Page 20 of Intercept My Heart

“Umm, I don’t have anything to sleep in. Would you mind popping the trunk? I’m sure I should have something in one of those bags.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll make sure you have what you need.”

Walking into his house, I wrapped my arms around my body. While I knew Dinero came from money, I never expected all of this. His house reminded me of one of those houses the celebrities used to show onTV. In the foyer sat two giant, gold statues of what appeared to be a lion and a lioness.

Dinero and Drake continued to talk as they walked into the house. The walls were covered with all kinds of sculptures and trinkets. I could tell whoever decorated this place had to be big on historical artifacts. Tracing my fingers along this beautiful black sculpture, I was mesmerized by the intricate details.

“It’s beautiful, right?” Dinero’s voice caused me to jump.

“Did your mom buy these?”

“Something like that. Your food’s in the kitchen whenever you’re ready to eat.”

“Oh, okay, thanks. Umm, are your parents going to be okay with me staying here? I can go to a motel or something.”

“Don’t worry about it. I let my uncle know already, but he’s rarely here anyway.”

“Wait, so you live here with your uncle?” For some reason, I assumed he lived with his mother and father. I remember him mentioning them one day when he came over to hang out with Drake, but I knew they were in his life.

“Yeah, you could say that.” His response was dry and left me with more questions than answers. Before I could press him, he turned to walk into the kitchen. Obviously, there were things about him I still needed to know. I wanted to lie down, but I figured I would have to wait for further instructions from Dinero. He promised I’d have something to wear, so I decided to ask him about it. If nothing else, I needed to wash this smell of sandwiches off me. I enjoyed my job overall, but I smelled horrible after a long day of work.

“What’s up with you and Brielle? Nadia told me you dumped her with no explanation. I thought you were feeling her. You said the pussy was good, right?” My eyes rolled at the mention of Brielle.

“I don’t care for her personality. I can’t stand that mean girl shit. Plus, her ass always begging for something. As much as she brags on her corrupt ass father, you would think she’d have more money.”

“Now you’re sounding like me. Nadia called me to ask me to buy her a Coach bag. I told her she might want to buy a plain purse and write Coach all over it. Those are the types of gifts you give to your future wife, not a broad you’re smashing.” Theycontinued to talk among each other, so I tuned out most of their conversation until I started to doze off on the living room couch.

When I woke up, I was in an unfamiliar room. My clothes were still intact as I checked myself over. As much as I liked Dinero, you could never be too trusting. I’d learned that lesson more times than I cared to admit. My legs hung over the bed while I observed the space. The lack of light outside made it difficult to see too much, so I reached over to turn on the lamp. My eyes took a moment to adjust to the light in the room.

The first thing I noticed was the football posters all over the room. Drake’s room held some of these same posters. When I glanced over at the nightstand, I picked up one of the photos sitting on it. In the photo, Dinero appeared to be very young. A woman who looked like his twin held him closely as the two of them donned big smiles on their faces.

“Don’t you know you aren’t supposed to go through people’s things when they invite you into their house?”

My body jerked from the sound of his voice. When our eyes locked, I couldn’t seem to tear my eyes away from him. Drake was more of a pretty boy, whereas Dinero possessed this rugged sex appeal. His umber colored skin was smooth and alluring. The waves in his hair could make you seasick, and he always smelled like a mixture of Heaven and Hell. The girls in school went crazy over him, although he seemed unfazed for the most part. A few tattoos littered his body, but they were mainly on his arms and chest. I found myself staring at his frame as he stood in front of me.

“It’s rude to stare, you know?” My head shot up toward his handsome face.

“Sorry. I woke up and wasn’t sure where I was, so I started checking things out.” He nodded in response, removing the picture from my hands.

“Who is she?” I pointed to the photo as he set it back on the nightstand. He used the back of his shirt to wipe it off, which told me it meant a lot to him.

“You sure ask a lot of questions. How are you feeling?” He changed the subject, so I decided not to press him about it.

“I don’t know. Tonight went nothing like I expected, and I won’t lie and say I’m not conflicted. Living with them has been one of the worst experiences of my life, but now I’m all alone. I’ve been saving my checks from Steak Shack. However, it’s nowhere near enough for me to survive on my own. I’m afraid to call my caseworker because she may try to send me back there. I’ll be aging out of the system in a few months, so there’s no point in trying to place me in another home.” So many thoughts swirled in my head as I processed the reality of my life.

I’d been on my own my whole life, but this was different. I’d be the only person financially supporting myself. With graduation being a year away, I considered getting two jobs. The extra income would help me tremendously when I had to pay for things like my cap and gown.

“Don’t stress about it too much. Right now, the most important thing is for you to focus on school. Everything else can be figured out later.”

“It’s easy for you to say when you have the perfect life. Your whole life has been mapped out for you, and all you have to do is throw a ball around to get where you want to go.”

“You don’t know shit about me! Ain’t shit easy about my life, and I’ve worked for everything I have!” he roared. I flinched when he raised his voice at me. My intentions weren’t to offend him, but that was exactly what I did.

“I-I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt your feelings.” I reached out to touch him, but he pulled back. My feelings were crushed, and I wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out.

“I’ve been through a lot, and I guess everyone’s life seems easier than mine. I don’t want you to think I’m invalidating your experience because I’d never do that to someone else.” Dinero stared at me without speaking a single word. My hands were sweating as I wiped them across my work pants. It reminded me that I needed to take a shower.

“I’m sorry for snapping on you the way I did. I know you’ve been through hell, but I know all about being alone. People assume that my life must be easy because of the house I live in or the car I drive. They have no idea what I’ve lost in the process. I’m far from a spoiled rich kid.” There was a glimmer of sadness behind his eyes that I wanted to know more about. Stepping closer to him, I placed my hand on his shoulder. This time, he didn’t push me away.

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