Page 11 of I Need It

When I glanced at him, I could see him slide his hand down his slightly red face. “Eventually, yeah.”

“Do you think it’s wise to be close to me then?”

“Well, I won’t be close. You live in Houston. It’s close enough to maintain a relationship, but it’s not close enough for me to chase you over something you don’t want.”

I gave him a slight smile. “Okay. So, what’s on your agenda today after you leave here?” I asked, changing the direction of the conversation.

“Shit, I don’t know. My cousin got one of my other cousins to help with the hay field. Once I leave here, I’ll probably go home and drink a few beers. I ain’t got shit else to do unless I get a call.”

“You take calls at the last minute?”

“Only if I don’t have any appointments scheduled. I ain’t turning down no money if I don’t have to.”

“I feel that. I put out anywhere from nine to twelve books a year so I can live. If I didn’t, I would surely have to get a traditional job.”

“That’s a lot. How does that work? I mean, how do you put the books out? I’m not a reader like that, so I’m ignorant on the subject. I do know that writing that many books in a year’s time is a lot though.”

I smiled at him. “Well, I write really fast. I can write a three-hundred-page book in three weeks, with the weekends off, if I don’t have any distractions… like this shit I’m going through. I have a lady that does my covers, another that does my editing, and yet another that does my promo.”

“So you have a team. That’s good. That’s fast to be able to write a book that long. You have a gift.”

“A gift and discipline. I have to be able to survive. Eventually, readers will run out of shit to read. If I don’t want to look for another job, I have to treat this like a job. I take days off here and there, but for the most part, Monday through Friday, I am working my ass off. I don’t think readers understand just how tedious that schedule is. They just want the next read.”

“So you’ve spoiled them.”

I chuckled. “I guess you can say that.”

“I’m gon’ have to read one though. Which one should I start with?”

“Sincerely, Her Gangsta.”

“Oh, shit. Like that, baby girl? That sound interesting as hell.”

I gave him a smirk. “I believe it’s a lot of my readers’ favorite. I hope you like it.”

“So it’s hood love shit?”

“Yep.”

“A’ight. I guess I need to download that Kindle app, right?”

“Yeah. You truly aren’t a reader if you don’t even have the app.”

I giggled as he smiled. “Naw, but I got a feeling I’m about to become a reader. You gon’ mess around and become my bestie and shit, girl.”

I laughed and had to grab my stomach. He quickly stood and came to my side, grabbing my hand. “You okay?”

I nodded as I closed my eyes. “That shit hurt like hell. I knew better than to laugh like that.”

“I apologize. You have a beautiful laugh.”

“It’s loud and obnoxious.”

“Mm hmm,” he said. “Like I said… beautiful.”

Man, he was fucking with me. This man had me all in my damn feelings, and I barely knew him. He brought his hand to my stomach, and I could feel the heat from it. My stomach was feeling better already. I stared at him as he stared at my stomach. I wasn’t sure why he was staring the way he was, but when he looked up at me, he asked, “Has it eased any, Mya?”

The way he said my name had the ice melting around my heart. I could not let this nigga make a fool out of me. I friend-zoned him for a reason. Niggas ain’t shit. “Yeah. Thank you.”

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