To Buy a Vow Read online

  I nodded, jogging down the steps and opening the door on the passenger side.

  “Thanks,” she murmured as she slid inside the car.

  I shut the door firmly and crossed in front of the car, climbing inside and buckling my seatbelt.

  “Nedra, that’s my cousin, Boobie, back there. Boobie, this is Nedra.”

  She tilted her head and looked at me. “I didn’t think you knew my name.”

  I chuckled. “What?”

  “Well, with that ‘goddess’ business you tried to sneak on me earlier, I figured you—” She stopped talking abruptly and her eyes widened, then she gasped.

  Chapter Ten

  Nedra

  When That Fire Starts To Burn

  “Did you say Boobie?”

  Jermaine nodded slowly as he eyed me curiously, no doubt confused by my sudden reaction. “Yeah…”

  I didn’t care how crazy I might have seemed at that moment; I screeched, “Turn the lights on!”

  To his credit, he didn’t even question me; he simply reached for the control panel on his left. Immediately, light flooded the car, and I swiveled around to see the man in the backseat. The name ‘Boobie’ wasn’t a common name, and I needed to know if he was the same guy from that day at the vegetarian restaurant. When my eyes adjusted to the soft light, I saw that he was, indeed, the man I was thinking of. From the look on his face, he recognized me as well.

  “It’s you!” I accused.

  He held his hands up in surrender. “I’m just an innocent bystander.”

  “The fuck you are! You’s a rude ass muthafucka is what you are! Now, I can bust your ass like I should have done that day!” I was almost screaming but I didn’t give a fuck. I was hot. All of the anger I’d felt that day came rushing back, along with all of the clapbacks I’d thought of long after me and Shanice had left.

  Boobie’s gaze slid over to the driver seat where Jermaine was looking back and forth between the two of us.

  “Hawk, man. That’s hot sauce. Get ya girl, man.”

  Jermaine frowned, apparently unconcerned with my outburst or elevated tone, and put a hand on my exposed knee. “Aye, what’s going on?”

  I shivered at the warmth his touch sent through me then huffed out an annoyed breath. Now was not the time to be getting distracted; shit needed to be handled.

  “I’ve met Boobie before. A few weeks ago I had a…run in with him at this vegetarian restaurant in the Heights.” Even though some time had passed, seeing him again had brought all of my anger back to the surface. I wish I could put his big ass in a full nelson or a fucking sleeper hold. I wanted to kick his ass for how he’d made me feel that day. I glanced at Jermaine, and my eyebrows raised in confusion at the look he was giving me. His jaw had dropped open, and it was almost like he was seeing me for the first time.

  “That was you?”

  “What do you—” I stopped when I realized what he was asking me. I sat back in my seat heavily. Oh my god. Jermaine was the baller with Boobie that day. Taking pictures, hunched over his plate, bald. Oh. My. God! He’d seen me in “go mode”. Damn, was he going to renege on his invitation and ask me to get out of his car? I glanced at him, and to my surprise, he started laughing.

  “Uh…” I didn’t really know what to say. I looked back at Boobie, but he just shrugged and cut his eyes away from me to look out the window.

  Jermaine clutched his stomach as he laughed harder. “Bruh, are you telling me that the woman who went the fuck off on Boobie at The Greenery is sitting in my front seat right now? No bull? Man, I swear I can’t make this shit up.”

  “So…you aren’t mad that I cursed him out?”

  Jermaine shook his head as he wiped tears from his eyes. He was still chuckling and even though I was slightly worried, the sight of him laughing brought a smile to my face. His chestnut eyes crinkled as his cheeks lifted in merriment at the situation.

  “Not at all. He deserved it. I stay telling that nigga not to talk to people like that. I even called him out on it that day.” He took a deep breath as the last of his laughter died off and looked over at me. He shot a look back at Boobie then winked at me and squeezed my knee. “You’re good, I promise.” Then, just like nothing had happened, he backed out of the driveway and pulled onto the road.

