Page 1 of Loving a Libra (BLP Signs of Love #7)

“Wasn’t that beautiful?” I asked Maurice as we walked to his truck.

We’d just attended the wedding of one of my coworkers. Weddings always made me feel warm and fuzzy inside because I loved love and was looking forward to my wedding day.

He shrugged nonchalantly. “It was cool, I guess.”

“Doesn’t it make you want to get married?”

We’d made it to his truck, and he didn’t respond until we were both seated inside.

“I don’t feel any different about marriage than I did before the wedding.”

Maurice and I had been together for five years, and if someone asked me to rate our relationship over that span of time, on a scale of one to ten, I’d give it a six or seven. We both had our flaws, but nothing he did bothered me enough to walk away . . . Well, until recently.

I couldn’t pretend as if there weren’t signs that I should’ve paid more attention to, but Maurice had so much potential. He was handsome, educated, intelligent, and successful. It was hard to find men like him who wanted to be in a committed relationship.

He’d never been overly attentive. However, when the mood struck, he showered me with attention and gifts for weeks at a time.

I could admit that we were more compatible in our first few years of dating.

As I’d grown older and more mature, my interests have shifted.

During the warmer months, I loved a good day party, but after working thirty-six hours in three days, I often preferred to relax at home for at least two of my four days off.

When Maurice was available, I’d spend at least one day with him, but in the last year or so, he seemed to prefer to do things without me.

He owned a lounge with his best friend, Tariq, so I understood that the nature of his job required him to keep late hours.

However, they had three managers and four assistant managers to help carry the load.

I didn’t think he needed to be there as much as he was, but who was I to tell him how to run his business?

My best friend, Ginae, was always down to hang out, until she took a job as a traveling nurse.

Now she’d be gone for weeks at a time. I loved that for her, so I didn’t often press her about hanging out when she was home.

Besides, Tariq lived across the hall from us and was down to chill more often than not.

Discussing marriage became a sore spot in our relationship in our third year. At the time, we didn’t live together, so he asked me to move in with him. I enjoyed having my own space, but I decided that living with him would help me determine if marrying him was what I truly wanted.

When my lease was up, he moved me into the condo he’d just bought and gave me the freedom to decorate the entire space to my liking.

He didn’t ask me to pay a single bill, so the money I earned as a nurse went straight into my bank account, on top of the money he sent me every week.

Based on his actions, I felt we were moving in the right direction.

However, after two years of living together, I thought he would’ve proposed by now. None of the conversations we’d had about marriage ended well, and I realized our living arrangements were his way of pacifying me. He was no more interested in getting married now than he was two years ago.

“It’s been a while since we’ve talked about marriage, so I need you to refresh my memory on your feelings about it. Do you want to get married?”

“Man, we’ve talked about this too many times for you to be playing dumb. You know I want to get married.”

“Oh, so you don’t want to marry me . . . Is that it?”

“Aww, shit. Here we go. I knew you’d be on this shit again after this wedding. I should’ve gone to the lounge like I wanted.”

“Yeah, you should’ve. I’m ready to get married and start a family. I don’t have five more years to wait for you.”

“We don’t have to be married to have kids. I?—”

“No, you don’t have to be married to have kids. As for me, . . . you won’t get a child from me until I’m your wife. It’s as simple as that.”

“Then you must be cool with waiting a few more years, because marriage ain’t even on my radar right now.”

“Doesn’t seem like it ever will be. I’m a good woman, Maurice. One day you’ll look up, and I’ll be gone.”

He shook his head and chuckled. “You say that all the time, but that ain’t gon’ force me to do something I don’t wanna do.”

“Oh, so now you don’t want to get married.”

“That ain’t what I said.”

“That’s exactly what you said, nigga. You think?—”

“I don’t think shit. I know I ain’t ready to be nobody’s husband, and you can talk all the shit you want. It won’t happen until I’m ready.”

We stopped at a light, and I felt him looking at me.

When our eyes met, my annoyance with him intensified.

I hated that he was handsome and charming.

All he usually had to do was flash his beautiful smile or say something sweet, and I’d forget all about what we argued about seconds before.

However, that shit didn’t have the same effect it had in the past.

“Hopefully, I’ll be around.”

“I’ve heard that a hundred times before, yet here you are. You got it good with me, Devyn. You don’t pay bills or spend your money. Most women wouldn’t care about marriage if their man is taking care of them like I take care of you.”

I didn’t respond because that was one of his go-to lines. Little did he know, letting me stack all my money was a mistake on his part, because when I left, it would be with a bang.

The rest of the ride was silent, aside from the nineties music coming from the radio. Many thoughts swirled through my mind as he weaved through the streets of Chicago, heading toward our condo downtown.

