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CHAPTER TEN

FERRIS

M ilana had been somewhat distant, and I wasn’t sure why.

She’d still been as sweet as she’d always been, but I had to call her whenever I wanted to talk.

She said she’d been busy, but I just didn’t know.

I talked to my mama about it last night, and she warned me to be careful with my heart.

She could tell that I was all in, and I hated that.

Milana had me by the balls, and I hadn’t even dove in the pussy yet.

Shit, I hadn’t even gotten a proper kiss yet.

That peck on the lips after the rodeo wasn’t nearly enough.

I was just hoping that when I got out here to this diner, she wouldn’t be on no bullshit.

It was too early for this shit. Well, then again, maybe it was best this happened early.

I could make an informed decision before I really dove all the way in.

I’d finished three games in three days from trying to keep myself busy.

It normally took me two to three days per game, depending on how long the game was.

When I got to the diner, it was jumping as usual.

It was close to one o’clock, and they closed at two.

I believed they reopened for dinner on Thursday nights.

I wondered if Mrs. Jen and Mrs. Chrissy worked that shift too.

If they did, they had to be wearing themselves thin.

After getting out of my SUV, I made my way to the door as Ashanni and Maui were about to walk out.

“Hey, Ferris,” they said in unison.

“Hey, y’all,” I responded, holding the door open for them.

Once they were out, I went in. Going to the counter, Mrs. Chrissy said, “Welcome to Jen and Chrissy’s, baby. It seems you’re becoming a regular.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m gonna get the beef tips this time instead of the stuffed chicken. I don’t want to wear myself out.”

She chuckled. “I hear that.”

I looked around and saw Milana seated toward the back of the diner, talking to her uncle, .

. . the one who had to be the father of those twins.

Once Mrs. Chrissy finished with my food and I paid my ticket, I made my way to them.

Before I could get to the table, her eyes met mine, and she smiled.

I smiled back at her as her uncle turned in his seat.

He stood and looked me over with a slight frown on his face.

“How you doing, sir? I’m Ferris.”

“I know who you are, Ferris wheel. Just because you cool with Red don’t mean shit. I got my eyes on you.”

He walked off as I frowned. That was definitely where the twins got their attitudes from. When I looked at Milana, she looked like she was trying to stifle a laugh. “Something funny?”

She giggled, and I loved the sound of it. I hadn’t really heard it all week. “He’s like that with everybody. Don’t pay him any attention. How has your day been?”

“It’s better now,” I said, sliding my hands across the table to hers.

I lifted them and kissed them both one at a time.

She reddened slightly. Her cheek looked a little discolored though.

I didn’t bother pointing it out right now.

My food was calling me, and I needed to dive in right away.

Her plate was empty, so she’d eaten without me.

Which, I already knew she would since she got here at noon.

I got caught up in a game and needed to finish the level I was on before I could leave.

She stood from her seat and walked around to me, pulling me from my seat.

I frowned slightly, because I wasn’t sure what she was doing.

When she laid her lips on mine, I slid my hands to the small of her back, holding her close.

When she pulled away, I said, “Damn. I been needing that, but I didn’t want to take you too fast.”

She gave me a small smile then kissed me again.

She needed to stop before I grabbed her ass.

I gently sucked her bottom lip as she pulled away and went to her seat.

My dick was acting like he was ready to burst through my pants just that quickly.

It had been a while for me, and he was telling me so.

I was at a loss for words as she sat across from me, staring.

“What I do to deserve that?” I asked.

“Everything right. I missed you, Ferris.”

“Damn, girl. I missed you too.”

She smiled, and I watched her eyes shift to something going on outside. I turned to look, too, and saw about ten people huddled up. I wasn’t sure what was happening, but I saw a bunch of people in the diner stand to go out there.

“Ferris, box your food up,” she said, handing me a box.

I frowned, but I did as she suggested, especially when I saw her uncle pull a gun from his waist. A couple of other men that I took to be related to her pulled their guns as well.

I started packing a little quicker. I didn’t carry a gun, but these niggas around here were making me regret that shit.

Looking back at her, I asked, “What’s going on? ”

“I don’t know, but we need to be able to get out of here. I parked in the back.”

Turning my attention back to what was going on outside, I saw them talking and those people backing off. When I turned back to Milana, I could literally see her body trembling. “Yo, tell me what’s going on. I feel like you know. I have a right to know if I’m in danger, girl.”

“Can we go to your house?”

I frowned even harder as she stood from her seat and grabbed my hand, leading me to the back of the restaurant.

She quickly got in her truck, and I hopped in the passenger side before she left my ass.

She didn’t go toward the highway. She circled through a neighborhood, getting us back to the highway, but further down toward the intersection.

She looked over at me and said, “I’m sorry.

My family is beefing with another family.

I think three people from their family has already been killed by my family.

You would think they would have caught the hint by now.

Well, when my grandfather got attacked at the grocery store by one of theirs, it got everything cranked up all over again.

Being that my grandfather died, that didn’t make things any better. ”

“Damn.”

“I’m sorry you had to witness that. We have a family meeting tonight that I have to be back for, so you’ll be able to get your vehicle then. I’m sorry if I’m throwing you off. I promise, I’ll explain more when we get to your place. I’ll just need you to tell me where I’m going.”

I nodded. There had to be something more to it.

She was so quick to leave. Nobody else left or even looked like they wanted to leave.

It was like she wasn’t telling me everything.

I was too fucking smart for my own good at times.

However, she said she would explain more when we got to my house.

I just hoped whatever she had to say wouldn’t cause me to take a step back.

The minute we walked inside and I’d closed the door, Milana was on me like white on rice.

Her tongue slid up my neck before she kissed my lips.

