Page 6 of Jaeda

“Mia has a smart-ass mouth, man.”

“Youhave a smart-ass mouth.”

“Nah, she hits below the belt and says shit she knows is gonna get a rise out of me.”

“If you know she’s trying to piss you off, why feed into it?”

“’Cause sometimes you poke the bear, and other times the bear pokes you. If I ignore her, she’s gonna bitch about it, and I can’t take all that damn yelling. I’ll choke the shit outta that girl, man.”

I shook my head. “Y’all need to leave each other the hell alone.”

“I can’t. I work for her granddad. Ms. Maddie and my moms are good friends, and I fuck with her pops. Her brothers can’t stand me, though. It’s cool. I can’t stand them either. Niggas think they better than me or some shit. Fuck all that. I’ll walk into the lion’s den any time and walk out untouched ’cause none of them are gonna beat my ass.”

Again, I shook my head. Titan had been the same reckless hot head since I’d met him. I’d gotten in trouble many days because of him. While he could hold his own, he often got into fights with more than one person at a time. That was my boy, so, of course, I had his back. My mother had all but banned him from our house. Once she realized we weren’t going to stop being friends, she came around . . . Well, after she threatened to beat his ass if he got me in any more trouble.

She would have a fit if she knew what I did for him these days. Titan wasn’t a bad guy. Hell, we became friends because he took up for me back when I was an awkward middle school nerd. A group of dudes were fucking with me. They took my glasses and took turns pushing me around, and my scary ass couldn’t fight back.

Titan came out of nowhere and started whupping ass. He let them know I rolled with him, and if they fucked with me again,he’d do worse. From that day forward, we’d been locked in. He was the one that taught me how to fight so I could stop getting my ass beat. Little by little, I came into my own and developed a confidence I didn’t have before. I owed a lot to our friendship. He might tease me and call me a nerd, but I knew for sure the man would stand ten toes behind me.

“You know you can’t win every fight, right?” I asked him. “What if they jump your ass?”

He kissed his teeth. “Ain’t nobody jumping me.”

“You have to admit, you’re arrogant as hell, Titan. Your mouth is gonna write a check your ass can’t cash one day.”

“You sound like your mama now. How is she?”

“She’s good, man. Trying to play matchmaker and shit. I don’t know who told that woman I wanted to date any of her friends’ daughters.”

Titan laughed. “Go on and let her hook you up since you’re too pussy to go after what you really want. You still pining after Jaeda?”

“I don’t wanna talk about that.”

“Nah, what we need to talk about is you hacking her computer. You know she’s gonna figure it out at some point, right? The girl is just as big a brainiac as you, Q. I’m surprised she hasn’t found it by now.”

I didn’t say anything to that.

It wasn’t my proudest moment. I hacked shit for Titan to help with his cases but never for my own advancement. Technically, anything I did on her computer was to help with whatever she was working on. I installed the spyware back when she was trying to track that Charity woman for her brother.

The truth was, I’d been interested in her long before then. I’d come across her profile on the dating site I was on. Her picture alone captivated me. Then I read her bio and hobbies.Legos. Anime. Technology. Crime shows. Her love of books and cosplay.

I. Fell. In. Love.

It was like running across the female version of myself. I wanted to know more about her, but something kept me from messaging her. For months, I’d been going to her profile, trying to work up the courage to send her a message, but I never did. It was crazy because I was a confident man. I didn’t have a problem approaching women I found attractive if I wanted to get to know them.

Jaeda Dillinger was different.

How? I didn’t know. I just felt that shit.

I guess I was considered a handsome man. Women paid attention to me. Some even threw the pussy at me, but I wasn’t biting. If it was easy to get, it was easy to give away, and I didn’t want a friendly ass woman.

Titan laughed. “Why don’t you just let me introduce you, my nigga? Mia said y’all would be perfect for each other. Both of you are smart as hell. Neither one of you muthafuckas can see without your glasses.” He motioned to my Lego replica of Yoshi. “Mia said she’s into this shit too. You can take her to LEGOLAND or Comic Con or whatever nerdy shit you like to do.”

“You’re just looking for a reason not to go with me anymore.”

“Bruh. You know you’re my nigga, and I got mad love for you. But that ain’t my scene.”

“Just like being in the club ain’t mine, but I go because your ass loves to be the life of the party. Every time I go out with you, we have to fight. You think I wanna be out here throwing blows because a nigga bruised your inflated ego?”

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