by Xyla Turner
A roundtable of manly laughter could be heard from everyone, but it seemed like another inside joke.
“Shut the fuck up, Bear,” Shiz snapped at the scary man with narrowed eyes.
“Wait, you mean like you did when it was it was Dessy and me. Or Shay and Bronx, no, Lori and Kylie. I don’t remember you shutting the fuck up.”
All heads nodded in agreement with what the man Bear was saying.
“But,” Shiz responded. “You all told me to shut the fuck up, so I’m returning the favor. Plus, it’s not even like that.”
A bunch of sure and yeah, you’re right followed him. He stuck up his middle finger and walked towards me.
“They’re good people but assholes if that makes any sense,” he said with a smirk. “I earned it though.”
“Oh, believe me, I know.” My head was nodding up and down, but his eyes narrowed at me. Then it dawned on me what he thought I said. “Sorry, I mean, I know about earning the shit you get dealt.”
“Gotcha,” he replied as his hand touched the small of my back gently guided me to an empty table in the back. “Need something to drink?”
“I’m good, thanks. Plus, if I drink too much, Shay will have to carry me home, and she’s prego, so that won’t be on my conscience.” I noted. “But anyway, what did you want to talk about?”
His eyes met mine, and I swear I saw amazement or his normal crazy chick look in there. Yet, what he said out of his mouth is what caught me off guard.
“I’ll take you home. I’m not getting tossed tonight, just haven’t been out with the guys lately, so I was swinging by. But, you have fun, drink away, I can carry you.” He smirked.
“Oh, no. That’s not necessary.” I immediately put in. “Not going to put you out your way any more than I’d already had.” If worst comes to worse, I can get Uno to take me home.
Shiz leaned forward and repeated what he said, “I wasn’t asking, Babe. Drink, and I’m taking you home.”
Uh, now this Shiz I was not used to. He had been silly, upset, irate, and angry. But never serious. He didn’t even seem like the type of guy to get serious. Yet, there he was with that intense look and telling me what he was going to do.
Hmm, he didn’t know me very well, but okay. For shits and giggles, I’d play along.
“You wanted to talk about what exactly?” I slightly changed the subject.
“I got a place that’s not rented yet. You mentioned something about your rent. My place is real cheap and it damn sure don’t have any mice. That’s just fucked.” He said with a shake of his head.
“What’s real cheap?” I asked with no real intentions of having him be my landlord.
“Four hundred,” he said with a shrug.
My gasp was louder than I expected. What kind of place was that low in rent?
“How is it possible the rent is that low?” I blurted out. “What’s wrong with it. That’s the rental of a room or a trailer or something.”
His classic smirk was in place. God, he was so cocky it made me sick. Well, not really. It made me other things, but I was ignoring those parts.
“I own the building outright, so I’m not paying the mortgage or shit like that. Okay, I do all repairs and serve as the landlord. Therefore, I have no overhead, other folks to pay and everything is in the Guardian network. We don’t price gauge, and we keep shit simple.” He shrugged again. “You interested?”
“Uh, yeah,” I answered sarcastically. “I’d want to see it first but yes.”
“Good,” he nodded. “How about I swing by tomorrow and take you to the place?”
“Sure, um. Wait, no. Uno and I have a thing to do tomorrow.” I shared. “What about Sunday?”
Darkness ran over his face, then he said with less grace. “What do y’all have to do?”
I blinked at him and then shared.
“Well, if you need to know, he’s taking me to see my brother. Then we’ll probably get some food, and I had some things to show him. Why?”
“What’s the deal with you and him?” Shiz asked, and no interpreter was needed to decipher what he meant.
“You should ask Uno,” I answered.
“I’m asking you,” he retorted.
I stood up from my chair and said, “maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”
Then I turned my back, and when my name was called, I realized serious Shiz was back.
“Avery.”
“Yes,” I kept my back towards him but did not move any further.
“Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face. Think about this before walking away from this opportunity.” He said like he was my camp counselor.
Granted, I could be quite impulsive but his tone. That command. His way. I wasn’t ready for that from him. We weren’t there, and he was taken liberties that he had no rights too.
“I have thought about it, and I don’t want to be in debt to an egotistical jerk or have to live in a place with an asshole as my landlord. I got enough shit to eat, and I don’t need more bullshit from outside sources.”
Then I made my way back to the ladies. Now my goal was to get sloshed and just call Uno. One hour later, two more Bloody Mary’s in, I was feeling nice. Well, we all were, except Dessy who was working that night and Shay who was prego. We continued to laugh as they shared their stories, on how they met their men and the sheer shenanigans they had to go through or put those men through. At one point, the hottie Apollo came over and whispered something in Lori’s ear. She grinned, disappeared and came back with sex hair.
“Sorry, I’m ovulating.” She shared as the gang of us were already laughing.
Right after this, Shiz decided to grace us with his presence again and just like before, the ladies greeted him in a sarcastic manner. I, for the part, ignored him but apparently the man was on a mission.
“Ladies, I need your help here.” He announced loud enough over the music playing.
“Shoot,” Shay asked.
