“Does he?”
“He’s cool when I’m around and Des loves his father, so yeah. But his baby mama is a little off. They can’t be around each other. You know he did two years because of her.”
“For real?” Joi didn’t know much about him and neither did Nyelle.
“For fucking real. They got into it bad and she lied when they went to court. She had the chance to drop the charges, but she didn’t, and when he got out, he refused to fuck with her anymore. They don’t even see each other to drop off their son. His mom and sister do it. Shit is crazy,” Ria stated, thinking about the few times she’d been around him when he had his son.
“Damn, that is crazy, but why she mad though? It’s her fault.”
“True,” Ria stated.
“But did he really assault her?”
“No, they shoved each other around but she blacked his eye and knocked out one of his teeth because he wouldn’t fight her back. He didn’t want to put his hands on a woman, especially not the mother of his son, but when they went to court she lied and said he beat her all the time. He had drugs on him when they locked him up, so he did two years. She even called him when he got out, crying on a message, saying she was sorry she lied but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He played the message for me.”
“These women are doing entirely too much,” Nyelle stated, thinking of her own situation with Reese. Michelle used to blow her phone up until she blocked her. Then she started tagging Nyelle in pictures on Instagram until she blocked her there. It was insane how crazy she acted. “Like Michelle’s dumb ass. You show up at my job carrying my man’s baby, then, when he leaves me for you, you’re blowing up my phone and tagging me in shit on social media when I’m not paying you any mind. I’m like you got him, why you so worried about me? Go be with him, boo. I was just laid back over here living my life and raising my son.”
“She was blowing you up because she knows he don’t really want her. He wants you. He just fucked up too bad to get you back and she has to live with that. That woman isn’t crazy. You lose ’em how you got ’em and you will always be worried about the fact that he really didn’t want you. He just got stuck with you because you didn’t swallow.” Joi shrugged and Nyelle and Ria both laughed, shaking their heads.
“Facts, boo. But it’s all good. The only thing I want from Reese is for him to be a father to his son. He’s already on some dumb shit with his role in Nick’s life but wants to be all up my ass because I’m moving on. Just be a man about your shit, homie.”
“He can’t do that. He’s stuck in his feelings with the realization that he lost a good thing. Trust me, it’s the same reason Reg is acting dumb.”
“Well they both better figure it out. I’m over it and them.”
“Hell, me too,” Joi stated firmly. “So that means you’re going to work things out with Vega?”
Nyelle shot her eyes over to Ria. They were still new and she wasn’t sure how much she wanted her to know about her situation.
“We’re figuring it out. I have to think about Nick, but I know I want to be with Vega. I also know Reese is going to act a damn fool, so I have to be smart.”
“I feel you. Which is why we need to turn up and drink our problems away.” Ria turned up her glass and emptied the brown down her throat before leaning forward and wrapping her hand around the bottle to refill her glass. Joi followed her lead and emptied the rest of hers before grabbing the Cîroc while Nyelle grabbed her phone to connect to her Bose speaker to play music. It had been a while since the women had a good chill session, so it was long overdue, and they planned on making the most of it.
East steppedout of the car Cabo had sent for him, allowing his eyes to roam the parking lot and building. There were cars everywhere with an equal amount of bodies cluttering the entrance to the small establishment. With all the movement going on, East was grateful Cabo had sent his private jet after requesting a sit down. It allowed him the ability to travel with his Beretta, giving East a mild sense of comfort. Being in a foreign place meant he didn’t know the people or the area. Although he wasn’t the type to be concerned about others, his current situation left him at a disadvantage. There were too many people and too much movement for East’s liking, but being a man of his word, he headed toward the building regardless.
Once inside East moved straight to the bar as instructed, where he asked the bartender to locate Cabo for him. With a slight motion of her head and the extension of a long, wine-colored fingernail, East was directed to a small booth in the back. As he moved closer, East realized Cabo wasn’t alone. Joi’s aunt Ava was across from him, causing East to groan under his breath. This wasn’t a social visit and he wasn’t in the mood to be social. East had no issues with Ava specifically, but he was positive she had issues with him. Issues that were none of her concern nor was he going to discuss.
“Right on time.” Cabo stood and extended a hand to East, which he accepted and shook. Ava was next to speak.
“It’s good to see you again,Eastland.” East’s face tightened at her reference to his complete name, but it pushed a smile on Ava’s face before she explained. “Joi told me. I was curious as to why they called you East. It’s a rather interesting one. Family name?”
Yeah, from the asshole that donated sperm for me. Nothing I claim with pride.
“Yeah, good to see you too,” he offered in an attempt at being civil, but East was annoyed and ready to speak with Cabo so he could get back to Atlanta in time to see Joi later. He was grateful for her girls’ night because it allowed him to make the two-hour flight to Miami without a million questions about where he was going and why. Questions East wouldn’t answer, but he did, however, want to be back in time to close the night out with her. Even if it just meant having her in his bed while they slept.Damn, who the fuck am I?
He had heard plenty of times how one woman,the right woman,could cause a man to switch up his entire life. The concept had been foreign to East until he experienced Joi. He found himself craving everything about her, even the things that annoyed the hell out of him. That had East questioning why hewanted her in his life. His attraction to Joi was something he couldn’t explain in simple terms, but one he couldn’t escape. Life was funny like that because East wasn’t the type to need anyone. He had always been a loner, but he found himself needing Joi. East almost smiled at the thought, but his current situation prevented it.
“Sweetheart, give us a minute to talk then we can start our dinner. You can wait in my office or at?—"
“The bar,” Ava stated quickly. She wanted to be close to her man knowing the crowd here tonight, women who wanted to get close to Cabo. As faithful as he was, she was no fool.
A cocky smirk inched across his face as he nodded without debate, but before Ava left, she had a few words for East.
“Eastland.” She paused until she had his attention, noticing the grimace from her addressing him by his full name. She didn’t care. Ava did what she wanted. “My niece is precious to me but you have made it clear she’s precious to you also.” Ava offered a slick smile before her eyes landed on Cabo who gave her his full attention. She was his love and he was always drawn to her. “Cabo seems to think you’re good for Joi. He assured me that I can trust her with you, and as much as I don’t like who you are, I believe in him so I’m okay with Joi being with you. Be good to her. That’s all I ask. She’s all I have and I don’t take that lightly.” With a soft smile, she waited for East to respond.
“She’s good with me. That shit that went down was out of my control, but trust, it won’t happen again. That’s my word.”
“Good enough.” Ava smiled softly before she glanced at Cabo. “I’ll leave you two to discuss your business.”
