Chapter 17 #2
“This gray hair isn’t from the good times but I’m proud of my boys. Didn’t know if they’d make it to the other side.”
“We did though.”
“Barely,” Reg muttered, brushing loose hair from the side of Samari’s face.
“How’s your mom?”
“She’s straight. Feeding me and talking shit because I don’t fall through enough.”
“Not much has changed then.” Reg chuckled.
“Not a damn thing.”
Reg removed the cape and Samari lifted from the chair and leaned close to the mirror, checking out his work. The precision of the taper and fade brought a smile to her face.
“You still got it, old man.”
Reg snorted. “You thought I wouldn’t?”
Asao stood and removed cash from his pocket, handing it over to Reg who waved him off. Asao placed the hundred on his station. “I don’t need your money.”
“Didn’t say you did but I also know you taught me that a man who has debt with another can’t call himself a man.”
Reg smiled and nodded. “Seems like I did teach you something.”
“You did.” When Samari was close enough. Asao loosely looped his arm around her neck, bringing her back to his chest. “Plus you haven’t had anybody in your chair in a little minute with these basic ass skills you’re pushing in here.”
Reg threw his head back and laughed. “You better be glad I’m not going to encourage my songbird to find someone else to occupy her time. And don’t forget, Lee gave me leeway to whoop your ass, youngin’. That doesn’t expire.”
Asao grinned. “You got that. We’re about to head out though.”
Reg nodded and looked at Samari. “Come see me more. I need to know you’re okay.”
“I’m okay.”
The introspective gaze that traveled over Samari brought a smile to her face.
Reg took her in, trying to determine if she was truly okay.
She had been to him multiple times after the deal with the label fell through and he sensed the weight of how Samari’s world crumbled.
Reg wanted justice but didn’t have access to the kind of money or connections to handle the situation legally.
He’d threatened to handle things in the only way he knew how, with a good ol’ ass whooping, but she refused to allow him to get involved.
“You take care of my girl,” Reg said sternly to Asao.
“She’s good with me, OG,” he promised before Reg embraced Samari one last time, speaking quietly so only she could hear. “You have any problems out of him, you let me know and I’ll take care of it.”
Her heart warmed from the love she felt in his presence.
Reg treated her as if she were his. She was blessed to have a father figure.
Reg never had kids of his own so the two formed a bond that allowed a partial understanding of what they were void of in their lives.
That bond had survived years and would continue to stand.
“You know I’m not gonna let you win, right?” Asao said as he held the door open for Samari to enter Local Cue. His eyes dropped to her ass after she passed him and his focus was temporarily consumed with thoughts he needed to curb if he was going to stick to the plan of chillin’ for the day.
“That’s cute that you think I would need you to let me win.
I know how to play and probably better than you.
” When she glanced over her shoulder and blessed him with that pretty smile, Asao nodded, following the path she took heading to the rear left side of the building where the only empty table was.
It was early enough in the day that Local Cue was partially empty and the few bodies that lined the bar and sat at tables didn’t bother them. Asao offered a nod to a few who made eye contact but didn’t directly give anyone his attention.
“You got that,” he said, joining her at the wall where the cues were lined up.
Asao had never been skilled at pool. It wouldn’t take much for Samari to claim a win. She was in a good mood, so he wouldn’t share that small detail.
Instead, he stood next to her, highly amused, watching as she pulled her lip between her teeth and squinted, examining the row of cues like the selection would be life altering. After she made her decision, he grabbed the next one in line, not putting any thought into the one he chose.
While Samari examined her cue, Asao walked around the table collecting the balls. After he had them set up and ready to break, he motioned for Samari to do her thing. He leaned against the wall, legs spread with the cue between them, watching as she lined up, preparing to break.
“You trying to show me something?” he asked as soon as the balls were in motion across the red felt that covered the table. Samari called her first shot and grinned after she made it.
“You might want to focus on the game and not me,” she said, assuming his comment was about the way she’d bent over the table since he just happened to be positioned behind her when she made her first shot.
“What makes you think I’m not?”
