Chapter 3
“You clean as a muthafucka, my nigga!” I said, dapping my brother.
Maceo’s ass was grinning from ear to ear. It was his official wedding ceremony, but looking at him, you would never know that this man was already married and had been married for six months. He and Shar had originally planned for this ceremony to be a few months out, but then she found out she was expecting, so they moved it up. She said she wasn’t walking down the aisle with a baby bump, and she wasn’t pushing the wedding back any further, so here we are.
“Thanks, man. You clean up nice as my best man.”
I pretended to dust my shoulders off. “You know I do what I can.”
The door to the dressing room opened, and in walked our mother. She was already dabbing her eyes, and I knew she was about to start with the dramatics.
“Look at my babies!” she exclaimed with open arms.
She came with hugs and kisses, per usual, then she started fixing our ties like we hadn’t done this a million times before. We just let her have it because she was so happy right now.
“You both look so handsome,” she said, cupping our faces. “I just saw Sharina. Oh, Maceo, she looks beautiful.”
He grinned. “She’s glowing, isn’t she?”
“She is. My grandbaby has her radiant.”
“I can’t believe we’re having a baby?—”
Immediate laughter broke out in the room. Maceo and Shar were two of the horniest people I’d ever met, so I didn’t know how he let those words come out of his mouth.
“You said what?” Deuce asked. “Like y’all ain’t humping on each other from sunup to sundown.”
“The real question is how she didn’t get pregnant sooner,” Steel said. “She must have been swall?—”
“Kerrion Jamel,” my mother warned.
He grinned. “My bad, Mama A. I got beside myself.”
My mother rolled her eyes. “I swear, y’all get grown and forget that your parents aren’t one of your little friends. I know I only gave birth to two of you, but all of you are my babies. You aren’t too old for me to whup your foul-mouthed ass.”
I placed my hands on her shoulders. “Calm down, Ma. It’s all love. Why don’t you take a shot with us?”
Maceo agreed. “Yeah, Ma. Get a little lit with us.”
She sighed. “Fine.”
Deuce smirked. “I thought you weren’t one of our little friends?”
My mother playfully smacked him. “Pour the damn shot, Stanley!”
We broke into laughter as he poured her a shot. After taking it, she left us to our own vices. I cranked up the music and rolled up a blunt. It didn’t matter the occasion; we were gonna put one in the air. Pops, Alec, and Mr. Paul came in shortly after, all of them taking a shot with us.
“How are you feeling, son?” Pops asked, slapping Maceo’s shoulder.
“I mean, I’m not nervous. We’ve already been married for six months, so ain’t shit changing. This is just a formality. I’m excited to see her in that dress.”
“She looks beautiful,” Alec said. “She’s in there turning up with the girls right now.”
I chuckled. “Ratchet shit.”
Mr. Paul chuckled. “You can take the girl out of the hood, but you can’t take the hood out of the girl. Just wait until the reception.”
Deuce spoke up. “Now you know those two aren’t gonna make it to the reception. We’re gonna be waiting on them while they go consummate.”
“Mind your business,” Maceo shot at him. “You worried about the wrong thing, nigga.”
“Which one of y’all are next?” Pops asked, looking between me and Steel.
We looked at each other and laughed.
“You funny,” I said, taking a sip of my drink. “You see I didn’t bring a date. I don’t need any of my lil’ situations getting the wrong idea.”
Pops shook his head. “So you’re just gonna be a ho all your life?”
“I got it honest.”
He playfully punched me in the arm. “I’m a single man?—”
“Maddie know that?”
The room erupted with laughter. Since she helped with Maceo and Shar’s drama a few months back, the two of them had been not so secretly sneaking around. Hell, they didn’t have to sneak at all, in my opinion. Stanley was doing what I’d seen him do my whole life which was go back and forth between his single baby mamas. Maddie was no different than the rest. I take that back. Maddie could kill his ass and get away with it.
We hung around in the dressing room until it was time for us to get ready to line up for the processional. As we were walking down the hall, a side door opened and out stepped a familiar face.
Ms. Romi Mitchell.
She looked beautiful dressed in a peach colored, one-shoulder dress that had a split going up her thigh. The midsection had this scrunched effect that perfectly concealed her baby bump. Her locs were pinned in a neat bun with a flower to accessorize. That beautiful face was free of makeup aside from a little lip oil.
