17. Vani
I was tired and didn’t even want to be in the club, but I was willing to stay for an hour and a half at the most, so Darius could do what he needed to do.
The truth of the matter was that even though I gave him a hard time, if he needed me, I was going to be there with very little questions asked.
Lo and Hailey came out with me. I was trying to turn up and have a good time, but I was tired.
The blunt we smoked on the way to the club wasn’t helping.
Instead of having me turnt up, it had me slow and sluggish.
My lids felt heavy, and I wanted my bed.
Until I saw Darius and Azarius walking in our direction.
Then, I wanted to get in the bed but not to sleep.
That man was so damn fine moving through the crowded club looking like hood royalty and shit.
Darius was one of the smoothest men I knew, and it only intensified as he got older.
He didn’t have to put in any effort. Literally all he had to do was to just be him.
I knew exactly why Bree was in love with him because more than likely, they were the same reasons that I was in love with him.
With his gaze locked on my face, Darius advanced toward me until he was all in my personal space.
He smelled like a mixture of weed, cologne, and cinnamon flavored gum.
When he grabbed my waist and pulled me into him, my breath hitched in my throat.
“Thank you.”
I looked up at him unable to speak. Shit, I didn’t even know if I was breathing.
He had won. I was waving the white flag.
Every time I had to see his daughter it would make my chest cave in, but I had to get used to it.
Acting like Darius didn’t exist and trying to maneuver through the free world without him wasn’t working.
And Lord knows I had been trying. I had been trying with everything in me.
When I didn’t respond, he licked his lips. “You ready to go?”
“Yeah, I’m tired.”
“Can I put you to sleep?”
All I could do was close my eyes. It took enough courage to admit my feelings to myself.
Admitting them out loud to him seemed like too much too fast, but he could read me.
Darius placed his face in the crook of my neck.
“I’ll freak you right I will. I’ll freak you right I will.
I’ll freak you like no one has ever, ever made you feel,” he sang making me giggle.
“Please get off me,” I laughed.
Darius let me go and gave Azarius dap while I hugged Lo and Hailey goodbye.
We all exited the club at the same time.
In the car, Darius gripped my thigh while he drove, and the nostalgia from that one act of affection had me on cloud nine.
Late night car rides with him had been one of the best parts of our relationship.
When we arrived at my house, I wasted no time getting in the shower, so I could wash the club off me.
The moment I cut the water off, Darius was in the bathroom with his mouth on me.
He didn’t even give me time to dry off. In the bed, he locked his fingers in mine and rocked in and out of me to a slow and steady rhythm.
“I ain’t never coming up off you,” he promised before snaking his tongue into my mouth.
From the looks of it, I wasn’t coming up off him either.
The next day, I was in a great mood. Not only because Darius had put it on me after the club and when we woke up that morning.
I was also happy because it was my last day at the restaurant.
The money that Darius had given me when I was first released lasted me a good lil’ while.
Everything I made from braiding hair and the restaurant went into a savings account.
I refused to only rely on braiding until I had reached a specific monetary goal, and I had surpassed it.
Plus, that morning, Darius had given me $5,000.
My clientele was increasing by the week, and I was confident that I could pay my bills from solely braiding hair.
As long as I was dealing with Darius, I knew he was going to give me money, but I would never depend on it. It would only be an added bonus to what I made. One of my regulars came in, and he was flirting with me the way he always did.
“I can’t believe you haven’t let me take you out yet.”
“Why would I let you take me out when you came in here two weeks ago with a female?” I grinned.
“I don’t have a girlfriend, but I will feed a chick. Let me take you out, and I’ll feed you too.”
That got a laugh out of me. The bell over the door chimed, and I looked up to see who was entering.
The smile remained on my face even when I spotted Bree walking in.
When she spotted me, she frowned slightly, and that made my smile broaden just a bit.
Clearly, she hated me as much as I hated her, but I didn’t want her to know that I gave a fuck one way or the other.
I hoped she was getting takeout, however because if the hostess sat her in my section, I wasn’t serving her.
