Forever Us (Always and Forever 4)
“Man...” He trails off, looking to the right of him and shaking his head.
“When Shayla is no longer your best friend, when she is someone who can no longer love you, let me know how you feel then.”
I see him physically shake with even the thought of losing my sister that way. He felt it, felt the
pain in his chest. I can tell when his hand reaches up just above his heart to grab it.
“I never want to know.”
I nod, knowing I proved my point. If hell had a night out with its buddies, this would be it. Getting out tonight was in hopes of leaving Lana’s and my tumultuous relationship behind for a few hours, but instead, all it did was resurface harder than before and make me even more confused on what the fuck I need to do.
“Home, go home. You need to be with Lana and Prince. Together or not, you’re on edge. And shit, now I want to get home to Shayla,” He admits.
I don’t blame him. He’s a lucky son of a bitch to have Shay.
“Yeah.” With that, we grab a taxi and drive back to his place in silence. Once there, I get in my car and drive the two blocks home. Walking in the door, I hear perfect silence. It’s just after midnight and every light in the house is off. Setting down my keys, I remove my shoes, hearing my phone in my pocket. I remove it and see another message from Hilary is waiting.
Hilary: Where’d you go?
Me: I’m home with my woman. Not interested, Hilary. Sorry I even said anything to you at all. Don’t message me again.
I spare no feelings at all this time. Trey was right and I need to cut that shit now. My head is pounding, my back is tight, and I can’t seem to relax. I leave my phone next to my keys and make my way up the stairs to our bedroom. I peak my head in Prince’s door on the way to our bedroom and smile at his tiny little form, peaceful and carefree. My shoulders begin to relax and I finally take a deep breath.
Walking into the bedroom, I expect to see Lana asleep, but I’m surprised when she’s sitting on the couch we have in our room, in front of the fireplace. The fire is going, and she’s wrapped in my clothes and a throw blanket while she watches the fire crackle.
My presence alerts her.
“Hey.” Her soft, raspy voice clings to me.
“Hey, why you still up?” I ask, stepping farther into the room, making my way toward her.
“I wanted to make sure you got home safe, and Shayla just left.” She smiles with the last bit. As I stop abruptly, she shyly gets up, nervously tucking hair behind her ear. “You’re home sooner than I expected. Is everything okay?” she asks, standing to her full height, her body tiny as I stay still, eyeing her over.
“Yeah, it was a bust. This past week has been rough and I just wanted to come home and sleep. What did you and Shayla do tonight?” I finally break my trance and move toward the bathroom, removing my jacket and shirt as I go.
“Just talked and had some girl time.”
I peer up and watch her through the mirror. Her head is down as she picks at the white comforter of our bed.
“That’s good. How was Monkey? Did he crash early?” I bring the toothbrush to my teeth while waiting for her response.
She nods. “Yeah, he fell asleep shortly after you left. He only woke up once, to eat, just a bit ago. He latched.”
I brush my teeth fast then remove my jeans, throwing them in the hamper. “That’s good, yeah? How did it feel?”
She smiles, this one reaching her eyes. “Amazing, made me feel like a mama.”
“You are a mama, Lana. No matter what,” I reassure her as I ditch my briefs and walk in the closet to grab some sweats. Her breath hitches, and my cock twitches knowing she wants me.
“Yeah, I know.” Lana’s voice is shaky as she tries to stay collected. “Hey, Kings?”
Pulling back the comforter, I climb in. “Yeah?”
“Are we really over?”
“Lana...yeah, we are.” I don’t hesitate or lie. We have to separate any romantic feelings until she really commits to getting better. It’s as simple as that.
“What are we going to do about Prince and living together then?” She drops her chin, looking down at her knees, which she has pulled up to her chest.