“When am I gonna see you again?” Danni asked as she walked up to him.
She looked like she wanted to kiss him, but she knew better. Nas wasn’t big on kissing and Alissa was the only female that he had ever really been affectionate with. The first time he kissed Milan was the day they got married at the prison.
“Don’t get comfortable my baby. I’ve been seeing you two and three times a week and now you’re starting to look forward to it,” Nas replied.
“What’s wrong with that?” Danni asked, not seeing what the problem was.
Nas was sexy as fuck and every female employee at the prison wanted him. He looked over all of them and chose Danni. That act alone spoke volumes to her. Nas was like a hood celebrity when he was locked up and everybody knew him and Remo. Danni had heard about the handsome Donaldson twins before but it was a dream come true for her to actually be dealing with one of them.
“Don’t get too attached sweetheart. That’s the quickest way to get your feelings hurt,” Nas warned as he walked out the door and to his truck.
Milan had called and messaged him too many times to count. She was crazy as fuck and he was tired of going through the motions. She was always telling him to get out, then she would blow his phone up begging him to come back. The shit was just draining. Nas was ready to find one solid female to settle down and start a family with. The way things were going in his life, that didn’t seem like it would happen any time soon. Remo hadn’t settled down yet but at least he found the person that he wanted to settle down with. Nas hadn’t been so lucky.
When he pulled up to the house, Nas frowned when he saw Gavin’s car parked out front. He wasn’t in the mood to play follow the leader with a grown ass man. Gavin was like a love struck bitch when in his presence and the shit was annoying. Maybe he didn’t have friends growing up but Nas couldn’t do nothing for him. Gavin wanted to do everything that Nas did, which was why he’d started fucking Misty. He wanted to be down so bad but it always came off as desperation.
“Where have you been all night Naseem?” Milan asked as soon as he walked into the house.
Nas heard arguing coming from Misty’s room as he walked down the hall. She and Gavin appeared to in a heated argument that he wasn’t in the mood to hear.
“Why do you care where I’ve been? You told me to get out and that’s exactly what the fuck I did,” Nas replied as he walked into their bedroom.
“I’m really getting sick of this shit Nas. We’re still newlyweds and we don’t even act like it. You’re never here and all we do is argue when you are!” Milan yelled.
“That’s all on you, Milan. Every time you get mad, you want a nigga to leave. I’m only doing what you ask me to do,” Nas said nonchalantly.
“You don’t even try to stay and work it out though,” Milan replied.
“I wish the fuck I would stay somewhere that I’m not wanted,” Nas said.
“I do want you here but I won’t be disrespected. It was bad enough that I had to share you with the bitch when you were locked up. I’m not doing the shit now that you’re home. That bitch is disrespectful and you don’t ever try to put her in her place. Where were you last night?” Milan asked.
“At a hotel,” Nas answered.
“Were you with Danni?” Milan asked, even though she was dreading the answer.
“Yep,” Nas answered truthfully.
Sometimes, Milan wanted him to be on his Jody and Baby Boy shit. She wanted him to lie to her because he loved her. Tell his hoes the truth but spare her feelings as much as possible. Nas wasn’t on it like that, so everything that he told her was real.
“Wow. You should have just stayed gone. The fuck did you come back here for? You obviously don’t want to be here,” Milan snapped.
“You’re right. I don’t want to be here,” Nas said as he opened the closet and started grabbing his clothes.
“What are you doing Naseem?” Milan asked in a panic.
“Getting the fuck up out of your house for good,” he replied.
“I’m sorry Nas. I know that I have to control my emotions but I can’t help it. I just love you so much and sometimes I go too far. Please don’t leave baby,” Milan begged.
Marrying Naseem was the equivalent of being the first runner to cross the finish line. It was like having cold water in the desert or opening gifts on Christmas morning. He was a prize that every woman wanted to win, but Milan walked away with the gold. Losing him would not only be hurtful, it would be embarrassing too. She hated to lose. That was a part of life that she hadn’t fully grasped yet.
