Page 27 of Are You Going to Love Me

Staysha rolled her eyes at Eden’s dramatics and scanned the area. A man she knew all too well caught her eye. She started to approach just as a woman wearing his ring entered her line of sight and placed her hand on his biceps. Biceps that she’d been scooped up in, gripped, wrapped up in.

She bit a croak.

“Let me call you right back, Eden,” Staysha replied, ignoring whatever Eden was rambling on about, and hung up. Before she could get her argument points together, she was in stride to who she thought was her man and his pregnant wife? “I know you are fuckin’ lying to me, Rashawn!”

The grinding of the coffee beans, steaming of milk, and chatter around the small coffee shop came to a screeching halt. All eyes and ears were on her. Unfortunately, Staysha had tuned them all out.

“Had me eating Plan B’s because your wife is pregnant?” Staysha shouted even louder than the first time.

His wife turned around, readying herself to say something to Staysha, but Rayshawn stopped her. A gaslighting nigga at its finest. “Wenny, come on.”

“Are you going to tellWennyhow you had my ass pinned up in the St. Harlem? Huh?” Staysha continued, making a spectacle of herself. Emotionally driven by anger because she caught feelings. The number one rule of hitting a lick was never to get emotionally involved. She was head over heels. She believed that Rayshawn loved her, he even whispered it while she was twirling on his dick. He was breaking her off bands without a secondthought, and sponsoring shopping trips. At one point, Eden had even promoted his brand.

His wife, Wenny, took Staysha in as Rayshawn attempted to move her away from the commotion. “I knew about you. I thought that you were smarter than you were. Just like every other bitch he’s fucked in his free time. I hope you saved some of that money.”

It wasn’t the thought of not having access to Rayshawn’s money that hurt her. It was the realization that she’d been played. The sobering moment that Rayshawn was a thief, and he had stolen pieces of her in pursuit of what he wanted – Kate and Edith – Wenny and Staysha, and whoever else. As they strolled out of the shop past her, a barista approached, getting her directions from the glare Rayshawn flashed over his shoulder.

“Ma’am. I – uh – I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to ask you to leave. And never come back,” the barista timidly spoke. “I mean, if your sister wants to come back, that’s fine, but not you.”

The surroundings finally came back like a flood. Coffee beans were grinding again, milk was being steamed, and the chatter resumed. Only Staysha was left with the stain of embarrassment. She nodded ever-so-slightly as she pivoted out of the door without the latte she was sent there for.

The trek back to Eden’s apartment was long, filled with hot, angry tears and a text from Rayshawn that read – don’t fucking text or call me. This is over.

She indeed attempted to text back, and the bubble turned green and then undeliverable.

“Fuck, Stay,” she huffed, maneuvering from the text screen to her social media to send his ass a DM. Her mania came to a pause when she spotted the message request from a man by the handle of @KingKeon3W.

She frowned knowing that any handle from around here with 3W behind it was some gang shit. Her thumb tapped the unread message.

@KingKeon3W: I heard you were the lady to hit up for a party

Staysha squinted, wanting to cuss him out and go on about her way, but she needed to supplement the flow of money now that Rayshawn was out of the picture.

@StayUpWithSha: Depends on who’s asking

@KingKeon3W: Trae Way MB. Label said you know the who’s who

@StayUpWithSha: Depends on what the money is looking like and what you need

@KingKeon3W: We need a lowkey kickback planned from top to bottom, food, liquor, and people who understand the assignment

@StayUpWithSha: Six bands

@KingKeon3W: Girl, are you on crack?

@StayUpWithSha: You want the best of the best, I got it, either take it or leave it. I’ll throw in Eden Sage

@KingKeon3W: Damn you don’t play. Half now, half the day of

@StayUpWithSha: No bullshit?

@KingKeon3W: Nah not on no bullshit.

@StayUpWithSha: JoyCash $StayUpWithSha. Details?

@KingKeon3W: Next week, Wednesday. 639 Lakeview Avenue

“Oh shit,” she huffed scratching her forehead. “All or nothing, got to get her out of the house one way or another.”

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