Page 11 of Loving a Libra (BLP Signs of Love #7)

“Aye, what’s been up with you lately?” Maurice asked when I stepped out of the shower.

“Didn’t we have this conversation not too long ago?”

“Yeah, and ain’t nothing changed. I feel like you’ve been avoiding me.”

“We’ve both been busy.”

“Why are you picking up so many days at the hospital? You don’t pay shit around here, so it’s not like you need the money.”

“They’re shorthanded, and you don’t know what I need.”

“I don’t like you working so many hours. You’re hardly ever here when I get home from the lounge, and when you are, you’re leaving to run errands or complaining about being tired. I ain’t had no pussy in forever.”

I couldn’t stifle my laugh, and the words tumbled from my mouth before I could stop them.

“Are you sure about that?”

“Huh?”

I shook my head. “Nothing. I have some errands to run. Maybe I’ll see you before you head to work.”

“I planned to take tonight off to spend some time with you.”

“Aww. Aren’t you sweet? Unfortunately, they asked me to come in tonight. Maybe another time.”

“Call them back and tell them you changed your mind. As a matter of fact, let’s take a trip. Tariq can handle running things for a few days.”

“It would be very unprofessional of me to tell them I can’t work at the last minute, after I already agreed.”

I didn’t even acknowledge what he said about taking a trip, because there was no way in hell I’d go anywhere with him.

Instead, I scurried my ass out the door before he brought it up again or said anything else.

The furniture was scheduled to be delivered to my new house, and I wanted to make sure I was there when they arrived.

As soon as I got in my car and my Bluetooth was connected, I called Ginae. ”

“Wassup, boo!”

“Girl, Maurice might be catching on to me. He offered to take me on a trip.”

“And? Fuck him. Ain’t nobody going nowhere with his trifling ass.”

“I sure as hell ain’t, but I need at least another week to get the rest of my things.”

“Didn’t you say Tariq offered to replace everything?”

“Ginae, I’m not about to have that man replace all my clothes and necessities. He’s already doing too much.”

“Shit! A nigga can never do too much for me.”

“Anyway . . . I’m headed to meet the furniture delivery people now. You busy?”

“No. I can meet you there.”

She read my mind. “Thank you, bestie. See you soon.”

I ended the call with Ginae and called Thomasina. She connected me with a nurse manager at a hospital closer to my new home, and I had an interview scheduled for tomorrow.

“Hey, Devyn. What’s going on?”

“I just wanted to thank you for the connection. I have an interview tomorrow.”

“Yes! I know you’ll get the job, so congratulations in advance. I’ll miss you, though.”

“We can still meet up. Besides, you got a whole husband now, so you won’t be worried about me.”

“Now you know it’ll be dry as hell around this place without you, but we’ll definitely connect outside of work.”

“I don’t have the job yet, but thanks for the confidence. I’ll talk to you later.”

We ended the call just as I turned into the driveway of my new home.

I’d been here a few times since the closing, and every time, I felt giddy.

I went inside and stood in the middle of the living room, visualizing how the furniture would be arranged.

My ringing phone pulled me from my thoughts, and I smiled when I saw Tariq’s face.

“Hey, handsome!”

“How are you, beautiful? Are you at the house?”

“I’m good, and yes. I’ve been here for a few minutes. I thought you had a meeting. It looks like you’re still at the condo.”

“I’m headed there shortly. I had a visitor who held me up.”

“Oh yeah? Who?”

“Your boy.”

“If you’re talking about Maurice, he’s your boy. You’ve known him longer.”

“Nah. I’m cool on his ass. He came over to complain about how you’ve been moving.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. We exchanged a few words before I left. Even though I haven’t officially ended things, he should know me well enough to know I’m done with his ass. I haven’t so much as kissed him since I heard him fucking that other woman.”

“Good, because those lips belong to me.”

“Both sets, baby.”

“That’s what I like to hear. Anyway, he mentioned spending more time at home, so I wanted to give you a heads up.”

