Chapter 23
The house was packed. Just about everyone in the state of Georgia had shown up for our Battle of the Sexes event.
I made sure Nastasia was tucked away safely up in VIP.
But even from where I was standing up on stage with Paisley, I could see that the Diamond Suite was full.
Men and women lined the railing to see us down below and watch as we battled it out.
Paisley had DJ Aux and a killer female playlist, and I had my boy DJ Gravity on the spin table helping me drop bomb after bomb.
Currently, we were neck and neck, headed for an honorable tie should neither of us play a dud.
At the moment, the crowd was going wild for Paisley’s current song. “Lookin Ass” was playing and the women all around the Club Suite were rapping along. A few fellas up front could be seen nodding to the beat, too.
Of course Paisley was talking her shit, but it was all love at the end of the day.
I forgot whose idea it was, but for the night, we were matching.
Her in a pink blazer, matching shorts, and a black bralette, and me in a matching pink suit and white dress shirt.
I intended to beat her, but it was an honor to work with her.
I took my mic and clapped into it as the song ended and the women in the building hollered. “Nice song.”
Paisley smirked. “You can relate, huh?”
I grinned. She had no idea what I had planned.
Facing the crowd, I studied every single lady in the vicinity I could see and smiled my charming smile. “Fellas, y’all know we winnin’ this, right?”
The men in the building shouted my way in agreement. “Hell yeah!”
“Real talk, though, we can talk shit all night, but I’m a lover.” I pressed a hand to my chest and eyed the women in front of me again. “It’s all fun and games, but how many of us are going home with a woman tonight?”
It was a lighthearted competition, the men in the building with girlfriends, fiancées, or wives, couldn’t really be cutting up too much because it wasn’t worth it.
If they were smart. Beyond the fact that I already held the utmost respect for Paisley, I wasn’t going to verbally trash her for the men in the room to praise me and end up potentially upsetting Nas.
Egos to the side, a lot of men in the building roared my way, some holding their women close.
I snuck Paisley a wink. Gotcha. DJ Gravity was already clued in on what to play next, all I had to do was introduce the record and the game was over.
“Like I said, I’m a lover, and sometimes I just want to love on someone. Anyone else feel that way?” I asked loudly into my mic.
The crowd was responding, but they weren’t who I was speaking to.
“I know exactly how you feel, E!” His voice echoed out of the speakers before he made his appearance on stage.
At the sight of Jackie Boy, the women who were Team Paisley jumped ship and started screaming up a frenzy. The screaming intensified and I had to step back to take it all in.
Jackie was the hottest rapper in New York at the moment. His organic come up and nice flow, along with his hit collabs with Don Toliver and Kehlani made him the biggest star on the rise.
Paisley wasn’t moved. She stood shaking her head at me with narrowed eyes. “Once a cheater, always a cheater, huh, Eazy?”
“Oh, always,” I teased back.
Jackie came and threw an arm around my neck, his Richard Mille watch glistening under the stage lights. He looked and smelled like money, something that had the women in the front row freaking out more.
“Ladies?” Jackie shouted into his mic. “Y’all tryna hear a song?”
“Yesss,” they cheered back.
DJ Gravity put on Jackie’s latest number one hit, “To the Side,” and the victory was all but handed to me.
Women in the crowd were rocking side to side, holding on to every lyric Jackie Boy wrote.
Even Paisley lost her attitude as Jackie sauntered over to her rapping his second verse of the song. It was all love.
“All right, all right,” I said as the competition winded down. “Let’s show some love for Paisley P for holding it down for the ladies tonight!”
The building radiated with applause as Paisley did a modest curtsy.
“And let’s give it up for Ezekiel for doing it big for the fellas tonight!” Paisley shouted next.
The men gave me my props and the women too.
“This was a good battle,” I spoke up. “I’m cool with a tie, are you?”
Paisley rolled her eyes and soon laughed as I tugged her close. “Yeah, a’ight, whatever.” Paisley gathered her mic and lifted it to her glossed lips, smirking at the crowd. “Make some noise if you about your paper!”
Money made the world go ’round and everyone in the building knew it. The crowd response was lively, making our final record of the night more appropriate.
“All right then. DJ Gravity, play that shit!” I shouted to end the battle on a proper note.
