Make You Mine by Niobia Bryant Read Free Book Online Page B

to her flat belly and back up to her face.
    Caress bit back a smile. Poor baby , she thought as he turned and walked away. He was cute, too .
    She slid her hands deep into the pockets of her jacket as she made her way out of the movie theater again and into the cold winter air. As she made her way to her car, she thought about just what her situation meant in terms of dating. She snorted as she pulled her keys out of her purse.
    â€œLet’s see…” she said aloud to herself as she unlocked the driver’s side door.
    â€œI’m unemployed. Homeless. Pregnant.” Caress slid inside her car and laughed, just a touch bitterly, as she said a quick prayer she’d have a drama-free start of the engine. “Yes, men of the world, bring…it…on.”
    The car started without major fuss and Caress was more than glad to drive her little Jetta out of the busy parking lot and onto Springfield Avenue headed toward…
    Toward where? Home? Well, it wasn’t her home and she was very aware of that fact. Just as aware as she was that Julius was not her man.
    Was Karina gone? Was she spending the night?
    Caress felt her cheeks warm noticeably as she pulled to a stop at a red light. She thought about heading to Tamara and Kendrick’s when she left Julius to his date, but her embarrassment pushed her to come up with something else. Who in her right mind would want to admit the truth about why she had to leave the house?
    As she accelerated her little car forward, Caress thought of the other woman. Humph. So that was his type? Tall, thin, flashy…pretty as a model.
    Caress couldn’t deny the woman’s beauty no matter how much she wanted to. Of course, Julius wanted her…had her…was having her right now.
    â€œOh shit,” she muttered, tapping her hand against the steering wheel.
    The radio had long ago stopped working, and needing a distraction, she pushed play on the CD player. Soon the sounds of Lauryn Hill’s voice filled the interior.
    Living with Julius was just not going to work. In fact, the whole idea of it was almost as stupid as them having unprotected sex and making this baby that neither was ready for. And now? Now they were in one hell of a fix.
    She had to get another job and find her own place. No doubt about it.
    Caress was relieved to see Karina’s flashy silver Benz gone from the spot where it was parked in front of Julius’s house. Perhaps the tryst was over.
    Or maybe it was more than a tryst?
    She paused as she sat in the driveway and looked up at the house through the windshield. She did know from Tamara that Julius didn’t have a steady girlfriend, and during her brief time at the house she didn’t answer his phone, but she’d overheard plenty of sultry-voiced women leaving messages before she finally turned the volume down on the machine.
    It was hard to swallow being one of many.
    Shaking her head at the shame of it all, Caress left her car and made her way into the house through the side entrance leading directly into the kitchen. Her steps faltered at the sight of Julius standing at the kitchen sink.
    He looked up and their eyes locked.
    She immediately noticed that he looked annoyed.
    â€œWelcome back,” he said, his tone short.
    She stiffened. Her eyes shifted quickly about the room. She was looking to see if he was alone.
    â€œShe’s gone,” he said with finality.
    Caress’s lips formed an O and she looked apologetic as she stepped in and softly closed the kitchen door. “Listen, Julius, I’m sorry about all of this. Please don’t think I’m out to trap you or screw up your life—”
    â€œCaress.”
    She shifted her eyes up to his and then shifted them away just as quickly. “This shit is…all of it is…is…embarrassing, frightening, foolishness…”
    Julius nodded as he turned sideways and leaned his hip against the sink to cross his strong arms over his