Instantly, her resting bitch face came into play. Her nose scrunched as she turned to look at the man. He was actually very handsome with long locs and pretty brown eyes. Her face softened, but only slightly.
“Thanks.”
“My name is John,” he said as he extended his hand toward her.
She stood there trying to figure out how she was going to let him down easy. He seemed nice enough, so she didn’t feel the need to be a bitch, but she didn’t want to entertain him either. Her mind wandered briefly to Savio, but she snapped out of it when she heard, “Aye, potnah. Keep it movin’.”
Twizz put his hand on John’s broad chest and forced him back a few steps.
John frowned. “This yo’ girl?”
“Nah, but she’s my responsibility, so I’ma need you to get the fuck back.” Twizz’s voice was deadly calm, and Cashmere felt the need to step in.
She slid between them and looked up at John. “It was nice to meet you, John, but I’m?—”
“Fuck goin’ on?”
Cashmere’s heart dropped when she spotted Savio re-entering the store. The look on his face let her know it was about to be trouble.
“Nothing, Sav,” Cashmere said as she turned back to John. “I think you better go.”
She whispered that last part with a tone of warning, but Cashmere could instantly tell that John was not the type of nigga to get pushed around.
“For what? I ain’t only come in here to talk to you. I came to buy some shit,” John protested.
Cashmere shook her head. By the look on Savio’s face, she knew this shit was out of her hands at this point. She spotted Ivoree at the checkout counter and gestured for her to bring her ass on.
“You came in here to talk to her?” Savio asked John.
“And to buy some shit.”
Savio nodded before he flicked his nose. When he lifted his hoodie, Cashmere knew John got a good look at Savio’s gun. Twizz stood behind Savio with a mean mug on his face.
“Find another store,” Savio said calmly.
John backpedaled as he shot a glance at Cashmere. “You ain’t worth all this.”
“Nigga, what you say?” Savio asked. He took a step forward to go after John, who had turned and run from the store.
Twizz put a hand on Savio’s shoulder. “Chill, man. He’s gone.”
Savio watched John until he disappeared, with his jaw clenched. He finally turned to look at Cashmere. “Don’t let any nigga ever tell you that you ain’t worth somethin’.” His eyes found Ivoree before he looked back at Cashmere. “Both of y’all. You hear me?”
Cashmere’s heart pounded in her chest as she quickly nodded her head.
“You got yo’ shit?” Twizz asked Ivoree, who added a new bag to her collection. She nodded with wide eyes. “Aight. Let’s go. We already done caused a scene.”
Savio casually threw his arm around Cashmere’s shoulders as he led her out of the store. She automatically leaned into him, hoping it comforted him. Cashmere had seen some scary shit in her life, but Savio mad was something she could go without again.
A chill ran through her. Savio must have felt it because he rubbed her arm as they walked through the mall and back to the car, most likely never to return to that mall after that incident.
The factthat something so simple had Savio irritated hours later was wild. He thought in prison he had worked tremendously on his patience and anger issues, but apparently, it hadn’t been enough.
When he saw that nigga trying to talk to Cashmere, he damn near lost his mind. It never even occurred to him that being her bodyguard meant he might have to ward off thirsty niggas. He wasn’t sure that would be a good thing. If Twizz hadn’t been there, Savio would have definitely allowed his anger to take the lead.
Now, as he sat down at the dinner table with Cashmere, Twizz, and Ivoree, he wondered why he had been so pissed. It wasn’t a secret that he was feeling Cashmere, but to getthatmad? To risk his livelihood? The situation suddenly felt a bit dangerous for him.
Cashmere squirmed in her seat, and Savio realized it was because he had been staring at her in deep thought for severalminutes. It surprised him when she spoke because he expected a nasty attitude from her for his staring. Instead, she asked, “You good?”
