Free Cheaper to Keep Her Part 3 by Kiki Swinson

with me. Not knowing, not being able to find anything out was disturbing. And the unknown was if they could grab Bria, it only made sense that they could grab me as well.
    I decided to leave the apartment and go out to Starbucks’ to get me a caffeine fix. Plus, I needed to calm the fuck down and get some perspective.
    Before I left the apartment, I was curious to know if Bishop moved the dope package from underneath my bottom drawer. And to my surprise, it hadn’t been moved at all. So I put the drawer back in place, ensuring it was closed shut.
    I slipped into another one of my favorite white tees and a pair of sweat pants and then I made my exit.
    I felt it was best that I clear my mind and think of how I could help Bria without putting myself in harm’s way. Quiet as it was kept, Bishop needed some help. If he hadn’t found the location of his sister by now, then he could forget about finding her alive. The way niggas were nowadays; they killed anyone who got in their way. And I was definitely not trying to be one of them.
    While I was out making my Starbucks’ run, I had to stop at the nearest gas station to fill up or else I would be walking back to the house. There was a BP service station two and a half miles from the apartment, so I pulled up to the first pump. I didn’t have a debit card to pay for the gas at the pump, so I went inside and paid the male attendant behind the fiberglass window. After I gave him forty bucks he handed me a gas receipt and then I left the store.
    While I pumped the gas, a familiar SUV pulled into the service station and parked their vehicle directly next to mine. My heart started beating a little faster than normal. I had to admit, Sean had something to do with it.
    He rolled down the driver side window and asked me if he could pump my gas for me?
    “I can manage it,” I assured him.
    “Where you on your way to?” he asked me.
    “Has anyone told you that you ask too many damn questions?” I asked him and then I turned my attention back towards the pump.
    He smiled. “All the time.”
    I kept my head turned towards the gas pump.
    “Had breakfast yet?” he continued.
    “Have you?” I replied sarcastically, as if I was implying something.
    “No, as a matter of fact I haven’t. And if you like, we can head back over to our spot,” he offered.
    I had reached my price limit for my gas, shook the hose a couple of times to get every drop of gasoline in my tank and when I was done I pulled down the lever and placed the hose back on the hook. I then twisted the cap back on the gas tank and closed the cover.
    I looked at Sean. The man was very handsome and well manicured. It was something about his smile that sent chills through me. The initial interactions I have with men are always stimulating. They always put on their best smile and charm just to woo me and then after they get the pussy, they start to show their true colors. I wondered if I gave Sean the time of day, would he play me like Duke did or treat me the way Bishop was treating me? It was a tough call but time would tell.
    “Why don’t you call your girlfriend and ask her to meet you for breakfast?” I finally said. I couldn’t hold my tongue back. I had to let him know I saw him making a call while I drove away from the restaurant last night.
    “I told you I don’t have a girlfriend.”
    “Well, who were you talking to after I left you standing in the parking lot last night?”
    “It wasn’t a girlfriend,” he said adamantly.
    I let out a chuckle to let him know I didn’t believe a word he said. But I wasn’t through with him. I had to press the issue but I figured if I used reverse psychology he’d feel comfortable enough to spill the beans and tell me the truth about his love life.
    “Look, you and I just met so you don’t have to lie to me,” I told him. “If you have a woman, than that’s cool. I mean, it would be nice to warn me just in case she saw us together.”
    I stood near the driver side