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“How did you manage to get any of that out of what I told you?”
Grabbing a bag of chips, Raelynn eyed me while tossing them into the cart. “Nyx, please. I can’t even get you to talk to me about the poetry bar anymore. This is the first time you’ve even spoken about it in weeks. This man comes along, and suddenly, you want to spill your soul about it. If that ain’t witchcraft, baby, I don’t know what is.”
Snickering, I pushed the cart along the linoleum tile beneath us. “Shut up. It wasn’t like that. It was just a shitty day, and I don’t know, I found myself wanting to talk about it.”
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me, friend. I’ve been telling you not to let Thing One and Thing Two kill your ambition.”
“I know, I know. And I’m not. It’s not them. I just don’t see how I can afford to get back on track without an investor or a loan. I can’t even begin to think about that until things with those people are settled, and I always find myself here, right back on the merry-go-round of trying to figure things out.”
“Okay, I need you to breathe,” Raelynn tossed another item into the cart. “I don’t know how many times we have to tell you that you have no control over the situation. Worrying yourself to death will only make things worse. I know it’s hard, but you have to beat it into your head that everything is going to work out for the best.”
“I want to, Rae. It’s easier said than done when you’re the one who has to walk the plank.”
“I know. Have you heard anything from your lawyer?”
“He called the other day,” I replied, as we turned down another aisle. “There was some deal that Shane’s lawyer offered. I’m not taking that shit.”
“What is it?”
“Plead guilty and take probation.”
“You know what, the fact that Shane and that bird he’s married to would be satisfied with that, with the severity of the charges they’re trying to file against you, should let everyone know that they’re on bullshit.”
“I know, right?”
“When’s your court date?”
“Next month,” grabbing a can of beans, I tossed them into the cart. “I’m so ready for all of this to be over with. If I had known I’d get into this much trouble for beating his ass,” I paused, grinning at the memory of my fist connecting to Shane’s jaw. “I would have added extra to the ass-whooping.”
“I told you to stab the nigga for good measure, but nooooo,” Raelynn said. “You wanted to leave.”
“I’d done enough damage at that point.”
“So you had to begrudge me my entertainment?”
“If you wanted it to happen that bad, then—SHIT!” My words morphed into a curse word as my cart nearly collided with another.
Angrily snapping my head up, I opened my mouth to curse out the other customer, but words failed me. My anger was replaced by amusement, and I’d be a liar if I said I was surprised at who the shopper was.
“Alright now,” Jamie’s face split into a grin. “This shit is starting to get spooky.”
“I’ve already accepted the fact that I have a stalker. A gentleman, but stalker, nonetheless.”
“As entertaining as that theory is, it would only be valid if I was the one who suggested the grocery store run. That idea belongs to my brother.”
I’d been so wrapped up in my conversation with Jamie that I hadn’t even realized there was someone with him. It was easy to tell that they were brothers, even without confirmation. They favored heavily, yet each bore a particular feature or two that separated them from the other.
It didn’t take away from their looks in the least bit. Jamie was fine as hell, and his brother wasn’t too far off.
“Hi,” his brother waved. “I’m Judah. Judah Luck.”
“Awwww,” my eyes darted back to Jamie as it registered that it was the first time I’d learned his last name. “Jamie Luck, isn’t that cute?”
“James Luck,” he corrected me. “If you’re gonna be out here calling a nigga by his government name, use the full one.”
“Oooooh,” I sang, “Someone’s feeling spicy.”
“You gonna tell me your last name since mine is out in the open?”
