by Nako
After the sun fell, they indulged in more drinks and had grilled fish sandwiches and salads that the men caught while the women had massages on the beach.
Someone mentioned earlier that it was a club a few miles away.
Giselle asked, “When was the last time we all been out together? Like all of us…no one missing?”
She had a point.
Everyone agreed to meet in the living room at midnight.
“Oh, baby you came through,” Teka snapped as Carmen walked down the spiral stairway.
Neezy was behind her, matching her fly.
She bashed playfully, “Girl, I made this.”
Carmen didn’t think it was that cute, but the gang thought otherwise.
“Sis, I need that for my show next week,” Mahogany told her.
Carmen looked down at him, trying to see what they saw. She didn’t even have heels on. The romper was plain. Little did she know, she looked good without much effort.
Neezy said, “I told her she looked good. She didn’t believe me.”
“Is that everyone?” Nia wanted to make sure before she paged the driver.
“Yep.”
Tia was sitting in silence.
Juice wanted her to turn up with her girls… although, Tia didn’t believe these were her people.
She was only here because he begged her to come.
She couldn’t stop thinking about their baby in the NICU. It was hard for her to celebrate life, when their kid’s could be ending soon.
Tia was trying to be a good sport, but it was difficult.
“The sprinter is here!” East hollered, after a few shots of 1942, he was perky. Taking pictures and letting his wife put those stupid bunny ears atop his head for her Instagram followers to see.
He was more social today, and everyone welcomed him in with love.
Nia was happy that he was coming out of his shell.
This was the best trip ever.
The club was hot and jam-packed but it was turnt the hell up.
Moses ended up getting on the mic on some drunk shit and it was a moment that they would be talking about for years to come.
Kasim, Neezy, East and Juice kept the blunts in rotation.
P was a lady’s man, so he danced all night with his wife.
“Girl, is that a fan around your neck?” Jordyn asked Nia.
She Diddy-bopped before answering her question, “Baby, and is. All y’all hot. I’m not.”
Everyone erupted in laughter.
“Oh my God, you are crazy!” Giselle chuckled.
Nia wasn’t stunting them; she was cool as a fan. Literally.
East saw his wife having a grand ole time and he was thankful.
He’d taken her through so much shit, to see her smiling, laughing and gyrating those thick ass thighs and hips on the dance floor made him feel good.
Porter made his way over to him and yelled in his year, “You straight?” he asked.
East stuck up the bottle of champagne he’d been drinking from and said, “Life is good!”
P agreed with him, wholeheartedly.
Being in the club surrounded by his family and friends made him think of Casey.
It didn’t help that Carmen kept yelling out, “This shot for my brother,” she was past inebriated.
P looked at East again, knowing that God did everything for a reason and in a season.
When Meek Mill’s classic Dreams and Nightmares dropped, they all circled around each other. Thankful that Moses gave the DJ a few bucks to take over the music. They made this shit their party.
“When I bought the Rolls Royce they thought it was leased,” Juice rapped, looking at his brothers. He loved these niggas.
Kasim bolted out, “Hater rest in peace, rest in peace to the parking lot.”
“Phantom so big can’t even fit in the parking lot,” that was East’s favorite line.
Porter came in with, “You ain’t talkin’ about my niggas, then what you talking about.”
Moses rapped over the microphone loudly, “Gangstas move in silence and nigga I don’t talk a lot.”
Once the beat dropped, they jumped up and down. Spilling champagne everywhere.
“HOLD ON WAIT A MINUTE, YALL THOUGHT I WAS FINISHEDDDDDDDDD!”
East’s arm draped over Porter’s shoulder and they lit the club up.
It was a night to remember.
The next day, everyone was hung over and slept all day.
Before they knew it, the plane returned, and it was time to go home.
They buckled in their seats and Mahogany said, “Y’all, why Nia post got thirty million likes? Damnnnn.”
P chuckled, “What’s new?”
Nia was an icon. She was this generation’s version of Oprah Winfrey. Everyone looked up to her.
“Babe, what you post?”
Nia pulled out her dying cell phone, clicked the neon pink Instagram icon on her phone and cleared her throat, “I was so tore up last night… I said, what’s better than one billionaire? Especially when they the same hue as you. #momoneyNOproblems #justalilupdate #ganggang #life’sgreatpaperstraight #ripCasey”
Carmen smiled, “Love it, let me repost.”
East rubbed his wife’s leg, “You and your captions.”
Nia smirked, “Hey, if I keep it up, I’ll own Instagram.”
Just like that, her mind was back on business as they headed towards home.
Eighteen
I am your woman. I belong to you –Beyoncé
No matter how busy his schedule got, how swamped his week was or how tired he could be, he didn’t complain. Especially after returning from a mini vacay. He headed right back into meetings and intense studio sessions that didn’t end until his feet ached, and his voice went hoarse. He needed proper rest but would always make and have time for his niece.
