Page 4 of Obsessive Love

FABLE

“Thirty minutes until closing,” I said to my best friend, Yamari, who nodded as she continued to work.

I patted her on the shoulder, thankful she could come and help at the last minute.

Her job as an art curator kept her busy, but she always showed up when I needed her the most. I’d been busy since opening, but today was crazy, and I loved it. “Again, I appreciate you.”

“It’s nothing,” she laughed. “You know I thrive off the chaos.”

“Don’t I know it?” I picked up the empty plates, put them in my bucket, and then wiped down the tables.

I was nearly out of all the sweets I’d baked today and was mentally counting the possible outcome.

I was almost sold out of everything and had close to thirty orders for tomorrow; I would have to come in earlier than I typically would to get started.

The bell rang above the door, indicating that someone had walked in, and instinctively, I called out, “Welcome to Story Time.” I kept working, not having time to stop and make eye contact with them, which I hated, but I was too busy to stop.

I grabbed my bucket, moved to the following table, cleaned, and moved on.

I returned to the back and rinsed the plates, cups, and utensils before putting them in the dishwasher.

Then, I turned around and did a little dance. This was my damn dream coming true.

Without missing a beat, I grabbed the last chocolate cookies and lemon drops and returned to the front. Hopefully, the customer I hadn’t met was still here, and I’d apologize with a free extra cookie.

“Can you box them up for me?” Yamari looked over her shoulder and asked. “I just had a customer buy them.”

I felt like someone was watching me, and I looked around.

My eyes landed on a man standing in the corner of the bakery.

He was tall, standing close to six-five, with skin the color of warm honey, a square face, a full beard, thick lips, a broad nose, dark slanted eyes, and long curly hair that went past his shoulders.

He licked his plump lips, and his dark eyes freely took me in.

Goosebumps rose on my skin, and a chill ran down my spine.

There was no reason for his ass to be that damn fine.

He smirked when he noticed me watching him, and his grill sparkled against the light. “Fable.”

“Yeah?” I said, slowly taking my eyes off the man to look at her. “What was that?”

“Box the cookies up, please?” she asked with a smile.

“Yeah,” I said, laughing to try and break the tension I felt in the air. “I got you.”

“Thank you!” she giggled, then returned to her customer.

We’d been friends for more years than I could count, and I never took her for granted.

She was the daughter of a loan shark, while I was the daughter of his worst customer.

I’ll never know how we became friends, but we did, and I thanked God daily for allowing it to happen.

I took the cookies to the counter behind the register, packed them, and then put them on the counter next to Yamari. “Have they been paid for?” I figured they had because we were busy, but I didn’t want to assume anything.

“Yes, ma’am,” she answered with a nod. “His name is Pyrite Stone.”

“Thanks.” I grabbed a pen from the cup next to the tip jar, wrote his name on the box, put it in my pocket, and then set the box next to Yamari. “Here they are.”

“Thanks,” she said as she rang up the last customer.

“Call me if you need anything else; I’m going to start cleaning up the back,” I said as I left the front.

The kitchen wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but I still wanted to get a jump on the cleaning.

I grabbed my headphones, only putting one in, and started getting to work.

Like baking, cleaning brought me peace; while some hated it, I loved it.

I started with the counters, ensuring I properly wiped them down before cleaning them.

After finishing, I swept and mopped the floors before moving to the front.

Yamari was long gone, but she’d cleaned before leaving, which I was grateful for.

“Hello?” I answered my phone and moved to the storage room to check supplies.

“Are you home?” Javien asked, and I rolled my eyes. We hadn’t talked in months, even though the last I heard, he was in town. More than likely, he was running between his three girlfriends’ houses, causing havoc. As long as he stayed away from me, I was good. “Huh, Fable, are you at home?”

“No,” I answered as I counted supplies and noted what I needed to order. “And no, before you ask, I don’t have any money you can borrow. I paid my bills.”

“You always got money,” he kissed his teeth in annoyance. “You just don’t want to share. Shit selfish.”

“Javien, you have a multimillion-dollar contract, and there is no way you are as broke as you pretend to be,” I replied as I stepped out of the storage room and closed the door. “You need to-”

“Aye, I ain’t trying to hear all that lecturing shit you do,” he cut me off. “I need the money.”

“I don’t have it,” I said as I walked to my office.

“Yeah, you do,” he laughed humorlessly. “I saw your accounts. You got way more than you act like you do.”

“You saw my accounts?” I repeated because he shouldn’t have seen anything related to my money. “How the fuck did you see my shit?”

