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“Oh… wow. Good for you. I wish I’d gone to college.”

“You can still go.”

“Nah, my fiancé is going to take care of me. I’m good.”

“Oh really? So you with him for the money.” He raises his eyebrows.

“Don’t worry about that,” I snap.

He grabs my face and kisses me. “Don’t make me take you away from him,” he says, against my lips.

Heat runs through my body. “Oh, really?”

“You think I’m just gonna get a taste and let you go? You crazy, mama.”

Butterflies flutter in my stomach when he calls me that. I rub the hickeys I left on his neck. “Don’t let your bitch see that,” I say, smirking.

“Who said I had a bitch?”

“Your fine ass got somebody, and we both know it ain’t Kye’s crazy ass.”

“Nah, my only bitch is you.”

Chapter 6

Drey

It’s late, and I’ve been working hard to get everything settled for tonight. I finished my last rounds of collecting the money before heading to ma dukes’ spot.

A lot of weight is on my shoulders right now, and I know Von is waiting for a nigga to fall so he can take over. He’s the definition of praying on a nigga’s downfall, but I’m not going to give him the satisfaction.

Everything is wrapped up, and I have to see what Kye pulls on Saturday. This is her one shot. We can diversify our clientele by doing these special events.

I have a little downtime since everything wrapped this morning. It was a slow night, but it’s typical like this during the earlier part of the week. I need to drop off this money at my other location, but I’ma pop up on her real quick.

The sun hasn’t risen yet, and it’s still a dark morning. It’s dead quiet on this side of the city. I drive past mansions, pull up to Zari’s place, and enter the code to her private entrance. The gate opens and my eyes squint at a car parked behind her G-Wagon that doesn’t look familiar.

The fuck is this?

I watch the door open for a few minutes, and I see a light-skinned nigga walking out of her spot. I look down at my clock— it’s five in the morning. This ain’t her fiancé, so who the hell is that?

I hop out of the car, and he’s looking down at his phone, totally off guard. I hit his ass with a right hook. He stumbles back and holds his jaw. His glasses go flying one way and his phone the other way. He falls back into the fake-ass green grass.

“You fucking Zari?” I spit, looking down at him.

“No…” he says, holding his face. He crawls around, tapping the ground for his glasses. Then he reaches for his phone.

What the hell Zari got going on with her nigga? Is she in an open relationship or some shit?

I know his ass ain’t calling the police. I step on his phone, cracking the iPhone screen with my gray Timberland boot. That shit spreads like a spiderweb. “Get the fuck out of here and don’t come back,” I say, kicking him in the side.

Zari yells out. “Drey, leave him alone!”

I grab the nigga by his shirt and cock my fist back. “Who is he, Pinkie?” I look at her.

Zari runs into the grass barefoot in a long-sleeve white robe with pink fur around the top. Her pink nightgown stops just a little past her coochie. “Stop… please. He was leaving.”

I toss his ass into the grass and grab her nightgown, pulling her to me. I kiss her. “Stop fucking playing with me, Zariyanna.” I reach down and grab her ass. I spank it.