I look up from my phone, where I’ve been mindlessly scrolling through social media, and my smirk falls at the empty look in Jariyah’s eyes.
“Who did it?” My voice is a hard mask as Jariyah slides into the booth across from me.
It’s only been forty-eight hours since my dick slid into Jariyah, and I’m ready to defend her honor without knowing her rival. Sizzling and Grubbing is our meeting spot because it’s the one place where Jariyah can sneak away without a problem. Or so it seems, since this is where she asked to meet me this evening. My frown surfaces when Jariyah sighs, and her blank eyes fill with unshed tears as my chest tightens. The urge to beat somebody’s ass invades my mind as my blood runs hot.
“Talk to me,” I urge.
My teeth sink into my bottom lip, and my hand tightens on my phone when Jariyah’s eyes peer into me as she fidgets with her fingers.
“I need to be honest with you, and I’m hoping it won’t change how you see me.”
“If your ass let me fuck you raw only to tell me my dick is gonna fall off tomorrow, I’m about to kill you and throw you in my smoker.”
Jariyah’s mouth drops, and her eyes blink continuously as she stares at me wordlessly.
“Nah, don’t freeze up now. Are my customers about to have smoked Owens or not?”
“My admission has nothing to do with sex. You and your dick are fine, unless you have something to share with me.” Jariyah’s brows hike, and a low chuckle escapes my mouth at the thought of her trying to use reverse psychology on me.
“Trust me, you’re good. What’s up, though?”
“So, when I told you that I don’t live with my parents, I?—”
“Man, I know you don’t still live with your people. How old are you? Grown ass little girl. This shit is wild. I know I ain’t fucking with a little girl. Damn, I’m slipping.”
Jariyah sits back, and her exotic ass eyes flash with fire that causes me to chuckle because the last thing I feel is intimidated by her expression.
“For your information, asshole, no, I don’t live with my parents. But I do live in a high-rise apartment building where some of her spies live. Fortunately, we’re all on different floors, though. Now, are you ready for me to finish my reason for us meeting tonight? Or do you want to continue insulting me?” The harshness within her statement before her double questions has me extending my hand to give her clearance to continue.
“You got it. I’m listening. But you still haven’t told me how old you are. Maybe I should have asked that question after you refused to let me walk away on that first date. Are you legal, Ms. Owens? Your little ass got me feeling like I need to be hiding and shit. I ain’t down for fucking minors and shit.”
Jariyah is practically seething as her nostrils flare and her chest rises and falls heavily. The freckles on her nose seem more defined, and her green eyes entice me without her even trying. Maybe I shouldn’t taunt Jariyah when she looks like she wants to body my ass, but some shit needs to be laid out on the table. I should have covered my basics from the jump, but there’s no time like the present.
“You are something else. Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to ask a woman her age?”
“Probably, but that shit went out the window with the Sunday school lessons I didn’t want to sit through.”
Jariyah’s eyes stretch, and her head hangs as she shakes it like I’m on her nerves or something.
“Why are you stalling, Jariyah? Tell a nigga something before I leave you sitting here. While a nigga looks GQ equivalent in any color, I’m not ready for pea green or orange yet. But I might be depending on what you say.”
“Okay, I’m twenty-nine, so you’re good. I’m ignoring the rest of the foolishness that fell from your lips. But on a serious note, Mom knows I’ve been coming over this way because she had me followed. When I got home after leaving your place, she forbade me from coming back to this side of town. She’s even threatened to cut off my trust fund if I don’t follow her wishes.”
“Wait, what? Your mom knows where the fuck I lay my head, Jariyah? This is why I didn’t want to fuck with your ass. I can’t have your mama blowing up my spot and shit.”
This news has my stomach dropping to my ass, given the implications for not only me but Baxtown Iron as well. An image of my brothers in handcuffs being led to police cars flashes in my mind, and my stomach sours.
“Calm down, Righteous. Mom didn’t mention you or anyone connected to you. I also doubt that she’s still having me followed. Her intel only told her that I was heading toward this side of town but refused to follow me into danger.” She giggles.
I grunt because nothing about the shit she’s saying is funny to me. For my club brothers and me, being tied to the mayor’s daughter could result in bullshit that none of us need.
“I don’t care about my trust fund or anything, which is what I told Mom. I told her to take it because I refuse to be her puppet. With you, I believe I can have something real and meaningful. It’s time for me to stand on my own two feet and exercise my complete independence.”
“So, you’re giving up your little trust fund for me? The hood nigga your politician mother wouldn’t accept? Hm. That shit is wild.”
“Money has never made the world go round. I won’t let Mom dictate what I do no matter the consequences. I’ve given her enough leeway in trying to set me up with various men. But the buck stops here. I choose you and everything that comes with you, if you’ll have me.”
A mischievous grin slides into place because Jariyah’s last statement sounds oddly like what someone proposing would say.
