Choosing Us (Pierced Hearts Duet #1)(23)

“Camila, don’t you fuckin’ try me!” Sean yelled, knowing exactly where I was taking his blood money.

“It’s time for you to go.” I opened the door and chucked the pile of cash into the hallway.

Making it rain down the stairwell.

He darted after the money. “You crazy bitch!”

“Awe … Sean,” I mocked, throwing the rest of the cash into the hallway right next to him. “But I thought I was your queen.” I flung his gym bag at his chest and he caught it midair. “Byeeeee.”

“Cam—”

I slammed the door in his face, quickly locking it behind me. Making a mental note to have the locks changed.

Again.

“This ain’t over!” he roared, banging on the door.

“It is for now!” I hollered back, slamming my fist against the hard wood.

I was playing with fire, but Sean would never physically hurt me. At least not intentionally. A girl could only take so much, and I’d reached my limit. He’d be back, though. Sean was like a pesky fly I couldn’t swat away or kill. No matter how hard I tried.

I waited by the door until I heard his footsteps descend the stairs, and his profanity become nothing but an echo. Making sure he was really gone before I went about my business. I hated that he thought he held so much power over me. I was just supposed to get on my knees and thank him for his hustling ways.

Who knows where that money came from, because I sure as shit know he didn’t legally work for it. Sean could shove his money where the sun didn’t shine. I could take care of myself.

Always had, always would.

On top of having to deal with the piece of shit that was my ex, I finished off my day at the Pierces explaining myself to Skyler. I was just dancing for the baby, making her laugh. I must have lost track of time, hence the boys walking in. She understood, saying her kids loved to dance too. Ending our conversation with pointers on how to handle Jackson.

“Be patient with him…”

“He’ll come around…”

“He’s just taking his frustrations out on you.”

I appreciated her input, but if I wanted Jackson to respect me, I had to beat him at his own game.

Plain and simple.

If he thought an insult was going to make me run for the hills, he had another thing coming. The boy was in for a rude awakening, and I had no problem being the one who delivered it.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The loud knocking from the other side of the door, tore me away from my thoughts.

Followed by Danté shouting, “Camila! Open up!”

“Sean out there with you?”

“Gurl, you know I don’t fuck wit’ Sean! Open the damn door, I got somethin’ to show you.”

I rolled my eyes, getting up to open it. Danté quickly strolled inside, turning to face me when I closed the door behind him.

“Camila, mamita, you know you’re shakin’ dat ass on YouTube?”

“What?” I scoffed, confused.

“You heard me.” He showed me the screen on his phone. “See for yourself.”

My mouth dropped open, witnessing with my own two eyes my dancing from this afternoon. Titled, “Nannies Gone Wild.”

“That little shit!” I snarled, snatching the phone out of his grasp.

For the next ten minutes, I watched in complete disbelief how much Jackson recorded. The worst part was the video already had thousands of views in the matter of a few hours.

“I’m going to strangle him! Be patient, my ass!”

Danté chuckled, “Look on the bright side, at least you look good shakin’ dat ass! You’re like a ho turned into a housewife. I mean damn, gurl, you on point with dem moves.”

“Danté…”

“I’m serious. Think ’bout all the tips you gonna get at my club now. Honey, you good for business.”

“That’s if Dr. Pierce doesn’t fire me first.”

“If you get fired, it ain’t gonna be ‘cuz of Dr. Pierce,” he mumbled under his breath. “Just sayin’.”

“Oh my God.” I hit my forehead with the palm of my hand. “Mrs. Pierce is going to be the one who fires me, isn’t she?”

“I mean … weren’t you tellin’ me last night that neither of them are around? Maybe they won’t see it. But if they do…” He shrugged. “Doctor Daddy gonna be savin’ this for his spank bank later. Best believe that, mamita.”

“Eww!”

“Camila, why you messin’ wit’ me? You know I Googled his ass. That man fine. Quit playin’ like you haven’t noticed how fine that man is.”

Of course, his nosy ass would have snooped. “Thanks for invading my privacy.”

“There’s no privacy among besties. We family, for life.”

“Shit…” I fell back onto my couch. “What do I do now?”

He fell beside me on the sofa, tugging me to his side. “First, the video is not that bad, I’m just playin’ wit’ you. But for real, just to be one hundred wit’ you, those boys are watchin’ way worse on their phones than just you dancin’ around.”

“Gross.”

“They’re boys.”