Page 12 of Free to Fall

He laughed. One of those bitter, dry laughs. “You still actin’ like you above it all. Like you don’t owe me.”

I exhaled through my nose. “You back on that again?”

He stared me down. “You remember what happened before you left Dallas, right? Before you got flown out to Vegas totrain like the golden boy?” I didn’t answer but my body tensed. “Yeah,” he said. “You remember. That body. The one you left in that alley behind Tyson’s. You was on the run. The cops was circlin’. They was comin’ for you.” I clenched my fists. “They found the piece, Nas. You wiped it, but not good enough. Prints was partial. Clothes had blood on ‘em. I cleaned it up. Hid the rest. And when the D.A. started diggin’, I turned myself in. Took the whole charge and made a deal. Seven years served. Could’ve been twenty-five to life. I did that shit for you, because I knew you could make something of yo’ self and regardless of what shit you was doin’ in the streets, I knew you deserved better than The Grove.”

“You ain’t have to—” I started, but he cut me off.

“But I did. I did that shit ‘cause you my blood. My little brother. And now I’m askin’ you to help me, and you actin’ like it’s optional?”

“I am grateful,” I said through clenched teeth. “I’ll always be grateful. But I built somethin’ now. I got a whole fuckin’ life, Nate. I worked hard for this, bled for it. I’m not throwin’ that shit away. Not for nothing and nobody.”

He walked toward me until we were face to face. “We’ll see about that.” It was a threat, dressed up like a warning. He turned and opened the door then glanced back. “Keep actin’ like you can’t be touched. Let’s see how far that shit get you.” And then he was gone.

The walls felt tighter than usual. The gym couldn’t get it out of me. Music wasn’t doing shit. TV was background noise. I needed release. Needed something real. I picked up my phone and didn’t even hesitate.

Me: Come through. Pleasure. Now.

Three dots popped up. Then disappeared. I waited. Then typed again.

Me: I ain’t askin’.

Because she was the only thing that ever quieted the chaos. And tonight, I needed to lose myself in her.

An hour later, I beat her there. Wasn’t planned that way, but I needed to feel the air in this place before she walked in and turned my whole damn body inside out.

Pleasure always did something to me. The second you passed through that velvet entryway; it was like stepping into a different dimension. No names and no shame. Just desire in its purest form.

Tonight, the lounge was lit low, a deep maroon hue bleeding across the walls. Soft music pulsed through the space, sensual but not too loud, bass-heavy R&B that sounded like it belonged between skin and silk sheets.

The bar was half full. A few regulars and some new blood. The kind of crowd that didn’t blink when a woman crawled into her man’s lap in plain view, or when a trio in the corner had already begun teasing each other with eyes and fingertips.

I sat at the bar, fingers tapping the counter slow, heart beating slower. Mason, the bartender, nodded when he saw me. “She on the way?”

“She comin’,” I said. “No key tonight. Not yet anyway.”

He raised a brow but didn’t ask questions. Just poured me two drinks—mine and hers. I didn’t have to turn around to know she’d walked in. I felt it. That shift in the air. Like the damn molecules rearranged themselves around her.

Egypt slid up beside me like sin in heels. Tight black leather pants, a plunging top that shimmered against her skin like liquid fire. Her hair was down, lips glossy, and her eyes were sharp.

“You not gon’ hand me a key?” she asked, voice smooth as honey but laced with attitude.

“Not tonight.”

She eyed me, then reached for her drink. “You bein’ bold.”

“I missed you.”

Her eyes cut sideways toward me. “You saw me three days ago.”

“Still missed you.”

We sat in silence for a moment, drinking, watching. All around us, bodies moved in rhythm—some slow, some frantic. A woman knelt in front of another woman across the room, her hands gliding up toned thighs before she spread them and went in face first. A man stood behind his partner on one of the plush sectionals, kissing her neck while another woman straddled her lap and caressed her breasts.

Egypt sipped her drink, eyes tracking the scene like it was a movie. “We’ve never watched together before,” she said.

“Wanted to try somethin’ new.”

Her lips curved slightly. “You tryna to see what I like?”

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