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“Boy, please!” Candi pursed her lips with a roll of her neck.
“She can call me a boy, but not you, Magic.”
“Magic?” Candi questioned. “Wrong bitch.”
“Nah, the right one,” Jay spoke with finality. When he peered into her eyes, she reminded him of an enchanted black cat with her wide, slanted eyes and dark skin. Magic was the first word that came to his mind.
Jolene didn’t make the exchange any better. “I guess he told you, friend.”
“Period!” Jay impersonated them from earlier. He was high, and since Candi’s sweet scent filled his car, he’d been in a better mood. The heaviness and questions of what if didn’t plague him like they had minutes earlier while looking at Luna and her pretty baby girl.
He winked at Candi when he heard her subtle laugh.
Chills prickled her skin that she quickly shook off. Candi was in no position to entertain a man. Her heart and mind were still healing from the shit she’d dealt with years ago. Therapy had taught her to heal before she dumped her bullshit on anyone else. And Jay looked like a package of bullshit she couldn’t handle even if she wanted to.
The ride was quiet, with no music playing. Every now and then, Jolene would say something to her son and check in on Candi with a look, which she would only nod to assure her older friend she was fine.
As the car came to a slow roll, Candi looked around the neighborhood, assessing it wasn’t where she lived. “Um, you could’ve dropped me off first,” she said after clearing the thickness in her voice.
“I know what I could’ve done. It makes more sense for me to drop my Ma off before I take you home. You live closer to me.” Jay didn’t blink when he explained his reasoning to her.
His sexy, southern baritone had her squirming. That and thoughts of being alone with him in his car. “But I don’t know if I’m comfortable being in the car with you by myself,” Candi expressed. She’d been in fucked-up situations before—more so because of her own doing. Now that she was trying to get her life on the right track, she didn’t want to take any chances. Even if her intuition told her she had nothing to fear with Jay.
“Chile, you will be fine. My baby boy ain’t no creep or nothing,” Jolene fussed, gathering her bags to get out of the car.
Candi didn’t reply. Instead, she took in the neighborhood. Since she’d been in Sapphire City, it reminded her that she was far from home. Jade City was only a three-hour drive away, but the way the two cities lived seemed to be worlds apart. Jolene’s neighborhood was nice and looked fresh and new. The homes were cookie-cutter with pretty little porches and one-car garages in the front. Each house was either painted white, pale yellow, or pastel blue.
“Come up front.” Jay’s request pulled her from her admiration of the movie-ready street.
“I’m good back here,” Candi said, crossing her arms over her full breasts.
“Stop playing with me and get yo’ ass up here.” Jay put the car in park, fully prepared to carry her to the front seat if he had to. Plus, he always walked his mama in the house. It was his way of checking to make sure everything was good.
“Candi, you giving my boy a hard time.” Jolene snickered, ready to make her way into the house. She was tired and her bed was calling her name. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, y’all, and get your pretty little self in the front seat.”
Jay shook his head at how stubborn Candi wanted to be. As he walked his mama up the walkway, he pulled his gray sweatpants up on his slender body. He was on the slim side but had muscles that defined his arms. Beautiful ink covered his body, and he walked like his dick was heavy.
Reluctantly, Candi got out of the back seat, making her way to the front. The seats in the front must’ve been crafted with a different type of leather compared to the back. Her body melted into the buttery leather as cool air pushed through the seat’s built-in cooling system. Closing her eyes, she allowed the serene feeling of the chair to ease her worry. The stress of her car and how she was going to get it fixed had been on her mind all day. So much so, that she hadn’t been in the best of moods when it came to dealing with the customers.
The sound of Jay opening the door and getting into the car woke her from her peaceful relaxation. “You ready?” He looked over to her and took her in completely.
Candi was beautiful. Her skin was dark like he liked. She had a weave in but it was her face that stood out to him. Almondy eyes that held sadness gave men like him pause before they decided they wanted to save her. Or at the least put a smile on her face.
“Yep.” Her lips popped.
Unable to pull off, Jay was in a trance.
“Um, you gon’ pull off, or do I need to call up a rideshare?” She bucked her eyes, knowing damn well she couldn’t afford another rideshare. Her money was so funny, she had no idea how she was going to get to work the following day.
Smiling, his open-face grill twinkled under the streetlights. “Let me play some music ’cause you seem tense.”
“How? You don’t even know me to make that kind of assumption.”
“I mean, it ain’t hard to tell when a woman ain’t been loved properly… or fucked properly.” He winked, reaching forward to turn the music up. It was late at night, so he played his R&B playlist. He was a slow-jam kind of man. Being from Alabama, he often carried the whole 00s vibe when it came to music and vibes.
“And Jolene said her baby ain’t on no creep shit,” she scoffed, rolling her eyes. “You giving Diddy vibes.”
His head flew back from the laugh that shook his body. “The fuck? Not Diddy. At least give me Jay-Z.”