“Nah, I’m good on you, Milan. Let’s just get a divorce and be done with this shit. We shouldn’t have gotten married in the first place,” Nas said as he continued to grab his stuff.
“Divorce!” Milan yelled. “I said I’m sorry but you’re taking it too far now.”
Nas ignored her and walked out of the room. He went to the kitchen to grab some garbage bags with Milan hot on his heels. When she saw Nas start to put his items in the bags, Milan started hyperventilating.
“Naseem, please don’t do this. I’ll do better, I promise. I know that I haven’t been the best wife, but I promise to do better. I’ll get a job or go back to school. I’ll do whatever you want me to do,” Milan swore.
“Oh, so now you’re ready to get it right since you see that a nigga is serious about leaving. I really don’t give a fuck what you do. It’s too late to try to save a marriage that should have never happened. I should have listened to my brother,” Nas replied.
“Fuck Remo!” Milan yelled angrily.
“I know that you’re hurt and shit, so you got that one for free,” Nas said as he grabbed his shoe boxes and stuffed them in a garbage bag.
“I understand that Remo is your twin but I’m supposed to be your better half. You act like you love him more than me!” Milan yelled as tears spilled from her eyes.
“I do. The fuck you thought,” Nas replied.
“That’s not right Naseem. I’m your wife,” Milan sobbed.
Nas ignored her as he picked up two bags and started carrying them outside. Milan was screaming and acting a pure fool as she chased after him. Gavin and Misty heard all the commotion and came rushing out of the room. Misty looked like she’d been crying too, but Nas didn’t really care why.
“You good bruh?” Gavin asked as he walked outside after Nas. Milan stayed behind and talked to Misty and he was happy for that.
“I’m straight,” Nas replied, not really in the mood for conversation.
“Are you moving out?” Gavin asked.
“The fuck do it look like nigga? Come on man. I’m really not in the mood for the twenty-one questions right now,” Nas snapped angrily.
“My fault bruh. Forgive me for trying to make sure that my best friend is good,” Gavin said sarcastically.
“Nigga, we’re not sixteen year old girls at a sleepover. You can miss me with that bestie shit. My brother is my best and only friend,” Nas replied angrily.
Gavin hadn’t done anything wrong and he wasn’t mad with him. He was just in the wrong place at a fucked up time. Nas was mad with himself but that was his own fault. He and Remo were hardheaded and they never listened. All the money that he had didn’t matter because he still felt like he was homeless. Having money was no good if he couldn’t even put anything in his own name. He didn’t even trust anybody enough to let them sign for him a place to stay. Going to his grandmother’s house wasn’t happening because she was too old school. Lucille had been locking her doors at ten o’clock since they were kids and nothing had changed since then. She didn’t believe in handing out keys because she expected everybody to be inside before she locked up. The only time Remo slept there was when he was dog tired and wanted a peaceful night’s sleep.
“I know you’re heated right now fam but I’m not the enemy. You know we got more than enough room to accommodate you for as long as you like. Stori won’t mind and you know that,” Gavin noted.
“I’m in a fucke
d up mood right now but I appreciate it,” Nas replied.
“Yeah, Misty got me fucked up too. Bitch mad because she had to miss two days at the club. It ain’t my fault that the babysitter she hired is not reliable.” Gavin frowned.
“I see you finally got your mind right and stopped letting Toi do it,” Nas said.
“That wasn’t my doing. Stori put a stop to it. Toi heard me and Misty fucking and told her about it. I’m happy as fuck that she didn’t see me coming out of the room. Shit scared me all the way straight. I’m not fucking with her like that no more. If it ain’t about my daughter, I don’t want no parts of it,” Gavin replied with a smirk as if something was funny.
“I hear you,” Nas said as he walked away to finish gathering his stuff. In his opinion, it was dumb as fuck for Gavin to cut Misty off now, especially since she’d already had his baby. Misty and Milan were emotional as fuck and Nas already knew that shit was going to turn out bad.
“Can we talk Naseem?” Milan asked with tears steadily cascading down her cheeks.
