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  “Are you riding with Buck to go get his cousin?” Rylee asked shaking Mekhi from his thoughts.

  Since Zyra and Rylee had gotten so close over the years, Buck and Mekhi had become good friends as well. Mekhi couldn’t really get with Buck’s older brothers Grim and Snake, though. They were always into some drama and were known to be trigger happy. According to Buck, it was his brother who should have been in jail instead of his cousin Zyrian. It was Grim who shot a man down in front of Zyrian’s collision and auto body shop, but the man fingered Zyrian out of fear instead. Being the type of man that he was, Zyrian took the charge even though he’d never been to jail a day in his life. Sad to say, but the victim didn’t even live long enough to see how much time Zyrian got. Snake made sure that he was a distant memory right after he testified in court. He wanted to get to him before that, but he was under police protection until the trial was over with. Once he did what the prosecutors wanted him to do, they had no more use for him. They basically threw him to the wolves and Snake was right in the shadows waiting for him.

  “Yeah, he asked me to come with him, but I’m not trying to be out there all day. I might ride back with you.”

  “Okay, but you know that my cousins are riding with me too,” Rylee warned him.

  She knew that her husband didn’t have the best relationship with her family, and she didn’t want any foolishness. Rylee often hung out with her Aunt Leslie’s two daughters on the weekends, so she invited them to the picnic. Leslie was Rylee’s mother’s sister, but they were nothing alike. Leslie was messy and known to gossip about everybody in and out of their family. Mekhi hated Rylee’s ghetto aunt and her daughters, but he knew better than to say that around his wife. Aside from the few relatives on her father’s side, they were the only family that she had left. Mekhi could deal with the white side of his wife’s family, but the rest of them could keep it moving.

  “Never mind, I’ll find a ride back,” Mekhi said trying to mask his frown.

  “I figured you’d change your mind.”

  “What are you wearing? Let me help you find something,” Mekhi offered.

  He knew that she was about to go off on him, but he really didn’t care. Rylee hated when he tried to pick out her clothes or make suggestions about what she should wear. His wife was the most beautiful woman that he’d ever laid eyes on, and Mekhi loved to show her off. Rylee had the perfect light caramel complexion thanks to her mixed heritage. She kept her long flowing hair highlighted in different shades of brown and her smile was bright enough to light up a dark room. She had a figure to die for, and everything that she wore seemed to be made just for her. Mekhi loved when his wife walked into a room and turned heads. She seemed oblivious to the attention that she received, but he ate it up.

  “I don’t know yet, but I’m not dressing up to go to a park,” Rylee replied.

  “You don’t have to dress up baby, but you know everybody gon’ be out there. Buck said a lot of people gon’ show mad love to this nigga since he was in our bike club before he got locked up. I think he used to be the president before me.”

  “I’m still trying to see how they made your ass the president. You’ve only been a member for three years. You can barely even ride a bike,” Rylee joked.

  “I’m that nigga, that’s why,” Mekhi replied in his normal arrogant tone.

  “You closing MJ’s or you got one of the managers running it?” Rylee asked referring to their sports bars.

  “You know I’m not trying to lose out on no money. I got somebody to open and close for tonight,” he assured her as he rummaged through the hundreds of clothes on her side of the closet.

  MJ’s was a thriving sports bar that Rylee and Mekhi had opened up about two years after they got married. It started out being a little hole in the wall spot that people frequented to watch whatever sport was in season at the time. Once when a pay per view boxing match came on Rylee had a brilliant idea. She ordered the game and provided food and drinks to the patrons for a fee. When Mekhi saw how much money they made for the one night, he went crazy. With the help of his wife, they renovated and added on to the place and turned it into a sports bar, calling it MJ’s. Since his name was Mekhi Jameson, he just used his initials to name his place of business. The money was coming in, and he made sure that Rylee didn’t want for anything. She still had her job, but that was her choice to keep it.

  “I’m not wearing that Mekhi. I just told you that I’m not dressing up today,” Rylee argued when she saw the dress that he pulled out of the closet.

  “It’s not that dressy baby. I like the way you look in this one, though. You can wear some sandals with it so it won’t look too dressy.”

  “No, I’m not wearing a dress at all. Zyra is going to work me to death, and I need to be comfortable.”

  “Okay, let me find something else,” Mekhi suggested.

  “No Mekhi, I keep telling you that I’m not a baby doll. I don’t need you to dress me. You make me sick with that shit,” Rylee complained.

  “I know you’re not a baby doll, but you know I like to show you off. I need these niggas to see what they want, but can’t have,” Mekhi smiled while wrapping his muscular arms around his wife’s waist.

  As much as Rylee loved her husband, this was the part of him that she hated. She wasn’t the type of person who needed the spotlight, but Mekhi lived for attention. He was always bragging about what they had or places they went, and it drove Rylee crazy. She didn’t doubt that she was pretty, but she didn’t need her husband saying it to any and everybody who would listen. She wasn’t his prize, and she was tired of reminding him of that.

  “I’m married, so I don’t give a damn about what another nigga thinks. I’m wearing what I picked out,” Rylee said referring to her denim romper and Tory Birch flats.