“Can someone please inform Avery that I’m an upstanding citizen, a model member of the Guardians, a great landlord and she can trust me? I’m trying to rent her my place, but she doesn’t like my personality.” He asked, causing my head to snap in his direction.
No, he did not.
“Really,” I snapped at him.
“Left me no choice, Babe.” He shrugged. “l figured here, was some character witnesses.”
“Well,” Kylie spoke. “Can’t really speak about the upstanding citizen part, but I know that Shiz’s homes are top notch and he’s a good landlord. Dessy’s future sister-in-law was staying there for a bit and said it was, and I quote, better than a hotel.”
At that notion, Dessy groaned and rolled her eyes.
“Bad blood there,” Shay interjected.
“Also, his personality is annoying as hell,” Lori added.
“Yeah,” Dessy chimes in.
“I concur,” Kylie agreed as Shay nodded her head with them.
“Thank you,” I waved my hand at them with the palm up. “There you have it.”
Shiz rolled his eyes.
“That, uh, wouldn’t stop me from getting a good place to stay,” Shay shared. “I’m just saying.”
“See,” Shiz mimicked me, but I merely frowned. “At least check it out. Plus, I barely see my tenants unless something is broken. You can even pay the rent online. Very little interaction.”
My head finally swiveled to him to see the dark coffee color eyes on me. Then I said in a low voice, “Why are you pushing this?”
“You need an affordable place. I have an affordable place. Just come with me and see it, then if you don’t like it, then no harm was done.” He shrugged.
“Fine, I’ll see it tomorrow.” I conceded. “After seeing my brother.”
“You ready to go or you want to stay a little longer?” He asked me.
I turned to see if he was joking or not but realized this was serious Shiz. He meant to bring me home because he said so. If I went home with him, then I could get sauced, but I want t
o keep my wits about me when dealing with the bossy man.
“I’m about to call it a night, I see Bronx headed this way. It’s been real.” Shay chimed in. “Avery, it was really great meeting you and I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other soon.”
Ah, ambushed.
“Guess I’m leaving then,” I looked to Shiz. “Shay’s my ride.”
He raised an eyebrow at me with a challenge, as if to say, ‘oh really.’
“Bronx, brother. Avery is coming with me. Right, Shay?” He asked with his eyes on them as her head nodded with nothing but mischief in her features.
Traded by a fellow sister.
The tall, African-American man, looked down at Shay with adoring eyes, pulled her into his hard body and said, “Don’t give a fuck. Long as my woman’s coming with me.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Shiz’s head turn towards me, “Well, let’s go.”
There would be no argument from the brothers and the sisters. Specifically the pretty, long-haired one named Shay was googly-eyed for the specimen of a man. There would be no fight out of her or any of the guys, so I huffed, grabbed my purse and said, “Lead the way, bossy.”
“Certainly,” he said with an equal amount of sarcasm.
I followed him out to a modern dark-colored RAM truck with wheels almost as big as my head. The car beeped on the vehicle, Shiz opened the passenger door and held out a hand to help me inside. Once he was in, the engine roared to life, and he asked, “Where do you live?”
“Outside of Manor, in Tenley, near the train tracks.” I shared.
“Fuck, that’s pretty far.” He nodded his head.
Strapping on my seatbelt, I didn’t say anything and ignored the tension in the air. Cut with a knife was the understatement of the year. I was feeling nice but also feeling feisty enough to be flippant with my mouth. This never worked out well for me, so for the fact that I’d be in the man’s car for forty minutes, I decided to shut my trap. Well, unless he asked me a question, then I would answer.
Right on cue, he turned off the radio with the country music and said, “Avery West of the Westionians that are no kin of Kanye West. Tell me about yourself.”
I openly stared at him and the gull before I burst out in laughter.
“Westonians?” I mocked.
“Yeah, so. Tell me,” he asked. “I know you have a brother who’s in college. Did you go? Where are you from? What do you do?”
“I went to community college and graduated a few years ago. I’m from Tenley, born and raised there. I am an artist, so I am not really working in my career as the job of an Insurance Representative doesn’t pay well, but I can pay some bills. Plus, my little difficulty with my temper, well, let’s just say. It's easier to hang up on people before I do something I will regret.” I laughed at myself. “Not sure how long I’ll have that job, really.”
It was too dark to see the expression on his face, but I was sure there was a roll of the eyes or a nod in agreement in the midst.
“What do you want to do?” He asked.
I sighed because I knew what I wanted but had no idea how I was going to get there. The idea of my dream job working with the art galleries in the county and eventually for the state of Pennsylvania seemed so far away. Having my work displayed would be my ultimate, but it just seemed like a pipe dream. One that I didn’t even want to share but what the hell.
“Like I said, I’m an artist, and I want my art displayed. You know. In galleries around the county, state, and hell, the world. It’s far from being an insurance representative, and of course, it doesn’t pay the bills, steadily, but it’s what I want.” I shared, then turned my head to face outside.
“Then, that’s what you should aim for, artist,” Shiz said, then we grew quiet through the rest of the ride.
Once we arrived outside of my apartment building, he took one look around and asked, “You live alone?”
