Chapter 16
“What took you so long? And where’s my drink at, woman?” Savio asked with a lopsided grin as he gazed at Cashmere. She just entered her bedroom empty-handed, and it took Savio a moment to notice the frown on her face. “What’s wrong?”
He stood from his relaxed position on the bed and made it to her in three long strides.
Cashmere’s frown deepened as she gazed up at him. “Twizz.”
Her words came out in a harsh mutter, and his face twisted in confusion. “What about him? He aight?”
Cashmere scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Savio had to fight to stay focused on the conversation and not on the way his T-shirt looked so sexy on her small frame.
“Vee just told me that he tried to . . .” She paused as if she tried finding the right words.
Losing patience, he said, “Tried to what?”
“Fuck her.” Her words were so blunt, it caused Savio to rear back.
“Fuck you mean he tried to fuck her?” His brain literally wouldn’t allow him to process her words.
Cashmere sighed before she tugged her ponytail out and ran a hand through her silky bundles in frustration. “She made it seem like he tried to rape her—”
“Nah.” Savio shook his head and completely dismissed the conversation. He turned around and swaggered back to the bed as if that was the end of the discussion.
Hot on his heels, Cashmere said, “What you mean, nah? You can’t just dismiss what Vee said.”
“Why I can’t?” he asked as he sat down. Even sitting, he was still taller than her.
She stood in front of him with a scowl, and though he was irritated by her accusations, he found her extremely adorable at the moment.
“Because, the fuck? Ain’t that what Me Too is all about? Listening to women and not chalking up their experiences as lies?”
Savio shrugged. He really wasn’t trying to hear this bullshit at all. All he wanted to do was get back to laying up with Cashmere.
“I guess, but Twizz ain’t do no shit like that. I know my nigga.”
“You aren’t even gonna ask him about the shit?” Cashmere asked.
He could tell her irritation was increasing, so he sighed and tried to take this conversation seriously. “I’ll ask him if it’ll make you feel better, but I already know what he’s gonna say.”
He tried to reach out and grab her around her waist, but Cashmere took a step back.
“I want to speak to him.”
“For what?” Savio knew how Cashmere’s mouth could get, especially behind her sister. He didn’t need a blowout between his girl and the man he looked at like a damn son.
“What you mean, for what, Sav? So I can look him in his eyes and get to the bottom of what’s goin’ on between him and my sister. It’s clear that whatever talk you had with him before didn’t work.”
Savio ran a hand down his face, desperately trying not to completely lose his patience with her. “I’ll talk to him, aight? Let me handle this.”
She eyed him. “It doesn’t seem like you’re taking it seriously.”
“What you want me to do? Go beat the nigga up?”
“I mean, my sister is downstairs crying, so . . .”
Savio scoffed. “Not gonna happen.”
Cashmere shook her head. “You should probably go get some sleep . . . in your own room. You have an early morning tomorrow.”
Savio’s brows pulled in. “I thought you ain’t have nothin’ to do until tomorrow afternoon.”
“I don’t, but Vee does. You’re on her detail now. Twizz is being reassigned, and I’m getting a new head of security. The call has already been made.”
Now, Savio was pissed. He stood so he towered over her. All he wore was a pair of red basketball shorts, and his muscles flexed as she took a subtle step back, but he noticed. He noticed everything about her.
“Fuck you just say?”
Defiantly, Cashmere held her chin high and looked him in the eyes as she spoke. “I said you’re on Vee’s detail now.”
“You ain’t think to talk to me about this shit first?
” he asked. He didn’t want to be on Ivoree’s detail.
He wanted to be head of security for Cashmere and keep her safe.
That was his priority. He couldn’t lie and say he hadn’t been a little distracted lately, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t grown to love his job.
Fuck, he’d grown to love her. Not being around her every day was sure to fuck him up.
She looked confused. “It was what my sister wanted, and I trust you with her. She’s shaken right now and needs someone she’s comfortable with. That’s you.”
Savio’s jaw clenched. “Long as Ivoree is good,” he finally said before he walked toward the door. His mind reeled as he thought about what had just happened. One thing was certain, . . . he definitely needed to talk to Twizz.
“Sav . . .”
He ignored Cashmere calling his name, now on a mission to go directly to the source.
