Page 25 of Smoke

“Girlfriend?” Romi asked.

“Nah, I’m single.”

“Oh, well good. I don’t need any smoke from any woman with ties to you about you being over here.”

I kissed my teeth. “Who’s gon’ check me on my whereabouts? I’m a grown-ass man.”

“Alright, Mr. Grown Ass Man.”

It was my turn to hit her with the pillow. As I swung it at her, she raised her hands to block it.

“That’s assault on a pregnant woman, you know.”

“You hit me first, so it’s self-defense.”

She giggled as she rubbed her belly. “Whatever. If you were gonna come stalking my house, you could have at least brought me a snack.”

“You hungry?”

“I’m always hungry. I swear I think this girl is gonna be a big one. It’s a wonder I don’t weigh a ton with how much she has me eating.”

“What kind of shit do you crave?”

“I know it’s stereotypical, but I love pickles. Especially with marshmallow fluff.”

“That’s disgusting.”

“It’s so good!”

“I’ll let you have that shit.” I stood from the couch and fished my keys out of my pocket. “What do you want from the store, woman?”

“You’re really going to go get me a snack?”

“It’s the least I can do.”

“I’ll text it to you.”

“Don’t overdo it.”

“How can you offer to get me snacks and tell me not to overdo it?”

I chuckled. “Text me, woman.”

She giggled as she picked up her phone while I walked out the door. The corner store was close, so it didn’t take me long to get there. By the time I pulled into the parking lot, a text came through from Romi.

Doritos. A hot pickle. Cosmic brownie. Pork rinds. Cheese dip. Strawberry lemonade.

I shook my head as I climbed out of the car and headed inside. As I was grabbing her items, another call came through from Peach. I swiped the phone to answer.

“Yo.”

“Are you still coming?”

“My bad, baby. Some shit came up.”

She kissed her teeth. “Really, Smoke?”

“Yeah, man. I got you next time.”

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