AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Get off my phone, boy. I’ll be there in about thirty minutes.”
“A’ight, bet.”
As I reversed out of my garage and driveway, I increased the volume on the Maxwell song that began to play when my Bluetooth connected to the car. On the drive, I took the time to think about everything I’d have to do at work during the upcoming week. My weekends were getting shorter and shorter. Now that I’d shifted from criminal law to civil, corporate, and class action lawsuits, my spirit wasn’t as heavy, but my days were even longer. My true passion was class action lawsuits, but the firm I worked at—Hunter, Phoenix, Genesis, and Prime—didn’t have enough history with them for me to have several cases and clients like I did when I did criminal law.
I ended up having to release 80 percent of the clients I had on retainer, keeping only those with businesses or assets they wanted my help to protect. The financial loss wasn’t a big deal to me for two reasons—I would make more with class action suits and civil law, and I had enough money saved and rolling in from my salon suites to not have to ever worry about money. Unlike the typical salon suites, mine wasn’t just for hairstylists. I had small suites set up for barbers, estheticians, nail technicians, and masseuses.
My goal was to open three more locations here in Memphis before branching out into other cities. Because I had a commercial property manager and accountant, all I had to do was check in monthly, do a walkthrough of the suites bimonthly, and collect my funds.
The ease of owning the salon suites building gave me more time to do what I was truly passionate about, and now that I’d unburdened myself with criminal law, I could spend that time feeling as if I was making a difference in a more positive, purposeful, and impactful way.
By the time I pulled into the parking lot of L.O.V.E my mind was free and clear of thoughts of work. L.O.V.E wasn’t really my type of vibe, but my cousins loved it, so Promise and I often met them here on Mondays or Thursdays. Since it was later in the evening when I arrived, there wasn’t a long line to get inside. I scanned the dimly lit lounge for my people, head bobbing to the song the live band was playing and singing. Tony’s arms lifted as he grinned at me, and though I mirrored the gesture, I was filled with dread as I headed in their direction.
The multicolored lights blinked as I walked across the white and black tile floor. Bodies were huddled around the stage as bottle girls made their way through the crowd, holding bottles that sparkled and caused the waiting table of women to cheer.
“Aye, cuz, what took you so long to get here?” Tony asked as I stood in front of their black booth. The table was covered with shot glasses and half-empty plates of food. His breath reeked of vodka, and I could assume most of the empty glasses were because of him.
All four of them stood, giving me handshakes as I tried to gauge Tony’s level of inebriation. I loved my cousin, but I hated going out with him. If Promise would have told me he was here, I probably wouldn’t have come. I was under the impression Tony had to work tonight, but it was just like him to give an excuse so he could come out to party.
I enjoyed partying and having a good time with my people, but I preferred to do it within the comfort and safety of our own homes. Because I was who I was and the prestigious firm that I worked for, I couldn’t afford any negative press. Tony was a wild card. Depending on how much he had to drink, the alcohol would either have him ready to fight or extremely loving and affectionate toward his woman. And seeing as Shanice wasn’t here, I could only hope he’d be leaving soon to go find her.
“I had some business to handle,” I answered finally. “You good?”
“Of course, baby. We gotta take shots, though, now that you’re here.”
I had to keep my eyes from rolling toward the ceiling as I groaned.
“Aye, man, you don’ had enough,” Steve said, and I was grateful he was trying to keep Tony in check. Matt wouldn’t because he found Tony’s drinking to be amusing, and Promise had always been the kind of person to go with the flow.
Sucking his teeth, Tony gave Steve a dismissive wave of his hand. “Mane, fuck all’at. My cousin here, so we ’bout to take a shot.”
Tony stepped out of the booth, stumbling over his own feet in the process. With a shake of my head, I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check the time. Already, I wanted to go home.
“Why y’all let that mane get drunk this early into the night?” I asked, looking at them one by one.
“You know he don’t listen when it comes to this liquor,” Promise replied.
That was true.
We made small talk until Tony returned to the table, holding two shots. A smiling waitress stood behind him with two more. I took them from her and handed one to Promise. After a quick toast, we all took the shots back, and only a few seconds passed before the warmth of the brown liquor caused my nerves to relax. It was Jack Daniels, which wasn’t my liquor of choice, but I would stick to it for the evening to avoid messing my stomach up. I was concerned about Tony switching from clear to brown, but I didn’t voice my concerns to avoid hearing his mouth.
There wasn’t too much space in the booth, and I started to ask them how they even ended up in one. Instead, I let them know I would be at the bar to start my own tab. Promise followed behind, which didn’t surprise me. As we settled at the bar, he asked me about my day and if I’d talked to either of our parents. I hadn’t, which was unusual. I usually called one or both of them on my way home from work, but I was so ready to get home and chill that it slipped my mind.
Conversation fell silent as we indulged in drinks and the band. I ordered wings with greens and mac and cheese, asking the bartender to make my order to go. Something in my spirit told me I wouldn’t be here for long. When the sound of shouting drowned out the band, I didn’t have to turn around to look and see who it was.
My body hardened as I sighed and turned to find Tony hovering over a man in a heated discussion. The man was clutching a woman’s arm tightly, and I could only assume Tony had tried to step to her.
“Here he go,” Promise grumbled, standing to his feet.
“Let Steve and Matt handle it.”
Promise’s head shook as he headed in their direction, forcing me to do the same. Before we could make it over there fully, the man had swung on Tony, and all hell broke loose. My cousins were on him in half a second, and Promise wasn’t too far behind. His friends must have been watching the encounter because four other men came out of nowhere. It didn’t matter. My cousins were thoroughbreds. As much as I didn’t want to get involved, I had to. There was no way in hell they’d let me live it down if I didn’t.
I pulled a man out of the brawl and landed two punches before lifting Tony off someone else by the back of his shirt. As I yelled for them to leave, security headed in our direction. I couldn’t afford to get arrested or even be on video displaying this kind of behavior. As frustrated as I was, I remained silent as I charged out of the lounge. It wouldn’t have done me any good to express my anger toward Tony, but I couldn’t stop myself from gripping his collar and using it to slam him into his car.
“What the fuck is wrong with you, cuz? Do you not realize we grown ass men now with families and jobs we can’t afford to lose? Your ass needs to tighten the fuck up before I stop dealing with you altogether.” As I released him, I turned toward Steve and told him, “Drive his car. I will take him home in mine.” I made sure to look into Tony’s eyes when I told him, “I swear to God if you throw up in my shit, not only are you going to clean it with your toothbrush, but I’m going to beat your ass in it.”
Promise and Matt tried to hold back their laughs as Steve took Tony’s keys from him. I didn’t realize how much I was frowning until Promise tapped the center of my forehead three times like he’d been doing since we were kids. No matter how upset I was, when my older brother did that, my entire body would relax.
