Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 81488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
“Say no more. Let’s moonwalk. Step ahead of me, please. Ladies first.”
The woman twirled around him to the beat of ‘Children’s Story,’ by Slick Rick. Now she was standing directly in front of him.
“…DAAAAVE, THE DOPE FIEND, SHOOTIN’ DOPE!” People started singing the well-known lyrics, including Genesis and Rosie.
His cell phone buzzed—a call from his cousin Phoenix. He made a mental note to call him back later. It was time for another round table Wilde family meeting. But first, BBQ!
CHAPTER TWENTY
A Telephone Call and a Phoenix
It was a gorgeous day. A cool nip danced in the air, the trees swayed back and forth, and only a few clouds dotted the sky. Clad in scrubs, Genesis sat with her legs folded beneath her on an old wooden bench outside the dentist’s office in the back, with the word ‘Cock’ etched in it. Folks seldom ventured here, an area populated by two green dumpsters, a few cars, and the back of a daycare center in the far distance. She’d just completed three cleanings and helped calm a hysterical seven-year-old boy with big brown eyes, who believed—thanks to his eldest brother—that getting his newly discovered cavities filled would involve an actual construction drill, and a bucket of cement.
The chicken nuggets and diet Pepsi settled in her tummy as she strung one golden bead along another, working diligently to finish a seven bracelet order for some bridesmaids. She’d just gotten a much needed and deserved raise at work, too. With the extra income she was making, she was able to put a good portion of it aside for savings and investments, a percentage for inventory to build her new one-woman business, and she’d even begun tossing around the idea of going house hunting in the near future. Something small and cute, with a nice, fenced yard in case she decided to get a dog and have cookouts.
Her phone buzzed, and she answered it on the third ring.
“I thought you were in a meeting, baby,” she answered, a smile on her face. “I didn’t expect an afternoon chat today, Roman.”
“I am, but we broke for lunch and I wanted to take a couple of minutes to see how your day was goin’.”
She loved this man’s deep, sexy voice. She loved how he treated her… She loved how he allowed her to be herself, with no explanations or judgments.
“It’s not sizin’ up too bad. Can’t complain. I’m just outside enjoying some fresh air and putting together some jewelry. How ’bout you?”
“Well, I have back-to-back meetings and whatnot all week, but that’s okay I suppose. As long as I get to see my baby this weekend.” She smiled at that. “You miss me?”
“Of course I do! Oh, and I almost forgot. Rosie said she has her eye on you, but you’ve passed phase two.” She threaded another bead on the golden string, knowing that she was poking the bear. Sometimes it was fun to see Roman get agitated. He always did it in a comedic way, and she was here for it.
“Now what in the apple tree-pickin’ hell is phase two? Am I in some damn video game?”
“Phase two is the background check.”
“A background check? Well, don’t this beat all! Why don’t I look her up, too?! Go all the way back to the third grade when she stole a piece of bubblegum!”
“Roman.” She paused, squelching the desire to laugh as he got his own dander up. “A background check is customary. I usually do it with all the guys I date, but you were a friend of Tony’s for so long, I didn’t bother. I probably should’ve anyway,” she said with a smirk.
“The worst things about me ain’t documented, and I already told you my dirty deeds and filthy secrets, anyway. Well, most of ’em. You know, Nosy Rosie has a lotta fuckin’ nerve. Is she gonna have someone following me next?”
“She probably would if she could afford it.”
“Well, tell her to send me the bill, so she can get a thrill of a lifetime! Have ’em start checkin’ on me in the public bathroom at the movie theater to see if that sex change rumor about me is true.”
She cackled from the depths of her soul. During Tony’s impromptu visit at her apartment when he was licking his Penny-coated wounds, her brother had stated that one night Roman had gotten into a bar fight with another Marine who was tellin’ folks that Roman was too pretty to be a biological man and had a sex change.
“Did she catch me removin’ my prosthetic penis and my spectacular set of big, bouncy balls? The craftsmanship is impeccable.”
“I can vouch for that.” She was all hot in the face now, her voice catching in her throat as he gave her the show of a lifetime.
“They’re suctioned on with a damn plastic cup, and clamped down with a clothespin for extra security, and when you squeeze the left one, it plays, ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’. When you squeeze the right one, it plays, ‘Great Balls of Fire,’ by Jerry Lee motherfuckin’ Lewis! Go run and tell your little Ring around the Rosie friend that!”