Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
Indiri
When we pulled up to Selah’s car, I got out to walk her over to it. Before she could get in, I tugged her back. She had given me her number in the car, so there was nothing else I needed to say to her, but still, I wanted her attention.
“I ain’t gonna see you crying in random places anymore, am I?”
A small smile filled her features. “No, you won’t.”
“Good. Call me and let me know you made it in.” I kissed her forehead before letting her go.
Ever since I’d met this woman, I was concerned about her wellbeing.
It was strange because usually I stayed away from folks with baggage, but here I didn’t.
I couldn’t help but approach her in the store when I saw her, considering she’d dipped on me that morning at The Oak.
I understood why though, so I didn’t ask her about it.
I didn’t even bring it up. I let the vibe be the vibe and went with the flow, letting her talk.
Well, we both talked but I looked to hear her voice.
“Yo, I can’t wait to tell Jordyn ’bout this shit,” Bigs said from the front seat as we watched her pull off.
“Big mouthed ass.” I laughed seconds before my phone began to ring.
I glanced down at the screen and saw it was Remy calling.
“Yo,” I answered, half expecting him to be in my business.
“You might have a fight on the horizon. I’ve been saying this for a few weeks, but word around town is ol’ boy has no choice but to challenge you and they let his people know that. From what I hear, they were given a deadline to make that call too.”
“Straight up?” I asked.
“Yup. Seeing as how a call will be coming through any day now, I already called your uncle and everybody. I hope you’ve rested because training starts tomorrow.”
“Damn. No extra time?”
He chuckled. “I was gonna give you the rest of the week, but Big Joe vetoed that shit. He said you already have some foreseen days off with your brother’s wedding and that trip.”
I laughed. My father’s brother lived on the city line between Briar and Chicago for most of the year, but by him being my head coach amongst other things, he moved to wherever I was during training time.
I was usually here, but last year I trained in Chicago and he cursed my ass out the entire time.
He hated the city, claiming there was too much going on every time he looked up.
I always laughed because Briar was the same way, but Unc lived on the border of each city in an area that could be seen as a rural space.
“Where are you coming from anyway?” Remy asked, on some nosy shit as always.
“Minding mine.”
He chuckled. “Must’ve been a woman. You know you’re on that fake secretive shit.”
I laughed, not even offering a response. If it wasn’t him, it was his sister. Shit, lowkey it was Bigs’s ass too. The nigga was their eyes and ears.
“Yeah, that’s it right there. But I’ma let you keep that. I’ll be on your line in the morning. You know the normal motion. Stay up, champ.”
When he and I got off the phone, I closed my eyes and sat back in my seat. I was lowkey tired as hell and hadn’t done anything today besides workout and pick up small things I needed for the house. All of that was before I saw Selah.
My phone was vibrating again, prompting me to lift it and stare at the screen. Of course it was Jordyn. She didn’t close her eyes unless she knew my business.
“Yo,” I answered on speaker, holding it close to my ear.
“Watertown, Indiri, really?”
“How did you know that?”
“Because I’m all knowing. Who is she?” she asked about fifteen seconds later.
“Fuck outta here. Y’all got Bigs out here spying on me?” I sat up and looked at Bigs.
He had his eyes on the road but his hands up in surrender. “Wasn’t me, Indi. I planned on it, but that shit right there was super-fast.”
“Nah. You’re on that hoe’s blog. Well known boxer creeping in Watertown. Indiri Jones spotted going up to the rooftop with a mystery woman. Security sat in front of the door the entire night.”
I laughed. “Pictures?”
“Hell nah. You know Rhune doesn’t play with phones in his establishment,” she countered, which also had me laughing.
“Now what the hell were you doing on the blogs at this time of night?”
“Not me, Journee. She literally has notifications on for any time Rocket’s, Orlo’s, or your name’s mentioned in the media. Now can you please tell me who she is, so I can tell my sister-in-law to calm the fuck down?”
“Nope. I was minding mine and you already know who she is.”
“Wait, she’s the gir—”
I hung up before she could finish. I was done answering questions for the night and knew for a fact she’d be cursing my ass out in the morning. I also had no intention of answering questions about a woman I still knew very little about.
