10. Asif

“I actually got some good shit this time.” I walked into the medical room’s break room where Anastazia was, heating her lunch. She simply looked over her shoulder and gave me a soft ass smile. “My mama cooked, and I got leftovers, so don’t be hating and shit.” I came up behind her, inhaling the scent of her curly hair, the smell of her soft brown skin, and the way her body felt against me. I wasn’t a nigga who jacked off often, but I fell victim to the shit once I dropped her off the other day.

“I’m sure it’s good.” She moved from my grasp, and I’d been around enough women all my fucking life to know she was mad about some shit. I’d seen Lisara act this same way with pops, then my sisters-in-laws with my brothers. The I ain’t gon’ say shit right now, but don’t touch me vibe.

Gripping her wrist before she could get away, I brought her back into me forcefully, crashing my lips against hers. She tried to resist through giggles, but eventually fell into the shit, allowing me to grab on her ass.

“What a nigga do now?” I inquired when she turned her face from me, since she wasn’t strong enough to break free.

“Let me go first.” She smiled, turning to look up at me. “I’m not angry. I just need to ask you something.”

“Ask while we like this.”

“I can’t. I wanna make sure I’m not falling for your charm when you speak.”

Chuckling, I let her go, and we sat down at the table.

“Aight. What’s up?” I opened the container of lemon pepper buffalo wings Lisara made.

“Did you tell your boy that you weren’t interested in me? Like recently?” She forked some of her baked macaroni and cheese that looked good as fuck.

Frowning because I was confused, I said, “Hell nah. I would never say no shit like that, even when I had just met you.”

She smiled, saying, “Okay, I didn’t think so, which is why I wanted to ask you.”

“Let me guess… Grady told you that shit.” I sat back, irate.

“Yeah. He gave me flowers, and when I explained that I wasn’t into him and that it’s not proper for me to accept them, knowing I’m dealing with you or whatever this is, he told me that.” She ate some of her food. “Said I should give that loyalty to a man who deserves it.”

I snickered while nodding, trying to keep my composure. It was only so many times I was gon’ allow Anastazia to see me fly off the handle on a nigga. I didn’t want her linking me to her punk ass ex in any way. Once we got closer and she understood me—how I ran shit—better and had healed from the trauma that nigga brought about, I’d feel freer to let loose.

“He was lying, well, embellishing. I told his ass not to make passes at you or attempt to get at you and that I wouldn’t either. I only said that shit ’cause I wanted to make sure he and everybody else around this muthafucka respected you. But I never said I ain’t like you or I wasn’t interested. He could’ve asked me that shit the day I seen you in Bashar’s office, and I wouldn’t have said that shit.”

“You were interested off rip, huh?” She beamed with her pretty ass.

She smelled like sunshine or a fucking vacation, and I didn’t know if I was tripping or if that was the actual perfume’s purpose. I loved it though. Seeing and smelling her put me in a good ass mood automatically, and no woman, not since my fine ass sixth grade teacher, had been able to do that shit.

Her dark curly hair was piled on top of her head, like always, and the yellow scrubs looked so fucking perfect against her brown skin. That was the perfect color for her ass too. She made this building seem much less sterile and cold than the shit was.

“I was. I thought it was cute as fuck how you tried to fix ya hair behind my back. You know you pretty as fuck when ya hair all over ya head and a nigga is still into you.”

Her jaw dropped, and I could tell by the slight redness to her cheeks that she was abashed.

“I cannot believe you noticed that.” She covered her face for a beat.

“I did. I was flattered as fuck though.” I chuckled, drinking some of my soda. “I appreciate how you came to me and asked me this shit about Grady instead of just believing it then wilding out. That’s what I’m used to.”

Anastazia wasn’t the oldest woman I’d messed with, not even close, and more than a few had shown that immature ass behavior. So it was nice to see her act her age ’cause females ten years her senior sometimes didn’t.

“Something about him is dark. Plus, I would never believe the competition.”

“Oh, he my competition?”

“I mean, the flowers were nice.” She cheesed, guffawing as I mouthed wow. “I’m just kidding, but I mean, I would never listen to someone who sees themselves as your opponent when it comes to me.”

“Makes sense.” I nodded. “I wanna do some romantic shit next time we go out. You down?” I reached into my pocket for a knot.

“I am.” Her full lips tugged into a smile.

“Take this and get what you need or do what you need to.”

“You saying I need a makeover?” Her eyes widened at the thick roll of money. She twisted her perfect ass lips, awaiting my answer.

“Not at all. I would take you out in what you got on now, but I know how females are. And you deserve it, baby. Treat yaself to some new shit, go to a spa, whatever to have you feeling and looking yo’ best, in yo’ eyes , for the date. I want you to feel yo’ fucking best when we step out. It don’t matter what I think.”

