14. JUSTINA
I opened the door for Dane and paused. He stood there looking sexy in a pair of designer jeans, and a designer white T-shirt.
He smelled dangerously sexy, and his smile was even more dangerous.
His locs were piled on top of his head, and he had a fresh lineup.
As fine as Dane looked, the wiggling chocolate drop nestled in the crook of his arm stole all my attention.
Immediately in love, I practically ripped the miniature chocolate poodle from Dane’s hands. The fluffy pup wiggled and licked all over my face as I squealed.
“Happy birthday,” Dane said. “From our son and me.”
I snickered. “Our son, Dane?”
“Yep. Our first baby. We should call him DJ.”
“Dane Junior?”
“Nope. Dane and Justina, since we're co-parenting until you make us official. We can’t have any children until then.”
I giggled uncontrollably. “You are such a lunatic.”
“I’ll be that,” he replied just as a few men appeared behind him.
Dane moved me aside as the men carried gift bags, boxes, and garment bags inside my suite.
I stood there looking crazy while Dane ordered them around, letting them know where to put everything.
Two more men came through the door. One carried a plethora of birthday balloons.
The other carried a cake and a huge teddy bear.
After everything was in its place, the men left as quickly as they came.
Dane stood in the living room and motioned me over. I scratched behind DJ’s ears as I joined him. He stood in front of me, bent down, and kissed me.
“Happy birthday,” he mumbled against my lips.
“Thank you,” I replied sweetly. “Happy heavenly birthday to your mom.”
Begrudgingly, I let him take DJ from me. He perched the puppy back on his arm and said, “Thank you, baby. That means a lot to me.” He motioned towards the gifts. “See if you like everything.”
“I’m sure I will,” I replied, but dug inside the first gift bag to see what was in there. The logo on the bag was interesting enough as I’d never had this brand of tea before. I took the box out of the gift bag, inspected the branded box, then sniffed it.
“Lemons, berries, and ginger, right?” Dane asked.
Grinning, I said, “Right. The Urban Tea Room… Where’d you find this place?” I questioned.
“They are exclusive and came highly recommended, so I gotta keep it a secret.” He shrugged. “Told them what I needed, and they delivered. I tried it myself—”
“Wait, what? You hate tea,” I stated.
“You can’t make me a believer,” he replied, to which I chuckled. “But that shit is amazing. If I say it is, you know it is,” he explained.
“I trust you,” I replied while returning the box to the gift bag. Dane crept up behind me and pressed his body against mine. Forgotten were the gifts. He turned me around until I faced him.
“You trust me?” he questioned.
“As far as the taste of tea? Yes.”
He chuckled. “Nah, not the taste of tea. You know what I mean.”
Glancing up into his dark brown eyes, the look that was there terrified me.
“Let me in,” he said.
“And if I decide to, what’s going to happen after that?”
“Bliss, Justina. We become a couple and do what the fuck couples do.”
“As if you’re not you, and I’m not me. Things aren’t so simple, Dane.”
“That’s just it, baby. We make this what the fuck we want it to be. Not what the fuckin’ world wants to force us to make it. If we want it to be simple, then things will be simple.”
“Nothing is ever simple amongst celebrities,” I answered.
“Stop it!” he hissed. “You wanna find a way out, do it wit’ ya whole chest, lil’ mama. Don’t stand here and act like we can’t make this shit work.”
A knock at the door interrupted us.
“That’s brunch,” he informed me. “Go ahead and get cleaned up while I get everything ready for you, aight.”
Nodding, I accepted another kiss before heading to the bathroom. While showering, I thought about Dane’s words and truly thought about whether being in a relationship with him was worth all the chatter that would come behind it. Plus, there was my mama to consider.
Just go for it, Justina.
I didn’t trust myself to just go for it. And I hated self-sabotaging the situation. Dane was nothing but kind and gentle with me. I was getting the man behind the scenes. Not the mega superstar. Not the heartthrob. Not Big Dane. Just…Dane. Just Dane was a force of nature through and through.
