“And I said I heard you.”
My total popped up on the screen, and even though I knew I had the money now, seeing that number still made my stomach drop.
Booda noticed immediately. “Quit looking at prices. Just buy that shit. We gon’ get some money if we don’t do nothing else,” he whispered.
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, but don’t complain when I get used to this.”
Booda shrugged as he leaned against the counter, arms folded. “I never did.”
The cashier flashed me a nervous smile, her hand shaking as she handed me the receipt. “Thank you for coming. Enjoy your day.”
I grabbed my receipt before picking up my bags from the counter. “Thank you. You too,” I replied and looked over my shoulder at Booda. “Come on.”
“Koko.” Giani’s voice softened slightly through the phone. “You still here?”
“Yeah, but I’ma have to call you back later.”
“Aight. Call me if you decide to come by later. I really wanna spend more time with you.”
“I will,” I said, and ended the call, my grip tightening around my shopping bags as pieces of the night before drifted back through my head.
My phone immediately started vibrating again in my hand. Giani was calling back, but I ignored it. Whatever she had to say should’ve been said before I hung up. There was nothing more to talk about.
Booda looked over at me. “You think she lying about that shit being a joke?”
“I don’t know.”
That was the truth, because another part of me kept wondering whether I was being too hard on her. Maybe I was overthinking everything because my memory was still scrambled. The problem was that I’d learned a long time ago that my instincts usually knew something before my mind caught up.
And for some reason, I couldn’t let that shit go.
CHAPTER 14
Plastic wrap and cardboard littered the floor as I watched two muscular White men carry furniture through the front door. Booda stood off to the side, monitoring everyone while another delivery guy installed the sound system.
Since moving into Apartment 214, it was actually starting to look like somebody lived here.
The television mounted on the wall made the living room feel bigger, and the oversized sectional sitting in the middle of the floor somehow changed the entire energy of the place.
I stood near the kitchen island, holding a cup of lemonade, patiently waiting to instruct the delivery guy, who was struggling with the dining table chairs, on where to put them.
“Nah,” I said, shaking my head. “The silver ones go on that side.”
The man quickly nodded. “My bad.”
When I heard Booda chuckle, I narrowed my eyes, temporarily giving him my attention. “What?”
“You bossy as hell,” he said, voice tinged with humor.
“I am not. I just know how I want things to look.”
“Still bossy.” He shook his head with a grin.
“Whatever.” I waved him off. “We paid our money, didn’t we?”
“Yeah, but that don’t make you the foreman.”
“It absolutely do.” I giggled.
