Chapter 7 #2
“Never been laid up and couldn’t sleep because I missed a soul. Not even when I was married. Now here I am wondering what the fuck you’re doing and pissed at the thought of you being able to sleep not next to me.”
I was smiling before he finished his spiel.
“What are you grinning and shit for, Jade?”
“Because you’re cute. Instead of calling me and telling me you miss me, you call me fake grumpy with a gripe.”
“Well, I think I did tell your dramatic ass I miss you.”
“You did? I didn’t hear that part.”
He laughed into the camera; his smile so contagious I couldn’t help but smile as well. He was so handsome with those tight eyes.
When the shared laughter died down, a brief silence ensued. “Will you be coming back to the city tomorrow?”
“You asking questions you already know the answers to, Jade.”
“Do I?”
“You do.” The way he spoke had me hot and freaking bothered like a teenager with her first crush.
“Okay then, better question. What are you feeding me when you make it back to the city?”
“Whatever you want, Jade.” He licked those full lips and I almost came right there.
“You gotta stop telling me stuff like that, Oden. I’ma get too used to it.” I closed my eyes tightly and fell back flat against the bed. With the phone on my chest, I had to regulate myself.
“Why not get too used to it? I told you I liked you, Jade, and I meant just that. I’m a grown ass man, Jade, and very intentional about my interests.”
“Interests… plural or singular?”
“Singular. My interest in you and only you, Jade.”
“Okay. Good to know.” I was trying to keep a straight face in this dark ass room, but I was grinning from ear to ear.
“Ask me what you wanna ask me.” His demand had my eyes popping open. Lord oh lord why did I have to be so damn animated for no damn reason.
“I like you as well. I guess I don’t want to assume I’m the only person you’re dealing with when we’ve never etched anything in stone. It’s early, bu—” I started to babble, but he cut it right there.
“You are the only person I’m fucking on and with. Remember what I told you that first night?”
I tilted my head to the side as if he could see me. “No, what did you say?”
“I said you felt like home and I meant that. I ain’t the nigga out here creating and feeling homes everywhere. And nah, it ain’t too soon for nothing.”
“So, me telling my brothers I’m seeing you isn’t a problem?”
“I’d hope yeen tryna hide me from your blood, love. And nah, you ain’t seeing me, you’re dating me, Jade. We’re way past that young shit.”
I couldn’t hold back my laughter. “No, I’m not trying to hide you from my family. I’m just not in a rush to have my brothers all in my business.”
“Yeah aight. You heard me, love.”
“Loud and clear.”
A week and a half later
My eyes glossed the almost finished product of my store.
Of course it wasn’t fully finished yet, but I was working toward it.
My mind needed this to be done so it would be one less thing stressing me out.
One less thing on my never ending to do list. The fact that it was never ending was nobody’s fault but mine.
Not only could I never sit still, but lately I’d been kind of slacking.
The slacking came from the new man in my life and him unapologetically telling me to sit my ass down sometimes.
I found that hilarious given the fact that he too was a busybody.
When he wasn’t in the city, he was at his actual home.
He’d go from chopping wood to picking tomatoes.
I knew this because I was nearly always on the phone with him while he was jumping around like a human pinball.
“I like this happy you. You don’t walk, you glide and you’re giving yourself a break from time to time.” Ava walked up behind me.
I glanced to the left at my dog. Of course, Chauncy was asleep in his damn bed. Anybody could have run up on me and he’d be totally unaware.
“Nah, sis, he isn’t protection. He’s just cute.” She laughed.
I shook my head. “I see.”
“I haven’t spoken to the building yet as it seems like ol’ dude in charge of investigating what happened is giving me the runaround. Rest assured I will get to the bottom of this, even if I have to get the police involved.”
I nodded. Ava had taken the lead in the fire garbage can situation while I kind of backed up into a hole, mentally avoiding it.
The fact that I had been staying in Oden’s condo made it easy for me to do that, but I was out of clothes and desperately needed to go home.
I missed the place that belonged to me. Of course, when I told him that this morning, he didn’t like it at all but understood.
The man had literally told me to keep my eyes peeled over five times when I told him.
