Page 23 of So I Know it's Real

“You aren’t as powerful as you think.”

“Damn, that’s how you feel, Lucky? You don’t think I can make you weak in the knees?”

“I think your status and money make you forget you aren’t God.”

“You don’t know who I am.”

Clover’s big brown eyes drifted to the ground as if my statement dampened her mood.

“You aren’t hard to read, Durk, but that’s not a bad thing. At least a girl knows what she’s getting into when she falls in love with you. That’s not the case for most people.”

“You talk heavy, Lucky, but I can tell by your body language you’ve already let the wrong nigga get in your head.”

Her dimples made an appearance as she said, “If he was in my head, you wouldn’t be standing between my legs.”

Turned on by her words and actions, I dropped a laugh into my fist as I created space between us. “How long do you plan on staying up here?”

“I rode with my cousins, so I’m waiting on them.”

“You still want that tattoo we talked about?”

Clover’s gaze grew wide. “Right now?”

“Right now,” I declared, creeping back in the folds of her thighs. “There’s no need to wait. You’re leaving with me.”

“Who said that?”

“My bad,” I replied, removing a toothpick from between my lips. “You have a ride home. Go tell your folks. Please.”

Her brows collided above her nose. “Is that your attempt at being a gentleman?”

“Did it work?”

“It did something,” she flirted.

Clover went to inform her people of her moves while I went to do the same. As I neared my folks crowded around a photo station, I snarled at them staring at me.

“Y’all are a pack of weirdos,” I suggested. “I’m about to head out. I’ll check in later.”

Before I could get away, Stevie gestured toward Clover. “So, that’s who you plan to leave brokenhearted?”

“It’s not like that, sis. Clover is the one who saved me from drowning a few weeks again. She goes to my granny’s church, too.”

Stevie shoved my shoulder. “What does that mean? Church girls need love too!”

“Well, according to these clowns, I can’t get no love for months. I want my bread when I win, too.”

Ishmael shook his head. “No love and no pussy are two different things.”

I shrugged. “It’s all the same to me.”

“And that’s the problem,” Shiloh chimed in. “You better hurry. Your girl is waiting for you.”

I followed the way he pointed and saw Clover leaning against the passenger door of my car. She didn’t hide the fact that she was staring at me, which made my cheeks tingle. I was the one who usually had bitches blushing without a word, and now I couldn’t control my face.

Ishmael squeezed my shoulder, anchoring me from my daydream. “Are you sure you’ll be able to last a few months?”

“You haven’t had pussy in years. I’m sure I’ll be straight.”