“Cash Shit” sounded through the speakers and the club became a party.
“You did your thing,” I said as I leaned over and whispered in Paisley’s ear.
“You ain’t slick invitin’ your people.” She pretended to square up with me for a moment before laughing and letting it go.
“You was holdin’ it down,” Jackie said as he went and kissed Paisley’s cheek. “I really came through to save, E. He was on the raft strugglin’.”
Jackie was charming, causing Paisley to loosen up and accept his hug.
I grabbed a bottle of Ace of Spades and led the way up to VIP.
The energy in the building was through the roof.
Men were dapping me up and women were giving me hugs and asking for pictures along the way to the second floor.
Before the night was over, Paisley and I needed to take some publicity shots for BLVCKJVCK’s social media pages.
If you were in Atlanta, and not stopping through BLVCKJVCK, you were missing out.
The Diamond Suite erupted with applause as we entered its quarters. I wasn’t sure if it was for Paisley and me, or Jackie Boy, but either way, I wasn’t fazed. All I wanted was the pretty little thing seated by the balcony.
Nastasia hung back with Paisley’s boyfriend Sloan, who I’d yet to meet officially.
“You couldn’t go easy on her, huh?” Nastasia chastised as I leaned down to hug her.
“Paisley pulled no punches. I had to give her a run for her money,” I explained.
Paisley slid by and sat down next to Sloan. Nas spoke of him briefly, but I made the effort to properly introduce myself.
“Ezekiel,” I said as I held my hand out over the cocktail table between us.
Paisley was nestled under Sloan’s arm, but he still leaned forward to extend his hand and shake with me. “Sloan.”
I tipped my head toward him and settled back next to Nas. “You likin’ the club?”
Sloan glanced around us before coming back to me. “Yeah. I appreciate you lookin’ out for my girl, man. She told me about you doing her right business wise for this event and the last one.”
“We’re still new to each other, but that’s like sis to me,” I explained. “I got her.”
Paisley could be tough all she wanted, but she still blushed and shot me a wink.
“So, what’s up with you? What do you do?” I wanted to know.
Sloan sat up, puffing his chest a little with pride. “I’m an architect.”
“So the next time I want to build a new nightclub, I should come to you?”
Sloan chuckled. “I mean, my work speaks for itself. I got an impressive portfolio.”
Pawn, a chess-themed club, was just an idea, probably best saved for a rainy day, but it was nice to have a designer in my circle should I ever want to make that idea a reality.
I gestured around us to my staff and coworkers. “As you can see, I like keepin’ things in-house. If something comes up, I’ll definitely call you.”
“Okay, Black man.” Sloan held his hand out and we shook once more.
I was just about to ask Sloan where he went to school when I felt a tap on my shoulder. A figure breezed by me and I soon recognized Leslie going and taking a seat across from Paisley.
Cesar was at my side, leaning down close to my ear. “There’s a situation behind you.”
I reeled back and caught his eyes, finding them empty of a tell.
One look over my shoulder and I went rigid.
Her hair was still purple, but I never forgot a face.
Cleo. A dancer from Lovely’s Lounge was standing behind our group watching me.
In a lace dress, she blended in with the rest of the patrons of BLVCKJVCK, but she wasn’t smiling or congregating with other people.
She stood alone, eyes trained on me and I knew what was up.
“Be right back,” I told Cease as I stood and made my way over to Cleo.
“Where?” I asked as soon as I came to a stop in front of her.
Cleo angled her head toward the exit. “Somewhere much more private.”
This was Regina, I should’ve known where she’d be without asking.
I turned and looked back at our table, finding Nas’s worried expression aimed at me. When I came back to say something to Cleo, she was already gone.
Nice.
Regina didn’t usually have a flare for the dramatics, but stopping by unannounced and summoning me with one of her girls was new.
Because she was always in control, naturally, I found her in the office, leaning against Pops’s desk, filing at her nails nonchalantly. Cleo wasn’t in sight, and to be safe, I locked the door behind myself.
Regina held out her hand, examining her nails and her work. “She’s cute.”
Of course she’d seen Nas. “Nice to see you.”
She went to work on her other hand. “I’m guessing that’s why you’ve been away for so long.”
“Been busy,” I explained.
