Page 44 of Lyric Squared

“I just can’t believe you told that man that.” She released a long, hard breath.

“I can’t believe he just left.” I sighed, feeling the sadness from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet. “I want him back already.”

“I’d tell you to get him back there immediately and apologize but there’s a small piece of me that really understands where you’re coming from and won’t allow me to encourage that. I will, however, keep an eye on you and see how well you handle hisabsence now that you’ve had Keanu in your presence. If it’s not up to standards, I’m calling him myself to get him back over there. If you want to give Collin a chance before you give into Keanu, then do it. But don’t think that I’m going to sit and watch you try to force something with another man because you’re truly in love with another one.”

“I won’t do that. I promise. If Collin isn’t for me, I won’t force it. I promise.”

“I won’t let you.”

“I’m sleepy again,” I yawned, dragging the words much longer than necessary.

“Well, I bet you are,” Ever chuckled, “get some sleep and call me when you wake up.”

“Only if we’re not talking about this.”

“Then, we won’t talk about this.”

We ended the call after saying our goodbyes. I slipped into something a bit more comfortable and silky, knowing that I’d be out for a while. My body had been overworked and so was my pussy. We needed to recalibrate and it wouldn’t be a small task, either.

The explosive poundingon my door had awakened me from my slumber. I descended my steps in a drunken-like haze, rushing to see who was demanding my presence. When I stood close enough to the peephole, I could see Laike’s frame situated on my porch, pissing me off to the max.

“Why not just use your key?”

“I’m trying to respect your little privacy or whatever and not barge in only to find that lame ass nigga in there.”

Laike walked inside, looking around as if he’d find another human in my home other than myself.

“Laike, you care nothing about my privacy for the most part. Let’s be very clear on that. As far as Collin goes, he’s far from lame and you’re going to have to start showing him some respect.”

I followed behind him as he made his way into the kitchen. He was making it clear that it’s where he preferred me. My brothers considered me spoiled, but it was them who I’d spoiled over the years. Whenever they came over early mornings, they’d get a hot, fresh, homecooked meal that would fill their bellies for at least a few hours.

“Says who?” He stopped, turned around and waited for my answer.

“Says me because he’s going to be around for a while. He asked me to be his girlfriend.”

With a roll of my eyes, I kept walking ahead of him. When I made it inside of the kitchen, he was still trying to comprehend what was being asked of him.

“I hope you declined,” he muttered.

“I don’t have a reason to,” I told him as a matter of fact.

“You’ve been around your father and your brothers your entire life and that’s the nigga you’re choosing to spend the rest of your days with? Have we not taught you anything? Shit, has Laura not taught you anything?”

Sucking the skin of his teeth, Laike shook his head. The disgust on his handsome face didn’t go unnoticed. In fact, it caused my stomach to turn as Keanu flashed before my eyes.

“What? You’d rather I get a man like you who can’t keep his dick in his pants long enough to save our relationship and end up sad for a full decade like Baisleigh? She’s just getting her lifeback on track after you ravished her fucking heart and soul. And, Luca, he was more of the same. The only difference is, he didn’t lead anyone on to believe that they were his match until he was ready to get in the ring with them, for real,” I reminded him. So quickly he’d seemed to have forgotten their history.

“She is my match,” Laike confirmed, referring to Baisleigh.

“Then, why did you let her get away?”

“Just because we’re good to each other doesn’t mean we’re good for each other.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it, Laike. If that’s what you used to convince yourself that what you did to her was right, then you’re sicker than I thought.”

It was my turn to wear the disgust I felt on my face. I could hardly look Baisleigh in the face these days for the torture my brother had put her through. Willingly, she stayed hoping he’d get his act together. But after years and years of turmoil, he did what we all knew was best and forced her out of his life. He knew that he was the one mistake she was willing to make over and over if he allowed her to. Laike loved her far too much to continue to allow it so he put an end to it himself. Though it shattered Baisleigh, she picked up the pieces and kept pushing.

“I’m not trying to convince myself of nothing, Lyric. I know I hurt her. You don’t have to keep reminding me. I see it every time I look into her eyes. I’m still dealing with that myself. She’s gotten over it by now. I’m still fucked-up about it, but I did us both a favor by letting her go. I can live with that.”