Chapter 7
Xai
It’s been five days since my wisdom teeth were removed and I finally feel normal.
That fucking stabbing shit is gone. I’m still following the doctor’s instructions and eating soft foods, but as soon as he checks me tomorrow and says I can eat, I’m taking my ass to Diablos Steakhouse for some real ass food to celebrate. For now, I’m settling for a drink.
Rick and I are at Black Diamonds nightclub.
It’s Tuesday night and there’s actually a decent crowd.
My usual spot is McCall’s but I’m not trying to run into Narissa tonight and kill my vibe.
Besides, Black Diamonds and McCall’s are two different clubs.
I’m feeling the fuck out of myself tonight and this all-black, plush VIP lounge matches my energy.
I popped my shit this evening.
Two hours ago, I officially became the owner of my second Clean Ridez. My offer was accepted and I signed a stack of what felt like a hundred documents to secure my new property and keys. My business just expanded and I have successfully made my future even more secure.
“Congrats again, bruh,” Rick says before sipping from his glass of yak.
“Preciate it,” I tell him before finishing my bourbon.
“Shit feels good as fuck. Never even imagined having one location, let alone two. You know how shit was for me growing up. Hustling was the only thing I knew to do to take care of Kadean and my moms. This business shit was you, not me,” I tell him.
“You hustling now. Hell, so am I. The difference is now you can’t get locked for making money.”
“Real shit. You right. The grind don’t stop when you’re hungry and I’m never full,” I tell him, then wave our server over.
“Would you like another bottle?” she asks as soon as she reaches our table.
“No. Just a glass of Black Barrel bourbon,” I tell her then look at Rick. “You good?” I ask and he shakes his head. “That’s it,” I tell her and she smiles before walking off.
“What time is your appointment tomorrow?” Rick asks.
“Eleven.”
“You gon’ be straight?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” I question.
“Ol’ girl,” he says with a smug ass look. “That medicine had you saying some wild shit to her,” he says, then chuckles.
He’s been riding me about Adora since he’d picked me up from the dentist. I don’t remember half the shit he says I said but I don’t care either. Whatever I said, I clearly meant it. Adora is beautiful and she had my ass speechless before any of the drugs or IV.
“I stand on it. Shit. You saw her,” I say and he nods.
“I definitely did and she’s pretty as fuck,” he says with almost too much admiration.
Seeing Adora in person hit different. Listening to her voice messages connected me to her, but there was still a wall, a distance between us. I didn’t know her and she definitely didn’t know me.
Because I knew the chances of us ever meeting were slim, I convinced myself it was cool, somehow okay, for me to listen to her.
However, the moment I saw her and was in her space, I knew I couldn’t listen anymore.
I couldn’t listen to her private thoughts and vulnerable moments.
She’s indeed real. A beautiful woman whose private thoughts I want to be part of.
I want her and whatever I may have said was probably just the beginning.
Tomorrow, I’m going to step to her and shoot my damn shot.
“I’m not worried about shit tomorrow,” I assure him and he shakes his head. He finishes his drink right as our server returns with mine. “After this drink, I’m out. I want to head back to the spot in the morning before my appointment.”
“When are you planning to open?”
“Shit, hopefully the first of June. That gives me almost four months. I can make that happen.”
“You gon’ let Kadean run this one?” Rick knows all about my brother and his fuckups I’m always cleaning up.
“If shit was like I wanted, I would and you know it. In the perfect world, he and I would be running Clean Ridez together,” I tell him.
Long before I became Kadean’s legal guardian, I was taking care of him. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t. He just can’t get himself together long enough to handle or be responsible for anything.
“Miracles happen. Maybe seeing the second spot will motivate him,” Rick says.
I don’t say anything because I don’t have a response.
All I want is something or someone to motivate him because it clearly isn’t me.
In his eyes, I do for him because I owe him, not because I love and want the best for him.
Reaching a middle ground over something that happened eleven years ago is the only miracle I even think about.
After gulping my drink down, I finally say something. “Maybe. You ready?”
“Yeah. We can bounce,” he says.
I look around the section and don’t spot our server. I stand to head to the closest bar. As soon as I do, our server appears and rushes toward me.
