Page 23 of Crave

“Are you high? You think my family would have a problem with that? Were you not paying attention? My mother practically begged you to stay for the party and you think she has an issue with you being black?” He leans in, getting in my face.

“Sure, she asked me to stay to introduce me to yourfriend. Let me take a wild guess. This JD person is black, right?” I try to shove him away, but it’s like trying to push a wall. He grabs both my wrists and holds on to me, making me immobile.

“So?”

“So, she never once considered me for her single, white son, but I was perfect for his one black friend.”

“You’re fucking insane and you have no idea what you’re talking about. My mother would never try to fix me up with anybody. She knows I’m not avail—” He catches himself before he finishes that sentence.

“I might be insane, but that doesn’t make me wrong. And what is an unavailable guy doing here? Do you have a wife you’re hiding?” I try to yank my wrists from him, but his grip is like a vice.

“You didn’t care about this when you were kissing me as if your life depended on it.”

“Oh, please. That kiss wasn’t that great. In fact, it wasn’t even good.”

“Really? Is that why you were about to straddle me?”

I decide that lying is the best course of action to take. “Straddle you? I was about to get up and get the hell away from you. Get out.”

“You know what? I was going to take you somewhere and explain why I acted the way I did last week, but you’re not worth it. I thought you were different, but you’re just a judgmental bitch.” He abruptly lets go of my wrists. Shocked by the sudden gesture, I take an involuntary step back before I go around the counter to confront him.

“Just who the hell do you think you’re calling a bitch, you asshole?” I lift my hand in an attempt to slap him across the face, but he grabs my wrist before I can make contact. He doesn’t even flinch at my attempts to pull my wrist out of his grasp.

We stand there, staring at each other. He’s calm, but my breathing is heavy, my chest rising and falling as I try to wrestle away from him, a scathing remark ready on my tongue, but my mother comes out before I can speak.

She shakes her head at the scene before her.

“Troublemaker, I told you to eat cake and leave. Let her go.” She walks over to where Jake is standing, hands on her hips, ready to defend her daughter.

He drops my wrist as if it burned to touch me.

“I’m leaving,” he mutters. He flexes his jaw and twists his neck. “Don’t worry, I won’t be back.”

“I hope not,” my mother says, but she doesn’t sound convinced.

“Thank you for the cake, Mrs. Etienne. It was delicious.” He grabs his jacket and walks out, the door slamming behind him.

“That boy is trouble. Stay away from him,” my mother says to me when she finally turns her gaze onto me.

“I know, Mama. I know.”

She simply nods before walking away.

CHAPTER 6

JAKE

“You’re looking even surlier than usual. What’s crawled up your ass?” JD plops himself on my couch. “It’s Saturday night. We should be out looking for something to get into. Or better yet,someoneto get into.”

“Not in the mood.”

“Did you see Troy and Tracy today? Is that what’s bugging you, because if it is—”

“It’s not. Don’t really give two shits about those two. They deserve each other.”

“Wow. That statement lacks your usual bitterness. It almost sounds believable. Almost. While I agree with the sentiment, I don’t believe your words.”

“You think I give a fuck what you believe?” I refuse to tell him about meeting Sandy at the party. And there’s no way I’m going to tell him about what happened between us last Saturday. No fucking way does he need to know how great it was until it wasn’t.

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