Picking it up, she said, “This is way more than that would cost unless you want me to get a BBL.”

I almost choked, having to drop my wing back into the container so I could shield my mouth with the fucking napkin.

“I definitely don’t want that. Leave ya body exactly how it is, please , especially that fucking water park you walking ’round with. You bet not touch that.” I spoke honestly and saw her brows lift as she tried not to laugh. “Whatever is left, though, do what you want. That’s for you.”

“Thank you, Asif.”

“Anytime.”

She stared at it for a minute, then stuffed the money into her pocket before we continued to eat.

Sitting back against the couch, I stared at the TV, not really paying attention to the shit, as the front door opened then eventually closed.

“Nigga, why you just chilling in my crib like this?” Grady quizzed, walking over to sit next to me while holding a bag of shit from the liquor store. “You good?”

Shoving another chip into my mouth as I watched the television, I asked, “When you start gossiping and shit like a bitch?”

I finally gave him my eyes, expecting an answer.

“What are you even talking about, cuz? I don’t gossip or none of that shit.” He waved me off.

“Oh, so it must’ve been ya evil twin that told Anastazia I said I wasn’t interested, huh?” I sipped the drink I’d gotten from the burger spot I’d hit up earlier. “You know I never said that shit.”

Opening a large beer and gulping it down, Grady turned his eyes onto the TV and shrugged. “I mean, maybe not those exact words, but that’s what you meant. I asked if you was gon’ push the issue when it came to her, and you said nah. How you interested if you ain’t gon’ pursue her?”

He started to take another sip, but I snatched the shit from his grasp, causing a little to spill onto his black T-shirt. Shocked, he looked at me as if a nigga had grown horns.

“I’m only gon’ say this once, nigga. I’m interested in Anastazia. I like her. I want her. I’m gon’ pursue her. I am pursuing her. She off-fucking-limits. That’s me, and if you so much as open a fucking door for her, it’s gon’ be the last time you use yo’ fucking hands for anything. I don’t give a fuck what I told you or the rest of them niggas. Y’all not me, hence why I’m top dog and you do what I tell you to. I change the rules whenever the fuck I see fit or how I see fit, so I’m tweaking this one. She ain’t fair game, she spoken for. I’m the only one in the mob that can touch that. You got any questions?”

“Nah, man.” He snickered nervously while nodding. “I get it. That’s all you had to say, cuz. We all good.”

“Cool.” I rose up, handing him back his bottle.

Gulping more and wiping his mouth, he asked, “Who gon’ oversee the next shipment?”

“Low.” I started for the door, stepping over an old McDonald’s fries container in disdain. Grady was making too much money to have his nice ass spot looking filthy. Maids didn’t cost that fucking much.

“Low? That young ass nigga? He shouldn’t be doing that shit by himself.”

“Low is young but he smart, smarter than niggas twice his age at times. Free gon’ back him up though.”

“Free? I mean, he cool and got years in, but not like me. I should be there, you know, just to make sure shit is actually straight.”

“They gon’ be good, Grady.”

“Man, Sif, I need more responsibility. Shit, you got niggas like Low who main meal is breastmilk still, and Free who came in the game after me, I know it, doing shit I should be doing. Shit, I’m older than you.”

“You are, and that should tell you something.” I let the silence linger. “Chill out and play ya part until it’s time, G.”

“I been doing that?—”

“You gon’ get enough of questioning me, my nigga. This ain’t no fucking roundtable discussion. I put the order out, and it gets followed. You shouldn’t even have no fucking questions. That’s yo’ fucking problem. You so busy focusing on appearances, how shit look, and where you think you should be instead of actually putting in the work to get there.

“You older than me, but you work under me for a fucking reason. The shit you think you know, you don’t. That’s why you haven’t elevated on ya own or within Money Fiends. No muthafucka who is constantly questioning and being insubordinate as fuck is ever gon’ graduate to being my right hand.”

“I got you. You right.” He nodded, but I didn’t miss the way his eyes low-key sized me up.

I fucked with Grady and liked the way he worked, for the most part, but I was feeling like I was gon’ have to murk him. It was proper for me to wait until the nigga actually showed some disloyalty, but I was an impatient ass nigga. Once you started to show a hand I didn’t fuck with, it was off with ya head. I knew dropping Grady from the team wouldn’t work, because he’d feel spurned and try to retaliate, getting himself killed regardless.

For now, I would keep his ass close but also keep an eye on him. I would never let a muthafucka with potential to be my enemy out of my line of sight and into the wild.

“I know you be fucking bitches against the window.” Unique sat in my office at St. Thomas Financial, eyeing the floor-to-ceiling windows.

