Somebody to Love

  Somebody to Love

  College Daze: Book 2

  Danielle Burton

  COPYRIGHT

  Somebody to Love

  Copyright © 2018 Kirby Danielle Burt

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used, reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the author, accepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  Cover Design: Danielle Burton

  For Izzy

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  More by Danielle Burton

  College Daze

  Excuse Me, First Love

  Teach Me

  Games Lovers Play

  Playing for Her Heart

  The HoneyWell Chronicles

  He said, She Said

  Seven Realms Legends

  Savior

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty - One

  Chapter Twenty - Two

  Chapter Twenty - Three

  Chapter Twenty - Four

  Chapter Twenty - Five

  Chapter Twenty - Six

  Chapter Twenty - Seven

  Chapter Twenty - Eight

  Chapter Twenty - Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty - One

  Chapter Thirty - Two

  Chapter Thirty - Three

  Chapter Thirty - Four

  Chapter Thirty - Five

  More by Danielle Burton

  Chapter One

  ~ Haikeem ~

  My gaze slid down the nude body beside me. Even in the dark her curves were easy to trace. My loins stirred with memories of what those curves were capable of. Sighing, I turned my attention to the ceiling and ignored the gnawing in the pit of my gut like I always did.

  I glanced at the clock on my nightstand and cursed. Sitting up, I tossed the sheets away then clicked on the lamp. “Hey, get up.” I shook Janay until she stirred.

  “Why?” she asked groggily before closing her eyes again.

  “You gotta go.”

  She opened her eyes again and frowned. “What?”

  “Time to go.”

  She leaned past me to look at the clock then kissed her teeth. “Haikeem, it’s not even four in the damn morning.” She flopped down again then turned away from me.

  I stood, ripping the sheets from her body in the process. “I realize that, which is why you gotta go.”

  This time she glared at me as she pulled herself into a sitting position. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”

  I grabbed her things from the floor and handed them to her. “I kid you not. I’m sorry but–”

  “Damn right you are,” she said, snatching her clothes.

  I sighed, too concerned by the ticking clock to be bothered by her attitude. She needed to be out in the next fifteen minutes or my ass was grass. I paced the room while she shimmied into the stitch of fabric she called a dress.

  “Are you at least gonna drive me home?”

  I looked at the clock again, already regretting my next words. “You have Uber, right?”

  She sent me a lethal glare then snatched up her purse.

  “I’m sorry. I’ll call you.”

  “What for? You got what you wanted, right?” She scoffed and shook her head. “Can’t even be mad at anyone but myself. I knew your reputation going in.”

  “My reputation?

  Instead of responding, she shook her head again then marched out of the room with her heels in her hand.

  I flopped back on the bed with my arm covering my eyes. My reputation?

  A couple minutes later the pressure in my bladder forced me up.

  As I stepped in the hall, I froze, and that same bladder almost emptied itself. “H-hey, Ma.”

  Her hard gaze scrutinized me for a long time, but she said nothing. My mom had this way of looking at you sometimes that pretty much made you want to sink into the floor.

  “You just get here?”

  “Got off an hour early. Just watched your little friend do the walk of shame out of my front door.” She brushed her long auburn locs over her shoulder, shifting her weight to the left.

  “Shit,” I mumbled under my breath.

  “Watch your mouth.” She stepped closer, arms folded over her chest. “What’s this, the third one this month?”

  My gaze shifted away from hers and bored into the carpet.

  “Hung out with Sebastian last night?”

  I nodded without looking up.

  She scoffed. “You need to stay from around him. He’s a bad influence.”

  Leaning against the wall, I ran my palm down my face. “No one’s influencing me, Ma. I make my own decisions.”

  “That’s even worse.” She cupped my cheek in her hand and looked me in the eye. Hers looked tired. I couldn’t tell if it was from working a long ten-hour shift, or weariness over a scenario that had played on a loop all summer. “What happened to you? I don’t even recognize you anymore.”

  I stepped out of her touch. “Nothing happened to me.”

  Moisture filled her eyes and behind it was the same look of disappointment she’d been giving me for months. “You think I don’t know my first born? This isn’t you. This isn’t how I raised you.”

  “Maybe I’m just growing up. I can’t stay your baby forever.” I walked away from her and ducked into the bathroom.

  “Not in my house again, Keem.”

  Those were the last words from her as I closed the door behind me. After handling my business, I stepped to the sink and splashed cold water on my face. I stared at my reflection a long time, trying to find some difference.

  Besides the fro I’d been growing over the summer, I was still the exact same man.

  Only I wasn’t.

  My mother was right not to recognize me, because I didn’t either.

  Maybe…

  I closed my eyes and swallowed down my truth. A truth that was bound to me for life…’til death do us part.

  ~ ♥ ~

  The following weekend with my boys by my side, I strolled into Werk, a reggae club we frequented. The spot had been chosen by Baz many months ago to begin my lessons in “pussyology” as he put it.

