“Fuck him. Don’t worry about him because he’s dead already anyway. We just have to find your sister and I think Aunt Pri is going to be the key. We just have to get to her crib and talk to her.”
“Tomorrow,” she adds.
“Tomorrow?” he questions. “We’ll be there in about an hour and a half.”
“And it’ll be after eight o’clock. We can’t just roll up to anyone’s house after eight and expect them to talk to us. There’s four of them, right?”
“Five,” he corrects.
“Well, five. Either way, it’ll be too late. We need to find somewhere to sleep, get something to eat, and talk this through. Although very handsome, you can be very intimidating at first glance.”
“Black mothers and aunties love me. We’ll be fine,” he assures her. He’s so anxious to find out if any of the prospects are the Aunt Pri that he hasn’t considered anything else.
“We will be fine but in the morning. We need to figure out how we’re going to approach them and what we’re going to say anyway.”
Although he hates to admit it, everything she’s saying makes logical sense. It’s already dark and it’ll be even darker when they make it to the small town. A fresh start tomorrow will be better, so he concedes.
“The town is small as shit. See if you can find a hotel and something to eat. We can check in, grab food, and chill for tonight.”
“Not chill. Strategize then fuck,” she utters and he can’t hide his smile.
“Shit. I think you just said my new favorite phrase. We can most def strategize and fuck. Last night was just an appetizer,” he says with a smug look.
Grinning too damn hard, she pours a few M&Ms into her mouth then holds the bag out to him. He opens his hand and she pours some into his palm. While enjoying the candy, she searches for a hotel in Port St. Joe. She quickly learns it is, in fact, a little ass town.
Port St. Joe is located along the shore of Florida’s St. Joseph Bay in the panhandle. From her internet search Sunjiya learns the small town only has five hotels. The ones with the best accommodations are small and booked, so she extends her search to a town about twelve miles outside of the city, Mexico Beach.
“There aren’t any hotels available in Port St. Joe. I found a nice one in Mexico Beach,” she says.
“How far is that?” he asks.
“About fifteen minutes from Port St. Joe.”
“If you like it, book it.” He nods toward the opening in the middle console. “Terrance’s credit card is in there.”
While grabbing his wallet, she asks, “How many nights?”
“Do two. Just in case,” he answers. “Are there restaurants in Mexico Beach?”
“There’s some. What do you want for dinner?”
“I don’t care. I can order off any menu. Because of your allergy, you choose. I’m straight with whatever,” he says.
She nods then clicks through the restaurants. Her idea to eat in Mexico Beach quickly changes when she checks the operating hours, which sends her search back to Port St. Joe.
“Change of plans. We have to eat in Port St. Joe. I don’t know what type of town Mexico Beach is, but most eating spots close after lunch. The few that even sell dinner will be closed by the time we get there. I found a cute looking restaurant in Port St. Joe. From the reviews and website, the food looks good and it’s Black-owned. We can check into the hotel then eat there. They have a little of everything.”
“That’s straight.” Sunjiya removes Terrance’s credit card and driver’s license from the wallet and books. Because she truly wants to strategize and most definitely allow his fine ass tobless her body tonight, she tries to book one room. Only double queen bed rooms are available online. Because she wants a king bed, she has to call the hotel. The lady who answers is so polite and professional that the booking takes less than five minutes. “We’re booked,” she announces as she places his wallet back.
Chapter
Ten
Checkinginto the El Governor Beach Resort is seamless. The understated but very clean corner room has two windows that provide beautiful views of the beach. It’s also full of amenities. For their short two day stay, they have everything they need: a full kitchen, stocked with a Keurig and dinnerware, a steam iron and ironing board, and a hair dryer. After taking quick showers and changing, they rush to the restaurant and are seated with time to spare. The restaurant closes in thirty minutes.
“Is this our thing?” she asks as she gets comfortable in their booth.
“What?” he asks.
