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“I ownClub Sin, Witherspoon.”
She let out a loud breath. “Fuck me…” Her head fell into the crook of her arm dramatically. She murmured, “You probably are being truthful with all this shit.” Then Witherspoon grabbed her muffin and coffee, and I followed her outside.
As Jas followed me to my car, I spotted the old white van where Juggy was nose deep into a booklet. I couldn’t find my usual humor in his crossword pastime. My brain was on fire. This was some shit.
Some serious shit…
I was ready to catch Jas in a lie, but I wasn’t expecting him to be so transparent. I had no clue what he wanted to discuss when I agreed to meeting him this morning via text last night while talking to Sergio. But one thing was for sure, I was ready to catch him in a lie aboutClub Sin. Sergio had laid it all out for me last night. He told me about Man running the place, but also “some dude” who had been locked up practically since the place opened. He said the guy was now home and Sergio felt he was “dark.” He said after meeting Jas—or Sin—he now realized Man was dark, too. But when I asked him to explain, he couldn’t give me anything concrete.
I wondered if Sergio sensed the same sordidness in Jas I had a time or two, or did he just not vibe with streety guys. That’s what Jas, Juggy, and Man were. They were from the slums of Harlem. But violent? I couldn’t imagine seeing Jas in that light. He was so cool, levelheaded, practical, and rational. And I’d likely turned him off in the coffee shop, being all in his business.
It’s just…
I had no idea what to believe. I’d never met a man like Jas in my life, so cryptic and enigmatic. So wise and…godly. But dark? That wasn’t Jas. Suddenly, I felt regretful and protective. I didn’t totally trust him, but labeling a man because of his environmental mannerisms didn’t seem right. Urban Black men didn’t deserve the prejudices their counterparts threw their way. I was fine with slowing down on sex and the other shit, but I wasn’t about dismissing a guy because he lied about having money.
Money I don’t fully understand…
We’d made it to my car when I realized I had to say something to him. Something to not make him feel dismissed. God knew I was all too familiar with that pain. Hell, no, no more sex. I couldn’t untrain my eyes from Jas, but I didn’t want to be a bitch either, and I wanted to somehow tell him that.
“Listen—”
“Let’s get up again.”
The muscles in my face dropped. “Here?”
His cheesy smirk was kind of cute. “Nah.” Jas glanced away. Was he uncomfortable? “Like… Out.”
“I’m confused again.”
“Let’s go out to eat or something. You know what?” He clapped his hands together. “I know where. Lemme make a few calls and then I’ll hit you up for your availability. Cool?”
“That sounds like romance? Eating…suspense.”
“I thought you wanted to get to know me.”
I do…
My attention went to my key fob and I unlocked my car.
“A’ight then.” Jas stepped back. “I’mma hit you.” He took off for the corner.
“Aye, yo, Shi-Shi!” I turned to find Juggy hanging out of the driver’s side of the van. “I got my teeth bleached. The kid’s sparklin’ now.” He tossed his chin my way while cheesing from ear to ear. “You still got me, right? A nigga ready for a real one.”
In spite of myself, I hung my head and laughed my ass off.
Chapter 4
Part II cont’d
April | Present Day
As I stood, holding the office door open for them, I gave a neck bow. “I can’t wait till we break ground.”
“Yes!” Mrs. Fletcher stomped her feet, turning to her husband. She schooled her facial expression to one of a toddler’s. “This is my dream come true. Second home.” She hip-bumped him. “You know what that means.”
Mr. Fletcher’s face heated to a red hue. “A baby,” he explained to me. “She wants my old ass to give her a baby. I already have three. Those bastards are expensive,” he expressed, pushing his index finger in the air.
I laughed along with Lewis and Chung. Lewis was my acting assistant while Louise, the office administrator, was handling other shit this afternoon. And Chung was an architect I pulled into the firm last year to start taking on more modern home designs. It had taken some time to attract customers from that market, but here we were, well on our way.
