FOUR #3
Nina was his, whether she wanted to be or not.
Yeah, he had been neglecting her lately but he had to lock in for a minute.
If anyone should understand, he expected her to.
She’d been doing the same and he’d been nothing but supportive.
Jio needed that same patience, grace, and support in return right now.
It was going to pay off in the end, he could promise that.
His days had been long but his nights were even longer.
Sleep was the last thing on his mind. Jio was hustling like he had a point to prove.
He parked his whips and cashed out on two old beater cars to move around in.
They were old and raggedy, which was perfect to keep him off the radar of the cops.
Jio tucked his gun, stashed his jewelry, and went real D-boy.
He hadn’t had a haircut in God knows when, but the girls at the strip club swore they were digging the scruffy look.
He wondered if his baby would like it. Her opinion was all that mattered.
He was annoyed with the fact that she wasn’t at home waiting for him to magically pop up. Jio was crazy and he didn’t care that his way of thinking wasn’t normal.
Kobie touching all on what belonged to him made his trigger finger itch.
Boo you know better. You’re off limits….
Across the room, Kadeer saw that Jio was brewing.
“That’s your angry face,” he said playfully.
Jio didn’t think that shit was funny. “Do I look like a ten-year-old to you? Nigga fuck outta here.”
He was in a shitty mood.
“What’s wrong?”
He wasn’t going to tell him that he’d fucked up.
Jio hadn’t been doing right by Nina, so ultimately, what did he expect?
Well, the baby narcissist that lived in him didn’t give a fuck what he wasn’t doing.
Nina was supposed to sit tight until daddy came home.
Any other bitch that he’d dealt with would’ve done it, so what made Nina think that she was different? Because she was and she knew it too.
“Aye, that Marcelle hoe is BAD!” One of the young niggas that they’d started slowly allowing to hang around said out of nowhere while scrolling on his phone.
Jio looked up slowly and the room instantly quieted because only a few knew and the ones that did, knew that the lil’ boy had fucked up royally.
He swallowed hard. “I’m just sayin—”
“Shut the fuck up,” Jio hollered.
“My bad big homie….”
It was his first and last time being invited to kick it with the bosses.
Jio finally stood.
“Where she at?”
One of the security guys answered quickly. “Party wrapping up now.”
Jio looked at him sharply.
“Y’all let her stay there that long?”
The man hesitated. “You told us not to interfere unless—”
“I know what the fuck I said but she’s not a bird! Hanging out with niggas until the lights cut on is ghetto.” He openly insulted every hoe that was currently doing the same thing. Jio loved him a homebody, but specifically, he loved him some Nina.
He was on the verge of crashing out and this version of Jio wasn’t common to be around.
Kadeer brought him back to reality. “Yo. Relax.”
Jio grabbed his coat.
“Bruh, I’m good.”
“No, you not.”
“I said I’m good.” Jio wasn’t repeating himself, but Kadeer was one of the few niggas in the room that didn’t fear him.
“Ima roll out with you.”
“Nah.”
Kadeer stared at him hard. “What you about to go do?”
Jio looked at him like he was crazy. “Man don’t be questioning me.”
Kadeer lowered his voice, not wanting to put his business on front street, although it was obvious that he was bothered. “You spiraling over pictures.”
“It’s not the pictures.”
“Then what is it?”
Jio said without hesitation. “She forgot who the fuck she dealing with.”
He had no problem reminding baby girl and that’s exactly where he was headed.
Jio was feeling nice before he saw the pictures, due to the blunts and drinks he’d had, but that Henn had a reverse effect, and now he wanted to kill a nigga.
He sat in the dark with his gat on his lap, ready for whatever. He hoped that Nina brought that nigga back to her crib. Jio was going to light his ass up, on God.
It was four in the morning when she kicked her heels off as soon as she made it inside her apartment.
Her feet were killing her. She wouldn’t have survived another hour in those stilettos.
Her toes were so numb that she was probably wearing sneakers to the office tomorrow.
That’s if she made it, because with the way she was feeling, she just might sleep through the alarms.
