Chapter 6
A f t e r T a e l y n h u n g up, I just lay in bed for a second with the phone still in my hand, grinning like a damn fool.
I couldn’t even front, hearing her say she’d been thinking about me all day had me floating.
Ain’t nothing like when a woman you really want admits she’d been fiending for you too. She missed a nigga. That shit was cute.
I ran a hand down my face and exhaled. That blunt had me stuck for a minute. I needed to get up and start my night, but damn if my body didn’t want to stay in bed and replay every second of the last time I was buried inside Taelyn’s pussy.
“Focus, nigga,” I muttered to myself, swinging my legs off the bed and sitting up. I still had a couple of errands to run before linking with my nigga Melz, and then it was back to the grind.
By five, I was pulling up to the barbershop.
The door chimed when I walked in, and the scent of clippers, fresh fades, and loud ass jokes slapped me in the face like always.
“Ayeeee! Look who finally stopped by!” D, my barber, called out, nodding me toward his chair.
“I thought yo’ ass was gonna start growin’ locs the way you ain’t been up in here. ”
I dabbed up a few of the fellas on the way, laughing. “Nigga, you just stay booked like you cut for Drake and shit. Damn.”
D laughed, snapping the cape around me. “I’m just tryna get on yo’ level. You still drivin’ the school bus and runnin’ them quickie drops?”
“Gotta do what I gotta do,” I said, leaning back in the chair. “Tryna buy a house. I’m stackin’ every penny.”
“Aye, respect,” one of the other barbers said. “No shame in that. Lotta folks out here lazy as hell. You always been on yo’ grind.”
D clicked on the clippers. “What you tryna get into this weekend anyway? You got that look.”
I smirked. “Valentine’s shit.”
“Oooh, he doin’ the grown man thang!” another dude chimed in. “Wine and dine?”
“Somethin’ chill,” I said, trying to keep it cool, but lowkey I was hype.
D grinned. “Ol’ girl you been rockin’ wit’ for a minute?”
“Hell nah. I deaded that shit. I got somethin’ else lined up.” The shop erupted when I said that shit.
“Ohhh yeah, he cuffing!”
“Nah, I ain’t cuffed. Not yet,” I said, chuckling. “But she pressure, though.” D finished up, lined me crispy, and sent me out the door grinning.
My next stop was the liquor store. I walked in and grabbed a bottle of Remy for the night like it was second nature. Then, I picked up some Patrón for tomorrow, remembering Taelyn like that shit.
Climbing back in the car, I headed straight for Tony’s Subs. A chopped cheese was calling my name. Once I grabbed my food, I hit up this nigga Melz.
Melz texted back quickly, telling me to slide through. By the time I finally pulled up to his apartment full as fuck, his ass was already in full gaming mode. Controller clicking, 2K trash talk flying across the room, smoke hanging thick in the air, and a bottle of Remy posted on the table.
Melz didn’t even look away from the screen when he said, “Grab a controller, nigga. I’m ’bout to take all that QuickieDrop bread.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, aight.” I grabbed a controller, cracked my bottle open, and dropped onto the couch. “What’s good, nigga? Yo’ shorty still on bullshit or y’all doin’ somethin’ tomorrow?”
“Bro,” he looked at me with that same look he gave when his girl was on bullshit. “She talkin’ ‘bout she on her period. I know her ass lyin’. She gon’ fuck around and find out.”
Laughing as I took a gulp of Remy, I shook my head. “Y’all stay on some toxic shit.”
“Nigga, don’t act all brand new just ‘cause you and Vee ain’t together no more. Y’all muthafuckas was more toxic than Bobby and Whitney.”
“Minus them fuckin’ drugs.” We laughed, and I took another swig of Remy before the game started. “I ain’t trippin’ off Vonnae.”
“Yeah, that ol’ lady got yo’ mind gone. Y’all linkin’ up again?”
“Yup. Tomorrow night.”
“You like her ass,” he said, watching me.
“I ain’t gon’ say it’s that deep yet,” I muttered. “But it could be.”
