He didn’t. He picked up the pot, slid the folded notice free, and opened it.
“Zaire—”
He held up one finger as he scanned the disconnect notice.
She sucked her teeth. “Give it here.”
Zaire kept reading, kept invading her personal business and Meadow was ten seconds from killing him with her eyes.
Meadow snatched for it, but he lifted it out of reach. “Relax, cuh.”
“Don’t tell me to relax. Gimme the damn paper.”
“Nah,” he said calmly.
“Zaire,” she warned.
“What?” He looked down at her, eyes blazing with fire. “You want me to pretend I ain’t see this?”
“Yes!” Her arms went into the air before slapping against her sides.
“You got me fucked up,” he snapped, his face balled up like she’d said the dumbest thing he ever heard.
Meadow stepped back, crossing her arms. “Don’t do that…don’t act like you gotta fix something.”
He laughed under his breath, folding the notice like it was nothing. “Ain’t nobody tryna fix you, Meadow. I’m tryna make sure your lights,” he scanned the paper again, “…your water stay on.”
“We’re fine.”
He stared at her like he knew damn well she was lying. “You fine, but these bills ain’t.”
Meadow rolled her eyes so hard it looked painful. “This how you talk to everybody you sleep with?”
She was ready to fight and make this about something it wasn’t. Zaire had learned her within the first week of being introduced.
“Nah,” Zaire said, stepping closer. “This how I talk to women I care about.”
She froze in place, her brain searching for a witty come back but it was blank. There was nothing she could say even if she wanted to.
Zaire reached into his back pocket, pulled out his slim designer wallet, and slid out a solid black card. There was no logo, just heavy metal. It was one of those cards you couldn’t even apply for unless somebody important called on your behalf.
Zaire held it between his fingers, and before she could even protest, he pressed it right into her chest with enough pressure to make her stumble back. “Pay the bill Meadow.”
Meadow pushed it away. “Zaire, no.”
He pressed it back into her. “Yes.”
“We don’t need- ”
“Wedo.”
Zaire had been inside of her, wanted to get back inside of her and he had enough money to make shit move so all he knew waswe. There was no them and him. Justwe.
“We are not takin’ your money.”
“Meadow,” he growled, voice dropping deeper. “That card don’t mean shit to me, but this place?” He nodded toward the range. “This your whole life. This your family’s whole life…and I’m not watchin’ you drown when I can throw you a life vest.”
Meadow clenched her jaw, her chest rising faster from the rapid patter of her heart. “You can’t just throw your money at me.”
