Chapter 8 #5
“Aye, Essex! You gotta put me and Tune on the track. He was coming just like me with the rhyming.” Nel cackled from whatever conversation was being had on the other side of the sectional.
I was still locked in Tunan’s embrace while he waited for an answer, ignoring Renello.
I opened my mouth while searching his face, but nothing came out.
I was sure he could feel the drumming of my heart with us being so close.
His brown skin was moisturized and blemish-free.
His Cuban chain was just the right size for his ensemble.
He wasn’t wearing his grill today, but that didn’t matter. He was fine either way.
“Yeah, I thought so, impossible wife.”
“I’m not impossible, Tunan.”
He smirked, making me melt. “You are. But it’s cool… I’m gone let you make it. When you want dat pussy itched, I’ll fall through, even doe I should make yo’ difficult ass fein for it.”
The thought of him holding out on dick had me sweating. I’d just said I was done with this man, but I couldn’t help the way he made me feel.
He saw the horror in my eyes, making him laugh. “You must want dat pussy itched now, my baby.”
“I can wait on that, but I wouldn’t mind being… licked?”
He locked eyes with me, moistened his lips, and then pressed his lips to mine. “You want me to eat dat pussy, Glow?”
I nodded feverishly. Tunan’s pussy eating skills were a twenty out of ten. Having him eat before beating my girl would be a dream come true after this week.
“If you act right, I just might.” He pecked my lips again and then let my waist go.
I was so flustered that I was ready to take him to the restroom and let him bend me over.
I was sure there were some available rooms in this building from Tunan to make me scream.
I sighed quietly, more frustrated with myself.
I folded way too easily when it came to this man.
I talked so much shit but did nothing to back it up.
“Who got the baby if Glee gone and you here?” he asked, pulling me from my thoughts.
I pulled my phone from my Dior bag to see that my messages still weren’t delivered to Glee. She should’ve made it home by now. Without looking up, I answered, “Dasani’s nanny.”
“Aite. She bring you?”
I nodded, trying to play with my phone settings to see if my phone was the reason the messages weren’t going through.
“We gone dip in a bit,” Tunan said. “I’m gone take you to put some food in yo’ belly, and den we can chill at your crib, if dat’s cool with you.”
I had gotten frustrated with the messages still showing green, so I threw my phone back in my purse and looked at Tunan.
His eyes were swallowing me as they scanned my frame up and down slowly.
The way his lips pulled on the blunt and inhaled the smoke before releasing it a few seconds later had me clinching my crossed legs tighter together.
“You look pretty as fuck, wifey.”
I blushed and sat up straighter. “Thank you.”
“Aite! Hold y’all shit up,” Demise announced, not giving Tunan or me time to say anything else.
He tapped Dasani’s thigh, stopping the conversation she was having with Pia, who held up her bottle of water.
“We gone toast to the new comers. Congratulations, Tunan and Glow. Welcome to the fuckin’ mob. Glow, you can call me Don.” Demise tilted his bottle at us, while everyone took a sip of their drinks.
Tunan hit his bottle and then held it to my lips. I tilted my head back, startled when I felt the champagne about to spill on my clothes.
“Hol’ the fuck up! Don, you ain’t never toasted to us, nigga! Let me find out you’re replacing Rut and Matteo and making Tunan your favorite.” Nel turned to Matteo. “How you feel about that, teacher’s pet?”
Matteo leaned up and shot daggers at Nel with his eyes. “Man, shutcho bitch ass up!”
“I ain’t never toast to you niggas because you niggas ain’t married yet.” Demise, or Don as I was now to call him, shrugged before popping the cork off his bottle.
“Shit, I’m married,” Ezio spoke up. “And yo’ ass ain’t never toasted shit to me and Jae Bae.”
Don’s eyes squinted. “Barely, nigga. You know what the fuck you did.”
“See… Y’all love bringin’ up old shit. My fav is a changed man,” Nel said, defending Ezio.
“Fuck yo’ fav!”
“Man, you doin’ too much around the shorties, Don,” Ezio said as Jisei placed her hand on her husband’s chest.
She poked her lip out toward Don. “Brother, pleasseeee. Not today.”
“Aite… I’ll chill.” Don relaxed immediately.
“Oh, really, Demise?” Dasani stood while Daylani giggled with Rut.
We all watched as Don rubbed his hand down his face. “What, Dasani?”
“She just blinks, and you do whatever. I get the third degree, though.”
“Lies.” Don waved his wife off.
Dasani folded her arms underneath her breast and huffed. “I asked for that Birkin, but I see Jisei with it.”
Jisei danced in her husband’s lap with her tongue hanging as Ezio grinned as if this was an everyday occurrence.
“And? You got the bag, too, childish—”
“Don’t you dare call me that today, Demise.” Dasani’s tone flattened. “I got that bag after her!”