“Do you need anything else?” she asks.
“Just to close my tab,” I tell her. With a smile, she pulls her handheld out, pulls up my tab, then hands it to me. I tap it with my phone to pay the bill and tip her. When I hand it back, she glances down at the screen then smiles. “Thank you. Have a good night.”
Rick stands and we take the elevator down to the main floor. Although VIP includes valet, we both bypassed it. After dapping, we part and head to our rides. On the way to the crib, I take a little detour and ride past my new location.
I really did that shit.
Since I want to stop by my new location before my appointment, I set my alarm for six-thirty. To my surprise, when I make it downstairs, I see Kadean isn’t in my guest room, the door is open, and he even made the bed.
His ass never gets up this early. Maybe he’s trying to make up for barely working last week. My thoughts make me smile, and as I walk down my hall and smell bacon, I smile even harder. He’s really up for work.
As soon as I enter the kitchen though, my smile drops. There’s no Kadean but some half-naked chick is in front of my damn stove cooking. A small shirt hangs off one shoulder and her ass is eating a pair of lace panties. The fuck.
“Ay. Where’s Kadean?” I ask and startle her. She drops the spatula in her hand on the floor.
“Shit!” she yelps, then laughs nervously. After picking up the spatula and placing it on the counter, she exhales and laughs again. “His brother, right?”
“The homeowner,” I clarify. “Where’s Kadean and who are you?”
“I’m Vontrice,” she says, smiling. She makes no attempts to cover herself either. “He left to get pork bacon and syrup. You don’t have any and he wanted pancakes,” she says matter of factly.
I don’t know this girl at all. Hell, I didn’t even know she was even in my damn house—let alone half-naked in my kitchen—but she’s acting as if we are old friends and she comes here all the damn time.
“You need to go put clothes on,” I tell her and she squints. Then her hands start to pull at her shirt.
“My bad,” she utters before rushing out of the kitchen. As soon as she’s out, I step to the stove and turn the two burners off. Then I hit Kadean. He doesn’t answer, so I open the door to my garage and walk inside. His motorcycle is gone.
“Fuck!” I utter as I shake my head. He’s not going to learn until they lock his dumb ass up.
I raise the garage door and there’s a white car in my driveway. Obviously, she has a car. A person trying to change would have let her go to the damn store, but unfortunately, that person isn’t my brother.
I leave the garage open then step back into my kitchen. She’s back and dressed in a tight ass dress. When our eyes meet, she flashes a wry smile then steps toward the stove. She looks at the two pans then at me.
The roar of Kadean’s motorcycle shifts both of our attention to the door and I step back over there. I open it and watch Kadean take off his helmet.
Real shit, I have no energy to repeat myself, and even if I did, I’m tired of doing so.
He doesn’t listen to me anyway. This shit right here proves it.
When he stops and stares for me to say something about him driving, I don’t.
I just step out, walk right past him, and slide into my Charger because her white car is blocking my truck.
He stares at me the entire time and is still looking when I back out.
I refuse to let him ruin my morning. I’m still going to my new location and shooting my shot at Adora at the dentist. To tune out my guilt and worry, I tune into the morning show, Beauty and the Beats, and let DJ Beauty drown out my thoughts and reset my mood.
Thirty minutes later, I’m pulling into the lot, my high-visibility, one and nearly a quarter acre lot.
This location is almost twice the size of my current one and the area is prime.
We are about two miles from the mountain and have enough space for six service bays instead of the three we currently have.
Construction of the service bays for hand washing will be easy and so will the addition of the automatic wash.
The biggest issue and time constraint will be the building itself.
It used to be a small burger drive-thru.
There’s more kitchen than office space. The redesign will definitely take about three months.
I spend about two hours here, walking the property, taking pictures, and mapping out the actual setup and next steps in my mind. Then I send an email to Powers Construction. They handled the buildout for my first location. Hopefully, we can schedule a walkthrough this week.
My stomach is growling like a bitch but I don’t want no smoothie or any soft shit. The next thing I eat is going to be solid, hearty, and good as hell. I drive to the dental office on an empty stomach and pray he says I can eat good food today.