52 Blacktop Obsession
"What you drinkin, Tej?" Kaidyn asked, looking at his drink.
"Rum and Coke. Want a drink?" He asked.
"Sure." She smiled.
"How you liking the house, babygirl?" he asked, setting his glass down on the table as Kaidyn sat down by him and Roman.
"It's big enough to get lost in." Kaidyn said, looking around as she laid her head on his shoulder, holding his arm.
"That it is." Tej agreed with a nod.
"Don't go getting lost on us, Chaos." Roman chimed in. This made Kaidyn smile.
"I would never. You act like I can just disappear." She laughed.
"Whatchu call that tree act in LA?" Roman asked.
"Nature study." Kaidyn shrugged, making Roman laugh.
"You're so damn funny." Roman smiled.
"Thanks, I try." She nodded, taking another drink of Tej's drink.
"You want to play a round with us?" Tej asked, dealing Roman some cards.
"Nah, I'll just watch Rome lose to you." Kaidyn shook her head.
"That's messed up, girl. I thought we were friends." Roman pretended to be hurt.
"We are. Best Friends." Kaidyn promised with a nod, patting him on the shoulder.
"I don't know, I feel attacked." Roman said, shaking his finger at her.
"You're fine." Kaidyn giggled.
"Am I? I don't think so, my feelings are pretty hurt, Blondie." Roman shook his head.
"Awe, Rome, I love ya. I'm sorry." Kaidyn hugged him, making Roman grin.
"You're so pathetic." Tej rolled his eyes. Roman would do anything for a hug.
"It's okay to lose, Rome." Kaidyn smiled, patting his bald head.
"Nice of you to assume that I'm gonna lose homegirl." Roman scoffed.
"I just know how well Tej plays cards." Kaidyn giggled.
"And how you know this, Blondie?" Roman asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Word on the internet he's the best at any card game. Remember I got excellent research skills, Rome." Kaidyn said, folding her arms. She had done some quick recon when Shayde had let her use the computer for a brief moment to pay the guys.
"Excellent research skills huh? Bruh, you hear this shit?" Roman laughed, loving how she worded her hacking skills.
"She knows her stuff." Tej grinned.
"Yes I do, which by the way, you REALLY need to change the password to your bank account, RomeyRome." Kaidyn advised.
"Hey now, no need to go gettin all personal and stuff up in here." Roman said indignantly. This made Kaidyn giggle.
"I think you should share it with us all." Tej laughed. "I'd be interested in knowing what kind of crazy generic password he has. Bet I could guess it." Tej laughed.
"Probably could. Or you could hack it." Kaidyn nodded.
"We don't need to do all that now." Roman shook his head.
"Haha, I would tell but it might embarrass him." Kaidyn shook her head.
"Kaidyn, look how much Sprinkles loves me." Han called over from the couch, Sprinkles curled up in his lap.
"He loves me more." Kaidyn promised.
"This cat loves me more." He grinned, his hands showing her Sprinkles.
"I gotta go handle this real quick. Be right back." Kaidyn got up, leaving Tej and Roman to their game.
"Go handle him, babygirl." Tej laughed.
"We need to get a poker game goin." Roman nodded as Tej dealt the cards.
"Fo sho. This poker table setup is dope." Tej agreed.
"This game room is whoa, bruh. They got the money." He nodded, looking around to see if they had any cameras on them directly.
"Man, Rome, what you think about all this?" He asked, dealing another round of cards.
"This is crazy. This house is...they set." Roman nodded as he picked up his cards and grinned at how terrible of a hand he had.
"Yeah, this is their house. This is not just Shayde's house. I am pretty sure if you get my drift." Tej shook his head. "I don't know how that white boy doesn't see what we see." Tej sighed at how naive Brian could be.
"Right. Mr. I was a detective and am smarter than you all." Roman said in a mocking voice, making Tej laugh.
"Yet here he is clueless as fuck." Tej smirked.
"Yeah, he's pretty slow aight." Roman agreed.
"You can say that again, Dawg." Tej agreed as he took a drink of his drink.
"There's no way that they are related like brother and sister." Roman grabbed a bag of cookies and opened them.
