Page 36 of Finessed By A Hood White Boy

Turning around, I came face to face with a smiling Ethan.

His teeth were lined with gold fronts, top and bottom. I loved when he wears his slugs because they fit him perfectly.

“Yeah, it would.” I looked away to hide my smile.

“I’m pretty sure I saw someone bid on this painting, and it wasn’t you. How did you get it?”

“I have my ways. Are you feeling better? Julia told me you needed time off because you weren’t feeling well.”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I quickly said.

“Listen, Ava, about that night,” he started.

“It never happened.” I spoke up so he wouldn’t continue.

“Nah, it definitely happened.” He smirked. “I just don’t want shit to be awkward between us. But if that’s how you want it to be, then I’ll play along.”

“It’s just…I’m going through a tough situation right now. I should’ve told you but everything happened so quickly,” I confessed. “I'm married. Well, I’m about to go through a divorce. I should’ve told you way before now, but I didn’t think things between us would go that far.”

We stood in silence for a moment, and I was curious about the thoughts running through his mind. His blue eyes pierced my soul as he stood without saying a word. A slow grin crept upon his lips as he stroked his beard.

“It’s all good,” he licked his lips. “Your hair looks nice.”

He changed the subject rather quickly, and I was kinda okay with that.

“You got that Aaliyah vibe going.” He gently stroked my face, moving my side bang a little.

My body tensed because I had forgotten all about why I even had my hair styled that way. Instantly, his eyes squinted once I moved from his touch. I felt cornered because I had nowhere to run.

“What happened to your eye?” he asked.

“Nothing.” I fixed my hair.

“Ava—”

“I’m okay.” I cut him off.

I didn’t want to overdo it and have makeup caked on my face, so I decided to straighten my hair and give myself a deep side swoop bang.

“He put his hands on you?”

Call me crazy, but the color of his eyes had changed right before mine. They went from a soft Justin Timberlake blue to a cold and menacing gray. I didn’t want any problems to occur because I already had to deal with enough when it came to Rob.

“I’m fine, Ethan. I promise.”

That was the only thing I could say to him as my hands rested on his chest. We stood toe to toe, and I knew someone would walk in and automatically assume we were making out. I had to put some space between us just in case.

As if he had zoned out, he wouldn’t take his eyes off of me. “Let’s go for a ride.”

His response threw me off because how the hell was I supposed to leave when I had work to do? I glanced at my watch, and time seemed to have flown by because I didn’t have much left for my break.

“I can’t leave, I still have⁠—”

“I’m not worried about any of that. It'll get handled. Get your stuff and come on.”

Once I had my things in hand, he stepped back, allowing me to head out in front of him. My mind wondered what he had in mind and where we were going.

For forty-five minutes, we rode in silence. I wanted to ask where he was taking me but decided not to spark a conversation because I didn’t want the spotlight on me and my bruises. Hell, at one point, I had dozed off, and by the time I woke up, we were pulling into the parking lot of a place where I’d never been before.