Page 3 of Tension

The door swung open, and Levell was on the other side with a wild look in his eyes that softened when they met mine.

“Chris, what the hell are you doing here? Banging on my door like the police,” he snapped at me. His voice had a layer of concern but too much bass in it for my liking.

He knowingly scanned my body, causing a shiver to run up my spine. I brushed past him into the kitchen. Just being near him made my chest tighten. After the day I’d had, I needed a drink.

“I need to talk to you,” I muttered, grabbing the bottle of red wine. My eyes flicked around the dim room; soft R&B played over his surround sound. Oh, shit…

“Baby, what’s going on?” A beautiful woman walked in from the back. She was a bit disheveled, telling me exactly what I interrupted. Her spine stiffened at the sight of me.

“Nothing. Let me handle this. I’ll be back in a bit.” Vel was focused on me, which made her attitude escalate.

She was tall, with light brown skin and full breasts that were as fake as her ass.

I guess Vel had a type.

She didn’t budge. The bird acted like he hadn’t said to leave us alone. I bit my tongue because I was going to let Vel handle it. If I went off, I knew it would be a bigger problem.

“Who the hell is this?” The woman looked me up and down.

My voice was low and controlled. “Bitch, you heard him. Go to the back. He’ll be done in a minute.”

So much for holding my tongue. I hadn’t been in the mood for her bullshit.

“Bitch? Excuse me! Who are you to⁠—”

I started toward her.

Vel cut her off and stopped me. “No need for all that yelling. You can either go to the back and let me handle my business, or you can leave.” He was now standing between us, finally looking at her, but it was so nonchalant that it actually hurt my feelings.

I knew one thing: he'd better never brush me off like that.

She stared at him, stunned, her eyes darting between us. She turned and walked to the back, her bare feet slapping his hardwood floors.

“At least you got your hoes in order,” I said, loud enough for her to hear before his bedroom door slammed shut. I took a big sip of the wine, savoring the brief respite it brought.

Vel dropped into a chair, his attention back on me.

“Chris, what’s up? Why are you here?” His black polo hugged his muscular frame, the dark color contrasting against his deep caramel skin. I needed to stop searching for the lingering scent of his cologne and say what I came here to say.

“I have an STI, and I need you to get tested.” It came out faster than I meant for it to.

The music still played in the background, Vel’s eyes never leaving mine.

He looked at me like I was crazy, then started laughing. Of course, he was laughing. It wasn’t a small laugh, it was a full belly laugh, hand on his stomach and everything.

“This isn’t funny, Levell.” I set the wine glass down, calmer now that the wine was working. I needed him to be serious, but my cheeks burned as I tried to resist laughing with him. It was a funny situation that I'd laugh about later.

“So, you cheat on your man, and now you need to know if it was him or me who gave you the STI?” He shook his head while rubbing a hand down his soft waves.

“First of all, we used a condom. Second, isn’t he known for cheating? Third, couldn’t you have just called or texted? Why are you here?”

I rolled my eyes. “Condoms aren’t 100 percent. And yeah, he’s cheated before… A few times.” The words hit harder than I expected. I sagged into a seat next to Vel. “And I don’t have your number. I got my results this morning, went back for the shot, and I just… I couldn’t go home. I’ve been driving all day, trying to figure out my next move. First step? Figure out where it came from. So, here I am.”

“What you got?” A judgmental smirk crossed his face, his eyes moving rapidly up and down my body. They lingered a bit too long on my chest, like they always did.

All I could do was hang my head.

“Chlamydia.”