Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Cadence
a few days later...
If irritated was a person, it was definitely me.
I had gone to classes today, and my advisor sent a reminder email about my tuition balance, and I was over it.
I was on the verge of saying fuck it and dropping out, but it didn’t make sense when I was at the end of the rope.
Frustrated, I went through my day. I had clinical at the hospital in their rehab department and I was beat.
That didn’t stop the money from coming though, because I had a shift tonight and as bad as I wanted to call out, I knew I couldn’t afford to.
On top of rent and my regular bills, I had to pay this damn tuition, or I wouldn’t graduate.
By the time I left the hospital, my mama should’ve been off work, so I headed to her house. She got off early on Wednesdays, and I was hoping she cooked because I was starving.
When I pulled up to her house, I saw her car in the yard and I parked behind it. I knew she wouldn’t be leaving back out anytime soon.
“Mama!” I yelled her name as I walked inside.
“Girl, why are you so loud?” she countered as I made it into the living room.
“I’m not loud, you’re just old,” I laughed as I took a seat by her.
“What blew you this way? I don’t usually see you unless I call for you,” she stated.
“I was hoping you cooked, but that’s out the question because the only thing I smell in here are the plug-ins.” I frowned.
“I would’ve cooked had I known you were coming by. You’re so busy with school and everything else that I never know when I’ll see you,” she stated. I instantly felt bad because I was all she had.
“I’ll do better with coming by. I just be so busy between school, clinicals and work that I don’t even have time to think straight,” I answered honestly.
“I understand, but I would still like to see my only baby every now and then.” I simply nodded because there was nothing else I could say to that.
I stayed with my mama for another hour before I went home and got ready for work. There wasn’t much going on since it was Wednesday, but like I said, I needed all the money I could get my hands on.
I made it home in record time to take a shower and get dressed. While I was getting dressed, Janae pranced her ass into my room.
“I’m taking your fucking key. What if I was in here getting fucked through the mattress?” I tittered.
“Then I would high-five the nigga because somebody needs to,” she cackled at her own joke before flopping down on my bed.
“Why are you here, hoe?”
“I’m going to keep you company at work tonight. I’ain got shit to do so I might as well go and have a few drinks while you make a few dollars.” She shrugged.
Janae was a hairstylist, but she rented a booth in someone else’s shop.
She made good money, but she wanted her own shop so she could make more, and I didn’t blame her.
She came to work with me a few times because Stacks was cool with her brother and knew she wouldn’t cause any problems...
plus, she always paid for her drinks and food.
“You decided to come on the right night because it’s going to be slow and I’ll need the company,” I confirmed.
She nodded and played on her phone until I got ready. Once I was done, we got into her car and headed to the club.
The crowd looked decent for a Wednesday night when we pulled up, so I was hopeful.
Janae followed me through the employee entrance, and we headed down the small hallway before she went to the bar, and I got my things to clock in.
Luckily for her, I had the liberty of working the bar tonight and so I didn’t have to leave her unattended much.
It was no doubt that she could handle her own, but these niggas were ridiculous and I’d go against the world about my best friend.
“It’s stays packed in this muthafucka... I need to come get a part-time job,” Janae expressed while she looked around the club.
“With all that ass you got, you could definitely make a killing,” I chimed in with a smirk.
“Ooh, bitch, you tried it, but you right,” she co-signed as she stuck her tongue out and twerked in her seat.
“Stop all that ’fore you break my seat with your big ass head,” Stacks joked as he approached us.
“Hey, Boss Man,” I greeted.
“’Sup, Cady. I got Laci working with you tonight... be nice, man,” he voiced.
“Mhm... I can’t make any promises. That barracuda looking bitch swears somebody is jealous of her. The fuck I look like being jealous of a bitch that looks like she needs to be thrown overboard.” That caused Stacks, Geno, and Janae to burst into laughter. They knew I wasn’t lying, though.
“Just try to be cool. I’ll be around for a while before I leave it to Geno,” he stated.
Once Stacks left, I made sure my side of the bar was ready to go. For the first hour or so I was busy, and I appreciated every minute of it until the pest I couldn’t seem to shake approached me.
“Damn, you ain’t wanna fuck with your boy that much you stayed down here with the regulars?” I rolled my eyes as I heard Titan’s sexy, yet annoying voice.
