Chapter 6
“Did you just renege? Oh, hell nah. You have to be fucking kidding me,” Chuck yelled, slamming his remaining cards down on the table in front of him.
East looked up and chuckled at how serious things had gotten at the Spades table. Chuck and his partner, Ogee, had to be up by about fifty grand, but from the way Chuck was cursing him out, East was sure they had just lost all of that.
“My bad, chill the fuck out. It really isn’t that deep.” Ogee seemed unbothered. He was always calm and the green he had been blazing for the past hour only intensified his mellow state.
“Yes, the fuck it is.” Chuck’s voice was loud and echoed in the room full of people.
The crowd was mixed with men and women. All of whom had full cups and access to as much of the good shit as they could handle.
Card nights were chill and brought in a lot of money.
Ten grand got you in the door and to a table.
But nothing less than thousand dollar bets were accepted with each play, even at the Spades table where Chuck currently was.
“Fuck you. Shut your crying ass up and let’s finish this hand so we can get that back. I’ll front the next one since you damn near in tears and shit.”
“Hell yeah, you gon’ front that shit. You were the one who reneged,” Chuck shot back at him, still pissed that they were about to lose.
East sat on the other side of the room at the Blackjack table, chuckling at Chuck and Ogee before he lifted the face down card in front of him and quickly did the math.
Eleven. A five of diamond and a six of spades.
Right after, his eyes moved around the table at the four other players.
East was an expert at reading people. Two of the men surveyed their cards and immediately smiled.
It was subtle and only noticeable to those who paid attention to detail.
East noticed. To his left, the player beside East grunted lightly while the player on that player’s side huffed before double-checking the face down card in front of him like it would somehow magically change.
“Two good hands and two busts.”
East tapped the table, requesting a card, then leaned back.
The others watched him briefly, but East had already tuned them out and gave his attention to the door.
They were in a storeroom at the back of the building that was double the size of the actual shop.
No windows and only one door, which provided the card players protection from anyone who wasn’t invited.
When there was a knock on the double plated metal door, East placed his hand on his hip and lifted his eyes to Bad Boy, who stood on watch, allowing entry to those who were invited and had their ten grand in cash.
The room was loud, full of players talking shit, winning or losing big, so no one noticed the exchange between East and Bad Boy. A slight nod was given, granting Bad Boy permission to check the door.
“Vega, what’s good? I heard you were out.”
East relaxed and Bad Boy stepped out the way, allowing Vega entry. East had mentioned that Vega might fall through.
“Yeah, I’m home. You good?” East’s seat gave him a visual of the entrance and he watched intently as Vega stepped in, followed by the woman who had been with Joi at Presidential a few days before. A slow smile spread across East’s face when Joi stepped in the door behind both of them.
“Damn, I’m out. That’s thirty grand for me.” The voice next to him caused East to bring his attention back to the table just in time to notice the dealer pushing a sea of chips toward him.
He smirked as his eyes found his cards, noticing the queen of clubs placed next to the six of Spades, which put East at twenty-one.
“One more hand. Don’t be a pussy,” East taunted before he gave his attention to the dealer. “Give me a minute. I’ll be right back.
East left his chips on the table, knowing no man in their right mind would fuck with his money.
It would be a death sentence. Once on his feet, East moved to the back of the room where Vega and Bad Boy were still talking, but they weren’t his intended target, so he bypassed them and walked right up to Joi, invading her personal space like they were familiar.
Her eyes lifted to his and he smirked at the displeased look she granted.
“What’s up, Grinch? I damn sure wasn’t expecting to see you tonight.” Hearing the way East addressed Joi caused Vega’s attention to move their way before he spoke with a hand extended.
“I hope it’s cool that I brought them with me. If not—”
“Nah, you good.” East dapped Vega, only giving him his attention briefly before it was back on Joi. “You covering their bets?”
“Yeah, I got them,” Vega stated with certainty.
His pockets were deep. Vega made good money under his brother before his fuck up, so covering them wasn’t shit to him.
The issue was Vega had to figure out a way to keep making money now that he was home.
For now, it was his old hustle, a problem Vega needed to do something about soon to avoid getting caught up again.