Her stomach dropped instantly. Someone was in her home and she knew exactly who it was. Nina rolled her eyes. Damn, news traveled faster than lightning through these New York streets. The mission was accomplished because she wasn’t in the mood to argue tonight.
His cologne filled the hallway and the faint smell of marijuana mixed in with it led her right to him. She turned the corner to find Jio sitting on her couch in all black. The fury in his eyes was practically radiating off him.
“You lost your fuckin’ mind?”
Nina blinked. “Excuse me?”
“Wait, let’s start with a hi baby…no, what about HELLO STRANGER!”
Jio totally ignored her.
“You outside with this nigga cheesing for the cameras like one of these groupie bitches!” Spit flew out of his mouth.
Nina’s irritation flared immediately at the pure disrespect. “First of all, lower your voice and watch your mouth.” She didn’t appreciate the way he was talking to her.
“Don’t tell me what the fuck to do.”
“Oh, now you remember I exist?”
Jio shook his head. “Don’t do that.”
“No, don’t YOU do that,” she snapped. “You disappear for weeks and think you can pop up to my house questioning me?” She folded her arms across her breasts.
“You know better,” he retorted as if she should’ve already known what the fuck was up.
“Better than what? Living my life?” She gave him a dumbfounded look. He had the game and her fucked up.
“Yo, you really are playing with me.” Jio couldn’t believe his baby was misbehaving. He planned on punishing her in the bedroom when they were done with this childish ass argument. Jio thought it was all fun and games, but Nina was two seconds from breaking up with him.
“I AM NOT!”
Her voice echoed through the apartment.
Jio stared at her hard. Her chest rose slowly and her eyes were glossy. But he didn’t care. All he could think about was Kobie’s hands on her body and how she looked like she was enjoying it.
“You got everybody talking about you. That’s not cool.” He was disgusted.
Nina laughed in disbelief. “So that’s what this is about? Your ego?”
She added, “And Jio, who is everybody? Your friends?” She knew that’s who he was referring to.
“It’s about your reputation that you seem to not care about.”
He was really trying to turn this around on her.
“Oh please.”
“No!” she shouted. “You don’t get to disappear and then come in here acting as if I owe you loyalty you’re not even giving me!” He was delusional and she was no dummy.
The room went still until he stepped closer. “Watch how you talk to me,” he warned.
“Or what? Because you don’t watch how you speak to me, so why I gotta care about your feelings?”
The words came out before she could stop them and the look on his face told her that he was shocked by her speaking her true thoughts.
She couldn’t take it back now, and to be honest, she didn’t want to.
Nina had been far too kind and way too patient.
It took ten seconds to pick up the phone and check in to hear her voice and at least make sure that she was okay.
She wasn’t a needy woman. Nina wasn’t tripping that they’d skipped a few date nights or the lack of sex, care, and intimacy over the past few weeks.
No, that’s not what this is. She was an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ type of woman, and Jio literally going days and weeks without communicating with her wasn’t going to continue to be acceptable.
If he was looking for someone to control when it was convenient with him, he needed to find a new chick.
The same energy he was using to wash his ass and smoke, because she knew he wasn’t going days without smoking, could be the same amount of time he took to speak to her or stop by for ten minutes.
Nina had to put her foot down and implement boundaries and non-negotiables in order for him to respect her, or Jio could kindly keep it the fuck moving.
“Playing with me is off the table. I need you to understand that.”
Nina’s breathing shook but she stood her ground.
“I’m not playing with you,” she said quieter now. “I’m trying to comprehend what exactly you want from me.”
Because the threats were no longer a turn-on for her.
Nina wasn’t moved by him growling at her like an angry pit bull.
No, she wanted him to use his words to speak to her like the adults they were.
She needed him to say what it was they were doing and what he expected from her.
Nina was very clear on how she wanted to be treated and that was with decency and respect.
Jio was going to lose her if he didn’t get his shit together.
He believed it was Kobie in her ear and that was on his stupid ass because he had nothing to do with it… yet.
Nina looked up to him with those big, pretty eyes that captured his heart way back when. For the first time ever, Jio didn’t have an answer. He didn’t know what he wanted from her, but he wasn’t trying to let another man have her either.