After a quick shower, Savio hopped in a company-owned black SUV and went straight to Twizz’s house after checking his location.
He didn’t even warn Twizz that he was on the way.
Savio was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t think of much but getting to his lil homie’s house and chopping it up with him.
When he pulled into the quaint neighborhood, Savio couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride, despite everything going on.
Twizz had come a long way from the dirty little boy he found on the streets.
He might be hardheaded, but Twizz was a good man who had done well for himself, which was why Savio was irritated he had to keep having these stupid ass conversations with him.
Savio parked in front of Twizz’s three-bedroom home before he hopped out of the truck and bounded up the driveway. He knocked on the door, and it took Twizz a couple of minutes to answer it. When he did, he had a towel wrapped around his waist. Savio moved past him and into the home.
“Yo—”
“We need to talk,” Savio said, cutting Twizz off.
Twizz glanced behind him toward the stairs. “Like, right now?”
Savio instantly put two and two together. “Tell shorty you’ll get up wit’ her later.”
“Man, you don’t know how long I been tryna bag shorty though. I really like her. Been actually dating her for the past month—”
“It’s important.” Savio felt bad for interrupting, but that shit wasn’t important right now. Twizz had fucked up his and Cashmere’s vibe, so it was only right Savio fuck up Twizz’s vibe with ol’ girl.
Twizz sighed and moved toward the stairs. “You lucky you my nigga.”
Savio chuckled at that and took a seat on the sofa. A few minutes later, a pretty woman with brown skin and a small shape with a fat ass walked down the stairs ahead of Twizz.
“Hi,” she muttered toward Savio with a wave before Twizz opened the door for her.
She seemed shy. Savio was good at reading people, and he instantly liked this girl for Twizz.
He nodded and then watched their interaction.
Twizz was soft with her as he said his goodbyes.
When he finally closed the door after making sure she had gotten to her car safely, Savio asked, “What’s her name? ”
“Nola. What’s so important that you had to stop me from finally getting my dick wet?” Twizz asked as he plopped down on the recliner across from the sofa.
“What you mean finally getting ya dick wet? You ain’t been fuckin’?”
“Ain’t I just tell you I been tryna bag shorty for a minute?”
“Yeah, but that normally don’t stop you from dippin’ in somethin’ easy,” Savio pointed out.
Twizz nodded. “Nola’s different.”
Savio’s eyes grew wide at that. “Why you ain’t tell me about her?”
“Ain’t really had time. Work been crazy, and every free minute I have is spent wit’ her.” Twizz shrugged.
Savio sat back and regarded Twizz with pride. “You really like her, huh?”
Twizz leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “You know when they say when you know, you’ll know? Well, I know, nigga. She’s the one.”
Savio’s mind instantly flashed to Cashmere. He grinned. “I never thought I’d see the day.”
“Shit, me neither, but Nola is it for me, which is why I need you to hurry up and tell me why you came by unannounced, knocking on my door like the police and shit. I’m tryna pull up on my baby and see if that thang still hot for me.”
Savio chuckled, and then his mood darkened when he remembered his reason for his visit. He ran a tired hand down his face and sighed. “Man, look. What about Ivoree? I thought you was feelin’ her.”
Twizz shook his head. “I mean, at first, I thought she was cool. She pretty and smart and all that, but shorty is weird as hell. Ever since that party and I saw how she was wildin’ out and then she tried to lie on me, . . . I been cool on her.”
Savio nodded slowly. “What happened wit’ y’all earlier?”
Twizz frowned. “What you mean?”
“You drove her home earlier?”
“Yeah.” Twizz nodded.
“Okay, so what happened?”
“Fuck you gettin’ at, G? Wasn’t nobody else on the schedule that could drive her home, so I did.
Shit was awkward at first ’cause we ain’t been around each other one on one since that party, but she finally lightened up a bit.
She asked how I was doin’, and then she asked about you, which I thought was weird as fuck ’cause she see you more than me.
I dropped her ass off and clocked out and came here. That’s it.”
Savio grunted as he sat deep in thought. He didn’t understand why Ivoree kept lying on Twizz.
“You get a call from Cell?”
Twizz shrugged. “I ain’t been around my phone. I been wit’ Nola.”
“You’re being reassigned. I’m not sure to who or where yet, but my guess is you’ll have a few days off before they assign you somewhere.”
