Maino snorted. “Hell yeah. She’s a real uppity type broad. She doesn’t know anyone else to do this thatshecan trust. You know the wrong nigga will put a bullet in her head and split the money two ways rather than three.”
Stroking my chin I thought about the proposition. Shit, what did I have to lose?
CHAPTER 10
BREEZY
Angling my headto the left, I narrowed my eyes and studied the face on the television screen. “You know, I’ve really had to accept the fact that I’m toxic as hell. I have never and I do mean never found Micheal B. Jordan sexy but baby, Stack can get it.”
Lauren giggled from the end of the couch that she was curled up on. We were having movie night at her house watchingSinners, taking shots, and eating snacks.
“I think that’s most women. Nothing gets the panties wet like a good, ole, rebellious, bad boy.”
Lauren was slowly getting back to herself, and I loved that for her. Her response made me simper, but the smile was quickly erased when a heaviness tugged at my heart. There was nothing cute about toxic. In fact, that toxic shit hurt. No one with any kind of common sense would have allowed themselves to fall for a man fresh out a relationship. So fresh that the first time we had sex, it was in his hotel room because he’d just left the damn girl. Lucci wasn’t a bad person. Maybe he wasn’t toxic, but the situation was toxic for sure. Not only did I feel for him, I had to go and start liking Kiandra’s ass. That was the part that was really blowing me.
As annoyed as I had been when I saw them together at Scrambled, when I saw her coming out of the bathroom with red eyes, my heart bled for her. They couldn’t have been back together because if they were, she wouldn’t have been crying. My anger towards him dissipated, but I still felt terrible. The only way out was to literally remove myself from the dynamic. When Lucci called me, I didn’t answer. When he texted me, I didn’t respond. He had only called and texted once. That was four days ago. Maybe they were back together. Maybe it shouldn’t matter. I missed him, and it was all my fault. I never should have allowed myself to get caught up in the first place.
I needed to get my mind off Lucci. “I decided to go ahead and start that Crescent Falls chapter. I’m going to drive there next week and look at venues. Dash and E are going to put an event together to announce everything. They have a few guy car clubs out there, and most of those niggas are sexy as hell.”
“Speaking of sexy. How are things with you and Lucci?” Lauren had asked more than once to be treated normally. She didn’t want me to keep her out of the loop or not talk about my life in an effort to be courteous. So, I had filled her in on everything that transpired between the two of us.
“I didn’t mention it at the brunch, but ole girl in the peach sundress that was standing back looking kind of sad, that was his ex. Or his girl. Whoever she is to him. Kiandra.”
Lauren’s eyes rounded. “Oh my God, are you serious? Why was she there?”
I recanted the details of how I saw Kiandra, and she told me she wanted to possibly join the car club. I also told her how I saw Kiandra in the parking lot with Lucci. By the time I was finished, Lauren was sitting there with a slack jaw.
“This is some freaky shit,” she said. I had to giggle at how perplexed she looked. At least I knew I hadn’t been tripping.
“Girl, yes. Now, I feel bad as hell, and I’ve been ignoring him. He told me from day one that he didn’t want to hurt her. It’s a complicated situation that’s still fresh, so no matter how much I like him, I have to let them sort their stuff out.”
“I really commend you friend because most women wouldn’t care how she felt. They’d be doing everything in their power to get him to leave her alone. You’re a real one. That’s why I love you.”
With a groan, I leaned forward and picked up my glass. “Being a real one is supposed to make me feel good. Instead, I feel conflicted and stupid.”
“You’re not stupid. I can’t even say another woman would be wrong not to care about Kiandra’s feelings but at the same time, what goes around comes around. You want to be careful how you get Lucci because sometimes, how you get them is how you lose them. Let him really be done with her then come to you if that’s what he wants.”
“For sure.” I gave a curt nod before sipping my drink.
Lauren and I watched the rest of the movie in silence and when it was over, I helped her clean up then I left. For about two full minutes, I contemplated whether I should stop and get gas or wait until the next day. I had to meet a client at ten, and I didn’t want to have to leave the house even earlier to get gas, so I chose to stop on the way home. Exiting the gas station once I prepaid for the gas, I locked eyes with a sexy ass man that would have been damn near perfect if he was at least six feet. His height didn’t take away from his sexiness, but he had to be around 5’9 which wasn’t much taller than me at all.
“What’s up?” he spoke with a lick of his lips, and I gave him a polite smile.
“Hey.”
“Damn. You single?” his gaze swept over my frame as he stopped walking prompting me to stop too.
“Yeah, I am,” I stated slowly. Good men didn’t just fall out of the sky. If I was going to ever find love, I had to be open to it, but most of the men that I ran into were a waste of time. I had almost developed a reflex of turning down numbers and lying to guys about being in a relationship to get them out of my face. The man that I wanted wasn’t exactly in the position to focus on only me, so I refused to not keep my options open. Using another man to try and get over Lucci would probably be a waste of time, but choosing the easy way was usually never the first option.
“Can I get your number? I’m actually new to the area. I’ve been here for about a month and aside from my dad and my family, I don’t know anyone in Diamond Cove. Maybe we can hang out sometime.”
“Um, sure. Wait, how old are you?” I didn’t do YN’s even on a platonic level.
He chuckled. “My bad. My name is Gavin, and I’m twenty-seven. No kids. Just moved here from Mississippi. What about you?” Gavin had dark skin, stark white teeth, and locs that hung past his shoulders. A quick appraisal of him revealed clean, neat, nails, a nice watch, and fresh out of the box shoes.
“My name is Breezy. I’m twenty-seven. No kids. Born and raised in Diamond Cove.”
“So, I can get your number?” His cheeks lifted in a broad grin making me giggle.
