Page 60 of The Smoke Hour

“I know, and I thank God you survived because if I had lost both of you, I don’t think that I could have survived that.”

Noel and another guy named Mike were the two friends who were with my cousin, Demetrick, that day. Noel had spent two weeks in the hospital recuperating from his injuries, and Mike had been there almost as long. Noel still walked with a limp because of his injuries.

The guy who shot and killed my cousin had been caught, and he was still in prison. Last year, I went to visit him to get the answers that I needed. I had left the prison more frustrated than before because he gave me nothing. The girl they’d argued over had gone on with her life and never visited Demetrick’s grave or Chance, the dude who killed my cousin.

She had a baby with a man she’d been messing with while messing with Demetrick and Chance. I heard that she had recently married her baby’s father. I couldn’t blame her, although her ass shouldn’t have been playing games with three men. That was how I knew I needed to break things off with Terry because I wasn’t one to play those types of games, and I understood where they could lead.

“Did you tell Smoke about that shit?”

“Yeah. Early on.”

“I’m surprised. That’s not something you talk about. That means that you really trusted him. You sure that you want to just walk away like that?”

“He didn’t give me much choice, Noel. Besides, I’m not walking away. I just need some time to breathe.”

“Did you tell him that? Because when you told me the story, it sounded as if you broke things off.”

“I didn’t. I just let him know that I needed to get away from him.”

“It’s been eleven days. You either get your shit together, head over there, and work it out with him, or you get your shit together and move on with your life. Either way, your shop needs to open back up, and you need to be making your bread, Kai.”

“You’re right.”

I sat up and leaned against the headboard. “Ahhh! Why does love have to suck?”

“You love him?”

“Yeah. You think it’s too soon?”

“It’s not about how soon or long it’s been, Kai. It’s about what you feel in your heart and being true to that shit.”

“Weren’t you the one who was against me being with him?”

“No. I just wanted you to be safe. I didn’t expect that you’d fuck around and fall in love, Kai. Ain’t shit I can do about that. Now get your funky ass out of this bed and go shower and get dressed. I got a surprise for you.”

Elation filled me because I loved surprises, and Noel knew it.

“What’s the surprise?” I asked and jumped out of bed.

“Can’t tell you. Then it wouldn’t be a surprise,” he remarked as he headed out of my room.

I rushed into the bathroom to shower. Thirty minutes later, I was downstairs waiting for my surprise.

“Damn. You wash your ass? That shit was fast as hell,” Noel teased.

“Don’t play with me. You know I’m clean.”

“I don’t know. It usually takes your ass an hour to get ready. But today—”

The doorbell rang and interrupted his speech.

“I’ll be back,” he stated and walked away from me.

“Did you order dinner or something?” I called after him as my stomach rumbled.

“Nah. Not quite,” he replied as he unlocked the door with a strange look on his face.

I grabbed the remote and prepared to turn it on when I heard a familiar voice.

---