Chapter 22
Chapter
Twenty-Two
CASH
E veryone came together to try the menu Sugar Baby had come up with for her soft launch. It was the perfect opportunity for our families to meet. As I suspected, she and Mama got along well from the jump.
I felt like I was in dessert heaven with the ten cookies, cakes, and cupcakes she had for us to try.
Instead of just giving it to us to sample and accepting us saying it was good, she had little cards for us to fill out for each item.
There was an overall rating scale along with space for us to describe what we liked and didn’t like about each thing.
I was so proud of her and couldn’t wait for her to start taking orders so I could make sure the city showed her love.
For now, she still wanted to work out of a commercial kitchen and do popups and deliveries, but the more time she spent near the beach, the more open she was to having a storefront near there.
I understood her hesitance because that was the most expensive area to start a business, so if you didn’t have enough clientele, your business wouldn’t last long.
She didn’t have to worry about that, though, because I was going to make sure the doors of Sugar Baby Bakes stayed open forever if that was what she wanted.
Once business was handled, the elders left, and it turned into a little kickback.
She and Rittany hooked up some party food and the whiskey and tequila was poured up.
With blunts in rotation and the music blasting, I allowed myself to enjoy myself for the first time in what felt like forever.
It took me more time and work getting ready to leave the business than it took to start it, but I knew it would be worth it.
“Aww look at them,” Sugar whispered sweetly, taking my hand into hers.
I followed her gaze, and my eyes landed on Dre and Rittany. They were holding hands grinning in each other’s faces as they talked. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with that since she was leaving, and Dre’s attention span was too short for anything long distance.
“I’d prefer to look at you,” I clarified, taking her into my arms. “Did I tell you how proud of you I was today?”
“Yes, and thank you again. I was so nervous.”
“Not sure why. Everything you created was bomb, Suge.”
“I felt like it was, but I thought it was just because I’d created it.”
She giggled then released the cutest sigh.
“When do you think you’re going to do the soft launch?”
“Maybe this summer. I want to focus on sending Rittany off properly and Reek’s graduation first.”
“I feel you. Let me know if you need help with anything. You know I got you.”
“Actually, I was wondering if I could make some samples for the next food drive. I don’t expect it to lead to much business, but I want them to have some samples anyway.”
“Of course, pussy cat. And don’t sike yourself out. I know you think the only thing they want are them dry ass butter cookies, but they might surprise you.”
I could tell she wasn’t expecting me to say what I said by how her face covered with shock before she laughed, but I really didn’t give a fuck.
Them cookies were dry as hell and what she created was so much better—and I wasn’t saying that just because she was my woman either.
Some people seemed like they were allergic to change or trying something new, and unfortunately, that was the case in her hood.
“I never wanted to say that because I didn’t want to sound like a hater,” she said after she finished laughing, “but those cookies do be dry as hell.”
“What cookies?” Tyreek asked, and before she could answer I asked him . . .
“What the hell yo’ young ass doing here? I thought you went home with your parents?”
He worked at the dispensary three days out of the week now and helped his mom at her catering gigs over the weekend. Like he said he would, he was no longer friends with Rell and Brandon, and I definitely saw the difference it had made in his attitude.
Tyreek sucked his teeth. “I’on know why. I ain’t old like them, so of course I stayed.”
Sugar Baby rolled her eyes and shook her head. “You better not be drinking, Tyreek. You are not old enough for that.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he mumbled, walking toward the kitchen .
“Don’t make me have to smell your breath!” she yelled behind him, and I laughed because I knew she really would. “That boy loves to stress me out.”
“I love the way you love him. He needs that, and I know you do too.”
Her eyes returned to mine as she smiled. “Yeah, we both do. He makes me feel like I can handle having a son, but I also want a daughter. I think she’d be easier to handle.”
“Maybe for you but definitely not for me. You think I’m hard on these niggas because of my money . . . imagine how I’d come behind you and our daughter.”
“Oh God. I hadn’t even thought about that. Maybe we do need to have sons.”
She laughed as we walked over to where Rhakeem and Tyreek were standing talking. Her slightly sniffing his cup made me cover my laughter with a cough as I covered my mouth with my fist. This girl was crazy, and I could no longer deny that I’d fallen in love with her.
Sugar Baby wasn’t really a drinker. She preferred weed.
So when she did drink, it was always an entertaining experience.
We’d come to the country for our date night.
What started as innocent line dancing turned into her drinking moonshine and getting fucked in the back of my car.
All was well until I noticed a few of Sko’s niggas eyeing me.
I wasn’t scared at all, but I knew if shit popped off tonight, it was too open of a space for those around us to be safe.
Last me and Sko talked, we were in agreement that he still owed me for the product that was stolen whether he got it or not.
