Page 18 of The Big Catch

His pride was loud in the room. “How long did it take you to get a first-place win?”

My interest in all of this surprised me. When I was with Carson, I had no idea what he did because I didn’t give a damn; I still had no idea. He never asked me about any of my interests either. When we first got together, I was creating my jewelry. I wore a piece that I made, he asked me where I got my cheap jewelry from, then gave me money to buy somethingreal.I stopped making jewelry that day and leaned into spending his money.

Gunner’s arm wrapped around my waist. He pulled me across the room to his trophy wall. On the top shelf, there was only one trophy that he pointed out. “It took me three years. My first endorsement deal came with that win. St. Croix Rod signed me on a three-year fishing rod deal. I’ve been signed ever since and only use their fishing rods.”

My smile widened. “Do they have good rods? I used to fish when I was like twelve, but we used Walmart rods.” The thought made me laugh.

He chuckled, then said, “Walmart rods can catch fish just as well as the more expensive ones. That’s interesting that you’ve fished before. You definitely don’t look like the type that wouldever touch bait.” When I told him that I wasn’t scared because they had plastic bait, he chortled. “Belle, those are lures, not bait. Bait is the edible food for the fish, and lures are the plastic ones.”

My mouth formed an ‘O’. “How was I supposed to know that? All I know is that we caught fish with them.”

He smacked my ass. “You good. I’ll make sure to teach you. For your question, yes. St. Croix rods are great, and the quality has improved over the years. I’m also an ambassador for Bass Pro Shop and just landed one for the beer I drink.”

Before I could stop myself, my thoughts came out of my mouth. “I would love to see you fish. Like be in your element.”What the fuck, Belle?

His head bucked back. “Oh, really now? Well, I can make that shit happen.”

For the next hour, he showed me rods, lures, bait, and guns. It was all so intriguing and sexy that I ended up bent over his desk with a dick in me. Was I turning into someone that I didn’t know, or was I turning into the person that I was originally supposed to be?

A SHORT TIME LATER…

“Belle, I don’t know what there is to think about. I already told you that I’m going too,” Gabrielle fussed. “You’re being difficult for no damn reason at this point.”

We were on a video call while she packed up her apartment. Last week, she agreed to move here to be with Toolie. You could have bought me for a penny when she told me. I was shocked but ecstatic to have her close again. Toolie hired her as his CPA for all of his businesses with a salary that was fifteen thousanddollars more than she currently made. Seventy thousand dollars a year sounded like a lot of money, but it wasn’t shit in California. She lived in the upper hood.

I huffed. “I know, I know. I guess I’m just shocked that he asked me to come with him. Like, I looked it up. Gabrielle, this competition is going to be on ESPN! Like, that’s big time, and we’re going to be on the damn boat.”

Her face stoned over. “Okay, and? Are you ashamed to be with a country nigga or something? I don’t give a damn how country Toolie is. That man is fine as wine, protective, caring, sweet, attentive, and is a dick master. If that man wanted to take me to the mountaintop to claim me as his woman, I’d be right there wishing a bitch would. My foot is ‘this is Sparta’strong.”

I burst out laughing. “Bitch, what? You gonna kick hos off the mountaintop?”

“With vigor and love because who the fuck you playin’ with? Out of the men that I’ve experienced, I’ve never met anyone like him. It’s like he’s country, street, unhinged, unbothered, and most importantly, mine. It’s all about me with him, which makes it easy for it to be all about him with me.”

One thing about my best friend, when she fell for a guy, she fell hard. I knew an hour after they met that she would be all in with him. One thing I admired about Gabrielle was her ability not to harden her heart to love, even after getting hurt. She went into new relationships with clean slates.

“Gabrielle, I’m not ashamed. I just want to be careful this go around. I was with a man for over a century, and look how that played out.” I wasn’t sure if I could get hurt like I did with my ex again. The bitterness that I initially had in my heart consumed me almost to madness.

Her expression eased to show her empathy. “Best friend, every man is not like Carson. Gunner doesn’t even seem like that type. You can’t punish him for what your ex did. Plus, as meanas your ass was when you first got there, you should be thanking God that Gunner was able to see past that. I would have just fucked on you and let you be mean by your damn self.”

My mouth fell open, and my brows furrowed. “Really! Damn, was I really that bad? I know I was bitchy, but?—”

“If you have to ask, you already know you were with the bullshit. I knew there was a shift in you when you and Tink sat down to clear the air. Never in the past would I think you would clear the air with a bitch. I love you, best friend, but this country life is maturing you in the best ways.” Her words made me feel a shimmer in my soul.

Once again, I couldn’t be offended. Self-reflection was a bitch. “I’m going to say, thank you. I’m going to go, since you are.”

“Nah, you better say you want to go to be with your man,” she teased. I waved her off because, whatever. Gunner was not my man.

I glanced down at my babies, who lay at my feet, sleeping. “I don’t want to leave my babies. Nadine and Tink are going to stay at Gunner’s house to take care of the dogs. I’m going to miss my babies.”

I’d become dependent on My Boy and Stitch for my emotional support. They loved being with me. What I thought they loved most was going to their Memaw and Pop-pop’s house. My parents spoiled them rotten. Just the mention of their names would have my babies waking up out of their sleep.

“When are you coming in?” I asked Gabrielle.

She wasn’t bringing any of her furniture. Toolie told her if she wanted to redecorate his house, she could. “I’ll be there by the end of the week. My car gets shipped the day before I leave. My landlord was tripping about me breaking the lease, but I told him oh damn well. I was going to not pay him, but Toolie gave me the money to do it so it wouldn’t mess up my credit.”

Gabrielle and I talked for a couple more hours while she packed. Caught off guard didn’t describe how I felt when Gunner asked—no, told me that I would go with him on his trip. All I did was tell the man that I wanted to see him in his element, and he damn sure called my bluff. There was no telling what a week with Gunner would hold, but we were going to find out.

THE RIGHT TIDE OR NOT…

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