by Skye Moon
“And you know that.” He confirmed.
Their support left Danica relieved, but she still had a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had to find a way to take Tucker’s advice and give herself closure with Amad. And she knew just the solution.
Chapter 8
“You sure your old ass is cut out for this?” Tucker questioned, glancing over at Will. “You know you’ve put on a couple of pounds.” He playfully swatted at his friend’s stomach.
“Mannnnnn, I’ll wipe the court with you, and these youngins out here. Don’t play with me.”
“Okay,” Tucker snorted. “We're gonna find out.”
The two of them approached the basketball court for their annual game against kids in their community. It wasn’t a huge thing, but something they kept up with in order to maintain a relationship with the people they kept safe.
“What’s up, Tuck?” Darius, star ball player and current sophomore at Brighton Heights A&M called as they approached the court. “Will.”
“What’s up with you, youngin?” Will relieved himself of his gym bag. “You ready to take this L?”
“See, I was gonna take it easy on you, but since you came out the gate talking shit, I’ma have to make an example out of you.” Darius laughed, dapping up one of his friends.
“We ain’t the usual old ass, out of shape scrubs, you’re used to playing. You do know that, right?” Tucker reminded him.
“And that’s cool. I don’t mind working for my W’s.” A cocky grin covered Darius’ face, and Tucker and Will laughed.
“Let’s do this then, young blood.”
“After you, gramps.”
Tucker spent a couple of hours at the park before cutting things short to head home to shower and change. He and Danica had plans to meet up, and being late wasn’t an option for him.
He arrived at her house early to deliver a bouquet of flowers before they left.
“This is nice,” Danica commented, slipping into the passenger seat of my car as Tucker held the door open for her.
“You say that like you’re surprised,” he let out a laugh, closing the door after her. She didn’t respond until he’d walked around and slipped into the driver’s side.
“Honestly, I half expected you to pull up in your rig.”
“I do have a life outside of the station, Dani bae,” Tucker’s face curled into a smile as he pulled away from the curb. “You make a decision about the job?”
“I called and told them that I would take it. But I’m a little nervous,” She admitted, settling into her seat. “Kids are already bad as hell, but when you throw them into a place where their teachers don’t believe in, or have faith in them, it makes the job ten times harder.”
“While there are a lot of teachers that focus on the paychecks and let the kids fall through the cracks, the ones like you stand out the most for going the extra mile to show them that everybody hasn’t written them off. They’ll appreciate it in the long run.”
“By then I’ll be in a wheelchair with a head full of grey hair.”
“And the most beautiful senior citizen rolling.”
“You know what!” She laughed loudly, smacking his arm. “You’re not funny!”
“Dang, that’s the thanks I get for complimenting you?”
“No, that’s what you get for trying to be a smart ass.”
Reaching for her hand, he kissed the back of it. “I’m just messing with you, Dani bae.” Tucker chuckled. “But my point still stands. It’s going to be hard, but you should take pride that at the end of the day you’re going to make a difference in somebody’s life. Who knows, you might even change the course of their life.”
“Now I wouldn’t say all that,” Danica let out a scoff. “And enough about work, please? I’m supposed to be celebrating this progress, not obsessing over it.”
Tucker laughed as she turned to him with her bottom lip poked out. It never ceased to amaze him how beautiful she was even doing the smallest things.
“Okay, you got it. No more work talk.”
“Thank you,” her pout transformed into a grin. “And where are we going anyway?”
“It’s a surprise, but I need you to be open minded. It’s not your usual dinner spot, but they do have some mean ass wings.”
“Say no more, wings are the way to my heart.”
They continued to make small talk until they reached their destination. Peeking out of the window, Danica scrunched her nose at the sight of the small, tattered building.
“This is where we’re going?”
“Don’t let the outside fool you,” Tucker said, opening the door to let her out. “There’s more to her than she looks.”
Shrugging, Danica accepted his hand, allowing him to lead her to the door.
Letty’s was a hole in the wall bar, and neighborhood staple. He pushed inside, and Danica was surprised to see a majority of Tucker’s squad lying in wait for their arrival.
“Heyyyy,” Charlie cheered, throwing his hands into the air. “There she is! Congratulations, girl.”
“Tucker,” Danica looked up at him.
“What can I say?” He shrugged nonchalantly, shooting her a wink. “They wanted to celebrate too.”
“Hey,” a beautiful, dark skinned woman approached her with a beer in hand. “We haven’t officially met yet, but I’m Olivia Allison. Most of the crew just calls me Allie.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Danica smiled warmly. “I’m Danica.”
“Mind if I call you Dani?” Allie smiled.
“Not at all.”
“Come on, let’s go grab a beer.”
Tucker’s eyes were glued to Danica as Allie whisked her away to the bar. He was already infatuated with her and intrigued by damn near every move she made. Her settling in with his crew as well as she did only drew her to him even more.
From the way her eyes twinkled as she conversed with Wade and Allie with ease, and the genuine smile that appeared on her face every now and again, Danica had him slowly falling for her more and more with each passing second.
