Chapter 9 #2
I slipped out of bed and padded across his hardwood floors.
Because I slept in my birthday suit, I grabbed Brick’s hoodie from the bench at the foot of his bed and slipped it over my head.
As I headed to his bathroom to take care of my hygiene, I glanced at the empty bed.
I learned quickly that Brick was a super early riser, so I assumed he was in his office working already.
Once I completed my morning routine, I reentered his bedroom. Instead of going to find my man immediately, I stepped toward the floor-to-ceiling windows and observed the city. My city. As much as I loved New York, there really was no place like home.
I never thought I’d love a place as much as I loved Terry, but Jai City grew on me shortly after my mother and I moved here. It made me realize how much I enjoyed big city living and inspired me to go to college in the biggest city of them all.
Brixton’s penthouse gave him the perfect view of the city’s skyline, and I had made it a habit of admiring it every morning.
Today, the Yak Mobile Arena was what caught my eye.
It hadn’t been there the last time I was home, and the newness of it made it almost sparkle.
Although it wasn’t the tallest building on the skyline, its sleek glass design and dome-shaped roof stood out amongst its fellow skyscrapers.
It was a reflection of how much the city was developing.
Faizon Grey, the newest Heavyweight Champion of the World —who I had also gone to school with in Terry—recently defended his belt there.
I had just read that Jai City was getting a professional football team , and the arena would be their home.
It was all exciting for the state of Chaney, and the buzz around it all had me thinking about making the move back here.
Everything about the week had been perfect, and I didn’t want to be rid of this feeling.
I wasn’t trying to rush things with Brick and me, but I couldn’t lie.
This had forever written all over it. He had me considering real changes in my life, and as scary as that should have been, I was getting more confident in my bold thoughts.
I had been on autopilot for so long, catering to Maria’s every desire, because it was my job and what I was used to, but .
. . I was so much better than the work I was doing.
When Brick and I did our vision board, my goal was to inspire him to stop giving his words away.
I think I succeeded in that, but I also got inspired myself.
My board turned into more of a blueprint than a dream board, but what I came up with made me see the vision clearer than I had in years. Creating a plan, with Brixton in my ear uplifting and encouraging me, had me feeling like I didn’t need Maria anymore.
Brixton wasn’t the only one who wanted me to quit. My parents and Wilder had been begging me to leave Maria for the last two years. They always believed that I could start my own thing. Now, for the first time ever, I was beginning to wonder . . .
What if I just . . . did ? What if, instead of choosing what was best for Maria Striten’s career, I chose what was best for mine? What if I chose myself for once?
Shuffling behind me snapped me from my thoughts.
“You look damn good this mornin’, Doll.”
I turned toward Brick’s voice. He was shirtless but wore a pair of army green joggers that slung low on his hips and gave me a glimpse of his boxers. If I looked good, he looked heavenly. He was holding a coffee cup, and once our eyes met, he started toward me with it.
My smile grew as he handed it to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. On our first day back to Jai, when he left me to spend time at my parents’ house, he ran errands that included buying a coffee machine—and everything needed to make my perfect cup—from the store.
Our first morning at his house, he watched me intently as I made my coffee.
The next morning, he woke me up with my coffee already prepared, and he had done it again today.
I was loving every moment of being spoiled by this man.
“Thanks,” I said softly.
He kissed my lips. “You’re welcome. I’m surprised you’re up this morning,” he said, making me laugh. I wasn’t a morning person at all, but his lack of blackout curtains and this luxury home he lived in made it impossible for me to stay in bed too long. I wasn’t really mad at it, though.
“Your penthouse is making me a morning person,” I said with a pout.
“Oh yeah?” he asked, but gave me no time to respond, because a second later, his lips were on mine again.
The kiss was soft at first, but then he deepened it.
I moaned into his mouth as his hand slid beneath the hoodie I wore, and time slowed after that.
With his free hand, he removed the coffee cup from mine before backing toward the bed.
Never releasing me, he set the mug on his nightstand and gripped my hips as he shifted our positions and lowered me onto his soft mattress.
“Damn, I can’t get enough of you, Doll,” he said, lifting his head briefly.
I moaned in response as his lips found my neck.
I couldn’t muster up a reply, and he didn’t say anything else.
He didn’t need to. As his mouth explored the rest of my body, I basked in the pleasure with one thought on repeat in my mind:
If this is what choosing myself feels like, why did I wait so long?
A couple of hours later, I sat, fully dressed, at his kitchen bar. I was watching Brick wash the dishes we made after cooking breakfast. I couldn’t help but blush as I thought about how he insisted I sit my “pretty ass” right here while he tidied up.
