Chapter 16
“Go ahead and get it.”
“It’s too expensive, Deuce.”
“I’m buying it for you. Why you checking my pockets?”
“I told you that I can buy things for myself.”
“Sevyn, your savings account is dwindling. Your short-term disability has just turned into long-term, but you’re not even receiving the full amount of your normal income.”
“You won’t let me pay any bills, so that money is just sitting there. I have enough to shop for myself.”
“I’d rather you save it for a rainy day in case something else happens.”
“Why should I, when you’re not doing it? You’re a cop. You don’t make a ton of money, sir.”
He stood from the bench that he sat on and walked toward me. Grabbing my hands, he lowered his head and brushed my lips. “Let me worry about that, okay? Besides, I’ll always give my woman whatever her heart desires. Money ain’t a worry, Sevyn.”
“Your woman?” I coughed, getting a little choked up over his declaration.
“You have a problem with something that I said?”
“I just don’t know how we jumped there.”
“I’m not the type of man who takes shit for granted. I don’t do casual sex, Sevyn. As long as you’ve been living with me, you haven’t seen a parade of women coming in and out of my place, and you haven’t seen me rushing you into my bed.”
“No, I haven’t.”
“That should tell you what type of man I am. I told you that you had less than three seconds to stop what we were doing, because in another five, I was gonna make you rethink everything you ever thought about sex; and your life wouldn’t ever be the same.
When I gave you this good dick, that meant you automatically belonged to me.
I don’t sling this around to every woman.
She’s gotta be a woman after my heart. The minute you let me in your bed, you walked into my heart too.
I ain’t going nowhere. Told you your life wouldn’t be the same. You must’ve thought I was a joke.”
I felt the need to check him and put him back in his place. “Deuce Fullwood, you don’t run me. I say when I’m someone’s woman and when I’m not. You’re so full of yourself.”
“I’m not full of myself. But you were full of me last night. Keep talking shit, and I’m about to fill your mouth with me in this dressing room.”
“Oop!” I rushed back into the dressing room and locked the door behind me.
“That li’l latch ain’t keeping me out, just so you know. Oh, yeah, and you’re still my woman,” he called out.
I couldn’t help but shake my head and giggle. I removed the outfit I was wearing and tried on a dress. The minute that I stepped out, he frowned.
“What’s wrong? You don’t like it?”
“Girl, where you think you’re wearing that to?”
“Uhm, I don’t know. I just thought it was nice to have.” I realized that I didn’t have anywhere to go. Not any friends to do anything with. I had nothing to do but sit in the house day after day, and it had been driving me insane.
“Get in there and take that off.”
“You could take me somewhere in it.”
He shook his head. “Not gonna happen. Instead of arresting folks, I’ll be the one brought up on murder charges that night.”
A slow smile crept over my face. “I’m serious. You could take me out on a date.”
“I’ll take you on a date, baby girl, but you’re not wearing that dress. If you put that dress on, we’ll be having a date night at home.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s boring, Deuce.”
“Whatever. You heard what I said.”
I returned to the dressing room and tried on a few more outfits. When I was finished, Deuce snatched them all from me and headed to the checkout line.
“I can buy my own stuff, Deuce.”
“I know you can, but I told you that I’m doing it.”
“What happened to my independence?”
“That’s what’s wrong with you young ladies these days.
Always talking ’bout being independent. Girl, you better let that man buy those clothes for you.
If she won’t take it, baby, I will. You can buy GiGi these thongs,” an older lady standing in front of us in line stated.
She shook the panties at Deuce, stuck her tongue out and ran it over her teeth and then winked at him.
My mouth dropped open, and Deuce had the nerve to wear a smirk and wink back at that old lady. “Deuce, you’d better fix that winky ass eye before you and that old lady and her triple X sized thongs get fucked up in here.”
It was his turn to be stunned because I seldom cursed, let alone threatened someone. I guess he didn’t know me as well as he thought he did.
“Sevyn, baby. Watch your mouth.”
“Watch my mouth, Deuce? Yeah, I guess you’re about to realize that my life wasn’t the only one about to change over that good dick. Play with me if you want to.”
His mouth dropped open just as the old lady slammed her purse on the counter and spun around on me.
“Li’l gal, I will choke yo’ skinny ass out with these triple X ass thongs. Ain’t nothing triple X about me except what I’ma do to your man tonight since you can’t appreciate him.”
“GiGi! GiGi!” a woman’s voice squeaked from behind us.
“Dang, GiGi! We can’t take you anywhere,” another voice complained.
I turned around to see two beautiful ladies rushing toward us. They were coming out of the plus-sized section, and one was dark-skinned and the other was light-skinned.
