Chapter Four

JaRue

I was so glad to finally be off for the weekend. I was going to sit in the house with my baby and watch movies and eat snacks all weekend. Ever since Keith popped up at my house and saw all the groceries and supplies that I brought for Infiniti, he's been calling and harassing me about a man being around his daughter, and what he'll do to me. He does all of that, but when I bring up him seeing his daughter or picking her up, he never has the time. I was over him and his bullshit, but he was Infiniti's father, and I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but he wouldn't leave well enough alone. As I was gathering my belongings, one of Knasim's twin cousins walked in. By his attire, I knew it was Kyan.

"Wassup, Rue? Knas still in the back?" He stopped by my desk and propped up on his arm. The men in this family knew they were fine. I mean drop dead 90s type of fine, but I didn't do married men. Yes, my baby daddy was married, but the bastard lied to me, so it doesn't count, nor does his irrelevant ass.

"Yes. He's still in the back with his brother," I responded. With a nod, he smiled and headed to the back where Knasim's office was and left me up front to handle my business.

Best Fren (fingers crossed emoji): Drinks tonight?

I read the message that came from Journei and shook my head with a smile. Every weekend she tried to get me to go somewhere and every weekend I declined.

Me: I already have plans.

I lied.

Best Fren (fingers crossed emoji): Lies. Yo' ass ain't gon' be doing shit but sitting up in the house with Finny eating fruit snacks and looking at Bluey until she falls asleep (eye roll emoji).

Me: Don't act like you know me because that's exactly what I plan on doing lol. You're free to join us if you like (smirking emoji).

Best Fren (fingers crossed emoji): No ma'am. You never go out and I'm tired of going on these boring ass dates. Take my God baby to your parents and take that damn bun out of your hair and let's go have fun. You can put your Mumu on and go back to being an old maid tomorrow.

Her referring to my Mumu caused me to cackle louder than I intended. I was glad that no one was in here with me or they would've thought I was crazy as hell.

Me: Okay…ONE drink and I'm leaving.

Best Fren (fingers crossed emoji): That's good enough for me (kissing emoji).

Shaking my head at the thought of Journei dragging me outside tonight. I will be the first to admit that all I do is work and go home with my baby. Keith never gave me any free time, and I didn't want to burden my parents with keeping my child while I went out. Even though I rarely did, I felt guilty. My parents never made me feel bad about leaving my daughter with them. They actually encouraged me to go out and have fun. It was all me.

After I finished up some orders that needed to be placed for a funeral that we had next week, I was done with my work week. Since I agreed to go out tonight with Journei, I was going to go pick up Infiniti from daycare and head straight home. Looking down at my gas hand, I realized I needed to stop and fill up. I would do that now before I even picked up Infiniti. It was always a task trying to get gas with her in the car. I pulled up to the nearest gas station and pulled up to the pump before trekking inside. There were quite a few people in front of me, so I went and grabbed Infiniti a snack and myself a juice before I got in line. When it was my turn, I placed my things on the counter and told the cashier I was putting thirty dollars on pump four. Before I could hand him my money, I heard the sexiest deep voice that I've heard prompting me to turn around.

"You can put her tab with mine," the fine stranger asserted.

I lost all train of thought as I drank him in. At one point in my life, I thought Keith was the finest man that I have ever seen, but now I know that to be a total illusion because the man standing before me was a true work of God. I'm definitely putting a little more in the collection plate for this one. I would say he was a little over six feet tall, with the finest tawny colored skin littered with tattoos from what I could see. There were cute freckles sprinkled over his face, and a pair of glasses were perched on his nose. I couldn't tell if they were prescription or designer like Knasim's cousin Kyandri, but either way, he was still sexy as hell. Taking notice of his hair, I saw it was braided back into four braids and it was just as long as mine. My God, this man was fine!

"Uhm, thank you. You don't have to do that." I finally stopped gawking at this man and found my voice.

Licking his lips and giving me a once over, he responded. "No pressure, baby. It's cool." He slid his card to the clerk and leaned on the counter. The cashier gave me my items, and I thanked the stranger again before heading out the door. I wasn't at the door good before he swooped around me and held the door open for me to pass through.

"Thank you," I swooned.

"You want to give me your name, beautiful?"

I kept steady strides toward my little Camry so that I could fill up my tank. I was thankful for the bonus I got from Knasim and Knight a few weeks ago, so now I have some breathing room to do the little things like fill up my tank and not worry about it.

"It's JaRue," I responded as his hand landed on top of mine to stop me from picking up the gas nozzle.

"Let me get that for you, and a date." He flashed a smile, and I saw that his bottom row of teeth were dripped in diamonds and gold.

"Thank you for pumping the gas, but I'll have to pass on the date."

He placed his hand on his chest and feigned hurt.

"Damn, shorty. Just shoot me down then. It's like that?"

"I'm sorry. I don't date, but I do appreciate the gas. I can even pay you back." I reached inside of my purse to get $40 so I could give him for paying for my has and Infiniti's snacks.

"Nah. It's all good. I'm pretty sure I'll be seeing you around again." With that, he smirked and swaggered off. I shook my head at the impure thoughts that were running rampant inside of my head. I may have turned down his offer to take me out, but I'm pretty sure he would be imbedded inside of my mind for a while.