He might not have liked that, but he respected it and agreed.
To show him that I was a fair businessman, I agreed to give him a deal on his next delivery if he continued to shop with me.
I wasn’t sure what he was telling his team, though, because a quiet and agreeable man behind closed doors could talk major shit once he was out of them.
To be safe, I decided to end our night prematurely and get my lil pussy cat home.
The last thing I needed was for some shit to pop off while she was drunk and have to worry about her limited capabilities and dealing with the opps at the same damn time.
“Let’s go,” I said, gripping her hand.
“Awww, already?” she replied with a smile. Her movements swayed as she leaned against me.
“Yeah.”
“I’m not ready to go home yet,” she whined.
“I’ma take you somewhere you can still enjoy yourself. We just gotta leave here.”
“Kay, cool.”
After putting her in the passenger seat of my Challenger, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Without turning to look, I casually went in her purse and grabbed her .380. Wrapping her hand around it, I told her, “The car is bulletproof.”
“Huh?” Confusion covered her face as I leaned forward and kissed her.
“I love you,” I confessed for the first time. If I was going to die tonight, I wouldn’t do it until I let her know that. I could be cocky and assume she knew I loved her based on how I treated her, but I needed to make sure she heard it from me.
She smiled, completely oblivious. “I love you.”
After closing the door, I locked and stepped away from it. Sure enough, his men had followed us .
“You niggas must got a death wish following me while I’m with my ol’ lady.”
“Sko wanted us to ask if you would be willing to rework y’all arrangement,” the one in the front said, looking around me toward the car.
“Nah. If he wasn’t satisfied, he should have said that before he left my presence.”
“Well, I’m saying it for him now,” he said, pulling a Glock that I assumed was supposed to scare me.
Chuckling, I looked at the group of men and counted four.
“Are you sure he’s worth you losing your life?
If not, I’ma give you about five seconds to walk away,” I warned.
“Y’all really should consider working for someone who values you, because he certainly can’t give a fuck about you if he told you to approach me. ”
He smiled and took a step in my direction. “You might be hot shit one on one, but it ain’t shit you can do with all four of u?—”
Before the challenge left his lips, I’d already discombobulated him with a punch to his neck and collarbone.
I snatched the gun and pointed it toward the others while he coughed and held his neck.
The shots were quick and precise, hitting all three of them while they struggled to pull their pieces and retreat at the same time.
Saving him for last, I pointed it toward his head and told him, “If you survive, give Sko this message for me. My price is my price, and I never go back on my word.”
“Ple—”
I sent the last bullet into his neck and watched his body drop.
After putting his gun at my hip, I pulled mine out and ran behind the other three to make sure they were taken care of.
If I wasn’t making plans to leave the streets, I wouldn’t have cared if they lived or not.
If it led to a war, it led to a war. Now, I didn’t want to have any open issues that Rhakeem inherited because of me.
When I was done, I made my way to the car, unlocked it, and slipped inside.
I was grateful I’d driven the Challenger instead of the Corvette because it was less flashy and not customized.
Though I felt like no one would admit to seeing or knowing anything about what had just happened, one could never be too sure.
I looked over at Sugar, and it was clear she’d sobered up.
Her eyes were frozen on Sko’s mouthpiece’s lifeless body.
As I swerved out of the dirty lot, I used my burner phone to call Rhakeem and let him know what had just happened.
He assured me that he’d call our tech guy and ensure any camera footage in the area was wiped so there would be no footage of me or Sugar in the vicinity.
The ride home was silent. I didn’t exactly know what to say. She knew who I was, but it was different when that knowledge became an experience. Would she fear me now? Would she see me as a monster? Would she want to go to the police?
When I pulled into the garage, I didn’t cut the car off right away. I looked over at her, and she was already looking at me.
“Are you okay?” I checked quietly, though I was sure she wasn’t.
“Mhm.” Sugar unbuckled her seat belt and waited for me to open her door with her hands cupped in her lap.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You just saw me?—”
“I didn’t see anything,” she interrupted me to say, and in that moment, I realized what she was doing.
Chuckling, I cut the car off and got out.
I never felt like I needed her to prove her loyalty.
That she was solid. That I could trust her.
I didn’t need those things because God had already confirmed she was the one.
Her reaction to seeing me lay niggas down was like .
. . the icing on the fucking cake. I felt like a psychopath feeling my dick grow.
I shouldn’t have been aroused by this shit.
It should have sickened her and riddled me with guilt.
Instead, it made me feel even more connected to her. It made me want her more.
The second I had the door open, I picked her up and tossed her over my shoulder. She yelped as I smacked her ass and kicked the door closed. I didn’t think I had the words to accurately express how I felt right now, but I was damn sure about to show her.