Chapter 14: No Protection
As they walked into the cozy Den, Lucy gestured for Jamal to sit beside her, and he did so while Tom settled into one of the plush armchairs beside Lucy.
Jamal tried to gather his thoughts as he looked around the room, which was filled with pictures of their family and mementos of years gone by. The warmth of the room calmed him somewhat.
Thankfully, neither Lucy nor Tom pressured him to talk until he glanced at Tom, who gave a slight nod.
"So, I met someone and had a one-night stand," he blurted out, and Lucy's lips parted in shock while Tom chuckled.
"Well, that's an uhm... unexpected news," she said, choosing her words carefully.
"My protégé is all grown up," Tom said, slapping Jamal on the back with a grin, but the grin faded off his face when Lucy eyed him with mild disapproval.
"Why would you do something like that, Jamal? Is that how I taught you to live?" Tom asked with mock disapproval, and Jamal chuckled, understanding why Tom was singing a different tune.
"If I did it, and I'm your protégé, doesn't it mean you taught me to live that way?" Jamal asked logically with a grin, and Tom scowled at him playfully.
Lucy rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "Tell us about this girl, Jam. Did you meet her before or after you heard about Dawn's scandal?" She asked curiously since she knew very well how much Jamal had wanted Dawn to be his first in every sense of the word.
"It was after," Jamal said and then went on to explain how it had happened.
Lucy and Tom listened as Jamal told them about going to the club and meeting someone who looked a lot like Dawn there.