“Oh my gosh. What are you up here doing trying to fight people?” the light-skinned woman asked.
“I ain’t trying to do shit, but she’s trying GiGi’s patience today, sugar. She’s ’bout to have me mount that stallion she’s with and show him how GiGi get down. Teach her how to handle a man ’cause clearly she ain’t ’bout that life. Running your mouth when you need to be sucking him down!”
“GiGi!” both women shouted again.
“Wynter?” Deuce stated.
We all stopped and looked at him.
“Deuce? What are you doing here? Hey, boo.” The dark-skinned woman walked around the stanchion to hug him.
I reeled back slightly with a frown on my face.
“Mm-hmm. Look at old sourpuss face looking like she sucking a lemon when she should be sucking that man’s balls.”
“GiGi!” the light-skinned woman hissed again while I turned around and evil-eyed GiGi.
“I fight old folks and babies,” I threatened.
“Not today. Uh-uh. We’re not doing that. We’re family, boo,” the dark-skinned girl stated.
I lifted an eyebrow and looked between her and Deuce who was finding something funny as hell, but I sure as hell didn’t.
“Baby, calm down.” He kissed the nape of my neck and wrapped his arm possessively around my waist. “Ain’t nobody taking me from you, but GiGi is fine as hell.”
She smirked at me, and I pinched his arm.
“Ouch! Shit! Come on. For real. This is Wynter, Frost’s wife.”
I immediately felt shame flush my face. I loved Frost from the moment that he showed up to help me out the day I was kicked out of my place.
He had visited the house a few times since, and he was always concerned about me.
He often told me if I needed anything at all to just call him, and he’d followed through by giving me his phone number.
He said that if Deuce ever nutted up that I should let him know, and he would beat his ass for me.
I had the feeling that he was dead serious and not just talking.
“Ohmigosh. Are you for real?”
“Yep. That’s her sister, Autumn. She’s married to my boy October. The one I told you just received the contract to do the work on all the police cars.”
“Yeah, I do remember,” I replied sheepishly.
“And this is our grandmother, Vonda Maddox, who we affectionately call GiGi,” Wynter explained.
“She can be a bit mannish when she’s around an attractive man,” Autumn explained, rolling her eyes at her grandmother. “Trust me, I had the same problems when she first laid eyes on October.”
“And so did I with Frost.”
“If y’all knew what to do with these men, you wouldn’t need GiGi out here having to straighten you out. Fine young thang up here trying to buy her a new wardrobe, and this heffa don’t know how to let a good man be a good man, talking about independence. What’s wrong with y’all?”
“GiGi, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be able to buy something for ourselves. What if we start relying on a man and he turns out to be no good like someone we once knew?” Autumn asked.
“Mm-hmm.” Wynter agreed, rolling her eyes and twisting her lips.
“And this is why we can’t take you anywhere,” Autumn replied.
“Hey, y’all ease up on GiGi. She meant no harm,” Deuce stated, earning an eyeroll from Autumn, Wynter, and me, but a smile from GiGi.
“All you gotta do is let that young man buy you those clothes and stop giving him a hard time. He’s not like that Wilson nigga,” she stated, glaring at Autumn who twisted her lips and glared back.
“It’s not like I’m with him anymore, GiGi.”
“Yeah, but I told you he wasn’t no good in the first place. Should’ve listened to me. Deuce, I was about to take her down, but you got a good woman if she’s willing to fight for you and ain’t trying to empty your pockets,” GiGi stated to Deuce as she handed the woman her credit card.
Deuce reached forward, removed the card from the cashier’s hand, and handed her his card instead. He handed GiGi’s card back to her. I wanted to be mad because GiGi was my nemesis, and he was essentially buying her thongs, but I couldn’t. It was actually sweet of him to do that.
“Thanks, GiGi. I’ll keep that in mind and maybe keep her on my team a little longer.”
She kissed his cheek and turned back to accept her bag from the cashier.
“All right, Deuce. You’re about to get your heart broken up in this mall,” I teased.
“It’s okay. He knows where to come when you don’t want him anymore,” GiGi declared with a wink.
“On that note, we’re about to hit the streets. This woman is gonna get us jumped one day,” Wynter stated.
“Who? Ain’t nobody jumping me and my dream team. You better tell her, Autumn. We got these hands.”
“Come on, Granma Dynamite,” Autumn replied, grabbing her grandmother by one arm while Wynter grabbed the other one.
“It was nice meeting you again, Sevyn. Hope to see you around more often,” Wynter stated.
“Me too,” Autumn chimed in.