  I twisted in my seat to face Boobie. His face was in his cell phone, and the glow from the phone lit up his face.

  “Boobie.”

  He looked up at me. “What’s up?”

  “We good?” I extended my fist toward him.

  A moment passed where he eyed my fist, and I thought he was going to object but then a smile graced his handsome face, revealing straight white teeth, and he bumped my fist with his own.

  “Yeah, we good. Also, lemme apologize for that shit at the restaurant, though. I was just looking out for my boy. He won’t say anything, but I can tell when he is tired of having to be ‘on’. I thought you were another fan, but even still, I handled you wrong and for that, I apologize.”

  I nodded, apology instantly accepted. I had no grudge to hold for a man who was mature enough to admit his faults. “I appreciate that.” I licked my lips and asked the question that had been on my mind since that day at The Greenery. “So why do they call you Boobie?”

  Jermaine laughed loudly. “Man, we call him Boobie because he was breastfed until he was five-years-old.”

  “Five-years-old?” I looked between the two of them.

  Boobie shifted in the back seat. “That shit is perfectly normal, bruh.”

  Jermaine shook his head, still laughing. “Nah, nigga. That shit is odd as fuck.”

  Boobie looked at me. “Extended breastfeeding is normal and even expected in a lot of cultures. Americans are just caught up in the image of the hypersexualized woman, and that’s why they can’t stomach the sight of her body being used for its intended purpose.”

  I blinked. I sure as hell wasn’t expecting that argument from the giant in the backseat. I racked my brain for what I learned about breastfeeding in my recent research.

  “I bet you are rarely sick, huh.”

  Boobie grinned. “I never get sick. No bull.”

  Jermaine snorted. “That’s ‘cause your ass was vaccinated.”

  “Nigga, your bitch ass was vaccinated too and yet you were laid up with the flu last year. Missed four games. Explain that shit!”

  I expected a quick retort but instead, Jermaine laughed. “I can’t explain that one, bruh.”

  A chuckle sounded from the backseat. “That’s what the fuck I thought. Breast is best, motherfucker.”

  I joined in on the laughter at that point. These dudes were wild, but I loved how chill they were and how comfortable they were with each other. It made it easy for me to relax. I leaned back in my seat and rode in silence.

  As I stared out the window, I noticed that the lights illuminating the highway started to get fewer and fewer, and there were no street lights whatsoever after leaving the exit ramp.

  “It’s really dark out here.”

  Jermaine glanced at me then back at the road. He switched on his high beams. “Yeah, they don’t care about street lights out in the country.”

  I looked at him. “The country?”

  Boobie’s voice chimed in from the backseat. “Hell yeah; it’s like back at The House out here. Once they roll the streets up, it’s pitch black until sunrise.”

  The House. Jermaine had mentioned that during our video call earlier.

  “What’s The House?”

  Jermaine shot a quick grin at me before turning his attention back to the road.

  “The House is back home.”

  “That’s Pine Bluff, baby!

  That’s right; Ashton said he was from Arkansas. I nodded. “Oh, okay.”

  I glanced at Boobie then back at Jermaine before pressing my face to the window just in time to catch a sign informing us that we’d reached Needville city limits. The population was less than the total enrollment at my high school when I
was a senior. I guess this is what he meant by ‘out in the country’. We couldn’t have been but forty minutes outside of downtown, and it took less time than that to get here from Shanice’s house.

  Jermaine steered the car down a dirt road and drove about a mile down before turning onto a paved driveway. He stopped the car, waiting for a large wrought-iron gate, with an H emblem in the center, to roll open. As soon as he drove through, the gate pushed closed and I gasped.

  There were lights in the paved driveway leading up the house. Like actually inside the ground. “Oh my god,” I muttered, amazed by what I was seeing. “How in the world are there lights inside the asphalt?”

  Jermaine chuckled. “They’re solar lights. It’s a concept that a local company, Power Up, has been working on. I’ve known the owner since I first moved to Houston and was all over the idea when he first told me about it. I think I was the first residential client to get these, so I guess you could say I volunteered to be a guinea pig.”