Always.
She was his priority, and nothing came before her.
“Look at you,” he smiled as he ran his hands through her hair.
“What is this called?” he asked, observing her tresses.
She was always switching it up.
This week her hair was blonde. Last week if he could remember it was an ombre of colors.
“A frontal, uncle Neezy and don’t be messing it up. My girl is out of town, so this has to last me for another week,” she complained.
Pulling out her cell phone to access the camera so she could fix her wig.
“What you got a taste for today?”
Normally, they ate. He knew that she loved good food and so did he. They bonded over food.
“It doesn’t matter, whatever you want.”
She couldn’t eat without smoking first and he was already high.
Lira wasn’t old enough to roll up in front of her uncle and he wasn’t cool enough to let her do so.
“We can grab something near the office, I gotta head back there after this.”
He clocked the time to gauge things out before grabbing her hand and crossing the street.
“Were you busy when I texted you? We can do something later...it’s no big deal,” she downplayed her disappointment.
Lira saw the pictures on social media of the weekend that her uncle had.
She wished she was there.
“Nah baby girl. Come on, we about to eat and kick it,” he gave her a reassuring look.
She seemed relieved.
They slithered into a diner a few blocks away, and he ordered blueberry pancakes, egg whites and a few slices of turkey bacon.
Lira told the waitress she wanted a grilled cheese and pork bacon.
“Pork.” She reminded the waitress as she handed her the menu back.
“What’s good with you?”
She filled him in on her plans and he listened, intently.
“I’m…I’m proud of you,” he let her know.
She’d had ample time to figure out a solid plan that would appease him to get off her back and this was a well-thought-out and calculated
one.
“Two years. If I’m not on my shit in seven-hundred and thirty days after I cross that stage then I will go to school. You gon pay for it right?”
She promised.
“My grade point average ain’t all that but I’m smart,” Lira let her uncle know that she was far from a dummy.
“Yes, I will. I never said school was the gateway to success, but it gives you time to figure out what the path can be to being successful. I didn’t give a damn what your plan was long as you weren’t sitting in the hood or with your mother all day I was good.”
She rolled her eyes, “You know I love my mama, right?”
Lira didn’t understand what the issue was.
“As you should...that don’t mean I have to like her.”
“Why don’t you though? My dad loved her.”
That wasn’t true.
“When did he tell you that?” he doubted if those words ever came from his brother’s mouth.
Lira reminded her uncle, “Uh, I saw him every day.”
“He being in your life doesn’t mean that he loved your mother. She trapped him.”
“What does that mean?”
Neezy wasn’t about to play with her ass. Lira wasn’t stupid.
“You know what I’m saying.”
He eyed her carefully, the innocent kid shit wasn’t going to fly with him.
“I want you to be better than her. Better than me and your dad too.”
In her mother’s defense she told him, “Daddy didn’t want my mama to work. He wanted her to focus on me.”
Money’s baby mama had brain washed her damn self over the years. He would let that be. At the end of the day, she was still Lira’s mother so he wouldn’t drag her name through the mud.
He redirected the conversation back to what was important and that was her future.
“You have the potential to reach greatness and you’re going to reach it too. That’s on my brother.”
Lira was happy to hear that he was in full-support of her dreams.
“Thanks, Unc.”
Their food arrived and they ate in silence.
Neezy was high and starving.
This would probably be the only meal he indulged in being that he had a busy ass day.
“Are you dating Nia Hudson’s friend?” she finally asked him.
He chewed and swallowed his food before answering her question.
“Yeah…how you know?”
She laughed, “Uh, it’s kind of obvious. I follow all your new friends on Instagram. In every post, y’all were standing right next to each other.”
Neezy didn’t know how he felt about that.
“Word?”
He was born in the south.
Atlanta, Georgia to be exact. Once they moved up north he was still young. He quickly adapted to their verbiage but he never inherited the accent.
It threw a lot of people off because he was country as fuck, but his jargon was northern.
“Yeah, you know she older than you?” she said it as if he didn’t know.
Surprisingly, age was something that they never discussed. He wasn’t concerned and she wasn’t either.
He laughed, “What else you know that I don’t, Lira?” he asked her since she sounded as if she had more information to share.
She shrugged her shoulders, “Well, she rich. Her husband tried to kill her. She got shot like twenty times, did you know that?”
Neezy did but again, that was something that she didn't mention.
“It was seven, not twenty,” he corrected her.
At that moment, he wondered what else had they kind of swept under the rug. It could’ve been the euphoric experience he was having from the aftermath of the blunts he smoked while waiting on his niece. He was in deep thought.
Did he and Carmen know each other? Well enough, to say that they loved each other and were in love?
“She pretty though, and she got money. I’m happy for y’all,” Lira added.
Neezy’s mind was elsewhere.. He tuned out of the conversation as he contemplated his feelings towards her.