Taking a seat at the end of the bar, Tucker was waiting for the bartender when a body slid into the stool next to his.
“I remember her,” Cecilia announced, taking a swig of the beer in her hands.
“Do you?” He grunted, wondering where she was going with that information.
“Accident victim, right? Around Christmas a couple of years ago?”
“That would be correct.”
Letting out a humorless chuckle, Cecilia tapped her knuckles against the bar. “I remember only because back then you seemed so infatuated with her for a moment, even though you were with Moe at the time.”
He didn’t respond. Tucker carefully studied her body language, realizing that she was upset for some reason or another. He hadn’t broached the subject, since nothing came out of the interest Cecilia had been showing in him, at least not on his end. But the direction their conversation seemed to be heading in made him feel like he needed to nip whatever it was she was thinking in the bud.
“Cece,” he began, clearing his throat. “You and I, you know that can’t and won’t happen, right? Don’t get me wrong, you’re a good girl, but-”
“I get it, Tuck,” she interrupted with a shake of her head. “It was stupid for me to press the issue, and I know it. I was just feeling some type of way over something else and--I don’t know.” For a moment, Tucker thought she was about to open up to him, but she didn’t. “Anyway, just forget it.”
Climbing out of her seat, Cecilia downed the rest of her beer and threw a couple of bills on the bar before walking out. There was something off with her, he could feel it, but it wasn’t his job to babysit a grown woman and force her to talk about her feelings.
They were a team, so if and whenever she decided to open up to him about it, then he would be there to lend a listening ear. Until then, Cecilia would have to deal with her own demons and whatever she had going on with Will on her own.
/>
“Hey, Tuck,” the bartender called. “You want your usual?”
“You know it,” he confirmed, reaching for his wallet. “Let me get two, and a large order of the house wings and fries.”
“Got it,” she nodded, handing him the beers. “Food should be out in twenty.”
Nodding, he handed her the bills and left his seat to find Danica. Walking up behind her, he placed a gentle kiss against her temple. “You good?”
“Yeah,” Danica assured him with a smile. “I’m great.”
“You sure? If you’re not feeling this, then we can still go out for dinner.”
“This is perfect,” she winked before returning to her conversation.
You’re perfect, Tucker thought silently, thankful that after years of suffering, he was finally on the recovery road to peace.
Chapter 9
“Will you get your big ass away from me!?” Miesha screeched, pushing Casimir so roughly, that he nearly tumbled to the ground.
“Now if I would have fell, that would have been your ass!” He shouted, mushing her.
Rubbing her temples, Danica struggled to figure out how and why their sibling movie night always seemed to turn into a knock down, drag out WWE match. If an argument didn’t break out over the genre of movie to watch, then it was an issue of who was sitting where or got to use what blanket. By the time the three of them settled down to actually watch the movie, they were so tired from the shenanigans, that they usually fell asleep less than halfway through.
“Can we be civilized for once, please?” She begged, looking up at them from her place on the floor, waving the Firestick remote in her hand.
“Well, tell your bald headed ass sister to get her ass off the couch or share. Last time we did this, y’all made me lay on the floor and it fucked my back up.”
“Cas, that was over a damn year ago, get over it!” Miesha argued.
“I will not. Not when I still have to visit a chiropractor every month because y’all selfish as fuck.”
“Negro, you…”
Tossing the remote onto the ground, Danica pulled herself up from the floor to grab another glass of wine. The way it was looking, they wouldn’t be settling on a movie for at least the next two hours.
Taking a sip from her glass, she welcomed the distraction of her phone lighting up with an incoming FaceTime call from Tucker.
“Hey,” she quickly answered, swiping the screen to answer. A warm feeling pooled in the pit of her stomach when she realized he was in his gear on the truck. There was something about seeing him in his uniform that made her heart race.
“Hey, you.”
“Hey, baby mama!” A voice that had become so familiar called out in the background.
“Hey, Charlie,” Danica giggled warmly while Tucker’s face twisted.
“I told you about that shit,” he snarled off screen before focusing his attention on her. “And you got the nerve to be entertaining his lame ass.”
“Can you blame me? He’s a man that knows what he wants.”
“That’s right, you tell em, baby.”
“Keep on and see what I do after hanging up this phone.”
“Oh, stop being so mean.” Danica teased.
“You stop being so damn flirty.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.” She licked her lips, hitting him with a fake salute. “Anyway, what’s going on with you?”
“Nothing, we’re on our way back to the station.”
“Good call?” Danica questioned with a raised eyebrow.
“False alarm, no harm no foul.”
“Okay, good.”
Over the weeks that they’d been getting to know one another, Danica and Tucker’s communication had increased. Spending time with one another was limited due to the demand of his job, but he’d gotten into the habit of checking on her when he could, and she always looked forward to his calls. There was no pressure on their friendship, and Danica loved it. He still hadn’t opened up to her about what was plaguing him, but she was chipping away at the wall he kept around himself, and for the moment, that was okay with her.
