I shook my head, smirking as they clowned, but I wasn't even about to entertain them. Sitting there, listening to them talk shit, I realized how much I had changed. How much she had changed me. Not in a way that made me weaker. Not in a way that made me less of the man I was. But in a way that made me more. More calculated. More aware. More in control. Because before Chiana, I ain't give a fuck about the future. About what came next. But now, I was building something. And I'll be damned if I let these niggas make me feel any kind of way about it.
I took a sip of my drink, setting my glass down slow before looking up. "Y'all done?" The laughter died down, but the smirks remained. "We just gettin' started," Noles grinned. I shook my head, chuckling. "Aight. Keep playin', remember this moment." Jules lifted his glass.
Pops finally sat forward, voice gravelly, carrying weight. "Y'all niggas need to be straight, forreal. This ain't just a hustle. This is about legacy. What we leave behind. What we build. Y'all ready for that?" The room got quiet. Because when Pops talked, Niggas listened. Jules nodded. "Yeah, we ready." Pops exhaled. "Let's make it happen then."
_
The next day came around quick. Sunday dinner at Mama's house. And even though I was used to these dinners being a regular thing, something about bringing Chiana into it made the shit feel different. Like it meant something more. She was standing in the mirror, dressed down in some fitted jeans and a soft white T-shirt, letting her long braids fall freely over her shoulders.
I leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, watching as she swooped her baby hairs, her brows slightly furrowed in concentration. She was too damn fine. The type of effortless fine that didn't take much. She wasn't even trying, and still, she had my ass stuck, just looking at her. Then I watched her walk over to the nightstand and grab her damn bag of gummies, tossing a handful in her mouthlike she was popping Skittles. I lifted a brow. "Aight now, dats enough of that."
She turned, rolling her eyes as she chewed. "Juste, it's a few gummies, relax." I smirked, stepping closer, my hands landing on her hips. "The way you eat dem shits, I'ma have to start rationing 'em out like prescription pills." She sucked her teeth, trying to step around me, but I blocked her, gripping her waist and pulling her back against me.
"Uh-uh," I murmured against her neck, letting my lips brush her skin. "Not till you tell me how high you tryna be at this damn dinner." She smirked, tilting her head to look at me. "High enough to deal with your mama without catching a case."
I let out a deep chuckle, shaking my head. "She ain't even that bad." Chiana lifted a brow. "She literally does not like me . she walked out like she was about to put a hit out on me."
I laughed, turning her around so she was facing me, her back pressed against the dresser. "She warming up to you." She scoffed. "Oh yeah? When's has she ever called to personally invite me to dinner?" I smirked. "Never."
"Exactly." I chuckled, shaking my head. "You gon' be alright, baeeby" She pouted, looking up at me. "You sure about that?" I leaned in, brushing my lips against hers, low and slow, letting my hands slide down to cup her ass. "Even if you not, I am."
By the time we pulled up, the whole family was already there. Jules' truck was parked out front, along with Nia's black G-Wagon. Noles and Pierre were already inside too. I glanced at Chiana, who was sitting in the passenger seat, staring at the house with a neutral expression. But I knew her well enough to know she was already mentally preparing for whatever came next.
We stepped out, making our way to the door. Before I could knock, Nia swung it open, a wide grin on her face. "Finally! My girl, get in here! I've been waiting on you!" She reached for Chiana's hand, pulling her inside like they had been best friends . Chiana shot me a look over her shoulder like, See, this is why I like her.
I smirked, shaking my head as we stepped into the house. The smell of soul food everything filled the air—Mama was throwin' down, like she did every Sunday. Fried chicken, mac and cheese, greens, cornbread, red beans and rice. The second we stepped inside the dining room, the energy shifted. Pops, Jules, Noles, Pierre, and Mama were all already seated, drinks in hand, conversations flowing.
Mama's eyes landed on Chiana, and I swore I saw her mouth tighten just a little. Chiana, to her credit, paid her no mind, keeping her face unreadable but not shrinking under the pressure. Jules smirked, lifting his glass. "Look who finally decided to show up." Noles leaned back in his chair, grinning. "Yeah, we was startin' to think you was gon' flake, nigga." I pulled out a chair for Chiana, letting her sit before I sat next to her. "Y'all niggas talk too much." Pierre chuckled. "We just know your ass ain't missed a dinner since birth. Now you start datin', and all of a sudden, you got other plans?" These niggas was not letting up.
Everybody was talking, eating, and bullshitting as usual, but I wasn't stupid. Mama was still watching Chiana, still trying to figure her out. Her and Nia sat next to each other, whispering and giggling like they had a shared secret, and that's when I knew—they were high as hell. I smirked, shaking my head, but before I could call them out on it, Mama cleared her throat, and the whole table naturally fell quiet.
