nice eye candy.
I watched him a little too much to be in a relationship, but I wasn’t in one now.
I thought I would feel some type of way about not being with Leo, but I didn’t.
It was long overdue. Some women tended to try and make a relationship work even when we knew we needed to leave, but I couldn’t do it anymore.
Leo was no good for me, but I tried to give him a chance since things had gotten bad for him.
Truth be told, it was his fault things turned out the way they did anyway.
Him losing his job could have been prevented if he hadn’t been so careless.
I think he lost that shit on purpose, and because he was lazy, he didn’t even try to fight for it.
I felt bad for him because he used to be so full of life.
The day we met, I knew we would be together forever.
He was handsome, paid, and charming as hell.
He asked for my phone number, and we ended up talking for hours that night.
Two days later we went on our first date, and the rest was history.
I wish he would have gotten himself together or at least tried.
Since we didn’t have the night I planned, I decided to still make the night special for myself. After the house was cleaned and saged, I closed the windows, then went upstairs.
I changed the sheets on my bed and found some new pajamas with the tag on them, so I put them on the bed to wear after I took a hot bath. I needed to soak my tired muscles and relax my mind.
One of the girls from work told me about a book by author Riley Baxter. It was called Love’s Justified Audible , so I downloaded that on my Kindle and had it ready to go.
I turned on the water, dropped a bath bomb in, then went back downstairs to pour myself a big glass of wine with some cheese.
When I had everything I needed, I headed back upstairs to check on the water. I wanted it a little fuller, so I went into my room to grab my Kindle. My phone rang before I could leave the room, and I almost let it ring until I saw it was Lauren.
“My spidey senses are telling me something is going on.”
I laughed. “I have to say that they are right this time.”
“What? What happened? You caught Leo cheating?”
I sucked my teeth and sat down on the side of the bed. “No. Just over him. I didn’t plan on leaving him, but it was time.”
I wanted to call Lauren as soon as Leo left, but I changed my mind and wanted to get my mind right first.
“It was. I’m not going to gloat or jump for joy because I know that you loved him. How are you feeling though?”
I got up from the bed and walked into the bathroom. The water had gotten to the level I wanted, so I lit a few candles. I put the phone on speaker, then took off my clothes.
“To keep it real, I don’t know yet. Things hadn’t been great, but like you said, I loved him. Hell, I still do. It’s not something a person could just turn off, but I wasn’t happy anymore. I know that it was the right thing, but I’m sure I will end up missing him.”
Not having Leo around would be different. The house would be quieter, that’s for sure, and I wouldn’t have him around to do certain things around the house like take out the trash or reach for stuff I couldn’t. He didn’t do much anyway, but still.
“Girl, he ain’t worth missing. Trust me, you’ll realize how much better your life is now that he ain’t around. And who knows, maybe you’ll find the courage to talk to your fine ass neighbor, besides saying hello.”
“I think not. That man ain’t thinking about me. Oh, why he came home when Leo was acting a fool on the porch?”
“For real?” She screeched.
“Sure did, but didn’t even look my way.”
She laughed loudly in my ear, and I joined in with her as I slid into the hot water. I left one hand out of the water so I could eat my cheese and drink my wine. The water felt so good, I would have let out a moan if I wasn’t on the phone. It was just what I needed after the day I had.
“Damn. You think he gay?” She whispered like he could hear her.
I almost choked on the piece of cheese in my mouth.
“No, fool. Maybe he’s just quiet.”
I never saw him with a woman, but nothing about him seemed gay.
Then again, some men didn’t look gay but were.
I didn’t get that from him though. I just thought he was really quiet.
And since Leo was around, maybe he never said anything to me out of respect for him.
After seeing Leo act the way he did, my neighbor probably thought my life was full of drama.
“I guess. Anyway, something told me to call you and I’m glad I did. You’re going to be okay because you are a badass, boss ass bitch.”
