He had a point. She was served two weeks ago with my civil lawsuit. I filed a lawsuit for one hundred thousand dollars. Not that I thought she had it, but I wanted to prove a point. I startedto let it all go after we left her house. That all changed when the board of my school brought me into a meeting to tell me that they were putting me on a leave to investigate the allegations. That was a different kind of hurt.
I waited until the investigation was over and found fruitless, vindictive, and slanderous before I officially filed my suit. It took two and a half fucking months to conclude the investigation. They interviewed so many students who all gave them the same answers. Some students were traumatized, and therapists had to be called in.
Bolt was able to speak with law enforcement about the fights. Many parents chimed in on the incident to the point that it was a wash, and no charges were filed. That was good news, but there were still consequences. Our basketball team was disqualified from the playoffs. That devastated them as well as me. They worked so hard to get where they were.
“I just hate that your dick made it come to this. Now that girl is going to be broke, and I’m going to have to put a lien on her house.” My head tilted. “I wonder if she’s already planned her final rest. If she’s paid for her plot, that would save me money on having to get one. Wait, I might not like where hers is.”
Bolt glared at me. “Really, P’Nee! You gonna go after that girl’s final burial plot?”
“Um, yeah! If I win, I want everything that she owns to pay my debt. It will teach her that her actions have consequences,” I said with an even tone.
There was no way that I would allow that woman to walk away from this with the thought that it was a no harm, no foul situation since I didn’t lose my job. That was what she told Mama Sandra and Granny Cat. Of course, Granny Cat cursed her ass clean out.
Bolt laughed before he kissed my forehead. “Carry your ass to sleep. We got an early morning.”
Tomorrow, there was a cookout that Joshua and Bolt had for their workers and family friends. It apparently was a big to-do in Clover. This year, it was at Joshua’s house. Mama Sandra, Granny Cat, Bethany, Jojo, and I were meeting at six in the morning to start the sides. The men were over the meat and grilling.
I rolled my eyes before I extended the top half of my body to kiss his lips. “Whatever. You have an early morning too. I love you. Good night.”
The Cookout . . .
I forgot how it was to be at a good ole country cookout. The vibes, the people, the music, and the food. There was something to be said about the taste of unprocessed meat straight from the butcher.
Mama Sandra, Granny Cat, Bethany, Jojo, and I were at Smoked Soul early getting the sides together. This was the one day a year on a Saturday that the restaurant in Clover was closed. The cookout started at four thirty, and we didn’t finish with all the sides until a little after three o’clock. Then they loaded up the delivery van and came over to Joshua’s house to set up.
The men had been on the grills and smokers for hours. They prepped all the meat last night, as a good grill master would. My man was sexy in his grill attire, working up a sweat. I told myself that I was going to fuck him good when we got back to his or my house. It became clear that Bolt had other plans.
He pushed the arch of my back down. “Nee, what the fuck did I tell you about your back. The longer you take to get right, themore I’m going to demolish this pussy.” He smacked my ass with his hand. “You better be quiet too.”
This man accosted me when I went into the house to get more potato salad. Now we were in the bathroom. My ass was bent over the damn counter, and Bolt showed me no mercy. He wanted me to be quiet, but how? “Baby, ease up. Someone’s going to . . . Oh my God!”
My orgasm was so disrespectful to my attempts to not be loud. It ripped through me with no remorse or concern for my potential embarrassment. What it did do was make me fix my fucking back. I wasn’t sure how long it was before we were done being nasty in Joshua’s house.
“If my mama and grandma cuss me out, I’m blaming you,” Bolt said with a shrug. He walked out of the bathroom after we cleaned ourselves up, like it was what it was. I couldn’t do anything but laugh.
I went back to the backyard about five minutes after Bolt went out. My brow rose to loud voices.What the hell is going on?My spirit became vexed. I took several breaths as I walked over to the commotion. “Why are you here?”
“I asked this dumb girl the same thing. She knows that she’s not welcomed here like a whore knows she’s not a virgin. I’m about to slap her ass,” Granny Cat said.
Anna stood there like the dummy that she was. She looked at me for a beat. I saw the fear in her eyes, but she covered it quickly with an attitude. “I just came here to apologize. I know what I did was wrong, so I wanted to apologize.”
I glanced at Bolt who wore the sexiest mean mug. I shook my head before I gave my attention back to her. “Anna, I really want to be the bigger person in all of this. The problem with that is I already was when I didn’t beat your ass at the basketball game. I can only be the bigger person once per incident. With that beingsaid, fuck your apology. Feel free to try it again, though, after I win this court case.”
I could tell that Anna struggled to keep that anger at bay. When she lowered her head, I wondered if her eyes would come up with fire in them. For some reason, when her head lifted, I saw hurt.What the fuck is she hurt for?She lifted her hand in a surrendering motion. “You know what, that’s your right. I’ll be fine because my joy cometh in the morning.”
When Granny Cat laughed hysterically, we all gave her a side-eye because she was bent over with her laughter. When she finally calmed down, her eyes went to Anna. “Whore, did you really just say that your joy cometh in the morning when you just tried to take this girl’s joy? Lil whore, I hope your whore ass is asleep when that damn joy comes. You’re out here talking bible verses like you wasn’t dead wrong. Well, I hope a raven eats every mustard seed that you plant.”
I burst into laughter as she continued to wish things on Anna. By the time she told her that she hoped her name was forgotten in rooms that mattered, I had to walk away. I was confused with why Anna hadn’t walked away yet. I went to the table that I sat at before I went in to get the potato salad.Fuck! I didn’t bring out the potato salad.
I got my ass up to go back into the house. Granny Cat was in a cussing mood, and I would not fall victim. Halfway to the house, I felt arms wrap around me from behind and lips on my neck. “Where you going?”
Bolt moved in step with me, with his arms still around me as I continued to walk. “Messing around with you, I forgot the damn potato salad. Granny is not going to cuss me out.”
He didn’t let me go until we got into the kitchen so I could take what I needed out of the refrigerator. I loved how clingy he was because I was just as clingy. We were a perfect fit in my mind. I was the only one that got that side of him. When heneeded his space, that just meant he would sit next to me on the couch instead of lie on me.
“What’s going on, nephew?” a deep voice said from behind me. “P’Nee, is that you?”
I didn’t turn around until I set the pan on the kitchen counter. When I did turn around, my heart stopped. “Jordan, hi.”
