Page 28 of Can I?

“He doesn’t know, but he hopes he isn’t,” Kane said and chuckled.

I nodded then continued out, letting them have their time. When I got back up front, I hugged and kissed the ladies and let them know about Cassie then made my way to the hospital. Ferris was on my mind, again, thanks to King, so I texted him.I miss you already, and I truly wish things were different.

CHAPTER TWELVE

FERRIS

“Whew, shit, nigga! That was a four point one. You getting there!” Carter Legend said to Red Squared as we watched.

Before I could even get to China, Asad had called, asking if I wanted to meet them at Mr. Red’s house. I made a U-turn and made my way back, hoping that would take my mind off Milana and the bullshit that happened today. It hadn’t. I’d been here for three hours, and I was still thinking about her. It didn’t help that her cousins were here, getting pointers from Mr. Red and Mr. Zayson about team roping.

Asad was playing with his son, and I was just here, zoned the fuck out. Her cousins had left about an hour ago, and I was about to leave as well. Before I could go, though, Mister Red caught me. “You good, Ferris?”

I slid my hand over my face and shook my head.

“I heard some shit went down at the diner today. Those Hendersons got so many haters, I can’t keep count. When you doing something right, those niggas come out the woodwork. Most times, it’s gon’ be niggas not doing half of what you doing. I mean, look at all the haters Beyoncé got. That woman workinghard and minding her business. They always hate on somebody doing better than them. Jealous muthafuckas.”

My eyebrows lifted slightly. “I was there when it started. How did it end?”

“Those people got the hell on. I mean, what you gon’ do if you got ten guns pointed at your ass?”

He laughed as I slowly shook my head. “I guess.”

“You were there eating lunch?”

“Something like that. I was eating, but I was mainly there to see Milana.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right. Asad told me y’all were getting to know each other.”

“I had to pump the brakes on that though. I can’t do drama, and she got plenty of it right now. That wasn’t all Andersons there at that diner.”

“I heard,” he said. “Them people need to be focused on what got them niggas killed. Ain’t no fucking revenge for them to be seeking. They got fucked up for attacking Mister Henderson… nothing more. Nobody even knew that shit about them and Milana. All Ace knew was that they attacked his grandfather. They need to focus on that shit and go on about their business.”

I nodded. “Well, I’m gonna go, man.”

“A’ight. Be careful heading home. Don’t pump those brakes too long. Despite what you heard or what she even told you, she comes from good stock. One poor decision doesn’t make her a bad person.”

I nodded again. Talking to him didn’t help shit. It only made me think about her more. When my phone chimed, I glanced at it to see it was from her. I was more than sure her cousins told her they saw me here. They all seemed to be pretty close, and they definitely rode for each other. When I got to my SUV, I checked it to see what she had to say.

I miss you already. I truly wish things were different.

I wished things were different too. I couldn’t respond to her right now though. Taking a shower was all I could think about. Plus, I had leftovers to go kill. I was starving. The next couple of days, I would probably focus on finishing this game and getting my data turned in so I could relax Sunday. My mama had already informed me that she would be cooking Sunday dinner for the family. Since I didn’t spend Easter with everyone, I had to make it to that.

I would never hear the end of it if I didn’t. She’d told me to bring Milana with me, but I wouldn’t be able to honor that wish. I needed time away from her to think. That was way too much drama, but Mr. Red had a point. He actually had several points, and I decided that I would mull over them for the next few days. Had the drama only been the family drama with the Andersons, I would have fucked her into next year at my house earlier.

It took my dick a while to go down, even after what she’d told me. Thinking about her now was causing him to rise again. It seemed when it came to her, I didn’t have control of that. When I got to the traffic light in China, I looked at her message again, wanting to go against my previous decision. It was shocking that she even had all that shit going on. She seemed so mild mannered and laid-back. It was hard to fathom that she would do that ratchet shit she said.

When I got home, I went straight to work. I had to focus on something else to clear my mind of my reservations and my strong desire to say fuck whatever she had going on. After simply a four-hour break from her, I felt like I still wanted her. I had to be thinking with the right head, because the other head didn’t know what he was missing. Still, . . . I would give myself time to see if I wanted her as much as I thought I did.

“Where’s Milana?”

“They had plans already,” I said, blatantly lying to my mama.

“Mm-hmm. You lying, boy, but I’ll let you make it until everyone leaves.”

I didn’t know why I even tried to lie to my mama. She was the one that told me to be careful, so she would surely understand me taking a step back. As far as the Henderson shit, I wasn’t a punk. I would jump right in to defend them if necessary. I noticed that they tended to the business that paid them. I never witnessed them bothering or bullying anybody, not even the mayor.

I missed Milana so fucking much. We hadn’t been talking long, but damn if she hadn’t burrowed herself deep within me simply by being herself. She would grow out of that immaturity eventually, especially if she surrounded herself with the right people. From her explanation, I knew she was provoked to do the shit that she did, but the fact that it was even an option was what was bothering the hell out of me.

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