“For fuckin’ what? Why I’m being reassigned?” Twizz asked with a scowl on his face.
“Ivoree claiming that you tried to fuck up on her without her permission.”
Twizz was out of his chair in a flash. “Bullshit!”
“That’s what I said.” Savio agreed. He was willing to stand ten toes down about that, too, now that he’d met Nola.
Twizz wasn’t the type to be soft with a woman, and the little glimpse Savio saw of him with Nola told him everything he needed to know.
No way would Twizz throw what he had away with Nola for Ivoree.
He especially wouldn’t force himself up on Ivoree hours before fucking on Nola for the first time.
Twizz paced the floor. “That bitch is whacked out, Sav. I promise you she’s tweakin’. I ain’t ever had to steal no pussy in my mothafuckin life.”
“I know.” Savio nodded his head calmly as he watched Twizz.
“I gotta see her. I need to set this bitch straight, Sav.”
“Nah.”
Just like he wasn’t about to allow Cashmere to talk to Twizz, he wouldn’t allow Twizz to talk to Ivoree. The best plan was to keep everyone away from each other to keep the peace.
“Fuck you mean, nah? That bitch throwin’ some serious dirt on my name. What if some shit like that spreads? You know niggas in the hood talk.”
“Good thing she ain’t in the hood.”
“What if she come this way? She seemed to love it at that party—”
“I ain’t gonna let that shit happen. Look, I’m on her detail now, and I’m on her ass. I ain’t about to let her get away with shit else, lil nigga. You got my word on that.”
Twizz plopped back down in the recliner. “Force her to fuck . . . ain’t that some shit?” he mumbled.
“For what it’s worth, I believe you.”
“Yeah? What about ya girl? I know she’s back to hatin’ me.”
Savio couldn’t argue with that. “She’ll be aight.”
They sat in silence for several moments, lost in their own thoughts, before Twizz asked, “So, you ain’t her head of security no more?”
Savio shook his head. “Guess not.”
“That’s some bullshit. How you feelin’ ’bout that?”
“Not great, but I’ll survive.”
Twizz smiled for the first time since Savio mentioned Ivoree’s name. “Talk about fallin’ in love.”
Savio chuckled. “Man, ain’t nobody say nothin’ ’bout fallin’ in love.”
“Yeah, but you wanna get on me about Nola, so let me have this. You love Cash’s mean ass, don’t you?”
Savio couldn’t help but laugh because Cashmere was mean as hell when her ironclad walls were up, but he couldn’t front. He definitely loved her stubborn ass.
“I do, man.”
Twizz’s eyes lit up. “Look at us. Two niggas from the hood finally settlin’ down. No more slangin’ dope or huggin’ the block. Lover boys. Love that for us.”
“Shut up.” Savio chuckled, but he secretly loved that for them too. “Real talk, I’m proud of you, lil nigga. Real proud.”
Twizz looked Savio in the eye. “Be proud of yourself too, then, because where we standin’ right now is ’cause of you.”
Pride swelled within Savio. He had to admit that he was proud of himself.
He had gone from being piss poor, to making millions, to prison, and now, life felt peaceful.
Of course, he had this issue with Ivoree to deal with, but for the most part, he felt blessed.
He had fat ass pockets, a legal job that he loved, and a woman he loved.
Twizz was off the streets . . . life was good.
They had come a long ass way, and they were alive to tell the story. Savio was more than thankful.
Savio stood, opting out of responding to Twizz’s comment. He was too embarrassed by the lump in his throat. “I should get goin’.”
“I’ll get up wit’ you later, and Sav?”
“What’s good?”
“Thank you for always believin’ me.”
“I ain’t got no choice. I raised you to be an honest man.”
“And an honest man I’ll remain. Until I die. Love you, G.”
It wasn’t often that they expressed their love for one another, so Savio was taken aback, but he quickly drew Twizz in for a manly hug. “Love you, too, lil nigga.”
Twizz chuckled as they pulled apart. “One of these days you gon stop callin’ me that.”
“Don’t hold ya breath,” Savio said as he walked toward the front door and opened it. “Aye, go get ya girl. Don’t keep her waitin’ too long.”
Twizz grinned. “You already know.”
Savio closed the door and walked toward his car, feeling a little bit lighter.