  I was highly impressed. I’d heard of solar power and all of its benefits and was thinking of having it at my future gun range; if I ever got the idea off the ground.

  “That is awesome.”

  “Thanks. The whole house runs off of solar, actually. I’m not even connected to the power grid.” He laughed again as he drove the car into an empty spot in the brightly lit, open garage and parked. “The city isn’t too happy with me about that, though. I got a lot going on out here, and they hate to miss those coins.”

  Boobie climbed out of the car, and I reached for the door handle, but Jermaine’s hand on my arm stopped me from pushing it open. I looked at him.

  “Don’t get out.” He jogged around to my side of the car and pulled my door open, offering me his hand. I took it and let him pull me out of the car then push the door closed behind me. Still holding my hand, he led me across a garage so large, it resembled a showroom at a dealership. We went through a door and entered what must have been a mudroom. He removed and hung up his jacket on one of the several hooks on the wall beside the door before turning to help me do the same. Then he grabbed my hand again and headed through a second door. The smell of Italian food hit me and I moaned in appreciation.

  “Oh my god, it smells so good in here.”

  Jermaine smirked down at me but said nothing. I followed him down a hallway, which spilled out into the kitchen where the aroma intensified. I opened my mouth to comment on it again but stopped abruptly when I saw who all occupied the kitchen.

  Boobie was there, leaning over the island, along with two older women who looked just alike, and a younger woman. They all stopped talking when we entered and I tensed. Jermaine, who still held my hand, looked back at me and squeezed my hand. I guess he meant it to be reassuring, but all I felt was anxiety. This was a whole hell of a lot of people for what I thought was supposed to be a dine and dick situation. He pulled me to stand next to him and placed a hand on my back.

  “Everyone, this is Nedra. Nedra, that’s my mama, Sabrina.” He pointed to one of the older women who stood closest to us. She wore black and white checkered pedal pushers and a white button down with the sleeves rolled up which was covered with an apron. Her hair was away from her face in a curled ponytail at the base of her neck, exposing her smooth mahogany skin and youthful face. She gave me a kind, if not calculating, smile.

  Jermaine pointed to the second older woman, who was no doubt his mother’s twin sister. “That’s my aunt Sandra.” She was on the opposite side of the large island from where we stood. She wore a similar outfit to Jermaine’s mother, but her hair was in a curly bob. I returned the nod she aimed at me.

  The last unfamiliar person in the room was the younger woman. “This is my lil cousin, Trina, and you already know Boobie.” Trina moved from where she stood next to Sandra and rounded the island. She surprised me by wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug.

  “Hey, girl.” She pulled back and gave me the big smile. “You look like a deer caught in headlights. I promise we ain’t that bad.”

  Jermaine pushed his arm in between us and playfully pushed Trina back. “Back, back, Trina. You gon’ scare her off.”

  “Nah, you will, springing the whole family on her like this.” Trina stuck her tongue out at him and propped a hand on her hip. “Did you even tell her we’d all be here?”

  I shook my head and laughed. “He definitely did not, but it’s all good.”

  “Katrina! Get on out that girl’s face!”

  Trina spun around at looked at Jermaine’s aunt Sandra. “I was just saying hi, Mommy. Dang!”

  The older woman clicked her tongue. “How about you ‘dang’ yourself on over here and help us get the rest of this food on the table so we can get out of their hair.”

  Everyone but Sandra laughed. Jermaine cleared his throat.

  “Where’s Pops?”

  Sabrina looked up from the dish she was filling with cooked spaghetti noodles.

  “He and Jeremiah took Ja’mya skating.”

  Jermaine grinned as he eyed Trina. “Whaaat? And you didn’t go with them, Ms. Roll Bounce? As much as you love to skate, I’m surprised you passed up an opportunity.”

  Trina rolled her eyes, and Sandra slapped her arm.

  “She was too busy trying to be nosy.”

