Chapter 2 #2
“Let me ask you something, Pops. When was the last night you’ve came to one of my restaurants? Or took interest in any of the recipes I’ve created?”
He sat back like the air left him.
“My point exactly. You don’t know shit about the man I am today.”
“You’re making a mistake,” he said.
“No, you did. The second you thought you could run my fucking life because you built a tower with your name on it. I’m not a child anymore so I’ll be damn if I let you make those type of decisions for me.”
“You’re thirty, Nikolai,” he said. It’s time to step into responsibility for this family.
“I’ve been responsible since the day you stopped parenting. And since you clearly forgot, I don’t work for you. I got my own shit.” I turned to walk away, done with this conversation.
“You will regret this,” he warned.
“What I regret is coming up here thinking you actually had some shit worth saying. Find somebody else to marry her,” I spat over my shoulder before walking out and slamming the door behind me.
So hard that it damn near came off the hinges but I didn’t give a damn.
This nigga had the audacity to try and put me in some type of arranged marriage.
I hopped back on the elevator and the second the doors opened, I walked straight out of the building and into the cold without looking back.
Once I made it to the parking garage, I hopped in my Escalade and slammed the door harder than I meant to.
The engine roared as soon as I turned the key and I backed out fast enough to make the tires squeal.
My mind was so discombobulated that I knew trying to get any work done was slim to none so I headed where I knew I could let off some steam.
Twenty minutes later, I pulled into the lot of Grindhouse Athletics.
My best friend Caleb retired from the NFL three years ago and opened this spot not long after.
My nigga had long money, so even though the gym was still young, he was already planning renovations for a new look.
This place had been my second home since he opened it.
Whenever shit got heavy or work got stressful, I came here.
Caleb never pressed me about it either. He let me hit the bag until the anger drained out of me, then talked shit afterward.
I stepped out of the truck and headed inside, still dragging the irritation of my father’s voice behind me.
The second I walked through the doors, my body relaxed enough to breathe.
The clank of metal plates and the deep bass from whatever playlist Caleb had going washed over me, pushing the noise in my head to the background.
Caleb spotted me before I even made it to the ring, towel slung over his shoulder, smirk already forming because he knew exactly why I was here.
“Damn,” he said. “I can tell by your walk… Pops got you fucked up again.”
I didn’t break my stride. “Nigga, you have no idea.”
He started laughing. “Nigga, every time you show up during regular business hours, I know that man done said something to piss you off. Gone get in them bags and then tell me about it, bro.”
“Bet.”
I spent the next hour and thirty minutes beating on that bag like it owed me money. Jeezy blared through my headphones, and with every hit, I felt the tension sliding out of my shoulders, my back, my chest. Sweat soaked through my shirt, but the release felt good as hell.
A few times I caught Caleb off to the side flirting with some chick who knew damn well she didn’t come here to work out.
Her body was a piece of art, and if Caleb wasn’t already hitting that, I planned to pass her my number on the way out.
I needed some new pussy in rotation for when stress hit, and she fit the criteria off looks alone.
I kept swinging, letting my mind drift to the place I usually avoid.
I was a rich bachelor with options, and yet here I was thirty and single.
Women threw themselves at me all day, and I’d had my fair share of the ones who made it past the threshold of my bedroom, but that was all it was.
Pussy. Nothing serious, nothing to brag to momma about, nothing that made me slow down.
Could I do a relationship? Hell yeah, I think I could.
I wasn’t the type of nigga that liked to share attention.
If I was fucking someone, she was the only one I was fucking.
That’s why even with Candace being married, messy, and convenient, she was the only woman I’d been fuckin’ when I was in my “I need some pussy” phase.
If it wasn’t her, it was me and that bottle of cocoa butter lotion on my bathroom sink.
That alone showed how hard I used to fuck her married ass, but honestly, I hadn’t even touched her in almost a month.
My head had been too deep in the new recipes and perfecting dishes for my next location.
Pussy was the last thing on my mind. Still, I wouldn’t mind having a woman who understood my grind and could handle my needs without falling apart.
A career-driven woman would be dope as hell, someone who had her own shit going on, but I wasn’t picky about that part.
Women my age loved the idea of a nigga taking care of them, but they’d complain in the same breath about not getting enough time, like having a successful man didn’t come with being busy.
Success and free time don’t come in the same package.
Caleb walked over once he saw me pull the wraps off my hands, sweat dripping down my back and my chest still tight from the last round. He pushed the towel into my chest and leaned against the pillar, waiting.
“Aight,” he said. “Let it out. What he do now?”
I grabbed my water and swallowed half the bottle before I even spoke. “Nigga tried to set up a whole damn arranged marriage for me.”
Caleb’s head snapped back. “A what?”
“You heard me.”
“With who?”
“Victoria Hargrove.”
Caleb stared at me like I had told him the sky was green. Then he started laughing. “Man, get the fuck outta here. That stuck up ass Barbie bitch with the attitude? Man, hell nah.”
“Yup. Dead serious. Talking about merging empires and all that corporate fairy-tale shit.”
Caleb wiped his forehead, still shaking his head. “Your pops really losing his damn mind. He trying to sell you off like a business asset.”
“That’s exactly what he’s doing.”
“So, what you tell him?”
“That he can kiss my ass.”
Caleb let out a low whistle. “Yeah, I knew you had that look on your face. That Niko about to burn the whole damn city down look.”
I smirked and sat on the bench, letting the last of the adrenaline drain from my shoulders. Caleb shook his head.
“Bro, you definitely need a break.”
“A break ain’t fixing this shit man,” I muttered.
“A break from him and the business, man,” he countered. “Get the hell outta Atlanta for a minute. Reset your head.”