She lined up to make her next shot and exaggerated the angle at which she leaned forward, pushing her hips back. She shifted her stance and adjusted her weight so her ass was on display then called her shot before she attempted and failed.
“God, don’t like ugly,” Asao joked as he pushed away from the wall and surveyed the table for the easiest shot. Just because he wasn’t skilled at the game didn’t mean his ego would allow him to fall back.
After he called it and made the ball drop into a pocket, he gave her his attention before moving to the next one. “By showing me something, I’m talking about us spending the day on the south side.”
He made two more shots, then scratched, so Samari was up.
“I needed a haircut.”
With a nod, he accepted the reason. Based on what he’d witnessed, the relationship she had with Reg was solid, which meant she’d spent enough time in his chair to be considered family.
Reg was the neighborhood OG who always had some slick shit to say about the hardheads who ran the streets but he also never hesitated to be a resource when one of them needed help or advice.
Reginal Reece had been born in a time when community meant something and villages were the driving force in boys and girls becoming respectable men and women.
“You lived round here?” he asked with a smirk as she cleared the table and announced the final shot.
“Eight ball corner pocket.” When she made it, Samari began walking around the table to collect the balls. “I lived here by default.”
She racked the balls and motioned to the table. “You want to break this time?”
Asao chuckled, shaking his head. “Nah, go ahead. What do you mean by default?”
“I lived in Crescent Pointe but spent most of my time at Crescent Manor with Ree, so I kinda lived here but really didn’t.”
“That explains a lot about your girl,” he said, revisiting the night they’d met and the one interaction they had over the phone.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Samari narrowed her eyes.
“Gangster Barbie.” He used the reference Samari had made when she’d apologized for her girl taking over the call.
“That was just Ree being Ree. It has nothing to do with growing up around here.” Samari made her first shot of their second game. “She’s not ’bout that life though.”
“Nah she isn’t and neither are you.” When she glanced at him over her shoulder, his eyes were already locked in.
“I might be.”
Asao chuckled. “Nah, you’re not, because if you were running the streets, we would have crossed paths before now.”
“Why? Because you were in them?”
He brushed a hand over his waves, stepping to the table when it was his turn because she missed a shot.
“We owned them shits. Nothing was happening around here I wasn’t privy to, and if you were out there, I would have damn sure been privy.
” His eyes moved the length of her body before he lazily leaned over the table to make a shot with no real effort employed.
After the first time Samari bent over the table, he assessed that he enjoyed watching more than participating.
“The Manor is small but not that damn small that you would know every move people make.”
“I didn’t say that.”
She called her shot and didn’t give him her attention until she made it and was lining up the next one. “You said nothing happened that you weren’t privy to.”
“Some things aren’t worth a discussion but you would have been.”
When she playfully rolled her eyes, he laughed lightly. Four games later, Samari was popping her shit from having won all of them, but Asao was silently popping his because the time spent allotted him details about the woman he was desperate to know.
Asao told stories about running the streets with Niles and Dom which gave Samari insight on why his loyalty would always be theirs to cash in on. The rest of their time was spent talking shit with jokes and slick comments about each other. He was at ease, she was happy. They both felt connected.
“What are you trying to do for the rest of the night?” Asao asked after he cleared the balance they’d racked up from food and drinks.
“I haven’t thought about it.” Samari stood next to him, deciding she would allow him the space to lead. She wanted to trust his intentions and open her heart, but a voice still whispered a demand to stay guarded.
“Damn, that’s fucked up. I’ve been thinking about you all day. Even while sitting here with you, Mari. Now you’re telling me I haven’t crossed your mind.”
She smiled. “Did I say that?”
“Yeah, you did. You said you haven’t thought about what the rest of your night looks like, which means you haven’t thought about me. You can rectify the slip now.” He stepped in front of her, so close that his body made contact with hers. “Let me have your time.”
She lifted her chin, allowing her eyes to meet his. “You’ve had my time all day.”
“One day isn’t shit. I want it all, now can I get that?”
“Yes.” She blushed under the intensity of his stare.
“Aight then, let’s go.” Asao dropped an arm around her shoulders and the two made their way to the door. As soon as they stepped outside, the peaceful bubble they’d existed in all day deflated.