  “That’s sexy too, so I’m cool with it,” he replied before stripping down to go take his shower.

  Rylee admired her husband’s frame as she watched him walk away to their master bathroom. Standing at over six feet tall, Mekhi was every single woman’s fantasy and every married woman’s dream. He had smooth milk chocolate skin with dark brown eyes and a low haircut. He was handsome, and he knew it. He wasn’t modest like Rylee, so he didn’t have a problem flaunting it. Having his mother and siblings look up to him only inflated his ego even more.

  “This girl is going to drive me crazy,” Rylee mumbled as she dashed over to her dresser to answer her ringing phone for who she assumed was Zyra.

  When she noticed that it was Mekhi’s work phone ringing instead, she made and about face and continued to get dressed. Rylee had no problem answering his private line, but she never went anywhere near his work phone. She knew that most of the time when that phone rang that it was an issue or some kind of problem that her husband had to solve. Although she was his business partner at the bar, Rylee did most of her work behind the scenes. She took care of ordering supplies and planning the events. Mekhi was more hands on, so he dealt with the managers and the other employees. He was a business and finance major, so he did payroll and other things that Rylee didn’t feel comfortable doing. Since she came up with the bright idea of renting out the top level of the bar for private parties, Mekhi’s work phone had been ringing off the hook. They were booked up with parties for the next few months. At one thousand dollars per party, they were making a killing. Not to mention how much money the bottom half that was open to the public made every day.

  “Please answer that phone. It’s your work line so something must be wrong,” Rylee said to Mekhi when he reentered their bedroom.

  He had a towel wrapped around his waist, and the water had his smooth skin looking like silk. If Rylee didn’t have to leave, she would have been all over him in no time. It was secret that she loved sex, but time was not on her side at the moment.

  “Yeah,” Mekhi said when he picked up the phone. He listened intently to whoever was on the phone, but he didn’t say anything.

  “What’s wrong?” Rylee w
hispered when she saw his jaw clench in anger.

  That was exactly why she never answered the phone because she knew that it was always a problem.

  “Alright, I’ll swing over there before I go where I have to go,” Mekhi said before he hung up.

  “What happened?” Rylee questioned.

  “Nothing really, but somebody locked the keys in the office. I have to swing by and open the door with my spare key.”

  “Okay, well I’m about to leave out. I can go do it if you want me to,” Rylee offered.

  “No baby, go get your cousins and do what you have to do. It’s not a big deal, and they don’t need to go into the office this early anyway. I’ll get Buck to run me over there before we come to the park.”

  “Alright baby, I guess I’ll see you later,” Rylee said while giving him a peck on the lips.

  Mekhi watched as his wife walked out of the front door and hopped in her car before picking up his phone. He was pissed about the call that he’d just received, and he was about to go off as soon as the other person answered her phone. His anger only intensified when she sent him straight to voicemail. It was cool, though. He planned to pay her a visit as soon as his ride came to get him.

  Chapter 2

  Mekhi sat on the passenger’s side of Buck’s black on black Charger and sipped from the cup of Cîroc that was in his hand. Buck had gone inside to bring his cousin the clothes that Zyra had purchased for him to wear and then they had to bring him to the barber shop. They still had lots of time to kill before they were expected at the party and Mekhi had another stop to make.

  “Where your people at?” Mekhi asked Buck when he got back in the car.

  “That nigga coming. He’s passing out all of his shit to his boys in there,” Buck replied.

  “What he trying to do now that he’s home? I can probably give him a lil job at my bar just to keep some change in his pockets. I know that nigga ain’t trying to walk around here broke.”

  “What makes you think he’s broke?” Buck asked looking at him sideways.

  “That nigga been locked up for five years. I’m sure whatever money he had before he left is gone,” Mekhi assumed.

  “Stop always assuming shit. That nigga is far from being broke. He still got his collision center that his daddy was running for him long before he got locked up. He still got his house that he bought a few months before he got locked up too. Zyra and my uncle kept all of his business straight for him. And even if they didn’t he still wouldn’t be broke. He’s straight, trust me,” Buck replied.

  “If you say so nigga. You ain’t got to lie to me,” Mekhi chuckled.

  Buck just looked at him and shook his head. Mekhi was his boy, but sometimes he pissed him off with the things he said. He was forever looking down on the next man just to make himself look better. If he wasn’t throwing his big house and nice cars in somebody’s face, he was always showing his wife off like she was a new toy. Rylee was one of the sweetest women that he’d ever met, but Buck knew that her husband wasn’t shit. Mekhi loved his wife to death, but he was a typical nigga. It Rylee found out even half of the shit he did she would leave him and probably never look back.

  “There he go,” Buck smiled when he saw Zyrian walking towards the parking lot.