I wiped my face with the towel. “Ain’t nowhere to go that’s peaceful.”
“That’s where you wrong,” he said. “Remember that Winter Haven retreat I mentioned? Mountain cabins, bad bitches, snow everywhere and Nobody blowing up your phone unless you want them to. No pops breathing down your neck with that Frost legacy shit. Did I mention the bad bitches?”
I chuckled, not responding right away. I could still hear my father’s voice in my head. The bullshit manipulation and the mention of my sister
Caleb watched my face shift. “See? You need that shit. You get… different around the holidays.”
I looked at him, ready to deny it, but the truth was evident. “Yeah. I know.”
“A week away ain’t gon’ fix the world,” he said. “But it might keep you from choking a muthafucka before New Year’s.”
I exhaled through my nose, tension easing just a little even though I didn’t want it to. Caleb nodded at my reaction.
“That’s all I’m saying. Go. Get your mind right.”
“I’ll think about it,” I said, grabbing my bag.
“Cap,” he called. “You already halfway packed in your head.”
“Shut your ass up,” I said, pushing the door open.
“Let me know, nigga!” he yelled after me.
The cold hit hard the second I stepped outside.
I climbed into my Escalade, shut the door, and cranked the engine.
My hands stayed on the wheel while everything in my chest settled.
My thoughts drifted where they always went this time of year.
Nikole. She was twelve years old, loud as hell, and always smiling even when she could barely sit up.
She used to stack pillows behind her back and force me to sit through those corny Christmas movies she loved because she said it helped her forget about the pain.
I’d talk shit and complain, but I stayed because she needed me there.
Then Christmas Eve came, and she didn’t open her eyes again.
Leukemia took away my better half… my twin sister.
I could still feel her hand going still in mine and hearing the silence after her heart stopped.
I still remember the pain of feeling my heartbreak and wishing I could take her place.
That guilt never left. Every December with people celebrating felt wrong…
being here felt wrong. She loved this time of year and couldn’t even be here to enjoy.
Guilt consumed me for breathing through a season she never got to grow into.
The holidays hadn’t been the same since she died.
The music, the lights, the decorations… all that shit irritated me.
People were out there celebrating while I sat with memories of watching my sister in her last days on this earth.
Shit still hurt like hell to this day. I sat there letting the heat hit me full force, but all it did was warm my skin.
It couldn’t reach the part of me that froze years ago.
The gym loosened my muscles, but not the shit sitting behind my ribs.
I unlocked my phone and scrolled straight to Candace’s number.
She knew how to shut up and follow instructions when I told her ass to bend over, and tonight, I needed a nut to release in the worse way.
Me: Pull up to my crib and have that mouth ready since you wanna run it so much at work.
I tossed the phone on the passenger seat and started the engine. The drive home felt smoother than the day had been, and for a brief second, I wondered if Caleb had a point. Maybe disappearing for a week wasn’t the worst idea in the world.
I sat back facing a blunt as Candace twirled her tongue around the tip of my dick. Shit felt so good it had me squeezing my damn ass cheeks together. Candace had good pussy, no doubt, but I could nut off her mouth alone, and that said a lot for any woman.
“Mhmm…” she hummed as she pushed my dick past her tonsils and let it tap the back of her throat.
“Fuck, girl.” I reached over, set the blunt in the ashtray, and exhaled. I had only called her over to suck me up, but the mood shifted and now I wanted to feel some pussy before I closed my eyes. I let her slob my shit a few seconds longer before pushing her off.
“Come sit on this big muthafucka. And you betta take all that shit too.”
She smirked, wiping the spit from her chin.
I handed her the Magnum sitting on the coffee table and watched her roll it on, eyeing every move to make sure she ain’t puncture that shit.
A nigga could never be too careful with women these days, and I’ll be damned if I end up being somebody’s big payday.
After securing the condom, she turned her back toward me, slid her thong to the side, and eased down my thick pole.
Her pussy was snug and already gushing all over my lap.
I grabbed her waist and shoved her down farther until my dick disappeared inside her.
“Ohhh shit, Niko… it’s in my stooomach,” she whined out, already irritating me.
“Girl, shut the fuck up and take this dick. You was damn near begging me to fuck you earlier, but now you whining? I need to call up another bitch?” I grabbed her hips and started guiding her up and down, making sure to pull out to the tip before slamming back in.
I sped up, drilling into her as she screamed out.
“Nooo, baby… I can take it—”
“Nah. Leave that baby shit for your goofy-ass husband. I’m just gon’ fuck you good and send you back to that lame-ass nigga. Aye, get up and bend that ass over.” I tapped her thigh, and she obeyed, bending over the armrest.
I wasted no time grabbing her waist and sliding inside her drenched pussy, aiming straight for the spot I knew no other nigga could reach.
Once I found it, I kept hitting it over and over while she cried out.
I tuned her whining out and drilled her until I felt my nut creeping up.
I pulled out and snatched the condom off.
She already knew the drill, she turned around, got on her knees, and opened her mouth.
I jacked my dick, pressure rising, then my nut shot out in heavy streams. Some landed in her mouth, the rest on her face.
She swallowed everything, then used her fingers to scoop the rest and lick it clean.
Damn, she was nasty. Too bad she ain’t my type.
I leaned over, reached in my slacks, and pulled out a wad of bills. “There. Now go on and see yourself out.”
She did what she always did, grabbed her purse and left without saying shit.
I headed straight to the shower, letting the hot water beat down on me while I replayed the night.
When I finally crashed onto the bed, still damp, I stared at the ceiling for a long minute.
Fuck it, I made up my mind…I was taking that trip.