Page 34 of Off the Charts
I laughed. “He is Tee Tee’s baby. Sometimes I have to remind her I did seventeen hours of labor. She don’t give a damn.” Vayce smiled. “So, you told Valen about me?”
“I told her about you and us, yes.”
“Us?” I pressed, raising my eyebrow.
He looked over at me like I’d asked a question that didn’t make sense.
“Us,” he repeated.
“You make everything sound so simple.”
“Because it can be,” he released my hand and hooked a finger under my chin. “My roster is clear, Jersei and so are my intentions.”
I chewed on my bottom lip. The voice in the back of my head was telling me it was okay but my heart and mind were in a deep battle that I wanted my mind to lose so good.
“We aren’t together. You don’t owe me an explanation, Vayce.”
“I don’t, but you deserve one. If we are going to get to know one another, it’s best I be upfront about everything. I don’t plan to disrespect you. The purpose of this get away is for us to connect. All that armor, the smart mouth, theI’m goodshit you give everybody else; you don’t have to do that with me. Let me disarm your heart, J.”
“I’m trying,” I sighed, looking out the window for a minute. “Be patient with me, Vayce. I’m not the bitch everybody sees me as.”
“I see past all that shit,” he kissed the back of my hand.
“And that’s the part that scares me, but my promise to you is that I will remove the barriers from my heart and stop fighting so hard against what I feel.”
“We diving headfirst together.” Vayce kissed my hand again. “And yet.”
I frowned. “Huh?”
“You said we’re not together and I said yet, but I know what the fuck I want mama.”
And with that, my ass couldn’t say shit.
Can you handle it?
We were sohigh up in the mountains, that my ears popped the majority of the drive. When Vayce mentioned the cabin to me, I was expecting a small cozy place with one bedroom, a bunch of wood, and no service. As I looked around, I was sure I’d pinned images of spaces like this on my mood board. His cabin was breathtaking. The interior and furniture was mainly black with hints of gold. There were large glass windows toward the back that showed you a clear view of the mountains on one side and woods on the other. The glass windowpanes in the ceiling also gave a clear view of the sky. I was a sucker for a good view and here, I had options. I didn’t even feel like I was in the samestate. Out back, there was a covered patio that had a hot tub with a mounted TV. The backyard was open and seemed to go on for miles. The only thing I could think about was big ass grizzly bears and coyotes, so I quickly shut the door and decided my black ass would not be out there.
Vayce told me we had everything we needed here, and he didn’t lie. The fridge and freezer were stocked from meats, drinks, to condiments. In the cabinets, he had every seasoning you could think of. My trip to the market this morning was damn near pointless, but I added what I purchased in and rearranged everything else to my liking. Vayce hadn’t tasted my wine yet, so I made sure to bring a few gallons of the red and white. After placing the dry grocery bags inside one of them, I turned around to see him leaning against the counter watching me.
“Your bags are in the master bedroom. I put some fresh sheets on the bed for you too.”
“Thank you,” I grabbed a water from the fridge and handed it to him. “Here. You've been moving around and make sure you drink it all.”
“With your bossy ass.” He chuckled and took down over half of it. “Preciate you, J.”
“Of course. This place is so nice, but I gotta ask you. Are you some type of millionaire or some shit? We drove up here in a different car. You had on them fancy ass diamonds at the club, and you own this cabin? Sweet Pea Academy paying like that? Damn! I could’ve worked in the cafeteria or sum!” I said, folding my arms across my chest. “You part of the cartel ain’t it?”
Vayce damn near choked on his water. “That’s the shit that goes through your head, huh?” I nodded, watching him drink more water. “Nah. I’an fucking with no cartel. Let’s go to the living room,” he extended his hand. I accepted and followed him to the front. We sat on the eight-seat sectional, but it may as well have been a loveseat. Vayce lifted my leg by the ankle, removedmy house shoes and began massaging from my calves down to my feet. Having his large hands on me again made my stomach muscles clench and I knew it wouldn’t be long before the throb moved between my legs.
“The Valley is a dark ass place. People say get it out the mud, but it’s either get it out or drown in that bitch. Before I moved here, I was selling. I’ll never be ashamed to say that because it’s part of my story. You see so much fucking money going in and out, but nobody tells you how to invest it. I was always good at saving, so I took that money and invested in my community. We built houses all over Indigo Falls starting in the hood, then did the same in the upper-class neighborhoods and doubled the fucking price for the wealthy. It took years to see a profit, but the shit paid off. The real estate company Valen manages, I own. Everybody has a struggle story, but I look at it more like redemption. To answer you, this ain’t no cartel shit,” he chuckled. While he talked, his eyes followed his hands as if he was studying every muscle and tissue in my body. “This is all a product of my investments.”
“That is such a blessing. How many people can you say turned a bad situation into something that will last. I love seeing niggas make it. That shit just soothes the Sojourner Truth in me,” I said in all seriousness, but he was laughing his ass off. “I’m serious! Because nobody teaches us that shit and nine times out of ten, it damn sure ain’t passed down. This world revolves around making black people suffer. You weren’t born into it, so you created your own and Black wealth will last for generations to come. That’s dope as hell.”
Vayce nodded. “That is my goal. ‘Preciate that, J. It’s cool to live in it now, but that’s the reason I go as hard as I do. This shit ain’t for fame. It’s for notoriety. Nigga really tryna leave a legacy.”
“Well,” I sighed into his massage. If I was honest, I was damn near falling asleep at the feeling. “You’re doing what most never will.”
His hands moved to the bottom of my feet, and he added more pressure.