She was gorgeous. I couldn’t lie and say she hadn’t crossed my mind since our meeting. Something about her left a lasting impression. I wasn’t sure what it was. Our eyes met, and she offered a light smile, which I returned. My feet had a mind of their own as I found myself breaking off from my brothers. I walked over to speak to her.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Well, hello to you too. Is that how you greet people?”
I chuckled. “My bad, love. How are you?”
“I’m good, thank you. To answer your question, Sharina booked me to do her makeup since her original makeup artist has a stomach bug. I take it you’re part of the family?”
“She’s marrying my brother.”
“Oh! Well, it’s a small world. Sharina and Salima are clients of mine.”
“So you do makeup? I know you said you had a business, but you never elaborated on what.”
“I’m a licensed esthetician. Makeup services is part of that.”
“Aahh! So women come to you for a bald ki—waxing services.”
She giggled like she knew what I was about to say.
“Yes. I offer additional cosmetic treatments, such as facials, acne treatment, skin exfoliation, and peels and spray tanning, among other things. And this isn’t a service just for women. I service men too.”
“That’s what’s up. I know who to come to if my shit starts looking funny.”
She eyed my skin. “You have flawless skin. Though it might be a different story beneath that beard.”
My hand instantly went to my beard as I cracked a smile.
“Nah, love. You don’t get a beard like this without taking proper care of it and the skin beneath it. Touch it. You’ll see how soft and moisturized it is.”
She hesitantly reached out and stroked my beard. “I stand corrected. It’s nice.”
“Appreciate it. Are you staying for the ceremony?”
“I am. I promised I’d stick around to do touch-ups before they take pictures.” Her eyes passed over me for a brief moment. “You look very handsome.”
I smiled. Was my big ass over here blushing and shit? I had to pull it together.
“Thank you, love. You look beautiful, yourself.”
“Thank you.”
“You left lil’ mama at home?”
“She’s with my sister. They are having an auntie and niece day while mommy is at work.”
“Did you have any trouble this week?”
“Thankfully, no. That hasn’t stopped me from being on pins and needles about what could happen, though.”
“That ain’t no way to live.”
“I know.” She hung her head, but I cupped her chin and lifted it.
“Chin up, mama. You don’t give no nigga that kind of power over you.”
“I’m trying to hold it together. Believe me, I am.”
We stared at each other for a moment, her chin still in my hand. I couldn’t get over how beautiful she was. She wasn’t like the women I dealt with. There was this aura around her that said she was soft, yet fierce when she needed to be. It was… nice.
“Why don’t you stick around until things are over?” I suggested, dropping my hand. “Feed that baby. Have a dance or two. Just enjoy yourself. One thing my people know how to do is party. I promise it’ll take your mind off the bullshit, even if it’s just for a little while.”
“I don’t want to impose.”
“Ain’t no imposition. You’re more than welcome to stay. If you want, I can make sure you get home safe.”
Her features took on a look of fear and relief. It was a look I’d seen many times when people realized exactly who I was.
“No funny shit,” I said, holding up my hands. “Just trying to give you a peace of mind.”
She bit her bottom lip, seemingly contemplating my offer.
“Can I let you know?” she asked softly.
“That’s fine. Listen, I gotta go, but I’ll find you later.”
“Okay.”
I tipped her chin before walking back toward the bridal party. When I was within distance of my brothers, they all turned to look at me, eyeing me suspiciously.
“Who’s that?” Maceo asked.
“A client.”
“A regular client or an after-hours client? You know how you do.”
“Fuck you. She a new client. Her name is Romi. She starts training on Monday.”
“Y’all looked awfully cozy,” Deuce noted.
“You got cozy from a five-minute interaction?” I asked.
Steel’s dumb ass grabbed my chin. “We got cozy from that.”
I slapped his hand away. “You play too damn much, big ass nigga. Like I said, she’s a client.”
“So you ain’t the least bit interested?” Maceo asked, slapping my chest.
I looked around him at the wedding planner coming down the hall. “Aye, Somya . It’s time to get this show on the road, right?”
She giggled. “Yes, it is. The ladies are coming now.”
I looked behind me to see the women of the bridal party coming out the same door Romi had come from. Attention quickly shifted from me to them and how beautiful they all looked. I was fine with that shit. I didn’t need these muthafuckas in my ear about Romi.
I didn’t know that woman, and I wasn’t trying to know her on that level. She was one client that was going to stay just a client… she had to. She had baggage, and it was the type of baggage I wasn’t equipped to carry right now.
Why would I set myself up for failure for a beautiful stranger?