Page 59 of Deuce

I chuckled to myself as she headed downstairs. Focusing my attention back on the floor, I located Salima. She was in the VIP section with a group of women that looked to be a bachelorette party. They were lit as hell and had managed to pull her in with them. The one with the bride sash had her pouring liquor down her throat while the others cheered heron.

When she’d had enough, she waved her hands. Salima smiled as she dabbed her face with a paper towel. The bride pulled her in for a hug before tucking a wad of bills into her bra. Salima thanked them and waved goodbye before moving to the next section. I continued to watch her, thinking to myself that my mama would like her.

I didn’t make it a habit of introducing women to her. It would only get her hopes up that I was going to leave this lifestyle and settle down. That was nowhere in the cards. However, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to give her something as close to a daughter-in-law as she would get.

She and Salima would get along. She could have her lunch dates or somebody to go get her hair and nails done with. I mean, she had friends and my sisters visited her often, but she wanted that special mother-daughter relationship. Of course,she loved me, but I knew she desired a daughter too. She wasn’t down to let my Pops baby mama her again either.

I couldn’t blame her. I loved my father, but the nigga knew nothing about wrapping it up and he didn’t believe in being a one woman man. I wasn’t trying to be him. If I ever had kids, they would all be by the same woman. I fucked off a little bit, but I wasn’t no friendly dick ass nigga.

Shaking the thoughts from my head, I pulled out my phone to call Jaeda. I need an update on my next target.

“Yes, Deuce?” she answered with a sigh.

“Why you sound like you tired of me already?”

“Cause I am. What do you want? I’m busy.”

“Busy doing what?”

“None of your business.”

“You are my business.”

“Stanley, I’m grown.”

“That means you doing some shit you ain’t got no business doing. Is a nigga involved?”

“What! No!”

Her voice was high pitched, and that was a telltale sign she was lying to me. Jaeda was a beautiful girl, but she was mostly shy. Her nerdy ass could barely take a compliment from a man. The crazy thing is, she was a savage in every other aspect. Baby girl was smart as fuck. She graduated high school at fifteen. Because she had so many credits already, she entered college as a junior and graduated at seventeen. Today, at twenty-four she had double master’s degrees and several cetifications. She was a shooter, and she had hands on her. But when it came to men, she was so closed off.

Mia told me she was trying online dating, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that shit. I knew she could handle herself, and she’d do her research before she met anybody, but still. She was my little sister.

“You lying,” I accused.

“Deuce, what the fuck do you want?”

“Calm yo’ ass down. I just need to know about the next person on my list.”

“If you checked your email, you would see that I sent you the files for the next five people. Can I help you with anything else?”

I frowned. “You real snappy tonight. Do I need to come over there?”

“No.”

“For real, Jae. What’s wrong with you?”

She sighed heavily. “I had a date tonight, and he stood me up. Is something wrong with me, Deuce?”

“Hell no, ain’t shit wrong with you. Fuck that nigga.”

“It’s always fuck that nigga, Deuce. Either I’m too shy or when a man finds out who my family is, they run for the fucking hills. I’m tired of being lonely.”

“Sounds like you just want some dick,” I mumbled.

“This is why I don’t talk to y’all about my love life. Everybody doesn’t think with their private parts.”

“I’m sorry okay? Look, Jae. You are a catch. One of these days, you’ll meet somebody worthy of you and you won’t have to change a thing about yourself to do that. You’re the prize. Somebody will figure out what they have when they get you. I believe that.”

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