Mary gave Frankie some suggestions and after several, he nodded and madehis plan. Obviously, he needed to lose the guy and nip any plans he had togo f...urther or the guy would think Frankie was his for the price of acouple of drinks.When they returned to the bar, the guys were all smiles as Bruce tired tokiss Frankie on the lips again. Frankie placed a flat hand on his lips and smiled. He gave the guy a peckon the cheek and leaned over and whispered in his ear that while he washaving fun, it was. He dismissed his thoughts as simply paranoia, but still, he wouldn't put it past Jennie to use Tommy to pay him back for ignoring her.The next day in school, Tommy and Jennie were a couple. Mike ignored both of them. He found that he really didn't care about what Jennie did anymore. He went back to the life he left when Jennie came and took over it. It felt good to get back to it too, less excitement, but healthier, because he had been letting too much other stuff slide.Before Jennie, he used. "Don't ever forget that. He's a real nice man an' he treats me good an' I knows he be treatin' you good, too. But, he's a white man an' we is jus' niggas an' we gotta remember that. So, be respectful an' do like he says. Don't say nothin' 'less he asks you somethin' or give you a compliment. When you do say somethin' always call him "sir". Keep yo' eyes down while he's lookin' at you an' give him his privacy when he be usin' you. It's important to make sure he enjoys hisse'f and feels welcome. "Thank you very much, kind Sir, but why did you come to my aid?" You looked like you needed the help. And that makes me wonder what was going on? Why would two men attack a merchant who sold weapons?" It was not the weapons, but the fact that I am a merchant that spawned the attack. Those two worked for Jasphat, the foulest creature to walk on two legs! They were trying to extort money from me for 'protection' against just that sort of attack. I am just a poor merchant, and they wanted a gold.