Page 47 of Bronx

And what’s most startling is if he tried to kiss me again, I wouldn’t protest.

I wouldn’t run.

I’d kiss him right back.

But just when I think he’s going to go for it, and perhaps continue where we left off, he bends down and picks up my towel from the floor, wraps it around my body, and tucks it back into place.

“I don’t know why,” he answers with a type of finality. “But I promise that shit won’t happen again.”

As he exits the bathroom, I silently blink my eyes a few times at his sudden admission. I’m not totally sure what he means won’t happen again, beating up Ray or almost kissing me.

“Um, okay?”

“And by the way–”

“Yes?”

“You’re staying here with me now.”

16

Bronx

I may have driven to Ruby’s already pissed off about my conversation with Seven, but Karma’s ex is the reason my anger escalated to the next level. After I approached Ray, I realized in less than sixty-seconds that there was no way in hell Karma was going back to him or to Ruby’s house either.

I’ve seen his type before.

The only way he’ll stop is if I protect her or kill him.

Forty Minutes Ago

I turn the ignition off and leave my car parked right smack in the middle of Ruby’s street. I’m too pissed to bother to find a parking spot, plus this isn’t going to take long.

I quickly size up the man who’s pacing back and forth across the small front lawn, trampling Ruby and Kim’s bed of tulips in the process. He stares wide-eyed at me as I approach.

“What’s up, friend?” he asks in an awkward attempt to appear tough.

“Go home,” I warn him. “You don’t want none of this heat,” I say, referring to the ass whooping he’s about to get if he doesn’t stand down.

“This isn’t your business, man.”

I crack the knuckles of my right hand.

“Oh, but it is.”

His mouth turns downward.

“I thought Ruby was gay? Who are you, some kind of kin to them?”

“Never mind who I am; just listen to what I’m saying. I’m telling you to leave their property and never come back. You’ve got one minute or I’ll kick you off myself.”

The boyfriend is sizing me up. This is what men do when their manhood has been questioned or challenged. Right now, he’s trying to figure out if it’s worth getting into a physical altercation with me. I trust he’s smart enough to know that it wouldn’t end well for him, but hey, I wouldn’t be averse to giving him his own black eye today.

He hit a woman. A damn decent woman who’s probably had her fair share of hell to deal with in her life. I’ve beaten down men for less.

“I don’t think you understand what’s going on here. My girlfriend is in that house and I need to talk to her. You know how it is, man. We had a little argument and now she’s hiding out in there with those lesbians. They’re probably filling her head with nonsense about me, confusing her. I just want to bring her home safe where she belongs.”

Okay, so he’s homophobic, a woman beater, and a pussy. Karma sure knows how to pick ‘em.