Kenji didn’t blink. “Talk to her right,” he said calmly with his hands in the air. “That’s all I’m saying.”
“Talk to her right, that’s all I’m sayin’,”Juelz mimicked, his voice dropping low. “Sit yo corny ass down with that bullshit.” Juelz's head snapped back, looking at Tasha, with a twisted face. “Tasha? Really, this reject Jackie Robinson ass nigga, ‘posed to be my replacement?”
Tasha put a hand between them, pushing Juelz back.
“Look! You had your chance with me. You fucked that up.” She poked him in his forehead hard. “You did! So why are you here, in my face now? We done. Just let me be.”
“A’ight... so it’s like that? That’s how you feel?”
Tasha nodded as she backed up. “Yeah, it’s like that, Jue. That’s how the fuck I feel.”
“Well, fuck you then, Tasha, witcha big ass nose.” Juelz spat. He looked Kenji up and down with pure vitriol. “Fuck you too. Clown ass nigga. I hate y’all fuckin’ team anyway.”
People were staring. Phones were out. The restaurant went quiet, now. Kenji threw some bills on the table and stood up. “Tasha…come on, let us just go?—”
Crack.
The sound of Juelz’s fist connecting with Kenji’s jaw echoed off the high ceilings. Kenji’s head snapped back, his body hitting the chair so hard it skidded three feet. Women screamed. Glasses shattered. Cellphones flashed.
Somebody yelled,“Aye, call the police!”
“Juelz! Stop!”Tasha lunged forward, but Juelz was a blur of motion, swinging again. He was rocking Kenji shit. Stomping him out as if he had dirt on his shoes.
Mar made his way through the crowd with Meeka following right behind him as the commotion got louder. He knew already that Juelz was the cause. He grabbed Juelz’s shoulders, pinning his arms back. “Nigga, chill! You trippin’!” Mar looked aroundand finally realized that calling him there might not have been a good idea.
“You see all these cameras, nigga. And Tasha? You know you foul.”
“Get off me, nigga!” Juelz barked, trying to shake him. “Give a fuck ‘bout these cameras.”
Kenji gathered himself, wiping a smear of blood from his lip. He didn't rush him; he squared up like a man who was trying to fight for love. “C’mon. Try that shit again.”
Tasha jumped between them, palms out, screaming, “STOP! Both of y’all.Stop!”
But Juelz was gone, eyes bloodshot, chest heaving, jealousy ripping through him like a fucking wildfire.
“She mine, nigga,” he growled, pointing past her shoulder. “You hear me?MINE!”
“I am NOTyours!” Tasha screamed.
Kenji’s jaw twitched. “Ha! Nigga. Now get over it.”
Tasha's eyes stared at Kenji’s. “I’m notyours, either! I’m single. I belong to my muthafuckin’ self!”
The room went dead silent. Juelz stopped struggling against Mar. His face twisted, the ego falling away, leaving only a raw, ugly hurt.
He lunged again, but Mar yanked him backward so hard that it left scuff marks on his shoes.
“Let meGO!”Juelz roared, spit flying. She out here fuckin’ on this nigga and being a li’l hoe. The shit I did? I did for her. But nawl, sheon wanna hear that. She just ready to jump on the next nigga dick and say fuck me.”
Tasha’s voice cracked through the chaos. “Becauseit isfuck you, Jue.” She rolled her neck, bucking her eyes. “Furthermore, I ain’t jumped on his dick yet, but you can betcha life I am,” she started moving her hips in a circle, patting her center, tauntinghim. “I’ma slide this fat wet muthafucka up and down that rich ballplayer dick, while he makin’ me cream all on that shit.”
That hit him like a physical blow. Everything froze. His chest rose once. Twice…
Meeka gasped, clutching her invisible pearls. “I know that’s right, girl. Ion blame?—”
“Aye, you can pipe that shit down, Meek. For real,” Mar said, stopping her from finishing her sentence.
The heat had left Juelz’s eyes. Something in the structure of his face seemed to fracture, the hurt turning into a cold, focused cruelty. He leaned in, his voice dropping to a jagged whisper that carried further than any screams.
