Chapter 3
“Damn, it’s crowded in here.” Nyelle surveyed the scene around them as she moved through the club.
Joi was by her side as the two women who looked as sexy as they felt followed the bottle girl guiding them to their section.
The two didn’t go out much, but they refused to do gen pop when they did.
Neither was rich, but they were straight financially most days, so they splurged to have their own space.
After looking around the crowded club and individual VIP areas, Nyelle was grateful she had reserved one of the secluded sections for the two of them.
“Is someone performing tonight?”
Joi’s eyes scanned the floor after they entered the roped-off area sectioned into ten mini lounges.
Each one was full besides the one in the center.
When they reached the area, Joi and Nyelle both frowned as they looked around again.
Joi addressed the woman who removed the reserved sign from the brushed nickel podium where she stopped with the two of them.
“No, we have a DJ tonight, but someone bought out this entire floor. He wanted yours too, but you had already reserved it.”
“Who is he?” Nyelle questioned, assuming it was a celebrity.
“Umm, that’s him.”
The bottle girl pointed to a guy chilling three sections over, arms stretched wide and extended across the back of the sofa he was on.
He was alone in a sea of people considering that there were at least twenty women and an equal number of men standing and sitting around him.
The small red sofa he sat on could accommodate three but was void of anyone but him.
The man was older, possibly mid to late forties, but still very handsome and dressed nicely in black jeans, a Balenciaga sweatshirt and matching black Balenciaga sneakers. Simple, but he still made a statement.
“Drug dealer,” Joi and Nyelle said at the same time after their observation.
“Probably. It’s a ‘my little brother just touched down from a three-year bid’ party.
” The bottle girl rolled her eyes before she stepped out of the way and allowed Nyelle and Joi room to enter their section.
“It doesn’t matter to me, though. They’re throwing hundreds around like it’s confetti and their bottle order is up to five grand already.
My rent is going to be paid for the next two months after tonight.
” She grinned then glanced over her shoulder.
“We gave you this section for the same price as the smaller one since he booked all of them. What are you drinking?”
“Umm…” Joi and Nyelle looked at each other for a minute. “Bring two double shots of C?roc for now. Watermelon and pina colada.” Joi ordered their favorite, knowing it would give them a buzz but not have them wasted.
“No mixer or chaser?”
“No, but bring bottled water,” Joi instructed.
Joi knew she and Nyelle would be taking down C?roc shots most of the night, so water would be necessary to balance them as the night progressed.
“Got it. By the way, my name is Mali and I’ll be working your section tonight.
Have fun, and if you need anything, just type in your order and your table number.
” Mali pointed to the keypad on the table, but Joi and Nyelle had been there enough to know how things worked, so they both nodded with a smile.
“Thanks, boo,” Nyelle stated just as Mali left the two of them there to settle in.
The ladies did just that and no longer than it took for them to relax and start vibing to the loud music that thundered around them, Mali was back with their shots along with bottled water and a bucket of ice.
” She hurried into their section and placed everything down on the table while balancing four other bottles on the tray she was carrying.
Joi and Nyelle watched her head straight to the section where the so-called boss was with his entourage of people before they focused on their own situation.
“You know what time it is?” Nyelle stated as she wrapped her hand around the glass that had a chunk of watermelon on the side, while Joi lifted the one with the slice of pineapple.
Joi grinned and held up her glass.
“Shot, shot, shot, shot, shot, shot,” she sang while Nyelle laughed and held up her glass as well.
“To us, because we don’t give a fuck.”
“Ay, no fucks to give, boo,” Joi stated.
The two allowed their glasses to touch, then turned them up and downed the clear liquid. Both their faces balled up, thanks to the burn, but shortly after, smiles surfaced.
“Damn, that’s strong.”
“Yeah, it is, now let’s go dance.”
Joi’s nose scrunched at the thought. “I don’t want to go down there with those desperate men and thirsty hoes. That’s why we’re up here.”
“True, to chill, but we can’t dance up here. So bring your ass. I need to burn this off so I can be ready for another.”
