Page 11 of A Kingpin’s Weakness

I looked at Southside. “And Southside, fall the fuck back. She off limits.”

He nodded real quick. “My nigga.”

Rich smirked. “We knew that already.”

Rich laughed and teased, “Acting like he wasn’t about to step down on shortie ass. ‘Oh, I don’t do virgins.’ You do fat asses though.”

Southside shot back with a grin, “And the ass is there.”

They dapped each other up, and we headed out, locking the warehouse tight behind us.

Rich phone rang and he quickly walked away and yelled out he’ll catch us later.

Southside caught me just as I was about to walk off. “Hey, before you leave, I wanna talk to you about something.” His voice was low, trying to keep it casual, but there was a weight behind it. Something he needed me to catch.

He leaned in, lowering his voice. “I put one of my dancers on Ronnie. Keep an eye on his moves. If she see any foul shit, report back to us. Something just ain’t sittin’ right with me.”

I shook my head, eyes narrowing. “Me either. You can trust her.” The air felt heavy, like every word carried weight like this wasn’t just about keeping tabs, but about staying ahead of something bigger.

“Most def,” he said, voice low but steady. No room for doubt here.

“Okay, let me know if something come up. We need to handle,” I said, feeling the pressure settle in my chest. It wasn’t just talk this was a warning, a call to stay sharp.

“Aight, one,” he replied, and the word hung in the air like a pact. Outside, the noise of the city kept rolling, oblivious to what we were about to dive into.

We both parted ways, jumped in our vehicles, and rolled off in separate directions. Something about this whole situation had me on edge, but I kept it cool. Just had to stay sharp.

It was just past midnight, and I figured this girl was probably already asleep. But I didn’t get her number. I had no way to call or text, so I had to pull up. Shit, with a mother like Jo, was that house ever quiet enough to sleep? Nah, never.

I hit the highway, pushing the ride to 90 mph, old-school jams blasting through the speakers to keep me locked in.

Stormi’s house was my destination, gotta get her number, maybe take her out, and see how I feel after that.

Half an hour later, I was pulling into their driveway.

The house was dim, quiet. I walked up to the porch and knocked a few times.

The porch light flipped on, and a second later, she peeked her head out the window.

“Seth?” she said, voice low and sleepy as she cracked the door open.

“In the flesh,” I said, stepping inside like I belonged there.

She didn’t stop me either. Gone was the jeans and sweater.

Now she stood in a black satin bonnet and a pink, silk, two-piece pajama set that hugged her curves a little too well.

Tiny shorts, tank top. If she bent over, that ass would be fully on display.

She was thick in all the right places. Made no damn sense.

Especially for somebody who wasn’t even fucking.

Well, maybe Jo was just running her mouth like always.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, arms folded, but no real attitude behind it.

“I wanted to check up on you.”

“Sorry about the breakdown earlier. I’m fine now.”

“You don’t have to lie to me. I know this is a lot for you.”

“It is,” she admitted, softer now.

“Listen,” I said, stepping a little closer. “I want to take you out.”

“On a date?” she asked, eyebrows raised.

“Yeah. What else would I mean?”

Before she could say anything else, Jo’s loud ass came stumbling out her bedroom, half-dressed, with some random dude trailing behind her. The guy’s eyes immediately locked on Stormi’s legs then her ass.

“You too old to be sneaking boys in this house, Stormi,” Jo said, pointing, her voice heavy with judgment and alcohol.

I caught dude staring hard. “I can fix your eyes, my nigga,” I snapped, squaring up just enough to make my point.

His creepy-ass smile dropped quick. “My bad, Seth.”

He laughed it off like it was funny, but it wasn’t.

“Well, she got her ass out,” Jo added, sounding dumb as hell.

I shook my head and reached for Stormi’s hand, pulling her toward the bedroom across the hall far away from whatever Jo had going on in that room.

Once we were inside, I turned to her.

“Why you don’t have on clothes?”

“I do have on clothes,” she replied, clearly annoyed. “Night clothes. It’s one in the morning, I was in bed.”

“You need to put on something else. You don’t know the kind of dudes Jo brings around here.”

“I keep my door locked. Always have something up against it, too. Been doing this since I was a kid. I know the routine.”

That part stung a little. She said it like survival was second nature. Like being in danger was normal.

“Just be careful,” I said, my voice quieter now.

“And you’re really here at 1 a.m. asking me on a date while my brother is in the hospital fighting for his life?”

Her words hit hard. I wasn’t blind to the shit she was going through. But still, I had to say what I felt. “I know it’s bad timing. You were on my mind, and to be honest, this was the first time I’ve ever seen you.”

She just said, “Ummm,” like she wasn’t sure what to say, caught off guard.

I shook my head with a small grin. “Listen, with your mean ass, I know you got shit to handle. I’m not going anywhere. I can wait till all this is over. I just need your number.”

I walked over to the nightstand, picked up her phone, and handed it to her.

“Unlock it.”

Her mean ass actually did it. No fight. I dialed my number, handed it back.

“Now we got each other’s numbers. Lock up. I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Goodnight,” she said.

I started to turn but stopped. “Wait.”

“What?”

I didn’t hesitate. I closed the space between us and pulled her into my arms. S3 was gone, nowhere around to wake up and catch me with some stranger, so I took my chance. My lips found hers, crashing hard, hungry.

She melted against me, her hands sliding around my neck as I held her waist tight. She opened just enough, our tongues meeting and moving, dancing their own slow dance in the quiet of her room. Time slipped away. Nothing else mattered.

When I finally pulled back, breathless, I whispered, “Goodnight.” And just like that, I stepped away, leaving her there. My heart still racing as I walked out the door.