Chapter 16
After a storm
After a long, dumb-ass night full of bullshit, I was finally free. Of course, my baby came to get me. He looked good and smelled even better. All I could do was wrap my arms around him. He squeezed my ass like we weren’t standing right in front of the jail.
When we got home, my June Bug was curled up on the couch under a blanket, crying.
I looked back at Silk.
He leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Go comfort her, bae. Donny got shot. A lot happened last night.”
I knew they had been talking, but I didn’t realize how deep everything had gotten because I’d been so caught up in work.
I walked over, sat on the floor beside the couch, and gently rubbed my little sister’s head. I kissed her on the lips the same way Auntie Lisa used to kiss us when we were little girls. She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed my forehead.
Silk stood quietly by the door, simply nodding. What was understood didn’t need to be explained. He had taken me, Junie, and Tammy in as his family.
Silk was the first real man we’d ever had in our lives.
We’d been together since my junior year of high school. That’s when I first met him and Clover. They had been best friends since senior year.
My baby grew up in foster care. He endured abuse no child should ever experience.
Dream had been his foster sister since he was ten years old.
On his eighteenth birthday, he rescued her from that nightmare.
They ran away together. Dream was only fifteen then.
She started stripping so they could survive, while Silk found ways to make money around the club.
One thing about my man—he had always been a protector, especially when it came to women. Protecting Dream had been his mission for as long as he could remember.
While scrolling through Instagram, I noticed at least ten different posts with Juice’s face. I didn’t pay much attention at first because people were always promoting him. Then I came across one of my homegirls’ pages.
She had posted a picture of them smiling together. The caption read:
“Rest in paradise, my love. You’ll truly be missed. You really shook the game with this one.”
“Silk, baby… come here,” I called as I sat on the other couch.
He came over and sat beside me while we stared at the phone together.
“Did you hear about this?” I asked.
“I know a little something,” he replied quietly, “but baby… let’s not get into that right now.”
I understood.
I set my phone down and went to take a long, hot shower, just thankful to finally be home.
When I walked back into the bedroom, candles surrounded the room. Soft music filled the air while Silk sat on the edge of the bed, staring at me like I was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
Mint Condition’s So Fine played softly through the speakers, and he sang along.
“Such a beautiful lady… the kind you find in a dream…”
I climbed onto the bed beside him without saying a word.
He looked into my eyes and smiled.
“You’re so fine, baby.”
Butterflies danced in my stomach. I couldn’t understand how a man with so many women around him could make me feel like I was the only one he saw.
Silk always had a way of making me feel special.
“Let me oil you down, baby,” he whispered.
I laid back and pinned my long weave up while he gently massaged warm coconut oil into my skin. Every touch was slow and comforting, melting away the stress I’d been carrying.
When he finished, he grabbed a bottle of wine from the nightstand along with a bowl of grapes.
He poured us each a glass.
The room smelled like candles, coconut, and wine while ’90s R&B played softly in the background. He fed me sweet grapes one at a time before leaning over to kiss me.
“You love me?” he asked.
“Of course I do, baby. Forever and always.”
He smiled.
“Leave the strip club. I’m tired of that life, Mercedes. You’re beautiful. You’re my best friend, and I want you in my life forever. Let’s start a new chapter.”
I laughed.
“You gotta drop all your hoes first. Ain’t no way you think I’m quitting while you’re still out here pimping women.”
“I’m not touching anybody but you, so why does it matter?” he asked.
“You moving too slow, Green Silk. Go get yourself a damn turtle.”
He laughed before pulling me closer.
“Cerdes… you’re going to be my wife. I want to marry you. I want us to build a real life together. We’re already set for life—I just want peace with you.”
He kissed me again, long and slow.
The kiss turned into an intimate embrace, filled with love, laughter, and everything we’d survived together. In that moment, nothing else mattered except us.
Just as we settled into each other’s arms, my phone started ringing.
It was Mellow.
“Hello?”
“Welcome home, Mercedes. You coming in tonight?” he asked.
“No, nigga. Fuck you and fuck your club. I quit.”
“The fuck you mean you quit?”
“I got my own house. My own car. I ain’t renting shit anymore. I’d rather do DoorDash than work for a snake-ass nigga who’d snitch on me just to keep his club open.”
I hung up before he could respond.
Silk smiled, leaned over, kissed my forehead, and whispered,
“I’m so proud of you, Mama.”
For the first time in a long time, I finally felt like I was free.