"Yup, poor Bullet. Once it hits him." Tej grinned, shaking his head.
"Honestly I can't wait to see ol boys face when it hits him and he finds out." Roman held his stomach as he laughed.
"Yeah, it's gonna be hella priceless." Tej remarked as he watched Kaidyn talk to Han.
"I still can't believe Han was here." Roman followed Tej's stare and admitted.
"Right. To know he's her teacher. That's crazy." Tej agreed.
"Hey man, real talk, are you still feelin Kaidyn?" Tej asked, lowering his voice a bit more.
"Why you asking?" Roman asked, already knowing the answer.
"I thought you were feelin her in Cali but I can't really tell no mo." Tej said, taking a drink and watching Kaidyn take Sprinkles from Han and then take him upstairs.
"You like her huh?" Roman asked, watching Tej's face for his reaction.
"I mean, who wouldn't? You like her too, fool." Tej accused.
"So what if I do?" Roman asked curiously.
"This is why I'm asking, fool." Tej rolled his eyes.
"Nah Bruh, I ain't the one she's diggin. I don't got them braids." Roman replied, shaking his head.
"What?" Tej looked up, confused.
"I was holding her on the trip and she was talking about yo braids in your hair and how she likes them. My bald ass ain't go no braids, homie." Roman laughed.
"I'm sorry, Ro." Tej apologized. He was happy to hear this but he wasn't gonna let Roman know this.
"Hey, it's okay because if she is who we thinkin she is, I don't have a deathwish trying to date you know who's daughter." Roman shook his head, clicking his teeth.
"You sure, man?" Tej asked with a grin.
"Yeah, I'm sure someone in her fam ain't gonna like me. At all." Roman said, the very thought of dealing with Carter Verone made him shudder.
"Well, aight then. Good to know where you stand." Tej nodded.
"I ain't trying to die and are you sure you want to risk that? Death by Verone doesn't appeal to me. Does it to you?" Roman asked, putting a toothpick in his mouth.
"I think I'll be alright." Tej promised.
"Nah, I don't know. I've seen Verone use a rat and a blowtorch on a detective. You better know what you getting into." Roman warned.
"I know what I'm getting into. I did my research, don't worry about me." Tej nodded confidently.
"Don't you worry about how the V's are gonna feel about your age gap?" Roman asked, looking at Tej.
"V's" Tej looked confused.
"The Verone's." Roman explained, exasperated at how slow Tej was being right now. "Oh man, Kaidyn's a Verone!" Roman held a hand over his mouth at this realization.
"Seems to be the case." Tej agreed.
"I won't hold it against her." Roman vowed. "But she's barely legal. You sure they gonna be cool with it?" He asked, nodding to the upstairs where Shayde and Carter's room was.
"I already got the green light from Shayde." Tej grinned, knowing this would make Roman jealous. "But really it's up to Kaidyn to make that happen." He shrugged.
"How the hell that happen?" Roman asked, baffled. "Shayde was okay with you? How'd the convo come up?" Roman asked, truly shocked.
"Need to know conversation, Rome. If she doesn't have a problem with the age, why should I?" Tej shrugged.
"Damn, I feel so unloved around here, bro." Roman shook his head.
"Why? Because Of Kaidyn?" Tej asked, looking confused.
"She gave you the green light, bruh? Fo real?" Roman asked, shaking his head, still in awe.
"Ah, I see why now." Tej laughed. "Yeah, she did. Shocked me too." Tej admitted.
"Yeah, man, good luck with her. You think you can handle her?" Roman asked, watching Kaidyn come back down the stairs. She had went to put Sprinkles in her room.
"Oh, I can handle her. Trust me." Tej nodded confidently.
"You hope, she's a spitfire." Roman flashed a grin.
"She's fire, allright." Tej nodded.
"Can't believe she prefers the braids over my abs." Roman tsked his teeth.
"I got abs and biceps too, fool." Tej popped Roman on the back of the head.
"Not like mine." Roman said competitively. "It's all good, I'll be the backup boyfriend." He laughed, both of them watching Kaidyn. Hector and Brian sat down at the table, not allowing Tej to reply.
