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“My cousin?” I ask, thinking of the woman Uncle Joseph and Aunt Joyce unofficially adopted.
“Yeah, um, is she seeing anyone?” he asks, and I blush for Praise.
“Nope, not as far as I know. She’s too busy running the restaurant,” I say, watching him and noticing the blush that spreads across his face.
“Um, can you give her my phone number? I would ask for hers, but in this day and age, you never know someone’s intent, so it’s better I just give her mine.”
“How about you ask her yourself?” I say, coming up with an idea in the spur of the moment.
“How could I do that?”
“My family is having a retirement for my GrandPeter’s wife and you can come as my guest. That will give you the ability to be around her and ask her for your number yourself.”
“You’d do that?”
“Yeah, why not?” I ask, knowing he will be around all the Gideon men so Praise will be safe.
“Thank you, Skai, I’d love to,”
“Great,” I say, and I give him the particulars and we agree to meet outside at a set time. With that done, he leaves the office and I go back to going over Cole’s stats and planning my trip. They have a ferry that takes you to British Columbia Canada, and I book a ticket for that, too. I just need some time away and to stay too busy to think of him. I shut my computer and head home to pack.
JABARRI
I am irritated as hell. I miss the hell out of her but she is being unreasonable with this Natalie thing.
“Hey, Jabby, try this,” Jaasiel says, walking into my office with a plate of something that smells amazing.
“I thought I asked you all to stop calling me that stupid-ass name,” I snap.
“What the fuck did you do?” he asks me, making me even more irritated.
“Why does it automatically have to be something I did?” I retort and then catch what he says. “You knew?”
“Jabby,” he calls me the nickname again, letting me know to pump my damn breaks. Jaasiel is the quietest one of us, but he might be the scariest and craziest. When he caught up to the man who abducted and tortured his wife, the hell Jaasiel unleashed had us all giving him the side eye. “The rest of our brothers may be too busy in their lives to notice the changes in you, but not me.” Jaasiel and I have always been closer than the other brothers, so it doesn’t surprise me that I am not hiding anything from him. So I give him the quick rundown without betraying Natalie’s secret and how I feel Skai is being unreasonable.
“Hmm, so you’re also basically having your cake and eating it too?”
“What? No? I told you Natalie and I are just friends,”
“Yeah, I heard you, but you are keeping your friendship with her not changing the dynamics of it and being with Skai without a real commitment, getting all the perks without making any sacrifices for it. And you really think that it’s cool and that Skai would continue to accept that arrangement? You’re not that stupid are you?”
“There’s a lot you don’t know, okay,”
“Man fuck outta here! Save that shit for someone else, you’re fucking up. Who is more important, Jabarri, and don’t say both because NO ONE should be on Skai’s level in your life. Not a friend, not a sister, not even your mother. No one comes before Parker, period, and I would never let anyone think they are or could be. You have been pining away for Skai for years, and you are going to tell me you are willing to lose her to save a friendship? And newsflash, if Natalie was as good of a friend as you seem to think she is, she wouldn’t put you in a position to lose Skai. Now try this,” he says, shoving the spoon in my mouth. I chew the food, it’s delicious but that is not surprising. “Amazing,” I mumble out between chews.
“Yeah, I thought so, too,” he says, turning on his heels and walking out, leaving his words ringing in my mind. I grab my keys to head out, I have to see her, but first, I check her location. She blocked her location from me, which may work with everyone else but not with me. I turn the location back on and notice she is in Seattle? Fuck. Well, I’ll have to catch her at Lennox’s party. I think about what Jaasiel says, and I know Skai and I need to talk. Hopefully, we can after the party. One thing he and I can agree on is that I waited too long to have her to fuck up and lose her.
Skai
Seattle was just what I needed, the atmosphere, the food, the people, it was wonderful, and I am not even going to talk about my trip to Victoria, British Columbia, stunning. I had an afternoon at a beautiful hotel, and struck up a conversation with a few other diners and ended up staying until it was time to board the ferry to go back to Seattle. And yes, Shepp was right. The hotel, gorgeous, but the amenities it offered made it easily one of the top three hotels I have ever been too. I was able to find a new dress for tonight’s party and I can’t wait to wear it, and I got Cole to come to the college this fall. Overall it was a successful trip, but even with all that Jabarri stayed on my mind the entire time.
I look at myself in the mirror, and like what I see, the dress fits better on me than it did when I tried it on in the store. I have my hair pulled up into my signature topknot bun, my make-up is full glam, and the heels have my short legs looking long, toned, and sexy. I hurry to grab my clutch and get out of the door so I can meet Elias on time. I had the Jeep washed and detailed while I was away, and she sparkled like a black diamond. I slide behind the steering wheel, press start, and listen to her roar to life. I hit my playlist and head towards the venue.
I spot Elias immediately. As soon as I come to a stop, the valet is at my door helping me out and handing me a ticket for my car.
“Coach, you look amazing,” he says, taking me in from top to bottom, and I return the favor.
“As do you,” I tell him, meaning it. “You clean up nice.” And he does, his black floral textured jacket with the shawl-style lapel over the black slim-style pants are a perfect fit.