“Don’t beg that nigga to stay. Let him go if he wants to,” Misty said with a frown.
Milan didn’t know it but Misty was happy that she and Nas were separating. If she couldn’t have who she truly wanted, she didn’t want her sister to have his twin. Nas reminded her too much of Remo and she was happy that she wouldn’t have to see his face every day.
“Listen to your sister for once. She’s a hoe but she’s on point with what she’s saying,” Nas replied.
“Fuck you, Naseem!” Misty snapped angrily.
“I’ll pass but did you tell your sister that you tried,” Nas smirked.
“That’s a lie! Don’t listen to him, Milan. He’s just trying to start confusion between us!” Misty yelled as she jumped up from her place on the sofa. Gavin and Misty looked at her sideways and her guilt was shining through.
“Yeah, okay,” Nas chuckled as he walked away with Milan following close behind home.
“When did my sister try to sleep with you and why didn’t you tell me?” Milan asked.
“Stop trying to prolong my stay. Ask your hoe ass sister whatever you want to know,” Nas replied.
It was true. Misty tried to fuck him more than once, but he always brushed her off. Nas knew that it was Remo who she really wanted and he was a replica of the man that she desired but couldn’t have. He never even mentioned it to anyone other than his brother and he would never go there with her.
“Naseem, please don’t leave. We can work it out. Just give me a chance,” Milan begged.
“Milan, listen, and pay close attention because this is some real shit that I’m about to say. When you came at me about getting married, I laughed the shit off at first. I was in prison fighting a case that I didn’t even know I would win. When you made it all happen, I foolishly went along with it when I shouldn’t have. We were just fucking and I didn’t even love you. Hell, I didn’t think that you loved me either. I’m getting older and the streets are wearing me down. I do want to settle down and have a family but I’m not trying to do that with you. This relationship is toxic and I can’t deal,” Nas announced.
“How can you say that Nas? I do love you and I always have,” Milan cried.
“I don’t doubt that Milan but the feelings were never mutual. I’m not saying this shit to hurt you. I’m just keeping it real. Ain’t no hard feelings my baby. If you want to come back to the club to make some fast money, just say the word,” Nas said, making her look at him like he was crazy.
There was no way in hell that she was going back to their club. She had some money saved up but she would go broke before she did something so embarrassing. She had bagged a boss. There was no way that she was going to start stripping at his club again. They had other clubs but she wasn’t trying to go back to that lifestyle at all.
“I’m not giving up on us, Naseem. I know you better than you think I do. You want the freedom to do you without answering to anybody. I’ll give you as much time as you need but what I won’t give you is a divorce,” Milan replied.
Nas wasn’t in the mood to go back and forth with her, so he grabbed the rest of his things and left. Gavin walked out right behind him.
“Here you go brother. Use it whenever you need to and I’ll let Stori know what’s up,” Gavin said as he handed him a spare to key to his house and a card with the code to the alarm. If Remo had heard him call Nas brother, he would have gone ballistic.
“Good looking,” Nas said before he got into his car and pulled off.
As soon as he did, Mr. Herbert, the owner of the barber shop where he worked, called him. The older man took a liking to Nas when he was a young boy, so it wasn’t out of the ordinary that he was calling. Mr. Herbert had been a licensed barber for over forty years but he didn’t cut hair anymore. He was the one who encouraged Nas to go to school to get his license to cut. Nas got Remo to enroll with him but that didn’t work out quite like he wanted it to. A dude who Jarvis was cool with put Nas down with his brother, who was also a barber. He let Nas work with him as an apprentice for a while and showed him everything that he needed to know. As a result, Nas was nice with the clippers long before he graduated and he had a long list of clients. Nas and Remo ended up getting tight with the other man and he became their weed connect until he got out of the game.
“I know it’s your off day but I need to rap to you about a few things,” Mr. Herbert said as soon as Nas answered the phone.
“Okay,” Nas replied.
“I’m over here by Lucille’s house,” Mr. Herbert said, referring to his grandmother.