The call for the challenge would be last minute.
From what I heard, they’d given ol’ boy two months and that shit was slowly but surely winding down.
As a matter of fact, it had been a full month and a half and his camp had been dead silent.
That was unlike them, given all they did was talk shit and barely win fights.
I paid attention, because in order to master any man you had to know how he reacted under pressure or when he was backed into a corner.
That nigga Knockout was corny and a bitch.
The whole time he was in the ring, he ran to tire out the other fighter and desperately looked for that one shot.
He had one hell of a jab, but that was all he had.
“Yo, you with me or you have cold feet?” Reminisce’s voice made me blink out of my thoughts and focus on him standing in front of the mirror buttoning his shirt.
“What am I gonna have cold feet for? You’re already a married man. This right here is to appease your wife’s mama and Jade.”
He laughed. “I can always leave it to you to keep it honest, huh?”
I grinned. “Yup.” It was funny how having the awkward “who is your daddy conversation” with Reminisce had made us closer. I’d never felt unclose, but the formation of this bond was different.
The music came on in the distance, and he looked up at the ceiling as G entered the room.
“’Bout that time and I ain’t tryna hear Jade talking shit,” he muttered, now holding the door.
I looked at Rem who was now putting the last piece of his tux on. He exited the room a second later and so did I. Rennix was already standing near the entrance, holding his bad ass toddler and talking shit.
Before I could say anything to him, Jade gave us niggas the evil eye.
“What are we standing around for? It’s just like we practiced.” She then looped her arm into mine and we stepped behind Rennix and Caya.
I never thought this would be where we ended up. Never thought I’d be standing here watching my brother marry the woman who’d slowed him all the way down. Considering the motion Reminisce was on, that was a good thing.
With my arm looped in Jade’s, we walked down the aisle slowly, then parted at the front.
I stepped behind Rennix and turned to watch G walk down with Beyah.
After them were a few others, then finally the flower girls.
Karim’s niece walked down the aisle holding the small flower basket with Romance on the other side also holding one.
They tossed flowers on both sides, giggling until they reached Rim’s mama who ushered them both into seats next to her before they reached us.
Once they were finished, the lights brightened and the music lowered on cue as the bride was next.
I knew that much from the extensive rehearsals Jade made us all go through.
Sis wasn’t going for the half ass, she wanted everything done right… her and Reminisce.
With her face shielded by the sheer material, Karim’s arm was looped into her brother’s as they slowly moved up the decorated aisle.
Jade had done her thing with this wedding, with Reminisce’s picky ass.
For somebody who went to the courthouse, his stupid ass complained about everything every stop of the way.
He kept saying he wanted to give his wife the wedding she deserved while Karim was cool as fuck and laid back, only doing this for her moms. Rem was the bridezilla and we all knew it.
When Karim and Aroyal finally reached the front, Aroyal lifted his sister’s veil and kissed her forehead before whispering something into her ear.
She giggled, then her eyes went to Reminisce who stepped down to accept her hand.
Aroyal leaned over and said something in his ear as well, also earning a chuckle, before he took a seat next to his wife and children. I just knew he said some menacing shit.
Reminisce held Karim's hand as they stood in front of an older woman dressed in an off-white suit with a wide smile.
It was wild how the love emitted off of them, the way all of us witnessed a moment that only happened in movies. Love was love, and even though I wasn’t looking for it, everybody craved the type in this room right now.
“Does anyone object to the union of these two beautiful souls?” the officiant asked, her voice pulling me out of my thoughts right before laughter ensued across the room.
Because of course Reminisce had let go of Karim’s hand and was currently holding his hand up, shaped like a pistol and pointing to it with his other, looking around the room.
He was a fool and he knew it.
The wedding went on after nobody was stupid enough to even attempt to disrupt anything.
Within five minutes, everyone was on their feet and the officiant was announcing the union of Mr. and Mrs. Blac, as if they weren’t already married.
This moment was beautiful though, even though I had every intention of talking shit about all the promises he sat his ass up there and professed.
He had been up there making all the promises in the world for at least thirty-five seconds.