Page 18 of Bricked Up

Grinning, Saadiq sat back and ran a hand across his face.

He was blushing hard as fuck, and Callie thought it was too cute that this man was still so smitten with one woman after all these years.

“The plan is to get her the proof she needs to know I never cheated on her. Then fuck her pretty ass into submission. Once she takes me back, I’mma ask her ass to marry me. ”

“Welp,” Callie chuckled, shaking her head.

“At least ya whipped ass got a plan. I love that you love her out loud and how she did the same when y'all were together. It’s beautiful to see. Not enough women are loved out loud and appreciated for just being who we are. I’m rooting for y’all. I always have and I always will.”

“And that’s why I’mma always be ten toes down for you, no questions asked, Callie.”

For the next hour, they caught up with each other.

The friends chatted it up before they made it back to the shop.

Saadiq got to work on the floor while Callie sketched out her vision for the walls.

Once she was done, she gave Saadiq a supply list, let him know the timeframe she needed to complete the project, and that she could start tomorrow evening.

Once their plan was set, Callie headed out.

Several hours later, an exhausted Saadiq drove home, showered, and headed right back out.

After he shot a quick text to Truce that he was on the way to The Horny Frog, Saadiq shot a text to Zia to let her know not to make any plans on her off day this Sunday because he’d planned a special day and evening for her.

He meant to let her know this morning, but he’d gotten distracted when he decided to make her come all over his dick.

As he drove, he prayed that he’d find the answers he needed tonight.

He didn’t know if the twins still worked at the strip club or if anyone even remembered Jabari.

But he was hoping somebody in the club could give him some information about his cousin.

Because he’d fucked over so many of their family members, including his parents and his two younger sisters, nobody knew his whereabouts.

Or at least that’s what they claimed. Saadiq, their cousin Porter, and their grandmother were the only three people who could get through to Jabari.

But with their grandmother gone and Porter moving to Hawaii after marrying his wife five years ago, it was just Saadiq.

And everything had been all good until he told him he was moving back home.

Pulling up into the valet line once he reached his destination, Saadiq hopped out and went inside.

As soon as he walked into The Horny Frog, he laughed when he spotted Truce getting a lap dance from two pretty ass, thick, mocha-skinned chicks.

One thing Truce was gon’ do was get down with the get down when it came to women.

Truce was a ladies’ man. Though for five years prior, only one lady had had his undivided attention.

Until she cheated on him and got pregnant by another nigga.

Now, Truce was a big-time hoe, and Saadiq wasn’t mad at the homie either.

As he strode further into the joint, Saadiq noted that though the club was crowded, it wasn’t as packed as it used to be when he and the homies came here back in the day.

Back before he met Zia, The Horny Frog was one of the regular hangouts.

Back then, The Frog was packed every night of the week, even more on the weeknights than the weekends.

The main floor was still spacious, and the peach colored walls were now a soft green.

Gold and black accent colors complemented the green throughout the establishment.

The VIP room occupied the entire back wall.

Black leather couches and long booths still circled the large oval-shaped wooden stage.

The bar was still positioned along the left wall, and a couple of large private booths had been added across from where the extra seating used to be.

As Saadiq approached the bar, he spotted the glass elevator and the winding black staircase near the VIP room that led up to a floor of nothing but private rooms.

Though Saadiq spotted a few familiar faces, there was no one who really stuck out that he thought would remember him, Truce, Jabari, or any of the other niggas in his circle at the time.

Grabbing a stool, he nodded when the pretty, petite bartender signaled that she’d be right with him.

He’d just retrieved his phone from his pocket after it alerted him to an incoming text when a woman exiting the VIP suite called his name.

He turned around and followed the voice over to a gorgeous woman who strongly resembled a thicker, big-breasted version of actress Halle Berry in the movie Boomerang.

She had the same cut, color, and everything.

Saadiq immediately recognized her as one of the headliners from back in the day.

“Saadiq, is that you?! Hell yeah, it is. Gotdamn, Saadiq! How the fuck are you still fine as wine after all this time? What’s it been, about eight years or so?