It also didn’t help that I’d be alone, because I refused to bother my brothers and tonight was the night he went back to the countryside.
I woke up to a taser on the nightstand since I absolutely refused to carry a damn gun.
Not only that but both Rennix and G had requested I come stay with them while this was sorted out, but I declined.
They had their own lives and I didn’t want to impose.
“Am I taking Chauncy tonight? Or?—”
“No, I’m going home tonight. I miss having my own space. I just won’t open any doors.”
She shook her head. “Better yet, I’m spending the night. You don’t like guns, but I have a southern father who wouldn’t let me rest until I owned at least three. Or is your boo coming through?” She winked.
“No, he’s busy tonight.”
She nodded. “Then it’s set.”
I’d be lying if I said knowing she'd spend the night wouldn’t make me feel the least bit better because it did. Her company would help.
“Then maybe you could tell me more about this new beau of yours that you have yet to let me meet.”
I smiled hard. “Maybe.”
We spent a while longer in the shop, then left. I was walking into my apartment with my baby in tow when my phone started ringing. I immediately jumped but had to check myself. When Siri announced it was Oden calling in my headphones, I answered quickly.
“Hello, handsome,” I greeted before he spoke.
“Hey baby, have you made it home yet?” His concerned tone earned a reaction from my body within seconds.
“I just walked in the door.” I set my bag down on the counter and looked around. Everything was as I left it. Nothing seemed out of place and it smelled just like I’d left it, lavender with a hint of lilac.
“I wish you would have let me be there when you went back.” He sighed into the phone just as I heard something sound like it was chucked in his background.
“I told you I’ll be fine. I have my taser. Now what are you doing?”
“Chopping wood, baby. You know you can’t never have too much.”
“I bet that’s a sight to see.” I sighed to my hot ass self.
“Let me know when you are free and we’ll definitely get that scheduled.”
“And I definitely will.” I smiled at the thought, moving through my place, not so sure why I missed it so much. It was empty, so empty that it felt cold. I didn’t remember feeling that at first, not until now, being here alone.
“What are you eating for dinner tonight, beautiful?
I giggled. “You don’t want to know and I don’t want to tell you.”
He laughed. “As long as it ain’t cereal or whatever you call girl dinner.”
I laughed so hard I almost didn’t hear the door being knocked on. Oden did because he quickly asked me who was at the door.
“It’s most likely Ava. She’s spending the night tonight so I’m not alone ’cause my man is nowhere near.”
“Wouldn’t be the man who told you to wait a few days, would it? So he could go with you, right?” Another chuck in the background later and I was sliding my defiant ass to the door. He had me there.
A small bark from Chauncy.
“I mean, considering the fact that I would have been walking around naked, I don’t know.” I opened the door for Ava and moved toward the kitchen. Him asking me about dinner had me thinking about it. A bowl of dry Cheerios was calling my name.
“That doesn't sound bad at all.” He chuckled. At the same time, I got a notification on my phone.
I pulled my phone from my pocket. “Yeah, until I have to wor—” My sentence trailed off when my eyes locked on the text message sent to me from a number I didn’t recognize.
It was a video and of course I clicked it.
When it began to play, my eyes ballooned at the footage of me entering the building, the elevator, walking to my apartment, then entering my apartment. It cut off there.
Another message came in.
Unknown: Welcome Home, Jade.
“Jade, what’s wrong?” Ava asked when I dropped my phone.
I looked away from the phone on the floor to her, shaking my head. I was officially creeped out. As a matter of fact, I was way past that. I began to look around frantically before there was yet another knock at the door.
I didn’t move toward it, but instead away.
Oden’s voice continuously calling my name broke the trance I felt like I had been forced into.
I couldn’t focus because then the door was open and Ava was speaking with somebody outside of it.
It wasn’t until she closed it with a vase of red roses in her hands that I felt extremely ill.
“Jade, answer me.” Oden’s heavily worried voice filled the AirPod.
“Somebody sent me a video of myself coming into my building. Then texted welcome home,” I said to him, then looked at her. “What does the card say, Ava?”
Confusion was etched in her features when she looked up at me. “Sorry for the fire. I promise to make it up to you soon. Your secret admirer.”