Theirs

Chapter 13

The next morning I woke up in bed alone. I lifted my head with a yawn already forcing its way out of me and took in Kiano’s room before reaching for my phone. The first thing I saw was a black card sitting on top of my phone. The second thing I saw were texts from him.

Kiano:

I had a work emergency and didn’t want to wake you. I have clothes and a toothbrush for you in my bathroom. My driver will take you wherever you’d like to go once you’re ready. Have a great day and please feel free to go shopping, on me.

Or at least pay for the night you and Stone are going to have.

Black card? DONE.

Ring? Coming soon.

Baby? Pending.

I laugh reacted to the last two messages and sent him a quick reply.

Me:

Have a great day at work. Don’t miss me too much.

I collapsed onto my back and enjoyed his bed for a little longer, checking my emails on my phone and responding to a few new tips and comments I’d gotten on my cam site before finally climbing up.

I took care of my hygiene needs then had Kiano’s driver bring me home.

I changed the sheets on my bed and did my usual cleaning.

Then I went to get a manicure and pedicure.

I recorded the pedicure and uploaded the video to my site as soon as I got into the car.

I did my weekly grocery shopping before heading back home and collapsing onto my couch to respond to the influx of messages I had after posting my pedicure.

I’d gotten several requests for worn socks, so after relaxing for a little, I dug out two pairs I’d worn to the gym and saved specifically for this and packaged them to be sent off.

My mother called while I was on my way to the post office so I took the initiative to call my father on my way home to get both of my Sunday calls out of the way before my date.

Once back home, I hopped into the shower and took an everything shower before dedicating my time to straightening my hair for the week.

By the time I wrapped up, most of the day was gone but I logged on to my cam site, set my computer up, and jumped online to talk to a few people and give them a rough life update: work was amazing, I was dating and had recently gotten gifted a very nice designer bag.

I prided myself on giving enough for my viewers to feel like we were friends talking about our lives and the miniscule things that happened but I was very calculated about what I shared.

They didn’t know I had a job outside of cam work, what city I lived in, that I had a brother, or anything about my family.

I told them about little stupid things that didn’t matter and never made content in places that could be traced back to me.

Even when I recorded my pedicures, I made sure there were no papers, special designs, chair labels, or faces included.

From what I could tell, it had been working so far.

I was on cam for a while, asking the viewers questions like we were old friends, partially to take up time and partially so they didn’t ask me a ton of questions but thought I was interested in their lives and cared about the little things I asked about.

I didn’t get offline until I saw Stone calling me. I told them to have a great night and let them know I’d hop back online sometime throughout the week and quickly ended the stream.

“Hello?”

“Hey. I’m on my way home to shower right now then I’ll be on my way to you.”

“Okay and can I ask where we’re going?”

“I was thinking a nice dinner.”

“Okay. Sounds good. See you soon.”

“See you soon.”

I hung up and jumped to my feet. I put my laptop away then headed to my room to put my makeup on, make sure I liked how my hair looked, and get dressed.

I couldn’t lie. I was excited. I’d had a great date with Kiano and imagined my date with Stone would be just as good.

I’d never had a bad time with either of them.

We were still in the “cupcake” phase of being together and things wouldn’t consistently be as easy as they were right now but I was down to ride the wave for as long as I could.

I was having fun, and even if it meant I was an idiot, I felt confident that when things got hard Kiano and Stone wouldn’t just run for the hills.

They hadn’t given me any hint that they were the type of men to give up when shit got hard but even if they did I’d walk away with a purse that could buy me a nice-sized house and some of the best sex I’d ever had in my entire life.

I would be walking away with no extra debt and without being a baby mama.

It would hurt like fuck, no matter how much I didn’t want to admit it. A part of me had gotten used to the men being there whenever I wanted or needed them and knowing they would show up for me. I didn’t even like the possibility that it could change one day.

Hell. Stone had been in my corner for years now.

Still, I wasn’t sure how long our dynamic could survive.

I mean, I cared about Stone and Kiano and they seemed to care about each other but there was a chance jealousy would jump in or maybe one of them would get tired of sharing.

Hell. Maybe they’d fall magically in love with each other and ghost me at the same time.

They seemed like they had gotten a lot closer after all.