” Pamela Gates asked as she approached the end of the bar and slid onto the stool next to him.

“Shit, I still wanna ride ya face wit’ ya sexy ass. You gon’ let me?!”

“Yo’ you wildin’,” Saadiq chuckled at the dramatic ass woman who used to get a lot of Jabari’s money. “I appreciate the compliment, though, Pam. You still the life of the party I see.”

“Shit,” Shrugging, she winked. “I’on know any other way to be. What you drinking on tonight, handsome?”

“Oh, you gon’ pour my drink? You serving niggas now on top of working that pole like you used to?” Saadiq asked as his lips curled up into a smirk.

“Yes, I am. And I’ll serve yo’ sexy ass anytime of the day or night,” She winked as he slipped behind the bar and headed straight for the handwashing sink.

“But to answer the other part of your question, I do a little serving when I’m needed.

But I own the club now. I still dance from time to time, but only for private clients and on holidays. ”

“Oh, straight up, Congratulations. That’s wassup. Well, in that case, let me get a D’USSE XO.”

“I got you. So what brings you back to The Horny Frog after all these years?” she asked as she poured his drink and slid it over to him. “Did your ignorant ass cousin tell you to come talk me into letting him return to my establishment?”

“Nah,” Saadiq’s brows raised in surprise.

“I came to see if the twins that Jabari was crazy about still work here. Leah and Nina, I think. I need to see if they know anything about some drama between my woman and some chick who worked or still works at the bank with them. What did Jabari do to get banned?”

Pamela glanced at Saadiq skeptically as she studied him for a moment. “You really don’t know? Ya’ll don’t fuck wit’ each other no more?”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t have asked, Pam. I’on ask questions for my health.

I’on play wit’ folks time like that ‘cause I’on like mine played with,” He explained as he stroked his beard in contemplation.

Saadiq could read people well, and he knew the minute she asked the first question that some shit popped off between them that went south quick as fuck.

“Far as your other question, I feel like the way you asked me lets me know that you know something I don’t. ”

“Mm,” Pamela chewed on her bottom lip as she rifled through her thoughts. “Maybe I do, grab your drink. Let’s go talk in my office.”

Saadiq followed her up the staircase, just as the DJ announced the next dancer, Debbie Cakes.

The crowd of men and women went wild as a woman in red made her way onto the stage.

Saadiq chuckled as Truce slipped from between the two women sitting on either side of him and made a beeline for the stage.

Once they reached the second floor, they passed the VIP suites and kept walking until they rounded the corner of the long hallway and entered Pamela’s office.

The interior looked more like a loft than an office.

It was cozy, spacious, and smelled like fresh cherries.

The masculine black and gray color combo wasn’t what he expected from a woman like her, but the various girlie decor still very much gave the space plenty of delicate, feminine vibes.

“So, tell me, Pam,” Saadiq took a seat in one of the gray chairs in front of her just as Pamela settled into the large throne-type chair behind her desk. “Why do I get the feeling that you know exactly why I’m here?”

“‘Cause I think I might,” She slid a glass coaster in front of him and sat back in her chair. “So listen up because I promise you, what you don’t know is gonna blow your fucking mind.” She was quick to warn.

“Well blow my shit then. Let’s hear it.”

“Around the end of last year, I banned Jabari because he was really aggressive with a few of the girls, and he threatened one of my newbies so bad she quit. He also stiffed one of my bottle girls on a bill.”

“Man, so that nigga was just in here on one, huh?!” Saadiq chuckled as he took a sip of his drink.

“Yeah, it was real bad. He really needs help with the drinking and excessive gambling. Maybe you could encourage him to go get some therapy or something.” She suggested solemnly.

Saadiq could tell from the softness in her tone that something had gone on between her and Jabari, romantically.

And that while one part of her regretted it, a bigger part of her was trying to deny that she still had feelings for him.

“That’s unfortunate. I love my cousin, and I’d usually go to bat for him any day of the week.

But doing anything for Jabari ever again depends on what you tell me next.

Because from the look on your face, I can tell there's so much more you wanna say.”