Page 25 of Platinum Pressure

“Have a seat and bask in the sunlight for a while.”

I pulled out my cell phone and opened the Bluetooth settings. I connected to the speaker labeled garden and pressed play on my workout playlist. The first song was an upbeat R&B song about falling in love by my all-time favorite artist, Lilac Embers. Lilac was on the fast track to legend status. Her music made my soul dance. Plus, I loved supporting Cade’s Cove natives.

“Who is this?” Platinum asked.

“Lilac Embers. She’s a singer who grew up in Cade’s Cove. She’s up next for sure,” I explained.

“This song is groovy as hell. I fuck with it heavy.”

“Of course you do. My taste in music is impeccable.” I smirked as I closed the distance between us and gave him an example of his first exercise.

He grimaced in pain as he did the first set. “Shit.”

“It’ll get easier,” I encouraged.

“Tell me about your family. You told me you’re close to your mom and sisters. I want to know them.”

Through harder workouts, I learned Platinum liked to focus on my voice instead of the aches in his knee. I gave him a rundown on my parents and siblings. I told him all about what it was like growing up and our passions to help others.

“Mom an ob-gyn, Dad a lawyer, a sister who is a dentist married to a dentist, and you’re a nurse. You ain’t ever had to eat scrambled eggs and white rice with sugar for breakfast, huh? You got pancakes and turkey bacon every morning before school.”

“Something like that. If we did struggle, my parents never let it show.”

“Boss shit. My folks didn’t have the luxury to fake it ’til we made it, for real. Seddrick folks actually came in clutch a lot when my family struggled. If the electric company cut the lights off, I’d spend some nights over there with the Timmons until they came back on, and vice versa.”

I poked out my bottom lip. “Aww. Y’all really are besties for the resties, huh?”

His face fell into a frown. “No grown-ass man is ever saying some shit like that.”

I giggled. “Okay, well, it’s just the two of us out here. No one’s going to know.”

“I’ll know.”

I stuck my tongue out at him and let him enjoy some quiet during his rest time. My gaze scanned the garden as I enjoyed the gust of wind that flew past my face. It still shocked me every time I took a minute to bask in my reality. It was weird to be in someone else’s home 24-7. It was still a huge adjustment every time I woke up in the poolroom of Platinum Jones’ mansion. My body stood in the backyard of a multimillion-dollar mansion. The type of home dreams created. Would this be the type of home I could build a family in? Would my practice in the future yield success to have a dream house like this?

“What’s your type?” Platinum’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.

“Type of what?”

“Man.”

I rolled my eyes. “Why?”

“Just to keep the conversation going. I told you your voice makes the exercises easier to get through, and I’m struggling a lot with the leg workout today. This shit hurts, so I want to know more about you. I can tell a lot about a woman based on her type.”

He started the next set of exercises. I waited until he successfully did one rep before answering.

“I don’t have a type.”

“Bullshit. Everybody has a type.”

“Not me.”

“So any man has a chance with you?”

“Hypothetically, absolutely. Realistically, no. I’m open to giving all types of men a chance, but not any man can handle a chance with me.”

“Then you have a type. What kind of man gets your heart racing and butterflies swarming? Who attracts you, and does physical attraction matter?”