Chapter 14
Layloni
Iwoke up out of my peaceful sleep to loud banging on my door. Groaning, I rubbed the crust from the corners of my eyes and grabbed my phone from the nightstand. The screen lit up my dim bedroom.
Three in the afternoon. My stomach dropped. Rellianah and I had our spa day set for one.
The next thing I noticed was the string of missed calls lighting up my screen… all from her.
I sighed softly, pushed the covers off and slid out of bed. The cool air hit my bare legs as I grabbed my robe and wrapped it around myself. My body stretched naturally, arms reaching high above my head until my spine popped in the most satisfying way.
I knew she was about to chew my ass out. So I braced myself before opening the door.
The second I cracked it open, I was greeted by two large men in suits. They immediately stepped inside without saying a word, sweeping past me to search my apartment like it was standard procedure.
I stepped aside, already used to Rellianah’s extra out lifestyle. Behind them stood the third guard, blocking her path like a damn wall.
She stood there with her arms crossed over her huge breasts, tapping her foot impatiently. Even annoyed, she looked stunning. Her bright yellow summer dress hugged her curves perfectly, and the copper brown highlights in her waist-length hair shimmered in the afternoon sunlight.
She mumbled something slick under her breath before smacking her lips and cocking her head to the side.
“Can you move, Kyle?” she snapped.
Her guard barely shifted. His pale hands rested on his hips near the gun strapped there.
“This is why I miss Cease and Khaos,” she spat louder. “Cream got y’all muthafuckas doing too damn much. Acting like y’all the Secret Service around this bitch.”
She tried to step around him. Kyle immediately threw his arm out, blocking her. Her hand came down hard, slapping his away. The moment it did, her ocean-blue eyes darkened into a stormy gray.
She was pissed.
I noticed that the first time we met at my salon. Whenever her eyes turned gray like that, somebody had pushed her too far.
“I—I’m sorry, boss lady,” Kyle stammered. “Cream said he would kill me if anything happened to you.”
The poor white man looked terrified of her tiny self. The whole scene had me fighting a laugh.
“Kyle,” she said coldly, “go wait in the car.”
He hesitated.
Her voice dropped lower.
“Next time you go against my orders… I will kill you myself.”
A chill ran straight up my spine. It wasn’t what she said. It was how calmly she said it.
I believed her.
Everything about Rellianah carried quiet power. She didn’t have to prove it. It was just there, hanging in the air around her like invisible weight.
She was beautiful and sweet on the surface. But behind those eyes… something darker rested. She watched her men file out the door, then sighed, finally stepped fully inside my apartment. She looked at me and scrunched up her face.
“Bitch, you smell like dick.”
I burst out laughing.
“Go clean your ass and then tell me everything,” she continued, pointing at me dramatically. “Since you made us miss our appointment, you’re making it up to me today. This is my only free day without my husband or kids and I’m taking full advantage.”
I understood exactly what she meant. Her life moved faster than an average person. Between her businesses, her dance academy, being a wife, and being a full-time mother, I honestly didn’t know how she balanced it all. She admitted sometimes it overwhelmed her, but she loved her life now.
The only thing she kept from her old life were her closest associates… and the bodyguards. When I asked her why she still kept them, she simply said there would always be someone out there who wanted her dead.
Even though she didn’t live that lifestyle anymore. She wasn’t a celebrity, but people treated her like one. The Shade Room posted her constantly. Pictures of her with her family, clips from her dance academy, photos of her husband’s elementary school that sat right in the heart of Watts.
Rellianah and Cream were a powerhouse couple. They weren’t picture perfect but they adored each other. Watching them sometimes made my chest ache in a quiet way. Because someday… I wanted something like that too.
I stood under the hot spray of my shower, my thoughts drifted back to King.
The moment his face crossed my mind, heat pooled low in my stomach.
My thighs squeezed slightly. My pussy throbbed.
King was dangerous in every sense. He sexed me so good that it had lingering affects.
King was the type of man women warned each other about.
Fine as hell, paid, confident, and capable of snapping his fingers and having any woman he wanted.
