“Yeah. I almost got mixed up in some of that activity. I took what I thought was a legitimate job, but it turned out to be a front for selling drugs. I got out of that fast.”
They pulled up at Wave’s house, and she saw that all the guys were there. Her throat closed as panic rose. Would they expect her to feed them? She didn’t know what she had on hand. Would Jump be pissed if she couldn’t make something for his friends?
The car rolled to a stop and Jump reached over. She turned to tell him that she needed to go to the store, but he squeezed her leg.
“Hey, you look worried. Everything okay?”
“I don’t know what I can cook for your friends.”
Jump’s lips spread into a smile. “Don’t worry. We’ll order pizza. Plus, we’re all responsible and can make food if we need to. The guys can run to the store if we need more food. You are not responsible for feeding us. I can understand if you like cooking, but we don’t expect you to cook for us.”
It was so different from anything she’d ever heard before. Her mother had been beaten more than once for not having good enough food for their guests.
Maybe he would change, but she could get used to this. Jump treated her like she mattered, and she’d never mattered to anyone before.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Jump sent a note to Thario, asking if he could find any information on Grayson. He knew it would be hard to gather information on a guy who had no government ID, but he was hopeful that if there was information out there, Thario could find it.
Once inside, the guys started cleaning Wave’s house. Not that there was much to do, but they all wanted Wave’s house to be clean. He was in the kitchen when T came in, looking for more toilet bowl cleaner.
“Let me look,” Blakely said as she squatted next to the cabinet and opened the door for the under the sink storage.
“We can take care of cleaning everything,” Jump said.
“I can’t sit back and not clean while you all are doing everything.”
“I get that,” Jump said. “But I want to make sure you don’t think you are on your own when it comes to cleaning.”
“It was nice of Wave to let you stay here,” T said.
“Yeah, he’s a good guy.”
Cy came into the kitchen. “The house across the street from me is for sale.”
Jump’s stomach squeezed. He wanted to get out of apartment life, but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to afford to buy a house. “I bet it’s expensive.”
“It’s not bad. I mean, more than you’d pay in middle America, but I bet you could afford it.”
Jump frowned and shook his head. “I’ve been trying to save up money, but houses are expensive.”
“I’ll give you the name of the person who helped me. You should get out of the rental market and get a house. You’re here for a while.”
Jump nodded. “Yeah, I am here for a while. I guess I should buy something. I’ve been going from apartment to apartment, trying to find good deals, but the rent is getting more expensive. I don’t love the extra costs that come with renting.”
“What extra costs?” Blakely asked. “You know, just because I’m new to all this. I don’t know what I’m doing and I’m not sure they didn’t rip me off.”
“Every time I’ve moved, I’ve had to buy things like shower curtains, and sometimes window coverings because what they have up isn’t good enough,” Cy said.
“Plus they want first and last month’s rent,” T said.
“I’ve lost rent when I’ve run,” Blakely said as she plopped down on a stool. “I’m tired of running.”
“I bet. Hopefully we’ll get this sorted and you can stay in the same place for a long time.” Jump hoped Blakely would stick around. He wanted her here with him.
It was way too premature to think they would be together forever, but he was leaning that way. He wanted her in his life for a long time. Did she want that? What if she didn’t want a relationship?
They needed to talk about what she wanted out of life. What did he want out of life? He thought he knew, but he’d been wrong before. Maybe he should just chill out and go with the flow. Buthe didn’t want Blakely to think he wasn’t interested in a long-term relationship with her.
