“I had a feeling.” Nuke shook his head. “I knew when you saw her at the restaurant that you would be on her ass.”
Noble didn’t respond to his statement, only played with the toothpick.
“This shit looks bad, bro,” Zayd confirmed.
“I know.”
“Man, fuck Jovanis.” Wilde reclined, showing contempt on his features. “Especially if her ass was checking for Noble. Why the fuck he gotta bear the guilt for fucking with her?”
“That’s not the point,” Zayd argued. “He fucked with another man’s wife. That’s a violation and could ruin business.”
“Facts,” Vic agreed.
Noble didn’t disagree. He had fucked up. The disrespect was loud. He couldn’t believe he’d crossed that line himself, but it happened and he didn’t regret it.
“Okay, so, Noble fucked his bitch,” Wilde countered with a shrug. “Van need to take that shit up with his wife. Noble didn’t exchange vows with his ass. She did.”
Wilde had a point, but Noble knew it wasn’t that cut and dry. He was the general and shouldn’t have involved himself with Irish at all. No matter how powerful their chemistry was or how deep their attraction, he shouldn’t have crossed that boundary no matter what.
“You might have to end it, bro,” Vic said.
Noble’s stare lingered on him for a moment as thoughts flooded his mind. Irish washis,no matter whose last name she possessed. She was a love that felt so good that he couldn’t proceed without it. His heart and mind had never been on one accord until now. Noble either did what he thought was right, but his heart wasn’t in it, or his heart was involved but his mind told him it wasn’t the right move. This time, his heart and mindwere playing for the same team, putting up beaucoup points with immaculate stats.
“Man, he don't want her ass like that. He only wanted pussy, right bro?” Wilde asked.
Every eyeball landed on him as he sat, quietly. How could he reveal that Irish wasn’t just a piece of pussy? That she lived inside his heart and had no plans on moving out? She was his forever. The tide had drastically changed. What started off as two people who shared a mutual crush were two people who were so deeply in love that breaking up felt like a curse.
“I got feelings for her.”
Zayd exhaled sharply as Nuke shook his head. They were disappointed and they should've been. Noble would never downplay his wrong doings just because he was in the head seat.
“Word?” Wilde asked, face amused by his admission. “Shit you ain't wrong. She so mothafuckin’ bad. I know that pu—”
“That what?” Noble checked him, narrowing his eyes.
Wilde chuckled. “Never mind, bro.”
“Ah shit, we got a tenderoni on our hands,” Vic joked. “You sweet on her like that?”
Noble nodded but didn’t elaborate further. They didn’t need to know the ins and out of his love affair with Irish.
Zayd peered at him, showcasing a speck of disappointment. “So, what about Jovanis? How you think that man gon’ feel about you catching feelings for Irish?”
Noble was at a crossroads with Jovanis. They both couldn’t coexist under the TLM umbrella. Their last meeting displayed that fact. Although Noble was slated to walk away from his position, it wasn’t going to be any time soon. Jovaniswas too stubborn to give up his seat so that would lead to them bumping heads. Someone was going to get hurt and Noble proclaimed that it wouldn’t be him.
“I already know how he feels. Shit, you seen it, but I don't know how this shit will work out,” he answered, honestly, taking the toothpick out of his mouth. “Shit is probably going to go bad. And before y’all ask if she’s worth all that, she is.”
“Fuck it. You know I’m riding with you regardless,” Wilde stated then checked his phone.
“We all gon’ ride with him. That’s not the point,” Zayd countered, grilling Wilde. “We just got back on track. TLM was a fucking joke when Tuck was in charge. Noble came back and got this shit in order. Now that we got a system, and niggas taking us more seriously, we don't need no internal shit to interfere with that.”
Silently, Noble was proud, looking at Zayd in a quiet awe. He thought like a boss, left his emotions out of situations, and looked at the bigger picture. He was almost ready to occupy his seat.
“Yo!” Vic blared, gaping at his phone. “Did y’all see the shit posted online?”
“What is it?” Noble immediately asked.
Vic shook his head, extending the phone to Nuke, who looked away, disgusted.
