“Here you go, handsome.” The waitress came back over to the table with the shot I’d ordered. “Will you be paying cash or card?”
Going into my wallet, I pulled out a hundred-dollar bill. “How about you put the shot on my tab, and you keep this for yourself. Maybe we can get to know each other a little better tonight when you get off. How does that sound?”
“Sounds to me like if you have money to pay for pussy, you can pay off the debt you’re in.” We both jumped at the sound of Dame’s voice. “Randa, get your ass back to work.”
I watched Randa as she scurried away to the other side of the room. Dame was a big, black nigga, so I could understand her fear. Throwing back the shot, I slid from the booth and extended my hand for him to shake. “What’s up, my man? How are you doing today?”
“You got my money, Rowan?” He dragged his eyes from my hand back up to me before stuffing his hands back into his pockets. “You’re in the hole a couple hundred grand, and it’s time to pay up.”
Hearing the people at the bar cheer from the results of the shown horse race, my palms became clammy as my heart pounded like a bongo drum in my chest. The extra money that I had gotten from Blossom was supposed to go toward me playing to win back some of the money I owed Dame. If she weren’t such a bitch and actually cared about someone other than herself, she could have helped me. Regardless of the shit she and our dad preached, family didn’t mean shit to either of them.
“I-I just need a little more time.” I rubbed the back of my neck as I eyed the ground. “Business hasn’t been that great lately, and I’ve been struggling a bit. I was hoping I could come in here and offset what I owe if I played a little and won?—”
“Have you lost your fuckin’ mind?” He flagged down a different waitress and had her bring him over a beer. “I let you play here as a courtesy, but now I feel like you’re taking my kindness for weakness.” He took a swig of his drink as he kept his eyes on me. “Tell me why I shouldn’t kill your ass right here, right now.”
Dame and I had known each other for a few years and had been pretty cool for the most part. I met him a few years back when I was on the hunt to get high. After hearing he had some of the best dope in town, I had to see for myself. He wasn’t the man at the top of the narcotics totem pole, but he knew people who were, and that was good enough for me. From then on, we formed a business relationship that worked out for both of us. The last thing I needed was for him to cut off my supply, so I had to make it right.
“If you kill me, you won’t get your money back. What good will that do?” I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. He didn’tflinch. “Listen, there has to be something I can do. Name it, and I’ll do it.”
Eyeing me as he drank his beer, I could feel my high kicking in, and I was fighting not to fall on my ass. As I swayed back and forth, the sounds of the voices around us began to fade out as I felt as if I was going to float away. I swear, Dame’s dope was better than pussy, and I needed to maintain this relationship as best as I could.
“I have a proposition for you.” My eyes shot up to meet his as he began to step my way. “Your sister, Blossom. I want her.”
“You want her?” I squinted my eyes, hoping it would make me hear better.
Fuck, I’m high.
“Blossom is engaged, but I can put in a word for you. We’re not on the best terms but?—”
“No, Iwanther.” He smirked, placing his empty beer bottle on the table. “If you don’t pay up the money you owe me in three weeks, I’m coming after your sister. She is what I collect if you don’t have my money. It’s either that, or I kill you. The choice is yours.”
Slapping me on my shoulder, I damn near toppled over as he walked off and left me there to think about his proposal. Blossom was my sister; I couldn’t gamble her away. Could I? We had our differences, but it wouldn’t be fair to bring her into my world and use her as collateral to someone as dangerous as Dame.
On the other hand, had she given me more money, I could have paid Dame off without her being mentioned. She’s always felt as if she was better than me and found ways to critique my every move. Maybe this is what she needs to knock her down a few notches with the rest of us and see she’s no better.
“Hey, Dame,” I called out to him as he walked over to greet some guys at the bar. Arching his brow at me, he said nothing as I approached him. “I thought about your proposal.”
“And?” His rigid posture was starting to relax. “What’s it going to be?”
Blossom was my sister, but she was a bitch. TJ would have to understand, or he could fight for the woman he loved. At the end of the day, this was about me doing what would keep me from floating at the bottom of Lake Monroe. As I extended my hand to him once more, he eyed me momentarily before he finally accepted.
Grinning slowly, I shook his hand firmly. “You have yourself a deal.”
Flicking my cigarette butt into the freshly manicured grass, I wiped my nose as I walked up the paved driveway of my father’s home. I hated how he wanted to have these fake-ass dinners every month, but to keep from having to hear shit about it, I had to be here.
After banging on the front door, I stuffed my hands inside my pockets, waiting for someone to answer. I wasn’t good enough to have a key to the governor’s mansion like their precious daughter, Blossom. I was always treated like the redheaded stepchild, but being that Clarice wasn’t my mother, I guess it was warranted.
“Master Rowan, how lovely to see you this evening,” I was greeted by the house mother, Connie. “Come on in. The family has been awaiting your arrival.”
Grunting, I stepped past her and eased inside the home. My father had lived in the mansion for three years now, and I wouldnever get over how pristine it was. The white walls and marbled floors made this place look and feel like an insane asylum. Pictures of the past state leaders and their families aligned the long hallway, and my frown deepened as I passed each one. Why in the fuck would a person want to live in a house with strangers on the fucking wall? It was beyond me. The sound of laughter led me into the sitting room, so I took a deep breath before I entered.
“I’m so proud of you and the way you helped that young mother. Taking less money and not returning a profit is not something most people would have done,” Clarice stated as I stepped fully into the room. She patted Blossom’s knee with a huge smile on her face. My father was in the corner, reading a newspaper as usual.
He lowered the paper and added, “That was really nice of you, dear.”
“That was stupid if you ask me.” I startled everyone when I spoke. “That’s why you couldn’t pay me what you owed me? Maybe if you stop treating everything like a charity case, you’d be able to handle business better.”
Taking a seat in the recliner, no one said anything as they stared at me. This is how it was every time I was here. They would treat me as if I were a burden, a disgrace. The more I sat here in their presence, the happier I was about my choice to get high before I came.
