Page 25 of Can I?

“Which part?”

“You sleeping with his brother?”

“Like eight months ago. I thought that shit was over with. Apparently not. My cousin went to the Dollar General that day and saw what was happening and blew his head off . . . the same shit I was contemplating doing that day I walked in on him and that bitch.”

She pulled out of my driveway, and we remained silent until she got to Highway 90. “I know this is a lot, Ferris. Although it’s recent, I’m not the same person. Please don’t write me off. I know you need time. I was trying to avoid this very thing. His sister came to the diner and caught me off guard the other day. That was why I didn’t want to see you sooner. I saw you looking at the bruise on my face.”

I took a deep breath as I glanced at her. “I definitely need time. You have a lot going on that I’m not sure I want to be a partof or even close to. Being with you would mean that I’m choosing drama. I hate that shit.”

She nodded and didn’t say another word until we got to the diner. When she parked, I grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She leaned over and kissed my lips. I nodded then got out of her truck. When I got to my vehicle, I hopped in and took off, not bothering to look back. While I knew more was going on than what Milana had previously said, I would have never guessed it was something of that magnitude.

I could see why her mama wanted nothing to do with her at first. Knowing that her daughter’s actions possibly played a part in her father getting killed was a lot. Milana seemed to have an amazing personality. I was so fucking attracted to her, but that admission caused that attraction to dwindle a little. It showed me just how immature her thinking was. When that nigga’s mama called her to go see for herself, she should have turned that shit down.

She should have told her ass to send her a picture if she just had to see that shit for herself. I slid my hand down my face when I stopped at the traffic light. I had a decision to make, and I knew it wouldn’t be an easy one. I refused to rush it. I was glad we hadn’t had sex yet, because I had a feeling that shit would have clouded my judgment. Just by the way she walked, I knew that pussy was fire.

When my phone chimed, I looked at it to see a message from Milana.I’m so sorry, Ferris.

I swallowed hard and quickly responded before the light could change.Me too.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

MILANA

“Ihad to get him out of here, Uncle Mayor. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

He rolled his eyes at me. “You need to leave that nigga alone until this shit is done. You ain’t got time to be focusing on a relationship. You gotta tie this shit up and focus on making the nationals. That’s it.”

When he walked away from me, I sat at a table. My life was fucked up, and my actions brought drama to my entire family. Grabbing my phone, I checked my account to see I had nearly a hundred and fifty grand in there. That was more than enough money to disappear for a while. I didn’t want it to seem like I was running though. I wasn’t trying to escape my problems, but at the same time, I didn’t want my family having to endure them either.

When I saw Mr. Ali walk through the door, I knew things had gotten bad. He looked right at me and tilted his head, calling me to him. I wasn’t sure how he knew who I was, but I supposed that was what made him a good P.I. When I got close, he gestured for me to have a seat. I did as he said and stared at my fingers. I could feel him staring at me.

“Were you embarrassed when you rolled up to Malik’s house? I need that same confidence you had then. That’s the only way we gon’ get these people to fuck off. That muthafucka fucked with the wrong one. Let his family know that shit too. Quit fucking running. I don’t give a fuck what nobody say or think. Grab your gun and fuck some shit up when they have the fucking audacity to show they face on your turf.”

I stared at him wide-eyed. He was talking to me like I was his street soldier or some shit, but I liked it. I nodded repeatedly as he extended his fist. I bumped it with mine. He took out his phone and said, “I need you to see if you can identify some of these people so we know who to fuck up.”

A smirk made its way to my lips as I picked out their sister, Julius’s mama, Malik’s mama, and a few of their cousins on their father’s side. The sister was also a child from the father. She had a different mother as well, but I had never met her mother. I was also able to pick out one of their uncles. Julius’s mama was the one that put her son in this situation. What the fuck did she expect to happen? Mrs. Nita was gung-ho about me seeing him fucking somebody else.

People always looked at the finality of things instead of looking at what got them there. Yeah, I fucked over them better than Julius had fucked over me, but they would still be alive had they not attacked my grandfather. Grandpa was so innocent in all this bullshit. Hell, I seemed to be the one they wanted, like I had killed them. They didn’t seem to be looking for Ace. They were looking for me because they didn’t feel threatened by me. Mr. Ali was right. I was acting all scared and timid when I was far from it. I wasn’t timid. I just didn’t like this shit.

After he made notes, he said, “You did good. Next time, I want you out here with a gun pointed at somebody’s dome. You hear me?”

“Yes, sir.”

He winked at me and smiled, and damn if I wasn’t smitten. His smile was everything. I shook my head, breaking myself out of the trance his smile had me in. My mind immediately went back to Ferris. His last text message, saying he was sorry too, felt like a stab wound to the heart. It was like he was saying he was sorry he met me. This was a lot. Maybe Unc was right. I needed to let Ferris go and focus on the things I needed to be focused on.

I grabbed my keys and was about to head out when I saw Karima come in through the back door. The diner was closed for business, but the family was welcomed to come in at any time. I made my way to the back to greet her as Aunt Chrissy and Aunt Jen doted on her. When her eyes met mine, she gave me a tight smile. She looked so beautiful. She was due at the end of the month, Cassie was due two weeks before her, and Mekayla was due at the end of the month as well.

Hopefully, their due dates didn’t clash with the graduations. King and SS would be graduating next weekend with bachelor’s degrees in business management, and my brother would be graduating at the end of the month from high school. Maui was also getting her master’s degree in accounting, and Ashanni was getting her master’s in finance.

Everyone seemed to be on their shit except me. I received a bachelor’s degree already, but I didn’t participate in graduation because I had a rodeo that same weekend. My mama had left the decision up to me on which one I wanted to attend, and I chose the rodeo. I somewhat regretted that now. I’d had accomplishments, but this mess I was in seemed to overshadow it all.

After Aunt Chrissy and Aunt Jen went back to what they were doing, I approached Karima and hugged her. “How are you feeling?” I asked her.

When I pulled away, she grabbed my hands. “I’m okay, but you aren’t. I can feel it.”

I lowered my head. “I’ll be fine. Let me fix your food so you can go rest.”

“I’m not here to fix food, Milana. I’m here for you. God sent me here for you.”

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