Page 42 of All The Smoke

“Babe, this isn’t what you think,” I pleaded and he grinned right before he lifted the gun and smashed it through the window, sending shattered glass all over the place.

Reaching through the window, he grabbed Jamal and dragged him out of it, not caring at all that the jagged pieces from the broken window were likely cutting him.

Once he had him outside, he commenced to whooping Jamal’s ass.

Jamal was doing all he could to fight back and defend himself, but there was no use.

He was clearly at a disadvantage. I watched in horror when Solomon began to pistol whip him.

Jamal was pleading with him to stop, but he didn’t until the gun went off.

I was unsure whether or not he shot him or worse, someone else.

Running over, I grabbed Solomon’s arm and tugged him in my direction.

“Solomon, what the fuck!”

“Let’s go,” he huffed, sticking the gun in the small of his back then grabbing my hand, leading us in the opposite direction.

“Wait.” I tried pulling away, but he wasn’t having it. His grip tightened, not enough to hurt me, but enough to let me know he had no plans of releasing me. “Baby, he’s just lying there. What if he’s dead?”

“You want to die with him?” he growled in my face after stopping abruptly.

When I shook my head, scared he might actually mean it, he began his strides again. My friends came running out seconds later, some going to Jamal’s aid when they noticed who was lying there on the ground but Morgan came after me.

“Bitch, what the fuck happened?”

“Girl.” I palmed my forehead with my freehand.

“Mo, Bino is waiting for you,” Solomon said, tossing his head in the direction of Bernard standing outside of his car smoking a blunt as if his friend hadn’t just viciously attacked and possibly killed my ex.

“Okay.” She nodded, then looked at me. “ Is he mad ?” she mouthed and I gave her a knowing look.

She could put two and two together and tell what the hell just happened.

Her sick ass smiled and pulled me into a hug.

“Okay, well, I’ll call you tomorrow, bestie.

Have a good night, Smoke.” When he didn’t reply she snickered and said, “On that note, I’ll call you in a few days, bestie. ”

She skipped over to her man with her lying ass. Morgan was likely going to text me as soon as her drunk ass got in the car, trying to get the tea. She was so satisfied seeing Jamal beaten and probably even happier to know Solomon had done it.

“Babe—”

He cut me off as he opened my passenger door, successful because he pressed the button on the door and my key fob was close by in my purse. “Get in the car.”

“Okay, but…”

“Kaori,” he sighed. “I don’t want to hear it right now. All I want is for you to get your ass in the car.” He pointed.

Knowing he was pissed because of something I had done, I conceded and slid into the car.

He waited until I was situated before closing it then round the front of the car to get to the driver side.

I figured he would say something once we got on the road, but I figured wrong.

He said nothing to me and that bothered me.

I didn’t like it at all so I tried to start conversation.

“Solomon, I?—”

He cut me off. “If you not finna tell me why you had ya ass in that nigga’s whip, then I don’t want to hear it. Deadass.”

“We were just talking.”

“Okay.”

Okay?

“Solomon…”

“I don’t want to talk, Kaori.”

“You’re a psycho.”

“I know that. You the one acting like you don’t.”

I didn’t. At least not in the capacity I’d witnessed tonight. I knew he had a temper, but I hadn’t ever seen it up close and personal.

“You don’t even care that you could have cut me with that glass,” I cried.

“Naw, I don’t because you shouldn’t have been in there in the first fuckin’ place.”

“Okay.” I sniffled and got quiet for a moment before remembering I’d never gotten my chance to eat. “I left my food in there.”

He didn’t respond, just turned the radio up. I knew he was doing that to be an asshole because he didn’t even like the kind of music playing, the same stuff me and Morgan listened to on our way to the club.

I couldn’t say I was surprised that he pulled up to my house instead of his, but what I was shocked about was an iDrive parked out there clearly was for him because he walked over to speak to the driver before approaching me again and following me to my place.

He didn’t even bother to go inside and check around like he normally did when we got upstairs. Instead he waited for me to get inside safely then he left. I felt horrible. He hadn’t been mad at me since I ordered a car for him the second time we slept together.

Trekking to the back of my house, I went into my room, undressed, then took a shower. After I’d gotten out and brushed my teeth, I threw on one of his shirts then went to my kitchen to fix food.