The kiss they shared was long forgotten as neither one of them brought it up again. She chalked it up to a spur of the moment thing, and was too afraid of the answer to find out what it meant to him.
“What you got going on over there?” Tucker questioned, bringing her back to the present.
“Supposed to be movie night, but my brother and sister can’t seem to stop acting like a pair of wild…”
“This the man that’s been hogging all your attention and keeping you away from us?” Casimir questioned, snatching Danica’s phone out of her hand and hopping up onto the counter.
“Cas, give me my phone, NOW!” She tried to snatch it back, but he held it out of her reach, irritating her to no end.
“Stop acting like you’re ashamed of me.” He frowned at her before going back to the call. “How you doing? I’m Cas, Dani’s brother.”
“Tucker,” he nodded at the screen. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“And we’ve heard a lot about you, but Danica’s been acting stingy like she doesn’t want to bring you around.”
“Cas, I swear to God, I will put a pillow over your face and smother you in your sleep if you don’t give me my phone!” Danica growled, thoroughly embarrassed.
“Why you acting all uptight?” He smirked. “I’ma give you your phone, damn. I’m just trying to invite your man to the house for Sunday dinner. You like yams?” Casimir turned his attention back to the phone.
“Love ‘em,” Tucker confirmed.
“As long as they’re the ones made from sweet potatoes, and not my sister’s, you’re cool in my book. Dinner is Sunday at six, see you then.”
Hopping from the counter, he tossed Danica her phone and disappeared out of the kitchen with the bowl of popcorn that was sitting on the counter. With all types of murderous thoughts racing through her brain, Danica lifted the phone to get a visual of Tucker’s laughing face.
“Do not laugh at his ignorant ass,” she snarled, trying to hide her embarrassment. “He’s so goddamn annoying.”
“He’s your brother, be grateful you have one. Some of us wish we did.”
“You know you don’t have to come to dinner, right?” She changed the subject, trying to give him an out. “It’s not really a big deal.”
“Do you want me there?” His expression grew serious. Nibbling on her bottom lip, Danica thought about lying for a moment, but opted for admitting the truth.
“Yes, but only if you want to be there. There’s no pressure.”
“Then I’ll see you then.” He confirmed, getting a smile out of her. “I gotta go, we’ll be at the station in a minute. I’ll text you later, alright?”
“Okay.”
They said their goodbyes, and Danica marched straight into the living room to read Casimir his rights.
“Have you lost your damn mind!?” She fussed, popping him upside his head. “What the hell was that?”
“You hit me like that again, and your man is gonna be first responding to this address to pick you and your damn teeth up off the ground.” His eyes narrowed while rubbing his head.
“I cannot believe that you would embarrass me like that!”
“What’d he do?” Miesha questioned, now in possession of the remote and scrolling for something to watch.
“This idiot invited Tucker over to Mama and Daddy’s on Sunday for dinner.”
“You goddamn right I did. You think you're gonna be running around town with him and not bring him around so we can get a feel for who he is? Nah, sis, it doesn't work like that with me, and you know it.”
“You have been spending a lot of time with this man,” Miesha cosigned, leaving Danica to gawk with her mouth open. She couldn’t believe her sister would dare side with Casimir, as if the two of them hadn’t been at each other’s throats a mere ten minutes before. “I know we gave you our blessing to have feelings for him, but you don’t thi
nk that we should get a chance to meet him properly?”
“No, because he’s just a friend. I don’t recall anybody pressing you to meet anyone that you’re friends with, or busting Cas’ balls about whomever he’s spending time with.”
“That’s because anyone I entertain never lasts long, and nobody gives a flying monkey’s ass about who Cas wastes his time with.” Miesha answered with a wave of her hand.
“I beg your pardon?” He cocked his head to the side.
“Bro, I love you, but let’s not pretend that you’re anything more than a hoe, okay? We don’t want to get to know any of your one night stands.”
“You little…”
“Whether Casimir is a thot or not, has nothing to do with what I have going on with Tucker.” Danica interrupted before an argument got started.
“And what, dear sister, is it that you have going on?” Miesha countered.
Danica closed her mouth with a snap, unsure of how to answer that question. Pushing a hand through her hair, a sigh escaped her plump lips. “We’re just friends. He makes me feel better.”
It almost pained her to say it. The way Danica enjoyed Tucker’s presence was so good that it should have been a sin. Especially since more often than not it took her mind off of Amad. She would never forget him completely, but she’d slowly stopped obsessing over the things she could or could not have done to save him.
“I’m happy that you’re opening back up to the idea of a relationship, sis,” Casimir said, digging into the popcorn bowl. “But I want you to be careful at the same time. Don’t rush into something just to use it as a crutch to get over the past.”
“Okay, Negative Ned,” Miesha frowned. “That’s not what she’s doing. Clearly, they’re destined to be together. I mean, what are the odds that after the accident…”
“Miesh,” Dani interrupted, throwing a hand into the air. “Let me stop you right there. This isn’t some fairytale love story. If anything, we were pushed together by tragedy.”
“Which makes the love all that more sweeter. Nobody will understand you two the way you understand each other.”