“Aight, bet, but I’ll do you one better. I’ll cover the Grinch. You can cover—”
East paused and gave his attention to Nyelle, who had her eyes on Joi. It took her a minute for her to actually look at East, and damn. Extending a hand, she spoke. “Nyelle, and who are you?”
“East. Your girl didn’t tell you about me?”
East’s eyes never left Joi, even when he shook Nyelle’s hand.
He could sense she was uncomfortable with his proximity, but he damn sure wasn’t letting up.
It amused him and she smelled good as hell.
The scent reminded him of apples and vanilla, which had thoughts of his tongue moving across her skin tiptoeing through his mind.
“Uh no, she didn’t. How do you know him, Joi?” She gave her girl a curious stare while her eyes darted back and forth between East and Joi.
“East is the guy who cut Nick’s hair.”
“Ohhh, the annoying barber. And I thought you said he was alright. He’s more than alright, Joi.”
“Come on, Pretty Ny. You gon’ disrespect me like that?” Vega teased, moving to her side.
He wasn’t offended or feeling insecure in the least. His ego was always intact and wouldn’t allow him to. Not to mention, he could already see East had his attention focused on Joi.
“I have eyes, sir. I’m just making an observation and calling my girl out on her shit,” she shot back with a smirk, causing Vega to chuckle.
“That’s what’s up, but let them do their thing while we do ours. Come on, let’s go cash in. You sure you good covering her ten? I don’t mind. She’s my guest.”
“Was your guest. She’s mine now.” East smirked at Joi before offering Vega a nod that he was good.
Nyelle was extremely excited about whatever she was witnessing with her girl and the sexy barber, so she turned to East to speak her piece. “Take care of my girl. Oh, and thank you for the cut on my son. It was dope as fuck, so he’ll be back.”
Joi frowned and looked at Nyelle. “I’m with you, not him. He doesn’t need to take care of me.”
East chuckled and walked up on her. At the same time, Nyelle gave him one last warning look, offered her girl a smile, and shook her head.
“That would be inaccurate. Looks like he just claimed all of your time for the evening, sis.” Nyelle grinned at her girl before leaving Joi in East’s care while she left with Vega en route to the money table.
“You too good to chill with me, Grinch?”
“Stop calling me that.”
“Why? You act just like him. Mean and hateful. Every time I see your ass, you’re looking like the aftermath of someone pissing in your Cheerios.”
“Maybe it’s the company I’ve been around when you see me.”
East was amused but not moved by her little show. She was feeling him, and he was also feeling her, so he ignored the comment and moved on.
“Bets are one stack minimum. You got that?”
“Yes, actually I do, but I’m not here to gamble.” Joi’s tone was cocky and matter of fact, which East liked. She didn’t seem to be the type to take shit, at least not from him. And that wasn’t normally the case, so he found it cute in a sense.
With a newfound motivation to break Joi’s bad attitude, East looked her up and down again, smiling to himself while he offered her a straight face. “Aight, cool. You can bet with me. You’re my personal guest tonight.”
“Uh, no thank you, sir.”
“Why not?” he quizzed, lifting one brow as he stared down at her.
The angle at which he was standing allowed him a nice visual down the slouched silk shirt she wore.
It pooled just above her tiny breasts and tied in the back with thin strings that extended from each side, stopping just above her navel, leaving a golden brown trail of her skin.
Her clothes covered just enough to be casually sexy but not enough that he would immediately want to fuck her and get sidetracked with the idea.
“Because this is illegal. I’m already risking a lot by being here. I’m damn sure not going to be a participant. What if a cop shows up?”
East smirked and nodded. “There are two over there at the poker table losing right now, so don’t worry about it. Just bring your scary ass on. You’re with me tonight.”
He turned to walk away without waiting to see if Joi was behind him. She groaned out a sigh of frustration but followed. How could she not when she was still tipsy off the smell of his cologne and high from the sight of him?
Once she made it to the table where East sat in one of the black vinyl and metal folding chairs, she stood next to him, looking around.
It wasn’t until then that she understood how serious it was because she noticed a few ballplayers and a few faces she remembered from the VIP at Presidential.
Once she located Nyelle, who was seated next to Vega grinning like a girl on a mission, she gave her attention to the table where she was standing, assuming her girl was good for now.
That meant she only had to be concerned with herself. And him.