Page 106 of Are You Going to Love Me

Keon tapped her, gesturing her to move so he could serve as a buffer and to knock that nigga out his shoes if he tried her. He heard stories of how reckless Pusha Peezy could be.Recklessness involving anything Maximus stamped as his would result in another head being put through a wall.

Eden moved, and the gesture caused Peezy to react.

“What, you scared of dick or something? I was just comin’ in here to see what was good with your fine ass,” Peezy spoke. “Since you tried to play me out in the hall. Pussy that good you make niggas chase you?”

Eden, knowing his fate, didn’t bother saying a word.

Brody and Keon were now on their feet. That swift movement caught Maximus’s attention. Eden could’ve sworn he teleported out of the booth. Everything was happening like lightning. Peezy was live on JoyChat, and Maximus was pushing past his boys to see what the problem was.

“Oh, I see. You a stuck-up bitch with niggas who got papers on them,” Peezy said, baiting Maximus for a reaction.

Brody grabbed the phone from his small hand and stomped on it until it cracked and shattered into pieces on the floor. Keon stood guard, apparently willing to serve as a voice of reason if Maximus went too far. And Maximus, well, he had Peezy by the throat and glaring angrily into his eyes. Too far was just the tip of the iceberg. He was going to take it there and beyond for Eden.

“What you say, nigga?”

Peezy, thinking this was just another hostile encounter by a faux gangster, chuckled. “You heard me. I came to spit some game to that black bitch. She too stuck up to see a real nigga. She wants a snitch bitch.”

“Who the fuck you calling black bitch?” Eden popped off, prompting Keon to hold his hand up.

“Be cool, sis,” Keon urged. “Stay over there.”

There was nowhere for her to go. All she could do was stand behind the wall of men and listen to Maximus defend her honor and his name. The comments earned Peezy a series of punches to the face and one to the body, knocking him out of his shoes.The final punch caused him to slump, but for added effect, Maximus dragged him out of the studio like a ragdoll. His voice bellowing over the noise of the crowd, Peezy acquired every time Maximus came to work.

“Aye! Studio A is mine now,” Maximus called out, as he dropped Peezy’s slumped, battered body in the middle of the crowded lobby. Aware of the phone’s recording his every move, he found one and continued. “Come pick your nigga up and clean my muhfuckin’ studio out.”

The action alone struck fear into the crowd, who’d never witnessed a day in Trae Way.

“Got me fucked up. Ain’t no papers on MB, bitch ass nigga. Touch or talk to my lady crazy, I’ll turn your fuckin’ head around.” Maximus stepped over him and went back to Studio B, finding Eden in the spot Keon told her to stay in. “You good?”

Eden, like Maximus, had seen her share of violence. She had always chosen to rise above it because she wanted to be respected more than she was feared. But in this instance, she understood and was relieved that she had a man who was going to stand in front of her without a second thought.

“Are you?” she questioned, studying that fury in his eyes.

“Yeah.”

“Then I’m okay. Finish what you were doing,” she responded, watching him retrieve her food from the built-in microwave on the island.

He opened up the plate, handed her the cutlery, and kissed the top of her head. “Eat. I’ll be wrapping this up in a minute.”

Softly, she replied, “Okay.”

Maximus stopped his motion to observe her, sensing there was more. “You need anything else?”

She swayed her head and pointed to the booth. “You know what I want. He shouldn’t have been talkin’ shit.”

Maximus bit a grin and obliged her with a grunt. “Brody, don’t let nobody walk through that fuckin’ door.”

“What you gon’ do with Studio A?” Keon asked, amused that Eden and Maximus were on the same wave of crazy.

“Not a fuckin’ thing. I want niggas to know I’m not playing games with them.”

As turned on as Eden was, she couldn’t help but sense something was off with him. There was something he wasn’t telling her. But she wouldn’t pry, sure that when he was ready to tell her, he would.

One o’clock rolled around, and Maximus finished what he needed to for the night. Brody roamed out and pulled his truck around. Keon had already headed out almost an hour ago. While Maximus worked, Brody introduced himself and assured Eden that Maximus was cool when away from her. She appreciated that. Though she hadn’t put it into words, she wasn’t ready to be without him. She didn’t see any space in the future where she wanted to be, either.

“You ready to go home?” Maximus asked, helping her to her feet.

“I’ve never been so ready to lay down,” she shared. “I didn’t pack a bag, though.”

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