Page 14 of Perfect Rhythm

SHADE

I dropped into the seat next to Trace, who was slouched back, dark shades hiding whatever expression he wore. He tossed a few bills toward the stage while the stripper, wearing a barely there two-piece, rolled her hips and ran her hands down her thighs.

It was well past midnight, and like clockwork, he was spending his off-duty time letting the soft lights and slow music loosen the weight of the week.

“So, you’re serious about this retiring thing, huh?”

“Yeah,” he said calmly. “I’ve been doing this shit for a long time, and I have an entire business to show for it. I think it’s time I let the people who work for me do all of the heavy lifting.”

“I hear you. But I’m still not convinced you can do it. You may not talk about it, but you like slinging niggas back and forth.”

He nodded, a brief smile dancing on his face as he lifted his drink to his lips. “This is true. But like I said, it’s time out for all that. I need to be trying to settle down and?—”

“Settle down?” I questioned, looking at him like he was crazy. This wasn’t the Trace I was used to. It almost sounded like... “Hold up, did you go off and fall in love or some shit? Are you hiding a woman and didn’t tell me?”

He almost choked. “What? Hell no.”

“You sure? Because?—”

“Nah, man. You already know the deal, so get that out you head. I’m not referring to that kind of settling down. I’m just talking about being on my own time, so I can go hang out at vacation houses for weeks at a time and shit.”

“Hmm…okay.”

Silence fell between us.

Trace had worked for me since I’d become someone worth protecting in this industry, and we had ways of speaking to each other without saying a single word.

He knew when I needed him to knock a nigga’s head off, and he knew when I needed him to fall back and let me handle shit.

Although he’d thoroughly trained the guys that stepped in for him when he was off duty, it wasn’t the same.

Trace didn’t just look out for me, he talked shit and kicked it with me because he was my boy. There was no replacing that.

I looked over at Trace, who at first glance appeared to still be fixated on the stripper in front of him.

But I knew better. His little mystery woman had just walked into the club, and like always, she was wearing shades, dark oversized sweats, and a baseball cap that covered her honey blonde wig.

It was obvious that she didn’t want to be noticed.

But Trace always noticed her, and even though he never said it, he knew exactly who she was. We both did.

I had no idea what his fascination was with her, but I knew it was something. Whenever she entered a room, he’d lose grip on reality. Eyes distant, breath shallow. It was like she’d knocked the wind right out of him.

“Yo, what’s good, fam?” Mecca said as he strolled over to our table.

I stood and dapped him up with a quick one shoulder hug. “What’s up? What you doing in here tonight?”

“Shit, trying to chill. You know your brother’s club be jumping on Sundays.”

“Fo sho,” I replied.

“What’s up, Trace?” he said, peeking over my shoulder. “I see you drinking. You must be off duty?”

“Hell yeah. But I’m always on if I need to be, so don’t get to acting stupid in here. You know how you get when you get a few drinks in you.”

Mecca sucked his teeth. “You ain’t got to worry about all that. I’m chilling tonight.”

“Hey, babe,” one of the strippers purred as she looped her arms around Mecca’s neck.

He peeled them off. “Yo, chill with all that. I’m talking to my boys.”

She looked at me and Trace, then nibbled on her bottom lip. “So...what are you boys getting into tonight?”

“Not interested,” Trace said, his tone flat. “I’ll be back.” He threw a quick nod at the on-duty security, then slipped away to the bar.

“Damn, so it’s like that?” she questioned.

“Hey, Chanel, shouldn’t you be in a private room shaking your ass or some shit?” Mecca shot back.

“Wow, you’re really on one tonight.” She pressed her hands against his chest while smiling. “I hope you’re not still tripping about what happened yesterday.”

“I’m not tripping on shit. I’m good.”

“Good. So I hope that means you got your bitch in check because?—”

Mecca yanked Chanel by her wrist. His eyes turned dark, and for a second, I thought he was about to do some serious damage.

