“I’m notbeingrude. Y’all said y’all wanted to play UNO, so we’re playing UNO.”
Donovan’s goofy laugh hovers over the music.
I glance over at the pavilion right as Faye hooks her hand around his arm and points toward Kenny at the barbecue pit. He fits in good with them. Faye’s eyes even light up when he talks.
Slim slides off my back, sitting next to me. “Is this why you came out here?”
I study the rainbow of cards in my hand. “What you talking about?”
“Look at me.”
I glance over at her glossy lips.
She juts her chin toward Donovan. “Did you come here to do whatever weird shit Senior did with Faye? Are you scoping him out so you can hand me over to him? Is that what this is?”
“I know you need to watch your mouth. I ain’t seen you in five days, so what the fuck you think I came for?” I lay my cards down, picking up our cup and taking a swig of the whiskey.
It burns my throat this time.
She scoffs and snatches it from my hand. “Yeah…and the fact that he’s here with Lucky just made things easier, right? Now you can kill two birds with one stone. You can fuck up my head then pawn me off on some easygoing dude who’s too scared to tell me I’m cheating in UNO.”
She takes the last bit of my whiskey to the head and slams the cup on the bed of the truck.
“I think you good for the rest of the night. Don’t drink nothing else. That ain’t no French 75.”
“I’m not drunk.”
“Right…but you on the way there. So chill out.”
Her wild eyes dart around the dark park and land on Donovan and Kenny at the barbecue pit. Kenny lifts the lid and points at the meat like he’s giving Donovan a quick how-to, and Donovan pretends to care like a perfect nephew-in-law in training.
“I don’tfuckinwant that boy and you can’t make me want him,” she grits out.
“Didn’t I tell you to watch your mouth?”
“When he comes back, I’ll tell him.”
“Be quiet, Lovie.”
“Why? Because I caught on before you could do it? One second we’re playing UNO and the next you’ll be leaving me here with him to talk about Marvel movies and anime while you go give some other woman what I want?” She laughs sarcastically. “Be fuckin for real.”
My heart stutters.
Shehasto be drunk. Those were some drunken ass words she blurted. That wasn’t no shit you said with a sober mind.
I blink down at her. “What you mean, whatyouwant?”
Her tiny nostrils flare and my dick twitches again.
She cuts her eyes at it as if she knows what’s up. “When he comes back, I’ll tell him how I’m literally begging for your dick while you let other selfish ass women have it with no problem.”
I swallow her smell and the remnants of whiskey that hugged the insides of my mouth. “Lovie.”
“Or I can tell him I know everything about you. I know the rhythm of your heartbeat, I can recognize your smell in a room full of people, I…I even know how many stitches are left in your mouth because my tongue loves it there.”
My stuttering heart drops to my knees. “Don’t you tell that boy none of that.”
“Why not? He should know everything about me before you set us up, right? He should know it all.” She huffs. “Yeah… I should definitely tell him about us.”
