9. DANE
I slept fitfully last night, tossing and turning, wishing I was tossing and flipping Justina’s ass all up and through this suite.
I had to chill, though. Thinking with my dick wasn’t going to get her to stay long-term.
I needed her to fall hard enough to trust me more than she trusted anyone in her life.
Her belief in me had to be stronger than anything she’d ever known.
And my time with her was already dwindling.
Before I did anything, I grabbed my phone and sent a quick text to Justina.
I crawled out of bed and went into the bathroom to get my day underway.
Justina’s birthday was tomorrow, and I had to be ready to shower her with gifts that would make her see me on a deeper level.
Kissing her was heavily on my mind. Nothing would’ve been better than rolling over and finding her next to me, just so I could plant a nasty ass kiss on her lips.
Surely, she’d had a fitful night of sleeping too.
The way I kissed her should have her ass yearning for me.
Shit, I was yearning for her too. With that thought in mind, I hurried and got myself together, then left my suite to make some moves.
I took the elevator to the secure parking garage where my Ghost waited.
I chucked my head at security and the two men who followed me everywhere I went.
They were discreet but two of the deadliest niggas I knew.
Twenty minutes later, I arrived at a custom jewelry boutique. I walked into the boutique and dapped my nigga Chains.
“You got that for me?” I questioned.
“It’s ready,” he said as he moved to a different case.
He bent down to access the safe he had stashed back there.
Chains was two times my size and wore a vest at all times.
Plus, he kept the place so heavily guarded a muthafucka would have to be stupid to run through here.
Attempting to rob Chains was a one-way ticket up outta here.
“Whoever this is for, she gon’ love this shit,” he stated. Seconds later, he placed the custom necklace, bracelet, and ring on the counter. They were each housed in their own cases and sparkled like only the best-cut diamonds could.
Pleased, I dapped Chains again. “You outdid ya’self, bruh.”
He chuckled. “Had to. When shawty puts this shit on, it’s gon’ get too much attention. I had to up the ante.”
“Absolutely.” I picked the ring up and studied it, knowing damn well it was going to look good as hell on Justina’s finger. Yep, I knew her size. I knew her size in everything. “The money has been deposited. It’s good workin’ wit’ ya, bruh.”
Chains packed up my items, and I was out of there in ten minutes flat.
My next stop was to a few designer stores.
I had the city shut down until I was done shopping.
It was probably overkill, but I had shit to do.
It was bad enough that I was sure the opps were lurking, taking photos of me and shit.
Shit like that came with the territory. It didn’t bother me as much as it used to.
By nightfall, social media would be spinning narratives about what the hell I was up to.
I had to move swiftly because I was sure Claire knew where her daughter was.
It wouldn’t take a rocket scientist for her to guess what the hell I had going on.
Once I was done shopping, I hopped back in my ride. As soon as I pulled out of the parking lot, Hannah called. I knew her call was coming, so I answered on the first ring.
“Not only did you not tell me you were going to OCR, but this is the first year I’m spending Mom’s birthday without you. It better be for a damn good reason,” she fussed.
“What if I told you the reason happens to be five-foot-six-inches tall, with the sexiest brown eyes, killer smile, and—”
“Wait. You ditched Mom’s birthday for a woman. Oh, hell no, bro!”
“Chill, baby.” I chuckled because I could practically see Hannah’s face turning red. “Trust and believe me, this was a hard decision. I had to seize the moment while I could, though.”
“What the hell are you talking about? No woman comes before Mom, Dane.” Her disappointment fucked with me.
I hadn’t planned on revealing anything to Hannah.
She would get all soft on me, and she was a huge fan of Justina.
If shit went sideways, I didn’t want Hannah to get in the middle.
She was the type of sister who was going to step behind me.
And she was going to take it too far. I couldn’t have her putting hands and feet on Justina.
I rarely kept anything from Hannah. Especially when it came to Justina.
“Justina is here,” I revealed.
Hannah gasped. “Oh! How did you pull that off?”
“I can’t reveal my sources.”
Hannah giggled. “Well, you better be glad I care about you, and I love her. Also, you better make missing Mama’s birthday worth it. I won’t utter a peep about you and Justina, but I want to be the wedding planner.”
“Then you should be on standby,” I responded.
Hannah squealed. “This is what I love to hear, bro! I’m about to be an auntie! Oh! Please don’t buy Justina any flowers.”
“I know,” I replied. “I got this, baby. Trust me.”
“I trust you. Now send me something nice since I’ll be in mourning by myself.”
I sighed solemnly. “I’ll be mourning too. I’m sending you some money as soon as I pull over. Call me if you need absolutely anything.”
“I know, bro. Take care of Justina, and I’ll take care of Mom.”
“Aight. I love you.”
“I love you, too, big brother!”
I hung up with Hannah and merged onto the interstate. My next stop was an hour away. I wanted to make it back to Onyx Cove Resort by lunchtime. Hopefully, Justina and I could share lunch together. Just then, a text came through. I pressed the button on the dash to play the message for me.
“Good morning, Dane. I enjoyed our time yesterday too. And don’t think you’re slick by inputting your number into my phone under My Husband. I don’t even know when you had time to do that. Anyway, lunch is fine. I’ll be ready when you get here.
I chuckled and pushed the gas a little more. There was no way I’d keep my baby waiting.