Page 37 of Soul Food

Me: You just said you were doing nothing.

My smile eventually waned when I realized that maybe I pushed my luck too far. A minute later, and he still hadn’t replied. When it stretched to a full five minutes, nerves crawled in my stomach, but I had no time for that. Not many days for anything, really. An out-of-time person became a desperate one.

Me: Do you really not want to talk to me?

I waited several seconds.

Me: I’m not trying to come off presumptuous, I was just asking.

Me: I’m not SoulGoddess… or Dark Goddess. Just plain Ruth.

Me: Okay… for some reason, I want to talk to you. I literally can’t help myself, but there’s only so much my pride can take.

When it was obvious he was not going to continue with the conversation, I typed one last message.

Me: All right. Bye Amit.

Feeling like a teen again, I tossed my phone and accidentally hit Moose with it, making him yelp. “Sorry, boy,” I told him, ashamed that I lost my dignity when it came to Amit. Even my texting came across lame, and I hated appearing weak.

I could hear Ma in my head cursing me like nobody’s business for acting like that over a man, when in fact, she was the same way over Dad. It was why she let him run over of us—in and out of our lives just enough to take what little money we had and all of Ma’s heart.

My phone started ringing. My eyes widened, and I just stared at it. My phone was ringing. My phone… MY PHONE WAS RINGING! I leaned across the sofa and scooped it up. Was it Amit?

Damn, my sad, sad heart for getting all happy that Amit’s name was the one on the screen.

I swiped the screen. “Hello?”

“I don’t text,” he grunted. I was beginning to see a pattern with him. His words, actions and voice were all the same—gruff and uninviting. Silly, silly me liked his sounds more when he gritted them out like he hated himself for talking.

“Thanks for calling then.” I laid back against the cushion with my fast-beating heart. I hadn’t felt so star-struck since high school. With the demon wiping out every person I had an interest in, I made sure to keep my feelings in check. But somehow, I knew it was too late with Amit. The feelings would continue to grow and worsen.

“What is it, Ruth?” He sounded tired of me already.

“Where are you?” I asked quietly.

“Home. Why?”

I was quiet several seconds. A girl had to build up her nerve. “I’m going to FaceTime you then.”

“Why?” He had every right to be as wary as he sounded when I was about to go all nasty on him. From a distance, of course. Where he was safe from the demon.

“Because…” I closed my eyes and breathed into the phone. “I need something from you. Okay? Please?”

“Fine.”

He hung up.

I took another deep breath as I removed my curls from the topknot and fluffed them out. I straightened my spaghetti straps and then my bra straps, fixing my breasts so they’d be noticeable. Another deep breath. Nothing wrong with seducing a man. It was the twenty-first century. If he didn’t like what I was about to do, he could tell me to get the fuck away, which I seriously hoped he didn’t do, but considering how much he went out of his way to avoid me anything was possible.

A nervous pang hit my chest but my core clenched all the same. I was so revved up with the idea that maybe, just maybe he might give in to me.

I FaceTimed him, holding the phone in front of my face. It took him a while, but he finally answered. I was greeted by the wide expanse of his chest layered in a dark gray suit. I could see nothing else, not even his face. “Amit..?”

“Was it supposed to be someone else?” His response automatically relaxed me, and I released the breath I held.

“I can only see your chest.”

“I can you see though,” was his cold response, and he made no move to fix my view. “What do you want, Ruth?” The way he dragged my name out left me with goose bumps.

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