“You live here?”
“For now.” He grabbed her hand. “But come on in, sexy. Let me get you inside before you catch a cold.”
Reluctantly she accompanied him up a set of dank-smelling steps and to a blue door. Although the hood was alive outside, the inside was on some VIP shit. A large, plush sofa sat against the wall, and a beautiful mahogany table sat in the middle of the living room. It smelled sweet and fresh, but not strong enough to worsen her illness.
Floyd removed his black peacoat and assisted her out of her leather. “Damn, you sexy as shit. And I love them shoes.”
She grinned, wiggled her black steel-toed pump, and posed. “Glad I could make you happy already.”
“I can’t lie, you did that the moment I saw your face. And them hips.”
“I love compliments, even though I see you keep looking at my spotty face.”
“The last thing I’m thinking about is your face.” He winked.
“So thank you,” Farah told him.
He was so excited that for a moment, she felt sorry she was going to kill him.
“Don’t thank me. I just love a bitch with a mean shoe game.” He paused. “You drink merlot?”
“Sure.” She dropped her purse on the table and fell onto his sofa. If she had to, she could certainly see living there. “As clean as this place is, you got to have a girlfriend.”
“Why you say that?” He popped the cork on a bottle of wine. “Because I keep my place up?”
She raised her eyebrows.
“I’m gonna be real with you. You know I got somebody. Just like I know you do. You here now, so there ain’t no need in playing no more games. We both ain’t shit.”
She giggled. “So all that shit in the store about me being wifey was game?”
“What you think?” He giggled. “And about my place being nice, even if I didn’t have a bitch, I’d keep a fly place.”
“And you don’t have a problem bringing me here, knowing you got somebody in your life?” She was beginning not to like him, and it was always easier killing someone she disliked. “Because I know she wouldn’t like what you’re doing.”
“We haven’t done anything yet.”
“You just like the rest of the niggas out there. Always want to fuck a bitch, play with her heart, and dump her when you get yours. One day niggas like you gonna be extinct, Slade. Just remember that shit.”
He didn’t know what caught him more off-guard: the name slip-up or what she said to him. “My name isn’t Slade. I knew something was wrong with you after you yelled at nobody outside.” Farah’s crazy slid out, and now he was nervous.
“I meant Floyd.”
“Who is Slade?” He paused. “Your man?”
“I said it was a mistake.”
“Look, what I do with my bitch is my business, and what you do with your nigga is yours. All I want is to spend some time with you and maybe put a smile on your face. Is that gonna be enough for you or what?”
She shrugged. “I’m here, ain’t I?”
“Good.” He handed her a glass of wine and held on to his glass.
“So tell me about yourself,” Farah said, sipping her drink. “Well, what you want me to know anyway.”
“Okay, I’m an engineer and I love to fuck and have a good time,” he said.
I can’t wait to kill your ass. “Anything else?”
“You want more, huh?” He chuckled, “Well, I’m real close to my family.”
“You got a big family?”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “But my sister is dying of cancer and my mother is losing her mind because of it.” Suddenly he wasn’t cocky. “That’s why I smoke so much weed, just to clear my mind. I stay at the Smoke Shop getting blunts and shit. I’m surprised I haven’t seen you around there before.”
Something about what he said put her on pause. “When you say you’re close to your family, do you mean really close?”
“I’ll put it like this, if it wasn’t for my family, I’d be dead or in jail right now, so I take them very seriously. I talk to my family every day, and that’s not an overstatement. I
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