Page 16 of Nothing Like Your Ex

“Pretty ass.” He grinned, scrolling through her profile.

Melo wasn’t sure what he expected to find, but her page told him more about her than he’d learned in their brief backstage conversation. She had pictures of her work, including beautiful rooms she’d designed, furniture selections, mood boards, and finished spaces that looked like they belonged in a magazine. There were pictures of her dressed up, pictures with family and friends, and enough of her face for Melo to want to see it again before he closed his eyes.

He stopped on one picture in particular, studying it for a few seconds before continuing through the rest of her page. Kwinn didn’t just post pretty rooms. There was a sense of pride in what she shared, and it was obvious she loved what she did. Melo respected that. He knew what it looked like when someone built something from the ground up and took pride in putting their name on it. Highly interested, he swiped through a few more pictures before noticing she wasn’t following him.

Chuckling, Melo nodded. “That’s cool. I’ma follow you first.”

Without hesitation, he followed her, tapped the message button, and started typing. If nothing else, he was a man of action.

It was good seeing you tonight.

He stared at the message before doubling back to send another one.

You make it home?

Figuring she’d see it and respond when she woke up, he exited his messages, went to the home page, and scrolled for a bit. The people who’d come out tonight were showing him nothing but love, but that was a given. He’d been doing this long enough to know how quickly a good performance could turn into thousands of notifications, mentions, tags, and messages from people who wanted his attention.

Right now, all he wanted was Kwinn’s, and he’d gotten it quicker than he expected. A reply from her waited for him, and Melo licked his lips, eager to see what she was on.

Yes, we made it. Thanks for checking.

He grinned, peeping her polite straight forwardness. It was damn near three in the morning, so he was sure Kwinn thought he was on some bullshit hitting her up this late.

No problem. Can I call you?

He watched the screen as three dots appeared, then disappeared, before popping up again. Finally, Kwinn’s response appeared.

Right now or in general?

Melo chuckled, typing quickly.

Shit, right now and in general. Tryna hear yo’ voice and see your gorgeous face before I call it a night.

Straight up with it, Melo wasted no time letting her know what it was. His eyes were glued to the screen, and he grinned when her one-word reply came through.

Sure.

Melo wasn’t expecting her to send over her number, but part of him lowkey wanted her to. It was all good, though. Given the green light, he tapped the phone icon, then tapped video call. He listened to it ring for a few seconds, hoping she wasn’t just sitting there watching him hit her up.

On the other side of town, Kwinn was snuggled under the covers when her phone vibrated. A wave of nervousness hit her immediately. She’d given him permission to call, so she wasn’t surprised. Still, seeing his name light up her phone made something warm flutter low in her stomach, and she ignored it.

Answering the call while turning down her volume, Kwinn slipped out of bed, slipped on her house shoes, and quietly made her way into the hallway. Pushing the guest bedroom door open, she stepped inside, closed it, and flipped on the bedside lamp. Kwinn smiled nervously into the screen and realized she still had her bonnet on.

“Um, hey,” she said, removing the satin garment.

Melo grinned. “What’s up with you? Why you taking that off?”

“Because I didn’t expect you to call so quickly, especially on video. You don’t need to see me like this.”

Melo wouldn’t give a fuck how she answered his call. Real niggas didn’t care about a bonnet, a scarf, or any of that. Kwinn’s pretty face was enough for him.

“You good, my baby. Keep it on. You gotta protect that hair, right?” Melo asked, knowing what was up.

Kwinn playfully rolled her eyes, ignoring his endearment. “Mhm. I do.”

“A’ight then, you good. But what’s up? I didn’t see you at the club.”

“Yeah, I know. We weren’t really feeling it, so we came home,” Kwinn said.