Page 27 of Jaeda

“I get that. I do the typical female things with my mom, like hair, nails, and shopping. My dad doesn’t get the whole techy thing, but he doesn’t mind taking me shopping for my tech habits and Lego obsessions. He actually bought my first big Lego set as a kid. He noticed I was . . . a little different.”

“Different?”

“I was always more advanced than the kids in my class,” she explained. “I was the first to finish my work, and I was always bored. The things I did to entertain myself was always distracting to the class, and my parents had to come to theschool several times before they finally figured out the problem. Long story short, I skipped a few grades to give me more challenging work.”

“I’ve been there,” I said, taking a sip of my water. “It’s hard when your brain grows faster than your body.”

“Right. You and Titan went to school together, right?”

“We did. Don’t let this nigga fool you,” I said. “He might look like a thug, but he’s smart as hell, and the eidetic memory ain’t nothing to play with. Teachers hated him. He was a clown, but the man was a straight A student. He could have skipped a few grades and graduated early, too, but he wanted to stay with his people.”

She shook her head. “I would have happily chucked them the deuces if I’d been him. Who wants to stay in school longer than necessary?”

We shared a laugh. The server returned with our drinks and got our food orders.

“Did you always know you’d be the family tech?” I asked Jaeda, sipping on my water.

“Honestly, no. Fun fact,” she said, giggling. “I really got intoCriminal Mindsas a teenager. Penelope Garcia was my spirit animal. Seeing how essential she was to her team really made me think about what I could bring to the family. I mean, I have hands, and I can shoot, but I don’t care to be in the field if I can help it. I’ll leave that for my siblings and protect them in other ways.”

I nodded. “I respect that. At least I know if we’re ever out and some shit pops off, I have backup.”

“Something tells me you don’t need backup. I mean, you were about to fight my brother, and Titan is your best friend. You had to have learned something from him. How long have you two worked together?”

“About four years now.”

“You ever thought about getting in the field?”

“Nah. That life ain’t for me. I’m happy running my cyber security company and helping where I can. Besides, my parents would kill me, even at my big age.”

That part was true. If Linus and Chandra ever caught me doing the shit Titan did, no matter the cause, they would skin me alive. If they knew the little I was doing now, I’d have to hear my mama go on and on about me going to jail for hacking people’s shit. If only she knew the things I’d seen.

We talked for a little longer before the server returned with our entrees. After a quick blessing of the food, we dug in, taking a few minutes to enjoy the meal before speaking again.

“Sooo . . .” Jaeda said, taking a sip of her wine, “how long have you been single?”

“A few years now. I’ve dated, but there hasn’t been anyone with an official girlfriend title. What about you?”

I remembered her brother letting it slip that she was a virgin. I wouldn’t bring it up because it wasn’t my business. I wouldn’t even act like I knew if she decided to disclose it.

“Um, . . . longer than that. Like since high school.”

“You’re kidding, right? As beautiful as you are, you mean to tell me nobody has tried to wife you since high school?”

She blushed. “Well, they weren’t as interested in wifing me as they were trying to sleep with me. I’ve never been the girl that gives my body to just anyone.”

“I respect that.”

She peered over at me, biting on her bottom lip. The look on her face said she wanted to say something but wasn’t sure how.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Would you respect it if I were a . . . virgin?” she asked, just above a whisper.

I didn’t hesitate to answer. “I respect your right to wait, and I would never pressure you to do anything you aren’t ready for.”

She eyed me curiously. “Did you know that already?”

“Full transparency, I did.”

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