Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 35256 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 118(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35256 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 118(@300wpm)
“How many times has he hit you?” he asked.
“Once before. That was when I ended it. Please don’t worry about it. I can handle it.” She gave him a smile. “I’m glad you’re here.”
And then she lifted his hand to her lips and kissed his knuckles.
He didn’t want to let her go.
But there were people to serve.
****
Candice was surprised when Devon showed up at her apartment. She’d been so distracted with thoughts of Antwone, she hadn’t even given a thought to who was knocking on her door.
The apartment building was security controlled. Devon must have still had a key and a code, but she never gave him a key to her apartment, just to the main door so he wouldn’t freeze his ass off. Now she wished she hadn’t.
Devon had refused to give her the key card back this afternoon. She didn’t know what to do about it. If she told Antwone, she had a feeling he’d be pissed off, and she didn’t want him getting into trouble because of her.
They had gotten into an argument because Devon claimed to have missed her and wanted her back in his life. When he had tried to kiss her, she’d pushed him away. She didn’t love or want Devon. The last time he hit her and abused her verbally had been the final straw. She was not going to fall for a man who was nasty. Devon was mean and cruel.
When she told him it was never going to happen, he had gotten violent. The last time he hit her had been a slap to her face. This time, he’d punched her in the face, and then kicked her in the ribs. Nothing was broken, just sore. At least, that’s what she hoped.
Glancing over at Antwone as he sat drinking water, she couldn’t help but wonder what was going on his mind. He looked like he wanted to commit murder, which was a very scary thought. He didn’t need to worry about anything.
Devon was going to stay out of her life. Even though he had kicked her, when he had tried to do it again, she had lashed out and punched him in the dick. While he’d struggled to gain his breath, she’d gripped the back of his head and pulled him out of her apartment. The rest of the afternoon had been spent with a bag of frozen peas against her eye. The swelling had gone down, but Antwone was right, he had hit her hard.
She finished serving the few men that came to the bar. She kept her eye covered. The boss of the bar had wanted to send her home, but she knew Antwone would be here tonight. She promised to keep her eye covered so she could keep working.
Candice knew she was his best worker, and he was reluctant to let her go. She breathed a sigh of relief when he relented and allowed her to stay and work. It wasn’t because she wanted to work, but there was Antwone.
She walked over to him.
“Penny for your thoughts?” she asked.
“You should never be with a man who beats you,” he said.
She rolled her eyes. “And I promise you, I’m not with any such man.” She reached over and took hold of his hands within hers. “Devon wasn’t always mean. Yes, I took his insults. He didn’t always like having a curvy girlfriend, and then around his buddies, he felt I was too thick and stupid.”
“Candice, this isn’t helping me.”
“I know, but … you need to understand. The moment he hit me, it was over. This is the first time I’ve seen him in a long time. If I tell you that after he kicked me in the ribs, I punched him in the penis, does that help?”
“You did?”
“Yeah, and then I used his hair to drag him out of my apartment. I’m not proud of it. My parents always told me that violence was not the answer but—”
“There are times it’s necessary,” he said.
“Yeah, and I wanted Devon out of my apartment.” She sighed.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“It’s nothing. I just … you know, he has a key and the code to the main building and he wouldn’t give it back.” She shrugged. “I’ll get it back one way or the other.”
“Does he have a key to your apartment?”
“No.”
“That’s good.”
She stared down at his hands. “Tell me, how was your day?”
“Busy.”
“You’re always so vague.”
“I canceled a dinner to come see you,” Antwone said.
“You did?”
“Yeah.”
“Was it important?” she asked, taken aback that he would cancel something to see her.
“Some would say it was important and could possibly change my life.”
She let go of his hands. “Then what the hell are you doing in this bar? You need to go to that dinner. You can’t allow yourself to miss opportunities because of me.” She wouldn’t allow it.