That shit felt good as fuck, but I knew she was deflecting.

We hadn’t gotten nowhere near this point, and it seemed to just come out of the blue.

I grabbed her arms and pushed her against the wall, holding her there as I stared into her eyes.

“What’s up wit’chu? What’s going on?” Her gaze went to the floor as I released her.

“We need to talk first. If you wanna go there once we’re done talking, I’ll gladly slide in them walls.

I’ve been fantasizing about it for the past couple of weeks anyway.

But I’m not about to allow you to use that shit to take my mind off what happened at the diner. ”

I backed away from her and watched her fidget. When I sat at the table, she joined me. She slid her hands down her face, and I could see them tremble. Just as she was about to talk, her phone rang. She answered on speaker, surprisingly.

“Where the fuck you went?” a man asked.

“I left with Ferris. I would have stayed, but I didn’t want him involved in all this.”

“Yeah, because you need to have your ass in the trenches with us.”

The call disconnected, and a few tears left her eyes.

She looked up at me and said, “Those people are after me. My family does have an ongoing beef with the Andersons. That wasn’t a lie.

An Anderson was involved in killing my grandfather.

Nothing I said was a lie. I just didn’t tell you everything.

Two guys I was connected to also played a part in killing my grandfather.

My family was so angry with me. My mama had put me out of her house and everything. I was angry at myself.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

She swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

Without looking at me, she continued. “A guy I was dating was exhibiting shady behavior. I couldn’t catch him in nothing though.

He was always sweet to me, but I just felt like it was game.

One day, his mama called me and said some shit was going on that I needed to see.

So, I went to her house, and the minute I walked in, I could hear the sex noises coming from his room.

After glancing at her, I went to his room and saw him blowing this bitch’s back out. ”

My eyebrows lifted. His mama was messy as shit. How she do that to her son? I got her telling Milana what was up, but calling her to their house to catch him in the act was messy work.

“I was so angry. I wanted to kill him. My gun was in my truck, and everything in me wanted me to go grab it and blow his brains out. Instead, when I got to my truck, I took off. He had a half-brother that constantly flirted with me. So, I figured I would get revenge that way. What he could do, I could do better. I went to his brother’s house and fucked him. When I was leaving, he was driving up.”

I was sitting there in shock. She fucked her nigga’s brother? What the fuck was wrong with her? That was that ratchet shit. “Milana?—”

“I know it was fucked up. I just didn’t know how to handle what I saw.

I figured that was better than killing him.

About a week later, he somewhat assaulted me at the gas station.

The only reason he left was because Ashanni called my cousin Jacob.

He pushed me against my truck, and I sprayed his ass with gasoline.

Then he pushed me to the ground. After that, he was constantly trying to get at me, but I was able to avoid him.

He and his brother were two of the three men that attacked my grandfather. ”

I slid my hand over my face. Closing my eyes, I slowly shook my head. I didn’t think I could deal with no bullshit like this. “So, let me guess. Their family is after your ass, because they feel you started all this shit, when, technically, it was your ex’s mother.”

“Well, I felt like he started it, but I see why you would say his mother. She shouldn’t have called me that day. But yeah. I shouldn’t have responded the way I did either. My grandfather would still be here.”

“Maybe, maybe not.” I huffed. I needed time away from her ass. This shit was too much. Being with her ass was dangerous. “Can you take me back to the diner?”

Tears fell down her cheeks as she stared at me.

She quickly nodded and stood from her seat as I did the same.

I didn’t know what to say to all the shit she had said.

My thoughts were running wild with the pros and cons of being with her.

It wasn’t like I’d been knowing her for years.

The shit she was speaking about happened less than a year ago.

Her grandfather had only died two months ago.

As we got inside her truck, I asked, “How long ago did that happen?”

“Which part?”

“You sleeping with his brother?”

“Like eight months ago. I thought that shit was over with. Apparently not. My cousin went to the Dollar General that day and saw what was happening and blew his head off . . . the same shit I was contemplating doing that day I walked in on him and that bitch.”

She pulled out of my driveway, and we remained silent until she got to Highway 90.

“I know this is a lot, Ferris. Although it’s recent, I’m not the same person.

Please don’t write me off. I know you need time.

I was trying to avoid this very thing. His sister came to the diner and caught me off guard the other day.

That was why I didn’t want to see you sooner.

I saw you looking at the bruise on my face. ”

I took a deep breath as I glanced at her. “I definitely need time. You have a lot going on that I’m not sure I want to be a part of or even close to. Being with you would mean that I’m choosing drama. I hate that shit.”

She nodded and didn’t say another word until we got to the diner.

When she parked, I grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

She leaned over and kissed my lips. I nodded then got out of her truck.

When I got to my vehicle, I hopped in and took off, not bothering to look back.

While I knew more was going on than what Milana had previously said, I would have never guessed it was something of that magnitude.

I could see why her mama wanted nothing to do with her at first. Knowing that her daughter’s actions possibly played a part in her father getting killed was a lot.

Milana seemed to have an amazing personality.

I was so fucking attracted to her, but that admission caused that attraction to dwindle a little.

It showed me just how immature her thinking was.

When that nigga’s mama called her to go see for herself, she should have turned that shit down.

She should have told her ass to send her a picture if she just had to see that shit for herself.

I slid my hand down my face when I stopped at the traffic light.

I had a decision to make, and I knew it wouldn’t be an easy one.

I refused to rush it. I was glad we hadn’t had sex yet, because I had a feeling that shit would have clouded my judgment.

Just by the way she walked, I knew that pussy was fire.

When my phone chimed, I looked at it to see a message from Milana. I’m so sorry, Ferris.

I swallowed hard and quickly responded before the light could change. Me too.