"So, Chiana," Mama started, her voice light but pointed, like she'd been waiting to say this. "You gon' tell me how you met my boy? What made you seek him out? Who your people are?" I knew it was coming. I knew she was gon' try to press her, but I still lifted my glass slow, taking a sip, letting this shit play out. Chiana raised a brow, sitting back in her seat. "Me? Seek him out?"
Mama nodded, giving her that look. "Exactly. What made you chase after my Jus?" The table fell silent, all eyes shifting to Chiana, and I felt her body tense slightly beside me. But she ain't waver. She ain't hesitate. She laughed. A soft, knowing laugh as she tilted her head, her long braids falling over her shoulder. "Me? Chase Juste?" Chiana chuckled, shaking her head. "Clearly, you don't know your boy and the measures he'll go to, to get what he wants." She sat back, cool and unbothered, and I gripped her thigh under the table, a silent warning to watch her mouth. Mama's eyebrows lifted slightly, her lips pressing together like she was studying her response.
Noles let out a low whistle, clearly amused. "Damn. Shit did end up being a lil crazy, huh?" Chiana smirked, cutting her eyes at me. "Oh, you have no idea." The table erupted in laughter, knowing how we'd met, but Mama ain't laugh.
She just stared, a slow smirk playing on her lips. "That so?" Mama said, her voice smooth, challenging. Chiana met her gaze, nodding. "That's so." Mama was pushing it now. She leaned back in her chair, eyes locked on Chiana like she was waiting for a reaction.
"Mmm." She let the sound drag out like she was thinking something over, then hit her with— "So, how you go from being the accountant to fuckin' Juste?" The whole table fell silent. Even Nia, who had been giggling with Chiana all night, stopped mid-laugh. Jules lifted a brow, smirking like he was just here for the entertainment. Pierre's drink froze halfway to his mouth, and Noles, That nigga turned his head, eyes wide like Damn, she really went there.
Chiana blinked once. Then again. Before she slowly sat back in her chair, lips pressing together in a knowing smirk. Mama was testing her. Trying to get under her skin. Before Chiana could fire back, Pops shut that shit down real quick. "Aight, Evie, that's not your business." His voice was gruff, firm, the type of tone that meant the conversation was over.
Mama side-eyed him, sucking her teeth. "Oh, but it's your business to be in everybody else's?" Pops gave her that look, the one that had us boys knowing when to shut the hell up.
"You heard what I said." I waved her off, done with the whole conversation, sipping from my cup. "Come on, Ma, with all that." Chiana still wasn't blinking. Still wasn't backing down.
She tilted her head, smiling too sweetly. "You really wanna know, Ms. Evie?" Mama lifted a brow. "I asked, didn't I?" I squeezed Chiana's thigh under the table, another silent warning. But she just smirked, unbothered, her nails lightly tapping the table. "Juste made it his business to be all in mine." She leaned forward slightly, her voice smooth as hell, holding her gaze. "I didn’t have much of a choice." Mama blinked, caught off guard for a split second before she let out a short laugh, nodding like she respected the response. She lifted her glass to her lips, taking a slow sip. "Mmm."
CHIANA
Two weeks had gone by since that wreck of a Sunday dinner, and I had sworn up and down to Juste that I wasn't going back. Hell nah. Not that I didn't hold my own, because I definitely did. But his mama? She was different, and I didn't have the patience to keep proving myself to a woman who was determined not to like me. So instead of going back and forth with Juste about it, I made up my mind, I wasn't going back.
This morning, I decided to work from home, something I'd been doing more of lately. The numbers in front of me were starting to blur together when my phone buzzed across the desk. I glanced at the screen. Maseon. Damn. It had been about two years since I last talked to him. We had grown up together. After Antonio left he was there—one of those right place, wrong time situations. The sex? Fire. But it had never been anything serious, and when he moved to Texas, we had just left things where they were. I wasn't expecting to hear from him. I tapped the screen, putting the call on speaker.
"This is Chiana," I answered, flipping through one of my ledgers. "What up, Ana?" His deep, familiar voice came through the phone, carrying that same laid-back confidence he'd always had. "Working. What's up, Mase?" I asked, keeping my tone professional, letting him know this wasn't that.
"I'll be in town tomorrow. Need to meet with you 'bout some financial shit," he said smoothly. Then, his voice dropped a little lower. "I hope you been good. Know you still fine as shit." I laughed, shaking my head. "I been working from home, but I can check my calendar and get back to you on what time I can meet you at my office tomorrow." I glanced up at my laptop screen, then looked again—and immediately froze. Juste was standing in the doorway, arms crossed, frown so deep it looked etched in stone. Shit.
