Page 32 of Search My Soul
“I don’t think that at all. I can look at you and tell that you have a good heart and that you care about your children. This is a one-time offer, so don’t think you’re gonna get a discount every time you come here. I just so happen to be a sucker for children, and I don’t believe in knocking anyone down when they’re trying to keep their life in order. Rondo will take care of you.” The woman reached out to hug Soul, and I could tell that it caught him off guard. I snickered as he stood there frozen for a second before finally returning the gesture.
“Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me. You really didn’t have to do this.” She wiped the tears from her eyes, and Soul stood there awkwardly with his hands in his pockets.
“Don’t mention it. And I mean, really don’t mention it. The last thing I want is a bunch of women coming in here trying to get a discount. I’m only soft on occasion. You just happened to catch me on a good day.” Soul joked, although I had a feeling that he wasn’t lying.
“Well, I’m grateful that I ran into you on the right day. I wish you many blessings in your life.” Soul nodded in response as she stepped forward to pay her balance. Another worker called Soul’s name, so he turned to speak with them for a moment. The lady behind me wouldn’t stop talking, and it was starting to make me uncomfortable.
“You can tell by his print that he’s carrying something big. I have money for my repairs, but if he took another form of payment, I would gladly give him something else.”
“Girl, who are you telling? Pure and Soul are some of the finest men I’ve ever seen in my life. I’ve never met their parents, but I know their daddy is fine. Hell I would fuck him too if I had the opportunity.” I rolled my eyes as I listened to them talk.
“You are dead wrong, Ty. From what I remember, both their parents are dead. You ain’t lying though. They definitely have some good-looking genes. Even their sisters are gorgeous.”
“Oops, my bad. Well, in that case, I guess I’ll just stick to them. A friend of mine said that she almost hooked up with him at a party, but it got so busy that she ended up losing him. I told her she was a damn fool because I would’ve stayed around until everybody left and followed him in my car. That is one dick I wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on.”
“Let the church say amen. I brought my mama’s car in to get fixed because I needed an excuse to come in here. There’s nothing like a fine, rich man who isn’t afraid of a little hard work. He looks like the type that fuck you good and ruin your credit. That’s just the type I like.” I could feel myself getting irritated as if they were talking about my man. Hell, for all I know, Soul could’ve been a hoe out here in these streets, so I needed to chill. Besides, he wasn’t my man, so I had no right to get upset.
As I stood in line, I felt the heat of someone’s eyes burning into me. Turning my head to the right, I was met with curious eyes. He stood there, pretending to listen to the man next to him while he eyed me up and down. I felt naked under his gaze as if he could see something that no one else could. When I glanced back up at him, he wore an arrogant smirk on his face. A part of me wanted to crawl under a rock for what I’ve done. Surely he would never let me live it down.
Once he finished up his conversation, he swaggered over to me. My breathing grew rigid the closer he got to me, but I kept my face neutral.
“Come talk to me.” His request sounded more like a demand, and I didn’t take so kindly to those.
“Are you asking or telling me, because I don’t recall you saying please?” I folded my arms as we stared at one another. My eyes focused on his lips as he licked them. Something about thatsimple act turned me on in a way I couldn’t explain. I needed to hurry up and get my ass out of here before I ended up doing something I wasn’t supposed to.
He whispered in a low tone, closing the space between us. “Why do you like to test me, huh? Why can’t you just do what I tell you to do without asking so many questions? You like being difficult, don’t you?”
“Because I don’t belong to you. You’re not the boss of me, so you can’t tell me what to do. Now, would you like me to come talk to you, or would you prefer to continue this back-and-forth dialogue that we’re so good at? Personally, I have more important matters to attend to, so I’d really like to speed this up.”
“Please. There isn’t shit in your life more important than me. Now bring your ass on before I throw you over my shoulder and make you. I don’t like to repeat myself.” I bit down on my bottom lip, trying my best to remain calm. Internally, my body was betraying me in the worst way, but I didn’t want him to see me sweat. That would only give him more ammunition. Soul’s head was big enough, and I refused to let him think that he could get over on me.
“Now I know you’re lying. Your skinny ass would embarrass yourself if you tried to pick me up right now. The way these ladies drool over you, I would hate for you to embarrass yourself in front of your fans.” I challenged. I should’ve kept my mouth shut because before I could register what was going on, Soul tossed me over his shoulder and carried me down a hallway and into his office.
“Put me down!” I shrieked.
“I didn’t hear your ass say please,” he replied, obviously getting a kick out of this.
“Put me down, please, and do it softly!”
“I should drop your ass right here on the floor. You’re gonna quit talking to me like you’ve lost your mind. I’m not one of those motherfuckers that you can walk all over. When I tell you to do something, you need to fucking do it.” I rolled my eyes at his demand as he placed me down on my feet.
“You’re an asshole, you know that?”
“We’ve been over this before, sweetheart. Your name calling doesn’t affect me unless we’re fucking. Then you can call me whatever you’d like. Now, have a seat and no, I’m not asking.” Deciding not to press my luck, I went ahead and took a seat in the chair in front of his desk.
“Of all the things I pictured you doing, this wasn’t one of them,” I admitted as I observed the plaques and pictures covering his wall.
“What is that supposed to mean?” He took a seat at his desk but never took his eyes off of me.
“I don’t know. I guess I thought you were one of those trust fund babies. The kind to get money and hire other people to do work for you.”
“I wouldn’t call myself a trust fund baby, but you’re not completely wrong. I don’t work here because I have to. I work here because it’s what I love to do. My father insisted that all of his children find something they loved and build a career off of it.” I was surprised to hear his admission, but it added another layer to him.
“You love working on cars?” I always considered Soul to be a pretty boy because of the way he carried himself. His nails were always clean, and his clothes never displayed a single wrinkle. His profession as a mechanic went against everything I had assumed about him.
“Naw. Actually I like hotwiring cars and taking them on joyrides. However, I developed a love for cars after wrecking one of my father’s cars one night. He told me that if I brokesomething, I needed to be able to fix it. We worked on that car for about a week until it was as good as new. It was something the two of us bonded over, and I enjoyed being able to restore something that was broken back to its valuable state.” For some reason, his words hit me on a deeper level.
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you have been a menace your whole life. You seem to have that down to a science,” I taunted.
