Total pages in book: 176
Estimated words: 167257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 558(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 558(@300wpm)
That was until my girl showed up on my doorstep and stole all my fucking focus with her fucked-up attitude and smart-ass mouth. Atlas didn’t fit firmly in one box, which might be why I couldn’t stay away, and why it felt like I couldn’t breathe when I wasn’t in the same room as her.
“What’s up, Giselle?”
“Nothing. Come on inside. I’m ready for you.”
Out of habit, I admired the way her ass cheeks hung out of the bottom of her shorts as I followed her inside the ramshackle house. Giselle had a makeshift salon set up in one of the backrooms. Yeah, I could have gotten my hair done at an actual salon, but I’d grown up with Giselle, and she’d been braiding my hair ever since I decided to grow it out in high school. She was talented as fuck, so I never had any reason to switch up on her.
And, yes, okay, I fucked her occasionally.
I knew it wouldn’t matter to Atlas that it was before her time, so I’d avoided the subject altogether so that I wouldn’t be tempted to choke her ass when she got mad over nothing and pissed me off.
I sat at the bowl and let Giselle wash my hair as she filled me in on everything going on around the hood—mostly who was fighting, fucking, or getting money now. Giselle was my little spy, and I paid her well to keep her eyes and ears open.
When she was done shampooing and conditioning my hair, she blew it dry before oiling my scalp.
“So, what about you?” she asked me as she began sectioning my hair to braid.
“What about me?”
“Is it true?”
“Be specific.” I could feel myself getting irritated, especially after the morning I had. Fortunately, I was trying to change and become someone Atlas would be proud to call her man, so I took a deep breath and forced myself to chill.
“Is it true you’re fucking some young bitch now?”
I didn’t even try to pretend I didn’t know who she was talking about. “Aye, watch who you call a bitch. Matter of fact, who told you that shit?”
“It’s all over the city, Rowdy.”
“Aight.” I didn’t bother to confirm or deny it since it was no one’s business but mine and my girl’s.
My girl.
Fuck.
Even though I told Atlas I wasn’t there yet, I couldn’t help thinking of her as mine already. I didn’t know why I was stalling on making it official. My dick and mind were already there. I just couldn’t get my heart to cooperate. It had been a steel vault before her.
“Some people even said you were fighting over her last weekend,” Giselle prodded.
“Okay.”
Giselle sighed when she realized she wasn’t going to get anything out of me. I didn’t owe her or anyone else an explanation about where I stuck my dick. “I just hope this doesn’t interfere with what you and I have going on,” she added.
I didn’t respond at all this time, and thankfully, Giselle caught the hint and shut the fuck up.
An hour later, she finished braiding my hair to my scalp in six neat rows, secured the ends in a knot, and freshened up my fade. I handed her the cash I owed her plus a little extra since I knew she was saving up for her own salon one day. She thanked me before tucking the money inside her handheld safe and reaching for my belt.
“Stop.” I knocked her hand away.
“Stop?” she echoed with a bewildered look on her face. “Since when do you turn down head?”
Never.
Not once had I ever turned down a blow job—especially not one from Giselle, who sucked dick like it was her main job.
“Since now,” I said as I made a beeline for the door. “I’m good. Thanks anyway.”
“It’s because of her, isn’t it? I know you’re not really going to walk away from our thing because of that pigment-challenged bitch!”
I’d been one foot out of the room with Giselle on my heels when she said that hot shit. I turned and snatched her up by her shirt before lifting her until we were at eye level—so much for turning a new leaf. But, for Atlas, I’d be a monster if I had to.
“Let this be the last time you disrespect my girl, or I’ll snap your long neck and leave those badass brats of yours without a mother. Are we clear?” She started crying, but it didn’t faze me one bit. The only tears I cared about were Atlas’s. “Are we clear?” I roared when she didn’t answer me fast enough.
“Yes!”
I dropped her ass and left her crying on the floor as I left her house.
I broke every traffic law on my way to the shop. I needed to see my baby ASAP and make up with her but also break it to her as gently as I could that her home was with me now and she was never leaving. I was almost there when I got a call from an un-stored number. Already knowing who it was and that I couldn’t ignore it, I pressed accept.