Chapter 22 Thad
THAD
Mehar was a bad bitch and she had the innocence of a virgin. This bitch was naive as fuck and had only fucked her husband. She was as close to a virgin as I was gonna get in this crazy world. Most of these females was straight up hoes.
Hard to come by a bitch who ain’t been touched. And I wanted some of that innocent pussy. Walls that ain’t been worked before. I knew she was the one when I saw her at that bakery opening.
I hadn’t been coming around the Banks for years, but over the last year or so I was getting in good. My illegal activities were starting to catch up with me. Most of my boys have gotten arrested. Not me though. Because I was the one who had snitched on those niggas to save my ass.
When shit got too hot in Cali, I hopped on a plane and came on back home to DC. My cousins were makin’ major moves in the city. They had it a lil bit better than I did growin’ up.
Alex was my father’s big brother. But my pops ain’t have the same ambition. So he never got into the business. I had to find my own way. However, I want clean money now, so I came here to work with those niggas. So far, so good.
But Mehar. Yeah I saw that joint at the lil opening for Prime’s bitch, and she was lookin’ bad. I could tell by the look in her eye that she ain’t been fucked good before. I had to get a piece. I knew it was gonna be difficult, but I played my part to get in those panties.
She wasn’t all used up so it was worth it. Fancy restaurants, pretending like I gave a fuck about whatever was coming out of her pretty-ass mouth, oh and savin’ her lil life.
I paid my nigga Redz to run up on her. For $500, he let me beat his ass so that I could look like the hero of the fuckin’ year.
And that night, I got to crack. She rode me like a pro, which had me side eyein’ her a bit.
Bitch said she ain’t fucked since her ex-husband—why was she so damn good though?
It had been about a week and she was ridin’ me nightly. I was gettin’ all I could out of the situation before I had to cut her loose. Soon, my baby mother was moving out here and I was gonna double down and commit to her. But for now, I wanted Mehar on my dick.
I watched her sleep.
She looked peaceful. Innocent. Her hair was spread across my pillow, her lips slightly parted, one hand tucked under her cheek like a little kid. The sheet had slipped down, showing off the curve of her hip, the smooth brown skin I’d been all over last night.
Pretty little thing. Too bad she was so stupid.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand. I grabbed it before it could wake her up.
Redz.
I slipped out of bed and walked to the living room, closing the bedroom door behind me.
“What?” I answered.
“Yo, you fucked me up the other night, bro.” Redz’s voice was strained. Pissed. “I went to the doctor yesterday. You broke two of my ribs.”
“I had to make it look real.”
“You ain’t have to go that hard though. I can barely breathe without it hurtin’.”
I rolled my eyes. This nigga was soft as baby shit. “What you want me to do about it?”
“I need more money. Five hundred ain’t cuttin’ it. I got medical bills now. I need at least another stack.”
A stack. This bum ass nigga wanted a thousand more dollars because he couldn’t take a few hits.
But whatever. It was worth it to keep him quiet. Last thing I needed was Redz running his mouth about our little arrangement.
“Aight,” I said. “I’ll Cash App you later today.”
“Bet. And yo—we good after this, right? I ain’t tryna get caught up in no more of your schemes.”
“We good. Just keep your mouth shut.”
I hung up before he could say anything else.
Soon as I put the phone down, it buzzed again. This time it was a text.
Kacey.
My baby mother. My real one. The woman I was actually gonna build a life with.
She’d sent a picture. Her pregnant belly round and full, our daughter Kalani on her hip, both of them smiling at the camera. Kalani was two now, looking more like me every day. And the baby in Kacey’s stomach—my son—was due in a few months.
Can’t wait to be there with you baby. Once lil man is born and I recover, we’re on the first flight out. You better have our house ready!
I smiled. A real smile. Not the fake shit I gave Mehar.
Kacey was the one. Had been since high school. Yeah, I fucked around—a lot—but she was always home base. She knew about some of my dirt, didn’t ask too many questions about the rest, and she held me down no matter what. That’s wifey material right there.
I typed back: It’s gonna be ready. I got y’all. Tell Kalani daddy loves her.
Three heart emojis came back.
I put the phone down and went to check on the Uber Eats I’d ordered. Should be here any minute. I got Mehar some fancy breakfast—avocado toast, a veggie omelet, fresh squeezed orange juice. The kind of healthy shit she was always talking about eating.
Gotta keep her happy. Happy bitches don’t ask questions.
The doorbell rang. I grabbed the food, tipped the driver, and brought it to the kitchen. Started setting it up nice on plates, like I actually gave a fuck about presentation.
“Mmm, something smells good.”
Mehar appeared in the doorway, rubbing her eyes, wearing nothing but my t-shirt. It hung off her shoulder, hit her mid-thigh. She looked sexy as hell. And completely clueless.
“Made you breakfast,” I said, gesturing to the spread.
Her whole face lit up. “Thad! You didn’t have to do this.”
“I wanted to.” I pulled out a chair for her. “You gotta eat before you go to work. Can’t have my girl running the bakery on an empty stomach.”
She sat down, looking at the food like I’d cooked it myself instead of paying twenty dollars for someone to deliver it.
“This is so sweet.” She looked up at me with those big brown eyes. “Thank you.”
“Anything for you.”
She ate while I sipped my coffee and watched her.
She was telling me about something—the bakery, some new recipe she wanted to try, her sister Zainab’s court case—but I wasn’t really listening.
Just nodding at the right times, throwing in a “that’s crazy” or “damn, for real?” when it seemed appropriate.
That’s all you gotta do with women. Pretend to listen. They do all the work themselves, filling in the blanks, convincing themselves you’re the perfect man.
After she finished eating, she hopped in the shower. I could hear her humming some song through the bathroom door. Happy. Content. Thinking she’d found a good one.
When she came out, she was dressed for work—jeans, a Sweet Zin t-shirt, her hair pulled back. She grabbed her purse and keys, then came over to where I was sitting on the couch.
“I gotta go,” she said, leaning down to kiss me. “Thank you for breakfast. And for… everything.”
I pulled her onto my lap. “Come back later.”
“You know I will.”
“Good.” I looked in her eyes, made my face go soft. Vulnerable. “Because I’m falling in love with you, Mehar.”
Her breath caught. Her eyes went wide. For a second she didn’t say anything, just stared at me like I’d handed her the moon.
“I’m falling in love with you too,” she whispered.
She kissed me again. Deeper this time. Then she pulled back, smiled that pretty smile, and headed for the door.
“I’ll see you tonight,” she said.
“Can’t wait.”
The door closed behind her.
I sat there for a minute, staring at the door, thinking.
Kacey was moving here in a few months. That was the plan. Set up a house, get my family out here, start fresh with clean money and a legit life.
But Mehar…
That pussy was too good to give up.
Maybe I ain’t have to cut her loose after all. Plenty of niggas had a main and a side. Kacey ain’t have to know about Mehar. And Mehar damn sure wasn’t gonna find out about Kacey.
I could have both.
Why not?
I smiled, picked up my phone, and started looking at houses for my family.
Life was good.