“And is! I’m relaxing in the tub with some cheese and wine. I got the candles lit, and a book to read, so I will call you later, or tomorrow.”
More than likely, I wouldn’t call her until tomorrow because I was already tired, and I knew after this bath, I would get in bed and read until I fell asleep. Unless the book was too good to sleep. Either way, I wanted time to myself tonight.
“Make it tomorrow. But if you really need me for anything you can call tonight. Love you, cousin.”
“Love you too.”
The phone was on the floor, so I let her hang up.
I was going to read while I was in the tub, but I forgot to grab the Kindle when I answered the phone for Lauren, so I sat back and relaxed.
Once I was done with the cheese and wine, I closed my eyes and soaked in the water until it got cold.
After that, I was relaxed and ready to get in bed.
When I was moisturized and dressed in my pajamas, I climbed into bed and read until I couldn’t keep my eyes open.
The next day, I was off from work, so I lounged around the house the whole day.
There was a knock on my door, and I hesitated to answer because I thought it was Leo.
After the person knocked again, I went to the door.
When I looked out the peephole, I didn’t see anybody, so I cautiously opened the door.
A package was on the porch, but I hadn’t ordered anything.
I looked around then down at the package, and it was for my neighbor.
His car was in the driveway, so I picked it up and walked next door.
I rang the bell and waited for him to answer.
My mouth suddenly went dry when he answered. For a man to be dressed so simply, he looked good as hell.
“Hey, um... The courier accidentally left your package on my porch.”
His eyes traveled from my head to my toes. When he smirked, I looked down and realized I had on my bunny slippers.
“Thank you.” He took the package from my hand but didn’t move. “Cute slippers.”
I pushed my hair behind my ear. The way he looked at me made me feel like I was under a microscope.
“Thank you.” I felt my cheeks warm and knew I needed to walk away.
“You’re welcome, and thanks again for my package.” He held the box up.
“Have a good day.” I turned to walk away.
When I made it back to my porch, I looked over and he was standing on his porch watching me. He nodded, and I waved, then opened my door.
“That was… different.” I went back to the couch to finish watching the movie I had on.
A few hours later, I realized I needed to get some stuff from the store. When I opened the front door, I noticed something missing.
“What the fuck? Where the hell is my car?” I peeked over and saw my neighbor on his porch.
“You good?” he called over the side of his porch.
“No, my car is missing.” I went to pull my phone out of my pocket to call the police, but my eyes almost popped out of their sockets when I saw my car pulling into the driveway. Leo had the nerve to be behind the wheel.
Heat flushed through my body, and I saw red when Leo popped out and strolled toward my porch like he belonged there.
“Are you fucking crazy?” I yelled when he walked up the steps. I didn’t even care that my neighbor was still on the porch, or whoever else would see us.
“Yeah, and I’m about to show you just how fucking crazy I can be.” Leo got all in my face, and just like the day before, the smell of liquor assaulted my nostrils.
“Leo, how and why did you have my car?”
I glanced next door, and the neighbor was still on the porch, acting oblivious to what was happening.
He staggered. “Fuck you looking over there for? You fucking him?”
“What? No.”
Leo went to raise his arm, and I jumped.
He had never hit me before, but this wasn’t the same Leo, and he was drunk.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the neighbor said. His voice was eerily calm, and I had no idea of what would happen next.
“And what the fuck you gonna do?” Leo spat.
I held my breath and watched as my neighbor moved to the edge of his porch. “Touch her and find out.”
My heart thundered in my chest, and my stomach tensed.
Leo sucked his teeth, looked at me, and laughed. “This fool really thinks he’s about to do something. He wears glasses. He probably can’t even see me.” Leo laughed again, but he was the only one laughing.
I was nervous, and Leo thought everything was funny. I didn’t know what to do. I looked back and forth between my neighbor and Leo. A heavy feeling filled my stomach, and I froze when I heard a gun cock.