Page 35 of Maceo

Jaeda sighed. “This is why I don’t talk to you about men.” She picked up her drink and took a long sip. “I don’t want to be a conquest. I don’t want a fuck buddy or a sneaky link. I want love. Real, meaningful, unconditional love with a man who’s my best friend.”

I smiled at her innocence. “You’ll find that, Jae.”

“He’ll be lucky to have you,” Salima added. “You’re a sexy little nerd.”

“And if he acts up, we’ll shoot him,” Mia said.

We all broke into laughter. She was definitely a Dillinger.

The waitress came back a short time later, and we placed our orders. Within thirty minutes, we were four mimosas deep. I was feeling a little buzzed but great. For a moment, I thought I might have had too much to drink because my eyes had to have been playing tricks on me. There was no way I was looking at Charity walking through the door.

She looked nothing like when we found her. She wore a skintight dress with heels. Her hair was bone straight and hanging down her back. A designer shopping bag hung from her arm as well as an expensive handbag. Somebody had made a come up in the last week since leaving the safe house.

“What are you looking at?” Salima asked, following my line of sight.

“Just someone I know,” I said, standing. “I’ll be right back.”

I walked over to where she’d been seated. She was so busy in her phone that she didn’t even notice me. I quickly snapped a picture of her before she saw me.

“Charity?”

Her head snapped up, and her eyes widened in surprise. She quickly recovered and smiled as she stood to hug me.

“Sharina! Hi! How are you?”

“I’m fine… Looks like you are doing well.” I motioned up and down.

“Oh… well, I met someone that wanted to spend a little money on me.”

“You just moved out yesterday.”

She giggled. “You know how men are. When they want something from you, they are willing to cash out.”

I crossed my arms. “Right…”

“Listen, I hope I didn’t get Maceo in trouble with you the other night. He was such a great help in getting me settled in.”

“I bet he was.”

“I’ve never had anyone take care of me like that. I told him if there is anything I could do to repay him, to let me know.”

Oh, she wanted me to go upside her shit. Did this bitch solicit my man?

She smiled. “You’re a lucky girl, you know.”

“Uh-huh.”

I stared at her, and she stared back with an awkward grin on her face. Something was up with this bitch.

“Did you need something?” she asked.

“No. I just wanted to come speak.”

“Well, here I am. Listen, we should do lunch sometime. Maybe you can show me around the city. Maceo gave me a job?—”

“I’m aware.”

A slight smirk appeared in her smile. It was only there for a second, but I caught it. She looked past me, and her smile widened.

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