Page 9 of Juke
“You always move this fast in the morning?” I asked, voice still gravelly from sleep.
She glanced over her shoulder with a tired smile. “I couldn’t go back to sleep, so I figured I’d do something instead of lying there overthinking.”
“Overthinking about what?”
She didn’t answer right away. Just turned the blender on and drowned out the silence for a few seconds. When it stopped, she poured two glasses and slid one across the counter toward me.
“Mango, pineapple, and ginger,” she said. “Try it.”
I held the glass up and looked at it before I took a sip. “This shit is actually good as fuck.”
“Thank you.” She simpered.
“You feeding me, too?” I smirked.
“Depends. You like eggs?”
“However you make ’em, I’ll eat ’em.”
She shied away from my stare as she cracked two eggs into a pan.
I leaned against the counter while she moved through the kitchen with ease. The tension from earlier hadn’t left… it just settled into something quieter now.
“I meant what I said last night,” I told her, breaking the silence.
“I know,” she countered, but didn’t turn around.
“You ain’t gotta worry, shorty. If he gets out, if he don’t—don’t matter. I’ll handle it.”
“I don’t want you getting caught up in my mess, Rashad.”
“Too late,” I said, sipping my smoothie. “I’m already in it.”
That made her look over her shoulder.
“I didn’t ask you to be, though.”
“You didn’t have to.” I stared at her for a second. “Sometimes you show up because it’s right. Not ’cause somebody asked you to.”
Her expression softened, but she said nothing else. Just focused on the food, like that was the safer option. When we satto eat, the conversation slowed. We talked about random shit—the weather, and the gym. Nothing deep… just something to break the silence. After we finished, I rinsed my plate and dried my hands on the dish towel.
“I’m ’bout to head out,” I said. “Gotta hit the gym and check in with Deion.”
She followed me toward the door with her arms folded, like she didn’t really want me to leave.
“Thanks for staying,” she mumbled.
“You ain’t gotta thank me for that.” I looked at her. “If you need me to, I’ll come every night.”
Her lips parted like she wanted to say something but decided against it.
“I’ll be back later,” I said.
“You don’t have to—”
I cut her off with a small smirk. “?I’ain ask for yo’ permission, shorty.”
She exhaled, trying not to smile. “Okay.”
