Rose watched Minx waltz out behind her, looking good as fuck in her dress as his eyes fell on her ass. She paused next to him and peered up at him.
“Just a little shop talk,” Finn said, reaching for her arm and pulling her toward him.
He encased her in his arms. Finn didn’t like funerals. The shit always reminded him of his own father. Losing Max was another blow. Minx let the door close and posted up with Rose as he continued to let the weed take him away. He passed it to her, and she anxiously took it, already a little tipsy off the wine she’d practically inhaled.
“It’s starting to clear out. Mama has that look on her face where she’s ready for everyone to go,” she muttered. “Have you eaten?”
“Nah, not hungry. A nigga could use a drink though,” Rose answered, and Minx tilted her head.
“Rose, you need to eat,” she chastised, and his eyes roamed her figure before he bit into his bottom lip.
“Ain’t gon’ lie, a nigga got an appetite for some shit,” he voiced, making her blush.
Minx shook her head. He reached out and cupped her chin before he took her into his arms and crashed his lips into hers. It was soft at first, and Minx nearly melted as he deepened it with his warm tongue.
“Damn, okay,” Luna teased, making Finn snicker.
Minx and Rose parted and stared into each other’s eyes. In the midst of all the darkness, they grasped tightly to one another. Like a life jacket, they were dependent on each other for survival.
“Rose, don’t play with me right now,” she whispered.
“Shit, who said I’m playing? It’s been a long ass week. A nigga need a release,” he told her.
He was right about that. She was tense as fuck her damn self. She didn’t want any kind of pressure when giving herself toRose. She wanted it to feel natural and right. It was obvious that he wanted her. She couldn’t keep that bitch Nadia off her mind either. Minx gave him the blunt back and reached for the door.
“I’m gonna go get a drink and help clean up.” She lowered her head and went inside.
Rose could practically read her mind. He knew where her head was at. Luna took a few puffs and ducked off inside to help her. It took a minute to get everyone together, a couple of the cousins and aunties were drunk and emotional, repeating themselves and driving Mila insane. Jonah helped her get them out, and before long, it was just the immediate family, Finn, and Luna. Mila kicked her shoes off, plopped down in her sofa, and put her feet on the table.
“Oh, thank God they are all gone.” She reached for a pack of cigarettes on the table beside the sofa and grabbed one.
“The kitchen is clean, and all the food is put away.” Minx also kicked off her shoes and seated herself in a chair across from her mother.
“Thank you, baby girl.” Mila sparked her cigarette, and Jonah undid his tie.
It was obvious that he and Max were related. Jonah was a lot colder than his big brother, but he learned everything from him.
“So are we going to talk about what happened at the church now?” Minx wasn’t about to cut her mother any slack.
She wanted answers. Mila took a drag from her cig, and she and Jonah locked eyes. She blew the smoke from her lips and brought her hand to her head while resting her elbow against the arm of the sofa.
“Minx—”
“Ma, I gave you all day,” Minx responded, her tone stern as Rose and the others ambled into the living room.
Mila lifted one brow. She knew that Minx wasn’t weak. She was never a problem child for her parents either. She never had no problem speaking her mind.
“What is going on?”
“Fine. You want to do this now?” Mila sat up. “I was fifteen when I met your father. My parents didn’t give a damn about me. They left me in the care of a man that wanted nothing more than to groom me so that he could one day have me. I wasn’t a human to him, I was… an object. Derrien was a Muslim, so they believed in having many wives, which he did. He was evil and calculated. He abused them and laughed about it. He dealt with some of the lowest criminals on the planet, and then put on this front that he cared about his people. It was sickening. I met Max. I don’t know how it happened. We met at a bookstore of all places. Your father was this big, strong, gangsta ass dude, and I would find him sitting down reading random books at the Half Price Bookstore.” A dreamy, whimsical, and then saddened look flashed in Mila’s eyes. “We built a friendship, and eventually, it became more than that. We read together… we dreamed together. He was… my best friend, my everything. But when I became of age, I had to marry Derrien or he would make me disappear. To this day, I am still technically married to him, not your father.”
Speechless, eyes misting, Minx gaped at her mother, unable to form a solid thought. There were so many bouncing around that it made her dizzy, then nauseated.
“Max was my husband in every way that mattered. He rescued me from Derrien and didn’t even realize it. Eirian, the man that was at the church today, that’s his son. Galena, the woman with him, was one of Derrien’s other wives,” Mila explained. “Galena’s ass always been the oldest hoe in the room.” Mila’s head moved back and forth as her eyes drifted off hatefully.
“Are they responsible for what happened to Max?” Rose chimed in, anger clouding his face.
Mila’s eyes landed on him, somberness pouring out of her. She took another drag of the cigarette and exhaled. After a moment, she nodded.
