Page 114 of The Need to Know

If she was trying to warn me or scare me away, it wasn’t working. I didn’t need over-the-top and high maintenance.

I went and stood in front of her, lifting her chin with my finger so that we could see eye to eye. “Well, I wanna be boring with you.”

She searched my eyes for meaning and I didn’t have the ego to put up a front. “After all this time, you’re really ready for a committed relationship?”

“Yes. I like you more than I planned, and I don’t want to stop,” I said. “This can go up or down, but I’m willing to try.”

“I’m nervous.”

“Same.”

“You’re nervous?”

“Hell yeah.”

Nastasia smiled and reached out and held my face in her hands. “What, are you afraid of little ol’ me?”

“Truth? I’m scared. Any game or any hustle, I win. But love? That’s the biggest gamble of all. My parents been down for thirty, and I guess I’m just scared I won’t get that. That mine won’t last. I always win, but what if I lose my heart?”

“That’s the problem. Love isn’t a game, and you shouldn’t treat it as such.” Nastasia stood back and extended her hand. “You treat me good and I’ll treat you good. Okay? It can be that simple.”

In a corny move, we did our little handshake we’d constructed, putting a smile on both our faces.

“So, how much do I owe you?” I prompted as I hung back.

Nastasia was confused. “For…?”

I grinned. “Those panties.”

She made a face. “I’ll send you a bill.” She moved around me and headed for the door. “For now, I’m going to go home and take a shower.”

“Can I come by when I’m done?” Honestly, I didn’t need to sleep with her again. I just liked the idea of waking up next to her. I didn’t work in the morning, and neither did she.

Nastasia tossed me a curt look over her shoulder. “You better.”

And just like that, we were solid.

It really could be so simple.

I loved Sundays. They were perfect for laying around, snuggling, and just existing. I didn’t work Sundays, and on Saturday evenings Ezekiel would come over after work and spend the night. We’d spend Sunday in bed or on the couch, just us—or sometimes with Scorsese, until it was time for him to go home to get ready for work.

In the couple weeks since making it official, this had become our routine. The Love Below was playing in the background on my speakers, and we were tangled up in each other in my bed.

I wasn’t sure what time it was, but I hoped it wasn’t too late. I was never ready to see him go.

“Ugh.” I groaned, realizing the inevitable.

“What?” Ezekiel was on his side, watching me flip over onto my back.

“I gotta get up and get dressed. I need to go to the store.”

He smoothed out my hair, concentrating on the task. “For what?”

“I saw a recipe in a catalogue for clams and linguine I wanna try.”

“Oh, so you do cook. About time.”

I narrowed my eyes as I faced him. “Excuse me?”