Page 38 of Torch

Brit cried out and placed herself behind me, peeking over my shoulder. “Is that a damn octopus?”

I chortled, holding my stomach. “It is. He’s the biggest one you can legally own. A Caribbean Reef Octopus, but, Brit, you don’t have to hide. He can’t get out.” My aquarium was seventy-five gallons and built inside my wall. The bill was hefty, but worth it.

Brit came from around my back, slowly moving toward the glass. Once she was close enough to gaze at him, she smiled in amazement. “Does he have a name?”

“He does. I let my nieces name him, and they came up with Hank.”

Brit giggled. “What made them choose that?”

“That’s the name of the octopus in their favorite movie, Finding Dory.”

She peered all around the aquarium and frowned before facing me. “Why isn’t there anything else in here?”

“Because he would most certainly eat it. Octopuses are highly territorial predators. The only thing that is considered a suitable tank mate is a starfish. And even then, he could decide one day he doesn’t want it in his space.”

“Wow. What made you get it?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I’ve always wanted one, but my parents wouldn’t let us have exotic pets growing up.”

Brittney placed her palms on the glass, watching Hank with curiosity. “How do you feed him?”

“There’s a latch at the top that opens for me to drop his food inside. Want to see?” It was actually his feeding time, which was another reason why I came down here.

All the uncertainty was gone, replaced by excitement. Brit bounced on her feet, clapping. “Yes. What do you feed him?”

I led her over to the refrigerator where I kept his live crabs, lobsters, shrimps and clams. I opened it and pulled out one of the jars of shrimp. A look of sadness came over her. “Aww, those poor little fellas.”

I snickered because she sounded like my mother when she saw me feed him for the first time. “It’s the circle of life, Brit.” I made my way over to the tank and opened the latch. When I dropped my arm into the water, Brit squeaked. “It’s fine, beautiful. He won’t harm me.” Just like always, he wrapped a tentacle around my arm to pry the jar from my hand. When I first got him, it took him a while to get the lid off by himself, but eventually he did.

After he got the lid off, I grabbed the stick I had to retrieve his jar. Once I had it, I led Brittney back upstairs and to my room. She went into the bathroom to change, while I changed in my closet. I was out before her and settled in the living room to wait for her. Five minutes later, she approached me apprehensively. I couldn’t take my eyes off the two-piece pajama short set she had on.

“What’s on your mind, Brit?” I asked as soon as she sat beside me. I had seen this look several times since we arrived.

She took a deep breath before staring me in the eyes. “You promise not to get offended?”

I scratched the side of my head. “Uhh… I guess.” I wasn’t too sure where this conversation was going, and I was nervous.

“I don’t mean to sound judgmental, but I’ve been in this situation before. Ignoring red flags. I know you said you don’t deal in illegal business, but come on, Christian. A strip club is not providing you with this type of life. You have a damn Lamborghini in your garage. Not to mention the size of your home. When I finished getting dressed, I put my duffel bag in your closet, and it’s filled with designer clothes and jewelry that I’m sure cost at least five figures a piece. As much as I love being with you, I meant what I said that day. I don’t date men who earn a living illegally.”

I rubbed my chin, trying not to laugh. Brit was observant and very spot-on. Granted, the club pulled in some major bucks for me, but it wasn’t a big profit for me. When I decided to bring Brit here, I was fully prepared to tell her everything about my business dealings. But something she said stood out to me, and I wanted to know more about it.

“What do you mean by you’ve been in a situation like this before?” I gazed at her.

Brit sighed and looked away briefly. “Well, nothing to this magnitude,” she said, waving her hands around, gesturing to my home. She turned to face me again. “But when I was sixteen, I went through my bad-boy phase. Against my parents’ wishes, I dated a guy from our old neighborhood, Smoove.”

My antennae went up because that wasn’t a common name. “Smoove?” I questioned with feigned confusion. I was hoping she would give me what I needed.

“That was his nickname. His real name is Zay.”

“Oh, okay.” I nodded for her to continue. I needed to hear the rest of this story so I would know how I needed to proceed. I would also have to bring this to the guy’s attention. We were currently watching Smoove, and they would need to be aware that he personally knew my woman.

“Anyway, I knew he wasn’t squeaky clean, but I enjoyed the thrill and excitement. That all came to a halt when I realized the consequences of dealing with men like him. One day he was pulled over with me in the car. I didn’t think anything of it until the cops were arresting us both. I had no idea Smoove was stealing cars, let alone driving me around in said vehicle. I was booked right along with him. Luckily for me, Smoove told the truth. That I had nothing to do with his crimes and that I was clueless about it. After the judge saw that I had never been in any kind of trouble and was a straight-A student, he dropped the charges. My fascination for bad boys had been cured after that. I vowed to never deal with a man like that again.”

I felt relieved by the time she finished. I didn’t look at her any differently. At the end of the day, she was a kid. I felt like most teenagers went through a rebellious phase to some extent. Some are worse than others. Brit learning her lesson the first time around was rare. Some kids had to hit rock bottom before they could snap out of it and get it together.

I grabbed her legs, throwing them over my lap, and started rubbing her feet. Just like clockwork, her eyes rolled in the back of her head. “Well, to ease your mind, let me start off by saying all my money is legit. Besides the strip club, I own several vacation rentals in town. I also invest in the stock market. That’s where the majority of my money comes from.”

Her brows dipped as she watched me. “How did you get into the stock market?”