Unconditionally Single by Mary B. Morrison

a place to stay.”
    There was no reason Benito should be broke. He had multiple football championship rings he could pawn. His last name should’ve been Simpson for more reasons than their being brute but not so bright star athletes. Benito blew his money trying to impress everybody except his son and his son’s mother. Our parents kept his ass out of jail by paying his child support and he still had his empty hand out.
    “Look, where are you?” I asked him, resenting bailing him out again.
    “At this fleabag motel, bro, gettin’ bit by bedbugs and stuff.”
    Grinding my teeth, I nearly fell off the bench. Sitting back, I asked, “Where is the motel?”
    “Oh, I’m at…on Piedmont Ave. Not far from the botanical place.”
    “Stay there. I’ll meet you. I’m going to set you up in one of my one-bedroom furnished condos for three months at Buckhead Premier Palace. I suggest you get your act together by then or you’ll be back at that fleabag motel.”
    “Thanks, bro, but can I get a two-bedroom? I’m with a male friend. We can’t share one bed.”
    What the hell? I was so damn mad I stood up. “What the fuck you need two bedrooms for? Let him get his own place. Your trifling ass is never satisfied.”
    “My boy Valentino needs his own space. Seriously,” he said. “But one is cool if that’s all you got. We can share. He can sleep on my couch.”
    His couch? “Sure, no problem. I’ll see you around seven.”
    I hadn’t figured finding Valentino would be that easy. I’d postponed asking any questions about Honey until I was face to face with Benito and Valentino. I prayed I’d find Honey at the motel with them, rescue her, and take her home.
    “Nah, man. We got to meet Sapphire and Red Velvet at Stilettos at eight. Can you come sooner? Oh, and I need to use one of your cars too. My prepaid phone is about to die. Can you get me a cell phone too, bro?”
    I wanted to throw my cell phone into the store, knock the books down like dominos. I looked up and saw Jada smiling at me. Instantly I became calm. “I’ll be there at six,” I said, then ended the call before he asked for something else.
    I realized I still had Jada’s suitcase. Rolling her bag into the bookstore, I stood behind her at the counter.
    “That’ll be six dollars,” the cashier said.
    I placed my hand on top of Jada’s. “I got it,” I said, handing the cashier a ten-dollar bill.
    “For you.” Jada handed me a cold bottle of water. “It’s hot outside.”
    “Thanks. Look I have a lot on my mind—”
    She interrupted. “But I’m not ready to leave you. Would you mind joining me for a quick bite? I can send a few text messages to my people. See if we can locate Honey.”
    There was that beautiful inside-out smile again, warming my heart. Jada’s lips parted. I held my breath, hesitated then said, “Sure.” I didn’t want to rush to meet Benito. Plus I had to send a few e-mails to make arrangements for the two-bedroom condo, a car, and cell phone for him.
    “We have to take a taxi, if that’s all right with you,” I said.
    “My driver is outside. He can take us, if you don’t mind,” she said.
    Damn, what else should I have expected from such a classy woman? I steadied her laptop atop her luggage, then followed her to the limo. The driver held open the door. I put my hand on Jada’s waist, waited until she was inside, then I walked around to the opposite side.
    When the driver closed my door, Jada moved closer to me. She placed her head on my shoulder and once more, I left it there. Tapping the e-mail icon on my iPhone, I e-mailed my management company and my personal assistant to meet me at the motel with keys to the condo, my Benz, and a new iPhone.
    Continuing to respond to other e-mails, I recalled how Honey felt about emotional infidelity. I ignored Jada’s head on my shoulder.

CHAPTER 14
Sapphire
    W hy did women in love play games, pretending they were not in love?
    All men had symptoms of sexual ADHD. If