Free Black Widow by Nikki Turner

it’s coming kinda quick, but I’m goin’ to put it out there anyway.”
    She looked at him. “I’m listening.”
    “I have a confession of my own to make. You know I’ve been feeling you since the first time I laid these pupils on you.”
    “That’s what someone told me,” she said, “but it’s the first time that I ever heard it from you.”
    “Well, it’s absolutely true. Now you’ve heard it straight from the horse’s mouth. I’ve always been in love with you.”
    It hadn’t even been a month since she had put Dave in the ground, but she couldn’t deny that she had developed feelings for Bam. Isis really didn’t know how to respond, so she simply said, “Damn.”
    But Bam wasn’t finished. “And being around you these past two weeks has made me want you even more.” He paused for a minute, hoping she would say something, but she didn’t. “What I’m about to say may sound fucked up, but I got to say it.”
    “Just don’t say anything that you don’t mean,” she warned.
    “My momma always says shit happens for a reason. Even when the shit is fucked up, it happens for a reason.” Bam looked at her. “There is always something good that comes along with the bad.”
    “Bam?” she asked. “What are you getting at?”
    “My aunt is always on my ass for money, acting like I’m her personal ATM, which is driving me to get a place. You getting fired is going to allow you more time to chase your dream; it’s destined that way.”
    Bam saw that after all these years he finally had her ear, so he didn’t let up. Next, he wanted her heart. “I mean, let’s face it: There was a reason for Dave being in both of our lives.”
    “Why you say that?” she asked, not really liking Dave’s name coming up in the conversation this way.
    “Because Dave was the bridge that connected us. He was the reason we met. Him dying was the reason I’ve been able to grow on you.”
    “Who said you’ve grown on me?”
    “I can see it in your eyes,” Bam said, “and if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”
    “Well, I was just trying to help a person that had my back when I was down and out.”
    He laughed and then took her hand. “I feel like the timing is perfect. You and Dave never had a real man-and-woman relationship.”
    “That’s not true.” Isis pulled her hand away. “Don’t try to diminish what Dave and I had.”
    “Hold your ponies; let me finish. Don’t cut off my head just yet.” Bam cleared his throat and continued. “No one can deny that you two had a strong bond and that you were a hell of a friend to him—probably the best friend he ever had—but you never had a real relationship because you had only known him a few months when he caught his case, and you both were so young.”
    Isis had been thinking over the past few weeks about her relationship with Dave and knew that what Bam was saying was correct, but she wasn’t ready to admit it to him. “Yes, we were friends, and I loved Dave very much.”
    “Yes, but he could never fully be your man from behind bars. He was distracted by his case, knowing that he was going to die, knowing that he could never truly be with you.”
    “But—” She tried to defend their love, but he cut her off again.
    “I just feel that you deserve a man that could give you the world and everything in it. I feel like I could be that man.”
    Isis put her head down, but Bam put his hand under her chin and lifted it back up.
    All she could say to that was “Really?” She was confused. She had loved Dave, but it had been a young girl’s love. She was a woman now and felt guilty about moving on.
    “Really. And like I said before, there is a reason you lost your job, a reason why we connected, and a reason why they decided—today—to put that eviction notice on your door.”
    “Please share that reason with me, then, because I can’t see a good reason for getting thrown out on the streets.”
    “I thought you’d never ask.” A big smile took