Flocco didn’t hesitate. He reached into his pocket and counted off nine hundred dollars. He handed it to the waitress dressed in purple shorts and a bra top that her breasts were enhanced by.
His dark, haunting eyes pinned me against the stage as he began calling off his order.
“Let me get a Hen and coke. Get my ol’ lady whatever she been drinking.”
“Alright. Sounds good. Anything else for now?”
“Nah.”
“I’ll be back with those drinks.”
Flocco had already put her presence behind him. He was near me again. Standing directly in front of me. Peering down. Seething. Yet, obsessing.
“What are you doing, F–”
“I’m getting the date you promised. Now, sit your pretty ass down before I sit you down my damn self.”
I blinked away my smile, hoping he didn’t get an inkling I appreciated his dominance. My bottom lip slid between my teeth, suppressing the curve my lips were desperate to form.
“Now, Hyph.”
The first step was unraveling. I shed a new layer with every step I took after.
My chair was pulled out for me. And, once I settled, it was pushed up to the table. Flocco rounded the table and took a seat. Discreetly, he removed his gun from his waist and placed it on his lap.
He stared at me. Unmoving. Penetrating me. Probing me.
“Lesson number five–” he paused, pushing out a deep breath. “Don’t lie to me, because I’ll never lie to you.”
He pointed to himself and then to me.
“We won’t lie to each other.”
I remained silent, watching as his vulnerability rested on his shoulders. It weighed them down with contemplation and confusion and discomfort.
“Lesson number six… We apologize. We say we’re sorry. You hurt my feelings, Hyph. Tell me you’re sorry.”
Flabbergasted, my neck reeled backward. My eyebrows raced for my hairline. Flocco didn’t budge. The seriousness of his expression made it clear that we wouldn’t move forward without the apology he’d proposed.
I nodded continuously. The smile I’d been suppressing sprouted from my lips. My allurement had attracted a very sensitive, self-aware, and emotionally intelligent thug. I wasn’t opposed but now wasn’t the time for him to enter my world.
The feelings I once had no longer existed. I was not the same vulnerable, lovesick girl I’d left Dooley as. I was a woman scorned. A woman piecing herself back together. A woman figuring herself out. A woman coming into her own.
“I apologize.”
“Lessons seven, eight, and nine–,” Flocco continued, “We don’t intentionally hurt each other’s feelings. We don’t ignore each other’s feelings. We are considerate. Understood?”
With my lips pursed, I nodded.
“Here are those drinks,” the waitress interrupted.
Her timing was perfect. I recovered mentally as she sat both drinks on the table.
“You all ready to order some food or you’re good for now?”
“Fifteen-piece. Lemon pepper. Fried hard. All flats. Side of buffalo sauce. Extra ranch dressing. Carrots. Make sure you toss those in buffalo sauce.”
“Got it. Anything else?”
