Page 2 of Rah

She sounded like a crazy person. “And do you know what he had the nerve to say?” Her face lost all sanity as she recalled it in her mind. “He said that if Essence wasn’t such a hoe like her mother, maybe this wouldn’t have happened to her.”

I cringed. Rah’s words even hurtmyfeelings as I leaned against the island in the kitchen. “Solae—”

I stopped mid-sentence when my eyes fell upon the scene on the floor near the back door.

I gasped so loud that it bounced off of the walls. “Solae! What did you do?!”

A FEW WEEKS AGO…

1

SOLAE

“Have a great day, Mr. Peterson,” I said with my best customer service smile as I slid his receipt across the counter. As soon as he walked off, I called, “Next!”

And that’s when I saw Priest.

I instantly felt butterflies in my stomach. My fingers started instinctively smoothing my pixie-cut blonde hair. I could feel my pulse in my ears. This man had no business looking that good. He was tall with broad shoulders that stretched the sleeves of a hoodie. His tan skin caught the light and his colorful tattoos peeked up from his collar. That perfectly groomed beard framed a face so fine, I wanted it to be my permanent seat. And that slow, confident walk full of swag gave big dick energy in motion.

Priest came to the bank too often for my heart to take it. And because I usually handled his transactions, I knewexactly what was sitting pretty in his accounts. He was self-employed, according to his files. But he was a street nigga, according to my common sense.

“What’s up, beautiful?” His deep voice rolled over me like honey as he stepped up to my window, leaning in just enough to close the space between us. As he slid his withdraw slip through the window, his lips curved into that sinful smile that always ruined my concentration.

I tried so hard not to blush. “Hello, Priest. What can I do for you today?”

“You could give me your number. Or…” He grinned wider as his eyes raked over me in a way that made my thighs press together on the other side of the counter. “…you could finally say yes to me seeing you outside of this bank.”

I bit back a giggle while I processed his withdrawal. “You never quit, do you?”

“Not when it comes to you.” He was so smooth and cocky, like he already knew I’d fold one day.

“I told you that I have a man.”

“And I already told you that it’s something about you that makes me not care about that nigga.”

Blushing, I counted out his cash with the money counter and then slid it across the counter.

“Well,Icare about him,” I told Priest, while reminding myself why I couldn’t fold. As fine as Priest was, I was committed to Rah and had no reason to fall victim to Priest’s beauty.

Still, when his fingertips brushed mine as he took the bills, as much as they could through the window, a shiver danced up my arm.

“Thank you,” he said, dragging his gaze over me one last time. “Are you sure I can’t feed you?”

I rolled my eyes, trying not to smile as I motioned towardthe long line behind him. “Go, Priest. People have been waiting a long time.”

A smile slowly spread to each ear, teasing me with those perfect white teeth. “Alright, Solae. But I’ll see you soon.”

Thankfully, he backed away, so I could breathe again, but he kept throwing me those lingering stares and licking his lips like he knew damn well what he was doing to me.

I took a deep breath, forced myself to focus and called the next customer. There was always an afternoon rush at the bank on a Friday afternoon. It was always swarming with customers who’d just gotten paid and needed to make their transactions before the weekend. But this rush was especially hectic because it was only three weeks before Christmas.

“Welcome to Chase. How may I help you?”

I didn’t even look up as I closed out the previous transaction while the new customer approached the teller window.

I was exhausted. I had worked six days straight. I had been juggling my role as a bank customer service manager while also stepping in as a teller because of the constant staffing issues. The holiday rush only made it worse. There had been endless lines, impatient customers, and no real break to breathe. Rah, my fiancé, had been busy with his hustle and in the studio. He hadn’t been able to help much around the house with the kids lately.

Rah and I had two kids. Essence and Elijah were thirteen and ten years old and were a complete handful. One would think that since I was only twenty–seven that I would have the energy to keep up with them. Yet, the holiday hours and running around with the kids had me beat.