Page 22 of Are You Going to Love Me

Finding him amongst the crowd with his phone pressed to his ear, Keon threw his hand up acknowledging Maximus’ presence.

“Aight, let me run over this with him and we’ll hit you up about it when we touch the soil again,” Keon said, appeasing whoever he was on the phone with.

Maximus’ thick, almost-unibrow knitted. “Fuck was that?”

Keon smirked. “Mama. She heard you were out, wanted you to come through rap, help you back on your feet.”

“I’m not taking no handout from Mama. That shit sounds like being indebted again and I’m not on that time. Indebted means slipping right back into the same bullshit we were on before.”

“Same bullshit you were on. I’m still hustling,” Keon admitted. “Your shit did good with you inside but I’m not the type of nigga to eat when my nigga is starving.”

“You ain’t take a cut of none of that?”

“Nah, I paid the engineer and the other fees associated with it, but all that is yours.”

“Nah, you got to take something. Four years, you were holding me down,” Maximus replied, not sure how to feel that Keon didn’t even bother to pay himself.

“I was doing what solid men do, MB. That’s just how the shit goes.”

Maximus bobbed his head. “Aight. But you gettin’ what I owe and that’s the end of the back and forth on this shit.”

“What about the Mama shit?”

Maximus groaned. “I’m cool on that. I’m down for another venue and her rolling through, but I’m not stepping foot back in Midnight. It’s the belly of the beast, and I want to focus on the upward movement.”

“Heard that. I’ll let her know. You down for some wings?”

“I’m down for whatever ain’t fucking prison food,” Maximus stated, strolling out in the night air.

The two walked to a nearby restaurant, chopped it up, and made plans on what was next. Just like they used to do in Trae Way. Two hustlers just dreaming of what life looked like outside of Trae Way.

“I looked shorty up,” Maximus spoke, placing his cup of water back on the table.

“Who? Eden?”

“Yeah, she been steady posting my shit.”

“Yeah, she’s from the hood too. Got some big modeling contract and moved out and ain’t stepped foot back in it.”

“That’s what’s up.”

Keon looked at him, a silly smirk forming over his face. “Fuck you want? A connect or something? You trying to come and get with that out that gate?”

Maximus schooled his smile. He wasn’t going to tell him that Eden’s features occupied his mind in the final weeks. “Nah, nah. Chill. Just wanted to reach out, say thank you type shit.”

“That’s why you got a phone nigga. Reach out, chop it up. Do what you want. But I’m going to warn you, she’s managed by MRA, and they got a tight grip on her. She don’t even step out with niggas for real.”

“She gay?”

“Nah, she got a brand and rules.”

Maximus hummed. “Saying thanks ain’t going to break none of her rules.”

“Yeah, the issue with that is, you like breaking rules.”

Maximus leaned back. “Chill out. I ain’t gon’ throw her world out of orbit or nothing. I got my own shit to worry about.”

“Uh huh,” Keon muttered, taking a bite out of his wing. “We’ll see ‘bout that.”

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