“Damn it! That’s the last thing I need. I can’t pack my shit with him around.”

“I already told you if you have to leave everything, I got you.”

“That would be a waste of money.”

“Nothing concerning you is a waste, baby, but I’ll see if I can find a way to keep him occupied. He’s always down for a quick trip to Vegas.”

“Tariq, that would be perfect. All I need is two days to make it look like I never lived there.”

“I’ll mention it to him and let you know. My father is on his way to assist with the furniture.”

“Really? He doesn’t have to do that. Ginae is on her way too.”

“Nah. People are crazy these days. My father is coming with his tool belt and his gun, in case there are any problems.”

“Hopefully, everything will go well, and he won’t have to shoot anyone.”

We shared a laugh before exchanging a few more words and ending the call, just as Ginae, Mr. Vince, and the delivery truck drivers pulled up. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

I stepped out of the bathroom after a nice, long shower, with a towel wrapped around my body and my head. When my eyes landed on Maurice lying across the bed with his outside clothes on, I had to refrain from groaning in disgust.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“Last time I checked, this was where I lived.”

I sensed he wanted to go back and forth, but he wouldn’t get what he wanted from me. I stood in front of my pajama drawer and removed the towel from my body. After drying off a little more, I grabbed my jar of body butter.

“I can do that for you.”

“Nah, I’m good.”

“You used to like it when I rubbed you down.”

“It’s been so long since you offered, I barely remember you doing it.”

He released a heavy sigh. “I admit I’ve been dropping the ball lately, but I’m trying to fix it.”

“Am I stopping you? I’m just living my life like I’ve been doing.”

“Can you spare a little time for me?”

“Oh, like you do for me?”

“I said I’m trying to do better.”

“Unfortunately for you, my schedule is booked for the next few weeks. I picked up some extra days, and I have plans with Ginae.”

“You made all these plans and didn’t think about checking to see if I made plans for us?”

“You can’t be serious, Maurice. I made all these plans because you rarely make plans for us. I had to beg you to go to Thomasina’s wedding with me, and I promised myself that would be the last time I asked you to do anything.”

“I don’t want to argue. We’re both home tonight. Why don’t we chill and watch a movie?”

Lord knows I wanted to tell him to go and watch a movie with the bitch he was fucking in his office, but for my plan to work, I had to agree.

Thirty minutes later, we went to the living room and sat on opposite ends of the couch.

I wrapped myself in the blanket we kept on the back of the couch while he logged into one of the streaming apps we had.

“You can’t share the blanket?”

“No. You can grab one from the closet.”

He released a frustrated breath as he stood and headed to the linen closet to get a blanket. When he returned, he scrolled through the movies, stopping on one I’d already watched with Tariq.

“This looks good.”

“Okay.”

I’d be asleep in ten minutes, so I honestly didn’t care what movie he chose.

“You want some snacks or something to drink?”

“I’m good.”

He started the movie, and it felt awkward as hell doing this with him. Early on in our relationship, we would occasionally watch a movie together. He preferred going to the theater more than watching at home, so I rarely suggested movie night with him.

Unfortunately, the following nights were more of the same if I didn’t have to work.

His newfound desire to make things right between us damn near drove me to take Tariq up on his offer to buy me all new things.

Maurice was making a conscious effort to get back on my good side, but it was far too late for all that.

I’d checked out the moment I heard him giving what was supposed to be reserved for only me to someone else.

Packing my belongings had become a huge challenge because he was home a lot more than he had been in recent months.

I’d only been able to make a few trips to my house with a few boxes and duffel bags and had to tell him I was donating some things to charity.

I expected to be much further along in my packing by now.

Tonight, I told Maurice I had to work, but Tariq and I were spending our first night in our new home. I needed a break from Maurice’s overbearing ass. Aside from getting my back blown out, I had to come up with a plan for how I’d get the rest of my things.

“Baby, it’s been a week since you fed me. I’ve been going through withdrawals. My brain won’t function until after you sit on my face and feed me my nutrients.”

“Your wish is my command.”