Page 41 of The Prettiest Outlaw

The only person I’d really spoken to had been Nico. Something about talking to him and being with him always lifted my mood. Of course, the sex was the world’s strongest endorphin hit, but it was also Nico, his presence, and his nearness. So, it went without saying that I was excited that I would be seeing him because he invited me to a housewarming.

“What’s this?” he asked when I came out of my townhome with two cupcake carriers stacked on top of each other in my hands. He took the trays from me. “You made cupcakes?”

“And cookies. Let me grab the cookies.”

When I came back out with the cookies, Nico was in the same place I left him, at the bottom of the stairs.

“What?” I questioned.

“You know you didn’t have to do all this, right?”

“I know. I wanted to do it.”

He gingerly placed the baked items in the trunk so that they wouldn’t slide and get messed up then he got in the driver’s seat.

“Aye, thanks for doing that.”

“You’re welcome. Thanks for inviting me, even though I’m nervous.”

He glanced over at me. “What are you nervous for?”

“I don’t know. I mean, ever since my father passed, big crowds…I don’t really like them. It’s so weird…” I mused, considering how almost unrecognizable this new Julianna would be to my daddy. “I used to have this huge, real boisterous, bodacious personality.”

We both chuckled.

“After all that stuff went down with the bastards I grew up with, I had to grow a really thick skin. Like I told you before, I couldn’t go to any of my father’s…events without the people in his clique treating me…anyway.”

I waved the thought away.

“My daddy told me that he couldn’t kill everybody.” I chuckled. “So, I was either going to shrink into a shell like some kind of turtle, or I would doOutlawshit and develop a ‘fuck all y’all’ attitude. Even though he never said it out loud, my dad always thought that Jia and Jianna were timid. I mean, he gave Jianna the nickname Bunny. And he treated Jia like glass. I was always his wild card, the daughter who came as close to a son as he was ever going to get. I was the rough rider…the hellion. So, I went with the ‘fuck all y’all’ attitude. Now, all I want to do is crawl into my turtle shell most days.”

“Nah.” Nico shook his head, while making a right-hand turn. “Nah. You might not be ready to go back to your hellion days, but I’m definitely not letting you hide in no damn turtle shell. You’ve got some good shit to offer the world, lil bit. I’m not about to let you play in your own face, pretending that your best days are behind you. Because they’re not.”

“Ugh.” I dabbed at the tears forming in my left eye with my pointer finger. “You sure they’re not? It kinda seems like they are.”

“That’s the grief talking. Missing your pops is real as hell. You miss him, and you’re gonna miss him in the future. But you’re still gonna live. You’re gonna smile and laugh. You’re gonna do big things with your cupcakes and cookies. You’re gonna make him even prouder.”

I hope that Nico was right. I hoped that I did make my daddy proud.

* * *

The house was modest. Maybe a little more than a thousand square feet from what I could put together from the exterior. The host couple greeted us at the front door together. The husband was a handsome brother with velvety dark skin, neat facial hair, locs, and a body reminiscent of a linebacker. The wife was a fair skinned, freckle faced, glasses wearer with a bright smile, a button nose, auburn colored braids piled on top of her head in a bun, and a Coke-bottle shape. They were a very attractive couple, who also gave off friendly vibes.

The wife eyed Nico suspiciously. “Umm…” She twisted her pink painted lips. “You’re early. You’re never early. Why are you early, Nico?”

He pretended to ignore her, going as far as mushing her head and pushing her gently out of the doorway.

“What’s up, Ty?” He offered a handshake to the husband.

The husband returned the greeting while simultaneously warning, “Aye, I know my wife is your cousin, but don’t be mushing her on the head. I’m the only one who can mush her on the head.”

The three of them laughed, and Nico pulled his wife into a tight hug that had her straining to get away as he held her against his chest.

“Stop, dummy!” She whacked his chest with her open hand.

He kissed the top of her head.

“Come on inside,” the husband suggested.

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