Page 6 of To Love and Protect
The catcalls were endless as they made their way into the house. Remedie and Isla ignored them all. None of the men on the outside of the house warranted a response. On the inside was a bit different. Fine niggas who were clearly drippin’ in money were everywhere. The women seemed to be of higher quality too. Remedie was surprised. The people on the outside must be the ones that couldn’t hang with the people on the inside, because it was like a whole new world.
The bass from the music vibrated her entire body as they maneuvered through the crowd. The lights were dim, and Remedie spotted a whole deejay setup in the far corner of the living room. If she knew Isla, her best friend was trying to find her way toward the kitchen so they could take some shots.
After a couple of minutes of squeezing through the crowd, Remedie’s suspicions were confirmed. The kitchen was a little quieter and a whole lot less crowded than the other parts of the home. On the counter was an array of bottles and plastic cups. While Isla made a beeline to inspect the bottles, Remedie’s eyes landed on a couple in the corner of the room in a hushed discussion. Remedie’s mouth instantly turned up when she laid eyes on the tall girl with the fucked-up weave. Some people really just didn’t luck up in the looks department, . . . and some people definitely did. That point was proven when her eyes landed on the man little ugly was talking to.
God definitely took his time sculpting that man out of the finest dark chocolate the world had to offer. His muscles were defined and covered in tattoos Remedie couldn’t quite make out. She noticed his bruised hands right away, and even the slight swelling on the side of his face didn’t take away from his good looks. Apparently, it didn’t take away from his charm either. As soon as their eyes connected, a lopsided grin took over the scowl on his face, and it looked like he had cartoon hearts in his eyes.
He used his strong arm to swipe the tall woman to the side before he swaggered over to Remedie. Out of nowhere, a toothpick seemed to appear in his hand. He slid it into his mouth. His juicy lips closed around it, and had she been any other woman, she probably would have swooned. She eyed his crisp cut with hair that sat close to his head as he propped his elbow on the counter.
“I couldn’t help but notice you checking me out, baby. You like what you see?”
Remedie’s frown turned into a smile, which then turned into a laugh. Not a cute giggle, but a downright laugh. She laughed in the man’s face uncontrollably as she thought about the astronomical confidence it must have taken to deliver a line like that. The man frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but the woman behind him spoke first.
“Really, Nico? We were in the middle of a conversation.”
Nico grinned once again at Remedie. “One second, sweetheart.” He stood straight and turned to face the woman. “The conversation is over. You ain’t tryna do what I need, and I ain’t tryna entertain you any longer. Nice meeting ya.”
Nico made a move to turn around again, but the woman grabbed his arm. “So that’s it? I won’t suck your dick in the middle of a house party, so you move on to the next bitch?”
Remedie looked around, wondering who this ragamuffin was talking about. Isla was at Remedie’s side before she could blink, with her arms crossed over her chest. She leaned into Remedie and whispered, “We need to handle this Furby lookin’ ho?”
Remedie didn’t respond. She inched her way in front of Nico and looked up at the woman. She had no fear in her heart, so the fact that the woman towered over her didn’t even compute. Remedie never liked fighting. She hated it, actually, but she would in a heartbeat if she had to. Allowing another person to talk to her any kind of way just wasn’t in her character.
“You wanna rephrase what you just said?”
The woman mugged her. “Which part? The part about me not wanting to suck his dick, or . . . oh, I know. The part where I called you a bitch?—”
Remedie’s fist flew before she could even think. The nice thing about being almost a foot shorter than the woman was that she was able to deliver a clean uppercut.
Her fist connected under the woman’s chin, which caused her head to snap back. Remedie geared up to throw another punch before the woman could recover. The frustration that had been simmering inside her from Zayden had officially boiled over, and this woman was the unfortunate one to be on the other end of that.
“Hol’ up, killa,” Nico said. He lifted her and turned around so the woman couldn’t retaliate. It didn’t matter because Remedie caught a glimpse of Isla jumping on the woman.
“Let me go,” Remedie demanded as she squirmed in Nico’s strong arms.
“Not a chance.” His gaze landed on another man who walked into the kitchen. “Aye, get her friend off the gremlin for me and follow me outside.”
The man shrugged and then nodded. He had a bulky build, too, but his muscles weren’t as defined as Nico’s. Remedie noticed they had the same almond shaped dark eyes and full lips. She wondered if they were related as Nico carried her through the house.
A permanent pout formed on her lips. She didn’t even get a drink before some bullshit popped off. This was why she should have stayed her ass at home. Next time, she was definitely listening to her gut. She didn’t care what Isla had to say.
When they were outside, Nico spoke. “You calm?”
Remedie tried twisting in his arms so she could look at him crazy, but she failed. “Nigga, if you don’t put me the hell down.”
He chuckled, but a moment later, she was on her feet. She whirled around on him with her face screwed up, but before she could put him in his place for manhandling her like that, she heard Isla.
“Do I know you? Unhand me!”
Remedie turned around, ready to jump on a nigga for her best friend, but the man was smart because he let Isla down.
“Y’all wild, chile. Let me find out I can make some money off you in the ring,” the man said before smacking his lips.
Remedie looked at him with her head cocked to the side. His voice was deep. He dressed nicely, and his hair was freshly lined, . . . but there was something about him that set her gaydar off.
“Make money off us in the ring? Nigga, we ain’t poppin’ pussy in a prostitution ring for you! What the fuck do we look like?—”
“Hol’ up,” the man said as he raised his hands in mock surrender. “I ain’t say nothin’ about poppin’ no cootie cat. I meant the boxing ring, chile. I’m a feminist, I’ll have you know.”
