32. A lot of Men.

TONY

"Oh, sorry," Lara said to me when I asked why she had come to open the door late. "My cousin was here, so we were in the kitchen, planning to make a meal when you called that you were in front of the house." She turned to the so-called cousin. "Sam, this is my baby, Tony." She turned to me too, "meet my cousin, Sam."

I looked at her cousin, Sam for a couple of seconds, and something about him was just off for me. I knew I had seen that face somewhere, but I didn't remember where exactly. My mind told me it was at the club, but I didn't want to believe that. This is because Lara had once told me that none of her cousins was in the country with her, and they were all abroad. So, unless this cousin of hers had returned earlier and she had forgotten to tell me, I didn't want to believe he is her cousin.

I placed forward my hands and we both shook hands with each other. We stared at each other for a few seconds, and believe me when I say he looked inconvenient and uncomfortable. Maybe I was overthinking it, but it seemed like something else was going on in his mind. He turned to Lara and glared at her, while she just rolled her eyes at him.

"Nice to meet you," we both said to each other at the same time. Then, we released each other's hands.

"I'll be taking my leave," Sam said and turned to the door.

Was he going because I came?

"Oh, no, wait." I started, trying to convince him not to leave because I was here. "You can stay, there's nothing—" I was saying when Lara interrupted him.

"He was about to leave." Lara deadpanned.

"Yeah, I was," Sam said and smiled at me. No one needed to tell me that the smile on his face was forced and fake, but I didn't say a word about that.

"Alright then. We'll see each other again next time, man." I said to him.

"Sure." He simply replied. Then, he looked at Lara one more time before opening the door and he walked out, slamming it shut behind him.

"Dummy," Lara said as soon as he walked out.

"Why did you call him that?" I asked as I walked further into her sitting room and sat on one of the sofas.

"Didn't you see the way he slammed the door?" She scoffed as she replied. "Anyway, that aside. I thought you said you couldn't make it?"

"Yeah, I did. I was busy, but for you to have called me and the way you sounded, you seemed like you needed to be with me immediately. So, I left work and stopped by a supermarket to get you those flowers." I said and pointed in the direction of the bouquets I had given her earlier.

"Oh, babe. You're so romantic," she said and walked up to me, sitting on my lap. Then she pulled me closer and kissed me on the forehead.

I drew her closer to me immediately and crashed my lips on hers. But she broke the kiss almost four seconds later. But that was not the only thing. Lara always tasted like raspberries. Ever since we had been together and have been making out, that has been the only thing I've tasted whenever we kissed. But today, I tasted something else. I couldn't tell what it was, but it was different from what I used to taste.

Maybe I was imagining things again, I thought.

"What?" I asked her with raised eyebrows, unsure of why she had done that.

"I'm really tired. Not just now. Let's do that later. We could see a movie together now or something. But let's not do that now." She said and kissed me on the forehead again before hugging me, placing her head on my chest.

I was surprised at this act, but I didn't say anything about it. I placed my arm around her waist and dragged her closer to me as she snuggled up to me. We remained in that position, but a lot of things were going through my head.

I knew how beautiful Lara is, and how a lot of men would want to chase after her. But one thing I'd never allow is some man taking her from me. I love Lara a lot and it was because of her that I stopped going to the club constantly. Before I used to go there, find a good stripper and we'd fuck. One of those times was when I had met Beth at the club back then. But when I met Lara, I changed for her. I wanted to believe it was the same for her too because if I found out anything bad, I don't think I'll be able to take it in.

So, I let my insecurities take the best of me. I asked her to confirm my thoughts. At least, they say communication is key in a relationship and a relationship without communication would crash. Here I was, doing what I needed to do.

I cleared my throat before speaking. "Lara," I called her name softly while she was still snuggled up to me.

"Yes, babe?" She asked, her head still on my chest.

"Before we got together, you had a lot of men, yeah?" I asked. That was a start.

"Uh," she raised her head to look at me. A look of confusion appeared on her face. "Where's this coming from?"

"Just answer me, babe. That's why we're in a relationship. I want us to talk more." I replied, touching her hair gently and playing with it. It was as soft as silk, and one of the many things that made her beautiful.

"Okay." She replied and paused a bit. Then, she rested her head on my chest again. "Yeah, I did. I mean, you know how beautiful I am, of course. Someone like me wouldn't just have a man. I had a lot of admirers, so it was just that way."

"Fucked any of them?"

She scoffed and was about to raise her head to look at me again, but I placed her head back on my chest. "What's that? Why are you asking?"

"Just answer me, babe. You know so much about my past life before you. I don't know much about yours."

"And does it matter?" She asked.

"Nope. I just want to know. Don't get triggered, okay? Nothing is ever coming in between us. The past in the past." I said to her calmly.

"Fine. Yeah, I did. I mean who wouldn't want to fuck this banging body of mine?" Then, she paused. "But trust me, none of them are as good as you." I burst into laughter as she said that and she also did. "What? I'm serious! You're just so mad in bed. I picked the best man." She added.

"That's an honour." I smiled. That alone reassured me that I was just overthinking things. "Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I love you a lot. And I wouldn't want anyone to come in between us. I want you to know that no matter what, I ain't gonna cheat on you, and I believe you won't either?"

Lara swallowed and her body moved a little. "Yeah. Yeah, that. I won't." She simply said. Something about her reply was odd, but I let it be, as we remained in the position we were.