Page 99 of A Kingpin's Weakness
“Hey, is he here yet?” I asked, not even bothering to hide the urgency in my voice.
Josh smirked.“Who? Seth?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah, he here. Him, Rich, and Southside upstairs on the sundeck.” I nodded, but I felt my heart drop a little. Not from nerves, but from the build-up. I’d waited so long to be in his space again, and now I was just one level away.
I walked away from Josh, RJ, and Ari, heart racing like I was walking into something I wasn’t fully ready for. But that’s the thing with Seth I never feel fully ready. Everything about him was intense, fast, heavy. The love, the energy, the way he looked at me like I belonged to him, even when I wasn’t sure I belonged anywhere yet.
Maybe that’s why I couldn’t wait until next week. Maybe that’s why I jumped on an early flight and decided to pop up. Because as much as I wanted to take things slow my heart kept speeding up every time I thought of him.
“Come and see me… for once…”PartyNextDoor’s voice floated through the speakers as I pushed through the crowd. The irony of it almost made me laugh. Instead, I kept walking, eyes scanning.
Damn. Where he at?
“Damn, slow down, beautiful. Let me get to know you,” some random guy said as he reached for my arm.
“I’m good.” I pulled away quick, not breaking stride. I didn’t come here for all that. I came to see my man. And then I saw them.
Southside. Rich. Their eyes locked with mine first, and then all three of us turned to look at him. Seth. He was on the upper deck, pouring a shot straight into some random girl’s mouth while her friend twerked in front of her. Laughing, grinning, surrounded by noise and bodies and vibes and none of that shit included me.
The way my heart dropped like it literally forgot how to beat for a second.
The moment he saw me, he froze. And then, without hesitation, he hopped down to the lower level like he was about to chase after something he knew he fucked up.
I turned on instinct and booked it in the other direction. Because what we not gonna do is play in my face like that. Let the roles have been reversed and I had a nigga pouring liquor between my lips, Seth would’ve turned this yacht into a damn crime scene. So nah, he didn’t get to have his fun and act confused when I wasn’t having it.
“Hey, you wanna dance?” I spun around and smiled at the same guy who tried hollering earlier.
“Fall the fuck back, my nigga,” Seth’s voice cut through the bass like thunder, and before I could say anything, he shoved dude into the side of the door.
“Stormi!” He grabbed my arm like I was about to run off again.
“What?”
“You don’t hear me calling you?” His jaw was tight, eyes locked on mine like he had the nerve to be the one upset.
“Thought you was busy.” I raised a brow and crossed my arms.
“Man, that shit not even what it look like.”
“Then what was it, Seth?”
“Not that.”
“Cool. So next party, I’ll let some dude pour a shot in my mouth. You cool with that?”
He went quiet. Didn’t say a damn word. Didn’t have to. The answer was all over his face. I shook my head and walked off, done with the bullshit for the moment. I spotted RJ and the crew and made a beeline toward them.
“See you found your man,” Josh said, smirking.
“Very much single,” I replied, not even blinking.
RJ shot me a look. “Stormi…”
“Nah, you were just rushing to get to this man.” Josh poured shots and passed them around.
“That was before I caught him out here entertaining groupies,” I snapped, snatching my shot and tossing it back without hesitation.
