Benny’s eyes grew wide. Iskyiah cringed when he made the mistake of glancing at her.
“I didn’t know she was?—”
Moolah kicked him in the ribs before he crouched down. Iskyiah could still hear him over the loud music; she was that in tune with him.
“You lookin’ at what ain’t yours, Benny?”
“Lah . . .” Iskyiah put her hand on his broad shoulder, and she felt some of the tension leave his body. He didn’t turn to look at her, but she knew he was listening. “It’s okay, baby. He didn’t know. Look around. Everyone knows now.”
She watched as Moolah slowly took his eyes off Benny and looked around the space. Everyone had stopped partying and looked directly at him. Iskyiah’s heart hammered in her chest. She’d only seen this side of him when they were younger. They were grown now, and she could tell Moolah had become muchmore dangerous. She shuddered thinking about what he could do to this poor man. Not only did she not want that, but she also didn’t want Moolah to get in trouble for harming someone with so many witnesses.
Moolah leaned down and whispered something to Benny before his fist shot out and connected with Benny’s jaw. The sick way it hung open as Moolah stood up made Iskyiah’s stomach churn.
As soon as he looked down at her, his eyes softened. “You good?”
“Yeah,” she murmured.
“You ready to go?”
“What? No. We just got here, Lah. It’s your birthday.”
His jaw twitched at that, but he simply nodded, kissed her cheek, and said, “I’ll be right back.”
He moved through the VIP section toward the private bathrooms. She made a move to follow him, but a hand on her arm stopped her.
“Let him go, sis. He’ll be good in a minute.”
It was Teyanna. Iskyiah looked back in the direction Moolah had disappeared before she nodded.
“I need another shot,” Iskyiah said.
“Shit, how about two?” Sophie said, handing her over two shots the bartender must have poured while Moolah was beating poor Benny to the ground. Iskyiah accepted them and then glanced at Benny once again. A couple of men had helped him off the ground and ushered him toward the exit. Sophie leaned close and said, “One thing about that man, Sky, he don’t play about you.”
They clinked their shots together and took them to the head, Iskyiah worrying about Moolah the entire time.
You can’t just go around makin’ every nigga you hate a toilet.Moolah scolded himself as he did his best to have fun at his party.
It had been two hours since Benny had been scraped off the floor, and he was still fuming. Scenarios ran through his mind on how to get back at Benny, but he kept trying to coach himself to let it go. Really, he wanted to cut off both of Benny’s hands, harvest the bones from them, and then make those bones into a toilet. Then him and Iskyiah could have his and hers toilets.
He shook his head. He’d always been a bit touched in the head, but it wasn’t until Iskyiah entered his life that he had dreams of turning niggas into toilets. She was dangerous for him. Better yet, other people were in danger because of her. Because he couldn’t stand to see her hurt, or sad, or touched by someone she asked not to touch her.
His jaw clenched again, but a soft touch on his cheek stole him from his thoughts.
“I love you.” Iskyiah kissed his lips, and he growled before deepening the kiss.
A simple touch from her little ass calmed him all the way down. She’d stayed close to him since he emerged from the bathroom earlier. She had to have known he needed her.
“I love you more.”
“I can tell you’re determined not to have fun. You ready to go?” she asked.
He grunted. He had been in a terrible mood since the whole incident. Though he tried to let it go and have a good time, it was a moot point.
“Yeah, let’s get out of here.”
Iskyiah nodded in understanding and turned to say her goodbyes to her friend and brother. Moolah nodded at Teyanna, who simply gave him a two-finger wave. She understood him like that, and he appreciated her more than she knew.
After Iskyiah said her goodbyes, Moolah placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her through the crowd. This time, he didn’t say shit to anyone. He was no longer even a little bit in the mood to party.
