Chapter 2
“Aye, Trap just got here,” Tyrell told me from the breakroom entrance. I was sitting on the couch finishing my braised wings and house-fried rice. It was much needed because I was starving. I knew better than to skip lunch, but we had a full house as niggas got ready for their weekend festivities.
It was officially spring, so things were starting to heat up socially in the city. All the people who were in hibernation for the winter were ready to pop back out. Using the back of my hand to wipe my mouth, I nodded. “Okay, cool. Tell him I’ll be out in a minute.”
I needed to gather myself. I didn’t necessarily dislike Trap, but he was always trying to cross the line between client and service provider.
No matter how many times I’d told him I wasn’t interested, he wouldn’t ease up.
I prayed that today, he would be too occupied on his phone to be bothered by my presence. Those appointments were my favorite.
Standing with a sigh, I grabbed my can of ginger ale from the coffee table and downed the rest of it. I tossed all my trash in the garbage can, then headed to the sink to wash my hands. After a few deep breaths, I made my way to the front of the shop.
“Ooh wee, you wearing that dress for me, baby?” Trap asked as soon as his eyes landed on me. I frowned because I instantly knew what that meant. This would be one of those days when I debated whether I should continue servicing him.
I nodded toward my chair. “You ready?” I asked, keeping my tone even and professional.
He hopped up quickly and made it over to my booth in a few strides. After he took a seat, I tied my barbering cape around him and got ready to start.
“What would you like me to do today?” I asked for clarity. His hair hadn’t grown back too much, so I had a feeling he was here, literally, to terrorize me.
“Just clean me up, baby girl.” He licked his lips salaciously as he eyed me in the mirror. I ignored his predatory gaze and reached for my clippers. I said a silent prayer for strength, then turned them on.
Most of the haircut went off without a hitch, until it was time for me to clean up his goatee, which required me to stand in front of him. He opened his legs suggestively, and the moment I bent down in front of him, his voice made the hair on my arms stand up.
“You so fucking pretty, and you always smell so damn good.” He tucked his bottom lip and smirked. “I wanna kiss those big, juicy lips. You gon’ let me?”
“Fuck no. Listen, just be quiet, and let me finish so you can go.”
He chuckled. “I’m not in no rush, baby girl. How many more clients you got today? You wanna go get some food after this?”
I stood up and planted a hand on my hip. “I already ate,” I told him with a straight face. “And respectfully, I am not interested. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you this. Now, can you please just let me do my job?”
He shook his head. “Nah, I don’t want the haircut. I want you. You keep having to tell me because I don’t believe you. I know you want me too.”
I turned the clippers off and set them down with a shake of my head. “Well, having me isn’t an option, so enjoy the rest of your day. I can’t help you.”
I began untying my apron and laid it on the back of the empty booth chair beside me.
“That dress is hugging every curve in the right places.”
My stomach dropped, and I felt sick. I looked to my coworkers, who were also here, to see if they would defend me, but neither of them batted an eye.
They stayed focused on their clients like they couldn’t hear me experiencing verbal sexual assault.
I understood Trap was the owner’s brother, but it didn’t give him the right to constantly harass me.
I was officially fed up with it. His tips weren’t even worth the headache.
I began to walk away, completely done with cutting his hair, when I felt a sting from him slapping my ass. “Aye, get back over here and finish my haircut, woman,” he joked, causing an uproar of laughter in the barbershop.
I immediately saw red. I couldn’t believe so many men would be willing to sit around and watch this take place.
Since it was clear I would have to take matters into my own hands, I hauled off and punched him right in the mouth.
“Ain’t shit funny now, huh?” I asked before continuing to rain punches on him.
Eventually, he got tired of my assault and actually began to fight me back.
He had my silky Peruvian bundles balled up in his fist as he yanked me around like a damn rag doll.
When he got tired of that, he wrapped his hand around my throat.
“I knew you liked it rough,” he whispered in my ear seconds before he was snatched away from me.
All I saw was a towering man with his dukes up. He didn’t say shit before he started whupping Trap’s ass. He was tossing him around like he weighed nothing because my protector was twice his size. I saw the blood dripping onto Trap’s shirt and felt no remorse.