“Yeah,” I answered reluctantly as he took in the old neighborhood, that had been run down, including the building we were idling in front of.
“Okay, I’ll wait for you to get inside.” He nodded towards my door. “Oh, I need your number, so I can contact you.”
Running off the number for him to copy in his phone, Shiz nodded and said, “See you tomorrow, firecracker.”
“Yeah,” I answered. “Tomorrow.”
“Night.”
End of Preview.
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Love at All Costs: Stetson Series
Unedited
Chapter 1
Nadine
Iowa was not the place I thought my fellowship would send me. The description asked if I was willing to relocate and I said yes but who knew there was an agriculture school in Iowa. It was a post-grad fellowship that would land me in a network where I could name my price, location and even my time. It was the best of the elite and though Can-It corporation had an office in Iowa and now in New York, having any connection with the multi-million-dollar company was definitely in my best interest.
My mother made a note to share that the President and Founder were going to be tying the note, so he was off limits. Her goal for me was to marry up. Not work up like I intended to do but marry up. How I came from that woman was a mystery that I and my grandma were still trying to solve.
“I'm just saying, looking for a man won't be bad for your career if that man is already in the career.” She turned the corners of her lips down in that way she does when she feels she made some sort of point and kept pounding the seasoning in the raw roast with her small fist.
“Mother, I'd rather look for love than a man. However, I won't be looking for either in Iowa. I mean, come on. It's Iowa.” I scoffed.
She gave me her infamous side-eye which communicated more than she needed to say but I moved towards the door.
“See ya and tell Lazarus I said hey,” I called back.
“You headed home?” She asked.
“Yeah,” I answered. “Lots of packing to do.”
She nodded and as usual there were no pleasantries or love exchanged between the two of us. I went my way and she went hers. Grandma Beth said mother had a rough life and still hadn't forgiven herself for some of her decisions.
I got it but I didn't.
She was married to a patient man named Lazarus. He was kind and gentle, just what mother needed. She lacked confidence but Lazarus always kept her on the right track. Grandma Beth said it was because of him that mother got it together. He adored her and our family for that matter. He's also had a pretty tough life. Not that I knew the details but according to the family gossip, he used to be in a gang and did some time. He also got out and if it wasn't for the story and burned skin on his arm where his tattoo used to be, nobody would be none the wiser.
The man was six foot two of solid muscle and dark as Kofi Siriboe. A gorgeous combination and mother had done well for herself and I suspected she knew it because whatever he asked, she did. No questions asked. His dinner was always ready on time, clothes cleaned and the woman kept a clean house. I guess it was given and take between the two of them. They worked well together, so that was fine by me.
I hopped on the train to go to my apartment that I had exactly three days to remain there. My lease was up and I was moving to Iowa, effective tomorrow.
I was born and raised in Bowie, Maryland. I went to college and grad school there as well, so no one expected me to up and leave for a job. I think that was why I wanted to go because I had literally never been anywhere for any length of time. I lost touch with a lot of my friends from college and grad school was at night so I didn't really make friends just went to class, studied at home and graduated two years later. My major was Plant Pathology & Microbiology and I worked as an agriculture technician where I could have worked in Eastern Shore. That was another thing people thou
ght I was crazy about. What I did for a living. However, I decided a long time ago not to float to their drum. Grandma Beth instilled that into me as a child, since she practically raised me. She told me that the world as I knew it would be hard and if I tried to please everyone including my own mother, I'd be used up and taken advantage of and I was way too precious for that to happen. I always remembered those words so I always put me first.
At the end of the day, I was all I had to watch out for.
****
The plane ride from the Baltimore Washington International Airport to Libby, Iowa was not bad. I took a Dramamine pill and slept most of the time. Between the motion sickness and fear of crashing to my death, I thought it best not to expose my fellow passengers to a panic attack, Nadine Woodrow style.
I no longer had an apartment, but a nice A-style house that happened to be sea green. There was a large patch of grass, a wraparound porch and a whole lot of grass in the back of the house. The landlord assured me that someone came out every two weeks to maintain the grounds. The husky man looked very much like a man out of a western movie with a Stetson, skin-tight jeans and cowboy boots. What else did he look like? To make matters worse, he rode up on a horse. I, in turn, was in ankle suede boots with a peep toe, jeans, a satin blouse and fashionable sunglasses. It was clearly written that I wasn't from around those parts.
“Where can I get something to eat from around here?” I asked the landlord, who told me his name was Walter Munn.
“There's a place that many of the locals frequent and it's damn good, but you might want to check out the grocery store or the Timms organic store. It's over the small bridge right there.” He pointed to the west. “Rogers is downtown. It gets dark around here so decide what you want early enough. Oh, and you'll need some proper footwear. The rattlesnakes will take that toe of yours.”
Yikes.
My head nodded before I said
“Okay, noted.”
“I'm just down the road if you need anything.” He informed me as he nudged his horse to turn around.
As I scanned the area, I thought it would be best that I get food now and then go shopping tomorrow. Thank goodness, the Uber service was up and running in this small town. I wasn't sure what to expect.
