“Maybe you should stay home tonight. Didn’t you go out last week?” East pointed out.
“What does that have to do with anything? I always go out on the weekends.” I could feel myself growing irritated because he was about to piss me off.
“Well, Logic and I planned to take Nauri to a strip club and a few other places. I figured you would want to sit this out.”
My lips pursed as I prepared myself to cuss his ass out. Fortunately, my brother intervened before I could get the chance.
“It’s my first day back home. My little sister is welcome to go wherever I am. Shit, she’s legal now. We’re about to turn up and get fucked up. I gotta report to the studio in a couple days and finalize my album, and I’m tryna enjoy my little piece of downtime before the real work starts.” Keynauri threw his arm around me, and I stuck my tongue out at East. He couldn’t react the way he wanted to since Keynauri wasn’t aware of our relationship.
“Alright, bro. I’m about to head out. There are a few things I need to take care of before kicking it tonight,” East announced. I eyed him with an attitude, pissed that I couldn’t question him.
“Okay. I’m gonna see where Tiana is so I can pull up on my baby girl. Why don’t we all meet up here, and we can ride together?” Keynauri suggested.
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you tonight.” They dapped hands and said their goodbyes to one another. I paid a caterer to cook for Keynauri, so we headed to the kitchen when the fellas left out. I fixed our plates, and the three of us ate. Once again, Symphonee had traded me in for another man as she sat in her uncle’s lap, talked his ear off, and ate from his plate.
“I can’t believe she’s this big. It feels weird being able to sit with y’all and hug you in person. I almost thought I would never get the chance.”
“I can’t even explain how good it feels to have you home. It feels like a dream, and I don’t want to wake up. I pray you never have to go back to that god-awful place ever again.” I wiped the tears from my eyes, but it was no use. I had been holding in these tears for far too long.
“You don’t ever have to worry, because I’m not leaving y’all again. While I hated being separated from my family, the time away really put things in perspective for me. I don’t want to waste a single second of my life being complacent. It’s time for me to hit the ground running and give my career everything I’ve got. I want to make enough money where I can take care of y’all for the rest of our lives,” Keynauri stated.
“I’m really proud of you, brudder, but you don’t need to take care of me anymore. I’m doing well on my own, and I don’t want you to feel any added pressure on my behalf. Noodle and I are well taken care of. The only thing we need from you is love and the occasional gift.” I snickered.
“You can get anything from me. Whatever I have is yours, and I’ll always be there to take care of you. Even when you get married, I’ll still be there. You’ll always be my responsibility. I love you, Boogie.”
“I love you, too, Nauri.”
“Aye, don’t you drink anything else tonight. Your ass is wildin’, and I’m about to have to shoot all of these little niggas in here for looking at you,” Keynauri warned. We had been club-hopping all night and finally made it to one of the places I frequented. My girls were in the building, and we were showing our asses, literally.
The DJ was on fire, playing nothing but back-to-back bangers, and we were having the time of our lives. There were a bunch of men in the section I didn’t recognize, and most of them were good-looking. I wasn’t single, but it couldn’t hurt to take a peek.
“Sorry, Bro. I forgot you aren’t used to seeing me in my element. Your baby sister isn’t a baby anymore. Now take this shot and turn up with me. You’re about to take the world by storm, and I’m so fucking proud of you. Welcome home, brudder!” I lifted my shot then tossed it back.
Megan Thee Stallion blared through the speakers as Summyah pulled me over to where she, Kiara, and Valor were.
“Throw that ass, bitch!” She hyped me up as I bent over and made my ass bounce. Kiara joined in, making it a friendly competition. A couple of men in the section pulled out their phones, which only made me go harder. Once Valor noticed the attention we were getting, she jumped up to join us. I leaned forward, pressing my palms on the floor. Summyah popped me on the ass before turning and twerking herself.
I was feeling adventurous, so I climbed up on the table and continued to wobble my ass to the beat. At some point, I saw money flying around me, but I paid it no mind as I let go of all my inhibitions. I squatted down, holding my knees as I made my ass cheeks bounce simultaneously. My friends continued to cheer me on, so I turned it up a notch. I got ready to drop into a split when I felt myself being snatched from the table. Once I got on my feet, I turned to give the person a piece of my mind, only to realize it was my man.
“Why did you do that?”
East stroked his beard, and I almost forgot I was supposed to be mad at him.
“You must have me confused with someone else. I’m chillin’ because I know you’re excited about your brother being home, but respect my fuckin’ mind, Lola B. You already know how I give it up, and I don’t give a fuck who’s around. I’ma shut shit down every time,” he warned.
“You don’t think it will look suspicious for you to be checkin’ me in the middle of a club? My brother isn’t stupid, and he’ll put two and two together.”
“See. You seem to forget, keeping our relationship a secret from him was your idea. I don’t give a fuck if he finds out. Can’t no nigga whup me, brother or not. If you think I’m gonna sit around and let you play in my face, you don’t know your man at all. I’ll shoot a nigga in his dome and then drag your ass outta this bitch. Try me and see.” His lips were pressed against my ear as he threatened me. I shouldn’t have been turned on, but I wanted to jump his bones right there in the section.
“Hey, boo. Can you come with me to the bathroom? Kiara had to take a call, so she dipped out, and Valor is drunk as fuck and tryna suck Logic off out in the open. I’m two seconds from calling an Uber and sending her ass home. I can’t stand when she acts like a bird.” Summyah huffed. Valor was male-centered, so I wasn’t surprised to see her embarrassing herself for a man who barely paid her any attention outside of the bedroom.
“I got you, boo.” I grabbed her hand and turned to leave without saying anything else to East. My feelings were still hurt about his nonchalant behavior this morning.
We fought through the crowd to get to the bathroom, and it was an even longer wait to get back to the section. East kept texting me to make sure I was straight, but I kept my answers short. When we finally made it back, I noticed more people in the area. One person in particular was this chick by the name of Donnika. She went to Douglasville, and we shared a few classes. She and her minion of bitches were all over my brother and his friends. East sat back in his seat not paying them any attention, and I smiled when I saw him pull out his phone. His brows were bunched together as he typed on his phone. Mine vibrated in my handbag, and when I took it out, I smirked.
Lil’ Ugly BD: You good? Are you taking a shit or something?
Lil’ Ugly BD: I’m ready to go home and cuddle. This shit is played out.
