Mya and Bronwyn were nodding and humming in agreement.
Jackie’s eyes widened. “What does that mean?” she typed.
Tanika reached out for Jackie’s hand. “I get it, Jackie. You’ve had some really sucky relationships, personal and otherwise. People who claimed to love you hurt you in the deepest ways. So, when new people open up to you, you think it’s a game. And now you’re stuck playing offense, avoiding love because you think it’s going to hurt.”
Jackie scoffed. “You’re tripping.”
“Is she?” Bronwyn countered. “Katrice did you so wrong. And now you think every partner is going to do the same. You are quick to jump to conclusions, just like you did in Vegas. Did you and Antonio ever talk about Vegas? I hope all those couples’ exercises brought some closure.”
Jackie nodded, then typed. “We cleared things up. It was a misunderstanding on my part. We are cool about that.”
Mya munched on an eggroll. “What was the misunderstanding?”
Jackie swallowed, wanting to guard Antonio’s privacy. “That morning, the phone call I overheard? Family stuff. He was working out some family stuff.”
“Good,” said Tanika. “Like Bron said, you tend to see the worst in people. Even when they’re trying to show you their best. Everyone isn’t grimy, Jackie. One mistake, and you just are done with folks. Out the door. Now, who does that sound like?”
Well, ouch. Jackie winced. She was usually the one dispensing the tough love. She didn’t like being on the receiving end. Being compared to her trollop of a mother wasn’t something she ever wanted.
Tanika shrugged. “I know that look on your face. But I had to keep it real, cousin.”
Jackie smiled at that. Tanika had been family to her for over twenty years, and after the wedding in a few months, she’d be her family in a whole new way.
“So, do you like him?” Mya waggled her brows. “Do you want to take him for another spin at least?”
Jackie sighed, then typed quickly. “Doesn’t matter what I want. We work together now.”
Bronwyn took Jackie’s hand again. “I know our feedback is hard to hear. But ask yourself this: Why pretend you don’t care about this man? So what if you work together? Kenny and I run an entire business together. That’s not unusual, nor should it be a deterrent to your happiness.”
“So true. Antonio isn’t Katrice,” Tanika added, sipping her martini. “Now that bitchwasgrimy….”
“If I ever saw her in the streets, I’d put a hex on her,” Bronwyn said. “I’d call up the ancestors to make sure she misses every single basket she shoots, and that her locs are never freshly retwisted. They’d unravel on sight! Matter of fact, let me put a reminder in my phone to do that when I get home.”
Jackie chuckled. She knew Bronwyn was deadly serious. She didn’t play around when it came to hoodoo or hexes.
“Hexes and stuff aside,” Tanika laughed. “Mexico was supposed to be about signing Mo. Did that happen? Or did you just get distracted by fine-ass Antonio?”
Jackie made the “so-so” gesture with her hand.
“What does that mean?” asked Tanika.
Jackie typed, then hit SPEAK, bracing herself for Tanika’s reaction. “I made a big promise. I said I could get him a title fight with Ramón Rodriguez. In Atlantic City.”
Tanika’s eyes widened. “Jackie! How the hell are you supposed to do that? Mo hasn’t fought in two years. Granted, he’s in excellent shape. I’ve seen his videos on Instagram and some of the exhibition fights. And he probably could give Ramón a run for his money, but Guzman has a tight rein on who he fights. I don’t know if he’d be alright with Mo, even if he’s the only real competition Ramón would have.”
“You know me. I swing big. And I rarely miss,” Jackie winked.
“Well, if anyone is going to get the job done, it’s Jackie,” Bronwyn said proudly. “She’s a shark.”
“More like a relentless, nagging mosquito,” Mya said. “But in a good way.”
Jackie narrowed her eyes at Mya, stabbing her beef with her fork for good measure, but Mya just continued to slurp her ramen noodles. This was the second time in less than a week someone had called her a blood-sucking insect.
“As relentless as Jackie is,” Tanika began, “how is someone who fearlessly confronts star athletes, whole teams, and massive corporations scared shitless when it comes to falling in love?”
Jackie hated when they talked about her like she wasn’t sitting there, but something in her told her to listen.
Bronwyn took a bite of her brussel sprouts, then pointed her fork in Jackie’s direction. “That’s why her throat chakra is closed now! Paralyzed by fear. I’m not saying it’s in her head, but—”