“You like to beat on women, huh? Let me show what it feels like to be someone’s bitch.”
Suddenly, my coworkers had the sense to break the fight up. “Aye, you got to get out of here with that,” Tyrell said.
The man snatched away. “Don’t fucking touch me. You niggas is pussy, sitting here watching this man overpower a woman. Is this really what the fucking world has come to? I’m disappointed.”
“She hit him first!” Darwin yelled out.
“Because he slapped me on the ass!” I screamed in defense.
My protector shook his head and picked Trap up by his shirt and drug him to the door before he tossed him out of it and onto the sidewalk.
Trap was so fucked up all he could do was lie there, moaning and groaning on the hot concrete.
It was something so sexy about seeing a man lift over two hundred pounds so effortlessly.
I could only imagine what he could do with my little buck-fifty worth of body fat.
My protector then turned his attention to me, and I lost all the breath in my lungs when I realized I knew exactly who’d come to my rescue.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. Even though I hadn’t seen him since we graduated high school, I would never forget Perfect fucking Porter, .
. . my high-school crush. Last I’d heard, he was locked up for murder, yet he stood before me like a raging bull.
With his fists clenched at his sides, all the muscles in his arms bulged and pulsed, momentarily making me forget what was going on.
“Are you okay?” he asked, closing the distance between us.
He reached a hand down to help me off the floor. I felt an electric shock race down my arm when he yanked me up. I sucked in a sharp breath from the sensation, and he thought it meant I was hurt. He started checking me for wounds, and I thought it was the most adorable thing.
“I’m fine, Perfect,” I assured him with a chuckle.
His assessment stopped only because he lifted his intense, brown eyes to my face. I saw him studying me before it dawned on him. “El?”
I tucked my bottom lip and nodded. He was always the only person to call me that.
Everyone else usually called me Rock, Rocky, or something along those lines, but Perfect, .
. . he always called me El. I felt butterflies in the pit of my stomach, and I couldn’t be convinced that I wasn’t a teenaged girl all over again, looking up at her biology lab partner.
“Damn, I haven’t seen you in forever,” he whispered.
“What the fuck you in here doing fighting? I oughta go out there and beat that nigga again for touching my sweet little Princess. Nooo, man, you’re not supposed to be a fighter.
I remember when you wouldn’t even dissect a dead frog because you were afraid of hurting it. ”
I shook my head and sighed. It took everything in me to ignore how giddy his referring to me as his sweet little princess made me. “Well, life has a way of hardening even the softest people. And like I said, he kept crossing a line that I was very clear about.”
He ran a hand down his face. “Damn. I hate a nigga who can’t control himself around a beautiful woman. You deserve better than that.”
“Yeah, well, unfortunately for me, he’s the owner’s brother, so I’ve had to put up with his advances.”
Perfect flexed his hand, and I nearly melted seeing how massive they were.
My gaze traveled to every inch of his six-seven and three-hundred-plus-pound frame.
His skin was still the same soft brown that I remembered, and his almond-shaped, brown eyes were as serious as ever.
A slender nose centered his structured face, and a strong jawline added to his attractiveness.
Even though he was frowning, something made me inch closer to him.
I couldn’t tell you how many times I’d dreamt of those round, berry-colored lips of his as a young girl.
All the hair on his face and head was wild and untamed, making him appear even bigger.
“You shouldn’t have to,” he replied, deepening his frown.
I shrugged. “Welcome to the real world, where since there’s no HR, I have to put up with bullshit.” I ran a hand down my face and moved toward my station. “What brings you here?”
He smiled, and it softened all of his features. “Need a line-up and some braids. Can you handle that for me?”
I nodded with an equally kind and genuine smile. “Yeah, I can help you with that. You’re probably going to be my last client here anyway, and you deserve it.”
I pointed to my chair, and he took a seat. I paused to gather my nerves before running my fingers through his hair. It was thick, full, and long enough to touch his back. “You have beautiful hair,” I complimented him.
“’Preciate it.”
“Have you washed it yet?” He shook his head.
I nodded, knowing to start with a wash first. While I was at the bowl getting the water ready, I felt the heat of his gaze on me.
