Total pages in book: 176
Estimated words: 167257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 558(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 558(@300wpm)
“I don’t know. He seems pretty serious.” I played along. “Maybe if you got a dollar from your dad, Uncle O could buy his own lollipops?”
Halo’s eyes brightened a second before she dug into the pocket of her jumper.
I watched her pull out four crumpled bills and wondered just how strong a spell Rowdy had me under that I was willing to help him extort a four-year-old. I didn’t even think it was possible to dig myself into a hole this deep.
“Here you go!” Halo said, handing over her fist full of cash. “You buy lots of candy!”
“Bet,” Rowdy said after pretending to think it over. He took the cash from Halo and counted it out. “Yeah, this should be enough. Oh, wait. I owe you change.” He went into his own pocket and pulled out a crisp one-hundred-dollar bill before handing it over. “Pleasure doing business with you, Killa.”
Excited for her new prettier money, Halo jumped up and down as Roc finally wandered over, looking stressed. Demi was standing alone, staring blankly out at the lake. She looked like she had nothing left, and if his daughter wasn’t standing here, I’d slap the shit out of Roc.
“Look, Daddy. I have a new dollar!” Halo boasted, showing off her hundred-dollar bill.
“I see,” her father said while Rowdy was busy cracking up that Halo didn’t understand she had way more than just a dollar.
Remembering the lone tear Demi had wiped away before anyone could see, I crouched and whispered, “Hey, Halo. Maybe your Daddy can give you a few more dollars just like those.”
“Really?”
“Mm-hmm.” I squeezed her little nose, making her giggle.
“Yay!” She turned to her father. “Daddy, can I have some more?”
Roc shot me the nastiest look he could muster while I kept my expression the picture of innocence. He shook his head before looking down at his daughter. “Yeah, baby. I got you later.”
“No, now,” Halo whined.
Roc frowned, going into stern father mode. “What did I say, Halo?”
“Waaaaaaaa!” Halo cried, falling on her butt like an award-winning drama queen in the making.
“Come on, Halo, stop that,” Roc pleaded as he picked her up and wiped her tears. “I thought you were a big girl. Don’t you want cake later?”
“No, I want more dollars.”
Everyone in hearing distance roared. There was no fooling Halo High.
Roc carried his daughter back inside the house before she could throw another tantrum, and seeing the coast was clear, Demi finally made her way over.
“Well, if it isn’t my little cousin,” Jada called out, reminding me of her presence. At first, I didn’t know who she was speaking to until I realized her gaze was on Demi, who had been staring at me, her mouth poised to speak. “I haven’t seen you in months, but you just walk past me like I’m not here? What would Aunt Candace say?”
Demi spun on her heel, giving me her back to square off with her cousin. “She’d probably tell your bourgeois ass to get that false nose out of the air and stop acting like you’re too good for your family. Maybe then you’ll see me more. But, yeah—hey, girl!” Demi mocked in a fake tone.
“Girl, bye,” Jada said, looking away and abandoning the confrontation she’d started but apparently wasn’t ready to finish.
“Yeah, I thought so,” Demi mumbled, flipping her cousin the bird before facing me. A sweet smile slowly graced her face as she gave me a once-over. “Hey, munchkin. You look cute.”
I blushed at the compliment.
It was nothing new for Demi to give them freely. She had genuine energy, and I guess that was why we instantly clicked from the moment I walked into her shop all those months ago.
She’d even taught me how to cornrow after I made it clear to Rowdy that letting other bitches touch his hair was a no-no. I couldn’t have him walking around looking busted either, so I did something about it. Demi and I had gotten to know one another better during those sessions, and I learned just how small the world truly was.
It turned out that Demi wasn’t a native of Idlewild either. She’d moved here after graduating high school.
From Ossella.
Apparently, her family still lived there, but Demi had never looked back, preferring the big city to our small town.
I still couldn’t believe we’d never run into each other before, but our ten-year age gap and Demi leaving so young made it plausible.
“Thank you, but I look like a toddler compared to you. You are killing that swimsuit.”
“Ain’t I, though?” she boasted. I loved that she wasn’t fake humble. Demi’s body was sick. But Demi’s body in a bikini?
It should have been illegal.
At a voluptuous size eighteen, her curves were outrageous, but it was the blinding smile she wore that completely stole the show, making it impossible for anyone with twenty-twenty vision to keep their eyes off her—including Roc, who had one eye on his daughter and the other on Demi, tracking her movements from the panoramic window overlooking the deck.