After showering, I applied moisturizer to my skin, sprayed some perfume on myself, removed the rollers from my hair, played around with the strands until they lovingly lay in soft waves, then dressed in a tank top and shorts.
For the first time in a long time, my birthday didn’t consist of photoshoots, gaudy parties, loud jeers from strangers, and no pretending like I was having a good time when really, I just wanted to be alone.
I padded out of the bathroom and joined Dane in the living room as sounds of Mint Condition played.
He saw me coming and held his hand out for me. I took his hand and allowed him to whisk me to his body. He kissed my cheeks, then my lips. Seconds later, he pushed my chair in once I’d had a seat. He took the seat across from me and said a quick prayer.
“Where’s DJ?” I questioned.
“With the babysitter while his parents celebrate.”
I cracked up as he removed the cover from my dish.
“Oh, wow,” I gushed. A fried chicken breast rested on top of fluffy, thick waffles. Fresh fruit and powdered sugar decorated the dish. On the side was a bowl of cheese grits, fried potatoes, and scrambled eggs.
“I got you,” Dane said. He poured a light coat of syrup over my chicken and waffles, sliced a corner off, then offered it to me. Too quickly, I ate from his fork. As we began eating, the song switched. Dane was on his R&B trip again today, and I loved it.
“When were you going to tell me that you are such a Loverboy?” I asked.
He chuckled. “What gave me away?”
“The music… You love to kiss me, touch me… You pay attention.”
His head tilted. “You pay attention too.”
I laughed. “Of course, I do. Can’t have you playing me.”
“Never that,” he replied.
I smiled and said, “I notice you never buy me flowers. Why is that?”
“Why would I buy you something you don’t fuck with?” He thought for a second and added, “It was in that one song of yours… Petals. Done with the flowers…I’m numb to the smell…Give me a reason to fall… I wanna fall like petals.”
Caught in the way he closed his eyes to recite my lines, I missed when his fingers reached out to touch my face.
“I think I’m doin’ a good job of makin’ you fall,” he uttered.
I shied away from his touch and said, “Why would you want me to feel that way about you, Dane?”
“It’s not obvious?” His fingers gripped my chin and brought my gaze back to his. “You playin’ catch up, baby.”
Stunned, I gaped at Dane. He chuckled, kissed the tips of his fingers, then touched my cheek.
“You gon’ catch up with me?” he asked softly.
I was speechless, though.
“Those lyrics did something to me, Justina,” he confessed.
“What do you mean?” I whispered.
“I don’t think you’re numb to the smell of flowers. You were numb to the person who presented them to you. I learned that the moment you twirled ya pretty ass around in my mama’s garden.”
Again, I sat here staring at Dane, wondering where the hell this man came from. There was no way he was this perfect.
“Finish eating so you can get back to opening the rest of ya gifts,” he ordered smoothly. The grin on his face melted my skin.
Minutes later, his phone rang. It was Angelo.
“You can answer it,” I said. “I don’t mind.”
He swiped up the phone and answered Angelo’s call. For a minute, he said nothing, but his eyes found mine and held. Instinctively, I knew he was about to dip. Although I was a little bummed, I didn’t let it show and even assured him it was okay.
He stood from the table, rounded it, then kissed me.
“Gimme a minute, aight,” he requested.
“Of course.” I wasn’t about to pout because he had to leave. However, as soon as he walked out the door, I sighed. I was definitely in the mood to give Dane every piece of me. Hopefully, he returned soon.
An hour later, after I’d opened the rest of my gifts, I got a text from Dane.
My Husband: Handling some shit, baby. I’ll be back to you ASAP. I love you. Promise to make it up to you.
Maybe it was the I love you that made me hesitate to text Dane back. I couldn’t contain the stupid smile on my face.
Me: I’ll be here when you return.
And I would be. Simply because I was too curious to see if Dane really meant what he said. Judging by the plethora of jewelry, clothes, shoes, and bags he bought me, he was trying his damnedest to convince me of something.