Page 69 of The Mob: Shio Cuppacio
“That’s my brother, Turo. Tulen is bent down in the red hat, Tuden got the twist in his head. Tulscan on the way with his wife, Kassie.”
Turo was still shaking his fist as Tunan led us past the group of men. Tulen and Tuden looked up at the same time, and they had faces identical to their other siblings. Their mama literally said copy and paste. I’d never seen anything like it.
“Damn, Tune. How long you been home again?” The one in the red hat, Tulen, licked his lips while pulling money from his pocket.
The whole yard roared in laughter, including Tuscany’s husband. She even laughed with her eyes now red and low from the smoke she’d ingested.
“Long enough, young nigga,” Tunan replied as he pulled me up the four steps that led to the porch. It was massive, stretching across the front of the house with much depth. Four oversized rocking chairs sat empty, and three different children’s bikes leaned against the railing.
My face was warm as the men complimented me from behind. Even though I had on shorts, I still held my skirt against my butt as we ascended the stairs. Once we crossed the threshold, ice-cold air dried the sweat beads along my hairline while chill bumps formed on my arms. The inside was just as nice as the outside. As we stood in the empty living room, large enough to accommodate all the siblings and a few grandkids, the homey feel was a nice blend of modern and traditional. A brown leather sectional wrapped around the room, while the snowy white walls were covered in family pictures and paintings. A large rug sat atop light wood floors; more toys were lined along the back wall, and a TV, which had to be at least eighty inches, was on YouTube. Essex was on the screen rapping to Missy in his latest video. Not even caring that Tunan was watching, I pulled out my phone and recorded a quick video.
*attachment* You look so good Missy! I didn’t know the video was out!
She’d toldthe group that she had flown to Chicago last month for Essex’s video shoot and hadn’t said much else. Pia, Discover, and she rarely texted in the group. I knew that was because they had been the recent additions to the clique, but I liked all three of them. A part of me also figured they’d been added to the other group chats since they were officially with men in the friend group now.
Before I could get into my head too much, my phone sounded with incoming text messages.
Jisei
Period! Too bad Missy boo! I seen it this morning! I love itttt!
Mocha
I haven’t seen shit! Let me go look.
Mocha
Hold up biiitch! Where you at? Who is them niggas in the pictures on the wall?
Azure
Language Mocha!
Memphis
Dasani
I loved the video. And Memphis? Uhhh… Did you forget about tomorrow?
I still didn’t knowwhat it was that I’d been invited to, but I hadn’t forgotten and planned to be there. All I knew was that I’d been included and sent a black invite resembling a wedding invitation with a black dress code.
I’ll be back on time. Promise.
Not wantingto be any more rude than I already was, I locked my phone screen. I knew the ladies would have questions, but they could wait; I didn’t have answers for them anyway. Well, I did, but not ones I wanted to answer.
Looking up, Tunan was no longer beside me but coming from out of a bedroom down the hall from the living room. I saw my luggage sitting on a made-up king-sized bed just as he closed the door.
His eyes raked my body, and his tongue licked his lips. It was a sign that he liked what he saw. Tunan had five other people outside with the same genetic makeup, yet he was still one of a kind. He radiated sex appeal and didn’t need designer clothes or hundreds of thousands of dollars in diamonds to look good. Like now, a twenty-four-inch Cuban link chain that was maybe ten inches thick sat around his neck, and even though it wasn’t encrusted with diamonds, it complemented his outfit. He was that classic handsome who looked good in a raggedy T-shirt and dirty sneakers. He’d taken me in a raggedy car on the first night—that’s how good he looked—and not once did I regret being fucked on those old-ass seats.
“You pulled up on a nigga for real…” He shook his head while removing his hat, setting it on the coffee table.
“You sent me twelve hundred dollars, Tunan. What’d you think I do? Run off with your money? If I had no intention of coming, I would have sent it back.” I shrugged.
I should have been at home trying on my clothes for tomorrow, but here I was, hundreds of miles away, squeezing my legs together, trying to talk myself out of not fucking the best dick I’d ever had again.
One foot in front of the other, chain on his pants clinking, he was now towering over me after four strides. He licked his lips, peering directly into my eyes. “Nah. I sent it, so that mean it’s yours. I’m glad you showed up, though. But had you not, themoney woulda still been yours. To be honest, I didn’t think you would.”
“I… I shouldn’t have. I still need to take my hair out. I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon. But… here I am.” I playfully rolled my eyes to break up some of the sexual tension. I’d booked my flight to leave out first thing in the morning and I hoped Tunan was an early morning person. This was an in-and-out visit. I had to make my flight if I wanted to get my braids out, make my hair and makeup appointments, and be on time to the event. If Tunan isn’t an early riser, I’d call an Uber or a Chauffeur to get me back to the airport on time. It was best that he take me, though, since he didn’t pick me up today, which was low-key rude. I should’ve mentioned that, but it was clear I’d lost all sense of logic when it came to Tunan. Further evidence of my lack was that I’d even agreed to come here.
