5. Chapter 4
The club had settled down after the little accident in VIP, but folks were still getting a kick out of it.
“Be With You” had ended fifteen minutes ago, but June could still feel the song in her veins.
She could also feel the way the crowd watched her and the way STG Maverick’s eyes had never left her body.
Now she stood backstage with her robe hanging off one shoulder and her skin still glistening under the red dressing-room lights. She was reapplying lip gloss when a deep voice called from the doorway.
“Damn, shawty. You almost had me forget who I was for a second.”
She turned around quickly. STG Maverick stood against the doorframe with his diamond chain glinting, grinning confident like a mothafucka.
“Guess I did my job then,” June said coolly, capping her gloss and slipping it into her bag.
He chuckled. “Nah, you did more than that Ms. Lady. You the type of woman that'll make a nigga think twice about what he gon do next… You drink?”
June glanced him up and down. “Depends who’s buying.”
“Then it’s me,” STG Maverick said, pushing off the frame. “I got a section and a bottle of 1942, come fuck wit’ me.”
She smiled, but before she could answer, Marcus appeared in the hallway. The vibe changed real quick. He didn’t say a word at first, he just stood there with a blunt of Confetti between his fingers. His eyes were dark and unreadable.
“Everything good back here?” he asked.
“Yeah, we good,” STG Maverick said, still grinning. He ignored the weight in Marcus’ voice. “I was just congratulatin’ your girl on that little show she put on up there.”
Marcus’s eyes flicked to June. “She’s not my girl,” he said as he blew out the smoke, “but she work here. Which means business before pleasure.”
STG Maverick raised an eyebrow and let out a short laugh. “Ain’t no harm in a lil’ pleasure, though right?”
Marcus planted himself in Maverick's space. “Not tonight.”
Maverick sized Marcus up. “Damn, you run the club or the women too?”
June turned away quick trying not to laugh because she already knew Marcus wasn’t about to let a comment like that fly by him without checkin it.
Marcus took another pull from the blunt before speaking.
“I run whatever's attached to my fuckin' money.
And I don't like when distractions come around my business.
I'm not allowing nothing or no one to come and fuck up my hustle.
I'm sure a getting money nigga like yourself can understand that, right?” Marcus asked sarcastically.
Maverick nodded slowly like he heard him, but he was still gonna hold his own. He didn't give a fuck if he was standing in another niggas place of business.
“Ain’t nobody distracting her, my guy,” he said. “I’m just showing love. That’s all.”
Marcus stepped even closer. “You showed enough.”
The hallway got quiet as fuck. Even the people walking through the hallway slowed down after they saw Marcus invade Maverick's personal space.
Maverick looked Marcus before chuckling softly to himself. “Say less,” he said. “You got it, Playboy.”
Then he lifted his hand, formed a gun with his fingers, and pretended to shoot Marcus in the head. “Pow.”
His entourage immediately started laughing. Marcus wasn't amused though.
Maverick looked Marcus over coldly and barred his teeth. “I see what type time you on old-head.”
Maverick looked back at June again. “It ain't about shit though lil baby, you still gon end up over there with me anyway. I ain’t trippin’ off a mothafuckin thing, ya heard?"
June folded her arms with a small smirk. “You sounding real confident over there.”
“A nigga like me got reasons to be. Ask about me in these fuckin' streets. I'm a fuckin' problem. Rappin' ain't the only shit I get into out here.” Maverick shot back looking directly at Marcus.
Marcus's facial expression didn't change.
Maverick noticed Marcus' expression and gave June a devilish smile. “I’ll catch you around though, shawty,” he said.
Then he pointed at Marcus and laughed. “And relax before your blood pressure go up, OG.”
He then winked at June and took off down the hallway. His entourage wasn't too far behind. A couple of them glanced back at Marcus like they wanted smoke and one of the members from his crew said, "Man, you better than me. I'd have put hands on cuz."
And Maverick responded. "Nah, I'm chilling bro. I ain't tryna catch another charge. Last thing I need is another case." Then they went further down the hallway.
June bit the inside of her cheek as she tried her hardest not to laugh. The moment Maverick disappeared, Marcus turned his eyes back on June. “I'm happy to see how this is amusing to you.”
June crossed her arms with her chin tilted up. “It is because you really just tried to scare off a whole Grammy nominee cause he said hi to me.”
Marcus gave a rueful chuckle. “I ain’t scare em’. I just reminded him of whose fucking house this is. Whatever happens in this mothafucka gotta go through me first.”
She batted her pretty eyelashes. “And what happens with me?”
He took a drag, then moved close enough for her to smell the smoke and bourbon on his breath. “You still tryna figure that part out?”
June hated how aware she was of him standing there. “Maybe I already know.”
Marcus smiled and flicked the ash from his blunt then stepped aside. “Then we’ll see if you right.”
June brushed past him and headed toward the dressing room. Marcus watched her go and a small grin graced his handsome face. He could already see that June was gon’ be a fucking problem.
The club was starting to settle down in preparation of closing for the night. The lights had dimmed low while the last few dancers grabbed their bags and counted their money. Glitter covered the floor near the stage and the DJ was already packing his stuff up.
June was still a little sweaty from performing and her curls were sticking to her forehead while her folded money sat tucked neatly inside her clutch. She was halfway to the door when she heard Marcus’s voice behind her.
“Yo, June.”
Something about the way he said her name made her stop. She turned around and saw Marcus walking toward her. He gave her a once-over before lighting his blunt. He pulled from the blunt and let the smoke hang between them.
“You did your thing tonight. I ain’t gon’ lie… you had the whole room in a trance. STG Maverick wasn't the only nigga losing his mind out there.”
June laughed lightly. “I noticed.”
Marcus smiled. “Nah but seriously, you got somethin’ special. You don’t move like the rest of these girls. You got presence and control. That’s rare.” He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “I like that shit.”
June tilted her head, studying him. “Is that a line you use on all your dancers?”
He chuckled. “Nah. I save that kinda talk for the ones who deserve it.” He flicked his ash into a tray with his eyes locked on hers. “Let me get your number. I’d like to get to know you a little better. Maybe grab somethin’ to eat sometime outside the club.”
June hesitated, clutching her bag a little tighter. “I don’t really mix business with personal affairs, Marcus.”
Marcus took that in, but honestly he wasn't taking no for an answer. “Aight,” he said. “Then don’t think of it like that. Think of it as two people having a conversation.”
June pretended to think about it, but truthfully she already knew she was gonna give it to him.
It was something about Marcus made her want to see what it was hitting for. He was fine, he was a paid ass nigga who could talk that shit, and he had a dangerous edge to him that she liked.
She pursed her lips. “Fine. But if you annoy me, I’m blocking you.”
Marcus laughed and handed her his phone. Their fingers brushed for a quick second while she typed her number in, and suddenly she was glad he couldn't read minds. When she handed the phone back, Marcus looked down at the screen before looking at her again.
“You not gon regret it,” he said.
June backed toward the door with a teasing smirk. “Goodnight, Marcus,” she said softly before turning away.
Marcus watched until she disappeared through the door. The money, the music, and the business could wait.
Right now, all he could think about was her.