  He honked his horn and hopped out, waving his cousin over to his car. Mekhi hopped out as well to get a better look at the man that Buck spoke so highly of. Mekhi sized him up as he walked over to the car. Zyrian was tall just like he was, but maybe a few inches taller. He had a solid muscular build probably from working out in prison. Mekhi wasn’t the type to judge another man, but Zyrian put him in the mind of the pretty boy type with his light sandstone skin and low cut wavy hair. He reminded him of the R & B singer Al B. Sure in his younger days, but he had a more rugged look. It wasn’t hard to see that he and Zyra were related because the resemblance was unmistakable. He had the same funny colored eyes as his sister that Mekhi would have assumed were contacts if he was a female. Buck smirked when he saw Mekhi sizing his cousin up. He hoped like hell that he didn't say anything stupid when Zyrian got to the car because it would be a disaster if he did. Zyrian was very outspoken, and he didn’t care about what came out of his mouth. He stayed into with somebody because he didn’t believe in sugarcoating anything. He gave it to you raw and uncut no matter who you were.

  “Thanks for the ride cuz,” Zyrian smiled showing off a perfect set of straight white teeth while hugging his cousin.

  “You know I got you, man. Here, Zyra sent this for you too,” Buck said handing his cousin the new iPhone that his sister had purchased for him.

  “Man, it’s been so long since I had a damn phone. I have to learn this shit all over again. I guess I need to get used to that social media shit just like everybody else,” Zyrian laughed as his eyes connected with Mekhi.

  He instantly got a bad vibe from him, but he played it off just in case his first impression was wrong. He swore that he would try his best to watch some of the things that came out of his mouth, but he couldn’t make any promises. He wanted to ask Mekhi what the fuck he was staring at, but he refrained from doing so.

  “Oh, and this is my boy Mekhi,” Buck said introducing his cousin to his friend who was standing there just looking at them.

  “What’s up man?” Zyrian spoke while shaking Mekhi’s hand. “Thanks to Zyra I feel like I already know you and your wife.”

  Zyrian left out the part about his sister hating Mekhi. He probably already knew, but it wasn’t his place to tell him if he didn’t. Mekhi smiled and shook his hand, but he also wondered what Zyra had told her brother about him. It was no secret that he wasn’t one of her favorite people, so he could only imagine some of the things she said about him.

  “Same here man,” Mekhi said with a forced smile.

  The three men piled into Buck’s car and headed out of the parking lot.

  “The barber shop right?” Buck asked his cousin just to be sure he was going the right way.

  “Yeah, I need a trim and a lineup,” Zyrian answered while running his fingers through the waves on his head.

  “Aye Buck, run me to the spot right quick,” Mekhi said speaking to his boy in code.

  “You do know that your wife will be at the park looking for you right?” Buck asked looking at him like he was crazy.

  “Nigga I know that. Just come back for me before y’all head to the park. It ain’t that serious for me to even play with my wife like that. I just need to see what’s up,” Mekhi replied.

  Buck only nodded his head, but he didn’t reply. Zyrian sat in the back seat silently observing what was going on. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Mekhi was asking to be dropped off by another woman. Although Zyrian had never met his wife, he knew she had to be something special for his sister to love her as much as she did. Zyra was a hard shell to crack, but Rylee managed to find a special place in her heart. He’d seen several pictures of Rylee that his sister sent to him, but he had never seen her face to face. Judging by the pictures she seemed to be the full package, so he didn’t understand why Mekhi was stepping out on her. Then again, Zyrian really didn’t know anything about her other than what his sister had told him. He’d been gone for five years, so he didn’t want to assume anything. Rylee was probably doing the same thing to her husband that he was doing to her. Zyrian had seen his fair share of scandalous women and his ex-girlfriend was living proof of that. He hadn’t been locked up for a month, and she moved on.

  “Alright bruh, don’t go get caught up in there with that crazy ass girl. You know Rylee don’t play that shit,” Buck said to Mekhi when they pulled up to the run down apartments.

  “Never that, just call me when you’re on your way back,” Mekhi said as he hopped out and disappeared into the complex.

  Zyrian got in the front seat right before he and his cousin pulled off and headed to the barber shop.

  “What’s up with dude? I thought he was married to Zyra’s friend,” Zyrian questioned.
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br />   “He is married. That nigga is just stupid. He got the perfect wife at home and out here messing around with these nothing ass hoes. She gon’ leave his ass if she ever finds out how foul he is,” Buck replied.

  “So who is that he’s going by now?” Zyrian asked.

  “I’ve never seen the bitch before, but according to the test results, that’s his baby mama,” Buck responded shocking the hell out of his cousin.

  ***

  “What the fuck you kept calling my phone for and you knew that my wife was home?” Mekhi yelled to his daughter’s mother, Shay.

  “You were supposed to bring me some more diapers since last night, but you never called or came over. What was I supposed to do? I’m sick of you always putting my baby to the side for your wife and your bar,” Shay yelled with tears in her eyes.

  “She’s two years old. I don’t even see why she’s still in diapers anyway. And didn’t you just get paid last week? Why couldn’t you buy her some diapers?” Mekhi argued.

  “I don’t have any more money. I spent my entire paycheck on these bills. You don’t help me like you promised you would, so I don’t have any other choice.”

  “So now I don’t help you?” Mekhi asked pointing to himself. “Who pays for Mekhya to go to daycare? I pay four hundred dollars a month for that shit, but you don’t even appreciate it. I don’t see your other baby daddy’s doing shit for their kids, but you don’t tell those niggas nothing.”