"You guys wanna play some poker?" Hector asked as he sat down and gave out some poker chips.
"Sure, I am in. I gotta show Kaidyn I am good at something." Roman rolled his eyes and laughed.
"You can't beat me at poker, Roman. You may as well just give me yo chips." Tej requested.
"No way." Roman refused. "I can try, Homie." He shrugged.
"Roman Pearce try to pay attention in a game? That's a new one." Brian grinned as Tej shuffled the cards.
"Haha. Funny, Brian." Roman replied back sarcastically.
"Hide your drinks, here comes a drink thief." Hector advised as he watched Kaidyn come back downstairs from her room.
"She cool to drink?" Tej asked, watching her walk over to Han and pop him on the back of the head as she walked by.
"Yeah, she's good. As long as she's not taking meds and she hasn't had any in a while." Hector nodded, watching Han throw a pillow at Kaidyn and missing.
"I'm gonna win this hand, just watch." Brian predicted.
"Yeah right." Tej disagreed.
"I need you guys to make sure she stays with us and that we keep her busy tonight." Hector said as he looked at the guys at the table.
"Tej can handle that, right, Homie?" Roman joked, playfully punching Tej.
"Man, hush." Tej grinned, not wanting to call attention to the fact he was into Kaidyn.
"No letting her call Shayde. At all. Trust me when she has a few drinks, she will want to call her a lot." Hector laughed, his voice dropping to a lower tone.
"We will keep her busy." Roman assured Hector. "But why can't she call Shayde?" He asked.
"We gotta keep her busy because you know who's here and Shayde's got company." Hector said. Roman's smile was wiped off his face because of Hector's last sentence, making Brian laugh.
"You playing, right?" Roman asked, his smile disappearing. "I was hoping Han was just playing wit me." Roman shook his head.
"Nope, not playing at all. Serious as it gets. Shayde doesn't get disturbed." Hector warned.
"Poor Shayde." Brian muttered under his breath. "Scared, Ro?" Brian asked, taking a drink of his Corona.
"Ha ha. Funny, Brian. Last laugh's gonna be on you, Mr. Brian O'Connor." Roman promised with a huge smile.
"Nah, I doubt that." Brian shook his head with a boyish grin on his face. "But we will see who gets the last laugh." He promised.
"Hey guys." Kaidyn finally made her way to the table. "What's up?" She asked.
"I'm getting ready to show these guy's who not to play poker with." Tej grinned.
"Oh Poker. This should be fun." Kaidyn looked interested.
"You wanna sit here with me and be my cheerleader?" Tej asked, scooting his chair out and was about to scoot over but she sat on his lap. "That works too." He nodded with a smile.
"You got this, Tej." She encouraged.
"Your deathwish, Tej." Roman muttered, thinking his friend was stupid for letting her sit on his lap knowing Carter was in the house. Tej kicked Roman under the table.
"Why does he got a death wish, Roman?" Kaidyn asked Roman curiously.
"Uh...Because he's about to lose to me. I told you I'm better at this game than he is." Roman coughed, recovering quickly. Brian couldn't help but laugh at Roman.
"May I have a drink, Tej?" Kaidyn asked, settling back on Tej, watching his cards.
"You can have anything you want, babygirl." he replied.
"Not anything." Hector corrected playfully. "Let's watch how we word things and answer her questions. This girl is good at holding people to their words. She's very literal." he warned, raising an eyebrow.
"Hector, who's side are you on?" Kaidyn folded her arms.
"Yours. Always yours. You know this." Hector reminded her.
"Tej, you want me to get her her own drink?" Hector asked, watching Kaidyn pretty much drink his.
"Nah, man, we cool sharing. Right, Kaidyn?" he asked, looking at her.
"Yup, we good." Kaidyn smiled, her cheeks a bit red from the strong drink.
"Give me that drink, you can't be drinking." Han came over, pretending to take the drink.
"It's not my drink so you can't take it." Kaidyn shrugged, making them all laugh. "See, Hector, why I didn't need a drink?" She laughed. "I knew he'd be trying to do that." She rolled her eyes at Han.
"Smart, very smart." Tej whispered to her, making her giggle.
