“I’ma see what BK and Tino are thinking. They get first call when it comes to him since, you know, his sperm donor ain’t shit.”
Like us, Boss grew up in a military family, but his father brought home his trauma and dumped that shit right on Boss. And to my knowledge, he was still causing problems, which didn’t help with any of the issues that he came home with from the war.
“Just let me know.”
“I will.”
“Now, tell me, how does it feel to be back on the other side?”
“Man, different as hell this time.” I dragged my hand down my face. “I got the entertainment clients since the killa twins, Jury and Judge, took my only couple politicians. I had Oakley Charles these last couple of days. It ain’t bad, just a lot of driving. But she’s cool.”
Lando laughed as he flipped the chicken wings.
“Nigga, you gotta stop giving these people nicknames because my ass be fucking up whenever I see them in person, calling them everything but their damn names. I ran into Judge at The Marketplace and slipped and said killa, had this man looking at me weird as hell.” I tilted my head to the side before my laugh came rumbling out.
“No, fool, you gotta stop breakingourcode. Worse than these damn kids. Now, hurry up. I got moves to make.”
“Always moving. Slow the fuck down. Whoever keeps you sprinting away on the weekends now can’t be more important than family if you can’t even bring them home to meet anybody.”
“I told you, if it were someone worth meeting, you would. Now, instead of focusing on me, put your attention back on the grill. Don’t nobody want no burnt ass food, Lando.”
I was talking shit. Bringing somebody home to meet my family from Seventh Heaven was never going to happen, and not because I wouldn’t want to. No lie, I enjoyed a couple of ladies at the club from time to time that had potential to be more, like Ms. Lourdè, but Seventh Heaven, like any other sex club, had rules. We couldn’t even acknowledge anyone we recognized in public when we saw them out. And trust me, I had noticed quite a few people, but I loved playing with the women I met there far too much to risk my extremely expensive membership for a hello.
THREE
Johnni
“Hollis, can you please repeat that?” I asked in a teasing manner as I put my hand behind my ear like it would help me hear her words better. All I got was a sound of annoyance as she released a heavy sigh and kissed her teeth.
We were sitting in my living room officially planning Mickey’s wedding. It still blew my mind that in under a year she had gone from single mother to engaged with a new baby.
“Hell no, heffa, and you pushing it. Can you just pull up a couple of presentations of the five thousand weddings you mocked up or not? I mean, I came prepared with magazines too. We can cancel your shit all the way out. It doesn’t make me no never mind,” Hollis said, challenging me, picking up her glass of champagne and sitting back on the couch. I huffed, blowing out a sigh as I crossed my arms. This was what we did.
And as crazy as it sounded, this was how I knew this was my sister for life. We argued about everything, especially when it came to our little sister Mickey and now our goddaughter Minnie. But at the end of the day, we were riding together.
“Ugh. Can’t never just let me shine and admit thatmymock-ups are finally coming in handy,” I said while I began to browsethrough my files on my phone for a couple I thought would fit BK and Mickey perfectly.
Even if this was never the intent for them.
In all honesty, I did this for me. Yes, I was married but I still had fantasies about my dream wedding. Mine and Quincey’s wedding was over the top and very lavish, per Mama Steph and her planning, but it was that,herplanning.
I wanted a redo, from the menu, centerpieces, hell, even the flavor of my cake.
Of course, I was being dramatic as hell, but sometimes not being free like I wanted made me feel as if my life was no longer about my own dreams from the moment I decided to marry Quincey.
It was like being in a prison where I had two wardens who planned every detail of my life.
I shook off my own bittersweet feelings as I scrolled through my music app on my phone until I came to my ever-growing wedding playlist, picking the perfect song for the first presentation.
“And yes, I’m setting the scene. It’s the only way this works and you can appreciate the beauty and vision I had when I created them. I give you, forever in paradise,” I gushed as I clicked the first presentation of a wedding with all the beach vibes. Pretty cool blues, vibrant oranges, and pinks to match. The music playing in the background gave island appeal to fit what I hoped to achieve when I pictured myself walking barefoot in warm sand tohim.
Johnni, your him doesn’t exist and you sealed your love for life already. Focus.
I put back on my bright smile as I went into detail about the dresses, décor, and flowers I saw for this theme.
“Ooh this is cute, but BK and I were thinking fall vibes. Ya know, around our one-year anniversary or something. And it’s way too cold to be half naked on the beach in October.”
“Wait, which anniversary date are we using again? Is that the dick down date or when you two stopped playing with each other?” Hollis asked, causing me to snicker lowly while I shook my head.