Don chuckled. “A day later cuz the color you wanted took longer… Stop trippin’.”
Dasani looked at Don with her face scrunched up but didn’t say anything else. However, the group wasn’t silent for long.
“You mad or nah, Dasani?” Jisei teased.
“Big mad, hoe!” Dasani admitted.
“How you know her husband didn’t buy it?” Rut asked.
“Cuz that bitch was two hundred grand. Jisei spend my money like she print it enough as is.” Ezio took a swig from his bottle.
“And it’s a problem?” Jisei frowned.
“Never, baby. Spend this shit up. It’s yo’ world, Jae Bae.”
“That’s right. You hear that. It’s my world. Ain’t it, brother?”
Don took another swig from his bottle as Dasani stared a hole in the side of his face.
“Answer so I can bop yo’ ass in the jaw.”
He sucked his teeth toward Dasani before throwing his hands up. “Man, it’s all y’all world. You, my mama, Jisei, and Delicate Mafia.”
Dasani rolled her eyes, but then smiled when Jisei stood, walking toward her.
“I love you, sister,” Jisei said as she eased down onto Dasani’s lap, who was back sitting in Don’s lap.
He just shook his head as some of the men clowned him. He had them both rotten, and I loved that for them. Their entire dynamic could be a Tubi movie that people actually rewatched.
“As a matter of fact, Glow… Pick out a bag you want. From here on out, any wife added to the team gets a six-figure bag,” Dasani announced with a wink.
Don chuckled but didn’t protest, and I smiled back because I wasn’t sure how to respond.
“What?” Nel shrieked. “Yeah, we need to move the wedding date up, ASAP, Pia Baby. My girl like bags and shit too. Y’all just implementing all types of new shit for this Memphis nigga and his Mukbang-ass lady.”
Don ignored Nel’s antics and whispered something in his wife’s ear.
She nodded, then whispered in Jisei’s ear.
Don then gave all the men a look, and they tapped their women in a way to indicate a need to separate.
All the women were now on one side of the couch, while the men were on the other.
Essex wasn’t mob, but he might as well have been since he was always around and included.
“The baby so pretty.” Jisei picked invisible cotton off her tennis dress as she handed Dasani her phone back.
“Fucking gorgeous!” Missy backed her up and turned to ask Pia, “Friend, you still ain’t found out what you’re having?”
“I find out next week. I was going to let you come so you can throw the gender reveal, but you’ll be on tour.” Pia rolled her eyes.
“I can still come, and I can still throw it while being on tour, so stop that.”
“My daddy taking care of it. But… I still expect you and everybody else there.”
“Ahhhh! Can’t wait!” Daylani said, along with murmurs of excitement from the other wives.
Once the chatter died down, silence took over. Over a dozen eyeballs fell upon me, and I sighed.
“How long y’all gonna give me the cold shoulder?”
Scarlett tapped her chin. “Hmm… Let’s see. How long were you married before we found out?”
“Only a few hours,” I blurted out quickly. “I was about to tell y’all when Solana had run out, but then Vello started, and then Discover’s water broke.”
“Where the hell is Solana anyway?” Dasani pulled out her phone.
“I’m not sure,” Jisei said a little too fast, and when Dasani gawked at her, she shifted her eyes back to me. “Anyway. You been ignoring us, Glow. You know we don’t rock like that.”
“But it’s cool for you all to be in group chats and have side huddles without me?”
Everyone’s face fell except Dasani and Missy’s, who was still sipping and averting her gaze between all the women.
“Friend… We don’t exclude you on purpose. You weren’t a—”
“Mob wife. I get it.” I took another sip and gave Jisei a closed-mouth smile.
“Did you marry him to be included, Glow?” Scarlett asked, grabbing my knee as if she was concerned.
“No. I… I don’t know.” I sighed and looked up at the open industrial ceiling. The visible metal pipes and wooden beams mirrored how complex I felt.
“But you like him… You got to because y’all’s chemistry got me hot.” Missy fanned.
Mocha grinned and agreed. “Tunan is fine as hell. Memphis niggas remind me a lot of Chicago niggas!”
“And yo’ Jagoda Bay nigga gone knock yo’ head between the washer and the dryer if he hear yo’ ass!” We all laughed at Dasani.
“But for real… I don’t know what Tunan and I are doing. But I do like him.” I looked at Scarlett and Jisei. “I’m sorry for ghosting y’all. I had a lot going on, but that’s no excuse. It’s just… I’m an auntie. I’m married. My inbox is overflowing. It’s a lot, and I don’t do well under pressure.”
Pia leaned back and rubbed her belly. “Well, drink up, hoe. You a mob wife now. Pressure is everybody middle name.”
“You know we got you, boo. Just don’t hide away because we don’t do well with being ignored,” Scarlett said before hugging me.