Page 21 of Suleem and Yahzi
“Yes…” she paused. “But only because you two needed each other. What happened between y’all, what you lost…” She shook her head. “You should have leaned on each other, and I wish you could have, but I’m also glad you put yourself first. You loved yourself enough to do what you had to do to be okay. People might think the decision you made was selfish but you shouldnever feel bad about making your heart and mind a priority. Suleem was angry but he understood. He loved you enough to let you go because he knew you would be back.”
I nodded and she smiled. “I had to knock his stubborn ass over the head a few times for that to sink in, but he knew.”
I laughed and pushed a forkful of hash browns into my mouth, moaning through the buttery, flavorful blend, chewing until I could swallow. “Who did your hair? I want to get mine braided.”
“Chile, you know I don’t remember. One of them girls over at BeauTee. She was good too. Hold on. Let me get my phone.”
She lifted from the table, left the kitchen, and returned with her phone. She swiped a few times then frowned. “Shit, I can’t remember her name to look it up. Hold on, let me call Chandra.”
She swiped a few more times then made the call. “Chan, what’s that baby’s name who did my hair over at BeauTee? Oh, shit, that’s right. No, I’m good.” She lifted a hand and brushed her fingers over her hair which was piled high in a bun on top of her head. “I couldn’t remember. “Yahzi said she wants to get her hair braided and I told her Miesha was good. I just couldn’t remember her name. Mmhm, she’s back. Okay, I’ll tell her. Okay girl, bye.”
She ended the call and placed the phone on the table. “Her name is Miesha. Chile, I was trying to call the girl Leah.”
“That’s close,” I lied and she shot me a look.
“Call over there and see if she can get you in and Chan told me to invite you to her bachelorette party Thursday.”
“Wait, Miss Chandra is getting married?”
“Yeah, chile, she got her a man and I’m trying to get me one too. Shit, I hope she has some strippers at her bachelorette party I can choose from.” She smiled sneakily and I laughed.
“You’re out here looking all young and cute. I thought you already had a man.”
“I wish. There isn’t much to choose from around here. At least not my age. I might have to get me a little YN. Ain’t that what y’all call ’em now?”
My eyes went big and she smiled. “Don’t be looking at me like that. I still got some motion in these hips.”
“Stop, do you know how your nephew would act up if you got a YN? Please don’t, but if you do, please make sure he never finds out. It will end badly for all parties involved.”
She rolled her eyes. “Ain’t nobody worried about Leem and I have a feeling he’s going to be occupied with other things now that you’re home.” She lifted from the table. “You want some coffee? I think we need some with a little Bailey’s in it, but don’t you go snitching on me though.”
I laughed. “Your secrets are safe with me. Girl code.”
While she made us coffee, I pulled up the Stylz app and selected BeauTee Salon to search for open appointments. When I noticed one for the next morning at eight o’clock and that medium, waist-length knotless would only take three hours, I snagged it. As soon as my confirmation came through, I locked my phone and finished my breakfast, waiting on my spiked coffee with the same thought on repeat in my head…
Home!
Chapter 6
Suleem
When I finished my consultations at the shop I hit Kassir’s line and asked him what he was into today. When he said he was chilling because Rebel was doing some wedding shit with her aunt, I asked him to come take a ride with me. That nigga needed a distraction because she had his ass hemmed the fuck up. Rebel was standing ten toes down with her refusal to let him back in but he wasn’t stressed.
He pretty much was on the same time I was with Yahzi. The shit was happening, end of story. In fact, that was why I needed to handle things with the East Street muthafucker she called herself kicking it with.
I wasn’t naïve enough to think she wouldn’t try to move on with her life and I meant try because wasn’t no way she was gonna be with anyone but me. However, it gut punched that she’d given her time to someone who was about the same shit she had run from in my life.
The worst part was East Street was known for tagging weak ass muthafuckers into their gang. Niggas who couldn’t make the cut with the real bangers like DP or Lords. From what I recently learned about the muthafucker she got tied up with, he proved the point.
Dexterwas a fraud ass nigga and that didn’t have shit to do with his nine to five. He was just a pussy. They were recently into some shit with the Lords and instead of being a man about it, he and three of his boys ambushed two of their members at a baby shower. KT, of the Lords, filled me in on how the night his boy Pop had a baby shower for his girl, three East Street niggas pulled up and busted shots in the parking lot. They dropped one of them, but Dexter and the other dipped. I decided that muthafucker’s time was up.
Shit was flawed as hell. Women and children were off limits, period. The shit triggered me when I found out that he was on that type of time while he had access to Yahzi. When I hit up KT to give a heads up that I was handling Dexter, he made it clear that it was whatever I wanted to do.
City wouldn’t get the same courtesy.
This was the shit I knew I couldn’t fall back into, the same thing that had Yahzi running three years ago, but Dexter had to fucking go. I meant what I told her about ignoring problems and he was a fucking problem.
If that muthafucker grew some balls and tried to pull up and Yahzi got caught in the middle of his stupid fucking decisions I would never forgive myself. I was already carrying enough sin and remorse for the emotional scars she had to endure. That nigga wouldn’t be added to the list.