By nine, my ass was back in the whip lit, sparking up a blunt. I ran the Bluetooth, pulled up a new playlist I made, and started queuing up some joints. Blxst, Chris Brown, Yung Bleu, and some old school rap, too. I was mid-scroll when my phone buzzed with an alert from the QuickieDrop app.
I tapped the notification and scanned the details, which showed wine and Kit Kats. The request was from a woman named Kendra.
I raised a brow at that odd ass combo, but shit, money was money. I wasn’t here to judge, just deliver. “Aight, Miss Kendra,” I muttered, cranking the engine. My night was officially in motion. Before pulling off, I sent Taelyn a quick text.
Yung Bleu was humming through the speakers, something mellow with just enough knock. Traffic wasn’t too bad, even with snow coming down. I rode with one hand on the wheel, the other resting on my thigh with the blunt between my fingers.
A few lights blurred past before I pulled into the convenience store parking lot. I tossed the roach in the ashtray and headed inside, the scent of cheap incense and fried food greeting me at the door.
It didn’t take long to find the bottle of red and Kit Kats. I grabbed both and walked up to the counter. Two women were ahead of me, all giggling and shit, and throwing glances over their shoulders like they had something to offer. One of them looked me dead in the face, lips glossed, eyes heavy.
“Hey,” she said with a slow smirk, brushing her braids off her shoulder.
I didn’t even blink her way. I just nodded once and looked past them like they weren’t even there. Once I paid, I dipped back to the car, dropped the bag on the passenger seat, and pulled out my phone to double-check the delivery address. It was a hotel right around the corner.
“Here we go,” I said to myself as I drove that way. The hotel wasn’t anything fancy, but it was clean enough. The front desk clerk was already watching me when I walked in. I approached the desk, lifting the bag a little. “QuickieDrop,” I said. “Got a delivery.”
“Room number?” He asked, already reaching for his tablet. I showed him the app screen with the customer details. He gave a quick nod and typed something in before looking back up at me. “Elevator to the left. Room 414.”
I headed to the elevator, swiping through my phone while I rode up.
Taelyn still hadn’t replied to my selfie yet.
I figured she was probably trying to be good and trying not to fold.
Either way, I knew I’d be in her dreams tonight.
The elevator dinged, and I stepped out, walking down the hall until I reached 414.
I knocked twice, then the door cracked open slowly, and my high was instantly blown.
Vonnae stood there in some pink lace lingerie, as if it was supposed to mean something. Her eyes all soft and shiny, lips painted and plump, body lotioned up, smelling like she just sprayed the Chanel perfume I bought her back when we were good.
“Hey, baby,” she said, leaning against the doorframe like a damn trap. “Please don’t be mad. I just… I needed to see you. I knew this was the only way.”
I clenched my jaw. “You made a fake QuickieDrop account… just to get me to come here?” She nodded slowly, stepping back to let me see the room set up with candles, soft music playing low, and two wine glasses already waiting. “Yo’ ass is sick,” I muttered, stepping back from the door.
“Ahmad, come on. You ain’t even gotta say anything right now. Just come inside. Let’s bring in Valentine’s Day together and make up.”
My stare didn’t move. I was annoyed as fuck that her ass wasted my time with this bullshit. “Vee, we done,” I said, voice low and sharp. “Yo’ ass don’t know how to let shit go. This ain’t cute. This is some obsessive shit.”
She moved closer, hand grazing my chest like that was gonna change anything. “But I miss you. Just come in and fuck me like you used to.”
“Nah, I’m straight,” I said, stepping back again, shoving the bag at her. “Enjoy yo’ Valentine’s Day. I know I will.”
“Ahmad, wait…”
I turned, walking back down the hall without another word, hearing her call my name behind me but refusing to look back. On the elevator, my phone buzzed with a text from Taelyn that included a picture.
I stared at it, smirking. Fuck I look like arguing with the past when the future just sent me an invitation to destroy her soul? Back in my car, I tossed my phone on the passenger seat and swerved off. Yeah, Taelyn was getting folded tomorrow. No breaks. No mercy.