After Samari ended the call, Sheree was grinning like a fool. “Why are you still here, friend?”
“Were you not just crying about me not spending time with you?”
“I was but that right there is enough for me to give you a pass.” She pointed to Samari’s face before she leaned forward enough to grab a cake pop from the box. “Plus, if you bail, this makes up for it.” Sheree held up the red velvet cake pop rightbefore her teeth sank into the cream cheese icing covered treat. “These shits are so damn good.”
“Are you really going to compare the value of my time with a sugar rush?”
“No, I’m valuing your time against that goofy ass grin all over your face when that man was on your line. You want that man something serious, Mari, and I’m willing to take a hit for the greater good of our future.”
Samari laughed. “Our futures?”
“Yes, hoe. I told you my baby needs a best friend. You need to be pregnant before her first birthday.”
“Ree, that’s in two months.”
“I pushed her big headed ass out. You don’t think I know when she was born?”
Samari rolled her eyes. “You’re gonna stop playing my baby like that. Her head…”
“Is big as fuck but my baby is still pretty as hell. She gets that from her daddy. You’re giving me two more hours, then you can go.”
“You want me to leave?” Samari fake pouted and Sheree rolled her eyes and surveyed the cake pops, lifting a double chocolate one.
“Bitch no, but I also don’t want you feeling like you have to choose between me and him. I’m making the decision for you because I’m selfless.” Sheree bit down on the cake pop and grinned. “And I also only have about two hours left by the time I finish this wine. Jomie has been kicking my ass lately and Mama is tired.”
“So basically, it’s not about me.”
“Hoe, a win is a win, take that shit and hold it close to the chest.”
Samari grabbed a handful of popcorn and shoved it into her mouth, shaking her head. Having Sheree in her life wasdefinitely a win, either way she flipped it. She would forever be grateful.
Tori’s stomachwas in knots after listening to the phone call Asao engaged in, feeling slighted by how he’d not only ignored her but was also giving his time to someone else. She could decipher from the small part of the conversation she had been privy to that he was speaking to a woman. One he was familiar with and who Tori assumed he had been or wanted to be intimate with.
Since their last encounter, every text she’d sent had been left on read. When she called, he didn’t answer, and she had yet to catch him at his apartment. Multiple popups left her aggravated, trying to figure out how to get his attention.
Not once had he promised her anything, and during the entire time she had access to him, he’d remained guarded. However, she was hopeful that she could attach herself to everything he’d built. Although they hadn’t met until his exit plan had been executed, she was Crescent Falls born and raised. So she knew the man he was in the streets prior to him putting down roots in the studio.
She fumbled the opportunity and seriously regretted how much it hurt but also refused to accept that she couldn’t work her way back into his good graces. Like most delusional women, she felt that all she had to do was get him between her thighs to change his mind about granting her access to the world she’d bragged to her friends about being a VIP cardholder to.
Tori was cool with Asao. His dick game was unparalleled, his pockets were deep, and he had a generous heart. Her issue was a selfish mother—who’d measured her worth by what men were willing to offer for her looks and body—had raised Tori with the lack of understanding it took to appreciate the man he truly was.
His dominance, loyalty, and protective nature didn’t make her pussy wet, but walking into clubs and being escorted to VIP off the strength of his name or the stacks he laced her with to ensure she matched his fly did. The prospect of another woman gaining what she’d lost was what allowed Tori to push her pride aside and absorb the embarrassment of having to beg for his attention. But she felt it would be worth it in the end.
She watched Asao, waiting to see if he would acknowledge her, but the most she got was a nod when he’d entered the section paid for by B-Syde. Poles and Pastries was the last place she wanted to be, but when she and her girls had gotten turned away from a private event at Black Diamonds after she handed over Asao’s name in request for a VIP section, she had to tuck her tail between her legs and either head home for the night or tag along with her girls who were extended an invitation to pregame with B-Syde at the strip club.
Knowing Asao had put word out that she was no longer attached to his name was a slap in the face and a final line in the sand that he was no longer fucking with her. Seeing him now only made matters worse. Asao was a fine man. Always kept a fresh cut, his cinnamon brown skin made his jet black beard look shiny like oil as it coated the lower half of his face. The hangtime that dropped his beard a few inches below his chin was sexy.
Hooded eyes that would rip a woman’s heart from her chest and lips that promised the most intense orgasms unfairly teased every woman within range. He wasn’t a flashy man but even his laid back appearance turned heads. Dark jeans and a hoodie covered his body while retro OG 1s were on his feet. The shit wasbasic as hell but on Asao needed a spotlight because he was just that damn fine.
“I don’t know how you messed that up. I would have fucked and sucked his ass on demand to keep my spot. Shit, I might see if he’ll let me.” Tori glared at Asia who filled the seat next to her.
“Bitch, walk light. That’s disrespectful as hell.”
“No boo, what’s disrespectful is how you had that fine ass man and lost him. That is not your man, so he’s fair game.” Asia smiled like she was joking, but if the opportunity presented itself to get Asao’s attention, she wouldn’t hesitate to take it. She brushed off Tori’s glare and crossed her legs before taking a dainty sip of the mixed drink she was nursing. Until she had a guaranteed sponsor for the next one, Asia took her time.
The women were waiting patiently to return to their respective places around B-Syde after he’d cleared the booth to have a private conversation with Asao. No matter how hard Tori strained to listen, the music was too loud while Asao and B-Syde’s voices were too low for her to pick up anything they were saying.
The only way Tori had been privy to Asao’s phone conversation was due to leaving the bathroom just in time to catch the call. When he ended the call and she walked up smiling, feeling hopeful, he tossed her a nod and walked off just in time for Asia to step out of the bathroom and catch the way he’d dismissed Tori. Now she was fuming, trying to come up with a way to save face.
