Page 5 of The Prodigy 2: Rise of a Queen

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Jakari

Bodroppedmeatthe new apartment around noon the next day. I thought eight hours was enough time for me to sleep it off and not look like I got a lap dance and got fucked up last night.

Apparently, I was wrong about that, because as soon as I walked through the door, Malika was at me.

“What the hell happened last night? And why do you look so rough?”

Sighing, I closed the door behind me, locked it, and tossed my key on the table. “I had a rough night.”

Nugget was at me, too, running in circles, whimpering, nipping at my pants legs. I crouched down to give his little ass some attention, keeping my face far away so he wouldn't lick it.

Malika stared at me from her seat on the couch. “What happened, Jakari?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

She sucked her teeth, crossing her arms in front of her like she was preparing for a battle. “That’s not gonna work for me,” she said.

“Fuck you mean?”

“You said you don’t like secrets. Well, I don’t either.”

I stood and approached her. She looked cute in her pajamas, her face clean, her hair up in a bun. I sat next to her on the couch, leaned my head back, and closed my eyes. I still had a dull headache.

“Did you clean your wound last night?”

It had been a few weeks since I got shot, and my stitches had already dissolved. But knowing she cared…it felt good.

“Nah,” I admitted. “I’m good.”

She sighed, and I felt her moving, and then her soft hand on my forehead.

“You’re not sick, so it must have been something else keeping you from home. Or someone.”

I opened my eyes and looked over at her. “Don’t do that.”

“Well what am I supposed to think? It was supposed to be our first night here together and—”

“I went to Fortune with my brothers, Malika. I wasn’t with nobody else.”

“The strip club?” Her eyebrows went up.

“Yeah.”

She was disappointed, I could tell, but she didn’t understand the shit I was dealing with right now. Me going to a strip club was way better than me driving my car off a fucking bridge. And I had really thought about that shit. Just for a minute.

“You feel some typa way about me going to a strip club?”

“I feel a way about you doing that instead of being here with me.” She patted her lap, and Nugget jumped up and settled there. “I’m gonna need more from you, Jakari.”

“More of what?”

“I don’t know…more of a connection. I mean, you’re good atdoingstuff for me, like giving me what I want and protecting me. And I appreciate that, I really do. But emotionally…you’re not all the way here. And I need that. Especially since you’re my husband. Technically. Like, you weren’t here last night. Okay, fine, but don’t you think I deserved an explanation?”

I sighed. “Baby, it was one night. I got a lot on my mind right now. Please cut me some slack.”

“So talk to me." Her eyes were pleading with me. "That’s what I’m saying, you should be talking to me.”

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