Chapter 2
Villain
The first thing I notice when the door of the jet opens is the petite brown-skinned shorty with the smile standing there to welcome me.
It takes me and my boys a minute to pile out of the limo, but that smile stays on the whole time.
I can’t make out her age, but I know she gotta be older than me. Bitches my age just ain’t that classy. She looks nice. She looks cool and collected like she ain’t got a care in the world.
I smirk. Challenge accepted.
“Aye, you see that?” I say to my cousin Crown. “Right there.”
His eyes follow my finger's direction to the fine shit at the top of the steps.
“Nigga, calm yo ass down,” Crown barks, hitting me on the arm. “You bout to jump that broom.”
Oh, yeah.
I be forgetting about that shit sometimes.
“I was just showing you,” I lie. “Maybe you could get at it.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
I say that, but then I’m the first one up the steps. The closer I get, the prettier she is.
“What’s your name, sweetheart?”
“Ariana,” she purrs. “Welcome aboard. If you’ll keep moving, once we get everybody onboard, I’ll make sure you have everything you need.”
“I don’t need much,” I say, my eyes dropping to her lips. Prime dick suckers right there. “Just a little taste, that’s all.”
She doesn’t even blink. “Please keep moving, Mr. Newcastle.”
“Villain,” I correct.
She nods and smiles, all professional and shit.
I lowkey like it, though. Makes me wanna mess with her more.
I drop into the biggest seat while my groomsmen file in with the luggage. My cousin Crown is first down the aisle. My best man, with his old ass. Thirty-four years old and still trying to get put on. I clown his ass every time we’re in the studio, but he don’t listen. He’s solid, though.
Marquis is my day one. Graduated from high school with that high-yellow nigga.
Sharif is my play cousin; his mama and my mama been best friends since we were babies.
Tek raps, mostly underground shit, but he’s cold as fuck, and Jahir is my sister’s son.
He's only nineteen, but he been mannish since he was in pullups.
Ms. Kiara brings up the rear. She’s my dedicated photographer. She’s old enough to be my mama, but she don’t say a cross word about the shit I do. That’s why I pay her so well.
Shorty’s still up front, smiling, welcoming, just generally being bad as fuck.
That dress ain’t tight, but I’m liking how it lays on her body.
Titties sitting right in the V-neck at the front.
Fabric falling over her round ass, then stopping at the knee so I can see them muscular calves.
She’s out of my league, but shit, that ain’t never stopped a rich nigga before.
I watch her as she walks down the aisle toward us, wondering if she switches her hips like that naturally or if she’s doing that shit on purpose.
Or maybe I’m just horny.
Shemari got us on a goddamn sex fast. It’s been a whole ass month since I last got some pussy.
She said she wanted it to feel new on the wedding night, but I feel like, if she wanted it to feel new, she should have made me wait, not let me seed her ass up.
Vincent Jr will be two years old next month, so I don’t know who she thinks she’s fooling.
“Welcome aboard the Echelon,” shorty says as I sink back into the plush leather seat, getting myself comfortable, fixing my chains to make sure she can see them clearly.
“I’m Ariana, your in-flight concierge. We’re nonstop to Rio today, and the pilot has assured me that it should be a smooth ride.
Nevertheless, please keep your seatbelts fastened when you’re sitting… ” and on and on and on.
Ain’t nobody listenin’ to this shit. My niggas are already pouring liquor like it’s water, and Tek just lit up four blunts.
I smirk at the way she’s pretending she don’t see none of this shit. She takes her job seriously, I suppose.
“Aye, Ariana,” I call, interrupting her mid-sentence. “You think you can handle us?”
Her lips tighten like she’s biting back a slick ass comment. “I’m sure I can manage.”
“You said you was gon make sure I got everything I need. I’m just sayin’, once we get in the air, a nigga might get real needy.”
My boys bust out laughing at that. Ms. Kiara snaps a picture.
Ariana don’t blink. She just finishes her speech through the talking, blunt-passing, and now, the music playing. Jahir done already figured out how to connect to the Bluetooth.
I take a long pull and pass it to Crown as the plane starts to move, watching shorty through the smoke. The motion on this shit is smooth as fuck, I can’t even lie. Almost makes the price tag worth it.
I got millions, but I’m still frugal most of the time. Except with women. I be spending on hoes like I got a money tree in my backyard.
“Gentlemen, please secure your seatbelts for takeoff.”
But everybody ignores her, including me. If I don’t wear a belt in the car, fuck I look like wearing one in a plane?
But she ain’t budging. She walks over to Jahir and stares him down until he complies. Same with Crown. One by one, she makes everybody follow the rules. Everybody except me.
I don’t do rules.
“Mr. Newcastle—“
“Villain. I told you, sweetheart.”
“Villain,” she says. “Please secure your seatbelt.”
Our eyes lock. We’re lowkey in a standoff, and I can’t even front like I’m not impressed by the fact that she won’t break.
I pick up my glass and down the Hennessey before taking another pull of weed.
