But he wasn’t wrong either. I’d been running on empty for days. Barely sleeping. Barely eating. Just moving from one thing to the next.
One night. A few hours. That wasn’t betraying Zainab.
That was letting off a lil steam.
I pulled out my phone and texted Serenity.
You busy tonight?
Three dots. Then:
Serenity: Depends. What you got in mind?
Me:Your cousin invited us to a party.
Serenity: Who?
Me:Thad.
A long pause. Then:
Thad???
Yeah…
Girl. He fine but he’s… a lot. You sure about this?
I chewed my lip. Typed. Deleted. Typed again.
Me: No. But I’m going anyway.
Serenity:Lol say less. I’m in. Somebody gotta keep an eye on you.
I put my phone away and got back to work.
But my mind wasn’t on cinnamon rolls anymore.
It was on tonight. On Thad. On whatever I was walking into.
There was something about him that lit me up inside. I wanted to fight it and just stay focused but he was so fine. And cocky. And arrogant. I was drawn in. But what did Serenity mean by he’s a lot?
9
MEHAR
The black Escalade pulled up at exactly 10:30.
Serenity whistled when she saw it. “Thad don’t play.”
“It’s just a car.”
“It’s a statement.” She grabbed her clutch and headed for the door. “You coming or what?”
I took one last look in the mirror. Short black dress. Heels I’d bought with Serenity months ago but never worn. Hair down, curled at the ends. A year ago, all of this would have been covered up. But tonight, my cleavage was on display, legs out, thick ass sitting right. I looked damn good.
This was me now. I wore whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted.
The driver didn’t say much. Just opened the door, waited for us to get in, and pulled off. Tinted windows. Leather seats. I was getting used to the luxury life now that I was pretty much adopted by the Banks family.