“Ny…” Joi whined, knowing it wasn’t going to do her one bit of good.
Nyelle didn’t get out much because of work and Nick, so when she did, she went all in. Tonight would be no different.
“Ny, my ass. Bring yours and let's go turn these men out then shut them down right after.” She blew Joi a kiss and grabbed her arm, pulling her girl to her feet.
The two women eased out of their section and headed to the elevators that would take them to the main level where the DJ and dance floor were. They were so caught up in their pre-dance hype session that neither of them noticed they had eyes on them.
East was only a few feet away but stopped to examine both women after recognizing Joi.
It didn’t take much; he couldn’t forget someone like her, and the fact that she was there and seemingly in a much better mood than she had been when they crossed paths earlier made him curious.
Well, that and the tight, ripped black jeans and midriff shirt she wore.
Damn shorty is sexy. East watched the women, mainly Joi, until the elevator doors closed then continued to the section where he knew Ace was posted up.
Normally, he would make his presence known if he was interested in a woman, but tonight was different.
He was exhausted and only showed up out of respect for Ace.
The fact that his brother, Vega, was home after doing three years was the cause of tonight’s celebration.
When the invite was extended to East personally by Ace, he almost declined.
As cool as he was with the OG, public association was not a good look.
Ace was the name to reference with any type of illegal activity that moved through not only the city but the state of Georgia, along with Florida and the Carolinas.
Ace had even made a few moves out west because of his status.
Guns, drugs, hits, you name it, and Ace had his hands not only in it but controlling it.
Everyone knew East had come from the streets under the tutelage of Ace and even wondered if he still pushed a little something here and there, but they didn’t know for sure.
Being seen with Ace might give them reason to believe what they assumed was true.
That wasn’t the type of attention East wanted these days.
“Ay, look who’s in the muhfuckin’ building, the OG, East.”
A few people who were familiar with East turned when one of the youngsters shouted him out. Almost the entire section was drunk or high, so they erupted with admiration for East. He had done his time and earned a certain level of respect a lot of them were now chasing.
“Young G. I didn’t think you would make it.”
Ace had been chilling all night and addressing the people around him with a nod or an extended hand.
Now, on his feet, he dapped East and pulled him into a brotherly hug before returning to his spot, allowing East to take up one next to him.
Everyone around knew it was a sign of respect.
Ace had invited East into his personal space.
It was a gesture none of the other attendees had been afforded.
East’s long body relaxed into the soft leather. He extended his legs and placed them shoulder-width apart for comfort before he looked around.
“You paid for the whole floor?” East was curious to know if Joi and her girl were partying with men from the south side and the bluff.
“Tried to. That one in the middle belongs to somebody else. Two women, but they’re not an issue,” Ace tossed out, throwing his head in that direction. “What’s good with you? I didn’t think you would show. I know this isn’t your scene.”
East raked his hand down his face and nodded.
This definitely wasn’t his scene. He didn’t like big crowds and clubs only drew a bunch of drunk ass muthafuckers chasing pussy and women trying to latch onto one with money.
It was rare that anyone came out in this type of environment just to chill, which had him thinking about Joi again. Was she on that type of mission?
“Nah, you know it’s not. I don’t do crowds. I’m also not the group type, but Vega is home, and you asked me to fall through.”
Ace chuckled and nodded. He knew East only showed his face out of respect for him.
East was familiar with Vega through association, but East wasn’t the type to forge friendships or connections with people.
Not even Vega, considering how close East had been to Ace.
He was and had always been a loner. It worked best for him that way.
Ace knew East was a solid dude, even if he stayed to himself.
No best friends or partners to speak of because East only really trusted himself.
Ace was a lot like that in a sense, which was why he put East on back in the day. He could see himself in the young kid.
At sixteen, East had more heart than most men twice his age. He was also smarter than them too, considering he had done ten solid years in the game, stacked money, then switched things up. He now owned several legitimate businesses and was doing well for himself.