“I go where I’m assigned. Everyone doesn’t have the luxury to do as they please and not worry about the consequences,” I fired back.
“Damn, baby. I feel like I should be offended.” He flashed a smile.
“You should now what do you want? I have customers and you don’t usually be down here so it must be a bitch close by,” I snapped, annoyed at the jealously of my own voice.
“Shit, I want you, but you playing,” he flirted.
“Oop,” Janae instigated. “Now friend, I know you ain’t about to turn this fine ass, rich ass, nigga down?” she blurted.
I snapped my eyes in her direction. “Could you fucking not?” I seethed.
Before either of us could say anything, Laci brought her turtle head over and started her shit.
“Hey, baby. You need me to get you something?” She touched Titan’s hand as she spoke. He snatched it back so fast and frowned his sexy face at her.
“You can start by getting the fuck out my face. Your breath smells like you gargled with a gallon of expired nut.” He frowned. Me and Janae couldn’t hold our laughter if we wanted to. She was clearly embarrassed and had every right to be.
“Something funny?” She snapped.
“Hell, yeah,” Janae laughed.
Instead of a comeback, she stormed off like a toddler on the verge of a temper tantrum. When she was out of sight, Titan turned his attention back to me.
“So, you gone give me your number so I can take you out?” he asked.
“I’ll pass. I have no interest in being another headline,” I assured. He may have been fine and all, but he stayed in the headlines a little too much for me. I’d beat his big ass for trying to play with me.
“Damn, that’s cold, baby. You just gone shoot me down like that?” he feigned hurt.
“Absolutely... now if you’re not getting a drink, you need to leave so I can make room for my paying customers,” I sassed.
He stood there for a second before dipping his hand in his pocket and pulling out a few bills before placing them in front of me.
“That’s for your time. Have a good night, Tink.” He winked his eye before turning around and interacting with a fan and taking a few pictures.
“Bitch, are you slow or some shit?” Janae started. “That man just offered to take you on a date, and I have never heard Titan Samuels wining and dining these bitches. You need to give that man your number, and maybe that’ll solve your tuition issues.” She shrugged.
“Could you not broadcast my business to the entire bar?” I hissed, looking around to see if anyone heard her. When I turned around, Titan was staring at me with that sexy ass smirk on his face, and I wanted to knock it right off.
Janae was right, but I couldn’t use Titan for his money, even if all he did was run through random women. I had more respect for myself than that.
Titan ended up staying downstairs longer than I expected.
I tried not to pay attention to him while I worked, but that was damn near impossible when every five minutes somebody was screaming his name or asking for a picture.
The nigga had the entire section lit up like he was hosting a meet and greet.
“Friend...” Janae dragged while sipping her drink. “That man keeps looking over here at you.”
“He’s literally standing at the bar, so of course he’s looking over here,” I muttered while cashing somebody out.
“No... he’s looking at you.” She smirked.
I ignored her because feeding her delusions was the last thing I needed to be doing tonight.
The more I tried not to look in Titan’s direction, the more aware of him I became.
One girl had her titties pressed so hard into him...
it looked like it hurt while she took a selfie.
You would think they were more acquainted than they actually were, but I guess as a public figure that was expected.
“That nigga knows he’s fine as hell,” Janae continued.
“I know he’s annoying as hell.”
“That, too.” She laughed.
The music switched, and the crowd started getting thicker around the bar. Me and Laci instantly got busy making drinks back-to-back. By the time I finished one order, another person was already in my face.
“Three lemon drops... Casamigos and pineapple... two screwdrivers... can I close my tab?”
The rush hit all at once, and I appreciated it because it kept me from paying attention to Titan.
At least until Geno slid behind me, laughing.
“You got yourself an admirer, Cady.”
“I’ain got shit,” I replied dryly.
Geno snorted before nodding toward the register. “Nah, for real. Your boy covered that whole tab and added in your tip.”
My brows furrowed. “What?”
“That section over there?” He pointed toward a group of girls and two men near the end of the bar. “Titan paid for all their drinks before he walked off.”
I instantly looked up and found him standing near the entrance talking to his teammate Ja’Kobe. Like he felt me staring, his eyes slid in my direction and that damn smirk stretched across his face again.
I rolled my eyes and looked away.
“What’d he tip?” Janae asked nosily.
“Enough for her to clock out if she wanted to,” Geno mentioned.
