Chapter 6 #3
“One beer. I’m straight. Trust me on that.”
“Two shots, and I’m straight too. Trust me on that.”
East chuckled and nodded before lifting his beer to his lips. “She know him before he went in?”
Joi’s eyes shot over to Nyelle and Vega, who were now at the Spades table. The two were across from each other, laughing and smiling with friendly banter between them and their competitors, but it looked like the pair weren’t doing so well as far as the game was going.
“No, they just met.”
“And y’all are here with him?” He eyed her skeptically, trying to decide if he was okay with that. Women had all types of reasons for wanting to be around a man like Vega. Friends were also like-minded, so…
“He asked. It was last minute, but he seemed cool.”
East stared at Joi for a minute before responding. The way his piercing dark eyes drank her in had Joi feeling uncomfortable. “A lot of muthafucker seem cool, but they’re not. You should be more careful with those types of decisions.”
Joi’s nose scrunched a little as she watched him lift his beer again. Those damn lips. Shaking the thought, she asked her next question. “You’re not cool with Vega? It seemed like you were.”
“He’s straight, I guess. I don’t really know him like that. He’s only here by association. I’m cool with his brother Ace.”
“But you don’t like Vega?” Joi questioned again, assuming that East wasn’t fond of him, and that’s where the warning came from.
He looked down at her with a straight face.
“I don’t really know shit about him. He comes from good people, and he has never done shit to me.
I can’t tell you if I like or dislike him because I’ve never put that much thought into it.
I don’t function that way. My only concern is my own shit, not the next man’s. ”
The way he spoke wasn’t disrespectful or in any way sending shots at Vega.
East was just being honest. From what he knew, Vega was a standup guy who just needed to figure some shit out.
It wasn’t East’s place to judge the man or worry about his past or what little knew.
Doing shit like that is what got a lot of muthafuckers caught up.
It was damn near impossible to handle your own shit when you were worried about the next man. That was something East just didn’t do.
“Wait, so I’m confused about the warning then.”
“I’m just saying. The first time I met you, you barely even spoke. You just met old boy. You and your girl hopped in a car with him. Be more careful, that’s my only warning.”
A smile stretched across Joi’s face. “Oh, I get it. Your ego is hurt because I didn’t fall in line like I’m sure all the other women do for you.”
East laughed hard and deep, looking down at Joi like she had lost her damn mind.
The last time a woman had come anywhere near to bruising his ego was when he was sixteen years old.
It was his first sexual encounter and she was five years his senior.
After they finished, she tried to casually play him about the fact that he came so quickly.
It was his first time ever in pussy and she was experienced.
No matter how much porn he watched or how many old heads schooled him on what to do when the time came, East didn’t know shit the first time he slid up in something tight and wet. He nutted after a few short minutes.
When she came for him about it, East tried to play it off, but she really fucked with his confidence.
It only lasted for about a week because she was blowing him up, begging to see him again.
He never returned a text or a call but fucked her one night a year later in a club where she could barely keep up.
East lost count of the number of times he made her cum before he busted one of his own.
Satisfied that he proved his worth, East never so much as looked at her twice.
“Nah, Grinch. My ego is untouchable and very much intact. I’m just warning you to be more careful, that’s all. You’re pretty as fuck. A little skinny and shit, but someone would still try to get at you. I’m just looking out. It doesn’t have shit to do with my ego.”
“Yeah, I bet.” Even if he had lowkey just dissed her by calling her skinny, Joi was still intrigued by everything about East. His confidence smothered her in a sense.
It was so overwhelming and palpable that she wondered if he had ever in life doubted himself.
She also noticed it wasn’t as if he even attempted to promote it either. It was just who he was.
After being in his presence all night, Joi quickly learned East was unbothered by attention.
She noted how men and women would openly stare, waiting for East to notice them.
When he did, he only offered a slight nod or a one-word acknowledgment.
