Chapter 3 #3
The look Riggs and Reg shared left Joi a little unsettled, but she wrote it off. The four of them walked to the elevators and held up their wrists to the bouncer standing by it. After gaining access, they were on their way up.
As soon as they stepped off and made it to their section, Reg eased into a spot next to Joi.
He made sure her back was to the section where Ace and his team were, knowing one of his jump-offs was there waiting.
Tasha knew better than to approach him while he was with Joi, or so he hoped, but he wasn’t taking chances.
So he cut Joi’s line of sight while making sure to keep his.
“How long you gon’ be out?” Reg questioned, moving his hand up and down Joi’s thigh.
She was looking nice, but his mind was on other things.
Tasha, who was waiting for him, was on some other shit.
She would pop a pill and do things Joi wouldn’t consider.
Nasty shit that had his dick hard for hours at a time.
Joi was a good girl. She had a freaky side, but it didn’t compete with a woman like Tasha, whose only goal was to please him.
Reg also respected Joi too much to ask her to do the things Tasha would do, like busting down her throat, fucking her in the ass, and inviting other women in bed with them.
Joi also wouldn’t let him hit raw and Tasha would.
Reg kept a rotation of Plan Bs stocked for his women because he didn’t want kids, and as long as his tests always came back negative, he enjoyed the feel of good pussy unguarded.
“Not long. You coming to my place tonight?” Joi looked at her man, admiring his fresh cut.
There was no denying how handsome he was.
Reg was dark chocolate, just the way she liked.
Joi had never been a fan of any man who didn’t have medium to dark brown skin.
Reg was definitely that. Dressed in dark jeans and a cream shirt that looked good against his skin, Joi was feeling a little something that she wanted Reg to handle, but she had already committed time to her girl for the evening.
“Nah, we’ll probably shut this hoe down tonight. Vega just got out, so this gon’ be a late night, or rather morning.” He smirked and Joi wasn’t happy about his answer.
“Do I need to be concerned?”
“Hell nah. I’m just chilling with my crew, more or less out of obligation.
You know how that shit goes. It isn’t about anything but that.
I can come to you if you want, but I know how you are about your sleep.
You don’t want me waking you up at four in the morning when you have to be up by seven, but I will if you need to keep tabs,” he offered and prayed she didn’t agree.
“No, it’s fine. Just don’t do anything that will have me looking crazy out here behind you.” Joi’s eyes shot over to Nyelle, who had her face buried in her phone while ignoring Riggs.
“Come on, Joi.” He gripped her chin and kissed her passionately. She wiped her lipstick away with her thumb right after. “I told you, I only see you.”
“That’s what you say.”
“Because it’s the truth. You good, though? I’m about to head back over there. I’m close if you need me.”
“Close, so I can watch you,” she warned.
“Stop tripping, man. You’re always speaking bad shit into existence.”
“So, if you cheat, I made it happen? I have no control over you being with other women, Reg.”
“I’m not gon’ cheat, so stop talking that shit up, is all I’m saying.”
Reg got up and kissed her cheek before motioning for his boy to join him. Joi and Nyelle both watched the men cross through the crowd until they were out of sight. There were so many people on the VIP floor that they no longer had a visual of the section Reg and Riggs had gone to.
“You good?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Because he’s leaving.”
“I don’t care about that. It’s girls’ night. Long as he behaves, then I’m good.”
“If he doesn’t, I’m gonna cut his ass. I still don’t trust him.
You know Riggs was trying his best to hit on me, and I was like, don’t you have a girl?
This man said hell no. Either he’s lying or Reg lied to you earlier.
Just keep your eye on him, Joi. Real shit,” Nyelle fussed before Joi nodded but kept her thoughts to herself.
The feeling in her gut was growing stronger by the minute and she planned to do a little investigating real soon.
The entire time Reg interacted with Joi, East watched from the bar.
His plan was to get a bottle of water then dip.
He had already said his goodbyes to Ace and was on his way out when he noticed Joi and Nyelle had returned.
Had she been alone, he likely would have just stuck to his original plan, but the fact that she was with someone had East invading their privacy to see what was up with them.
She has somebody. The second East laid eyes on her dude, he knew what was up.
Her man was hanging with Ace, which meant Joi had a thing for dope boys.
It didn’t fit, but he knew how things like that worked.
East had busted down plenty of good girls chasing the highs that came from a man in the streets.
Maybe he overestimated Joi’s position. Looks could be deceiving, but he pegged her as a woman who didn’t chase those dangerous highs.
The ones who could be deadly with even more deadly consequences.
“This muthafucker isn’t shit,” East mumbled to himself, peeping old boy’s game.
East had seen him earlier all over some chick he knew was still in Ace’s section.
East didn’t know Reg, but he knew he wasn’t faithful.
