“Wood?” he repeated, looking at me as if intelligence had just exited the room.
“No… aluminum foil. Yeah,wood,nigga. It could get real bad later if this snow keeps coming. We also need to grab some salt and some backup lanterns. Ain’t no telling how long we might be stuck here.”
The nigga peered outside the window and squinted his eyes, studying the sky, like he’d just realized it was snowing.
“So… you needmyhelp?”
I cocked my head. “Nah… I meant me and the imaginary lumberjack ghost that’s chilling in the basement. The fuck?Again…yeah,nigga. But let’s get something straight… I don’tneedyour help withshit.”
He sat up a little taller, some fire igniting in him. “Just asking, man. You made it sound like a team effort.”
I raised an eyebrow. “It’s not. Well… not for amanlike me. But if I can’t parlay around on vacation, then neither can you. So yeah, it is a team efforttoday.”
Adrian rubbed the back of his head nervously. “Aight. It’s just me and the cold don’t really vibe like that. That kind is disrespectful to my bones.”
I squinted at him. “So y’all got beef, in other words. Nigga, it’s just air with an attitude. But on some real shit,realmen don’t flinch at a lil’ cold; they conquer it, prepare for it, and protect their own… whileweaklingsstand around complaining, shivering, and explaining shit nobody asked about.”
I zipped my coat slowly, letting the moment breathe.
“You’re a carpenter, right? Cool. So this is yourlane… yourstage… yourmoment. Nowshine, nigga. Impress me.”
Something flickered in his expression.
A crack?
A moment of uncertainty?
I filed that away in the back of my mind for later use.
“Let me grab my coat,” he grumbled, pushing himself to stand.
“And some boots too,” I advised. “Unless you wanna get frostbite between them toes. Them flip flops gon’ have you out there with ballerina feet and regrets.”
He muttered something under his breath but kept walking.
As soon as Adrian disappeared down the hall, a grin curled at the corner of my mouth.
This ain’t about who’s the better chopper or who gets the fire going first. I’m about to see what this nigga really knows. 'Cause any man can talk tough in warmth. But out here in this cold? The truth gon’ breathe through that axe handle.
A few minutes later, Adrian finally stumbled out the back door.
He took one breath and started shivering. “Shit!” he cursed.
Adrian was wearing boots that were completely untied and one of those off-brand bubble coats, found at the very bottom rack at Ross. The tag was still flapping on the sleeve like it was trying to escape.
“This is shit is crazy, man. I didn’t think it’d be this bad,”he complained, and hadn’t even been in the cold for a good minute.
“This weather builds character and weeds out the weak,” I muttered, barely phased.
The cold didn’t bother me. It nipped at my chin, iced the tip of my nose, and bit into my skin a little, but I’d grown up in worse. I had to shovel snow before school, got my ass handed to me on frozen football fields, and one time… me and Chesteria thought it’d be a good idea to ‘try something new.’ I’ll never forget that night.
We both were horny, but it wasChesteria’sbright idea to have sex in the shed… in eighteen-degree weather.
Yes…eighteen.
I almost told herhell no. I wasn’t trying to be found frozen mid-stroke like some freaky snowman.
But the kind of pussy Chesteria got? Man… it comes with its own thermostat. It feels like central heat kicking on in the dead of winter.
