“My point exactly. Yes, he needs to grow up, but maybe Prischa is the person to help do that for him. You never know.” She shrugged and moved down the candy aisle, grabbing shit along the way.
By the time they got to the checkout counter, they had a boatload of junk food and drinks. Crew grabbed a fifth of tequila from behind the counter, plus a case of beer before paying the tab. As the four of them headed to the door, the bell above it dinged, and in strolled Henna, laughing it up with Oz.
“The fuck? The night that keeps on fucking giving. ” Heavy scowled, and Oz immediately knew he’d fucked up.
The smile Henna wore faded and was replaced by daggers in her eyes for Giselle before they shifted to her twin.
“Bro, we was just chilling,” Oz explained, throwing his hands up like he’d been caught taking something he wasn’t supposed to.
“You ain’t gotta tell him shit, Oz. Last time I checked, he wasn’t fucking with me anyway.”
“Oz knows what this is, and if I say this shit is done, it’s done,” Heavy growled, inching into his sister’s space. “We had a conversation not long ago about what’s off limits to us, Oz. So how come I’m the last to know about you and Henna?”
“It’s not some secret. We’ve been hanging out for a while now. We like each other, and I don’t have to explain my relationships to you. My father’s name is Toussaint Sapien, not Huey,” Henna conveyed with attitude.
“Henna, chill, mama.” Oz pulled on her arm so he could speak with Heavy. “Heavy, I know I should have come to you. I’m not fucking her, though. We just been spending some time together, that’s it.”
Heavy believed him. There was no reason for Oz to lie like that. Like Heavy, she didn’t form a lot of attachments. She had a boyfriend in high school, and when Luca went to prison, Hennagave up on relationships. He was her first everything, and he had mental issues. Heavy suspected it was why she was so adamant about being there for Milani all these years and helping her get herself together. He didn’t have the patience for it, but his sister’s heart was wired different.
“That ain’t none of his business,” Henna sneered.
“Nah, after how I came at Viggo about my sister, I can’t stand here, acting like it’s cool that we been chilling, and I ain’t talk to this man about it,” Oz reasoned, watching Henna’s mouth zip shut before she grilled her brother. “I got a business relationship with him, and I ain’t trying to fuck that up behind this.”
“Whatever.” Henna rolled her eyes. “I’m not asking him permission for shit.” She tucked her arms across her chest and pouted like a little ass kid.
“You need to bring that attitude down a peg or two, mama. You already know I ain’t with all that rah rah shit to get your point across.” Oz was stern when he spoke to her, straightening Henna right on up, although she still wore a resting bitch expression.
Heavy was impressed. He had never seen his sister submit the way she just did, which had him looking at Oz in a different light.
“Heav, with your permission I would like to pursue whatever this is with her. If you not cool with it, I understand, and I won’t press the issue.”
“Y’all grown.” Heavy shrugged.
“Hmm, nice of you to acknowledge that,” Henna muttered.
Both men cut eyes at her. Henna was a force, and not one to be taken lightly. She played games with men for entertainment. It was clear Oz wasn’t engaging the way most men normally would, so she was dealing with a whole new challenge. Shaking his head, Heavy dapped Oz up.
“Good luck with that, bro. She don’t like to listen, and she think she know everything,” Heavy warned, placing his arm around Giselle’s waist and leading her past them.
“Yeah, well… you’re controlling and stubborn!” Henna yelled at his back once they were outside.
“Are you ever going to talk to her again?” Giselle asked once they were outside and at his car.
“We just talked,” he responded, opening her door for her. “Right now, I ain’t got shit to say. If she can’t accept you, that’s on her. When she gets her shit together, we’ll deal with it.” Heavy reached for the gas handle to pump as Crew did the same at the pump in front of them.
With her legs facing him, Giselle held her Styrofoam cup and Red Bulls against her chest while Maisie moseyed over with the bottle of tequila.
“You trying to fill up now, so you can catch a buzz on the drive?”
“Yes, please,” Giselle replied giddily, popping the lid off her cup and holding it out to her.
Maisie topped her off and put the cork back in the bottle. After Crew and Heavy finished pumping gas, they got into their cars and took off. Heavy trailed Crew to the lake and through the winding roads until they came across a shelter where another car was parked and a fire pit burned a few feet from where the lake water glistened. Kehlani’s “Out the Window” serenaded them softly when they parked beside Solo’s white Dodge Challenger and piled out of their whips. Heavy and Crew both backed in so they could lift the back compartment of their SUVs and post up instead of sitting on the grass. A deep navy sky with stars sparkling cast an illumination over them.
Solo sat on the grass, one leg bent and the other stretched in front of him as he sipped from a red plastic cup and watched Gem dance barefoot around the fire and sing along to theBluetooth speaker beside him. A hint of a smile toyed with his lips, watching her wind her body. Anyone could see that boy was gone over her. He barely noticed when the rest of them pulled up.
Heavy sat on the edge of his car, bringing a fresh blunt to his lips to partake in, and Giselle sipped her tequila mixture from her cup. When Gem finally spotted them, she grinned and rushed over to Maisie and Crew at his truck.
“We set up a volleyball net. Y’all want to play?”
