“Yeah. Why?” His tone was clipped, though he didn’t want it to be. This wasn’t her fault. He thought his attraction to her was a good thing—God giving him what he asked for. He was the one that had been playing with fire and flirting with her. She didn’t ask for any of this shit.
Cashmere shrugged. “You barely touched your food, and you been quiet.”
Savio looked down at his plate of baked ribs, mac and cheese, beans, and cornbread. Cashmere was right. He had barely eaten. Not because it wasn’t good. The shit was fire, but that kind of pissed him off. If Cashmere kept feeding him like this, there would be no turning back. After what happened at the mall, he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
“My bad. I don’t have much of an appetite, but the shit is good,” he admitted with a softer tone. Twizz chuckled before he shoveled food into his mouth. The nigga was on his second plate of food and showed no signs of slowing up. “Somethin’ funny?”
Savio frowned. He wasn’t in the mood for Twizz and his bullshit.
“Yeah. You still tight about that nigga at the mall. That shit is funny,” Twizz said.
Savio had raised him to always speak his mind. That often came back to bite him in the ass because Twizz didn’t care about reading a room. He let fly whatever was on his mind.
Shaking his head, Savio tried to shift the narrative. “Nigga shouldn’t have even gotten that close to her. What you was doin’ while he was in her face?”
A grin spread across Twizz’s face. “I was doin’ my job, big dawg.” He nodded toward Ivoree, who blushed under theirgazes. When Savio looked back at Twizz with amusement in his eyes, Twizz continued. “Where were you?”
Savio simply stuck his finger up at Twizz, who laughed again before finishing off his plate.
“Twizz did a good job of intervening. I’m actually impressed.” Cashmere spoke up.
Savio shook his head. He had noticed since the incident at the mall, she had softened toward Twizz slightly. She still watched him like a hawk around her sister, but she wasn’t as icy toward him.
“I think you both did well. Men always approach Cash, and it gets annoying. Having you around will put a stop to all that,” Ivoree said as she looked down at her plate. Her eyes lifted, and she glanced at Twizz before her eyes landed on Savio, who nodded at her, but he wasn’t really paying attention to the conversation anymore.
Niggas stepped to Cashmere like that? Shiiiit, . . . that was going to be a problem. He didn’t know what kind of hold Cashmere had on him, but he already knew he was about to start actin’ a damn fool because of her.
Everyone else continued talking while Savio got lost in his mind. Twizz’s hand on his shoulder startled him out of his thoughts.
“I’m heading out, bro,” Twizz said from behind Savio. He hadn’t even realized Twizz had gotten up. Cashmere and Ivoree were already clearing the table. His mind had really been gone.
Savio realized everyone was finished eating, and here he was with a full plate still. He stood and looked at Cashmere. “I’ma walk him out. You can leave my plate here. I’ll be back to help with the cleanup.”
Before she could respond, he turned and left the large dining room with high ceilings and a long ass table.
Twizz followed him through the home. When they got outside, Savio noticed the sun had gone down already. He’d really spent the bulk of his day contemplating his feelings for Cashmere. This was new territory for him.
“You good, OG? You been in ya head.” Twizz produced a blunt from out of nowhere and lit it. He inhaled deeply before trying to pass the blunt to Savio, who shook his head.
“You know I don’t smoke no more.”
“My bad. Forgot.” Twizz took another pull of the blunt while Savio shook his head.
He hadn’t smoked since before he went to prison. It would have been easy for him to get high while he was locked up, but he used it as a chance to clear his mind and remain sober. He planned to stay that way.
They stood in silence for a few seconds before Savio said, “I’m proud of you, lil nigga. You handled that situation back at the mall well.”
“I’m tryna figure out why you didn’t. I think I can take a guess why.” Twizz smiled, his grin growing every second.
Savio shook his head, but he couldn’t help the grin that settled on his face. “You the only nigga I can be real wit’. Shorty got my mind gone.”
“I see.”
“Came outta nowhere.”
“That’s a bad thing?”
“Nah. Just don’t know how to deal with the feelings.”
