Page 15 of Smoke

“Thank you…” was all I could muster, and it came out just above a whisper.

“I don’t need thanks. Just get you some rest, Romi. Goodnight.”

He tipped my chin before heading out of the house to his car. I watched as he backed out and pulled up beside the patrol car. He and the officer spoke for a moment before he disappeared into the night. I closed and locked the door, then turned on the new security alarm I’d had installed.

With a heavy sigh, I headed to my bedroom.

Maybe Iwouldget a good night’s rest.

“Who are you looking for?”Kaylynn asked me. “You’ve been watching the front door for a minute, and I’ve never seen you up here this long.”

I ignored my cousin as I pulled out my phone and pretended to be busy checking emails. The truth was, I was waiting for Romi to walk through the door. I hated the fact that I couldn’t stop thinking about her fine ass. Something happened between us at Maceo and Shar’s wedding. Not only did I sit with her for the remainder of the reception, I danced with her.I danced.A nigga didn’t dance.

Then here she came flashing that pretty ass smile at me and being her goofy self, and I folded quicker than a crackhead doing something strange for a lil’ piece of change. My people spent the whole fucking night watching us and whispering shit. The family group chat was going up, and by the time I checked my messages, I had a hundred and fifteen text messages.

The women were fawning over how good me and Romi looked together while the niggas were roasting my ass.

“Look at this no rhythm having ass muthafucka.”

“Big ass stiff as fuck.”

“Looking like he’s from the land of the jolly green giants with her short ass.”

“He’s gon’ break her little ass. Ol’ swole, Latrell fromWhite Chickslooking ass nigga.”

“Once you go black, you’re gonna need a wheelchair.”

The shit went on and on.

To make matters worse, I felt the soft spot forming for her when she asked me to check her house to make sure it was safe. That shit was sad. Pregnancy was supposed to be a beautiful, stress-free time, and here she was worrying about a fuck nigga being in her house.

That was why I had my guy pull up to sit on her house that night. He lived in the same neighborhood, so it was nothing for him to pop over. When I checked in with him, he said he’d seen the same car roll through the neighborhood about three times before disappearing.

It had to be the baby daddy. He’d gotten the license plate number and ran the tags for me. It came back to a Patrick LaStrange. I thanked him for the information and made a mental note to have Jaeda check him out.

“So you’re ignoring me?” Kaylynn asked, mushing my head.

“Looks like it.”

She kissed her teeth. A few minutes went by before I heard the bell over the shop door ring. Looking up, I saw a fresh-faced Romi walk in, looking fine as hell. Today, she was dressed in a loose-fitting black jumper with one of the suspenders undone. Beneath it was a white tube top. On her feet were a pair of white canvas shoes. Her locs were still in the same style fromthe wedding. Diamond studs and a matching teardrop necklace accented her look.

Kaylynn nudged me. “So that’s who you’re waiting on, huh,” she jested.

“Shut up. I’m not waiting on her. She has an appointment.”

“You never wait on your other clients. I always have to page you for them. This one must be special. First the wedding, now this.”

“Go to hell, Kaylynn.”

I slid from behind the counter to meet Romi in the middle of the store. She smiled softly as I approached her.

“Good morning,” she said.

“Morning. How was your appointment?”

“Me and baby are good. Thanks for asking. And thank you for having someone sit outside my house last night too. You didn’t have to do that.”

“It’s nothing. I mean, you’re growing a whole human. You need your rest. Youdidrest, didn’t you?”

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