stand still as his question floated between us. His hand was planted firmly on the door just above my head; no wonder I couldnât pull it open. He was so close behind me. I could feel a wall of heat along the back of my body as he leaned over me, waiting for my answer, expecting me to react like every other woman who had probably given in to his good looks and sex appeal.
âMy wife is crazy as hell, and I think youâve got enough on your plate to keep you occupied. I have police-grade Mace. Move, or Iâll use it.â I held my breath, silently wishing this were a different time, or I were a different me. He was a ride I couldnât afford to take right now.
Reluctantly, his hand slid from the door. I heard him take a step back.
âOlâ girl out there, she ainâ nothinâ but arm candy. But you, you naturally beautiful witâ all that real hair. Yeah, I can tell, anâ I appreciate it. Your wife got eâre right to be crazy, âcause I honestly donât think you into that dikinâ shit a hundred percent. Iâll see you soon, Michelle.â
CHAPTER 2
HOME GROWN
I was bored outta my damn mind. Chelle was always at work or wherever doinâ who- or whatever and I was stuck up in here all day every day with the damn kids. The two of them were runninâ around the house, actinâ like they were losinâ they damn minds, fighting over every single solitary thing. There was nothing for me to do and I was gettinâ restless as hell and the kids were startinâ to work my damn nerves. I threw down the magazine I was trying to read, only making it halfway through the article on how to tell if your man was cheating. No, I ainât had no man. I just switched all the âif heâsâ doing this or that et cetera shit to âif sheâs,â and damn if Michelle wasnât fitting the descriptions to a muthafuckinâ T.
Lately sheâd been working late with special clients on special closings, or taking longer to get home than usual. When we made loveâhell I couldnât even call it thatâit was more on some âI serve you until Iâm bored, okay switch, now you do meâ boring-ass shit. Nothing like when we first got together. Everything that damn magazine said was exactly what was going on in our house. Anâ I be givinâ her ass every opportunity to just tell me she seeing someone else but, like a muthafuckinâ nigga, she refuse anâ claims nothinâs up. You know how that shit goes. Deny, deny, deny âtil you die type shit. She could probably get caught in the act, dick or pussy in her mouth, ass, or whatever, and still be like, âBaby, it ainât what you think.â
Pain shot through my foot; glancinâ down, I got even more pissed off as I pulled one of Treyâs Legos from underneath it. âTrey, stop chasinâ yoâ fuckinâ sister anâ come pick up these damn toys. I done told you âbout leavinâ these damn things all ovaâ the fuckinâ place. Iâma start throwinâ âem away. Try me, liâl nigga.â I stared his liâl lazy ass down while he picked âem up slow as hell one by fuckinâ one.
I did not sign up for this shit. I needed to be doing something with myself, running a business, keeping my mind busy earning myself some damn money. I hated dependinâ on Michelle for every damn dime I wanted to spend. If it wasnât for the fact that we were basically in a self-induced witness protection program I could easily go out anâ get myself some kind of work, but it was just easier if we kept people out of our shit. Daycares, constant babysitters, they all had questions and needed more info than she or I wanted to give.
I needed to talk to a damn adult. All this kiddy shit was getting to my ass. I pulled my cell out of my back pocket and called my cousin back home in Detroit: the only person I