“You better not ever let the word bitch fly out your mouth when you refer to her again. Don’t get it twisted, the pass you have to ride this dick doesn’t go beyond that.

You don’t know shit about my life, and you don’t know shit about Skye, so you keep your fucking mouth shut when it comes to her. Understood?”

I could tell Chanel was scared, but at the same time, she didn’t want to willingly give in to his demands.

This was the same bullshit I’d seen from Mecca a million times.

The world didn’t know about him and Skye, but the people in his circle were well aware.

She was all he talked about. But the way he treated her was sad.

He kept her on a tight leash while he slipped in and out of a different female damn near every night.

But Skye couldn’t so much as breathe on another nigga without him getting in his feelings.

“Let me go, Mecca,” Chanel insisted.

“Not until you let me know that you understand the fucking assignment.”

She briefly closed her eyes, then looked back at him. “I understand.”

He released her from his grasp.

As soon as she turned around, he gave her a hard slap on the ass. “You look good as fuck in that little outfit. Bring that shit when you come see me tonight.”

I thought for sure she would’ve told him to go fuck himself. But instead, she tucked her bottom lip between her teeth and shot him a wink. “I’ll wear it just for you, daddy.”

“That’s what I like to hear. Now, go make that money.” He tossed a big wad of cash her way, and she caught it in her arms before running off.

“Man, that shit is wild as fuck,” I said.

“What? Sometimes you’ve got to be tough on a bitch.”

I shook my head and swallowed down whatever liquor was left in my glass. “Or sometimes, you just need to let they ass go.”

“Nah, I ain’t never letting that one go. She does whatever the hell I say. Oh, and she sucks and fucks like a pro.”

“Okay, well, if you want to get it in with her so bad, why don’t you just leave Skye’s ass alone?”

“Nigga, are you crazy? Skye is wifey material. Ain’t nobody getting that luxury pussy but me.”

“But you’re not going to wife her though.”

“How the fuck you know?”

“Because you like running around with other bitches too much.”

He shrugged. “Maybe for now. But one day, I’m going to chill out, and when I do, it’s going to be with Skye. Her fine ass is going to have all my babies.”

“Really? And when is that bullshit going to happen?”

“Hell, I don’t know. But she’ll stick around until it does. I’ve got her ass on lock.”

I wanted to tell him how dumb he sounded, but I knew I was just wasting my breath.

“Is that Enzo?” Mecca said as he peered across the room. “I haven’t seen that fool since his party a few weeks ago.” He slammed his hand against my chest. “You should’ve been there. It was wild as hell.”

I frowned. “You know damn well I don’t fuck around at an Enzo party. Shit, if you knew what was good for you, you wouldn’t either.” I scoffed. “Mess around and you’ll end up strung out on a bunch of shit you didn’t even realize you got pumped with.”

“Nah, man, I wasn’t letting any of that go down. I was too focused on kicking it with the exotic bitches.” He let out a chuckle, then leaned into my ear. “Man, let me tell you about this one?—”

“What’s up?” Enzo greeted, his smug smile making me want to shove my fist into his face. “What y’all got going on over here?”

When I say I didn’t like that fool, I really meant that shit. Enzo was a well-known music producer, and he had ties to damn near everybody in the industry.

From the outside looking in, he seemed cool, and he was always the life of the party. But if you stayed in his circle long enough, you would learn that he was into some dark shit, and he wasn’t safe to be around.

“Not shit. You good?” Mecca replied, grinning from ear to ear.

“Yeah, I’m chilling.” Enzo looked back at me. “What’s up with you?”

Ignoring him, I turned back to Mecca. “I’m about to head out.”

“Already? It’s still early.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve got shit to do.” I dapped him up. “I’ll catch up with you later. Keep it together tonight. I’m not trying to see you on the blogs in the morning.”

“No worries,” Enzo said as he squeezed Mecca’s shoulders. “I’ll make sure he’s good.”

I knew that was a lie. But it wasn’t my job to keep Mecca out of trouble.

Nobody could.