Page 14 of The Hellcat Barbies: Zora
“T, I’ll call you back,” I muttered, pulling the AirPod out before she caught on.
I set my phone down and stood, Trying to disguise the fact that this man had me flustered. “What are you doing here?” I asked, trying to sound unfazed.
“I came over here because you’ve been dodging me, and I wanted to see what the deal was in person,” he responded, never taking his eyes off of me.
“Who said I was dodging you?” I cocked my head to the side.
“You… when my texts and calls went unanswered. I felt like that was an invitation to see me in person.” He shrugged.
I tried my best to ignore the smoldering look he was giving me, but it was as if he had me under a spell.
“Maybe I’ve just been busy.”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Busy enough to miss my calls, my texts, and not even wave when I saw you leaving here yesterday?”
“You keeping tabs on me now?” I smirked.
“I don’t need to keep tabs, shorty,” he countered. “You stand out too much for me not to notice.”
His statement caused my skin to flush, and I tried my best to conceal it. “Or maybe you just like the thrill of the chase.”
Semi leaned against the counter. “I’on chase shit but my money, and even then the shit just comes to me naturally. If I’mhere, it’s because I want to be. And right now, I want to know why you’re acting like I did something to you after one date.”
“Maybe because I don’t really do the whole dating thing,” I admitted, my voice steady even though I felt the weight of it as soon as it left my mouth.
Semi nodded once, his grin slipping into something calmer. “That’s because most of the time, dates turn into bullshit. You sit across from somebody who’s pretending, and a few weeks later you realize they’re not who they sold themselves to be.”
I narrowed my eyes slightly. “And what is that supposed to mean something?”
“It means you ain’t slick,” he said, his voice even but direct. “Most women don’t dodge you because they’re busy. They dodge you because somebody before them fucked it up, and now they act like being guarded is safer.”
I let out a dry laugh, crossing my arms again. “You make it sound so simple. Like you can read me just because you’ve seen it before.”
He shrugged, unbothered. “I don’t need to read you. I just know the pattern. But I also know I don’t move like the last nigga did, whoever he was. I don’t play around with what I want.”
My laugh came out sharper than I meant. “So now you’re a therapist? You think because we went on one date, you get to diagnose me?”
“Nah… I just pay attention. There’s a difference.” He shrugged as if it was nothing.
I shook my head, smirking through the heat creeping up my chest. “You’on know shit about me, Semi. You think you do… but you don’t. Not every woman who keeps her guard up is sitting around crying over the last one.”
“I didn’t say crying,” he countered smoothly. “I said guarded, and the way you keep brushing me off tells me it ain’t because you’re too busy. It’s because you’on trust what’s in front of you.”
I held his stare, refusing to let him see he was close to the truth. “Or maybe I just don’t owe you anything past that date.”
“Fair enough.” He threw his hands up in mock surrender. “You’on owe me shit, but I’d still rather see you than guess where your head’s at.”
I let the silence hang for a second before I shifted. “How’s the shop coming along?”
He chuckled at my deflection before he responded. “It’s coming along. We’re almost set for the grand opening.”
“That’s good.” I nodded. “You must be hyped about it.”
“Yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck as a small smile tugged at his mouth. “It’s bigger than just opening doors… it’s about building something solid. You should come through for the opening next week.”
“You inviting me like I’m a guest instead of a neighbor.”
“You are a guest… my guest,” he said with a shrug. “That’s how it works.”