I tried to keep it together, but how could I when he looked so delicious?
And honestly, I was in a damn drought. Him even being in my personal bubble was dangerous territory.
Once the water was ready, I walked him over to the bowl and laughed at how uncomfortable his big ass looked in the chair.
It seemed like his legs stretched on for forever in front of him.
“So, where have you been?” I questioned him to fill the silence. “I haven’t seen you in forever.”
“Prison,” he replied boldly. “I just got out today. I wanted to get fresh before I go surprise Starlet. She doesn’t know I’m out yet.”
I momentarily froze upon hearing that name. Of course, they were still together. If I was Star, I wouldn’t let his ass go either. But then again, she was stronger than me. I didn’t know if I could’ve held a man in prison down. A woman had needs too.
I mentally gave her kudos, but hearing they were still together did, however, douse my raging hormones with a bucket of much-needed ice water.
He was still taken, despite how many years had passed.
I could only respect that. He was probably going to ask her to marry him now that he was a free man.
Even with his ruggish ways, Perfect exuded lover-boy energy.
I smiled and finally replied. “Aww, that’s so sweet. I know she’s going to be so happy to see you.”
“She better be,” he joked. “I’m going to meet my son for the first time too.”
Again, I paused. Who knew a crush from high school could still have such an effect on me? I hadn’t thought about Perfect in a decade, yet the thought of him with Star made my stomach feel queasy. “I love that for you, Port. Congratulations.”
“Thanks, El. What about you though? Where you been? What’s been up with you? Got any kids?”
I giggled. “Nothing really. Doing the best I can with what I have, but as you can see, I don’t have the best job in the world.”
“Clearly.”
I chuckled, feeling no offense from his remark as he closed his eyes. I thought about his last question and addressed it. “And no kids for me yet.”
“What? I find that hard to believe.”
“And why is that?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Just never seemed like the kind of woman a man would let slip away.”
While there was so much I wanted to say on the topic, I settled for, “You’d be surprised.”
He grunted in response, and I made the mistake of looking down to notice how relaxed he looked.
Star was one lucky woman to have this hunk of a man coming for her.
I could tell he was really looking forward to seeing his family by the sincerity in his voice.
Even when we were younger, Perfect was never the playboy type.
Once he and Star started dating, she became his whole world.
The meaningless flirting we used to do ceased to exist, and I became merely a classmate he was nice to.
Thankfully, I finished up his wash because I didn’t want to wonder why I couldn’t have had a high-school sweetheart.
It was literally every girl’s dream to have a happily ever after with their first love.
But no, here I was at twenty-seven years old, and I’d never even been in a serious relationship.
Good for Star though. She deserved a love like that.
My story was a little different, but I was still hopeful that there was a man out there just for me.
We walked back over to my chair, and I got to work. We talked a little more when I finished blow-drying his hair and started on some stitch braids for him. “What’s your son’s name?”
“Sterling. He’s eight years old today. Star planned him this extravagant Wakanda party.”
He sounded so proud. “You got a way to get there?”
“Yeah, I’ma catch the bus.”
I paused. “Oh, okay. She must live in the city?”
“Nah, she stays out in Macbee.”
I paused my work. “What bus goes all the way out there?”
He shrugged. “I was going to get as close as I could, then walk the rest of the way.”
I shook my head. “Um, no. I’ll just take you when I’m finished. You’re my last client for today.”
He sat up, but I forced him to sit back again. He found my eyes in the mirror, and I was pinned in place. “I can’t ask you to do that, Princess.”
If it weren’t for the fact I knew what I was driving him to, I would’ve allowed myself to get lost in his eyes. I turned my attention back to the braid I was working on.
“You didn’t ask me to. I offered. It’s the least I could do after you had my back when no one else did.”
Port flexed his fists. “Don’t fucking remind me, because it’s been taking everything in me not to go put hands on them pussy ass niggas over there,” he damn near yelled. He wanted them to hear him, and it worked because both Darwin and Tyrell raced toward the back.
I giggled with a shake of my head. “Alright, well, I’m taking you where you have to go, and that’s that.”