As I took out salmon filets I intended to cut up into salmon bites and make a spicy salmon rice bowl, I heard my door opening and closing.

Thinking quickly, I grabbed a butcher knife from the knife block and got ready for whoever it was.

I was instantly relieved to find Solomon there instead of an intruder.

“Fuck you gon’ do with that?” He shook his head.

“What are you doing back?”

“Here.” He handed me a white bag that clearly had a food container inside.

Dropping the knife onto the counter, I quickly snatched the bag from him and tore inside of it as if I hadn’t eaten in ages. I was pissed about my quesadilla but whatever he had gotten me smelled so much better.

“Where was The Jive Turkey truck?” I asked, realizing it was a turkey birria pizza. My mouth watered seeing the greasy pizza with the melting cheese oozing out of it.

“Around the way. Go sit down and eat.”

“Are you my daddy or my baby’s daddy?” I asked playfully.

“I’m trying to determine whether or not I’m still ya nigga after this conversation,” he countered, wiping the smile off my face. “Sit down.”

“Solomon.”

He sighed. “Kaori, just please sit down at the table.”

We held one another’s stare before I finally gave in and walked over to my table, setting my plate down before I sat in front of it while he sat next to me.

“Okay, so what now? I’m sitting.”

He chuckled. “You were just crying about food in the car, Kaori. Eat.”

“Why do you keep calling me Kaori?” I frowned.

“Is that not your name anymore?”

“Yes, but normally it’s bae, baby, love, or some other endearing name.”

“Yeah, I know, but that’s when you were acting like bae, baby, love, and all that other shit,” he shot back.

“Solomon, it was innocent.”

“Aight, let me hit my last bitch up so we can chill and chop it up.”

I frowned deeply. “That is not the same the thing and I wish the fuck you would.”

“It’s the same exact fucking thing.”

“No it’s not. What I did was harmless and?—”

He shook his head, cutting me off. “Naw, it was grimy. You knew you ain’t have no business in that fuckin’ car. That’s why you instantly started screaming ‘it’s not what you think’.”

“Right because I knew it looked shady and you were going to think the worst,” I argued. “It was cold?—”

“So take your ass back in the club where you were supposed to be to begin with, Kaori, not in the fuckin’ car with another nigga you know I wasn’t gon’ be aight with.”

“I know. He was just…” I released a heavy sigh. “He asked to talk and because I said I was cold he offered his car…”

“And you had to accept?” He frowned. “Your car was a short distance away.”

“Okay, you’re right. I was wrong,” I admitted. “I had no business in there at all and I realized that, but by then you were at the door. How did you even know I was in there?”

“You called me. The shit was a little muffled at first but then I heard the nigga say something about getting in his car. I was on my way by then.”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to disrespect you.”

He gazed at me for a moment before reaching for my hand and pulling me from my seat into his lap.

“Kaori, I’m not a nigga that be playing games and shit. I’m serious as fuck about the people I love and I always go too fuckin’ far when it involves them…”

“I see that now,” I mumbled. “Jamal’s body stretched out on the pavement proves that. Is he dead?”

“Naw, that bitch ass nigga ain’t dead.” He frowned. “But he will be if y’all end up in the same vicinity again. I’m too obsessive and jealous for that shit.”

“You don’t have to be.” I smiled. “I don’t want Jamal at all, baby. I only want you.”

“I’m knowing, but we still have to establish some boundaries and shit, because again, I will kill that nigga, and any other nigga that be in ya fuckin’ space, for that matter.”

“It won’t happen again.” I leaned in and kissed his lips. Thankfully he reciprocated.

“Naw.” He pulled back when I got a little handsy then tried to deepen the kiss and grabbed my plate of food. “This ain’t that and you said you were hungry.”

My brows furrowed. “This ain’t that?”

He smirked. “Naw. No dick for you, mama.”

He stood with me in his lap then had me take his place in the chair.

“Solomon…”

“You’ll think about that next time you get ya little ass in another nigga’s whip.”

Leaning in, he pecked my lips gently before turning to leave. He didn’t just leave me in the kitchen at the table though. He actually left my house altogether.