Page 40 of Set me Free

"Outta here, nigga. Out the streets. Out the bullshit. I got a way to get you a fresh start."

He narrowed his eyes slightly, like he was trying to figure out where I was going with this.

"What you mean C?"

I exhaled. "You ever heard of Lenox Bradshaw?"

The second I said it, Nas let out a sharp laugh, shaking his head.

"Nigga, you for real? The Lenox Bradshaw? Former welterweight contender?"

"Yeah, I guess."

I had never known he was a contender. Serenity just told me he was good.

Nasseem squinted at me. "What that got to do with me?"

"I’m cool with his daughter, I told her about how you were good at fighting and had a passion for it. She talked to him about you," I admitted. "She asked him to help, and he agreed. I told her I wanted to talk to you about it first before I passed along all yo info.”

Nas leaned back, shaking his head again, this time slower.

"Bruh… are you serious?"

"Deadass." I could see the wheels turning in his head, the disbelief slowly shifting into something real.

"Yo, that’s crazy," he muttered his fist against his lips. "I grew up watching clips of that man. He was supposed to go all the way."

I nodded. "He still got power. And now he’s willing to use it for you."

Nas let out a low whistle, lowering his head in disbelief and running his hand down his face. “That’s wild C.” He glanced up at me, eyes squinting before tilting his head. "So, this Serenity chick got pull like that?"

I smirked slightly. "Yeah, man."

He studied me for a second. "You ain’t told me much about her. But I been putting some things together. What’s really going on with you and her?"

I rubbed my jaw. Besides Pops, I hadn’t told nobody about Serenity like that yet. But Nas? He was different. He was my brother.

"I’m ending shit with Gi while I’m home," I admitted.

His brows shot up. "For her?"

"For me," I corrected. "But yeah… Serenity’s part of the reason."

Nas let out a long breath, shaking his head again. "Bruh. So, you really feeling her like that?"

I met his gaze. "Yeah."

He didn’t respond at first, just continued to study me like he was checking to see if I was being real with myself. Then, his lips pulled into a slow smirk.

"You after shorty for the perks?" he teased.

I laughed, shaking my head. "Hell nah, bruh. I don’t give a damn about her money, her privilege, none of that. She real, Nas. From the moment I met her, she been nothing but real. She ain’t like the people she grew up around. She down to earth, she funny as hell, and she actually care about shit."

He hummed. "Yeah? She bad though?"

"Bruh." I smirked. "She fine as hell. She got this chocolate skin, slim thick, beautiful smile but beyond the looks she just a dope ass person in general. I can talk to her about anything and the conversation don’t ever feel forced.”

“You hit?”

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