Some didn’t even qualify for that, while those who fell over themselves to approach him showered him with attention East barely entertained. It all seemed to annoy him.
East wanted to be left alone, but it was impossible because the same as Joi was drawn to him, others were naturally drawn to East as well.
It didn’t make sense because East was a man of few words with everyone except Joi.
It wasn’t like he was rude, but he was definitely unwelcoming unless he deemed them necessary.
“You’ll learn about me soon enough.” East winked at Joi, who rolled her eyes before looking around in an effort to send her focus anywhere but to East.
He was slowly winning her over and she wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing.
In her attempt to avoid him, she noticed a barely dressed, very shapely woman heading his, or rather their, way.
Joi laughed lightly to herself when the woman stopped right between East’s legs, pushing her hip to the side and placing a hand there.
Joi was instantly curious as to how he would react and his first move was strike one, in her opinion.
East took in the woman from what was eye level to him until his chin lifted slightly so he could see her face.
It wasn’t until then that the woman spoke.
“Hey, East, I haven’t seen you in a minute.”
“You’ve been in my face all night and you just saw me a few days ago at Presidential.” He spoke with no emotion one way or another.
Joi wasn’t sure if she should leave to give them privacy or stay to see how it was going to turn out.
“Yeah, I know, but I didn’t really get to see you. Not the way I like.”
A slow smile spread across Nae’s face while she waited for East to respond.
For the past few hours, she had watched him giving all of his attention to the woman sitting next to him and she wasn’t feeling it.
The ten grand she showed up with that night could have been used to shop, but she wanted a chance at possibly spending the night in East’s bed.
The second she realized that might not happen, she got pissed and decided to try one last thing before he left with the woman who apparently had all his attention.
East knew the deal. This wasn’t new to him.
Women liked to feel as if they were more relevant in his life than they were.
Sex didn’t give any of the women he dealt with any more of a claim to him than the next.
Placing his hand over his mouth and moving it down slightly to caress his beard before he spoke gave East a minute to decide how he wanted to handle the situation.
“If you not seeing me the way you like is referring to me not fucking you, then that was by choice, Nae. I could have made it happen if it’s what I wanted.
I went home alone, which means I didn’t.
The fact that you’re here trying to let her know we have some type of situation is really childish as fuck. Go home, Nae, you look dumb right now.”
Upon delivering his last thoughts, his eyes lifted to Nae, causing her to drop hers.
She was well aware that she had messed up, trying East like she had a right to.
But, this chick, whoever the hell she was, was not about to step into a position Nae had put in work to secure.
East was acting out of character. He wasn’t an affectionate person, at least not that Nae had ever seen.
Even during sex, there were rules. No kissing, no cuddling, no intimacy.
East barely held a conversation past telling you what position to be in, but tonight, Nae had seen him giving attention she had never received.
After two years of dealing with East, she had never been with him any way other than sexually.
To see him the way he was now had Nae flooded with jealousy.
East had a girl in his lap, laughing and talking to her, and allowing her to control his bets.
Now, the two were ducked off in the corner, sharing drinks like they were a happy little couple.
Nae had never seen the woman before, but he seemed comfortable with her.
East had never been comfortable with anything other than being alone.
He was all about business but never comfortable.
“Ay, why you still standing here, Nae? Is there something else you need to run by me?” His expression showed nothing, but his eyes held a threat she wasn’t prepared to challenge.
“No, sorry.”
With a barely noticeable nod, East dismissed Nae with the intent of further addressing her behavior in more detail, just at a later date, in private.
He didn’t appreciate the picture she attempted to paint and would make sure she understood it was to never happen again or they would never happen again.
Joi rolled her eyes when Nae walked away with a little too much effort directed at her ass.
She was trying hard to be noticed and Joi assumed it was because she had been dismissed.
While Joi watched Nae, East kept an eye on Joi.
Although he didn’t give her his total focus, he could see her in his periphery.