  It was in this club where the change occurred. Where I left behind the nice guy persona. Traded it in for something that was respected. No more jokes that I was the butt of. No more petty nicknames. When I told of my conquests, not only was I part of the crew now, I was The Man.

  I paused a moment to take in the half naked, gyrating bodies. Oh yeah, it was gonna be a good night. We moved deeper inside and found an empty table. It was a surprise that we did as crowded as the place was.

  Conkarah blasted through the speakers as I settled into a chair and flagged down the passing waitress. Ten minutes later the drinks were flowing freely.

  Nico frowned at my glass and shook his head. “When you gon’ chill with them fruity ass drinks?”

  I sipped my Strawberry Daiquiri. “As soon as your dumb ass graduates.”

  Tobias howled with laughter. “Nigga been a freshman for ten years and shit.”

  Nico was the oldest of our crew at twenty-eight and switched majors
more than the average man changed his drawers. He shot us both a glare and threw back his shot. “Fuck ya’ll.”

  Baz chuckled, throwing an arm over my shoulder. “Much pussy as my lil’ brother gets, he can drink whatever the hell he wants.”

  I flashed a smile then swallowed down half my drink to drown the gnawing in my gut trying to make its way to the surface.

  Sebastian, a product of my father’s previous marriage, was three years my senior. He’d graduated with a Bachelor’s in Computer Science but still hung around campus for some reason. To say he wasn’t my mother’s favorite person would be putting it lightly. Baz didn’t always make the best choices, in fact he rarely did. He was my big brother though, one I’d spent a lot of years trying to gain acceptance from. I wouldn’t lie and say I wasn’t happy to finally have it.

  Tobias was my younger brother, born of both our parents. His nineteenth birthday had just passed and if my mother was here to witness the drink in his hand, she’d kill us both, me twice.

  Technically I wasn’t supposed to be drinking either. My twenty-first birthday was still a few weeks away. We had Baz to thank for the fake ID’s lining our pockets. I chuckled to myself. Maybe he was a bad influence, just a little bit. But he didn’t control my actions.

  My thoughts were interrupted by a figure standing beside me. I raked my gaze up a pair of long legs, micro mini skirt, bare stomach, and a set of breasts that were barely contained, until I reached the face of a gorgeous stranger. I sat my drink down, leaned back against my seat, and smiled up at her. “What can I do for you, sweetheart?”

  She looked me over with a sexy little smirk. “My friend and I were wondering if we could sit with you.”

  I glanced over at her friend who was only slightly less sexy than Miss Cleavage. “I wouldn’t mind, but all the seats are taken.” I gestured to the guys who were looking on with interest. T was just about drooling over sexy girl number two.

  “That’s okay,” she said, moving closer. “I’m sure we could squeeze in.” She eased down onto my lap, biting her lower lip. “You don’t mind, do you?”

  My gaze dropped down to the twins who were fighting desperately to escape. So much so that a hint of areola peeked out. “Not at all.”

  I looked across the table where my lap buddy’s friend had planted herself on top of Tobias. His eyes were lit up like a kid in a candy store.

  My attention returned to my new friend where she’d taken it upon herself to finish off my drink. With the way she was wiggling in my lap to the song playing, I wasn’t mad at all.

  Three drinks later her back was to me as she used my crotch as her personal dance floor, wining, popping, and twerking. A few times I had to ponder if this was real life. Just a couple years ago, and especially in high school, I couldn’t have imagined myself in this position. Since before I hit puberty I’d never been anything to girls but a buddy, and not the one that got the booty. There was that…almost situation sophomore year, but I tried not to think about that too often. Didn’t matter anyway, in the end I still wound up getting the “You’re such a nice guy speech”.

  Those days were gone though. New year. New me.

  Bianca, as I discovered her name was, spun in my lap, as if things weren’t hard enough. Her lower half remained sideways but she faced me, breasts pressed against me, and whispered in my ear the words I knew were coming. “Wanna get out of here?”

  A smile spread over my face and I gave a nod. “Lead the way.”

  As I stood, Baz shook his head slowly, a smile wide on his face. “Never have I been prouder. You’ve officially earned your wings, my brotha.” He held out his fist and I bumped it.

  “Night fellas. Don’t wait up.”

  ~ ♥ ~

  Bianca stood before me, curves galore on her naked body. She gave me a gentle shove onto her bed then sank to the floor. As she undid my belt, that gnawing feeling crept back in. It didn’t last long though, faded into nothingness when she swallowed me whole.

  ~ ♥ ~

  Late into the night, my old friend returned. The same emptiness that filled me after each of the conquests I was so eager to boast about to the crew.

  I sat up with my head bowed, staring at the dark floor.

  With a deep breath, I stood and got back into my clothes. Without a word of good-bye to the girl who’d likely hate me in the morning, I crept out of her apartment.

  The gnawing feeling was back with a vengeance, eating away at my gut…or perhaps my soul. Thing was, most times I didn’t care if it consumed me.

