Page 11 of Maceo

“Thank you.”

I made it to the door when she called out to me.

“Shar?”

“Yes?”

“Maceo… is he your boyfriend?”

“Yes.”

“And the other men… you know them pretty well?”

“Well enough. Why?”

She shrugged. “I just wanna know I’m safe. Am I really safe?”

“You’re in one of the safest places in the city.”

She nodded. I left her with a tight-lipped smile as I headed back out of the room and downstairs. Maceo was waiting by the door while Tiny and Zeno laid the food out for everyone. I just had to admire my man. He was just so damn fine.

He stood six feet even to my five feet six, with an athletic build. Tattoos covered much of his smooth bronze skin. His eyes were the deepest pools of brown. Most of the time, he wore his contacts, but every so often, he wore his glasses. There was nothing sexier than a thug ass nigga with black frames.

The long locs hanging down his back were probably my favorite feature of his, next to those thick, clit sucking lips encased in a low-cut beard. I loved pulling his hair while I rode his face. The man was a fucking masterpiece. He looked up just in time to catch me staring at him, and a smirk formed on his face as he beckoned me over. Like a lovesick puppy, I floated across the room to him.

“See y’all later,” I said, waving at the other men.

“Good night, Ms. Gladden,” they all said.

I giggled. No matter how many times I told them to call me Sharina or Shar, it was always Ms. Gladden. They showed me an immense amount of respect, and I appreciated that. Maceo reached for my hand and linked our fingers together. We headed out to his Escalade, which was parked on the curb.

Settled inside, he cranked up and pulled onto the street.

“Babe,” I called.

“What’s up?”

“Do you ever get this weird feeling about the people we help?”

He looked over at me. “What do you mean?”

“Like something is off. I don’t know what it is, but I have this gut feeling.”

“Shar, they were kidnapped. I’m sure theywouldbe a little off right now.”

“It’s not anI was kidnapped, and I’m shaken upkind of off, babe. Something just feels weird about this bunch.”

“I think you’re overthinking it. Don’t work yourself up about it.”

I sighed but didn’t say anything else. He wasn’t listening to me, anyway. Maybe I was tripping, or maybe I wasn’t. Either way, I was going to keep an eye on every person in that house.

“Damn,”I said, looking myself over in the mirror at Deuce’s house. “I look so good, I almost wanna get married my damn self.”

I’d come over to ride with him to the venue. Shar left my house with Salima this morning, to head to the venue early to ensure everything was set up.

Deuce slapped the back of my head as he approached me. “Shut your ass up. Here. Hold your niece so I can finish getting ready.”

He passed a grinning Darlyn Dream over to me.

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