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Chills ran up my spine. I smiled softly at him and said, “My house. That’s where I want to go.”

“Bet. Long as you know later tonight, I’m taking you on our first official date.”

“What was last night?” I asked as I cocked my head to the side.

“That, my love, was not a date.”

“How wasn’t it? You rented out a whole restaurant.”

“Because I was still married.”

“Gino, you’ve been divorced for five seconds. You don’t want to wait a little bit?”

He blinked at me. “No.”

I sighed. “Fine, baby, but I just want a nap for now. I’ll worry about this date later.”

I had to worry because if he called renting out an entire restaurant a non-date, then I had no idea what an actual date would look like to him.

“Your wish is my command.” Gino held his arm out for me and then glanced back at the desk. “You want to finish your food before we go?”

My stomach churned. “No, thank you.”

“You want some head before we go? I was really gonna give you some earlier, but you was actin’ all shy in front of Aniya.”

My eyes bucked. “She’s your wife, Gino.”

“Ex-wife. And you my future. Why wouldn’t I want to please my future every chance I get?”

I punched him lightly in the arm. “You’re insane. No, Gino. I’m good. I don’t need any food or head at the moment.”

He genuinely looked disappointed as he walked toward the exit and flipped off the lights to his ex-wife’s former office.

Chapter Eleven

GINO

I had laid with Yara and watched her sleep for hours. It actually bothered me to wake her up, but I had plans for us, and I didn’t want to miss them. She would have plenty of time to sleep tonight. I would make sure of that.

After I woke her with kisses all over her face, something I hadn’t had the urge to do in years, I left her home so I could get ready. I told her to dress comfortably and that I would be back soon. That was an hour ago, and I was on the way back to her now.

I swear I hadn’t smiled so much in years. The weight of Aniya’s conniving ass had been holding me down since before I even found out about her snitching. She was a nagging, cold woman. All during high school and for a few years after, she wanted kids. We talked about having kids and starting a family often, but it was like one day, she up and changed her mind. Slowly, everything about her changed, and the woman Aniya was today, I didn’t even recognize.

So, while today had been a lot, it felt like an end of an era. One I was glad to put behind me. I didn’t have space in my heart to feel bad for a person who had tried to fuck me all the way over so they could take everything I worked so hard for.

My phone rang through the speakers of the car, pulling me from my thoughts.

Turbo’s name flashed on the screen on the dashboard of my car. I jammed my finger onto the green button. “Yo.”

“Yo? Nigga, you ain’t hit me up or nothin’. You good?”

“My bad, T. That was foul of me. Shit happened so quickly, and I been wit’ my shorty basically ever since.”

“Aight, I take it everything went smooth then?”

“Better than expected.” I grinned when I thought about watching Yara get active. I had no idea my baby had it in her. Aniya had never been a fighter. She got to people with her big-ass mouth, but getting active was never in her blood. It genuinely shocked the fuck out of me when Yara’s little ass jumped on Aniya. I couldn’t even blame her, either. When Aniya threw that shit at my head, she could have killed me. Damn right I didn’t stop my future from handling my past. My baby deserved to get that up out of her system while she had the chance.

“You good?” Turbo asked. I knew my bro was worried about me, just like I knew Yara was worried about me. Everyone needed to chill. I was more than good.