“Okay, and I accept your apology.”
He nodded. “That’s what’s up. Now, I hope that it won’t be no more tension between us. I’m a cool dude once you get to know me. I just like to kick back and chill. And I love doing that without drama.”
She sat for a second, staring at him. Up close, she noticed how he had a nice grade of hair, and the tip of his ears were red. His lashes and brows were silky, and he had perfect teeth. Eventually, she gulped. “Me too. I’m laid back, so this should be all love from here on out.”’
He adjusted underneath her, and she swore that she could feel his stiffness. “All love, huh? I think I like the sound of that.”
Locking eyes with him, she giggled. “Do you have a lot of change in your pocket or something?”
“Nah, I don’t have any change.”
“So, what is that I feel poking me?”
He slowly licked his lips. “The effects of having something soft, sweet, and pretty sitting in my lap.”
She blushed. “Are you mannish, Jaylen?”
He eyed her cautiously. “I’m grown, Rye.”
“Okay,” she dragged out, realizing that he had a hand on her thigh.
“Am I making you uncomfortable?”
She thought about it. “No. I don’t think that’s the correct word.”
“Then what would you call it?”
“I guess, nervous. You know, I do have a boyfriend.”
“Yeah, I know. A boyfriend who let you wander around Los Angeles by yourself. Nigga at a Lakers’ game as we speak, leaving you out in the rain, literally.”
She bit her bottom lip, showcasing those dazzling dimples. “And that’s why I’ll be single when I get back to Houston.”
He quietly laughed. “Why wait?”
Before she could answer that the truck came to a stop.
“Ooh, shit, Rye. I forgot to give the driver your address, so he took us back to the condo. Can you chill for a minute, or do you want me to see if he can take you home, after we all get out?” Jhyrah questioned.
Rye ran her fingers through her hair. “Hey, I’m in yall world, so it’s how ever you wanna do it. Besides, I’m in no hurry to get back to that hotel.”
“Cool. I’ll just take you to your hotel myself, later,” Jhyrah offered, before everyone began spilling out of the truck. Thankfully, the area they were now in hadn’t been touched by rain.
As Rye’s feet hit the pavement, she peered around. With the knowledge of Cali’s high cost of living, she was thoroughly impressed with the high-rise building they were approaching. “Who lives here?” she asked no one in particular.
“We do,” Jeremy simply replied, as they opened the doors to the lobby of the building.
Rye felt like a tourist, as they traveled through the posh building. After riding an elevator up multiple floors, they exited on the tenth. Following the crowd, she stepped up to a door, before Jeremy used his key to gain entry.
As soon as they crossed the threshold, most of the guys flopped down on the huge sectional in the living room. However, Jhyrah and Josairah headed down the hallway.
“Come on, Rye,” Jhyrah called out over her shoulder.
Jared, Jeremy’s twin, shook his head, as he stood in the kitchen area. “That girl thinks she runs everybody. Barely know that girl and trying to boss her around. Don’t let her drag you around, lil’ mama.”
“Jared, shut up!” Jhyrah shouted from the back. “Don’t listen to him, Rye. Come back here with us.”
Rye smiled, as she headed down the hallway. Stepping into the room, she immediately noticed the bomb-ass décor. Everything was contemporary, and seemed high-end, especially the huge canopy bed.
“Hey, I don’t mean to sound brand new, but this place is nice. How old are you again, Jhyrah?”
Jhyrah sat at the edge of the bed. “Eighteen.”
“Eighteen?” Rye repeated, as Josairah excused herself, and headed into the master bath. “And your family is okay with you and Jeremy staying together?”
Jhyrah sucked her teeth. “Dang, girl. You’re nosy.”
Rye lifted her hands. “Oh, my bad. I’m not trying to overstep any boundaries.”
Jhyrah cracked a smile. “Girl, I’m fucking with you. Come sit down.” she patted the spot beside her.
Rye switched over, and sat down.