Still staring at her, I blow the smoke up at her, smirking when I feel her energy change.
She’s pissed now. She wants to cuss me out, but she knows better. All she can do is take it.
Finally, without a word, she reaches down and grabs the belt herself, leaning over me to click it in place.
Damn.
I stare at her titties for a few seconds before it hits me. Her perfume. Warm and sweet. My mouth goes dry. My eyes close. I’m such a fuckin’ simp for women who smell good. What I wouldn’t give to bury my face in her neck while I bury my dick deep inside her pussy.
The belt snaps shut, snapping me back to reality. She straightens at the perfect time, right when my dick goes stiff.
I smirk up at her. “Careful, Ari. Get close to me like that again and I’m draggin’ yo fine ass back to the bathroom so I can put you in the mile-high club.”
The guys howl again, hooting and slapping the seats like they’ve never heard anything so funny.
She just turns and switches away, attracting all our eyes like magnets.
“That’s a bad bitch right there,” Tek says as he pours me some more Henny. “She on this airplane shit for the money. She need a real nigga to come save her.”
“She uptight,” I snap. “Pussy prolly dry as fuck.”
Tek laughs. “I can change that.”
“Shit, me too.”
For like a hot second, I feel bad, because I don’t sound like a nigga that’s getting married this weekend, but to be fair to myself, it ain’t my fault. I never wanted to get married at all. Shemari just…wore me down.
Always nagging and shit. Whining about how her daddy wasn’t around, and how she don’t wanna be a baby mama forever. My dumb ass proposed just to shut her up, and now, I’m days away from lockdown.
I like her, I really do. I just ain’t ready for this shit. Not to mention how much money it’s costing me.
Takeoff is smooth. We’re cruising. Vibing. Sharif and Tek are playing dominoes in the back. I check on my nephew, making sure he ain’t drinking. It ain’t something I care about, but my sister would be on my top about it if she found out.
I nod up at him. “How’s school?”
He grins, with his skinny ass. Tall and frail, he needs to be playing ball, not playing the tuba, but that little nigga loves band. He been marching with Jackson State since his freshman year. I’m proud of him.
“It’s good,” he says. “Had a 3.8 last semester.”
“That’s what the fuck I’m talkin’ ‘bout.” I put my arm out for a fist bump, then pull out my wallet, handing over a wad of hundreds. “This for you, Ja. For you gettin’ them As like you do. I know I tell you this all the time, but you building a legacy. Keep your eye on the finish line.”
He tucks the money into his pocket. “Thanks, Uncle V. I worked my ass off.”
“I know you did. Keep at it, man. You gon' be my lawyer one day.”
He laughs. “You planning on getting into trouble?”
I stare at Ariana, who’s approaching. “Maybe. A little trouble ain’t never hurt nobody, right Ari?”
She gives me a tight smile. “I understand you’re headed to a celebration. Would you like me to open the champagne you ordered?”
“Not yet,” I say. “Aye, what’s the rush? We got like eight more hours in this bitch.”
“No rush at all,” she says. “Just making sure you’re taken care of. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
I grin. “How ‘bout a massage?”
“I’m afraid that’s beyond the scope of my duties.”
My eyes narrow as I study her. “You talk real proper.”
She stares blankly. “I’m at work.”
“How old are you?”
“Didn’t your mother teach you not to ask a lady her age?”
My skin prickles. “My mama didn’t teach me shit. And you ain’t no lady. You just a waitress in a tin can.”
Her face falls, the first time I see her mask slip. “So that’s a no? You don’t need anything?”
“Bring me some ice.”
She nods and walks off, leaving me pissed off. It was the mention of my mother that got me. Ain't no way she could have known that’s a fuckin’ sore spot for me, but it don’t matter. Now she’s on my bad side.
She returns with my ice. “Please let me know when you’re ready for champagne. Or food.”
“What I’m ready for is getting my dick wet,” I say. “I ain’t had none in—“
“Mr. Newcastle, I’m going to have to ask you to please be respectful.”
I pull out my Gucci wallet.
“Respectfully, how much would it take for you to hike that dress up and ride my dick?”
I see the moment something snaps. Her eyes flash fire as she leans closer, close enough for only me to hear. “I wouldn’t fuck you if you were the last man on earth.”
The laughter around me tells me I’m not the only one who heard that. Even Ms. Kiara is laughing.
Heat climbs up my neck. Now I'm pissed off. The disrespect is OD.
So I fire back. “If yo old ass lives long enough, I’ma be the last man standing and you gon’ be all shriveled up at Shady Pines, bitch.”
My boys’ laughter sounds meaner now, cutting instead of playful.
Ariana pivots on her heels and stalks toward cockpit, head high, every step a silent fuck you.
I watch her go, feeling something twisting in my gut. I should feel good for getting the last word, but I don’t. I just feel…small.
She didn’t deserve that.
But with the guys still laughing, I can't show no weakness at this point.
So I smirk, throw my feet up on the seat in front of me, and point to Jahir.
“Aye, turn the music up!”