8. Fiya
Fiya
I gripped my clutch tightly as I stepped into the lounge. Anticipation pulsed through my veins, and my pussy was already wet with the expectations of what would tonight bring.
“Welcome to The Smoke Hour Lounge,” Pharris greeted as I stepped up to the reception desk.
“Hi, Pharris. I’m here to see Mr. Socco.”
“He’s waiting for you, Ms. Simmons,” Pharris replied.
As I walked down the hall toward his office, I could hear laughter coming from that direction. On previous occasions when I had been here, no one had been there except for his brother that one time. I wondered who all was back here now.
I knocked on the door and waited several seconds before a tall, light-skinned man answered. It was the same man who accompanied Smoke the night of my little strip performance.
“Hi. I’m here to see Mr. Socco.”
He closed the door without speaking, and I lifted my hand to bang on the door again.
“Rude ass! He’s got some damn nerves shutting the door in my face like that. I ought to kick his—”
The door jerked open in the middle of my tirade as I banged on it. Wearing a frown, Smoke stood on the other side, looking at me as if I’d lost my mind.
“Yo! Chill with all that.”
“Tell your henchman to learn some manners. I know his mama taught him better!” I snapped at Smoke and evil-eyed the man who stood directly behind him.
“Sam, please apologize to the lady,” Smoke demanded but kept his gaze trained on me.
Smoke wore a smug expression and had his lips tilted upward as Sam stated, “My apologies, ma’am. I wasn’t trying to be rude.”
“No one comes back here uninvited, but Sam usually has a heads up about any potential visitors before they arrive,” Smoke explained and then leaned closer to me. “He’s not aware of our little arrangement,” he whispered.
I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at Sam behind Smoke’s shoulders.
“You get a pass this time, but let that be the last time,” I stated heatedly.
Smoke pulled the door open and stepped back to allow me entrance into his office. When I stepped inside, I saw five other men sitting in the seating area. All of them had some form of whiskey or vodka, and three of the five smoked cigars.
“What’s this, Smoke?” I asked, eyeing the men.
“We were just finishing business negotiations, love. Weren’t we, gentlemen?” he asked as he spoke to the room at large.
The men all agreed and stood. Some put their cigars out, while others tossed back the last of their drinks, which seemed to have been freshly poured.
“Head back to the back, Fiya. I’ll be there shortly.”
I headed back to his game room, but not before I heard one of the men ask, “Who’s that, Smoke? She’s a badass bitch.”
I was prepared to check him about that slick ass mouth of his, but by the time I turned around, I heard him choking. Smoke had his hand around the man’s neck and was choking the shit out of him. The man was slowly dropping to the ground, but Smoke had a fierce grip.
“The fuck I tell you ’bout calling bitches out their name, Kut?”
The man tried to say something, but it was indecipherable. Before I could say anything or make another move, Smoke spoke without turning around.
“Get your little ass in the room and close the door, sweets.”
The command in his voice burned in me like an aphrodisiac.
I immediately obeyed him and took a seat at the card table. Almost ten minutes passed before Smoke stepped into the room. He looked as calm and cool as he had the other night. There was nothing flustered about him that indicated he’d had a conflict with the man in his office.
“You good?” I asked as he headed to the bar.
“Yeah. You okay?”
“Uhm… yeah. What about—”
“That shit’s been taken care of,” he mumbled and poured himself a glass of bourbon. “Whatchu drinking?”
“Let me get a rum and Coke. Are all your friends rude and disrespectful?” I asked as he poured my drink.
As he prepared my drink, his head was bowed. I noticed that he had loosened his necktie and rolled up the sleeves of his white dress shirt to his elbows.
“Let me tell you something, sweets. First, I don’t hang with anyone. Second, those weren’t my friends. They were business constituents.”
“Well, maybe you should find business constituents who have manners.”
“Maybe. Or maybe you should let me be concerned with how I stack my paper.”
I nodded and bit the inside of my cheek.
“So, did you do the homework that I gave you the last time I saw you?” Smoke asked as he walked toward me with our drinks in his hands.
“Homework?”
“Yeah. Told your ass to figure out how to get rid of your man,” he whispered into my ear.