“Now, to answer your question; my family is crazy as shit, so, of course, they had their issues with me and Jeremy living together. But after a while they didn’t have much of a choice. Hell, initially, I had a dorm room. My first semester here. My mama and daddy flew out, helped me get situated here, the whole nine. That was the most time I spent in that room. And never slept there one night. All semester long I was with Jeremy. Everybody knew it. So, on the winter break I went to my parents and told them straight up. They were wasting their money on that dorm, because I never lived in it.”
“Damn,” Rye listened intently. “And they just went with it?”
“Nope. Me and Jeremy grew up together, because our people are friends. So, they’re always in our business. Girl, they had a whole damn meeting. I’m talking about both of our mamas and daddies. My daddy was the main one tripping, but eventually everybody else got him to see that it wasn’t anything he could do to stop it. So, then my mama stepped in. She’s heavily into real estate. We have a few apartment complexes back in Houston, so she does shit a different way. She came to L.A. and bought this condo flat out, and says that she’ll just rent it out, once we move back home.”
“And Jeremy and Jared are cool with staying in something that’s technically yours? Like, you don’t flex your muscle when yall get into arguments?” Rye probed. “Shit, I know I would.”
Jhyrah tittered. “Girl, please. I can’t hoe Jeremy if I wanted to. He aint built like that. My mama knows it too, so she decided to have all three of us sign a lease agreement, so that we all had legal stake here as residents. Therefore, I couldn’t kick his ass out, even if I wanted to.”
“Hey, I hear you. Sounds like your mama got the bag. Ask her if she’s looking for anymore daughters,” Rye kidded.
“Girl, we’re already nine deep. And then my brother got Josairah’s ass. So, aint no more room on the roster. You’d be better off as her niece or something.”
“Niece?”
“Yeah. I saw how you was in the truck whispering with her nephew, Jaylen.”
Rye smacked her lips.
“Yeah, uh-huh. You don’t have anything to say to that, but it’s cool. I won’t tell.”
Rye rolled her eyes to the ceiling.
“Yall are beefing tough, huh?” Jhyrah pried.
Rye shrugged. “We have our issues, but don’t we all?”
Jhyrah poked out her bottom lip. “Can’t argue with that. But is he really the truth as far as sports’ agents goes?”
Rye licked her lips. “Yeah, he is. He’s young and hungry. He believes that Jeremy is the next big thing, and is going to work harder than anybody I know to make sure that he collects every check possible.”
Jhyrah smiled lightly. “I’m gonna take your word. You going to the club with us tonight?”
“I would, but I don’t have any clothes with me.”
“Well, it’s still early. Somebody can take you back to your hotel to grab some stuff, then you can come back and get primped with us. I have a makeup artist coming through.”
“Okay, okay. I can definitely get with that. So, count me in.”
Chapter 4
Rye sat back nervously on the passenger’s side of a CLS Benz coupe. Glancing around, she uttered the first thing that came to mind. “Whose car is this? Is it yours?”
Jaylen gripped the steering wheel, as he licked his lips. “Damn, you nosy. Just a damn host of questions. You work for the FEDS or something?”
“No, I was just asking.”
He grinned. “Loosen up, man. I’m fucking with you. This is Jared’s car.”
She sighed deeply. “Oh. Everybody seems to have a
foreign car or something. Are yall like the black Kardashians or something?”
He sucked his teeth. “I’m offended. Don’t ever compare us to them broads. We’re the Braxton’s, baby. Names big enough to where we aint gotta be compared to nobody else.”
She smirked. “And what exactly does your family do? Cause I need in like a mug.”
He shrugged. “What we don’t do is the question. Everybody in my family hustles.”
“But who started if off? Was it Jhyrah’s mama? She told me that their mama is a good business woman.”
He focused on the road, while tucking his lips into his mouth. “I’ma say this. My people had to get it out of the mud, and stepped on whoever to get where they was going. They did all that so that we’d never have to.”
Hearing that brought clarity to the situation for Rye. His people probably used to push weight…or maybe still did. “Oh, okay. I got you.”