Niggas would play in your face and let you waste your good years on them, only for the relationship to end, and they’d go out and find a younger version of you to do all the things you wanted to do. I didn’t think Maurice was that kind of man, but lately, I’d begun to wonder.

I’d fallen asleep before we arrived home and woke up to Maurice gently shaking me and calling my name. I opened my eyes and looked around before sitting up.

“Why didn’t you go to the garage?”

“I need to stop by ERL to check on things. Riq had a date tonight and won’t be there either. I won’t be long.”

I restrained myself from rolling my eyes because I was proud of my man for running a successful business in the city of Chicago. However, I sometimes thought he used it as an excuse to stay out late.

“Tariq had a date? That’s surprising.” I was shocked by the twinge of jealousy I felt.

Maurice frowned. “You clocking his whereabouts or something?”

“What? No. I’m just saying, besides ERL , he doesn’t go out much. Chill.”

“Let me find out you keeping tabs on another nigga.”

I didn’t have to keep tabs on Tariq because he willingly shared his schedule with me. I was surprised to hear about him having a date because he didn’t mention it the last time we spoke.

“Whatever. Don’t you have managers on duty for the times when neither of you can come in?”

“Are you about to complain about me running my business?”

“No, I’m just saying. You act like you gotta go in every night. What’s the point of?—”

“I gotta go, Devyn.”

I was tired and didn’t have the energy to argue with him, so I let go of the fact that he interrupted me while I was speaking.

“Okay.”

I got out, not bothering to lean over the console for a kiss. A few minutes later, I stepped out of the elevator on the twelfth floor and headed toward our unit. Tariq was coming out of his unit, which was across the hall from ours.

Maurice was fine, but Tariq was drop-dead gorgeous. Upon first glance, one would assume Tariq was a street nigga. His tattoos started at his neck and covered his chest, back, and arms. Both of his ears were also pierced.

He had soft hair that was cut into a curly fade, and sometimes, I caught myself daydreaming about running my fingers through his curls. His facial hair was always trimmed and lined to perfection. His face probably made the perfect seat for some lucky women over the years.

Unlike Maurice, most days, Tariq didn’t dress like a man who ran a business. He preferred to be casual in jeans, sweatpants, T-shirts, hoodies, and name-brand gym shoes. When he did dress up, he was a sight for sore eyes.

It was a bit late to be leaving for a date, and he wasn’t dressed as if he was trying to impress anyone, but I suppose it depended on what kind of date it was.

Tariq had become very much a homebody over the past couple of years and was selective about the type of women he spent time with, so he didn’t date much.

“Hot date?” I asked as we approached each other, stopping in the middle of the hallway. I noticed his confusion immediately, so I explained. “Maurice said you weren’t going to ERL tonight because you had a date.”

“Oh. I . . . umm, . . . yeah. The date was nice.”

He couldn’t look me in the eyes as he spoke, so I knew he was lying.

“You don’t owe me anything, but the least you could do is tell the truth.”

“My bad, Devyn. I was a little caught off guard.”

“I imagine you were, since Maurice lied on your behalf. Are you headed to ERL ?”

“Yeah. I’m headed there. Why?”

“I’ll go with you.”

Before he could respond, I turned and headed back toward the elevators.

“Damn.” I heard him whisper, causing me to pause and turn around.

I wasn’t sure how to take his slip of the tongue, but when I caught him licking his lips and adjusting his dick, I knew his eyes had been on my ass. It wasn’t the first time he’d looked at me in a way that would be deemed inappropriate since his best friend was my man.

“Let’s go.”

With his long strides, he caught up with me before I made it to the elevator. On the way down, neither of us spoke, but by the time he helped me into his car, I had a few questions.

“Tariq, be honest with me.”

I noticed he released a deep breath before pressing the button to start the car.

“I’ll do my best, but you know there are some things I won’t discuss.”

“Is there something I need to know about Maurice?”

“Why do you ask? Have you noticed something?”

“No relationship is perfect.”

“If there’s anything you need to know about him, or your relationship for that matter, it needs to come from him.”

“Why would he lie about you having a date?”

“You’ll have to ask him. Look, Devyn, I don’t mind you coming to me when you and Maurice have problems, but lately, it’s been a lot more frequent.”

“You noticed that too?”

“Yeah. It was cool when it wasn’t that often, but this is getting a little . . . tricky.”

“How so?”

“Does he know how often you text and call me or show up at my door? I should’ve turned you away a long time ago.”

“But you didn’t because you’re a good man, Tariq. I was a woman in need of a shoulder to lean on, and you offered yours.”

“And I don’t mind, but you’ve been at my door every other week complaining about him for the past year. Maybe you should reconsider what you want from your relationship.”

“Believe me, I am.” I paused. “Has it been that long and that often?”

He nodded. “Maybe more than a year. I’ve lost track. What are you expecting to find when we get here?”

“I don’t know, but I’m prepared to deal with it.”