Page 7 of Jaeda

He laughed. “Touché, my nigga. Touché. I won’t lie; I do like Comic Con a little.”

“No, you like looking at women in skimpy anime outfits.”

“I mean, if they put it on, who am I not to appreciate the show?”

“I bet you won’t do that in front of Mia.”

He waved me off. “Don’t even bring her petty ass up.”

Just as he said that, his phone started ringing.

“See what the fuck you did?” He huffed as he went to answer the phone.

“Take that shit outside,” I said, pointing at the patio door. “As a matter of fact, down the hall to your place.”

He kissed his teeth as he stood and dapped my hand. “Bye, nigga.”

“Bye.”

He left the loft, returning it to its normal state of peace and quiet. I worked on the Yoshi piece for a little while longer before calling it a night and heading for my bedroom. After stripping down, I placed my clothes in the hamper and went into my bathroom for a shower.

Placing my glasses on the counter, I hopped into the large enclosure and stepped under the showerhead. Closing my eyes, I allowed my body to relax. My thoughts drifted back to Jaeda Dillinger. I thought about her often. Titan was forever on my ass, saying that I was low-key stalking the woman, even though I wasn’t.

I hadn’t looked up her personal information.

I hadn’t spoken to her as someone other than myself.

I wasn’t using the camera on her computer to spy on her, although I very well could.

I simply admired her from afar. Maybe one of these days, I’d at least work up the nerve to say hi. As confident as I was, I feared this woman would turn me into a blubbering idiot. That would surely turn her off.

“Stop being pussy and just send her a message,” I said to myself. “The worst she can do is ignore you.”

For a solid twenty minutes, I hyped myself up to finally hit the “Send Message” button on the dating app. The moment I dried off, I wrapped the towel around my waist and went back into the bedroom and grabbed my phone. Going to the dating app, I hit the search button to look Jaeda up, only to be met with disappointment.

Fuck!

Her profile was gone.

So much for that.

Ijumped at the feeling of a hand on my shoulder.

I’d been knee-deep in my computer for the last two hours, and I hadn’t heard anyone enter my house. Looking back, I saw my father.

“Daddy, you scared me.”

“I’m sorry, princess. I called your name, but you didn’t hear me.”

“Sorry. I was hyper focused. You know how I get.”

“I know.” He pulled me to my feet and wrapped me up in a strong embrace. “You work too hard sometimes, Jaeda. You gotta give yourself a break.”

“I will as soon as I figure this?—”

“No. You’re gonna take one now.”

“But, Daddy?—”

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