Which meant I needed to keep my head on straight.
I was grateful Rellianah was here. Because I needed advice. I wasn’t seasoned when it came to men. My first relationship proved that painfully clear. King was only the second man I had ever slept with. It felt like I was already catching feelings I had no business catching.
Last night during our second round, I almost screamed something that would have embarrassed the hell out of me. King’s dick was so good it had my brain trying to convince me I loved him.
I even felt a strong urge to grab my phone and text him a bunch of kissy faces and heart emojis.
Reality slapped me hard in the face before I could make a fool of myself and act clingy.
King had already told me exactly who he was. He had other women, and had no problem admitting that. The only thing he demanded was that I didn’t deal with other men.
I had no plans on sleeping with other guys just because he did.
But Monty? Monty’s fine ass was staying exactly where he was.
My friend.
King wasn’t stopping anything in my life.
By the time I stepped out of the shower, my mind felt clearer. I just needed to keep King out of it. He probably wouldn’t even contact me for days anyway.
Once I was dressed, I walked back into my living room. I found Rellianah sprawled on my couch with a glass of cognac in one hand and a blunt hanging from her glossy lips.
She looked me up and down knowingly.
“You got some dope dick. I already know,” she said casually. “So spare me the details.”
She took another drag from the blunt before passing it to me.
“I will say this… you done fucked up, chile.”
I coughed hard after my first hit, the weed was strong as hell. Rellianah chuckled her eyes sat low already high from the potent trees.
“You should’ve just made the nigga give you head only,” she said, shaking her head. “Ain’t nothing wrong with a nigga giving you brain and then excusing himself. Cause once a big dick nigga introduces his dick to the conversation, shit gets all conflicted.” She leaned back, and laughed softly.
“You ain’t like me though. Back in my day I was a boss, mixed with a lot of bit of hoe.” She shrugged.
Her eyes sparkled with amusement as she reflected.
“I had money. And money is power. That power had me feeling like I was God.” She smirked cockily.
“I used to have several niggas on me at once, tending to every limb on my body.” She boasted.
I stared at her in disbelief waiting for her to tell me it was just a joke.
“You play too much.” I chuckled.
“Bitch, I ain’t playing at all.” She teased with a smirk.
“I had a nigga on each foot massaging and sucking each one of my toes. Niggas massaging my hands… I love my nipples being sucked so I had a nigga for that too… The cherry on top for me was the nigga between my thick thighs giving me head.”
I sat befuddled trying to imagine all of these men on Rellianah at once. She was the definition of paying the cost to be a boss.
“And I was married at the time,” she added casually, before taking a sip of her cognac.
“I practically owned that husband at the time. Gave him a platform to model and in return he fucked my sister.” She scoffed.
“He could have fucked anyone and I wouldn’t have cared but he did it with my sister.
Still…” She cleared her throat. “It didn’t affect me much, cause I thought like a nigga back then. ” Her expression softened slightly.
“Cream keeps that side of me in check now. I have no problem submitting and being soft with him because its what we both deserve.” She looked at me seriously.
“I’m not telling you to live like I did. Our lives are different. I was born spoiled and rich.” She paused.
“But we share one thing… mothers that didn’t know how to love us right.” Her voice lowered.
“That kind of hurt can turn you into somebody you don’t recognize if you let it. That’s why I like you, Layloni. Even with everything your mom did to you, you still love her.”
I nodded quietly. Our talks always went deep like this. It felt like therapy.
“Did you ever forgive your sister for sleeping with your first husband?” I asked.
“I forgive her now since the bitch is dead.” She spat out coldly.
The energy in the room shifted, suddenly I wanted to change the subject. I made a mental note not to ever cross Rellianah. Killing people seemed to be her answer to everything, family included.
“King told me not to talk to Monty anymore,” I redirected our conversation.
She choked immediately on the blunt.
“Girl don’t tell me that shit!” She burst into laughter.
“That brings back memories! Cream tried the same shit! Let me tell you how to handle a nigga like King!”
And just like that… another wild Rellianah story began.