“Even with money on the table, huh?”
“Shit, aint my fault that you aint got enough in reserve to handle that on your own. You supposed to be able to make that move without me.”
“Man, I aint finna ride way out to Crosby to get that load.” “But your lazy ass wants me to stop what I’m doing, though.” “You aint doing shit.”
“Yeah, if you say so. I’ll holler at you.” I ended the call.
Nixing that nigga of and whatever he had going on, I hopped out of my Bentley Bentayga. It was still early, so there weren’t many people outside, but I still checked my surroundings, before securing my gun in the back of my jeans.
Taking long strides, I approached the porch, before moving in front of her door and ringing the doorbell.
After about a minute, I could feel somebody’s presence behind the door. I figured they were checking the peephole, before snap-ping the door unlocked.
“Hey,” A cute face greeted me, once the door creaked open. “Aye, you must be Soya,” I guessed.
“I am.” She nodded. “Oh, okay. Is Babi here?”
Tucking her lip into her mouth, she nodded. “Okay. Can I come in?”
“Uh…” she hesitated, while briefly glancing over her shoulder. “Yeah. Come on.” She stepped back, allowing me to cross the threshold.
Immediately, I noticed that there were only stairs on the first floor. So, I had no choice but to walk upstairs.
Having been in several different units around the complex, I pretty much knew what to expect. Or so I thought.
Babi’s apartment was nothing like any unit I’d been in before. It honestly had a mid-level luxury apartment feel, as far as the amenities. Then the actual décor was on a high-rise level.
She had transformed them people’s shit into something completely different from what they’d probably originally given her.
“What chu doing here?” Babi questioned, as she sat in a high stool behind some chick who was sitting in a styling chair.
From where I was standing, I could see that she was wearing a custom apron with a cartoon version of herself holding a comb. Her thighs were fully exposed, indicating that her shorts were short. Then I could see from the side that she was merely rocking a sports bra. Her long hair was in a ponytail at the crown of her head, making her look like a baby.
There was a space in between the dining and living room where there was an oversized mirror and a bunch of hair tools on roller carts, creating a makeshift beauty salon that appeared like she could roll it away when she needed to.
For a second, I watched her braid the girl’s hair, as it slowly dawned on me. I had been disrupting her life. She did hair and shit. And I hadn’t considered none of that, as I wanted her at the crib with me.
“I came to see what was up,” I let her know. “But I see that you
got your hands tied. So, I’ma let you handle that. And we can chop it up when you get a moment.”
With the open floor plan, I stepped over to her couches, and paused when I saw the pictures hanging on the wall. I shook my head at those tacky life-size pictures. And judging by the décor outside of the photos, I knew that was that nigga’s idea.
He probably wanted to remind muthafuckas that he was the king of that castle. Like that was gonna deter the next man.
Having a mission, I sat on the couch, and watched Babi work. Sitting back, I was observing her in her personal space, and I quickly realized that kids naturally loved her.
Her little cousin would jump any time she’d tell him to do something. And then he’d run to show her something on his phone, like she was his little home boy.
“You hungry, Face?” Soya asked.
Feeling like the spot was clean enough to eat from, I nodded. “I can eat. What y’all got?”
“Babi cooked some enchiladas, Mexican rice, and refried beans.”
“Oh, yeah. Fix me a plate.”
“I got you.”Soya toldme, beforeheading tothe kitchen.
