Page 19 of Save Room for Us

Placing my hand on his shoulder, I said, “Watch who you call a bitch, aight?”

Grady simply nodded obediently as I continued my stride.

After finishing up the work I had to handle, I decided to stop by my parents’ spot since my pops let me know a few of my brothers were there. With all of us having different and time-consuming lives, it was a rarity that we could kick it like we used to. By saying that, I always took the opportunity to shoot the shit with them when I could.

“Let’s play again, nigga. You ain’t gon’ win this time,” Unique said, having forced Shakur and me into several card games, all of which he’d lost at this point.

“Nah, I’m out. I’m tired of whupping yo’ ass,” I replied.

“Lequay, come on, nigga.” Unique started dealing the cards.

“Don’t nobody wanna play no more, muthafucka,” Shakur told him, causing us to laugh because he wasn’t catching on. Nigga couldn’t take that he was losing to everybody.

“And you definitely not about to win with me, nigga.” Lequay ate some of his chips, as Unique sized him up from across the table.

“Before rumors start percolating and shit, ’cause you know how y’all niggas get, I wanna tell you I hired Leeci’s sister to work for me,” I said.

I loved my brothers, but them niggas would come up with some shit and run with it if you let them. If I didn’t say shit, by next week, my pops would be asking me if I was fucking Anastazia. I wanted to, but I wasn’t and wouldn’t.

“Aww shit.” Lequay grinned, making me shoot him a look.

“Nigga, it’s just a job, I promise you,” I said. “A very professional ass job at that. Her fixing up bullet wounds and shit ain’t the time for me to walk in there with my dick out.”

They cracked up before Unique said, “Yeah, well you see what happened when her sister got a job with one of you niggas. She started off as the nanny, and next thing you know, she was pregnant by that nigga.”

We laughed at Unique and the way he made Analicia and Bashar’s relationship sound as if it was some freaky one-night stand shit.

“No, I just needed someone with her expertise and fast. It just happened to be perfect timing for both of us.”

“Just like with Bashar.” Lequay supported Unique’s previous statement, making me shake my head.

“I swear it ain’t like that. I ain’t got no room for a relationship. I’m still building my empire, and my focus is on making money and laying low. Women require too much attention and dedication, even when you just fucking ’em, and I’m not in the mood to be questioned about my day when I just got home from a muthafuckin’ shoot-out.”

My brothers roared with laughter, especially Lequay because he understood that life.

“Real shit. Sometimes I just need you to walk up to me, smile but don’t speak, then get on your knees so I can relax,” Shakur said, and I reached across to slap his hand in agreement as Lequay and Unique chuckled and nodded.

“That’s why when I get in a relationship, I’m just gon’ walk up and poke her in the eye, gently. Shut her ass up and get some head at the same time,” Unique said, causing us to guffaw.

“Yeah, nigga, you won’t be with her ass long, and she most likely taking yo’ dick as a parting gift,” Lequay assured him.

As our laughter ceased, I said, “But on some real shit, it’s not like that with me and Anastazia. Plus, she got a lot going on, and I doubt she got room for anything else, just like me. So, for now, I’ll keep up with the few I got until I’m ready for all that shit.”

“Milan think she yo’ girl though.” Unique sipped from his red cup.

“What she think and what we are, are two different things, bruh.”

I crept down Anastazia’s mama’s street in this four door Lexus, feeling like I was too low to the fucking ground. Finally making it to the home, I parked and hopped out, needing to let Anastazia know I had her company car with me. I didn’t want her wasting her own gas and putting miles on her shit due to the fact that the warehouse was quite some ways out of the city.

Ringing the doorbell, I stepped back once I heard the locks being unlatched.

“Hey.” Anastazia peeked her head out, brows furrowed. “Did you call? I didn’t?—”

“Nah, you good. I just came to drop off the company car for you to use.” I gestured toward it parked along the curb.

She kept the door cracked, only allowing me to see her head as if I hadn’t been inside her mama’s house before. My jealous ass mind immediately went to wondering if she was hiding a nigga in there, and I knew right then me continuing to pretend I didn’t wanna be Anastazia’s second baby daddy wasn’t gon’ fucking last.

I could barely control my fucking temper when I saw a nigga clocking her, like Grady, and even now, I found myself about to interrogate the fuck out of her as to why she was whispering and keeping the door in my view.

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