Chapter 11
Glimmer couldn’t believe how much fun she was having. She was a few shots in and feeling good. Liquor had never really been her thing, so when she did drink, she was a lightweight.
Kyomi flung her arms around Glimmer’s neck and rocked back and forth. “I’m so happy you’re here.”
Glimmer giggled. Kyomi was naturally emotional, but drunk Kyomi was on another level. The girl had been holding back happy tears since her first shot.
Glimmer hugged her back. “I’m happy too. Really happy.”
She whispered the last part because she realized at that moment just how happy she was.
She spoke to her dad every day, and their relationship was stronger than ever.
She hadn’t talked to her mom, which bothered her sometimes, but she also felt a sense of peace she’d never had before.
Best of all, Trick had completely disappeared.
She was no longer controlled by anyone else, and she didn’t have to live in fear or in hiding.
Not only that, but she also had her friends back. Life was damn good.
When they pulled apart, Kyomi shouted at Ivy to get them another round of shots.
“Girl, we ’bout to be to’ up,” Tiki said with a giggle.
“That’s the plan,” Kyomi sang as she threw her arms around Deja. Glimmer guessed it was Deja’s turn for Kyomi’s emotions.
Glimmer smiled as she looked around the patio. She had yet to go inside and wasn’t even sure she would. The vibe outside was perfect for her.
Like always, her eyes landed on Gideon, but instead of smiling this time with feelings of warmth, a scowl immediately covered her face.
Some pretty light-skinned woman stood in Gideon’s face.
Her smile told Glimmer all she needed to know.
The bitch was flirting with him. Glimmer sat back and watched for a second.
The woman had big curly hair and a bangin’ body.
She couldn’t even deny her beauty, which instantly made her insecure.
What she and Gideon had was so complicated.
Yes, they were married, but they never really set rules for their marriage.
Her mind drifted to all of Gideon’s vows.
She never had a reason to wonder if he meant those vows, but right now, she couldn’t help but to question them.
When the girl touched him, her insecurities flew out the window, and she saw red. Glimmer wasn’t really one to get mad, but at that moment, she felt way past mad. She felt rage pouring out of her pores. She didn’t even realize she had gotten up until she was only a few feet from Gideon.
Without thinking, she snatched the girl back by her mop of curly hair. “Is there a reason you got your hands on my husband, bitch?”
Glimmer stared down at the woman as she held her head back by her hair.
“I didn’t even know he was married. Let me the fuck go.” The woman wiggled to get free. Glimmer watched in amusement as the queens appeared at her side.
“What the fuck is going on?” Deja asked.
She was the one always with the shits. When they were young, Deja got into more fights than Haze, which was not an easy feat.
It also meant Glimmer and Kyomi had to fight if other bitches jumped in.
Deja got them into more trouble than Glimmer could possibly remember.
Glimmer ignored Deja and looked at Gideon. “You ain’t tell her you were married?”
He looked just as amused as she just was when she looked at the woman.
Now her expression soured as she watched him get a kick out of this.
This side of Glimmer rarely ever came out.
In fact, the last time she was like this was in high school, and it was behind some girl bullying Kyomi.
There was no doubt in her mind that the liquor played a major role in how she acted at the moment.
“I ain’t get the chance.” Gideon responded coolly as he watched her.
Glimmer grunted and looked back at the girl who squirmed in her grasp. She angled the girl’s head and forced her to look at Gideon’s hand. “You don’t see that ring on his finger?”
“I do now,” the girl said through gritted teeth.
“Look harder next time.” Glimmer shoved the woman’s head away, which caused her to stumble toward Gideon.
Glimmer knew he was a smart man, because instead of catching the woman, he took a side step and allowed her to fall. Glimmer beamed. Yeah, the liquor had definitely got to her. The smile fell off her face when she noticed the woman charging for her.
“Bitch, yo’ mama ain’t ever taught you it’s a punk bitch move to sneak attack someone?”
Glimmer squared up and socked the bitch in the face. The girl was relentless though. She swung, but Glimmer moved out of the way. The training her daddy, Big Henry, and Haze put her, Kyomi, and Deja through back in the day definitely paid off. It always did when she had to teach a bitch a lesson.
Gideon must not have gotten the memo that she could handle herself though. He scooped Glimmer up before she could really give it to the bitch good and put her over his shoulder.