I was doing just that, sipping my coffee while admiring Brick from behind as the muscles in his back flexed underneath the fitted T-shirt he wore.
The fact that we didn’t need to talk in order to be comfortable in each other’s space also had me feeling giddy as hell. We vibed effortlessly, and the peaceful morning we were sharing was an experience I’d love more of.
I wanted to bottle this moment.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
My eyes rolled upward as I grabbed my phone because the ringing interrupted my reverie. When I checked the screen to see who was calling, though, I wanted to throw the phone across the room.
I am not in the mood for this.
Likely wondering why I hadn’t answered the phone yet, Brixton turned away from the sink and eyed me with a frown.
“What’s wrong? Who is it?” he asked, his eyes covering every inch of my countenance.
I sighed. “It’s Maria.”
I noticed his jaw tense before he asked, “You wanna talk to her?”
I laughed sarcastically. Want to ? Hell no, but I guess I should. I’d been kind of dodging her calls since the snowstorm.
Brick ran a hand over his head before crossing his arms. It was clear that he didn’t want me to answer the phone, and I knew it was because of all the things I had told him about my job and my boss.
Just like my parents and Wilder, Brick wanted better for me. Unfortunately, I still worked for Maria. Until I mustered up the courage to quit, this was my reality.
Sliding off the barstool, I answered the call. Before I could say “hello” Maria was already on my ass.
“Where the hell are you, Dylan?” she asked, immediately making me roll my eyes.
Whenever Maria was complaining about something—which was more often than not—she tended to drag out each of her words, and her voice got all whiny. Hearing it now had me on the verge of hanging up.
“Good morning, Maria. I’m in my hometown like I told you?—”
“I am so sick of hearing about this hometown shit, Dylan. I need you here. You have yet to send me the press deck for my shoot tomorrow, and you haven’t responded to one message I’ve sent you.”
I sighed. “Maria, the press deck is in your email. I’ve responded to the emails you sent, but not the text messages, because I’m technically on vacation. Even with the personal leave I’ve taken, I have still solidified everything you have to do up until I arrive in Paris.”
“And when will that be?” she asked, barely letting me finish my sentence.
“In two?—”
My response was cut short because my phone was being taken away from me. I whirled around in time to see Brixton placing the call on speaker and stepping out of my reach.
Maria had already started complaining about how two days were too long, but Brick cut her off quickly.
“Aye, wassup? Look, Dylan ain’t off vacation yet, so until she is, stay off her line. She’ll see ya when she sees ya.”
My jaw was on the floor as he hung up the phone and turned to me. For a minute, he just stood there, observing me, while I racked my brain on what to say. The only thing I could come up with was, “I’m sorry about that.”
Brick kissed his teeth. “Don’t apologize to me for somebody else’s bullshit. That woman had your whole body tense five seconds into that phone call. I ain’t like that shit, so I handled it.”
My stomach fluttered as I dropped my gaze to his floor. “Thanks,” I said softly. Brick moved closer and placed his index finger under my chin before lifting it.
“You deserve better than that, Doll.”
I smiled and nodded.
“I agree. What I deserve has been on my mind a lot lately.”
He leaned down and pressed his lips against mine. “Oh yeah?”
I nodded again before puckering my lips. Brixton immediately blessed me with another kiss.
Pulling away, he asked another question. “So what does that mean? You still goin’ to Paris?”
“I don’t know. I was, but . . . after the week I’ve had, after the week we’ve had, I just .
. .” My voice trailed off. Although I had been thinking about choosing myself and starting my own business, it wasn’t even the main thing that had me second-guessing Paris.
I didn’t want to come off too strong too fast, but the truth was, I didn’t want to go anywhere that this man wasn’t.
Luckily, Brick didn’t pressure me to finish my statement. Instead, he kissed my forehead and nodded.
“I feel you. I’ll support whatever you decide, but I ain’t gon’ lie. I don’t want you to give that woman another opportunity to shit on you. It doesn’t sit right with me.”
“I hear you.” I took a step closer to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. Resting my forehead on his chest, I sighed.
With my voice barely above a whisper, I said, “I have to go meet up with my momma.”
Kissing the top of my head, he said, “Go ’head, Doll. Enjoy your family time.”
We shared a few kisses before I reluctantly peeled my body from his and left his home.
Once I was in the car and driving away, I sighed as I thought about how complicated my life had gotten.
I shook my head. Maybe I was just making things complicated.
Removing Maria from the equation would simplify things significantly, but it would also leave me unemployed.
I had never been the type of girl to take chances where her pockets were concerned, but .
. . what if playing things safe was actually keeping me from the success I had always dreamed of?
I would never know if I didn’t try, but I did know one thing: Brixton was right.
I deserved better.