Valor’s energy shifted, making me wonder what was going on with her.
“I understand. Trust me, I am fully aware of what these men are capable of. Right now, I’m just trying to enjoy my relationship and be happy for once. East isn’t perfect, but he loves the fuck out of my daughter and me. I’m not going into this relationship with rose-colored glasses, but I’m choosing to trust him until he gives me a reason not to.”
When Essex and I decided to make things official, we both promised not to bring our past trauma into the relationship. While I didn’t have much dating experience, I saw how the men around me carried their women and wanted no part of that. Essex assured me that we were our own people, and the mistakes of others had nothing to do with the life we were building. I couldn’t predict the future, but for now, I would give him the trust he had earned.
Kiara and Valor squashed their little argument, and we continued to enjoy our brunch. Things were going smoothly until a group of women were seated behind us. At first, I didn’t know who they were until Summyah grumbled about Bianca and her crew of miserable bitches.
“Oh, please. I’ll never be worried about a bitch with no motion. I add value to a nigga’s life instead of waiting for a man to feed me crumbs. Tuh, that could never be me. These young bitches are sad,” Bianca blurted out.
“Say that, bitch! These hoes get with a nigga with a little change and damn near sell their souls to be on his roster. They don’t even know that he’s only choosing them because they need him. Some of these tricks are content being a bum bitch.” Her friend chimed in. I didn’t have to turn around to know who it was, because I recognized her voice. Any time Bianca and I had gotten into it in the past, she was right there in the mix with hertwo cents. At one point, I questioned whether East was fucking her too because she seemed to be just as salty as her friend.
It was obvious that they wanted me to hear what they had to say because they elevated their tone. My attitude had been on a rollercoaster lately, and I wasn’t in the mood to play with bitches today.
“I know good and well those bitches aren’t tryna shade you,” Kiara voiced.
“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. They must not know who they’re talking about because you’ve never been a bum bitch.” Summyah sat up in her seat with her elbows on the table.
I already knew how my friends got down, so I wanted to avoid a confrontation at all costs. East had been on my ass about fighting and getting into trouble over bullshit. I wasn’t in the condition to be fighting, so unfortunately, I couldn’t really pop off like I wanted to.
“Don’t even pay them bitches any mind. I refuse to give a bitch my energy when I know she would eat my pussy if my nigga told her to.” I made sure to speak loud enough for those petty birds to hear me.
“Who are you callin’ a bitch?” Bianca’s loud-mouth friend Davinette spat. Of course, she would be the one to speak up since she was Bianca’s brain.
I turned my head toward her, looking her up and down. For someone who loved to talk shit about everyone else, she always looked like she shopped at the swap meet. Her tangled bundles looked as if she snatched them off the curb and slapped them on her head with Elmer’s glue.
“If the shoe fits, slide your crusty ass feet in them and wear them with pride, hoe,” I replied in disgust. I was younger than every girl at their table, and none of them were on my level. Maybe that was why they were so mad, but they needed to take that up with God and not me.
“Oh, you must have bumped your head because you can’t be talking about any of us. Unlike you, I work a real job and don’t have to depend on a nigga for shit. You might as well be a prostitute because you’re basically fucking for a place to sleep and some clothes. You’re all online, bragging about the stuff you have thanks to a man, while us real bitches go out and get it out of the mud. You can’t relate to us,” Bianca argued.
“You know what? You’re absolutely right. I should be ashamed of myself for living off of a man instead of shaking my ass for pennies. Damn, I’m such a bum.” Pulling out my phone, I called my man on speakerphone just to show how much of a bum I really was.
“What’s up, my baby? I was just thinking about your sexy self. I was salty as hell when I had to get up this morning and leave you and my baby,” East spoke into the phone. I gave the bitches a cocky smirk before I got to the reason for my call.
“Hey, baby. I miss you too. We’re gonna come to see you after we get our nails done. Thank you again for paying for us. You didn’t have to do that.”
“It’s nothing. My job is to take care of my girls and keep a smile on your face. What’s good, baby? You need something?”
The care in his tone turned me on, but I needed to stay focused.
“Actually, yes, I do. I was looking at this desktop and some other equipment for my vlogs, but with all of the software and add-ons, it’s about fifteen thousand. I was wondering if I could use your black card, and I’ll pay you back when I can get to the bank.”
I made sure the volume was up so everybody could hear his response. When he hung up, I almost got embarrassed until I saw the FaceTime request come through. I already knew he was about to cuss me out, but I answered anyway.
“Why did you hang up on me?” I asked with my lip poked out. Essex looked good as fuck, even with his brows bunched together. He stroked his beard as he glared at me.
“’Cause I needed you to see my face when I told yo’ ass off. What did I tell you about asking me for money? I gave you that black card for a reason. If you see something you want, cop that shit. You don’t need to ask for permission. Whatever I have is yours, no questions asked. Yo’ nigga’s money is long, shorty. We don’t get declined over here.”
My nipples hardened, but I had to stay focused.
“I’m sorry, baby. I know you hate when I ask permission, but I don’t want you to think I’m a bum bitch who’s living off of you and your money.” I tried so hard to keep a straight face, but East was making it damn near impossible. If looks could kill, I would probably be dead.
“Lyric, get the fuck off my phone with this bullshit. I was just telling my niggas that I couldn’t wait to handle business so I could get back to my family, and yo’ ass got me out here looking like a fraud-ass nigga. You’re my wifey. You could never be a bum because we don’t operate on that frequency. I’m rich as fuck, and so are you and my daughter. Hell, I need to start borrowing money from y’all ’cause your accounts are stacked like a mothafucka. Stop playin’ with me, woman. Your goals are important to me, so I don’t care what it is, get that shit.”
Nobody could wipe the smile off my face, and my friends made it no better because they were in the background cheering and co-signing. Since my point had been made, I decided to get off the phone.
“Okay, baby. I just wanted to make sure, but I appreciate you. I love you.”
“You already know. But if you really loved me, you would ride my face tonight. A nigga’s blood sugar is low ’cause I haven’tgotten a taste of that sweet-ass pussy in two days. You don’t even care about my health.”
