I did my best not to try to clock people’s sexuality, especially men. There were some of the most dominant, womanizing men to ever walk this Earth who were interested in men and there were men who were outwardly softer, more sensitive and what society considered feminine who would knock a nigga on their back for even looking at them too long. How someone carried themselves didn’t determine their sexuality. Shit. The only thing that did was being attracted to someone… but I had to admit he seemed to be looking at me the way that I was looking at him and I knew without a doubt I was looking at him like someone I thought was attractive.
I was bisexual and I had been for my entire life. I was out about it. My family and friends knew. I’d never done the secretive shit. It had caused problems in my life, sure, especially going to the military but I was who I was and who I fucked or let fuck me didn’t do anything to my work ethic. I was still one of the best at what I did and I had the track record and decorated background to reflect that.
The twin nearest to me didn’t respond to what his brother or I said. He just scoffed and tapped a cigarette out of his pack. He held it out toward me and I grabbed the cigarette and placed it in my mouth. He didn’t ask if I needed a light, he just pulled his lighter from his pocket. I decided to try my luck. I leaned in to him instead of taking the lighter from his hand. The corners ofhis mouth tilted up slightly and he lit the cigarette for me, his eyes trained on mine.
I took a long draft.
“Asante,” I offered him my hand.
He looked at it and stared for a second before looking up at my face. I gave him a soft smile and didn’t withdraw my hand even though he gave me ample amount of time to do so.
“Bishop.” He blew some smoke out and shook it.
“Rook,” the other twin introduced himself and dapped me up too.
“Nice to meet y’all, and thanks for the cig.”
“Don’t mention it,” Bishop said simply.
We stood in silence while we smoked and when the twins headed toward the front door of the club, I followed behind them.
“So uh, since I bummed a cig, how about I get y’all a beer in exchange?” I offered.
“You’re good.” Bishop scoffed. “Have a good night.” He hit me on the back and Rook snickered.
They took a few steps away before I called after them.
“Ay!” I yelled over the music and they paused and looked back at me. I grabbed three beer bottles from a waitress’s tray and offered one to each of them. “No trip to the bar necessary.”
“Thanks.” Bishop took it from my outstretched hand and tapped our bottles against each other.
Rook took the one offered to him and lifted it toward me. “Have a good night, man.”
They turned around again and this time, I let them go.
I headed back to the bar and checked in on the bartenders. Thankfully none of them seemed like they were burnt out and I made a note to check and see how much they made because I was almost positive that it wasn’t enough and I’d need to give them at least a two dollar raise.
“Asante,” Layla called my name.
“What’s up?” I took a drink from my beer bottle and walked over to her.
“Up there.” She nudged her head toward a section. “That’s the Barron family. That’s the oldest brother, King.”
I followed her gaze. There was a man near the railing, a woman pressed up against the front of him. He had an arm over the front of her body and was whispering in her ear while she giggled.
I’d told Layla and Kate specifically to let me know when the Barron family showed up but honestly I hadn’t expected it to be on my first night.
I leaned my head back and finished my beer off. Then, I handed over the empty bottle and exhaled.
“Thanks. Good looking out.”
I knew that they were good customers and brought a lot of money into the club whether it was from them renting it out for their own personal events or them just bringing a crowd in because of their popularity. I’d asked a few of the bartenders and bouncers about them but I hadn’t found out much except for the fact that they were a close knit family that all ran a business together. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what that business was but I hadn’t looked too far into it. It didn’t affect me.
I slid through the crowd and took the stairs up quickly, making a beeline for the section.
I gave a little wave to get King’s attention when I reached the railing and he kissed the side of his woman’s head then walked over to me. He looked both ways like he figured I’d have someone with me to approach him. I chuckled at that.
“What’s up?” He leaned down so that he didn’t have to yell over the music. The first thing I noticed was the snake tattoo going up his neck. It was an exact replica of the one Rook had.
