“Yeah, well, she’s probably moping right about now.”
“The fuck you mean probably? I thought y’all were together at my spot.”
“Not really. She, uh, she found the cameras in her place and said she needed space.”
Kiano exhaled and told me the full story, starting at the text he’d gotten from Jiselle and going into how he’d felt so bad she was damn near hyperventilating that he’d just told the truth to help her come down.
“Well, damn. I’m glad I got my tracker off her car when I did…”
“Was that supposed to help me feel better?”
“Nah, but I mean, there’s no need for us to both be in the dog house.”
Kiano shrugged.
“Yeah. You’re right. You’re dealing with enough.” He looked around the small, dingy room and I snickered.
“You want me to talk to her?”
“Nah.” Kiano looked off and knocked lightly on the counter in front of him. “Do you think she’s going to come around?”
“Yeah. She loves you. That ain’t the kind of thing that just vanishes.” I tapped the corner of the glass so he would look at me. “You want advice?”
“Sure. You’ve known her for years. Let me hear what you’ve got.”
“I think you give her till tomorrow then reach out and come clean about everything. Let her know you care about her and take what she gives. You know how she is with men lying. She ties all that shit back to her pops. You just got to prove you’re not like him. A good way to do that is by doing something he’s never done—take accountability, admit where you went wrong, and promise not to do it again. She’ll appreciate that.”
Kiano nodded. “Alright. I’ll give it a try.”
“Don’t try. Just do, Kiano. I’m serious. I ain’t coming home to a broken home. Fix it and do that shit quick.”
His eyebrows lifted and I could tell from the way he shifted slightly in his seat his dick was hard.
We smiled at each other basically in sync and I nudged my head toward the door.
“Get out of here. I’ll call you later tonight.”
“Alright.”
Kiano pressed his fist against the bottom corner of the glass so I did the same thing.
“I love you.”
“I love you,” he echoed.
I didn’t give him a chance to stall. I set the phone back on the hook and climbed to my feet. I meant everything I said. As much as I didn’t want to be in jail at this point, I was more worried about what the fuck I’d be coming out to.
I was escorted back to the designated outside area. The large door had barely shut behind me before I took out a pack of cigarettes and lit one. I closed my eyes as I inhaled the nicotine. It hit just right and I inhaled before heading over to one of the little tables. I took another hit of my cigarette and let my head tilt backwards to look up at the sky.
I didn’t know what was going with Kiano and Jiselle but was praying they would get their shit together. Soon. The last thing I wanted was to be in the middle of an argument when I got home.
“Stone?”
My name came from the right of me and I lifted my head to look at my caller. I blinked a few times to make sure I wasn’t losing my mind.
“Pops?”
“Stone?!” he repeated.