“Suave Brown doesn’t joke about important things and important people.” The words gushed from his mouth like smooth molasses. “I’m a man of my word. So here I am, darling.” He opened his arms wide, his eyes twinkling and dimples flashing in his handsome face.
Nadine rolled her eyes teasingly. “I don’t even know you.”
“That’s why I’m inviting you to dinner, baby. So, we can get to know each other.” Suave stared at her, a puppy dog look on his face. “Come on. There’s a restaurant right around the corner. We can have an early dinner.”
Nadine nibbled on her bottom lip before nodding her head. “Okay. I guess dinner won’t hurt.”
Suave took her hand in his as if they were longtime friends. They walked to the restaurant, laughing and chatting along the way.
During dinner, Suave had Nadine in stitches, sharing one joke after another. He found out that Nadine was nineteen years old and a full-time student at the University of the West Indies. She was working at the bank for the summer. Also, her parents owned a supermarket chain in all fourteen parishes in Jamaica.
“So, I’m having dinner with a rich, uptown girl?” Suave leaned back in his chair, smiling at Nadine.
“My parents are rich. I’m just a student currently working as a bank teller.” Nadine was getting embarrassed. She was the only child of wealthy Jamaican socialites and lived in Cherry Gardens, home to many of the movers and shakers in Jamaica.
Suave had told her that he was an orphan and was working as a sales representative. “Hey, I’m cool with that. I don’t want anything from you except your company,” Suave told her. “You can trust and believe that I’ll get mine soon.”
Nadine looked at him. He was a thug through and through with a bad boy persona. Her parents would have a heart attack if they saw her with him. But there was just something about Suave that intrigued her. “Do you plan on going to college?” she asked him.
Suave chuckled lightly. “I have all the education I need, babes. Right now, I’m all about making money.”
“Well, okay, then, big shot,” Nadine replied and laughed out loud, Suave joining in.
The dinner went very well, and it was much later that evening that Suave walked Nadine to her Lexus convertible parked in the bank’s parking lot.
“Can I drop you off somewhere?” Nadine asked him. He had admitted that he didn’t have a car.
Suave shuddered at the thought of Nadine seeing the dump that he now lived in. “Nah, I’m good. I have a few stops to make, so I’ll catch the bus.”
An awkward silence wrapped around them. “Thank you for dinner, Suave. I had a good time,” Nadine said, smiling. She knew that this was where she should say goodbye and let the evening be a distant memory. She and Suave were as different as steak and shrimp.
Suave nodded his head. “You’re welcome, and thank you for coming. I enjoyed your company.” He wouldn’t ask for another date. The next move was Nadine’s.
“Maybe we can do it again,” she blurted out. Well, so much for staying away from the bad boy.
Suave grinned at her. “I’d like that very much.” He took Nadine’s telephone number as he didn’t have one for himself and promised to call her soon. Suave was still grinning and waving as Nadine’s car vanished from sight.
The rat was playing around the cat’s jaw. Soon, it would end up in the cat’s craw.
Chapter Twenty-one
Things quickly heated up between Nadine and Suave. It had been two months since they met, and they saw each other almost daily. During the day, Nadine worked at the bank while Suave hustled in the street, trying to grow his clientele and build his business.
It was a late Friday night, and the two were spooning on Suave’s bed in his new apartment on McArthur Avenue. It was a garage converted into a small, furnished, one-bedroom flat by an elderly couple who rented it out to supplement their income. Suave had moved in just a month before, and Nadine was there every night.
“Hello? Anyone home?” Nadine snapped her fingers in front of Suave’s face, trying to regain his attention.
Suave nibbled on her ear, and she giggled. He kissed her neck softly and whispered, “What’s up?”
“I was reminding you that today was my last day at the bank.”
Suave said, “Oh, trust me, I remember. Now we can spend more time together.”
Nadine rolled over so that they were face-to-face. “I’m going to Miami tomorrow with my parents for a week, and when I return, I’ll be starting school.” She gave Suave a frown. “But I’ll try to spend as much—”
“It’s all a part of your father’s plan, isn’t it?” Suave’s voice was hard. “He’s taking you to Miami to get you away from me, right?”
Nadine nestled her face into Suave’s neck, embarrassed. Her parents had just found out she was seeing him. After forbidding her to see him, the next day, Nadine was back in his bed. The two made love as if their lives depended on it. Suave wanted to lay a claim to his girl, and Nadine wanted to show him that she cared and wasn’t going anywhere. Her parents could huff and puff, but they couldn’t blow away the love that she and Suave shared.
Now, here they were, days later, still going strong, or so Suave had thought . . . until he heard this little news.
“It’s just for a week, sweetheart,” Nadine assured him. “We’re going to see my uncle and cousins and do a little shopping. Before you know it, I’ll be back.”
Suave frowned. He didn’t like it one bit, but there was nothing he could do. Nadine’s parents held the handle, and he the blade. Heck, it wasn’t like he could take care of Nadine. Her bedroom
