Page 29 of Still Forever
“You are gorgeous,” he said as he took his attention from the screen in front of us and brought it back over to me. I inwardly groaned.
I had been giving him the benefit of the doubt that he was coming to hit on me.
“Thank you,” I kept it short. Not wanting to be rude, but not wanting to be too inviting.
He continued to talk to me, trying to be charming. But I kept it surface. I smiled, nodded, and laughed on cue.
I felt someone stop between the two of us and stand there. I turned abruptly to see Zo there, in the middle of the restaurant, causing a commotion with an AR. Immediately, my face flushed with embarrassment.
“Uh, old head. You got two minutes to get the fuck up and leave.” He said lowly.
“Zo…” I said through clenched teeth.
He never looked my way. Instead, he continued to keep his eyes trained on the man who was fumbling to pull money from his pocket to pay for his items.
Mayhem was unfolding around us. Chairs sliding, glass breaking, screams, and people falling over each other to get out the door. All while he stood there as cool as a cucumber, and I knew this had everything to do with Jaxon.
The man, whose name I didn’t even care to grab, was out of the restaurant like his loafers were flaming. Picking up my last roll, I hit Zo on the arm when we were alone.
“Let’s go, Kennedy,” he said as he stepped to the side to allow me space to get down from the barstool I had been sitting at.
Scoffing, I grabbed my purse and we walked toward the exit.
“Ma’am! Ma’am, are you okay? The police are on the way.” The waitress tried to stop me by grabbing my arm on the way out.
“That hero shit gets muhfuckas killed,” Zo’s head snapped toward her. She screamed.
“Yes, I’m fine,” I assured her as I continued to walk, hurrying outside.
“Zo, what the hell are you doing?” I screamed as soon as we were on the sidewalk.
This man reached into his pocket and threw a mint into his mouth casually and shrugged, “Boss’s orders. He said when he said no more dates, he meant that shit, and you have a two-smile maximum. Since we cool like that, I gave you four. Come on, soI can trail you home.” He said as he walked me toward my car. I shook my head at Jaxon as I got into my car and drove away.
Back at my condo, I swung the car door open and gathered my things before walking toward my front door. Beside me, another car door opened at the same time. It was Taj. I had been so busy thinking about Jaxon that I didn’t even notice that his car was parked waiting for me. His door opened, and my heart started beating faster than the speed of light. I knew that Zo was literally parked just a couple of cars away from me, watching the whole interaction.
“Hey, Kennedy,” Taj said as he got out of the car and extended his arm for a hug. I gave him a church hug.
“Hi, Taj. Why are you popping up at my home? The office was one thing, but just because you were here once doesn’t mean you have an open invitation,” I scolded. Instantly regretting the moment I allowed him to pick me up the other day. I folded my arms across my chest and glared at him.
“I’m sorry, Kennedy. You weren’t answering my calls. And I wanted to have a conversation with you.”
“Coming to my home uninvited isn’t cool,” I snapped at him. Whether Jaxon comes back into the picture or not, this still would have been a red flag for me.
“Well, I didn’t think you would mind since everyone else comes and goes as they please. I get an attitude when I come, and they get pussy?” He snapped, causing me to freeze at the change in his tone.
“Excuse you?” I raised an eyebrow, shocked.
“You heard what the fuck I said. I was trying to treat you like a woman. If you wanted to be treated like a hoe, you should have just told me that,” He snarled.
“Goodbye, Taj,” I said as I turned to walk away from him. I didn’t even have the capacity to cuss him the fuck out. My hipsstill hurt from the way Jaxon had me folded like a pretzel. I had bigger issues than his crazy ass.
He pulled me by my elbow and yanked me back; my head spun in his direction.
“That’s what you’re used to, right, bitch? Being manhandled?” He gritted as he squeezed my arm.
Before he knew it, the purple Ruger LCP was out of my purse and pressed against his chest.
“If you don’t get the hell away from my house, you’re going to find out that being with Jaxon taught me more than how to suppress my gag reflexes,” I smirked.
