Chapter 8
The fact that something so simple had Savio irritated hours later was wild. He thought in prison he had worked tremendously on his patience and anger issues, but apparently, it hadn’t been enough.
When he saw that nigga trying to talk to Cashmere, he damn near lost his mind.
It never even occurred to him that being her bodyguard meant he might have to ward off thirsty niggas.
He wasn’t sure that would be a good thing.
If Twizz hadn’t been there, Savio would have definitely allowed his anger to take the lead.
Now, as he sat down at the dinner table with Cashmere, Twizz, and Ivoree, he wondered why he had been so pissed. It wasn’t a secret that he was feeling Cashmere, but to get that mad? To risk his livelihood? The situation suddenly felt a bit dangerous for him.
Cashmere squirmed in her seat, and Savio realized it was because he had been staring at her in deep thought for several minutes. It surprised him when she spoke because he expected a nasty attitude from her for his staring. Instead, she asked, “You good?”
“Yeah. Why?” His tone was clipped, though he didn’t want it to be. This wasn’t her fault. He thought his attraction to her was a good thing—God giving him what he asked for. He was the one that had been playing with fire and flirting with her. She didn’t ask for any of this shit.
Cashmere shrugged. “You barely touched your food, and you been quiet.”
Savio looked down at his plate of baked ribs, mac and cheese, beans, and cornbread.
Cashmere was right. He had barely eaten.
Not because it wasn’t good. The shit was fire, but that kind of pissed him off.
If Cashmere kept feeding him like this, there would be no turning back.
After what happened at the mall, he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
“My bad. I don’t have much of an appetite, but the shit is good,” he admitted with a softer tone. Twizz chuckled before he shoveled food into his mouth. The nigga was on his second plate of food and showed no signs of slowing up. “Somethin’ funny?”
Savio frowned. He wasn’t in the mood for Twizz and his bullshit.
“Yeah. You still tight about that nigga at the mall. That shit is funny,” Twizz said.
Savio had raised him to always speak his mind. That often came back to bite him in the ass because Twizz didn’t care about reading a room. He let fly whatever was on his mind.
Shaking his head, Savio tried to shift the narrative. “Nigga shouldn’t have even gotten that close to her. What you was doin’ while he was in her face?”
A grin spread across Twizz’s face. “I was doin’ my job, big dawg.” He nodded toward Ivoree, who blushed under their gazes. When Savio looked back at Twizz with amusement in his eyes, Twizz continued. “Where were you?”
Savio simply stuck his finger up at Twizz, who laughed again before finishing off his plate.
“Twizz did a good job of intervening. I’m actually impressed.” Cashmere spoke up.
Savio shook his head. He had noticed since the incident at the mall, she had softened toward Twizz slightly. She still watched him like a hawk around her sister, but she wasn’t as icy toward him.
“I think you both did well. Men always approach Cash, and it gets annoying. Having you around will put a stop to all that,” Ivoree said as she looked down at her plate.
Her eyes lifted, and she glanced at Twizz before her eyes landed on Savio, who nodded at her, but he wasn’t really paying attention to the conversation anymore.
Niggas stepped to Cashmere like that? Shiiiit, . . . that was going to be a problem. He didn’t know what kind of hold Cashmere had on him, but he already knew he was about to start actin’ a damn fool because of her.
Everyone else continued talking while Savio got lost in his mind. Twizz’s hand on his shoulder startled him out of his thoughts.
“I’m heading out, bro,” Twizz said from behind Savio. He hadn’t even realized Twizz had gotten up. Cashmere and Ivoree were already clearing the table. His mind had really been gone.
Savio realized everyone was finished eating, and here he was with a full plate still. He stood and looked at Cashmere. “I’ma walk him out. You can leave my plate here. I’ll be back to help with the cleanup.”
Before she could respond, he turned and left the large dining room with high ceilings and a long ass table.
Twizz followed him through the home. When they got outside, Savio noticed the sun had gone down already. He’d really spent the bulk of his day contemplating his feelings for Cashmere. This was new territory for him.
“You good, OG? You been in ya head.” Twizz produced a blunt from out of nowhere and lit it. He inhaled deeply before trying to pass the blunt to Savio, who shook his head.
“You know I don’t smoke no more.”
“My bad. Forgot.” Twizz took another pull of the blunt while Savio shook his head.
He hadn’t smoked since before he went to prison. It would have been easy for him to get high while he was locked up, but he used it as a chance to clear his mind and remain sober. He planned to stay that way.
They stood in silence for a few seconds before Savio said, “I’m proud of you, lil nigga. You handled that situation back at the mall well.”
“I’m tryna figure out why you didn’t. I think I can take a guess why.” Twizz smiled, his grin growing every second.
Savio shook his head, but he couldn’t help the grin that settled on his face. “You the only nigga I can be real wit’. Shorty got my mind gone.”
“I see.”
“Came outta nowhere.”
“That’s a bad thing?”
“Nah. Just don’t know how to deal with the feelings.”
Being vulnerable wasn’t something Savio did well, but Twizz was like a son to him. As much as they joked around, they created a safe space between them to talk freely.
“You know I can’t give no advice on women, but what I will say is don’t let yo’ emotions land you in a prison cell. Last thing I need.”