Was he moving too fast?
When Carmen came through the studio it was a little after ten. She didn’t not only bring her daring smile that drank him in but came with Arizona sweet teas, bottles of water and platters of food.
“I knew y’all were probably hungry,” she announced as she came in with two bags in her hands, out of breath.
Neezy moved to help her along with every other man in the studio. A room full of niggas who were raised right. Neezy was happy that he wasn’t surrounded by some savages.
“Good looking,” and “Thanks,” came from everyone.
Neezy kissed her on the forehead, “Much appreciated baby.”
He was starving.
She ordered large pans of oxtails, curry goat and jerk chicken with plantains, rice and peas.
The meal alone told Neezy that she listened to him, even when he thought that he was rambling. It was a few weeks ago but he told her that he was burnt out on snacks and the UberEATS options were limited after ten o’clock.
Shorty pulled up a few minutes after ten.
She was the GOAT.
Thoughts of them rushing or not knowing each other well enough quickly went out of the window.
She was the one.
Carmen was thoughtful, considerate, and compassionate. She was selfless and truly, the love of his life.
“Y’all wanna finish this track or stop and eat?” he asked.
They looked at him as if he had had two heads.
“Nigga, this track gon’ be right here when we finish fuckin this food up,” Munch let him know.
Neezy chuckled, “Alright. Alright.”
Carmen was busy making him a plate, so he twisted up one mo’.
When she was finished, she asked, “Where do you want to eat?”
He motioned for her to follow him out of the studio.
They went down a dark hallway, made two rights and there was a lounge.
“How long this been here?”
Carmen slid through often but had never seen this small area.
Two couches, a coffee table and a television filled the space.
“Just found it, I was so sleepy earlier I had to take a lil’ nap and P was like go lay on the couch. This my new secret spot.”
He wasn’t telling anyone about the discovery.
“We could’ve been up here…ducked off,” her thoughts went to sex.
He hadn’t touched her since they returned, and she didn’t question it. Figuring that he’d been tired from working like crazy and their schedules left no room for quality time or sex.
She’d secured a venue for the re-launch of The Showroom, found a trainer and did a few other important things on her never-ending to-do list.
Her brother was gone, and it was still taking some time to accept but in due time.
“Yeah, I know right.”
Neezy lit the blunt and inhaled all the smoke that he could.
“How was your day baby?”
His favorite question.
Nehemiah was genuinely concerned about her day to day, her well-being and most importantly, her peace and productivity.
It was why he never came to her with no mess or bullshit.
They were good, nah, they were great.
And they always would be.
That one mishap was due to him not being able to check his own emotions with his mother.
She didn’t deserve his disconnection from her, and it wouldn’t happen again
“It was really busy. I’m sleepy but I couldn’t go to bed without seeing you,” she admitted.
Her puppy eyes and pouty lips were such a turn-on.
He patted his thigh and she towered over him and plopped down.
Neezy pulled the blunt from his lips and kissed her, giving her the smoke.
“Hmmm.”
Every damn thing about him turned her on.
She could
n’t help herself.
Feeling like putty when she was in his arms.
His essence was captivating. It swallowed her whole.
“Carm….”
He had to warn her not to start nothing she couldn’t finish as she planted soft, wet kisses on his neck.
“Yes daddy?” she purred.
His dick sprang to attention. Loving when she submitted to him and called him Daddy.
She knew what she was doing too.
Her fingers found their way inside of his pants.
She stroked his penis to life.
Her eyes landed on his.
“Put the blunt down.”
She softly commanded.
He obeyed.
“Now what?” he challenged her.
Carmen was growing bolder.
He was beefing her confidence back up.
The confidence that plenty of people had torn down but no worries, he knew what to do.
He filled her with promises that were real.
Compliments that were true.
Love that never left her soul.
He treated her like she deserved to be treated.
He honored her because she was royalty.
“I’m going to suck your dick then I’m going to ride it. Then...”
She sat up a tad, wrapping her leg around one of his and whispered in his ear, “I want you to nut alllllll in my mouth.”
He exhaled.
“Shit girl,” he muttered.
Carmen moved so she could pull his dick out and she lathered him with spit and the warmness of her oral oasis.
She loved sucking his dick.
Prior to Neezy, you couldn’t pay her to fondle with a nigga balls or lick the mushroom shaped head of man’s penis.
She hated the sight of a dick, always thought that they were ugly.
But no, her man’s dick was so fuckin’ pretty. It was long and fat.
He always smelled like lavender and sandalwood. His scent was fresh.
“Right fucking there,” he coached her as she bobbed her head up and down on his tool.
This girl loves the hell out of me…literally.
He thought to himself as his dick touched her tonsils.
η
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into taking a fucking trip,” she grimaced. Of course, she was going to blame him. Who else could she pour guilt on?