He cut his eyes at her. “You got me? You sure?”
She hesitated. “I don’t know. Are we even having the same conversation, right now?”
“Maybe,” he cheesed.
Before she could respond, her cell buzzed in her hand. It was a text from Tori, asking her whereabouts. “Is he fucking serious?” she mumbled to herself. She’d hopped out of his car at noon, and it was now approaching nine o’clock at night.
“Your boyfriend must be done kicking it with them reality TV broads,” Jaylen assumed.
She sucked her teeth. “What? Where are you getting this information from?”
“This.” he flashed his phone, allowing her to see a picture of Tori and some chick dressed alike at the Lakers’ game. A game that he’d never mentioned, but clearly had front row seats to. Then the picture was posted on some chick named Kree’s Instagram. The same girl he’d been on the phone with earlier.
Seeing that, Rye knew undoubtedly that it was over between her and Tori. “Oh, okay. I see. Good for him,” she fronted, not wanting Jaylen to see her trip over Tori’s sorry ass.
He furrowed both brows. “By the tone of your voice I take it that this something normal between yall.”
“Absolutely not,” she denied. “Are you always into snitching, though?”
“Snitching?”
“Yes.” She nodded.
He laughed to himself. “She just called me snitch. That’s a new one.”
She turned in her seat to face him. “Well, what else do you call showing me what he’s doing?”
He bucked his eyes. “I called myself putting you up on game. I seen you pushing that nigga’s name, looking out for him, wanting to see him win. And I’d just hate to see you do that for a nigga who aint about you. He don’t seem to have much respect, and I think that it’s kind of lame. He don’t even know how to keep his shit low-key. If he’s fucking around on you, it shouldn’t be some shit that we all can easily see. Especially when he sees that Jeremy is so close to his girl. I can guarantee that Jhyrah aint gonna want him to sign with a nigga that can’t even control himself when he’s supposed to be handling business. And believe me, her say in the matter counts. Then he’s at the game and shit, when he’s supposed to be around convincing Jeremy to sign. A smarter man would have had Jeremy out there, instead of some broad. And if I was to see the nigga I’d tell him the same thing. I showed you the picture, because I could tell that you’re overthinking shit. Like my cousin is cool with me pushing up on you, while you got a man. But truthfully, we saw the shit before we went into Gucci. Ole girl is cool with Jhyrah, so they follow each other. The chick is on the Gram claiming the dude that you speak so highly of. Publicly. But my bad, if you feel like I’m stepping out of bounds. I did it with good intentions. Same shit I’d show my lil’ sister or something.”
Rye gulped. “Look, don’t mind me. I apologize for coming at you sideways. I’m frustrated, right now, and am taking it out on you. Tori is really showing his naked ass, but it’s cool. I just gotta shake this shit off. So, after I party tonight, I’m taking my ass to the airport to see if I can catch a flight back to Houston.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Jaylen grumbled.
She continued to study him. “I got you in your feelings?”
He snapped his head around. “What?”
She giggled. “I knew that would get your attention.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think I like you too much. You difficult. I don’t go through this type of shit with women.”
She arched a brow. “What does that mean?”
“It means that you got a little snippy attitude.”
She twisted her neck. “So, you mean to tell me that none of the girls you dated ever had attitudes?”
He cut his eyes at her. “Not before I fucked.”
“Boy,” she dragged out. “Stop it. That lil’ thang probably make them catch attitudes, because they end up disappointed. That lil’ wiener aint about nothing.”
He licked his lips. “Yeah, okay. Believe what you wanna.”
“I will,” she contended. “I know what I felt.”
“Feel it again,” he offered.
Biting her bottom lip, she reached over. “Yep.” She gripped him through his jeans. Her hand was wide open, measuring his thickness. Moving her hand along his length, she questioned when she’d reach the end.
Jaylen read the expression on her face. “Yeah, it’s more. Keep going.”