Regina lifted her brown eyes from her nails to gaze at me. “Hmm, I haven’t seen Cesar either. He’s still taken up with…Squirtle was her name?”
I chuckled. “Leslie. We deaded that Gusher shit a while ago. That’s his lady and he all in love.”
“And what are you calling yours?” Regina wanted to know as she pointed her nail file at me. “I’m assuming that cutie is your latest friend with benefits.”
Nastasia could never be swept under a rug like that. Instantly, I shot that down. “Nah, that’s my woman. Nastasia.”
“Ooh.” Regina purred and leaned back against the desk. “Interesting coming from you.”
“It was time to grow up,” I admitted.
Regina went back to her nails. “I only stopped in because I was giving Cleo a lift home. I haven’t seen you in a while, and I was curious.”
I did all my thinking at Lovely’s, but here lately, I worked out my plans and ideas in the shower instead. “You know, usually I do me, but out of respect for my girl, I figured I should think in more appropriate places.”
Regina’s wine-coated lips twitched. I could see she was proud of me, and that made me bashful. I couldn’t hide it. “Can I meet her?”
I made a move to leave the walkway open for the door. “I have nothing to hide.”
Regina was taken aback. “Oh, this is serious.”
“It’s early,” I clarified. “But I’m moving different now. I don’t want to do anything that’s going to hurt her, because I wouldn’t want her doing anything that would hurt me.”
“Still,” Regina pushed on. “This is big coming from you, Mr. King of the Night who doesn’t do relationships.”
This was a huge turn around. I couldn’t lie.
Sex with Nastasia was far from casual. Feelings made it more intense. I cared about her outside the bedroom and wanted to be around her without the sex before we slept together, and after.
“She bewitched me,” I confessed with a shake of my head. “I was committed to her before it was even official. Jackson 5, ‘I Wanna Be Where You Are’ type of feelings.”
“Aww,” Regina taunted me, folding her arms and sizing me up. “Let me guess, y’all stay up under each other at your place, huh?”
I shook my head. “Nah, we mostly stay at hers if we’re spending the night and stuff.”
“Your condo is nice.”
“I have a place to stay. She has a home, it’s a difference.”
Regina arched a brow, appearing quizzical. “Is it?”
“Yeah. Real rap, everything about Nas feels like home, and before, in my early twenties, I would’ve hated it, but now, it’s exactly where I want to be.
I don’t mind slowin’ down for her, because I don’t want to miss a moment.
” I paced the floor in front of Regina, going over my own words because they were a revelation even to me.
We were meeting her parents, her sister, and her sister’s boyfriend on Saturday for dinner, and the old me wouldn’t have entertained the thought, especially after only a month.
Now, soon or not, I was down for it just to be by her side and get her through it. “That shit is scary.”
“That’s called maturity,” Regina mused. “When we were having our fun, there was no way it would’ve lasted in the long run. You had to get that rabbit-phase out of you.”
Her comment made us both laugh, because I was moving like a rabbit back then. Young with so much money and access was a bad combination.
“Things are cool, though,” I said. “I’m not avoiding you, trust.”
Regina smirked. “Things settled with Tee?”
Oh that. Tee had stopped calling, but at some point I’d have to have a word with him to make it clear. I shouldn’t have given him my number. It was a no when he first requested the deal, and even now without me owning BLVCKJVCK—yet—it was still a no.
“I was trippin’ that day,” I came out and said. Rubbing the back of my neck, I looked on at the monitors to make sure everything was on the up and up throughout the club. “I think I deserve control now, but I guess I’ll have to wait until Pops thinks I’m truly ready.”
“I’m sure your dad has it all worked out for you. He knows what’s best in this situation.”
My impatience was there, but I knew Regina was right. “True.”
She came from the desk, coming and standing in front of me. “So, you’re happy?”
Business was booming and I had Nastasia. There was nothing to complain about. “My job is prospering, I got a good girl, and my folks is happy. I’m straight,” I said.
Regina cupped my jaw. “Happy to hear that. I always knew you had it in you.” She went on by me for the door. “Don’t be a stranger, Z. We should grab lunch sometime.”
Regina was gone before I could respond.
Life was good, so I went back over to the Diamond Suite and found Nas. Paisley was telling some story that had our section engrossed, and as I held Nastasia against my chest, there was no place I’d rather be.