Page 47 of A Hood Wife And A Rich Goon

“Aight, she said she’ll meet us there.” Jewel took the blunt from Eazy when he passed it.

About fifteen minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot of Grady’s Tavern, a staple in Prospect Pointe. Now, all the children and grandchildren of the former patrons were regulars, and the former owner passed it down to his grandson. It sat on the corner, with plenty of parking in the rear. Eazy whipped his car onto the gravel, his engine revving as thunder rolled around them. It didn’t stop scattered groups from posting up out front, smoking cigarettes, talking shit, and trying to stay warm. In the back of the lot, two food trucks were parked, one serving chicken and the other tacos.

He parked, and they finished smoking the second blunt while the girls fixed their makeup before piling out to go inside. Latto’s “There She Go” thundered through the speakers as they neared the doors. Essence shook her ass and rapped along the whole time. Jewel led them inside, but Eazy kept the door open, letting both ladies pass.

“Don’t be looking at my ass.” Lotus glimpsed him over her shoulder.

“It’s a natural reflex, shorty. Shouldn’t have that mothafucka out like that anyway.” Eazy followed her, and their group went straight to the bar.

Ready to throw it back, already lit from the weed, Essence was hoping to find a distraction from her current problems. Eazy got them all a round of tequila, and they took shots. Lotus decided on a tequila sunrise as well while Essence requested a lemon drop, and to keep them coming. Grady’s wasn’t a large club. It had more of a lounge vibe. There was a dance floor with mirrors and LED lights flickering around it. The rest was sectioned off between booths and tables for two or four arranged beside them. Tonight, it was packed, not an open spot available. Women gyrated and popped their shit in front of the mirrors, and men ogled them from the sidelines.

Lotus eased onto a bar stool, and Eazy lingered at her side but didn’t sit down. Protective, he was prepared to drop any motherfucker looking a little too hard. Glancing over his shoulder, he scoped the crowd and waited for his other shots to be delivered. Lotus brought her straw to her lips and sipped, rocking a little to the beat and sensing his eyes all over her. He fought the urge to grab a handful of that ass she had hanging off the bar stool.

“Stop looking at me like that.”

“You ugly anyway.” Eazy nodded to the bartender when he set his three shots in front of him.

“Boy, you wish.” She sipped her drink.

“Damn sure shouldn’t be up in this mothafucka in that little ass shit,” he griped, making her titter and bat those spellbinding ass eyes.

Eazy tossed back his shot, and Lotus sipped the rest of her drink. When the DJ spun “Like That” by Future, Metro Boomin, and Kendrick Lamar, she slid off her seat and bounced, hips swinging from side to side, hands in the air, waving her glass. She moved like water, and Eazy thirstily ate that shit up. On the dance floor, Essence drew the attention of more than one man while swaying to the beat.

Jewel spotted Rhema at the entrance. Simplicity was something shorty had mastered. In tight, ripped, stonewash jeans, she rocked a black leather halter top and three-inch stiletto boots that stopped at her calves. Since fall was on the horizon, she also sported a black and white letterman jacket. Her jet-black lace front was slicked back into a high ponytail, with her edges laid as her hooded eyes scanned the room for her baby daddy.

“How you walk in here all fine and shit but couldn’t slide through for dinner?” Jewel looked her up and down when she joined him at the bar.

“Dinner is intimate. I didn’t want to give the wrong impression to the girls.” Rhema pulled out a stool and sat down.

“You look fucking good, Rhem.”

“What is this about, Jasiel?” she asked, batting the full mink lashes she’d applied.

“I miss you. I just wanted to make sure you was good. You, Ma, and Lo transfer the girls back and forth, and I don’t get to see you. I started this new job, too, so my time is limited.”

“How is the job going?” Rhema asked, flagging down the bartender and ordering a Long Island iced tea.

“Shit is cool.” He nodded. “I was thinking about getting a new place for the girls to live. I wanted to run it by you.”

“No need. You do what’s best for you and them.”

“I’m trying to do what’s best for us,” Jewel clarified.

“What are you talking about?” Rhema dropped a hand against the counter.

“I’m saying the place isn’t just for me and them. I want you there too. It’s big enough for all of us. Bigger than my parents’ spot where they share a room and your place. It’s in the middle of town, close to your job and mine, plus my parents’ and Lotus’s spot.”

“I am fine living where I am,” Rhema argued. “And I’m not moving in with you.”

“I’m talking co-parenting shit, Rhem. Think about all the money you’ll save on everything living together. I’ll take care of all the bills. We can set up a schedule. You can even have your own room,” Jewel presented, watching her face crinkle in scrutiny.

He would play the long game with her if it meant they would be together in the end. His only goal was to make sure her and the girls never wanted or needed for shit.

“I know you all on yo’ independent shit, but this is something I want to do for you. For us.”

“Jasiel, don’t play with me.”

“Rhema, I fuck around about a lot of shit, but you know I’m solid when it comes to you and them girls.”