“I don’t.” I laughed at this nigga.

Unique and I used to be attached at the hip, but as we got older, our interests weren’t alike. He dove headfirst into the acting shit, and it worked, sending him to different states sometimes within the same week. I was going through growing pains and eventually ended up in the shit I was into currently, getting cool—as cool as I would allow—with other people. Now we had our own circle, but we would always be brothers.

“You missing out, nigga.” Unique shook his head.

“Who you don’ fucked up against a window to know that I’m missing out?” I asked as a knock sounded off on the door.

“Stay out my business, nigga,” he replied as I told Diamond to come in. She was the only visitor I got at the moment, and she visited often.

She stayed wearing tight, revealing shit, giving me the look that let me know if I wanted any type of sexual reprieve, a nigga could get it. Had she been anyone else but an employee of the bank, I might have indulged. But the fact remained that she was, and my attention was on Anastazia anyway. If I wanted that woman, I couldn’t split my attention on other females. I was giving 100 percent effort when it came to her ass.

“I noticed you had a guest and wondered if you two wanted anything from the break room.” Diamond stared me down in the little ass dress that hugged her thick ass frame. “Anything you’d need.”

Unique’s eyes mushroomed as he looked from her to me.

“I’m good, love, but thank you.”

“Wait, wait.” Unique gently grabbed her small hand, making her cheese. “I would like a sandwich.”

“Unique.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll be right back.” She switched out, and Unique watched.

“Did you hit? ’Cause if so, I’m gon’ pass on her ass.” He sat forward, eyeing me.

“Nah, and I don’t plan to.” I leaned back into my chair. “You know my mind and eyes been on someone else for a minute.”

“I do, but at the same time, nigga, you twenty-six, you rich out the ass, and ain’t got no fucking kids. You don’t need to be settling down with none of these chicken head ass bitches.”

Laughing, I replied, “A chicken head could never get my attention in this way, and you know it. Watch ya mouth, bruh.”

“I wasn’t speaking on her specifically, more so females in general.” He paused when Diamond knocked twice then entered, delivering him a sandwich. “Thank you, beautiful.” He licked his lips, holding the small white plate.

“Welcome,” she purred before switching out, putting a little something extra on it, and Unique again watched.

Turning to me, he shook his head in disproval that I hadn’t fucked, before biting into the sandwich.

“She can’t make a sandwich to save her fucking life, but her ass is fat, so it kind of cancels out.”

We chortled in unison as I shook my head.

“Handle ya business then.”

“Back to what I was saying though, nigga.” He put the dry looking ass sandwich off into the seat next to him. “Don’t she got a new baby?”

“Somewhat.”

“And a murder charge? Them be the types to Lorena Bobbit yo’ ass if you not careful.”

I tittered. Unique was always a funny ass nigga.

“I ain’t worried.”

“You ain’t worried about her chopping ya dick off?”

“Nah, I’m not, nigga. She only did the shit she did because the muthafucka deserved it. And as far as the new baby, how many kids did ya mama have when my pops came around?”

“Touché, muthafucka, but then again, Prime was like fifty. You young.”

We doubled over before I said, “Nigga, how was my pops fifty back then and he in his fifties now?” Unique shrugged, knowing he wasn’t making any fucking sense. “My father was the nigga to see—rich out the ass and only had one kid, but he saw a good woman up for grabs and he took it. Now the nigga is happier than he ever was with my mama, who was childless when he met her and shit, acted as such even after.”

“You really that nigga son, huh? I was questioning it for a minute.”

“Fuck you, nigga.” I sat up, elbows on my desk. “My point is, Nique, that sometimes women are dealt a bad hand in life, and instead of counting ’em out for refusing to stick around with an ain’t shit nigga, we should be commending the shit. Name another woman who would’ve left a nigga she had six kids with? Or one who would risk shooting a muthafucka that’s been knocking her ass around? It happens but it’s rare. We gotta protect and appreciate those rarities, nigga, and realize when you lucky enough to obtain one.”

“Where the script Pops sent you?” Unique jested. “I feel you though. Just don’t want you tied down at a young age, bruh.”

“I know, but this shit I’m doing ages you quickly as fuck. The fast money, fast women, fast lifestyle, it gets old quick. I don’ had the random one-nighters, fucked the bad foreign bitches, had some wild ass nights in and out the country. It’s cool but it ain’t forever. I want some solid shit and with a woman I feel like matches my energy. If she can shoot a gun, that’s a plus.” I smirked, and Unique mirrored me, nodding.

“She is fine as hell. Look like a freak too.”

“Chill out, nigga, that’s my future. I ain’t trying to choke out my own kinfolk.”