Savio knew Twizz had a hard time when he was locked up. Yeah, he was free, but Savio was the only person Twizz truly had. Vice versa. They were all they had. It wasn’t easy, but they made it through. Savio wouldn’t put them through that again.
“Last thing I need, too, lil nigga.” Savio put his arm around Twizz’s neck. Twizz put the blunt between his lips and playfully boxed Savio off. They goofed around for a moment before Savio said, “Everything goin’ aight with Ivoree?”
“Yeah, man. She cool people. Easy money.”
Savio stared at him for a moment. “Keep ya head on straight.”
Twizz chuckled as he exhaled smoke through his mouth and nose.
“I ain’t about to mess this shit up for you.
I know how important staying on the legal side of the law is to you.
I ain’t goin’ to go against that in any way, which means I ain’t gonna bag shorty for some quick relief. I got other hos for that.”
“’Preciate that. You been stayin’ out the streets? You know this ain’t just for me. It’s a fresh start for you too.”
Twizz shrugged. “Yeah, I hear you. And yeah, I been stayin’ out the streets, but I’m bored, man. I won’t lie.”
Savio clapped Twizz on the back. “Boring ain’t always a bad thing.”
They chopped it up for a couple more minutes before Twizz flicked the butt of his blunt and got into his truck. After he pulled out of the driveway, Savio made his way back inside.
Cashmere’s staff kept the home smelling like vanilla and amber. That was what he smelled when he first walked in, but the closer he got to the kitchen, the more it smelled like some bomb ass home cooking.
He found Cashmere in the kitchen tidying up.
As he leaned against the arch of the entryway, Savio watched her.
She was naturally so pretty without even trying.
The kind of woman who wanted to act tough, but she had such a soft aura.
He was drawn to her energy and wished she would let her guard down more with him, especially if he had to go through the motions of fighting off every nigga that stepped to her.
“You know you have staff to do all that, right?”
Cashmere jumped and then cursed under her breath. When she faced him, her eyes were cut into slits, and he grinned.
“Bells! You need fuckin’ bells.”
“Nah, you’re just scary.”
She grunted and turned back to the dishwasher. Savio spotted his full plate and walked over to the drawer with the foil so he could wrap it up. Once it was in the refrigerator, he picked up a dirty plate and handed it to her to put in the dishwasher.
“You know it’s not in your job description to help with this, right?”
“Like I said, you got people to do this shit too. Why you doin’ it?”
Cashmere shrugged as she accepted a dirty pan he handed her.
“Calms me. I went a long time not having a home to do housework in. Same with cooking. I didn’t have a kitchen for a long time .
. . or food.” She glanced at him, and he noticed her cheekbones tint red.
“I try not to take the little things for granted. I only hired staff to clean and handle the household duties because I’m too busy to do it all the time myself. ”
He nodded in respect to her response. “Busy bein’ a queen pin?”
“I’m not a queen pin.” She snorted.
“Looks that way to me. You done found your way up out the gutta to the top, baby. What you call it?”
“A queen pin deals in drugs. I don’t. I deal in stolen goods. There’s way more money there.”
“I’m still tryna figure out how you managed to do all this.” He gestured around the space, indicating the mansion she owned.
Cashmere dropped her eyes and busied herself with starting the dishwasher. Finally, she turned to him again and said, “With a lot of help.”
He could tell she wouldn’t elaborate, so he dropped the subject, but he wasn’t about to forget it. He wanted to know Cashmere’s story, and he hoped one day she was comfortable enough to tell him.
“I wanted to apologize for earlier.”
Cashmere cocked her head to the side. “What for?”
“You ain’t notice I kind of lost my shit?” He grabbed the back of his neck with a chuckle.
She giggled. “Yeah, I guess I did. What was that all about?”
Curiosity swam in her eyes as she gazed at him.
Savio took a step closer to her and decided to be straight up. “I ain’t like seein’ that nigga talkin’ to you.”
Her normally mean ass features twisted into a grin. “Is that right?”
“Yeah. What you think ’bout that?” He took another step closer.
Her head tilted back so she could look up at him. “I think you should probably get your temper under control.”
Her tone was light and playful. His hand found her cheek, and she inhaled sharply.
“I agree. So, you gon’ stop being mean to me since I almost deaded a nigga over you and all?” He smiled down at her, his hand still on her cheek.
With a deep blush, Cashmere shook her head with a grin. “I guess I can be nicer to you, since you almost deaded a nigga over me and all.”
They laughed together as she gently pushed at his chest. He captured her hand with his and asked, “Friends, then?”
Cashmere squinted her eyes at him. “I don’t really have friends.”
“You got Cassydie and Cell,” he pointed out.
She thought about it. “True, but it took them a long time to get to friend status.”
“You gonna make me put in all that time, Precious?”
She gazed at him for a moment before she shook her head. “No, I won’t. Friends.”
Her hand squeezed his. He lifted it to kiss the back of her hand before he leaned down and kissed her cheek. He couldn’t help himself.
“Get some rest. I have no doubt you have a long ass day for us tomorrow.”
He took a step back, because if he didn’t now, he would kiss her. Savio knew she wasn’t ready for all that, but damn he wanted to.
“You get some rest too. See you in the morning.”
He nodded and turned to walk out of the kitchen, already counting down the seconds until he could see Cashmere Taylor again.