  Chapter Two

  ~ Kirby ~

  “Raina, you promised.” Hot tears spilled down my cheeks despite me urging them not to.

  Raina looked up from the salad she was mixing and scoffed. “See this thing you’re doing right now?” She lifted the spoon from the bowl, causing spinach to go flying as she pointed at me with it. “This is why the answer is no. How do you expect to survive four years of University when you can’t even handle a simple conversation?”

  “But—”

  “No, Kirby. Now finish chopping those carrots so I can get dinner started.” She grabbed her own knife and began slicing a cucumber.

  I scrubbed at the blasted tears with my shirt sleeve then looked over at Saige who was preparing the tofu for our dinner. My eyes pleaded with her to help me. If anyone could get through to Raina, it was her.

  Saige turned the stove down then moved over to the counter beside me. “Raina, you did sort of promise her. She’s been looking forward to it all summer. Why would you let her enroll just to change your mind at the last minute? That’s kinda cruel, don’tcha think?”

  Raina lifted her head just long enough to glare at the both of us. Her dark brown eyes were almost scary. “I don’t need this from you too, Saige.”

  “College isn’t high school, Rai.”

  She slammed her knife onto the cutting board. “No, it isn’t. It’s a whole other thing. A thing that she can’t handle. What happens when she has to talk to one of her professors? If she gets an F on an assignment? Or God forbid one of the students says something about her. What then, Saige? Are you going to be there to console her?”

  “As a matter of fact, I am.”

  Raina’s mouth flopped open before snapping shut. “What are you talking about?”

  Saige folded her arms, a smirk crossing her chestnut colored face. “I knew you’d never keep your word, so I enrolled at RCU, all the same classes as Kirby. So, yes, I will be there, if she needs me.”

  I turned to Saige, flabbergasted by her confession. “Y-you enrolled?”

  She smiled over at me, her short twists bouncing as she nodded.

  Raina’s slightly gravelly voice drew our attention back to her. A smile was drawn on her face, which was the same shade as Saige’s. People often mistook them for twins. Raina always smiled when she was pissed off. But I was the one with the issues? “You know what? Fine. Go ahead, Kirby. But you Saige…” she wiped her hands on her apron while backing away from the counter. “You’re responsible when she falls apart.” She spun on her heels and stormed out of the kitchen.

  “She’ll be fine Raina!” Saige called after her.

  I pulled Saige into a hug, rocking her side to side. “Thank you so much.”

  She giggled and smoothed my hair down. “You know I got your back, baby girl.”

  That she did. As mean as Raina could be, Saige balanced her out somehow. Without her I wasn’t sure where I’d be. Especially if I had to deal with Raina all on my own.

  Rai wasn’t all bad, just stressed. Dealing with my many issues for a decade I couldn’t really blame her. But still I wished things could go back to the way they were before we left Barbados. Even with our huge age gap she and I had once been the closest. I missed my sister.

  I attempted and failed to force down an onset of tears then turned back to the counter to hurry and finish my task. At least I still had Saige, and Noelle…whenever she decided to make an appearance. Being the youngest of fou
r was hard sometimes. They treated me more like a kid than anything. But if I had my way that wouldn’t be for long. Attending University would prove to them, Raina especially, that I was capable of much more than they gave me credit for.

  Once I finished dicing the carrots and a few stalks of celery, I bounced my way to my room, still on a high from being one step closer to the freedom I so desperately craved. After shutting the door and pulling my hair into a pony tail, I cranked up my stereo and blasted my favorite song, ‘Wild Things’ by Aleesia Cara. It’d become sort of my anthem in high school. My hope was that if I listened to it enough I’d start to believe it. The jury was still out on that one. There were times when I didn’t so much mind being a social outcast, but for the most part it was just lonely.

  My phone lit up on my dresser and I danced my way over to it. Esme’s name flashed across the screen, my best and only friend. New York born, after being adopted at age four, her journey had led her to River Crest and to me. I swiped to answer while trudging over to my stereo.

  “You are going to burst your ear drums one of these days,” she yelled into the speaker. “Will you turn that off?”

  “Hold your horses.” I reduced the volume, but kept it playing. “Guess what?”

  She sucked her teeth. “I’m doing great, Kirby. How about you?”

  Giggling, I flopped onto my canopy bed. “Hi Esme…”

  “Hey, rude girl.”

  “I wasn’t trying to be rude. I’m just excited. I have good news.”

  “What’s up?”

  “Guess.”

  She shuffled on her end before responding. “Well, it can only be one of two things. Either Hot Instagram Guy followed you, or Queen Raina finally released you from your tower.”

  I rolled my eyes as she laughed at her own joke. “One, his name is Sexy Instagram Guy. Two, he can’t follow a person he doesn’t know exists.”

  “And who’s fault is that? I told you to—”

  “And I said no. What kind of girl would I look like sliding into his DMs?”