My Addiction (Second Chances Series)(9)

“So…” she started. I moved from my inner thoughts back to her, “…How long are you home?”

“I don’t know. Probably a month or two,” I offered.

“I take it you’re staying with your brother at his house.” She leaned into me. “How did it feel when you first walked inside?”

I shook my head and took the rest of my beer down. “I half expected to smell fried chicken the moment I opened the door,” I told her.

She laughed. “Yes, I’ve never met a white woman that could fry up some chicken the way she could.”

“I know. Her chicken was almost as good as your mom’s.”

“Yup, almost.”

We grew silent again, as I watched her fidget slightly.

“Are you okay?” I asked her.

She looked up at me as if she forgot I was even there. “Yeah. I’m fine,” she nodded, with a fake smile on her face. “Listen, I have to get back to some paperwork, but order whatever you want. It’s on me.” She moved from the booth and stood.

I shook my head and rose out of the booth. “Uh, no, you’re not doing that. I can pay my own tab.”

She smiled. “I’m sure you can, Dr. Mills, hot shot cardio surgeon, but, to be honest, your warden will probably not let you come out with me, so this is my way of treating you to dinner.”

“Unt uh, Ana, you’re not getting off that easy. I’m not considering this a substitute for dinner, even if I let you treat me.”

She laughed. “You know for a fact your jailer will not let you out with me.”

“You got that shit right!”

I looked past her and found my brother coming up to us. The nerves that instantly overcame Ayana weren’t hard to miss, and I knew my brother caught it too. Ayana backed up from us both and tried to place a smile on her face. “Detective Mills,” she acknowledged.

My brother nodded in her direction, “Peters.”

I reached into my pocket, pulled out my wallet, and handed her one of my cards. “Give me a call and we can discuss you treating me to dinner.”

She hesitated a bit before she took my card. She looked at it and took a deep breath. Her eyes then moved from my brother to me. “Okay, I’ll give you a call. Again, dinner and drinks are on me tonight, I won’t take no for an answer.”

“You know I’m not saying no,” my brother barked and sat down.

I smiled at her. “Thanks, Ayana, and it has really been good seeing you.”

“It’s good to see you too,” she replied, then walked away.

When she got clear, I sat down. “I don’t have to tell you to stay away from her, right?” my brother warned me. “I mean, you can tell something’s not right with her.”

I shook my head and raised my hand for the cute blonde to come to the table. “Hello to you too, Lock.”





Chapter 2- Ayana




The anxiety started to take over, and I couldn’t get away from him fast enough. My breathing started to become erratic as I moved past the bar to the back. Franks tried to say something to me, but I put my hand up to stop him. I couldn’t deal with his shit right now. I needed to get myself together.

The moment I made it to the back, I slammed the door shut, threw my back against it, and took a few deep breaths. I didn’t know why I thought I could go through the rest of my life without seeing Braddock Mills. I mean, my life sucked, so I should have known it was going to happen. Don’t get me wrong; I wanted to see him. I just wanted to have my shit together first.

But, God, he looked so good. I brought my shirt up to my nose and inhaled his scent. He always smelled scrumptious to me. Even when we were in middle school, I thought he was the best-looking guy in the whole school. I didn’t care that he was tall, lanky and pale. I didn’t care if he wore glasses and had braces. I didn’t care that he used to get picked on. He was my best friend, my lifeline.

We hung out together all the time. I remember the very first time I brought him to my house. The name Brad wasn’t foreign to my mother because I talked about him a lot. When we entered the house to play video games, I introduced him as my best friend. My mom didn’t trust anyone, so, when she looked at Brad, I could tell her trigger finger was itching. But she merely looked up from the veggies she was cutting, eyed him up and down, then commented, “You’re welcome in my home, and you can have supper with us anytime you wish.”

Brad smiled humbly and said, “Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”

Just to tell you a little bit about my mom; she was my idol. She was no joke and no one to trifle with. She worked her butt off, sometimes working two or three jobs just to keep my brother and me away from the bad shit our old neighborhood brought. Where we lived wasn’t the greatest at the time, but it was better than where we came from.