"Yeah, she's sometimes too smart for her own good." Han replied, opening a bag of chips and sitting down. "Deal me in?" He asked, running a hand through his hair.
"Oh those look good, can I get some of those?" Roman asked, rubbing his stomach.
"You want another rum and coke?" Kaidyn asked Tej, getting ready to get up to go get it.
"What's your drink of choice?" Tej asked out of curiosity.
"Peach schnapps. Or Corona but only with Limes." Kaidyn replied. "I'm gonna make us another drink." She decided, following Roman into the kitchen.
"Lets see what we got to eat up in here, eh Blondie?" Roman asked, opening the fridge. His face went from a grin to confusion.
"What's wrong?" Kaidyn asked, putting down the bottle of Rum and walking over to where Roman was.
"What in the hell is up with this shelf of fruits, limes, lemons and pickles?" He asked, clearly mortified.
"Oh that is for me. I love limes and lemons. I eat them for snacks with salt. And I love pickles too." Kaidyn shrugged.
"Pickles? They are the worst. Why you eat that stuff?" he asked, disgusted.
"It's good, that's why." She laughed, shaking her head.
"Is it though?" he asked, disagreeing.
"It is." Kaidyn laughed.
"So what you think of my homeboy Tej?" Roman asked, grabbing a few things out of the fridge.
"Why do you ask?" Kaidyn asked, her cheeks blushing. Roman couldn't tell if it was the alcohol or the fact she was blushing because she was embarrassed.
"I'm just trying to help a homegirl out." Roman shrugged. "I see the way you two be making googly eyes at each other, being all flirty." Roman teased,
"Shut up, Rome. Quit being his wingman." She laughed, punching him.
"You date him, you gotta be able to put up with me. It's a two for one package deal. I'm always around." Roman said, stuffing his face with a cheese stick.
"Oh I think I can suffer with that." Kaidyn laughed.
"Suffer? Why's everyone always dissing on me, Bruh?" Roman asked, looking at the fridge in awe as Han walked in.
"You're easy to mess with." Han nodded as he grabbed a tray to put snacks on.
"Is this all you eat, Kaidyn?" Roman asked, looking at her shelf as she poured a drink for Tej.
"I eat chicken, steak. Fruits, why?" Kaidyn asked, confused as to why he was asking.
"I just don't see you eat anything but fruit and barely that." Roman shrugged.
"Kaidyn, can you take this tray out there for me?" Han requested.
"Oh, I'm going to be a waitress. I got this." Kaidyn nodded, balancing the tray with one hand.
"Two hands. It's too heavy for one." Han requested.
"It was one time, Han. I dropped a tray one time. Let it go. Sheesh." Kaidyn rolled her eyes.
"It was a whole tray of grilled meats that we smoked for hours. Two hands, Missy." He ordered.
"Sir, yes sir." She called back as she headed out with the tray sarcastically.
"Rome, we need to talk." Han looked at Roman.
"Wow, your tone just changed. What's up?" He asked, a bit concerned at how Han became so serious.
"I need you not to ask so many questions to her about her eating please." Han started.
"I wasn't meaning anything by it. It's just she hasn't ate much." Roman tried to explain.
"No, it's fine but ever since her accident, she's had a severe food aversion. She used to not eat anything and had a feeding tube." Han started to explain.
"You mean like an eating disorder?" Roman asked with concern.
"No. Her getting shot in the head made her forget how to eat and a lot of meds she's on affects the taste or makes her not hungry. We've worked on what she eats for years." Han explained.
"Damn, I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything." Roman said, feeling bad now.
"You didn't know, it's all good. You don't have to be sorry, I just wanted to give you a heads up. She eats but if she stops to think about it she won't or she'll get in her head about something. So we usually let her eat off our plates or cook something for us and hope she eats it. When she's hungry we make sure she gets food as soon as possible because it can change quickly." Han explained.
"Anything I can help with?" Roman asked.
"Yeah, keep her talking and she won't think about when she's eating. Or offer her food while you eat. We find it helps." Han nodded.
"I got this. I'm good at food. And talking." Roman laughed.
"Boy don't I know." Han laughed.