Keep You To Myself (Unorthodox Love, #1)

by BriAnn Danae

It was as if God hadn’t given him a break since he was born. Synovi was tired of taking and failing whatever test He was putting him through.

Somewhere in his wounded heart, he loved her, too, but uttering the words aloud hadn’t come easy. There’d been people in his life he thought loved him and done the exact opposite.

Emotionally scarred, thanks to his past, Synovi took an oath to never let anyone in and let him down. He could only hope this temporary situation was just that.

Her place was a home… not a homeless shelter.

Selling pussy or not, consent was still a thing.

The perks of living in transitional housing were learning to live and go with the flow.

Synovi had no idea that this night would change the trajectory of his life. Sometimes, being in the right place at the right time pays off.

I was just doing what every man should’ve done, had they been out there.”

You’d think that. Every man isn’t really a man, you know?

He and Racquel were living two separate lives; hers of privilege, and his of poverty. Synovi didn’t see why the fuck she wanted to be his friend. What was he bringing to the friendship?

He would’ve said prayers, but Synovi figured the ones he’d sent up hadn’t been heard yet, so why would this one?

Despite her having money, a family who owned one of the nicest restaurants in town, and driving a luxury car, he wondered if deep down, she was hurting from something, too. It didn’t matter how she tried to mask it with her infectious smile or bubbly personality.

his internal trauma of people doing for him out of pity always left him battling with accepting help.

He didn’t know why or how she hadn’t been cuffed yet,

If Synovi had to take a wild guess, he’d bank on her singleness being because of her smart mouth.

Synovi wasn’t the type of person who needed every single detail why something happened or why someone didn’t fuck with him. Once you showed him your true colors, he painted his own picture with them.

“Nah, I’m good. I ain’t really into sharing.”

Synovi couldn’t relate. He was stingy with who he shared his dick with and where he placed it.

Putting the hard work in showed her how much staying consistent with what He had aligned for her paid off.

Torin was going to have to learn that her happiness couldn’t be based on the opinions of others because a mothafucka was always going to have something to say when they weren’t the ones making decisions.

“Fuck they mean, what if you see Jim having a bad day? I’ma leave that nigga alone and mind my business,”

Synovi considered himself a loner, and he was okay with that. It’d been that way since he was a kid. Making friends and having to leave them behind because of his home situation taught him how to not get attached, and he hoped Racquel did the same.

“True, but I know my worth, too,”

Settling is never the route to take, but settling for the moment in order to get to what you actually want… there’s nothing wrong with that.

She knew what the other side of hard work, prayer, faith, and discipline looked like.

“It’s okay to have at least one person in your corner that you can trust, Synovi. Don’t be that way.”

Cooking was done with love, and Torin had lots of it to give.

“Boy, don’t say my name like that. I almost forgot I promised to keep things professional between us.”

“Promises can be broken.”

He’s giving big dick energy, I know that,

“Not how you’re assuming they are. Imagine getting used to something, and then one day, it’s no longer there. No warning, no explanation. Just gone, not giving a fuck how you feel.”

“I wouldn’t like that at all,” Torin said softly, relating way too much with his words.

“No one would. That’s why when people have good things, the...

“People hold on to the good things they know they can keep… not...

The profoundness of her statement made Synovi’s chest tighten. It’d taken him until this moment to grasp the concept of letting things go that weren’t meant for him. Not just things but...

If she’d let him, Synovi was going to leave his mark on every inch of her frame.

Synovi stroked her so properly, Torin wanted to fight. She wanted to line every bitch who’d ever received him up and slap them hoes blind.

“This where you need to stay.”

Only now, the person experiencing it with him made it much more enjoyable.

“That’s good. We don’t like emotionally unavailable men.

To have to choose between staying where it felt good for now or leaving to be where it would remain good had Synovi conflicted.

“No, Synovi. Sometimes, God places the right people in your life at a time you need them the most.”

When you finally get something of value worth keeping, obtaining it is no longer the hard part—keeping it is.

“I don’t know who any of those other folks are, but it’s clear they weren’t meant to be anywhere near you. They added no value to the man you are and don’t deserve to live inside your head and play a role in the man you’re becoming. Fuck ’em.”

“Absolutely. Any and everything you need is already yours. It’s going to make its way to you and stick. Trust me on that,” Torin stated with finality.

That he, too, needed to feel her. To feel something other than unloved.

One where he hoped ended for the better this time around because he was tired of starting over in life.

Not all women wanted to be married, and not all wanted to have children.

Save all that good heart for someone deserving.

There was never a time she wasn’t thinking of ways to be a better version of herself and wanted the same for those around her.