It was comical to me the way Bree’s nose scrunched while she held her head high looking like she had her nose up in the air.
Yes, I was a server. And I was pretty sure she had more money in the bank than me because if she didn’t she was a damn fool.
She’d been free the whole time I’d been in prison.
She could look down on me. I didn’t give a damn about that.
I wasn’t broke, and I had a car, and a crib courtesy of her baby daddy.
And even if he stopped paying my bills tomorrow, I could pay my own because I made sure I had all my ducks in a row before I told my mother not to put me on the schedule for the upcoming week.
I only had an hour to go before I got off. For once, seeing Bree’s face wasn’t going to make me upset. She remained by the door looking constipated until the hostess handed her a takeout bag. “Bitch,” I mumbled.
I refilled some drinks and checked on my other tables before circling back around to give Jamal his ticket. “You working this weekend?” he inquired as he reached into his pocket.
“Nope. I’m off.” I wasn’t even going to bother to tell him it was my last day because then he’d hound me for my number.
“So, can I please take you out?”
Jamal was cute. He had toasted brown skin with a thick beard and a broad nose. If I wasn’t so stuck on Darius, I might actually let him take me out even though I could tell he was toxic. Some men just had that look, and he was one of them.
“I’ll think about it,” I lied.
“So, take my number, and if you decide to say yes, call me, and I’ll make plans. That cool?”
“Sure.” I pulled my phone out of my apron and unlocked it.
Jamal rattled his number off to me, and I stored it in my phone with plans to delete it later.
He paid for his food, gave me a tip, and told me I better not be playing.
As I watched him walk away, I spotted Darius standing at the hostess stand grilling me.
My heart slammed into my rib cage. He looked so mad, I didn’t even think about the fact that he’d missed his baby mama by like ten minutes.
The hostess led him to my section, and Darius sat down with a scowl on his face. Swallowing hard, I played it off. “Hello to you too. What’s wrong with you?”
Darius looked at me, and the way his jaw muscles ticked, I knew he was perturbed.
“Don’t fucking play with me. I just watched you take that lame ass nigga’s number, but had that been me, all hell would have broke loose.”
“I only took it because he’s been asking to take me out forever. Today is my last day, and I’m not going to call him.”
“So, you just out here playing with niggas? Why not tell him you have a nigga?”
“Because do I? That was never clarified.”
Darius flicked the tip of his nose, and I just wanted to suck his dick. He was so handsome when he was angry. “Find you something safe to do, Lavani. Real shit. I’m gon’ give you what you asking for.”
I had no clue what I was asking for, but Darius was on one. “What do you want to drink?”
“I don’t want shit to drink.” My eyes widened as Darius slid out of the booth. He was really pissed.
Ignoring the fact that I had customers, I speed walked behind him and out of the door. “Oh my God, Darius, I’m sorry. I’ll text him right now and tell him I have a boyfriend. To be fair, we only had sex last night. We didn’t have a conversation about us being exclusive.”
Darius stared out into the parking lot avoiding eye contact. I knew he was trying to calm himself down. “Stop acting like that.” I wrapped my arms around his waist and stared up at him. “I’m sorry, and when I get off work, I’ll make it up to you. I’m gonna eat that dick off the bone.”
Darius looked down at me and shook his head. “You get on my fuckin’ nerves yo. I don’t like the way you got me out here feeling lame as hell.”
“I love you too.” I puckered my lips indicating that I wanted a kiss. After ogling me for a few seconds, Darius placed three quick pecks on my lips.
I followed him back inside the restaurant ready to finish up my shift and get home. I was going to do exactly what I’d promised my man.
For the second time in ten minutes, I’d glanced at my watch.
I hadn’t seen Darius all day. It had been three weeks since we made it official, and it was his first day of college.
I wanted to see how everything went, but of course, he didn’t come straight home afterward.
Now, it was going on seven, and I was headed out with Lo and Hailey for my birthday dinner even though my birthday was five days away.
Hailey and Azarius were going to be in Brazil on my actual birthday, so she wanted to celebrate with me before she left.