Page 51 of Don Caselli

“Off guard.” He chuckled.

I folded my arms. “What is so funny?”

“You up here at my fucking house with me for the weekend, and I caught you off guard? Shit sounds stupid. I get the whole Menace shit fucks with you, but damn, how the fuck would we even know if we’re compatible if you’re always pushing a nigga off from you?”

“You take me to your beautiful home in Martha’s Vineyard, and expect me to open my legs to fuck you? Typical shit.”

Don snorted as he tossed the onions in the pot. Whatever he was making smelled amazing and was quickly making it hard to concentrate. “You so used to fucking for money that you don’t know what intimacy is. Shit, I don’t, either, but I’m fucking trying and all I’m met with is resistance.”

“I’m trying.”

“I know I can fuck you despite that scowl on your face. Ken, I don’t want that… I wanna know what your skin feels like against my skin. How you smell before the sweat leaves your pores. I want to get to know you because I know that niggasdon’t ever do that with you. I feel like it’s easier to get you to open up by booking you through Case House.”

“Asshole.”

“Yeah, well, you seem to respond to that better. The nice guy does nothing to you… only the nigga that tosses money your way.”

“Not true.”

“Then what the fuck is all of this for? I went out my way to make this happen for you.”

“I didn’t ask for this… none of it.”

He nodded his head and then tossed the glass bowl across the room. I cowered, and he continued tossing everything that he was gonna make onto the floor. “Don’t ever gotta expect it, either.”

It was like he was trying to control himself, but the thoughts won in the end. That night, he left me there and had a car service pick me up the next morning. He did apologize and explain that he had a temper, and that he should have never reacted that way to my words.

Since then, it hadn’t been the same between us. Almost like he wanted to try but was scared to give me himself again.

I pulled up to the gates of Menace’s mansion and waited for security to do their clearance before they would allow me in. The main security guard had me pull forward while the others checked under my car for whatever they thought I might be hiding. Once everything was cleared, the gates opened, and he allowed me through.

Don called me a wench.

The part that hurt the most was that he meant every word that he said to me. It was how he stared at me. No longer with that look that was reserved for only me. He used to stare at me like he wanted to give me the stars and the moon. The minute I exited from the elevator, I could see the hurt and disgust onhis face. The shit hurt my heart because I never wanted to hurt him. Every time I was supposed to tell him, something always stopped me from being honest. I knew it would break his heart, and I didn’t want to do that to him. When the news broke, everything inside of me told me not to call, and I went against it and called him.

Putting the brand-new Porsche that Alex bought me in park, I climbed out and walked toward the front door. The door opened and Duke stood there. Had I not known Duke, I would have been intimidated.

“Hey Duke.”

“What’s going on, Kennedy? You know boss man is having quiet hour, right?” He allowed me in, and I walked through the sanitizing mist.

Menace was a strange one, and every encounter with him never changed my mind. He was scary as well, but there was a softness about him. You only saw it with his wife, but the softness was somewhere.

“Think he will squeeze me in for a quick chat?”

Duke shook his head. “He’s been real strict about his time before the baby comes.”

“Right. A baby means no quiet hour.”

“Pretty much. Steve-o is in her studio if you wanna talk to her. Not sure if she can help,” he suggested.

“I drove all the way here, so I guess I can pick Stevie’s brain about this.”

He nodded. “You know the way.”

When we spent Thanksgiving together, she was so nice and funny. I expected her to be some stuck-up bitch that felt like she was better than everyone. Stevie was the complete opposite of that. She was also the complete opposite of Menace, so I often wished I was a fly on the wall for their conversations. The manwas so protective of her that he made everyone turn before he kissed her.

I made my way through the house toward the back, where Stevie’s art studio was. The doors were opened, and I could hear music coming from the studio. Her humming was almost as loud as the music.

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