“The way you look at me, smell me, touch my hair. It’s a good thing your writing’s more subtle than your game.”

“I’m sorry I brought it up.”

She rolls onto her side and runs her finger over my chest. “’Course, I’m just half black,” she says in a teasing tone. “Unless we’re going by the one-drop rule. Then I’m all black. But I don’t know if you could handle the real deal.”

“Can we just skip it?”

She runs her fingertip down to my abdomen, then farther still. “Next thing, you’re gonna ask me about penis size. That’s the next white-boy question.”

I try to keep my face impassive, but Tee just laughs harder. When she finally stops, she says, “You want me to just tell you?”

“I don’t know.”

She pokes me in the side, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Well. Just between us girls . . . beyond a certain minimum, it’s not how big it is. It’s how hard it is.”

For some reason, this doesn’t comfort me much.

“It’s killing you not to ask me, isn’t it?” she presses, her eyes filled with mirth.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, yes, you do. That certain minimum.” She reaches down and closes her hand around what is commonly called my manhood and whispers, “You made the cut, Mr. Mayor. Just.”

While I process this answer, she squeezes me and says, “How ’bout you finish what you started?”

Before I can do that, my cell phone rings. Serenity groans, then rolls over and grabs it off the bedside table.

“Quentin,” she says, handing it to me.

I click send and say, “You took long enough, didn’t you?”

Tee presses her lips to my ear and hisses, “Speakerphone.”

I hit the button.

“Is anybody else with you?” Quentin asks.

Serenity shakes her head.

“Just you and me and God, Q. Or was that redundant?”

Quentin chuckles. “I’m surprised. Where’s that hot little Nobel Prize winner you had with you before?”

Serenity snorts a laugh, and Quentin says, “I thought so. I caught some vibe earlier tonight. You’re a lucky man, Penn Cage.”

Tee rolls her eyes, but the smile doesn’t leave her face. “Did you do any good tonight,” she asks, “you old hound dog?”

“Judge Elder and I had a frank and honest exchange of views. I think we’ll find him a little more amicable in court tomorrow. What about my potential star witness? Have you two been hanging with the Klan?”

“We have. Everything may depend on John Kaiser at this point. They’ve promised to testify for Dad, but the witness is scared to death of Snake Knox.”

“Rightfully so.”