“See!” Janae slapped the bar dramatically. “That’s what I’m trying to tell your hard-headed ass. That man wants you.”
“That man doesn’t like to be defeated,” I countered.
“Men like Titan don’t have to know women to spend money on them,” Laci suddenly chimed in while restocking liquor behind me. “Some females just know how to capitalize off certain situations.”
“And what that’s supposed to mean?” I asked.
“Nothing.” She shrugged. “I’m just saying some girls know how to use what they got to get what they want.” She smirked.
“And some girls use what they got and still don’t get what they want. Shit’s crazy,” Janae jibbed as she took back her shot.
“Was I talking to you?” Laci sneered.
“Nah, but I answered anyway.” Janae smiled sweetly.
“You hoes always think somebody jealous of y’all.”
“Jealous of what? A body count bigger than the entire state or the permanent stench from fucking and sucking on random niggas?” I cocked my head to the side and waited for her to come back so I could knock that dried up wig off her head.
Geno started coughing to cover his laugh while Laci glared daggers at me.
“Whatever,” she snapped before storming off toward the other end of the bar.
“Why she walk like her knees hurt?” Janae asked loud as hell.
I burst out laughing because she damn sure did.
“Y’all be chill and let’s get through the rest of the night.”
The rush finally slowed down a little after another thirty minutes, and I took the chance to check my phone. The second the screen lit up, my good mood disappeared.
PAYMENT REMINDER.
My jaw clenched immediately.
I opened the email and felt sick all over again while reading the amount due at the bottom. It felt like every time I blinked, somebody wanted money from me. Tuition. Rent. Car note. Books. Gas. Groceries.
I was one inconvenience away from losing my damn mind.
“You good?”
Titan’s deep voice startled me so bad I almost dropped my phone.
“Damn, nigga. You’re too big to be so damn quiet,” I muttered while locking my screen.
“I’m just light on my feet, baby.” His eyes lingered on my face for a second longer than necessary. “You straight?”
“I’m fine.”
“Damn sure is,” he continued to flirt.
I crossed my arms. “Why are you still down here? Don’t y’all got sections upstairs for rich people?”
“Damn, you always got an attitude?”
“Only for people who irritate me,” I shot back.
“And I irritate you?”
“Real bad.”
“That’s fucked up, Tink.” He smiled.
“My name is not Tink.”
“It fits you, though.” He shrugged.
“No, it doesn’t.”
“Aight then, what I’m supposed to call you?”
“Absolutely nothing at all,” I uttered, hoping he would leave me alone.
“That ain’t gone happen,” he insisted.
Before I could respond, somebody called his name from across the room. He glanced over his shoulder briefly before looking back at me.
“You sure you ain’t gone give me your number?”
“I’m positive.”
“You’re acting like I asked you to donate a kidney or some shit.”
I laughed before I could stop myself and immediately regretted it when his expression changed slightly like he caught me slipping.
“There she go,” he murmured smugly. “I knew you knew how to smile.”
“Boy, bye.”
He reached into his pocket again and sat more money on the counter.
I frowned instantly. “What is this for?”
“For irritating you.”
“I don’t want your money.”
“Aight.” He pushed it closer, anyway. “Don’t spend it then.”
“Titan—”
“Have a goodnight, Tink.”
He winked before turning around and disappeared into the crowd again.
The second he was gone, Janae slid over dramatically.
“Oh, bitch. He’s on your ass bad.”
“He is not,” I deflected.
“He absolutely is.” She pointed at the money sitting on the counter. “And if you don’t want it, slide it my way because my car insurance due.”
I shook my head while grabbing the cash to stuff it under the register.
I hated that a small part of me wanted to smile.
The rest of the night moved quicker after that. By the time we closed and cleaned up, my feet were killing me, and all I wanted was a shower and my bed.
Me and Janae had barely pulled out the parking lot before she started back up.
“You gone end up talking to that man.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
“I’m really not.”
“Cadence,” she deadpanned. “That man is rich, fine, famous and apparently can fuck you through concrete tile if you believe the blogs.”
I snorted. “You are so damn aggravating.”
“And you’re in denial.”
Instead of going back and forth with her, I pulled my phone out of my purse to check the time when a notification suddenly popped up across my screen.
@TitanWR17 started following you.
“... This nigga.”