Page 38 of Welcome to the Table

“You gotta be listening slow. I told you that I’d had this crush on you since middle school, but I knew you would break me.

I didn’t want New York niggas, so I saved myself for you.

That’s a chance I’m willing to take with Hellcat because I know what my heart feels.

It’s time to live for me and not my fucking family.

I am part of the organization, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings.

They can’t pick and choose who and when I fuck.

Melph gone, and fuck Hellcat. Calliope don’t really care unless my safety is in jeopardy.

I know you can keep me safe.” She said her speech and sighed like she had been waiting years to say the shit.

I felt her, but I wasn’t ready to address it.

“Why me, and why now?”

I thought about all the shit that was about to pop off once we made this fucking deal with the Point Dawgs that was set up for tomorrow.

This was not the right time to declare how she felt about me and fuck my head up even more.

I needed a level head to enter this shit, and she was trying to be a distraction.

I felt her touch my arm, and I tried to move it, but she gripped it.

“You can’t let the fucking words roll off your tongue that you don’t feel the same, so stop playing.” She stepped back and studied my demeanor.

“But this ain’t about how we feel. This is something else, probably dealing with the family. So, tell me, why am I here after all these years?”

I blew out a deep breath because I didn’t want to answer her ass.

“You ready to head out?” I asked, changing the subject. I explained that shit already and wasn’t about to repeat it.

“That’s not what I asked you. I wanna know what the fuck is going on.

I am not a teenager anymore, and I know you, Grove, and Calliope got something up y’all sleeve.

They not gon’ tell me, but I can probably help.

That’s the problem. Y’all underestimate me way too much, and I don’t like that shit.

If it was gon’ be like this, I could have stayed in New York. I was probably safer there.”

I pulled her close to me and whispered in her ear.

“I can’t fucking protect you through a camera in New York, but I can protect yo’ ass in the city.

The less you know, the more you can’t fucking tell, so let shit be and follow my lead.

I told you what you needed to know.” My lips touched hers with every word I spoke. She was such a fucking brat.

“You still not telling me what the fuck y’all got going on.” She was still on that shit.

“When we get back from the mall, let Hellcat get in his car first before you even get out of my car, and when he pulls off, I will tell you everything.” She nodded with a smile, and we walked out of the room and down the never-ending stairs.

Once we made it to the living room, Hellcat and Athena were sitting there talking. I didn’t see Wisdom. They looked to be in deep conversation before Hellcat looked up and frowned at Jaci.

“The fuck you think you going with that shit on? Go take it off, now!” he barked at her, but she stood her ground.

“No, I feel comfortable in this, and it’s hot outside. Nobody ain’t gon tell me nothing with y’all big asses walking with me like I have two bodyguards. I’m sure ain’t nobody gon’ tell me shit,” she told Hellcat, rolling her eyes.

“We ain’t leaving out this bitch until you change.” He turned to me. “And, nigga, you saw her dressed like this and didn’t say anything?”

I wanted to tell the nigga I dressed her, but decided to say the right thing and throw in a lie.

“When I got to her room, she was already dressed, and the shit don’t look bad.

I mean, she is gon’ be with us, so what’s the fucking worst that could happen except niggas dropping like flies?

She's good with what she got on.” I tried to reason with this nigga, but I knew he was gon’ make this shit bigger than it was.

“What fucking part didn’t you understand, Jaci? Either take the shit off or we not going to the fucking mall,” he said, and I shook my head.

I looked at Jaci, and she swallowed hard, then her fingers went to her mouth, and a razor slid from her tongue.

I tried not to show how shocked I was on my face, but the shit was hard to hide.

When the fuck did she put that in her mouth?

I was watching her like a hawk. She had to put it in there before I came up the stairs.

“Oh, this is how we gon’ do shit now, Jaci?” Hellcat said, sliding his knife out of his pocket.

I knew they weren’t going to kill each other. It was more of an ego thing.

“I don’t play that shit in my house. Put that shit away now, cuz y’all ain’t gon’ do shit but hold them tight. Y’all ain’t living like that,” Athena cut in, standing between them.

I didn’t get in their arguments because I didn’t wanna get sliced by accident. Jaci’s breath was ragged while Hellcat smiled, putting his knife away. Athena looked at Jaci, giving her a knowing look. She hesitated for a minute before sliding hers back into her mouth with a smile.

“Now, hug and make the fuck up,” she said.

Hellcat was the first to move and pulled Jaci to him. She didn’t want to hug him at first, but she gave in and hugged him, laughing. He grabbed her neck and pulled her hair.

