Page 25 of The Need to Know

I started rapping Nas’s “Made You Look,” and Ezekiel joined in, finishing the first verse before I could.

He reached out, slapping his palm against mine and locking our fingers. “Aw, shit, you nice.”

I laughed. “Yeah, I’m a’ight.”

I saved Ezekiel’s number in my phone and pitched my empty cup as Ezekiel returned the wineglass to the bartender.

Together we boarded the elevator once more and descended back down to the Diamond Suite.

“Okay, Nasty Nas,” Ezekiel joked, sizing me up as we stood outside the VIP entrance.

“Okay, Freekey Zekey,” I shot back.

He grinned, just all gorgeous and shit. “Dipset dope.”

“As is Nas.”

Ezekiel ran that pink tongue of his over those nice-ass lips, and if I had any guts at all I would’ve taken him to the Heart Suite and fucked him for my own peace of mind.

Three words. One-night stand.

I was definitely going to regret turning him down in the morning. I internally scolded myself for not taking Paisley’s advice.

Paisley and Cesar were sitting with the Dymonds and their crew by the time we entered the Diamond Suite.

As if we shared telepathy, Paisley took one look at me and came over to us, knowing it was time to go.

Ezekiel shook hands with her again, closing his over hers. “I mean it, it was a pleasure meeting you.”

In Paisley’s hands was a VIP pass. Cesar had made good on his word in securing her own golden ticket.

Paisley pointed at Ezekiel with her pass. “It was great meeting you, too. Thanks for looking out.”

“Never a problem. I wanna do business with you. I’ve been wanting to do business with you. Thursdays are thematic, and you gotta host a Ladies’ Night for us,” Ezekiel said. “We can talk later, though. You can get my number from Nastasia.”

“How much you talking? I need to know now before I consider calling,” Paisley let him know.

Ezekiel didn’t break a sweat, coolly switching to business mode. “You would promote it on your show, as would we on our socials, and I’d curate an all-female playlist, for five.”

“I’d heavily promote it on my show, as you would on your socials, I’ll stay for three hours, and I’ll curate an all-female playlist for seven.”

Ezekiel smiled and tucked his hands into his pockets. “You can get my number from Nastasia. I’ll run things by Pops and draw up a contract so we can cut a check.” He tipped his head toward me. “Have a nice night, Nas.”

Paisley led the way out of the room, and like heated daggers, I could feel Ezekiel’s eyes on me as we made our exit.

Pops was calling again. He’d been calling all day. And just like I had done since that morning, I sent him to voicemail instead of answering. Childish, I knew.

BLVCKJVCK was closed and the staff had left for the night, leaving me, Cesar, and one of our security guards, Knox, behind as we sat at a table. Cesar rolled us a few using some of Remy’s weed as we played cards. On a few tables, and on the bar, were a customary deck of playing cards. To match the theme of the club, the cards were black and gold.

“Tonight was perfect,” Cesar declared victoriously. “After word got out about Remy and Galen being here, folks flocked to get in. We were packed.”

I tipped my beer back, pleased to hear this. A packed club equaled a boost in sales. Nine times out of ten, a first timer always came back. Word of mouth was the best advertising. It made people curious, but first-hand experience made them return.

“Everything worked out smoothly then,” I said as I studied my cards.

“I thought we was gonna have to beat that dude’s ass earlier,” Cesar admitted.

Knox groaned as he threw his cards down. He’d been losing for the past hour. I didn’t blame him for folding. “E wouldn’t push the button.”