“Hey! Put me down,” Glimmer shouted as he carried her away from the girl who was now getting stomped on by the queens.
The vibrations from Gideon’s chuckles only irritated her further, but she refrained from saying anything else. She knew Gideon well enough now to know that he only listened when he wanted to.
He was the most attentive man she had ever met.
He had super-human hearing and comprehended things very well, which made him a great listener.
He loved to please people.
But when he had his mind made up, he could be so damn stubborn.
She’d found that out when she wanted to stop taking the medication the doctor prescribed her for her ankle and all the small cuts on her feet.
They were pain medications and antibiotics, but she didn’t like the way they made her feel.
Gideon heard her, he understood her, but he refused to budge on allowing her to stop taking them.
He’d won that fight, but she wasn’t sure he would win this one. She didn’t really appreciate him picking her up like a damn rag doll just when she was about to get in her element and mop the cement with that woman’s face.
When he finally put her down, they stood right next to his bike. Glimmer crossed her arms over her chest and pouted, still refusing to say a word to him.
“Put this on, Mike.” He handed her the helmet he’d gotten customized for her.
She took it from him with a frown. “Mike?”
“Tyson.” He cheesed down at her, which caused her frown to deepen.
“You’re not funny, you know?” She slid the helmet on and immediately hated the way it felt on her head now that she had some liquor in her system. It disoriented her, but Gideon was right there to steady her.
“I think I’m hilarious. You good to ride?”
“Depends on where you’re taking me,” she snapped as she flipped the visor on her helmet.
“Home.”
“Already? The party isn’t over yet.”
“Says the woman who barely even wanted to come.”
“I was having fun,” she said defensively.
His brow rose. “Pullin’ on that girl’s hair?”
“She couldn’t keep her hands to herself, so I thought I would return the favor.”
Gideon chuckled before he lifted her hand up and kissed the inside of her wrist. “You’re cute, you know that?”
Glimmer simply grunted and waited for him to mount the bike.
After he did, he held his hand out to help her climb on before he put his helmet on and started the bike.
It came alive with a roar that didn’t feel so thrilling this time around.
Her stomach churned from all the shots she had, but as soon as she rested her cheek on Gideon’s back, everything seemed to settle.
The ride back to the house seemed to happen in a blur. Glimmer hadn’t realized how much she had to drink until she was on that bike and fighting to stay awake. She wanted nothing more than to fall asleep in the comfort of Gideon’s presence, her anger toward him completely gone at that point.
When he pulled onto the lawn of the compound, Glimmer released a yawn.
Gideon took his helmet off and waited until she got off the bike before he did the same. After their helmets hung from the handles, Gideon looked down at her, amusement in his eyes again.
“What?” she asked as she avoided his gaze.
Suddenly, she felt hot all over and also like she’d made a fool of herself back at the bar.
Her actions hadn’t reflected her character at all, but that didn’t mean she regretted it.
Another flash of irritation filled her as she thought about the woman with her hand on Gideon.
Gideon leaned down, balancing his hands on his bike on either side of her so she was trapped in. “You territorial over me, baby?”
His voice sent a chill straight down to her pussy, and goosebumps filled her flesh.
The sun had already started to set. She couldn’t believe the day had passed by so quickly as she stared up at his handsome face, illuminated by the setting sun behind her.
His thick brows naturally pulled down and made him look like he was always angry, but when he smiled .
. . oh, when he smiled, his warm brown eyes pull her in and cradled her with a love she had never felt before.
Luckily for her, he smiled often in her presence.
“No . . .” she finally mumbled.
“Eyes on me, Glimmer.” Her eyes snapped to him on their own accord, just in time for her to catch him licking his lips. A shiver ran through her entire body. “You don’t like when women talk to me?”
Her brows rose. “That’s not true. Deja and Kyomi—”
“Are my family. You know what the hell I’m talking about,” he said with laughter in his tone.
Glimmer sighed. She knew how persistent he could be, so she decided to just be honest. “I don’t know what came over me. I just didn’t like seeing you flirt with her.”
“I ain’t flirt with that girl. I wouldn’t disrespect you like that.”
She looked back down at the ground. “She definitely wanted you.”
“And you think I wanted her?”
“She’s beautiful.” She shrugged.