  Everyone chuckled, but my eyes widened at that. Was my presence that interesting? I glanced up at Jermaine and was startled to find his gaze already on me, observing me with that bird-of-prey intensity of his. I took a deep breath and stepped further into the kitchen, eyeing the pots on the stove. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  Jermaine tugged on my hand. “Nah, you—”

  “Yes, there is,” Sabrina spoke over her son. “How about you finish filling the breadbasket and bring it into the dining room?”

  “Mama—” He started.

  “No problem.” This time, I was the one to speak over him. I pulled free of his grasp and moved over to the island, picking up the set of tongs that lay on the sheet tray and moving the thick slices of what had to be homemade garlic bread into the basket on the countertop next to the tray. When it was near overflowing, I picked it up at looked at Sabrina for further instructions.

  With a nod at Trina, she said, “She’ll show you where to take it.”

  I turned to Trina, who aimed a wide smile in my direction and chimed for me to follow her. The glass pitcher she carried was filled with brown liquid that I hoped was extra sweet tea. I smirked at Jermaine as I passed him on the way out of the kitchen. He was pouting! I couldn’t believe it. You’d think I had decided to leave instead of simply help set the table that we would be eating at.

  “Don’t be such a baby,” I murmured at him. He frowned even harder, and I had to laugh.

  I followed Trina to an area just off of the kitchen, which I discovered was the dining room. There was a long cherry wood table surrounded by eight place settings and dotted with floral centerpieces. I set the breadbasket down on the runner in between to centerpieces and turned to find Trina standing right behind me.

  “Where are you going to sit?”

  My brows furrowed. “I don’t know yet; is there assigned seating or something?”

  She giggled and touched my arm briefly before going back into the kitchen. I followed slowly but just before I reached the kitchen, Jermaine appeared in front of me. He grabbed my hand and pulled me back toward the dining room.

  “Is that everything,” I asked him.

  He nodded. “Yeah, they have the rest of it.”

  Right as the last syllable left his mouth, Sabrina and Sandra entered, carrying the last of the dishes of food into the room. Once Sabrina set down the ceramic bowl in her hands, she waited for Sandra to do the same with the rectangular dish she carried, and they both turned to Jermaine.

  “Y’all are all set.” She smiled at me. “You enjoy this meal, ya hear.”

  I smiled back, confused. “Aren’t y’all joining us?”

  I looked around to see that Trina an
d Boobie hadn’t come back, and Sandra had moved to the entrance of the room. Sabrina hesitated, and I glanced over at Jermaine, once again surprised to see his attention was already on me.

  “I’m just saying; it’s kind of crazy that they cooked all of this food, and they aren’t going to eat it with us. That ain’t right.”

  It sure as hell didn’t feel right. I don’t know how he operated on a regular basis, but I did not feel comfortable with the thought of his family going out to dinner or worse, eating in the kitchen while the two of us sat in the dining room at this big ass table. He didn’t say a word, just tugged on his goatee.

  Sabrina touched my arm. “I appreciate that baby, but it’s fine.”

  Jermaine spoke up. “Nah, Mama, she’s right. We don’t even get down like that. You know when I’m home, we eat together.”

  “If you’re sure…”

  He nodded. “Yeah, go ahead and call everybody back.”

  Sabrina looked back at Sandra and nodded, then both women disappeared down the hallway.

  Jermaine pulled out a chair and indicated for me to sit down. “You know she gon’ love you now, right?”

  I laughed and slid into the seat. “If she loves me because I insisted that she eats the food that she cooked, then I really have to question what kind of selfish ass women you’ve been fucking with.”

  Before he could respond, his mother and aunt reappeared with Trina and Boobie behind them. Trina headed right for me and bent, pulling me into another tight hug.

  “Thank you! I really wanted some of this parmigiana.”

  I laughed and tried to lean away from her a little bit. Intentional or not, her titties on the side of my face was too much. She was holding me so tight that if I opened my mouth one of her nipples would fall right in.

  “Sis, I’m glad you’re happy, but I’m gonna need you to back-back and give me at least fifty feet.”

  “Trina.”

  “Katrina!”