Everything about him was a clear indication.
He ran with Ace’s team, which meant he was getting money.
His girl was at the club and he had the confidence to be all up on his side piece a few feet away.
A lot of men couldn’t handle the privilege of money and power.
One of those privileges being access to bad ass women willing to do whatever, whenever, as long as your pockets were deep.
When East noticed Reg heading back to Ace’s section, he watched him until the woman he noticed him with earlier eased into his lap.
He whispered something in her ear then tongued her down before he pushed his hand between her legs, causing her to giggle before she got off his lap and put some space between them.
“He really isn’t shit,” East mumbled to himself for a second time when he noticed Joi out the corner of his eye.
She stood and pointed to the corner where he knew the bathrooms were, so he grabbed his bottle of water and took off in that direction.
She arrived before he did and he posted up outside the private bathroom until she surfaced again, holding the door open with her body while she tossed the paper towel in her hand to the side and completely exited the bathroom.
He was across from her, so the second she looked up, their eyes met.
Joi frowned while East’s expression didn’t change. It was stern, unreadable, and nothing like the smiles he had offered Joi a few hours before at his shop. Instead of a greeting when he opened his mouth to speak, he hit her with a question.
“That’s your man I saw you with?”
“You stalking me?”
East laughed arrogantly and pulled his body from the wall.
He entered her personal space without invitation and Joi unconsciously took a step back.
East moved forward again to close the space she had created.
As faint as his cologne was, it still hit Joi’s senses.
She felt a bit thrown off by his presence and how good he smelled.
“The fuck I look like stalking a woman I don’t know? You really got me fucked up, don’t you?” East smiled, this time amused by how relevant she thought she was. “I noticed you with him. That’s your man?”
“Yes, why?” Joi was nervous from his closeness. His presence sparked something in her that she had no business feeling. Reg, think about Reg, Joi.
“What you know about him?”
The question was odd, so Joi’s face balled up even more.
“I’m not sure how I’m supposed to answer that.”
“It’s a simple question. That’s your man, so you should know how he moves.”
“I do,” Joi threw at East quickly and defensively. But did she know how Reg moved? It seemed like there was something more to East’s question.
East sensed her uncertainty and chuckled.
It wasn’t his place to put another man’s business out here.
Her man wasn’t shit, but maybe she knew it already.
He didn’t care one way or another, but it did give him the green light to push up on her if he saw her again.
Where East was concerned, any man who wasn’t taking care of home had to deal with the consequences of a man like him filling the void.
East was seriously considering filling that void with Joi, but tonight was not the night to initiate that.
If he saw her again, he would take it there, but right now, he was going home.
“Be easy, pretty,” was all he said and it totally threw Joi.
“Wait, do you know Reg?” She followed him, but East kept moving and tossed his answer over his shoulder.
“No, and I’m sure you don’t either. Like I said, be easy, and I’ll see you around.”
Joi stood there, confused by what had just happened. Her eyes quickly moved around, trying to locate Reg. He wasn’t anywhere in sight, so she called him. No answer. Right after, a text came through.
You good, baby? It’s loud in here, so I didn’t answer.
Joi did a three-sixty turn, surveying the place, but still not finding Reg.
So, she texted back.
Where are you?
A minute later, she got a response.
Main floor, you need me?
She rolled her eyes and sent her reply to his question.
No, just didn’t see you. I’ll be leaving soon. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.
She didn’t bother to wait for a reply. Instead, she headed back to join Nyelle.
With thoughts of both Reg and East on her mind, she wasn’t sure why, but she knew something was off about her interaction with both men.
For the time being, Joi pushed it to the back of her mind and decided to enjoy the rest of her night.
“You good, Joi?”
“Yeah, girl. Why you all up on me?” Joi responded with sass and a smile.
Her girl was always ready for anything, but Joi wasn’t in the mood for anything to pop off. She kept her thoughts to herself about the interaction she had with East and the thoughts he put in her head about Reg.
“Because, hoe, I know you, and I can tell that you’re not good. I won’t push though. When you want me to know, you’ll tell me, then we can fuck Reg up for being dumb.”
Exactly why I’m not telling your crazy ass anything. She rolled her eyes and leaned forward to put in another drink order.
“Nobody is worried about you or Reg. Now, what are you drinking? This the last round before I take my ass home.”
“It’s early, Joi.”
“And what?” It was just after one, and the club didn’t close until four, but there was no way either of them were staying that long.
Nyelle was talking trash, but she was just as ready to go as Joi.
She rattled off her request for a Henny and Coke then started dancing in her seat to the beat damn near vibrating through the floor.
She planned to make the most of what was left of her night and that meant draining her body of every bit of pent up energy, so when she got home she would sleep like a baby.
She hated being home alone and wasn’t looking forward to it, so her intoxicated state would be her solace.