Chevy perked up, nosy as fuck.
“You speaking my business in front of your woman like that’s the norm, Ledge. I don’t like that shit,” I spoke sharply and Ledge nodded.
“A’ight. Chevy, go in the kitchen,” he ordered, and his woman smacked her lips.
“Why I gotta leave the room?” she asked, catching attitude. “And you reply to that bitch in your DM, and you going to be DOA,” she warned, whipping her thirty inches of weave over her shoulder and stepping out of the room.
I waited until she was gone to address my ace.
“She trippin’. This bitch sucking this cucumber like she got the jaws of life, and I need some of that in mine.” Ledge began typing in his phone.
Karmine chortled and fell back in the sofa. “So talk.” He motioned between me and Ledge.
“Ain’t shit for you. This is my problem,” I assured him.
“Free, the fuck is that? You can’t trust me?” Karmine asked, offended.
“This is a sensitive situation,” I worded carefully.
“Oh yeah? Is that why you got cameras in this girl’s room? Watching her every move? What the fuck is that?”
“See? You already too close to this.” I set my glass on the bar and shook my head. “The fuck you doing going through my shit?”
“What is this?” Karmine asked, clasping his hands together. “Who is this girl?”
“A’ight, fuck it, since you won’t say shit, I will,” Ledge chimed in. “We kidnapped this bitch… a year ago. Our brother here been keeping her around like a fucking souvenir and shit.”
Karmine was floored. His gaze drifted from Ledge to me and back again. He didn’t speak, or he couldn’t. Ledge glanced at me over his shoulder, shaking his head.
“Free, what the fuck you thinking? Tell me this nigga is lying,” Karmine chimed in. Baffled, he quickly stood and began pacing. Finally, he stopped and faced me.
“You really did this? And you’ve been keeping this girl here?” He pointed at the ground.
“I have control of this. I don’t need you, or Ledge, or anyone else telling me a damn thing!” I barked, silencing the room. “You mothafuckas wanna do me a favor, stay the fuck out of it from here!”
“This nigga playing games and that shit gon’ turn on him. But I don’t know shit.” Ledge tossed his hands up, surrendering.
Harbor
I was sonervous it felt like my stomach was going to drop right out of me. I was cloaked in just a robe while the woman that Frequency hired tried to prepare me for the evening. She had my hair pinned up in a classic style with it swooped in the front. Jewelry had even been provided. Diamond earrings shined off my ears, and a matching choker and tennis bracelet also dripped from me. My palms were sweaty, and I couldn’t contain the wildrhythm in my heart. My stomach bubbled nervously at the vanity while I watched Julani beat my face. She was very talented. She even brought a rack of more dresses to try on if I wanted.
“Oh, damn. Looks like someone pulled out all the stops.” Kara’s voice erupted into the room as she came waltzing inside since the door had been left open.
She stared around the massive room, checking out or investigating everything was my guess. She made me anxious as hell.
I could tell she didn’t like me. Frequency was her brother, so she probably had her suspicions. To her, I probably looked like some young ass thot trying to latch on to her brother for his money. She didn’t have anything to worry about though. Whatever I felt for him wasn’t anything I could even attempt to put into words. She paused right behind me and Julani, the makeup artist and personal shopper, at the mirror and studied me.
“So big night?” Kara engaged with small talk, and I glanced down at my hands while fidgeting with them.
“Yeah, so I hear,” I answered.
“So why aren’t you more excited?” Kara asked.
“Why are you here?” I finally studied her in the mirror, and she seemed taken back by my response.
“Whatever do you mean? Are you antisocial? I was coming in here to get to know you. Clearly, you are in my brother’s life. In what capacity, I don’t know. Do you even know?” She pounced on the side of my bed and began looking at her nails while she awaited a counter explanation.
“We are b?—”
