Black Obsidian(26)

He stopped me by the wrist and pulled me into his side with such strength I nearly lost my balance. He looked down into my face, his blue eyes intense with frustration. He practically ripped me apart with just the look. “I am your boyfriend.” He squeezed my wrist harder then pulled me further into his chest. “I don’t flirt with other women or let them flirt with me. You’ll do the same. End of story.” He pressed a hard kiss on my lips then released me immediately. He walked off like the conversation hadn’t just happened, and he grabbed a tray of food before he returned it to the line. Not once did he look at me, dismissing me like I didn’t exist at all.



After we started serving the meal, Calloway was in a better mood. He spoke to each person as they moved down the line, asking them how their day was and telling them a few jokes to make them laugh. The good-natured man I knew had returned to the surface, directly opposite of the man I just witnessed a few moments ago.

When John came down the line, he kept his head down and wouldn’t even look at me.

“We’ve got your favorite today, John. Chicken and dumplings.”

He only nodded and stuck out his tray.

I served the food on the plate and watched him move down the line, wishing he would talk to me. He skipped Calloway completely and went to the next person in line to get carrots and bread.

I gave Calloway the darkest glare I could muster, hating him for scaring off a man just trying to get by. John refused half of his meal just to avoid him. The guy already had it hard enough before Calloway had to be a jerk. If he really thought John was a threat, he was crazy.

Calloway felt my stare because he glanced at me from the corner of his eyes. Then he moved down the line, cutting in front of the nearby worker, and took John’s tray from his hand. He piled the food onto the tray, giving him far more than the others, and then handed it back. “Why was six afraid of seven?”

John stared at him blankly, still cautious.

Calloway continued. “Because seven is a registered six offender.”

The corner of John’s lip rose in a smile, and finally, a chuckle came out of his mouth. Soon, he laughed. The kind that erupted from deep inside his throat. He moved down the line, chuckling to himself. “Six offender… I’m telling that to the guys.” He grabbed a piece of bread then joined the others at the table.

My anger disappeared, and I finally gave him a smile.

Calloway returned to his place beside me and continued serving the people who came down the line.

I turned to him when there was a break in the line, a smile on my lips. “Thank you.”

Calloway said nothing, pretending he hadn’t heard me.



When the day was over and the soup kitchen closed, we walked out into the freezing cold of the city. Our clothes were dirty, and we needed a warm shower and a change in wardrobe.

I was mad at Calloway initially, but when I saw the goodness within him shine, that resentment disappeared. He didn’t apologize for what he did, but he tried to make up for it. And in the end, that’s all that mattered.

“Would you like to come over?” Even with gravy stains on his t-shirt, he looked scorching. His brown hair was a little messy, like he woke up that morning looking perfect but a little casual. The stubble on his face was gone because he’d shaved that morning, but by the evening, it would return. “I’ll make us some dinner.”

A warning blared in my heart the moment he issued the invitation. I still wanted to jump his bones and fall head over heels for this man I hardly knew. My gut and my heart were telling me to go all in without any precaution. But something stronger, my brain, was telling me it was too good to be true, and there was something I was missing. He was just too perfect—his jealous tantrum aside.

But he promised four weeks of abstinence, and I believed he would keep his word. Fooling around was enough for me since he was so good at it. “Sure. I’ll go home and shower then I’ll be over there.”

“Why don’t we just go now?”

I understood exactly what he was implying.

“We’ll throw your clothes in the wash, and you can wear some of my stuff around the house. I’m sure you’ll look better in my clothes than I do.” He winked, that childish grin stretching across his face.

Did he get tired of being so irresistible all the time?

“Or you’ll look even better wearing nothing at all.”



I pictured him in a penthouse on the top floor of the highest skyscraper in all of Manhattan. Dark furniture that reeked of sexual conquests with a cabinet full of the hardest liquor known to man. His bed was probably made with black sheets that reflected the dim light of the nighttime buildings across the street.