“It pays to know people,” he replied. “Now, let me get a few stacks. I owe a nigga and need to get him off my back.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “If you owe, then you need to pay.”

“Not happening,” he said. “That nigga will have to kill me before I hand him my shit.”

“Then you better tell me what color you want me to wear to your funeral,” I said, grabbing my keys, purse, and laptop to leave. It was close to ten at night, and I had to be back here by four to start my day.

“Yeah, that ain’t happening,” he grunted. “How much is your lil bakery worth to you?”

“Don’t play with me, Javien,” I said, turning the light off and heading to the back door. “I’ll kill you my damn self if you think for one second that I’m going to sell my shit because of your debt.”

“It’s the shop or your life,” he replied, and I rolled my eyes. “Pick one.”

“Go to hell, Javien,” I said as I put the code in for my security system and stepped out of the building. My car was close enough to the back door that I didn’t have to walk far, but I still pulled my mace from my purse just in case. “Because baby, one thing I will never do is play about my life.”

“Good to know,” a deep voice said. I pulled the phone from my face and looked at the screen, slightly confused.

“Who the fuck is this?” I asked when I put the phone back to my ear. “And where the fuck is Javien?”

Instead of an answer, the phone disconnected. I stopped walking and tried to call Javien three times, but each time, it went straight to voicemail. Lord knows what my stupid ass brother had gotten himself into. Instead of stressing, I dialed Javien Sr.'s number, which went to voicemail.

“Fucking typical,” I said, hanging up and calling again, just for it to go straight to voicemail.

“I don’t know what your stupid ass son has gotten into, but he called me talking about he needs some money.

You better get to shooting those dice and making it for him.

I’m not dealing with this shit from either of you.

Fix it, Javien.” I hung up the phone, put it in my purse, and continued the walk to my car.

I pressed my key fob to unlock the doors just as a black SUV pulled up next to my car, blocking my path. The driver got out, rounded the car, and opened the back door. I watched as the man from earlier got out. He gave me a sexy smirk, and he licked his pretty ass lips.

“Get in the car,” he instructed. His deep voice rolled over my skin like a tidal wave, and my panties instantly flooded.

“Sir,” I started and shook my head. “I don’t know you, nor do I take orders from any nigga.” I looked over at his car and rolled my eyes. “I’m not interested.”

“You already chose your fate, Fable, and said you didn’t want to die,” he said with a shrug.

I stepped back for two reasons: one, he shouldn’t have known my name, and two, the more he spoke, the more he sounded familiar. I didn’t know him, but I’d heard his voice before.

“Choose my fate?” I questioned him, and he nodded in response. “Nigga, are you crazy?”

“Yes,” he answered without blinking, and I knew he was telling the truth. “You can thank Javien for this.” His eyes swept over me in appreciation, and then he shook his head. “You just cleared his debt.”

“What?” I laughed and shook my head. “I don’t know what the fuck Javien told you, but it’s not happening. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going home.” I stepped past him and reached for the driver’s door handle just when shots rang out, and air hissed from my tire. “What the fuck?”

“Get in the car, or the next one goes to your pretty ass head,” he said into my ear.

The sound of him cocking his gun echoed through the empty parking lot, and I knew that whatever my punk-ass brother dragged me into was going to change my life forever.

But one thing I was not was a punk. Javien owed this nigga, not me; he would have to collect that money from him.

I quickly turned around, raised my arm, and sprayed him in the face with my mace.

“The fuck?” he yelled, covered his face with his hands and stepped back. “You fucking maced me!”

I used that as my chance to make a run for it. I pulled open the car door, jumped in, started the engine, and pulled off. I didn’t give a fuck that my tire was flat. I’d ride this bitch until the fucking rim sparked.

I didn’t let out the breath I was holding until I watched my garage door close, and even then, I was still a little unsure of my next move.

“Come on, Fable, you’re okay; you got this.

” I stared at my reflection in my rearview mirror and nodded.

“Fuck Javien and whatever bullshit he’s into.

That’s not your problem.” I took another breath, nodded, and exited the car.

When I left the house this morning, the moon shone brightly in the sky, and now it was doing the same thing.

I’d been working my ass off for years to get my bakery off the ground, and with the help of Yamari, I was starting to get my shit together.

The last thing I needed was to be dragged into some shit because of Javien.

I kicked off my shoes as soon as I walked into the house and dropped my bag onto the counter.

The sounds of my two parrots talking echoed through the house, and I smiled.

I lived a quiet life and wanted to keep it that way.

Whatever Javien's stupid ass had gotten into, he would have to deal with it on his own.