“Shawty…” it dragged out slow, sexy, endearing, and matched the pleased look in his eyes.
Joi smiled softly before pulling her lip between her teeth.
East took her in with his eyes trekking over her body in a smooth motion, moving from her face down to the shoes on her feet. The ripped jeans she wore were loose-fitting, but the right leg was open and split from the pocket to just below her knee while the left leg was ripped with parallel lines that started from mid-thigh and stopped just above her knee. They sat low on her slim waist while the fitted V-neck tee she wore clung to her chest, exposing tiny breasts, nipples standing at attention, and her midsection was exposed because the shirt stopped a few inches above where her jeans began.
She likes showing off that little body of hers, I see.East liked thick girls, but for some reason, Joi’s body had his mind wandering and his dick inflating,yet again. He was considering how he could help create a little more definition and add some thickness to certain areas by implanting himself deep within her walls on a consistent basis.
“If you’re busy, I can catch up with you later.”
Neither Joi nor East had moved. She was still standing a few feet away at the counter while he sat on the bright orange sofa, slouched low so that his knees were sitting high due to the factthat his legs were so long. His legs being wide caused Joi to fight hard to keep her eyes up high. The gray T-shirt he wore withEastSide Inkprinted across his chest exposed the definition.
Joi loved his body structure. It was just the right fit for her idea of sexy. She didn’t like skinny dudes but wasn’t a fan of the bodybuilder type either. East fell right in the middle.
“Nah, I’m chilling.”
It wasn’t necessarily an invitation to join him, so Joi wasn’t sure of her next move. Everyone else in the shop had gone back to minding their business, so Joi and East were in a private, silent stare down while conversation went on around them. East was the boss, his affairs were none of his employees’ concern, so even if they were curious about who Joi was, they wouldn’t say a damn thing. It was also very common for women to seek out East’s attention, so none of them thought much of it.
Joi, on the other hand, was overthinking it, which caused a pep talk in her head.You came here for a reason. Get your shit together, Joi.
“You feel like grabbing something to eat? I have a few hours before my next appointment.”
There it is.East nodded, locked his phone, and pulled his long body from the sofa. “Yeah, we can do that. You buying, since you lost all my damn money the other night?”
The comment East made had Numbers halting his conversation with Charlie, the only female artist at the shop. Angling his head to the side, his eyes swept Joi again. He then recognized her from the last card night. She was the one who had East on the hit list of every woman in attendance that night. He laughed under his breath, curious as to what Joi’s deal was. East didn’t dolunchwith women. He didn’t date. Smashing was a regular occurrence for his boss, but that was as far as it went. East was all about his business.
Joi grinned and rolled her eyes. “I’ll think about it, since it was my idea.”
“Damn, I’m down sixty large but can’t get a free burger. I need to choose better friends.”
Joi could barely contain her smile as she watched East move her way, past where she stood until he reached the door, which he held open and waited for her to pass through. East didn’t offer any explanation to anyone in the shop as he left with Joi. He didn’t need to; his personal matters were none of their concern. He paid Numbers good money to run shit, so there was no need to tell him to do his job in his absence.
Once they were outside the shop, East stopped, folding his arms across his chest. “I talked to you earlier…”
The statement was open-ended, yet again, leaving Joi at a loss.
“Yeah…”
East smirked and responded with a quizzical stare. Her uncertainty was cute. “You didn’t mention pulling up. You trying to catch me in some shit, shawty.”Shawty? Any other man that donned her with that title had Joi rolling her eyes, but his delivery, the deep rasp of his voice, and the way he moved slowly through the word had Joi wanting to hear it roll off his tongue more often.
With a light laugh, Joi’s eyes rolled. “Catch you? That would create the perception that I have something invested. Otherwise, I wouldn’t care what you were up to. I was just hungry and decided to share a meal with afriend.”
“Oh, we’re friends now, Grinch?” East wore a slight smile while he waited for clarification.
Joi’s lips curved into a soft smile before she caught it and straightened her face. “You said you needed betterfriends,so I assumed we are.”
He offered a slight nod. “You can get that. I’m cool with being your friend,for now. I have a feeling we might have to adjust that title or put some provisions in place as to what the wordfriendmeans.” Joi’s body warmed at the indication that he wanted more. His flirtatious smile paired with the look in his eyes had Joi on edge, so when he moved on, she was grateful. “Whatcha wanna eat?”
Joi looked around and noticed a burger place across the street from where the two stood. She pointed and East gave approval with his eyes before he started walking without waiting for Joi. It was the same thing he had done at his card night. There was a certain air of arrogance to it, which Joi read into.If he leads, people are supposed to follow. It heightened her attraction to him but annoyed her at the same time.
Once East reached the corner where the two were to cross, he paused until Joi was at his side, placing his hand on the small of her back and moving at a slower pace to make sure the two stepped in stride together. He didn’t separate until they reached the restaurant where he eased away only enough to open the door and allow Joi to enter first.
As soon as the two were inside waiting to be seated, Joi felt eyes on her, or ratherthem.It took her a minute to locate the culprit. She then lifted her eyes to East to find him staring back at her.
“Should we go somewhere else? I’m not trying to fuck up your hustle.”
East frowned a little, confused by her statement until Joi looked toward the bar and he followed her line of sight. A rumble of a laugh moved through him before he shrugged. “Nah, we good unless you want to go somewhere else.”
“Hey, East.” Nae moved their way with a salty disposition.
