Page 57 of Smoke

As though I spoke her up, Roux came strutting into view. When my brothers saw her, they all groaned. Roux gave my brothers hell when we were a thing. She was the only girl they would square up with to practice our hand-to-hand combat, and she would always kick ass because she didn’t fight fair.

“Not you,” Deuce said, downing his drink.

Roux smirked. “Hello, Stanley. Maceo. Kerrion.” She strolled over and made herself comfortable on my lap. Hey, handsome.”

I shook my head as I slid her onto the couch. “Hey, Roux.”

“The fuck is this menace doing here?” Maceo asked.

“Be careful,” she warned, pointing at him. “I haven’t cut me a nigga in a minute. I would hate to have to send you home bloody to your wife. Speaking of which, why didn’t you invite me to the wedding?”

“’Cause you don’t know how to act.”

“Oh, and you do? I heard about the first wedding and all the shit you had going on. A damn shame.”

Maceo kissed his teeth as he moved further away from her.

“So you don’t have shit to say now?” Roux taunted. “That’s what I like. A man that knows when to shut the fuck up.”

“Come on, now, Roux,” I begged. “Chill out.”

“I’m chill. Besides, you know I love fucking with your brothers. They never got over those ass whuppings I used to give out, so of course they would be salty. Anyway…” She fingered my chin. “Ya boy should be here. One of my lieutenants is gonna run point for us tonight. He’s right over there.”

She pointed across the way to a group of men. One of them threw us a head nod.

“Smoke, I know you better tell us what we’re doing here,” Steel said.

I sighed and pulled the blunt from my pocket. Lighting it, I took a long pull before finally running the whole story down to the group. Maceo took the opportunity to key my brothers in onmy attraction to Romi with his gossiping ass. That forced me to tell them about her because they couldn’t see me being serious about a woman.

“Not you ready to play pappy,” Deuce said, slapping my shoulder. “And twice at that.”

“Nobody said anything about playing daddy,” I reminded them.

Roux snorted. “I mean, one baby daddy is dead, and you wanna get rid of the other and leave her a single mother so… you must wanna step up. I can see your big ass carrying that tiny little baby around.”

“The poor kid will be trying to suckle from his titty,” Steel said, laughing as he pinched my nipple.

I slapped his hand away. “Fuck you. Y’all are reading too much into this shit. Yeah, I like her, okay? This shit is new to me. Just let me have it.”

Maceo slapped my shoulder. “It’s all good. As a married man, I get it. Sometimes you meet somebody that changes your perspective on shit. I mean, look at me and Deuce.”

“Don’t bring me into shit,” Deuce said, snatching the blunt from me. “I had to fight every day for my love.”

Roux rolled her eyes. “Please shut up. Look, Smoke. If you’re feeling this woman, that’s perfectly okay. Who’s gon’ check you about it? Not a damn soul. Just don’t be out here playing with a bitch’s heart. If you can’t handle the kids, don’t go sticking your dick in their mama.”

Who would have thought I’d see the day Roux Nelson offered me dating advice? I heard what they were saying. Romi and I had great chemistry. I wasn’t too bothered by the fact that she had a kid and was pregnant anymore. I just didn’t want her getting the backlash.

“Table this conversation,” Roux said, giving a head nod. “There he is.”

I looked across the crowded section at the man known as Patrick LaStrange. He was about my height but in a lower weight class. He didn’t look like the typical dope boy around here. His pants fit. He was clean shaven and put together.

Roux spoke up. “So according to my sources, Patrick is running drugs out of here and a few other clubs. He’s been skimping on paying what he owes for setting up shop, so one by one, they’ve been cutting ties with him. That’s why he’s trying to run down on your girl. He doesn’t just want to stash his shit. He wants to set up shop. My guess is, he’s gonna run that girl right up outta there and use her place as a cover.”

My blood began to boil as I watched him talking to one of Roux’s boys. If there was one thing I couldn’t stand, it was a muthafucka who couldn’t come up on their own. Sure, I worked for my father, but that wasn’t my only source of income. I had legit shit. Stocks. Bonds. Investments. Real fucking money that I earned on my own. I never had to take shit from another person to elevate myself.

Patrick LaStrange had just made an enemy, and he didn’t even know it.

We endedup watching that fuck nigga for a little while longer before leaving the club. Romi was heavy on my mind, so I decided to swing through her neighborhood to make sure she was good. It wasn’t my plan to go inside, just a little ride through. As I pulled up to the curb, my guy popped his head out the window. Once he saw it was me, he gave me a head nod and returned to his patrol.

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