She snatched her hand back like she was touching a snake. “Nigga, please. That aint shit.”
“It’s enough to bust you open. I promise.”
She snickered, as he pulled up to the hotel. “You wish.”
“Yeah, alright. Go ahead and get your stuff. Maybe I’ll be down here when you finish.”
She didn’t move an inch, as she gazed at the door. “You mind parking and coming up with me?”
“For what?” he asked confusingly.
“Umm,” she peered at him, and tucked her lips into her mouth.
“You think that he’ll be up there?”
“Maybe.”
He squinted. “Yall be fighting?”
She turned to look out the window again.
Shaking his head, he pulled up to the valet. Rye eased out of the car, thinking that she was alone, until she glanced back, realizing that Jaylen was right behind her. Her heart skipped a beat. Nixing that off, she focused on the task at hand. Together they ambled into the building. Silently, they stepped onto the elevators. Rye was thinking about what she’d say if Tori was in the hotel room, while Jaylen questioned what the hell he was letting this chick walk him into.
As they approached the door, she whipped out her key card. Letting herself into the room, she was surprised to see that Tori wasn’t there. “Good,” she sighed with relief. “Come on,” she told Jaylen, as she sauntered inside.
He stepped in behind her, as she switched right over to her luggage on the side of the bed. After sorting through some things, she grabbed random items around the room. “I need this and this,” she spoke to herself, before pausing. “But damn, I gotta pee.”
Jaylen stood back, while she moved about as if he wasn’t there.
Searching around the room, she located a Gucci duffle bag. Tossing it onto the floor, she lifted her head. “Can you close your eyes for me?”
He frowned. “For what? Man, what type of weird shit are you on?”
She huffed. “Well, fuck it. Don’t close your eyes. But can you do me a favor?”
“What’s that?”
“Can you bring the tissue from the bathroom?”
He cautiously eyed her, before heading to the bathroom.
Quickly, Rye untied the shirt from around her waist, placing it on the bed. She then wiggled her shorts down to her knees, before squatting over the duffel bag. With her eyes closed, she let loose, pissing all over Tori’s clothes.
Jaylen stepped back into the room, and his jaw dropped. “Man, the fuck are you doing?”
She opened her eyes. “I’m peeing. Can I get the tissue, please?”
“Let me wash my hands,” she mumbled, before heading to the bathroom.
Jaylen stood speechless. Rye was full of surprises, and that was cool. He just didn’t know her well enough to be in the middle of her bullshit. “Hey, let’s go,” he called out to her. “Cause if the nigga wasn’t beating your ass before, I’m sure he will today.”
Moseying back into the room, Rye grabbed her shirt off the bed, and wrapped it back around her waist. “I wish I had to shit. That would’ve really been something.” She spun around, whipping her hair in the process. “You ready?”
He looked her up and down. “You crazy, huh?”
She fingered through her hair. “When necessary.”
“Alright. Don’t be surprised when somebody fucks you up.”
“Who? You?”
“Ion know about that. Fucking you did sound nice, but you just pissed on a lame’s clothes. So, aint no telling what you’d do to mine.”
She stepped up to him. “So, you’re a fuck-nigga too?”
“That aint in my DNA.”
“You sure?” she pressed her body against his.
He glowered down at her. “You something else, huh? Is that why that nigga out here playing with you? You’ve given him plenty of reasons?”
She slowly shook her head. “I never gave it to a man who didn’t deserve it.”
His head rolled around on his neck. “You got lines for days…but Ion think you really ready for me.” he vulgarly gripped her ass.
Wickedly, Rye smiled, knowing that they were standing in the middle of a room that Tori’s slime ball ass slept in. Get-back to her was the strongest euphoria. Better than any drug. So, she allowed her head to fall back, as he felt her up.
Suddenly, the entry door popped open. “What the fuck is going on in here?” Tori seethed, as he marched into the room.
With no sense of urgency, Rye stepped out of Jaylen’s grasp. “Oh, I was just getting my things.”
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