Page 78 of Body Language
I’d been in the game a long time, but I’d never seen someone walk in and move like they’d been built for this. And the craziest part was that she’d done all of it without even needing me to hold her hand.
Damn, Pretty. You proving me right every step of the way.
My phone buzzed on the desk. My sibling group chat was going crazy
Kross:Y’all better get down here early. Club gone be shoulder to shoulder tonight. Tell Niv I said don’t have these niggas out here catching heart attacks over her.
I smirked and shook my head. They already knew.
What made me laugh was thinking back to when Niv and Rivah finally met. Two smart-mouthed women with the same sharp humor and the kind of confidence you can’t buy. They clicked so fast, it was like they’d been sisters their whole lives. Watching them together, I knew me and Kross were in for a ride. A dangerous, beautiful, loud-ass ride.
I ran my hand over my beard, staring at the flyer on my desk like I hadn’t seen it a hundred times.
Her brown skin glowing under the lights, and that smile that said she knew exactly how much power she had.
What fucked me up the most was how easy it felt to let her lead. Normally, I didn’t trust anybody with my business. But with her, I wasn’t worried. I just sat back and let her make moves because I knew she’d make the right ones.
Damn, Pretty. What the hell you doing to me?
8:45 p.m. on the dot.
I told myself I wasn’t watching the clock, but that was a damn lie. The minute she walked in, every head in the club turned.
She wore all black everything. Her hair was pinned up, edges laid so clean it looked like art, with a diamond chain that caught the light every time she moved.
Men stared. Women whispered. Even the staff stopped moving just to catch a glimpse. I sat my ass back in the chair like I wasn’t ready to stand up and meet her halfway.
“Damn,” I said under my breath. “Pretty done turned this bitch into her runway.”
She walked up slowly into the office, taking her time, making me sweat on purpose.
“Club looks good,” she said, eyes scanning the floor like she wasn’t the reason it looked like heaven on earth.
“Correction,” I said, leaning forward in my chair. “You look good. Club just catching up.”
She rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide the blush in her cheeks.
“Boy, please,” she said. “Save that slick shit for the girls you're lying to on IG.”
“Funny. You’re the only one I’m thinking about lying to right now.”
She leaned on the desk, close enough for me to smell her perfume. “What would you even lie about?”
“That I haven’t been waiting on you all damn night,” I said.
Her smile cracked, quick, before she straightened back up. “You better hope this night go smooth. I done worked too hard for your little jealous hoe to mess up anything.”
I smirked. “Don’t even put her in the same sentence as you. She doesn’t have that power.”
“Mm-hm,” she hummed, then smirked. “That’s what you better say.”
I knew Niv was gonna show out, but what she put into play was on some other shit.
The lights dipped low, whole room painted in red like lust itself had rented the spot for the night. First beat ofDo Not Disturbdropped, and the place got so damn quiet you could hear a dollar bill unfold.
Two of Niv’s girls came out—ones she pulled from her old spot. I remember her saying they were solid, but “solid” ain’t even scratch the surface. They moved like they ain’t have bones, just silk and sin holding them together.
One of them hooked an ankle on the pole, leaning back so her hair kissed the floor, while the other slid down in a wave so slow it had half the room forgetting to breathe. I leaned back in my chair, cigar lit, watching all the niggas around me try not to choke on their own thirst.
