Blow Your Mind by Eric Pete Page B

to his place to get it. I liked the cuff links he’d picked too. The man could be impressive if not for his shortcomings. Probably needed a good woman for guidance. He was a fun pastime and eager to please. Unfortunately he was a broke and broken man, and Pumpkin wasn’t one for reconstruction projects.
     
    I buried the thought to motion to him. He’d already seen me, but I wanted him aware of the two men now standing. It was too late, so I decided to get to him first.
     
    Grabbing his arm, I placed a kiss on him before he could inquire about my unusual appearance for our evening out.
     
    “To your left,” I hissed for only him to hear. I felt the flinch go through his body, revealing who the architects of his pain were.
     
    I tried to push him in the opposite direction, but his resolve seemed to strengthen.
     
    “It’s all right,” he said calmly. “Just some friends of mine.”
     
    I stayed in his arms, turning to face the ogres. We were in a hotel lobby, but you never knew what people were capable of. I was living testament to that.
     
    “We’re going to be late,” I reminded him.
     
    “Shit, Henry. That’s her, ain’t it?” The dark one’s mouth creased. Looked like he wanted to taste me. “Your window washer? Lupe, she’s . . .”
     
    “Amazing,” Lupe finished. Yeah. I got that a lot. And that was before they felt the flow.
     
    “Henry, shouldn’t you be out working on my money?”
     
    “And shouldn’t you be out working on a diet?” I snapped. Sorry. Couldn’t help it. His ass had it coming. Henry’s grasp on me tightened.
     
    “Bitch got a smart mouth, Henry.” No, he did not just ignore me. “Would love to put it to work.”
     
    “You don’t know who you’re messing with, you fuckin’ frog,” I spat. “I will—”
     
    Henry cut me off. “Kash, c’mon, man. I’m trying to have a nice evening with my woman. We can deal with this later.”
     
    “Sure will, boy. And it ain’t gonna be fingers.” Lupe made a cracking sound.
     
    “I gotcha, Kash. Don’t worry. You’re my boy. And I gotcha.” He patted Kash on his shoulder in an unusually calm, upbeat manner. He then led me away.
     
    “Time is ticking, Henry.”
     
    “I know. I know,” he answered, not bothering to look back.
     
    As we sped away in his car, I had to know.
     
    “What did you do with the money I gave you? I mean . . . you paid them, right?”
     
    “Pumpkin, I don’t know where we’re going, but you are on fire.” He laughed like a madman.
     
    “They wouldn’t have been there if you’d paid them. What the fuck did you do, Henry?” I groaned, briefly removing my shades.
     
    “Relax. I did the smart thing. That would’ve only been an extension.” He slowed for construction on the turnpike. Once past, he accelerated again and continued with his train of thought. “Made an investment.”
     
    I didn’t like it, didn’t like it at all. Men like that didn’t give many second chances. It looked to me like Henry was on his third.
     
    He followed my instructions, arriving at the docks. I could sense his nervousness about the surroundings, the same as the night we’d met. Cute. A couple of turns on the uneven dark streets and we’d found a valet parking lot. It was unusual for the area and for the time of night, but he listened to me when I said it would be okay. After surrendering his keys to the fine sports car, we left down the adjacent alley on our journey.
     
    “Kinda late for dinner?” he asked, probing in his own nervous yet cute way.
     
    “Keep walking,” I said.
     
    He stared, expecting something to jump from the shadows and crawl spaces all around us. A rat scurried by, on the hunt for a late-night snack. I heard Henry’s breathing change at the sight, but didn’t break my pace. Half a block farther, I suddenly stopped. My partner for the night, still looking around, ran into me. He wasn’t given a chance to apologize.
     
    An imposing figure emerged from an