A chill ran down my spine and then lingered. I shuddered at the feeling of him so close to me and the warmth of his breath against my neck.
“You think that you can just walk into my life and tell me to get rid of someone who saved my life? And all for what? A pair of shoes? That’s crazy work.”
“You’re the one who said you didn’t want to be married, and you’re also the one who was whining about them damn shoes. Now, either you come up with a way to get rid of him, or I will.”
“Excuse me?”
“I don’t repeat myself, sweets. So I suggest you learn to listen and catch everything that I say the first time.”
“I’m sorry you’re in a pissy mood because you had to check that man back there. Maybe I should come back another time,” I stated and rose in my chair.
“I’m sorry, sweets. I was frustrated, but I shouldn’t be taking it out on you. Please stay.” Smoke pleaded and tugged on my wrist as he nodded at my chair before I took my seat again.
He took the seat opposite mine and stared at me for several seconds.
“So, what’s the game?”
Smoke brought his glass to his lips. His eyes pinned me in place as he took several slow sips.
“Terry and I are getting married this Sunday.”
“I thought I told you to cancel that shit.”
I sighed. “It’s not that simple.”
“It’s easier than going through with a big, elaborate production.”
“No elaborate production. Just a simple ceremony in his office with a friend of his who happens to be a judge.”
Smoke’s gaze narrowed, and he pulled the glass from his lips and swallowed. He stared at his half-empty glass of bourbon, and my gaze flitted to his extended pinky, the one that bore the tanzanite ring surrounded by diamonds.
“Sweets, you deserve better than a ceremony in someone’s damned office. And you damn sure deserve to have it on a Saturday where you can be as corrupt as fuck and sin all night long.”
“I didn’t take you for a spiritual man, Smoke.”
“Couldn’t have made it this far without His covering. Now why the hell did you agree to that bullshit? Were you that desperate?”
I glanced away from him. I hated to answer the question because it would show how desperate I was to accept the terms and conditions of Terry’s contract.
“Can we get on with the game?” I mumbled.
“I was thinking about truth or dare.”
“Truth or dare?”
“To get to know each other better.”
“I think you’re wasting both of our time. I doubt my husband will allow this little friendship to continue once I take his name and hand in marriage,” I stated dryly.
“I don’t give a shit what he’ll allow. You wanna be my friend, sweets?”
I pondered that for a moment. Smoke was sexy as hell, but he was also an interesting and charming man in his own way. He wasn’t the typical gentleman type of charmer, but more of an illegal thug that had a way about himself type of charming. How could I not want him to be involved in my life?
It hadn’t been that long since we had met one another, but I knew that after knowing him, he wasn’t someone who could be easily forgotten.
“Yes, I do.”
“Good. So truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
He pulled his glass to his lips again and took a slow sip. When he pulled it away, he didn’t set it down. “Thought you had more fire than that, Fiya.” He pulled the glass to his lips again and slowly sipped.
“Truth,” I repeated.
He nodded his head.
“How did you fuck up so bad that you accepted a marriage proposal from that nigga?”
“Really, Smoke?”
“I said I wanted to get to know you better. You chose truth. Tell me yours.”
I sighed dramatically and closed my eyes. This night was about to become humiliating quickly.
“I fell behind on my loan payments for my shop. I was in danger of having the shop closed and being unemployed and possibly homeless. I have a roommate who also happens to be my best friend, and I know that he wouldn’t put me out, but I couldn’t become his burden either.”
“How did you fall behind on the payments?”
“You asked one question, and I answered. My turn.”
He nodded.
“Truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
“Thought you were more edgy than that.”
“That’s because, for me, the dare ain’t shit. It’s the truth that I might not want to disclose, depending on the question.”
“Have you ever been in love?”
“No. Truth or dare?”
“That’s it? Just no?”
“I said no. I haven’t been in love. Ain’t got room for that shit in my life. I’ve been busy building my empire.”
“Fine. Truth.”
“You sure?” he asked before he took another sip of his bourbon.
“Yes.”
I stared into his eyes, which hung low with desire. I knew he was about to say some shit that I couldn’t handle, yet I wanted him to say it, no matter what it was. I was ready to up the ante.
“Can I fuck you tonight?”