“Whatever, nigga.” He stood. “I ain’t where you at yet. I will be one day, but right now, the fast shit is still appealing to a nigga.”

“I know. You a hot commodity in them Hollywood streets.” I smirked. “What about Aurora? I thought you liked her ass.”

“I do, but I like somebody else too. So until I meet a woman that got me only wanting her, I ain’t settling down. Wouldn’t be right any-fucking-way.”

“Real shit.” I nodded. “Do you then, nigga.”

“Always.” He slapped my hand before venturing out, and it wasn’t long before I heard his ass flirting with Diamond.

“Thank you for the ride. Mama be taking too long sometimes, and Daddy drives slow,” Banks said as soon as I got into the driver’s seat of my whip.

Chuckling, I sped off, floating down the street in the Lamborghini.

“You welcome. You know he ain’t gon’ like that drive slow comment.”

“So don’t tell him.” She smiled.

Seeing a 7-Eleven, I pulled over and into the small parking lot of it and slid into the park rear first.

“You want something?” I asked Banks, who was deep into her phone.

“Crumb donuts, a sparkling water, some gum, and a Twix.”

“You need to bring yo’ ass in then.”

“No, my legs are tired, Sif. Please.” She pouted, making me suck my teeth before hopping out.

Only time I cut my car off was when I had Banks with me because I didn’t trust her little ass not to joyride in my shit. It was tough having a little sister so fucking extroverted and always wanting to get into some shit.

I got everything Banks wanted first, while her list was fresh on a nigga’s mind so I wouldn’t forget shit. Only then did I procure my candy straws, water, and an Arizona tea.

As I made my way outside after purchasing, I spotted a nigga by my ride, smiling too fucking hard as he peered down at Banks through the window rolled down halfway.

“Ah!” He grunted when I grabbed his left arm, twisting it and pinning him to the side of the car roughly.

“How old is you, nigga?” I questioned as he winced in pain.

“Asif!” Banks shrieked, hands clutching the window.

“Take this fucking bag and be quiet, Banks,” I stated sternly, handing over the plastic bag to her flirting ass. “I asked how old you was, cuz.” I rotated his arm more, awaiting the answer I already knew I wouldn’t like.

“I’m… I’m seventeen,” he replied.

“When yo’ birthday, and don’t forget the year?” When I saw him trying to calculate, proving he was lying, I whipped him around and sent a punch to his stomach, making him fold over. After dropping his ass with a deep elbow to his back, I said, “If I ever catch yo’ creep ass trying to fuck with any underage girl again, muthafucka, not just my baby sister, I’m gon’ put you in the ground, cuz.”

“O-okay.” He held onto his stomach, hacking like a cat that had swallowed a hairball. “My bad. I—I thought she was older.” He decided to lie as I was about to walk off, so I doubled back and kicked him in the stomach hard as shit, making him vomit.

He didn’t think she was older, hence why he felt the need to say he was seventeen.

“Any of you niggas see him or any other grown ass man checking for minors, especially this one, you make sure I find the shit out,” I announced to the niggas watching with wide-eyes as they hung around the store.

Everyone nodded, commenting lowly as I hopped into my Lambo.

“Asif, he didn’t know?—”

“He did know.” I cut Banks off, slamming my door. As mad as I was, I was keeping my cool. Hollering and shit at women wasn’t my thing, especially not at my baby sister. “These grown ass muthafuckas not into you ’cause you act mature or whatever the fuck they gon’ try to put in yo’ fucking head, B. They into you ’cause you impressionable as fuck and because you ain’t gon’ make their muthafuckin’ asses come correct like a grown ass woman would.” I sped out of the lot, irritated as fuck that I couldn’t pop that nigga. It was daylight and me whupping his ass was risky enough.

“They gotta come correct with me too, trust.” She folded her arms.

“They better not come with shit unless they want niggas coming to see them lowered into the fucking ground.” I came to a red light. “Baby girl, you gon’ learn all the shit that impresses you now ain’t gon’ make you bat an eyelash when you become a woman. Niggas know that and gon’ try their best to get yo’ time while yo’ standards ain’t as high. Don’t give it to ’em. They not fucking worthy.

“Nah, I don’t fuck with the fact that you growing up, got crushes and shit—don’t tell me—but I’m mainly trying to protect you.” I looked over at her and could see she was calmer now, cute face not all twisted the fuck up. “Next time, shut it down, Banks, or me and you gon’ have issues. You understand?” I asked calmly.

“I understand. I’m sorry.”

“You good.” I reached into the bag she’d set to her right nearest me and handed her the donuts. “You better eat all this shit I bought.”

Giggling as she tore it open, she replied, “I am. Calm down.”