“I’m on my way,” Nas assured him before he hung up.
That was even better because he was about to unload all of his belongings in one of his grandmother’s spare bedrooms. As he drove, Nas called his sister-in-law to see if she could get him and Remo an appointment with a lawyer. Not only was he serious about getting a divorce, he was serious about getting his criminal record cleaned up too. It was time for him and Remo to do things differently. Latrice was so happy that she told them to come in early the following morning.
When Nas pulled up to his grandmother’s house, he laughed when he saw Mr. Herbert’s Lincoln parked behind her Cadillac. They were too old for the bullshit. Everybody in the family knew they messed around but they swore that it wasn’t true.
“Look at my handsome baby,” Lucille said when Nas walked into her house.
Nas was young when his mother died but he vividly remembered how she looked. Jarvis still had lots of pictures of their parents that Nas and Remo always looked through. His grandmother reminded him so much of his mother with her light caramel complexion and slanted eyes. She also had the same curly hair that he and his brother possessed.
“Hey grandma. Where is Mr. Herbert?” Nas asked after he kissed her cheek.
“He sitting in the dining room eating. I cooked some red beans and chicken. I’ll fix you a plate,” Lucille said, making his stomach growl at the thought of a home cooked meal. Nas walked down the hall to the dining room and sat down at the table.
“What’s up old man?” he asked while looking at Mr. Herbert.
“I would usually cuss you out for that comment but the shit is true. I am old and that’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Mr. Herbert replied before wiping his mouth with a napkin.
“What’s up? You good?” Nas asked him.
“I’m fine but I decided that it’s time for me to retire. I’m seventy years old and it’s starting to be too much. That’s why I shut down the hair salon part of the shop. I can’t deal with all that mess no more. I’m selling my house and the shop,” Mr. Herbert announced.
“Man, you can just consider this my official two-week notice. You know I don’t do too well with new people. I’ll fuck around and be back in jail for shooting my new boss.” Nas frowned.
“Shut up and let me finish talking boy,” Mr. Herbert fussed.
“I’m listening,” Nas said.
“I haven�
��t even told this to nobody else yet. I wanted you to be the first to know. I also wanted you to be the first one in line to buy the shop if you’re interested,” Mr. Herbert replied.
“Real shit?” Nas asked excitedly.
“Very real shit,” Mr. Herbert chuckled, right as Lucille walked in with Nas a plate of food. Nas waited until she left before he started talking again.
“What would I have to do? I don’t have no credit and you already know what my rap sheet looks like,” Nas pointed out.
“None of that matters Naseem. You’ll be buying it from me, not the bank. It’s only gonna be transferred from my name to yours,” the older man said.
“Ours, you know I can’t leave my bro out. But, let’s talk numbers. What are we looking at in terms of prices?” Nas inquired.
“Trust me, it’ll be a deal that you can’t pass up. I just need to get a few of my other affairs in order and we’ll make it happen,” Mr. Herbert answered.
“What about the salon in the back? That’s a for sure money maker. Is it able to be back up and running?” Nas inquired.
“Definitely. I just didn’t want to deal with it no more. It was easier for me to deal with the barber shop but people are always asking me about renting a booth. You’re young, so you can handle it. I just put my house on the market last month and I got a few offers already. Once I get that squared away, we can focus on the shop,” Mr. Herbert noted.
“That’s what’s up. Where you moving to?” Nas asked as he finished off the last of his food.
“Here,” Mr. Herbert replied, making him laugh.
“I knew it! I knew you and my grandma were creepin’ around!” Nas yelled.
“Boy, hush up. I’m too damn old to be creepin’ anywhere,” Lucille said when she walked into the room.
“Grandma, please tell me you ain’t having sex. That’s really gone kill me,” Nas said with a frown as Mr. Herbert laughed.
“Get out of my house Naseem. You should be good and full by now,” his grandmother replied.
“Aye, since I’m homeless and shit, can I leave my clothes and stuff in one of your empty rooms?” Nas asked.
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