Page 58 of Lyric Squared

The smirk that rested on his handsome face confirmed my assumptions, making the flesh of my walls cream. Keanu’s round, curious eyes and dimples flooded my memory. Instantly, my eyelids sealed themselves and my chest hiked. Pebbled were my nipples, tingling as they brushed against my top.

“Ummmm,” a moan seeped through my lips.

I clenched my walls, milking them of the goodness he’d thankfully left behind. Because if I didn’t know any better, I would’ve sworn he was trying to wring me of everything I had to offer so that I wouldn’t have it to produce for the next.For Collin.

Give that nigga my pussy and it’s going to be a problem, his words were vivid as they rushed to the forefront of my thoughts. I could hear the seriousness and pain that radiated from his body as he delivered them.

“Lyric?” Collin pulled me back into our reality, one that didn’t include Keanu.

As quickly as my walls began to salivate, the moisture they produced dried.

“You good?”

“Yes, babe. I’m fine,” I confirmed with a nod.

Silence fell over us as we both dug into our food, making light conversation in between. Divine was the food. I absolutely loved the effort put into the aesthetic of Maple Berries Brunch House, but I was most appreciative of the fact that the food matched it. It, too, was perfect.

“I need to get to this meeting across town,” Collin announced after finishing his second glass of water.

“And I have some work I need to get to as well.” I sighed.

Admittedly, I wasn’t ready to leave and neither was he. Reluctantly, we both cleaned our hands and faces before standing to leave. Collin left five twenties on the table, though our meal was no more than fifty. His generosity reminded me of Luca’s and Laike’s. Much of him did, no matter if neither of them saw it just yet.

“Call me later?” He pulled me into a hug as we stepped outside.

“Of course.”

Standing to the tips of my toes, I placed my lips on his. The small peck quickly evolved into a beautiful symphony with our tongues as the closers. With hiked breaths and an overwhelmed nervous system, I balanced myself after pulling back from Collin’s embrace. He was divine, without a doubt, but no matter how much, he simply wasn’thim. But he felt good, good enough for me to forget thatheexisted, even if only for a little while.

“Later, Lyric.”

“Later, Collin,” breathlessly, I replied, watching as he dashed down the pavement as if he was in a hurry, suddenly.

“This is goingto be the hardest shit in my life!” I screamed, barging into Ever’s bakery shop. Because I had the code to her door, access was always granted.

“Hello to you, too!” She laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.” With a shrug, she disappeared into the back.

I should’ve gone home and dug into the pile of work that was waiting for me after I left Collin, but my irrational emotions had led me right to my best friend. Being in her presence had its perks. Ever was always in control of herself and her emotions. I couldn’t remember a time other than when her children’s wellbeing was at stake that she ever lost it. Even then, she was calmer than any mother of missing children that I’d ever heard or seen in my life. She handled the situation a lot better than I could’ve, which was why it was her that I was following to the back like a lost puppy.

“This is just so difficult. You don’t understand.”

“I don’t. Because we both know that it doesn’t have to be. You’re making it this way.”

“Collin is a good guy.”

“A great guy, Lyric. But he’s notyourguy.”

“Ever.”

“Until you get that through your skull, you’ll make these visits. And, after a while, I’ll have Laike change the code because I’ll be tired of your sulking.”

“So, you’d really lock me out?”

“And talk to you from the other side of the door until you get your act together. Yes, I would.”