Turning her head, she kissed his chest and then closed her eyes. He’d asked her to trust him, told her he’d take care of her. Except, he’d given no declaration of love or assertion they’d always be together. Shyla wanted him to love her. But there were no guarantees, no promises on his lips. Trust was the only way forward. They’d have to let their relationship play out. No matter what, Shyla was ready to fight for what she wanted. She’d fight for Score and hope he’d do the same for her.
Something woke Shyla up. She didn’t know what and didn’t really care. The breeze from the open terrace doorway refreshed her contentment. With a smile on her face, she opened her still heavy eyes. The first thing she spotted was the cause of her happiness.
Standing on the terrace wearing only a pair of jeans, Score was on the phone. With one hand on the aluminum rail that topped the glass terrace barrier, he seemed tense. Shyla liked to think maybe the call was an inconvenience because he was eager to get back to their bed. Their bed.
Rolling onto her back, she pushed her arms out wide and arched to stretch her back. Her whole body ached in the most wonderful way. Score had been right when he’d said she would be sore. All morning tender twinges reminded her of what they’d done the previous night.
Given their afternoon session, she guessed those twinges wouldn’t be going anywhere. That wouldn’t stop her from trying to tempt him into something that night. Providing he stayed home with her. It was possible he’d go to the club.
Twisting in their sheets, she examined the tattoo on his back. One of the first intimacies she’d known about the man after walking in on him on her first day. Seemed like so long ago. The longer they were together, the more she could only remember him. Her future. Her certainty.
Though Shyla was tempted to call out to him, she kept her mouth shut. Score’s phone calls weren’t usually frivolous; he wasn’t the type of guy to just shoot the shit with anyone.
What she should’ve done was get up and out of his bed the minute she opened her eyes. Unfortunately, that didn’t even occur to her until movement drew her eye away from Score’s incredible physique.
Someone was on the terrace, coming around the corner from the living room side. Not one someone, two someones: Beeks and Fish. Damnit. Shyla noticed them just a fraction of a second before Score did.
She froze. If she sat up or tried to slip out of bed, they’d be more likely to notice her. As it was, they were focused on Score who’d turned their way and held up a hand in acknowledgement, asking for a second. Shyla couldn’t think. She didn’t know what to do. Score might think she was still asleep, or he’d assumed she’d been on the ball enough to hear the men come out of the elevator. They’d only search the terrace if they were looking for someone. For Score. For her. More likely the former.
The duo wouldn’t have been certain she and Score were back from the wake. They could’ve called Score to check. If they had, and he’d known they were coming over, he should’ve warned her. That way Shyla would’ve been up and respectable before they were…
Fish noticed her as he and Beeks stopped in front of Score who’d just ended the call. Her friend’s mouth opened, only a tiny bit, but enough to show his shock. Beeks was talking to Score who kept his phone in his fist and folded his arms.
It wouldn’t be fair to ask Fish to lie for them, but she couldn’t understand why Score wasn’t herding them back the way they’d come. He could get Beeks out of there before he noticed that she was—
Beeks head moved a fraction so he noticed Fish was fixated on something. Following the younger man’s focus led him to… The moment his eyes landed on her, his lips stopped moving. Laying a hand on her chest to hold the sheet in place, Shyla lifted the other in a static wave.
Score didn’t even turn around. But, she guessed, he didn’t really need to; he knew who he’d left in his bed. He hadn’t wanted Beeks and Fish to know until they’d had sex. They had been intimate, but their relationship was hardly assured. If anything, Score’s comments in the back of the limo suggested he was having second thoughts about their future.
Her lover nodded, and said something, but Shyla couldn’t make out more than a deep mumble. None of the words had been decipherable yet. Score began to walk forward, which forced Beeks to turn. Fish was still in stunned mode, so Beeks put a hand on his shoulder to turn him around. The three men walked around the corner, past the window that she’d first seen them in.
The moment they were out of sight, Shyla threw back the sheet and leaped out of bed. Putting on her own clothes would take too long, instead she snagged Score’s shirt and tugged it on while heading out of the room.
She slowed to do up the buttons on her walk up the hall. The closer she got, the clearer the men’s conversation became.
“…buried a man she loved today,” Beeks said just before she appeared at the end of the hallway.
If she’d been thinking straight, Shyla might have noted the irony of her position. She stood in the same place Score had when she first saw him. Things had come quite a way since then. The three men stood near the chessboard, where she’d been sitting in that same moment.
“No one took advantage of me,” she said, attracting the attention of the others. “I’m sorry you found out this way.”
