“I’m gonna hit the weights for a little while.” Fucking bitch. Did I have to like her? I would just have to wait until tomorrow to workout. No one paid Chi Chi any mind as she left the group, until a shirtless Luke walked out the back door.
“Does he not own a shirt?” Maddie grumbled, prompting every eye to turn to look at him.
“Hell, I’m glad he don’t own a shirt. I like seeing him half-naked.” Brooklyn said, giving Luke a very appreciative eye.
“He ain’t got shit on Possum,” Punkin added. I looked at her to find her deadly serious, and I smiled. It was nice that even after all they had been through, she still found him just as attractive as she always had. I turned my eyes back to Luke, watching with burning fury as he assisted Chi Chi with bench-pressing. Surely she wasn’t hitting on him? Shark would probably kill them both. His name definitely suited him. When her weights were situated and she was on her back lying under them, she gave Luke a nod and before he turned to leave, he leaned down placing his hands on either side of her face and kissed her. I was on my feet and walking toward them before I knew what was happening.
“Forehead! Forehead!” I heard Red yelling, as she grabbed my arm and stopped me mid-stride. “He kissed her on her forehead. It’s just a show of love, nothing more.” Red was worried, as she should be. I was sure the look on my face was murderous. Red’s yelling had drawn the attention of everyone in the alley, which now consisted of not just the ladies and Luke, but Shark, Ronnie, and Possum as well.
“You got a problem, Dallas?” Chi Chi called from her position on the bench about thirty feet from me.
“Let it go, Dallas,” Red warned in my ear, but my mouth had another idea.
“As long as you keep your fucking hands off my ol’ man there won’t be a problem.” My hands were fisted at my sides, my breathing calm and my voice deathly. Where had this possessive side come from? Or had it ever left? Chi Chi stood, walking toward me with a murderous look of her own. Bring it on bitch.
“So, I can’t touch your ol’ man, but it’s okay for you to eye-fuck mine?” If my cheeks had not already been red from anger and my previous workout, my blush would have given me away.
“Ok, girls. That’s enough.” Brooklyn said, walking between us and stopping Chi Chi in her tracks. I saw Luke in the distance, his face devoid of any emotion, as he stood with his arms crossed.
“Naw, Brooklyn. If she has something she wants to say, then she needs to fucking say it. Seems like we are going to be spending a lot of time together, so we might as well get this shit out in the open.” Chi Chi said on a daring smile.
“Oh, don’t you even!” I snapped, my voice now just below a yell. “You have been a bitch to me ever since I got here.”
“What the fuck do you expect when I walk up and see some bitch I don’t know gawking at my man like she wants to lick his fucking nut sack? You think I didn’t notice that shit?” She was right, and I would have reacted the same way, but I was pissed and it wasn’t me we were talking about-it was her.
“Your man has a pretty powerful fucking presence, if you haven’t noticed. But even when you found out who I was you still treated me like I was some outsider.” My defense was weak, but it was all I had.
“Because I don’t know you, bitch.” She said slowly, clapping her hands together on each word for emphasis. I would not look like a fool in front of all these people.
“Well, maybe it’s about time you got to know me. You want to clear the air? Here’s your fucking chance.” I said opening my arms, offering her the fight I knew she wanted.
“Dallas,” Brooklyn started, trying to reason with me. The look of warning in her eyes was telling me that Chi Chi was not a bitch I should fuck with. I had taken an ass whoopin’ before, I could do it again.
“Let ‘em go.” Luke called from behind them. “They’re too fucking much alike. That’s the problem. Y’all want to handle this shit like men, go ahead, but when it’s over, it’s over. The next one that says a cross word to the other will have me to deal with.” Luke’s tone was stony and serious, as he spoke to us from a distance.
“I got twenty on Chi Chi,” I heard Mary call from behind me.
“Bitch, please. I got fifty says Dallas walks away with a full head of hair,” my cheerleader, Red, added.