Page 66 of Next Level
“How the fuck would I know? Did she tell you I knew?” Ma asks, looking all crazy, pointing at Cherry.
“No, I am. I don’t see how you couldn’t have known. Dad was sending money to a trust account until the day he died.”
This has all the members gathering around us.
Earlier, Cherry was rambling fast and rushing as she tried to calm me down. I think the only part most of them caught onto was that Garrett was my half-brother.
I begin to tell her and everyone else what Cherry told me. The room is so silent you could hear a pin drop.
I keep my gaze on my ma, watching for any reaction that she knew and wasn’t going to say anything.
By the time I’m done, everyone in the room is in shock.
Lazy, of course, is the first to break the silence. “I can’t speak for all the brothers, but I was pretty damn close with your father, and I didn’t know about Garrett or the money.”
Ma stares at me, looking completely devastated. “I knew he fucked around with her, but I thought after she got married and had a kid, he stopped.”
I know she’s hurting just as I am from hearing this news, but I can’t comfort her just yet.
She shifts her attention from me to around the room and then back at me. “Why not tell us?”
I shrug my shoulders. “I guess no one will know, seeing good ol’ Dad took that shit to the grave with him.”
Cherry speaks, but her voice is barely audible. “What about talking to George?”
Dawg chimes in, “We need to find him.”
My head was spinning with so many questions running through it. I need to think. Fuck, I need to be deep inside my Blossom.
I stand up, turn to Cherry, and grab her hand. “I’m going to head to the house. I need to think and be alone with Cherry.”
Pulling her up and into my side, I face my ma. “I love you. I’m sorry I accused you of knowing. My head’s all fucked up.”
Ma gets up and tearfully admits, “I’m sorry for your father. I didn’t know, son.”
I release Cherry to give my mom a hug before returning to the warmth of Cherry at my side. I need her to ground me right now because I’m going to come unhinged if I don’t. I’m never like this. I’m always levelheaded.
JimmyJew, our treasurer, moves in front of me. “I’ll look into this trust and make sure it’s legit. I know we never paid out any money to any trust. So if your father was paying this money, he was doing it on his own.”
“See what you can find out, and we’ll regroup tomorrow. I need to get my head straight.”
Dawg, knowing precisely what I need, says, “We got this. Get lost, my brother. We’ll be here tomorrow.”
As I walk through the men I call brothers toward the door, I can feel their concern for me because they, too, have been lied to.
Cherry doesn’t say a word to anyone, she just smiles and holds on tight to me.
My Blossom.
My grounding.
Mine.
MY GIRLFRIEND
“Ray,” I say softly.
I glide my hands over his muscular chest, down his stomach, reaching for his gloriously hard cock.
