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War chuckled, shaking his head. Cali shoved his shoulder. “I thought you said she was safe with him.”
“She is, but I didn’t say shit about her pussy. Either way, that’s between them. I also said in good hands, not safe.”
“So I’m not safe with him?” Conner asked, following the line of sight to where York already had another woman in his face.
“Yeah, you’re safe with his crazy ass.”
“Hmm. I think something’s wrong with me too then because when he offered, I was seconds away from accepting.”
“Of course you were,” Cali mumbled. Conner flashed a smile and lifted from the chair.
“I’m going to play Dominos.”
“You don’t know how,” Cali called after her.
“Nope, but someone over there does.” She winked over her shoulder after motioning to the table of very attractive men.
“I should have left her ass at home,” Cali groaned.
“Let her play. She’s finding her footing after that other shit she was caught up in.”
“Yeah, she is.”
War’s intense stare landed on Cali. “He been around?”
After softly shaking her head, Cali leaned into War. “No, he hasn’t shown his face and I’m sure he won’t. He called her more than a few times, and when she gave in and answered, he told Conner to come get what was left of her things or he would trash them. He had to move out of the place because he couldn’t afford it.”
“She went by there?” His expression grew tight and Cali shook her head again.
“She didn’t. Whatever he had wasn’t important enough. I think he was just testing her to see if she would break. He wanted her around, so he could try to convince her to come back.”
“And…”
“And Conner learned her lesson. He’s not good for her. She’s moving on with her life.”
She thought long and hard about the threat he made but knowing what War would do, she kept it to herself. Cali didn’t want to set something in motion that might end badly. War would hurt Maurice or possibly worse. She wasn’t completely sure how many lines War would be willing to cross but she had a pretty good assumption.
“He has someone else. He clung to Conner because she wasn’t strong enough at the time to stand up to him. The minute she was, he moved on. Men like him are bullies and cowards.”
“If he shows his face…” War delivered a warning and Cali pecked his lips.
“You’ll be my first call.”
“Long as you know.”
Hours passed and when the sky turned dark, torch lights and a firepit set the tone for the rest of the evening. The mood was mellow all day. Drinks were plentiful, the food was delicious and kept stomachs full. The thick cloud of smoke from those burning good shit hovered, delivering contact highs.
Cali spent most of her night tucked away with War but she also tipped away to hang out and converse with Conner and Kirsten. A few of the other wives and girlfriends joined their group while their men blew money with Dice and Dominos but they had it to spend.
No one flinched or blinked when it was time to pay out, although they talked cash shit about how they were cheated. Regardless, they threw stacks on the table to cover their losses. These were all young Black men with handsome faces dressed to make statements that paired with their deep pockets. However, only one had Cali’s attention. She smiled at his black on black that matched her fly and the way he kept her in his line of sight from the time he approached her shortly after her arrival.
The only thing that disrupted Cali’s mood was the woman she now knew as Shalece who kept shooting dirty looks each time the women made eye contact. Kirsten mentioned Shalece wasn’t relevant as was proven by her being there with another associate of War’s. That didn’t lessen Cali’s annoyance from being the woman’s focus for the evening. Conner had purposely knocked into Shalece several times to make a point, jump if you’re feeling froggy, always apologizing with a bright smile that delivered a very clear message, bitch we don’t like you. However, that was the sum total of their interactions.
“Ay, we’re about to get up out of here but I need to go inside to holla at JB about something. You good until I get back?” War spoke into Cali’s neck, hugging her tightly so she sank deeper into the comfort of him.
“Yep, I’m fine. I’m going to make sure Conner knows we’re about to leave.” Cali glanced across the yard where she found Conner grinning with a plate in hand while some guy was standing in front of her. Cali then searched for York who was sitting in another corner of the yard with a woman on his lap but his attention kept finding its way to her sister.
They need to fuck and get it over with.