I was still thinking about the chances of things being too good to be true when Stone arrived. I’d slid on a knee-length, baby blue dress with roses along the bottom I was sure he would like.

A huge smile crossed his face when I yanked the door open. He wore a dress shirt and slacks and looked so damn cute it irritated me. Cute wasn’t the usual word I used for Stone. He lifted the flowers in his hand. I reached up and grabbed his face immediately.

His free hand went to my ass and we kissed deeply.

“You look cute,” I said.

“Cute?” He lifted an eyebrow. “Puppies and babies are cute.”

“And you,” I added.

He shook his head but didn’t argue. “Well, you look beautiful.”

“Thank you, baby. Come in so I can get my flowers in a vase, please.”

“Sure.”

Stone followed me to my kitchen. I felt his gaze tracking me as I moved around the room, and honestly, I loved being the focal point of his attention.

“How was the event last night?” he asked.

“It was good. Kiano’s parents are sweethearts.”

“You met his parents?” he asked.

I clocked his tone immediately but didn’t comment.

“Yeah. They were seated at the same table as us.”

He nodded and pulled the collar of his shirt.

I grabbed a vase, set it in the sink, and looked at him while the water flowed.

“Can you see yourself doing holidays and stuff with them?”

“Yeah.” I shrugged. “I think it could be fun.”

He nodded again and shifted his feet. He pulled his sleeves.

“So was it the kind of thing you can see yourself doing long-term? Attending galas and schmoozing and stuff?”

“Honestly? Yeah.” I smiled. “I liked it. The people were nice and the whole thing was for a good cause. I mean, the food was bland as hell but outside of that I’d give it a solid eight out of ten.”

“Is that what you want to do with like your life and shit?” He shifted his feet.

“Be a trophy wife?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

“Of course.” I giggled and stopped the water to drop my flowers in and set the vase on the counter.

When I turned back Stone had his hands wedged into his pockets and was looking at me in a way I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen.

I took half a step toward him and stopped.

I felt my heart drop to my feet. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “Why?”

“Because why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know.” I scoffed and crossed my arms over my chest. “I don’t like it though, and we’re not going anywhere until you tell me what’s up.”

“Nothing is up.” He closed the space between us and grabbed my face in both of his hands. I glared up at him because he was a bitch ass liar.

“You’re a fucking liar and you’re bad at it.” I shoved his hands from my face. “Don’t piss me off, Stone,” I warned. “I’ll fuck up our night right now. Tell me I won’t.”

“Jesus. Why are you so hot when you’re crazy?”

I cut my eyes at him. “Have you ever been stabbed?”

“Once and it fucking sucked.” He grabbed my waist and yanked me in. “Please don’t stab me.”

“Then don’t be a lying piece of shit.”

“I love you.”

“And you think lying—”

He cut me off. “Selle, I love you and think you deserve to have everything you want.” His hands went back to my face. “I want you to be happy no matter what and I want to contribute to that happiness in any way I can but…” He exhaled. “I can’t give you what Kiano can.”

“Stone, I’m a slut, not a gold digger.” I winked at him and he scoffed.

“I think swiping Kiano’s black card is fun but I promise I have enough money to take care of myself.

I’ve been doing it this long.” I gave him a small smile.

“I’ve fucked men with less money than you and more money than Kiano and yet here I am…

with you.” I wrapped my arms around his neck.

“And this is where I want to be, with the two of you. Both of you,” I stressed.

“There’s not a thought in my head about cutting you loose and running off with Kiano.

If anything, I’m worried about the two of you running off without me. ”

“You can’t get rid of me, Selle. You should know that by now.”

“That doesn’t stop me from being worried.”

“Yeah. Me either.” His eyes searched mine.

“We just have to do that stupid, annoying shit and trust each other then, huh?”

“Yeah. I guess so.” He ran his thumbs along the edge of my jaw and I smiled at him. “I don’t want to live a life without you in it.”

“Then don’t be a liar, cheater, or piece of shit and you won’t have to.”

“Deal.” He grinned and leaned in so we could kiss through our mutual smiles.

“His parents want to meet you,” I added.

“What?”

“Kiano’s,” I clarified. “His parents want to have us over.”

Genuine confusion took over his face. “He told his parents about me?”

“That’s right. I think he may be pretty serious about us.”