Page 56 of All Out of Love

Toya looked at Grayson. Dena? Dena Allen? He was sleeping around with her too?

But Grayson saw when she looked at him, and he could feel her distress. He quickly disabused her of any such thought. “I took Dena on a few charity events over ten years ago, and haven’t fooled around with her since. And you know that.”

“I don’t know shit the way you run through girls. So who was driving?”

“She was driving,” Grayson said as he placed his hand on Toya’s lower back. “Vincent, Pauly, I would like you to meet Jameesha Latoya Morgan. My lady.”

Toya could see the shock in Vinnie’s eyes as he seemed to be assessing her. “Now that’s a first,” he said. “Lots of firsts right here.”

Toya found that an odd response. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked him.

Pauly and Vinnie both were taken aback by her brashness in the way she spoke to him. Even Grayson was surprised that she wasn’t intimidated by his brother whatsoever. He was pleasantly surprised.

But Vinnie wasn’t the kind of man that sugarcoated his words either. And he was blunt. “You’re the first chick my brother has dated that isn’t eighteen years old.”

“Bullshit!” Grayson said.

“Bullshit my ass. You date all these young girls so you don’t have to invest anything into them but a little money. Which you have boatloads of.”

“And you don’t?”

“I’m talking to the little lady right here,” Vinnie said. Then he looked at Toya again. “And you’re also the first black chick I’ve seen him with. Not that he’s never been with any. He has. But he has a type. And his type is usually these anorexic little white girls that look like the brides of Frankenstein.”

Toya couldn’t help it. She burst into laughter. “I’m sorry,” she said to Grayson, who didn’t find it funny at all.

“Very funny,” Grayson said.

But Pauly was laughing too. And Vinnie smiled. “I like you already,” he said to Toya. “You get my jokes. Oh yeah. I like you. Now what’s your name again?”

“Her name is Jameesha Latoya Morgan,” Grayson said.

“That’s a lot of name for a little lady like yourself. What do people call you? Meesha?”

“Toya.”

Vinnie seemed to be weighing his options, as if he had any. “I like Meesha better. You’re Meesha in my book.”

Grayson rolled his eyes. “You don’t have a book when it comes to her.”

“And the third first for this arrogant-ass brother of mine,” said Vinnie, ignoring his brother, “is that he claimed you.”

Toya liked the sound of that. “What do you mean?”

“He says you’re his lady. He’ll bite my head off if I ever say any of those brides he dated before was his lady or his girlfriend or anything of the sort other than his fuck partner.”

Toya loved his frankness. But Grayson took exception to it. “Watch your language,” he said to his brother.

“It’s the truth!” Vinnie said. “But fuck it. Sit down and tell me exactly what happened.”

Toya smiled, and Grayson shook his head. But they both sat down on the sofa. Vinnie and Pauly sat down in separate chairs around the sofa.

But instead of Grayson asking Toya to re-live that nightmare again, he told Vinnie everything that happened to her.

“And you’re sure the dead guy in that flipped car was Eddie Hudgens?”

“That’s what the police officer said,” said Grayson.

“And of course everybody believes the police,” said Vinnie sarcastically. Which caused Toya to smile again. “But that’s Eddie for you,” Vinnie added. “Going after a female like the punk he is. Although it’s my understanding they thought you were driving your car since you never before let anybody else drive it.”