∞∞∞

I don't know why I let Journei drag me outside tonight. This line was wrapped around the building, and I didn't have time to be standing outside in these damn heels. Even though this club belonged to the Richmonds. I was going to stand in this line like everybody else. The way it was crowded, you would think that they had Chris Brown, or somebody was in the building. It was typical though because his cousin Kyan ran this particular location, and it was in the heart of the city. If you wanted a grown and sexy vibe with a laid back atmosphere, then you were in the right spot.

Surprisingly, the line moved quickly, so we didn't have to stand out there long. Once we made it inside, I followed Journei straight to the bar. I wasn't surprised because that was the sole purpose for us coming out tonight. When we got to the bar area, we both took a seat and waited for the bartender to come and take our drink orders.

"See, aren't you glad you came out tonight?" She looked at me with a silly as smirk on her face.

"We literally just sat down and that's it. I can hardly judge the night by only walking into the place, Journei."

Shaking my head, I gave my attention to the bartender, who approached us. She was pretty and her cropped off t-shirt was tight and displayed her toned stomach and pierced belly button. I wonder if Kyan's girlfriend had a problem with all the pretty women that worked here. After giving her my order for a Mexican Mule, along with an extra shot on the side, I turned my attention to the crowd.

"Them Richmonds really got that bag," Journei voiced. "You sure you can't hook me up with one?"

"I told you they were all attached. I'm not getting in the middle of that." I side-eyed her.

The bartender brought our drinks back, and we downed our shots before sipping on our drinks. By the time we took our second round of shots, I had loosened up some. That was until I felt someone close to me. When I turned around, I noticed the guy from the gas station standing in my space. He looked even sexier than he did earlier. He was now in front of me donning a creamed colored GIVENCHY shirt that had the signature going across the right chest area. He paired the shirt with a pair of fitted but not tight dark distressed jeans and a pair of matching GIVENCHY sneakers on his feet. He wore a gold Cuban Link necklace along with a smaller, yet longer one that had an ‘AB' pendant on it dripped in diamonds. He still had on those glasses that only added to his sex appeal, and his hair was still in the same four braids. When I heard his voice rumble, it broke the trance that I was currently in.

"It seems like fate wants us to get to know each other better." He smiled and I swear I melted right on this damn stool.

"I wouldn't say all that." I finally found my voice. I heard Journei clear her throat next to me and I glanced her way, and she still had that stupid grin on her face.

"Uhm…" my voice trailed off because I realized I didn't know this man's name and here he was in my presence for the second time.

"Hassan," he asserted.

"Okay, Hassan. This is my best friend, Journei. Journei, this is Hassan. I met him earlier at the gas station."

"And she shot me down after I asked her pretty ass out on a date."

I blushed at his words.

"She'll go. I'll make sure of it," Journei blurted out.

"Bitch!" I snapped my neck toward her, glowering at her like she was crazy. She had to be sitting here acting as if she was my damn pimp. I heard Hassan chuckle, and that brought my attention back to him.

"How about we start off by me inviting you to my VIP section to chill with me and my associates," he suggested.

"I-I don't know about that. I don't even know you," I uttered.

"That's the purpose of the invite, sweetheart. Consider this my payback."

"You said I didn't owe you anything," I countered.

"I don't want your money, and you don't owe me anything. I just want some of your time, beautiful." The way he spoke had me placing my hand in his massive one as he led me and Journei upstairs to his VIP area where he would be for the rest of the night. Once we got to the top of the stairs, I was taken aback by how beautiful the area was decorated. Tan couches and chairs adorned the space, while different shades of brown and splashes of gold brought out the ambience of the area. There was a separate bar area and off toward the back, an area that looked like it was a private elevator or something. Journei and I have been here a few times but never up here. I was thoroughly impressed. Hassan led us to the area where the couches were and I almost fainted when I saw my bosses sitting there. I know I looked like a deer caught in headlights because I felt like one.

"Wassup, Rudy Rue?" Knight smirked at me as Hassan led me to an empty seat.

"Uhm, hey, Knight," I spoke back.

Hassan looked between the two of us before he took a seat next to a guy that had similar features as him.

"Y'all know each other?" he eyed the two of us.

"What you going to do if we do?" Knight challenged as he passed Kyan the blunt.

"Man, I'm not doing this with you. I already let Knas know I wasn't dealing with yo' crazy ass," Hassan countered with a stoic look on his face.

"Nigga, loosen up. Rue works for us. She's good people, so you better not fuck her over or I got a brand new incinerator to test out on your ass." The look on his face let me know he was serious, and I appreciated it. Ignoring Knight, Hassan looked at me and introduced me to the guy that was sitting opposite him.

"Rue, this is my brother, Rakeem. Bro, this is Rue and her friend, Journei."

"Nice to meet you ladies," he greeted, letting his eyes linger on Journei a little longer.

"Likewise," I countered.

After all introductions were made, we actually had a good time with the fellas. Hassan seemed pretty cool, and I eventually loosened up around him.

"So, when you going to let me take you out?" He leaned in and whispered in my ear.

Before I could answer, our conversation was cut short by the last person I expected to see.

"Really Haze? You're up here with the next bitch like you weren't just in my pussy a few nights ago?"

Kari stood in front of us with her arms folded under her breasts like she was ready to pounce on somebody. What she didn't know was that I've been waiting to beat her ass again, so she better tread fucking lightly.