“They’re cute. How old is your daughter?”
“You lost count of how long we ain’t been together?”
“Never cared to count that shit,” she quipped, putting the frame in its rightful place before copping a seat on the edge of his desk.
Ezekiel ran his tongue along his teeth before pouring another shot to take the edge off of having a woman he’d worked damn hard to wean out of his system sitting mere feet away from him. His attentive inspection recentered to her breathtaking features as he drank, and he detected the outline of ridges and scars beneath the makeup she’d used to hide them. The burns mutilating her hands were visible, but he chose not to address her ailments as an icebreaker.
A smirk tugged at a corner of his mouth as he pointed out, “You grew up on me, tough girl.”
“And you got old on me, Zeke.”
His boisterous laughter echoed around the office, and Kennedy relaxed in its familiarity. He held out his glass as a peace offering, but she declined.
“So, to what do we owe the pleasure of finally seeing your face again? I know, you aren’t home for good.”
“You know or you hope?”
He leaned back and spun his wedding band from his nerves getting the better of him before admitting, “I hope. That shit wouldn’t be good for me.”
“Oh, so it’s safe to say, you’ve gotten over Shaun?”
“Don’t disrespect me by bringing that nigga up in my presence, Kennedy.”
Both her hands flew up. “Don’t shoot, but last time I recall, you didn’t want shit to do with me just like I didn’t want a damn thing to do with you.”
“Yea, because you went and fucked a nigga before my fucking gunshot wound could heal, Kennedy!”
“Well, excuse me. I didn’t know it was a time limit for moving on after a nigga fucks you over for two years and then tosses you out like trash.”
“That’s not how it went, and you were no better. You didn’t leave room for me to wonder if you hated me, or if we could work it out. The moment you let him touch you, you made that shit clear.”
“And the bullet to your fucking stomach didn’t?”
Ezekiel chuckled and grazed a hand across the bullet wound beneath his suit jacket. It’d hurt but not as much as when he’d gotten wind that the woman he believed loved him was laying on her back for another man. That level of retaliation was unacceptable to him.
“No, you shooting me didn’t make it clear. You were running off emotions after Koda’s funeral. You were hurt about finding out I had a kid on the way and not knowing where Koda’s money was hidden. I understood all that.”
“But you didn’t understand me fucking another nigga like you fucked the woman you got pregnant?”
Ezekiel tugged his beard hair but didn’t respond since he couldn’t. There wasn’t an explanation in the world that could justify his actions, and Kennedy didn’t feel an ounce of remorse about fucking Shaun.
Her sole regret was letting Shaun join her and Tekken when she’d decided to move after word got back, Ezekiel had gotten engaged. She swayed Shaun to come, hoping it would twist the knife she’d eloquently lodged in Ezekiel’s heart one last time for good measure. Kennedy was never in love with Shaun; he was rebound dick she kept around longer than the purpose that he’d served her.
“Forget that I brought it up,” she told Ezekiel, giving him an out. “We’ve already spent too much time on topics that shouldn’t matter to us anymore.”
“You’re right. You didn’t answer the question about you staying, though.”
Kennedy crossed her legs, making Ezekiel steal a look at her thighs before licking his lips. The unexpected swell in his shaft sent his eyes to her face to abstain from falling for her little tricks that had gotten him caught up with her ass all those years ago. Kennedy peeked at his crotch and smirked.
“Luckily for you and your wife, I’m not staying long. I came home to get a breather after the traumatic situation I just went through.”
“Are you straight? Is it anything you need handled?” He didn’t hesitate to offer his assistance. “You know, I’m here if you need me.”
“I believe you, but no. I took care of it myself.”
“Well, are you going to tell me about what happened, or are you waiting for me to beg?”
“I’ve never known you to beg a day in your life, but a guy I was dating broke inside my home to rob me. I killed him.”
