Lethal pushed the cart and followed her around the store as she grabbed tampons, lotion, soap, razors, exfoliating gloves, toothpaste, socks, leggings, a skirt, panties, bras, and a sweater that hung off one shoulder.
“I’ll pay for my stuff first.” She began removing items from the cart at the register.
Lethal began removing the items she got for the nursery from the cart. “You think I’m that petty? I got it.”
She wanted to tell him he didn’t have to, but she was sure he knew that. If she hadn’t learned anything else, she’d learned that he was going to do what he wanted to do. There was no need to even waste her breath. Never in her life had she ever had a reason to say thank you so much. Vick and Cam fed her peanuts, and in the beginning, she didn’t know any better. The trunk and backseat were filled to capacity with bags. Khrome was socontent and elated, she couldn’t stop smiling. She loved the fact that he was including her when it came to Lyric’s nursery at his house.
It made her kind of sad to think about moving out, but she’d been living with men since she was sixteen. It would feel odd living on her own, but she was sure it would feel good too. It would for sure be peaceful. At Lethal’s house, she put her things away then went out to his car, so she could go visit her daughter. Life was finally alright, and she hoped it stayed that way.
Blossom and Fancy clinked their shots glasses together, tapped the glasses one time on the table, then tossed back the shots. The Majors had won their game in Chicago, and when Capo found out what Fancy had been through, he offered to fly her out to come to his show in New York. She decided that she wanted to go. Blossom wanted to check on her friend and make sure she was good, so they went out before she was due to leave.
“You gon’ let Capo hit?” Blossom grinned. She was feeling the tequila. She was on s shot number three and less stressed than she had been when she sat down.
Fancy drew in a long breath. “Chile, I don’t even know. In a way, I want to keep this coochie to myself. On the other hand, I need to relieve some stress, and the gym is only doing so much. I still can’t believe Nick took his life in my yard, Blossom.” Fancy shook her head at the memory. “I mean, I can’t believe he took his life, period, but why did he have to do it in front of me? Every time I close my eyes, I see it.”
“I know that has to be tough. I’m so sorry, Friend.”
Fancy responded, but Blossom didn’t hear her. Everything sounded like noise, but she couldn’t make sense of any ofthe sounds around her as her gaze zeroed in on a familiar face. Actually, two familiar faces. Tech was standing at the bar talking to Alora. Noticing her friend’s jaw muscles flexing, Fancy stopped talking mid-sentence to follow Blossom’s line of vision.
“Is that Felon Bae?”
Blossom’s muscles tensed, and her blood boiled from anger. “Yes, and his dumb ass is talking to Cedric’s sister. Now it all makes sense. He told Alora about his past, and she told Cedric. Cedric in turn told Creed.”
“What?” Fancy’s jaw slacked. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. I haven’t mentioned it because it happened the day that Nick did what he did. Creed actually came in the house questioning me, asking if I was dating a drug dealer that had just gotten out of prison.”
“Oh wowwwww,” Fancy drawled. “I’ve been so caught up in my own mess.”
“As you should be. This is light work, considering what you’ve been through, but I’m overly annoyed. It’s like Cedric is going out of his way to not only make me miserable but to make me look crazy to my kids. There was never a reason that he needed to tell Creed about that man’s past. He’s never been around my kids. He’s never even been to my house.”
The entire time Blossom spoke to Fancy, her eyes were glued to Alora and Tech. He had texted her before the Chicago game and wished her luck. She responded back and after the game, he congratulated her on the win. She hadn’t talked to him much since, and she chalked it up to him being busy with school and work. Clearly, he had time for other things, however. Blossom had been using the time to try and clear her head. She needed to figure out if she was going to keep dating Tech. There was no part of her that wanted to let Cedric win, but Blossom cared about what her kids thought of her. No matter how sheexplained it, the fact still remained that Tech had a past. An ugly one.
Blossom was a retired WNBA player. Her ex-husband worked for the federal government. Her kids had gone to private school and were raised in the suburbs. Drug dealers didn’t align with her life and values, but Tech was an ex-drug dealer. Would that matter to her friends and family? Probably not. They’d just see him as a thug and someone that wasn’t good enough for her.
Seeing Tech smiling in Alora’s face reminded her that he was fresh out of prison, and he was doing what men fresh out of prison did. He was great at saying things that sounded good, but he obviously wasn’t satisfied with one woman if he was entertaining Alora. The easiest thing for her to do would have been to walk away before things got too deep.
Before she could look away, Tech caught her staring. Kissing her teeth, she quickly broke eye contact with him. Alora was the typical fake bitch. They were cool when Blossom and Cedric were together but after the divorce, she started acting funny, and Blossom matched her energy. She wasn’t kissing anybody’s ass, and if Alora wanted to take her brother’s side, she could do that. Blossom didn’t lose an ounce of sleep behind it. Just thinking that Alora may have had the same dick she had turned Blossom’s stomach. The server came over, and she ordered another round of drinks.
“Are you going to tell him that’s Cedric’s sister?”
“Yes, because I want him to know the bitch is regurgitating his business. Why would she just tell Cedric his business unless she knew we were dating?” Blossom’s eyes narrowed as the revelation hit her. “These mother fuckers are really playing games.” She chuckled, angrily.
Blossom didn’t necessarily expect Tech to walk away from Alora and run over to her but ten minutes later, when they werestill talking, she was perturbed. She drank her shot without so much as grimacing and dropped money on the table.
“You ready?” she asked Fancy.
Looking down at her watch, Fancy nodded. “I need to be at the airport in no less than thirty minutes.”
With each step she took, Blossom’s six-inch heels stabbed the floor, and she wished they were stabbing Cedric’s heart instead. Her and Tech weren’t exclusive. He had been incarcerated for eleven years. Of course, he was going to talk to women. She’d be a fool to think that he wasn’t. He could do what he wanted, but she would bow out gracefully before she shared dick with someone that she knew. Like Alora’s bitch ass. Cedric could run to his kids and share what he knew about Tech in an effort to shame Blossom, but his sister was smiling in the same felon’s face.
Kissing her teeth again, Blossom frowned as she yanked her car door open. Lost in her thoughts, Blossom wasn’t even paying attention to what was on the radio. Tech was looking too good, and she would have loved to end the night riding his face, among other things. Blossom kept urging Fancy to give Capo a chance, but every time she gave a man a chance, he reminded her why that was a dumb thing to do.
Blossom had made it home, removed her heels at the door, and went into the kitchen to search for food when her phone vibrated on the counter. Leaning to the side, she peered at the screen. Seeing Tech’s name on the screen made her frown and go back to the contents of the fridge. If he didn’t have anything to say to her at the bar, he didn’t have anything to say to her now.
CHAPTER 15
Nervously,Khrome walked to the entrance of the restaurant where she was meeting Symphony and Averi. Lethal had given Symphony Khrome’s number, and she texted Khrome to let her know she’d be wearing denim boyfriend jeans with rips in the knee, a white cropped shirt, and a maroon-colored, leather jacket. As soon as Khrome entered the establishment, she spotted a woman wearing that same outfit. She was gorgeous and gave Black girl luxury. Her outfit was nice, but it didn’t give designer. However, Khrome could tell the crème, slouchy, peep toes booties on her feet cost a pretty penny. Just like the maroon Dior bag she was holding.
