Sweetie looked down at her lap. “I . . . I’m staying in a motel right now.”
Before she could even finish her sentence, Boogie reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “What’s ya number?” After she rattled it off, he flipped the screen toward her. “This ya Cash App?”
“Yes, but?—”
“I just sent you some money. Go to the Ritz and book us the penthouse. I’ll be there in a bit.”
Her mouth hung open, and it took her a moment to speak. Even then, she didn’t know what to really say. “Boogie . . .”
He brushed her long black hair out of her face. “Do this for me, please? I ain’t seen you in what? Twenty years? Let me have you to myself for the night.”
His words caused butterflies to take flight in her stomach. Her mind flashed to her first kiss.Theirfirst kiss. A silly smile came to her face as she blushed. “Fine. Text me your number so I can confirm the room once I book it.”
She stood and made sure to add a little extra bounce to her strut as she walked out of the section. That childhood crushthat gripped her all those years ago seemed to come crashing back, and she wasn’t sure what the hell to do with the grown-up version. One thing she did know, she wasn’t about to let the opportunity to be in his presence again slip by her.
She was curious about what Boogie DeLuca had been up to all these years, and she knew he was just as curious about her.
The last place Boogie wanted to be was the damn strip club, especially not this rundown place. At thirty-four, he had run his course with the club scene. Back then, it was fun as hell. He used to show out on the dance floor and had some pretty slick moves to pull the ladies, not to mention the fat ass pockets. Maturity wrapped around him, though, because his nose turned up at the sight of all the strippers vying for his and his brother’s attention.
“Y’all look grumpy as hell,” Chloe said as she plopped down onto Denzel’s lap and hugged his neck.
“You know this ain’t our scene,” Denzel said before he nuzzled Chloe’s neck.
Chloe giggled and then eyed Boogie. “I don’t know. Boogie might be sniffin’ around here more often.”
Boogie shook his head and tried to keep the smile off his face. Chloe had pestered him and Denzel about Sweetie since she took her ass to the hotel. Neither brother was willing to give upthe gossip though. Not at the moment. Denzel carefully watched Boogie for the rest of the night. Boogie knew it was because his brother was worried about him and Sweetie reconnecting. If anyone knew how much Boogie loved Sweetie back then, it was Denzel. He didn’t know until after the blowout at the school, but Boogie broke things down for him that very same day. He broke it down to his entire family. They were understanding but warned him to stay away from her because her dad was no good. That didn’t stop him from trying though. Sweetie had a hold on him not even he could explain.
Sweetie Bishop.He couldn’t believe it. He always knew he would see her again. He thought about her often over the past two decades. He never told a soul that because they would chalk his thoughts up to a childhood crush. Puppy love. Boogie knew differently though. Sweetie had always been his baby. Since he was a young boy, he was convinced that they would get married and grow old together. Fuck their family beef.
Seeing her here, working in this dump, had him overly curious as to what had happened to her in the past twenty years. He tried finding her as soon as he turned eighteen, but he hadn’t been successful. It was okay, though, because her grown, fine ass had landed right in his lap that night. Literally. And since he had officially spent two hours with his sister-in-law for her birthday, he figured it was safe for him to dip out.
He stood. “On that note . . .”
“What? No. It’s not even midnight,” Chloe whined.
Boogie leaned down and gave Chloe a kiss on the cheek. “Past my bedtime, sis.”
She pouted, but Denzel handed her another shot, and she immediately perked up.
“I’ma walk him out. You good here for a second?” Denzel asked.
Chloe looked around at all the security guards and the men that worked with Denzel and Boogie before she looked back at her husband. “I think I’ll be okay.”
Denzel and Boogie chuckled. Chloe never stayed quiet about the fact that she hated having an entire entourage wherever she went, but she couldn’t complain too much. She had married into the DeLuca family and knew what that entailed before she made that commitment.
Once they were outside, Boogie inhaled a deep breath of the nighttime air and prepared himself for the lecture Denzel was no doubt about to give him.
“You goin’ to see her?” Denzel asked as he pulled a blunt from behind his ear. He lit it and looked directly at Boogie, who chuckled.
Grabbing the back of his neck, he responded. “Yeah, Zel.”
Denzel inhaled from the blunt a couple of times before he passed it to Boogie.
“You know Pops ain’t gon’ like this shit.”
Boogie nodded as he inhaled his only drug of choice. It instantly calmed his nerves, and he nodded. “I know.”
“You always been a mothafuckin’ rebel.”
