I gave her a look. “Possessive ass,” I joked.
She giggled. “You’re right. Church looks like her pussy tastes like peaches, though. I would be greedy and selfish over that.”
My eyes went over to where Church still sat with her sisters. “You ain’t lying,” I said before I thought to edit myself.
She giggled again. “If you get a shot at it, at least let me know how it tastes.”
“Hell naw.” We both laughed, then I gave her a quick hug. “Thanks for coming out.” I continued to make my way to Church. “What’s good, Collins? Bailey? Perkins?” I went around the table and gave each of the women a hug. They each wished me a happy birthday. When I got to Church, I just stared at her momentarily. She looked good in some type of little black top that barely covered anything and a matching black miniskirt. “What’s up, lil’ mama?”
She stood and gave me a real hug, and I loved that shit. “Happy birthday, Jonah.”
When she released me from the hug, I immediately caught her hand in mine. “Say, have a birthday drink with me.”
She hesitated for a millisecond until one of her sisters spoke up. “Have a birthday drink with the man, Churchy,” Bailey said as one hand rested on her pregnant stomach. She used the other to make a “shoo-shoo” gesture toward the bar.
Church easily slid her hand from mine as we made our way through the crowd. “You knew about this?”
She gave me a grin. “Of course, I knew about this. Everybody in Jackson Falls except you and Lex knew about this.”
“What’re you drinking?” I asked once we made it to the bar.
“Pretty Mama.”
I nodded. “Yeah, you’re definitely pretty, mama.”
She laughed. “You’re so damn corny, Jonah. It’s the name of the drink I want.”
“Straight up? It’s called Pretty Mama? What’s in it?”
“Tequila, hey!” She stuck her tongue out and pretended to twerk.
I had never seen that side of her, but I liked it. “You drink tequila?”
“I guzzle tequila,” she assured me. “Anyway, it has tequila, agave nectar, and watermelon juice.”
I ordered the drinks then handed hers to her once it was ready. She held up her drink for a toast. She looked at me, her eyes serious. “Happy birthday, Jonah. May this trip around the sun bring you more than you ever hoped for and all the blessings you can withstand.”
She clinked her glass to mine while I stood there stuck at her words. Nobody had ever given me a birthday wish like that. “Thanks, Church.”
“You’re welcome.”
We stood there, side by side, sipping our drinks, until somebody started a line dance. The entire bar practically fell into step. We spent the night drinking, dancing, laughing, and shooting the shit.
Both Collins and Bailey were pregnant, so they cut the night short, with Perkins agreeing to drive them home. Church had ridden with Mari, but Mari planned to end her night with Lex, so I offered to drive Church home.
Since she was pretty much twisted, I was the only person Mari trusted to drive her. Truth be told, I was the only personItrusted to drive her home. I knew I wasn’t on no creep shit. I didn’t know what those other niggas were on. I already knew Jenna was looking for a chance to fuck Church. I wasn’tputting anything past the thirsty ass dudes still hanging around Waterfalls. As far as I was concerned, they had been watching her a little too closely for my comfort, even before she was drunk.
Once I got her in my truck, I headed back toward town. Waterfalls was actually in Chinook Woods, so it was a little bit of a ride.
“Jonah?”
“What’s up?”
“I’m not drunk.”
Drunk people always wanted to tell you how drunk they weren’t. “I know. You’re feeling good.”
“I’m feeling hungry as hell.”