“Nigga, stop playing with me.” She laughed, wrapping her arms around his waist.

“I taught yo’ ass everything you know, so stop playing with me.” He turned her, and they both turned to walk to the front door. I followed them, shaking my head when I heard Athena whisper my name.

“Fall back, Grove, and let me talk to you.”

I stopped walking. She rarely called me by my street name, so I knew whatever she had to say was serious. I followed her to the kitchen and stood opposite her.

“I know you more level-headed than Hellcat, and you know I consider you one of my sons. You been rocking with the mafia for years. We gon’ always have your back, right or wrong.”

Where the fuck this conversation was going was beyond me because we never had one-on-one talks, but I listened.

Athena was the type of woman who commanded attention wherever she went, even if you didn’t know her. She should have been a motivational speaker instead of a mafia wife.

“What’s up, Athena? What is this really about? What’s wrong? The fuck Hellcat did that, I gotta clean up?” I threw questions out there because I knew it had to be something about his wild ass.

She shook her head from left to right as she sipped her drink. “Nah, it ain’t nothing to do with his ass. Hellcat gon’ always be Hellcat. That shit ain’t gon’ change, but I do need you to have his back through the good and bad shit.”

I nodded my head up and down. So, I knew it wasn’t about him.

“I know the Colombia Point Dawgs are here and have been here since before Fanucci talked to my husband. They really trying to move product this way, but the shit gon’ bring too much heat. I know you got an eye for fucking snakes like me. I need you to keep your eyes open better than Hellcat.”

I swiped my hand down my beard. “You know my eyes are always open. More now since Jaci is down here. I knew some shit was going on,” I told her, and she smiled.

“Jaci may look quiet, but she knows how to handle business, and I also know that at the end of the day, she is a woman. Those mutt motherfuckers know that she is all of y’all weakness but in different ways.” She winked at me and smiled.

“Listen, Jaci’s ass has been in love with you since she was a teenager, but we both know that her brothers weren’t going for that shit.

Before she came back down here, she told me she would kill a bitch that you were with or fucking.

I laughed at her but just listened. She’s dangerous as fuck.

The years she was in New York made her cold as their fucking weather, but she has a soft spot for you, a bad one, and I don’t want my baby to get hurt.

So, if you not ready for that real shit, forget this conversation and continue what you been doing and treat her as you should.

” She finished her drink and looked into my eyes to gauge my reaction.

I thought about telling her what happened upstairs, but I decided against it. I held her gaze and smiled. Her eyes matched Jaci’s. They were twins.

“I know something happened in that room when you went up there. You ain’t gon’ tell me, and if she doesn’t, my cameras will.

She hadn’t been up that long, so I knew you saw some shit.

She grown, but I will say this, and you can go.

My baby is a virgin. A real one, never been touched at all.

Kissed or nothing, so tread lightly if you take it there with her.

She is the female version of Hellcat.” She laughed, but this time, I didn’t.

Her words fucked with me because I knew how wild that nigga was.

“Not Hollygrove confused. I know you like Jaci. The shit is written all over you, but you don’t wanna fuck up you and Hellcat’s bond. I get it, but the heart wants what the heart wants. I can handle Hellcat. He’ll be mad for a while, but he’ll get over it.” She grabbed my face and kissed my cheek.

I felt like a child receiving a kiss. I blushed.

“Now, go ahead ’fore his impatient ass come back in here, trying to be nosey, but remember what I said about my baby.” She let me go, and I walked out of the house to my car.

Jaci was in the backseat, and Hellcat was in the front.

I hopped in the driver’s seat and looked at Hellcat.

She had a scowl on his face like he was ready to kill something.

I looked in the backseat, and Jaci shrugged like she didn’t know what was going on.

She made her hand like a phone and put it to her ear.

Someone had called and pissed him off. I rubbed my hand through my dreads and put my foot on the brake.

“Nigga, you gon’ sit there mad or you gon’ start talking? I can’t read yo’ fucking mind,” I told him before backing out of the driveway.

“We might have to reschedule this fucking shopping trip,” he said, and I knew shit was crazy.

“No, the fuck we not. You already made me wait for two days because you wanted to piss me off. Whatever business you gotta handle, handle that shit with me in the car because we're not going back home. Y’all promised,” she whined.

Hellcat looked back at her, then at me. I ain’t have shit to say. This was his call to make.

“Okay, witcho whiny, booboo kitty ass. You better stay in the fucking car, too, and don’t tell Calliope about this shit. He already dealing with some shit, and I don’t need his big ass fucking nothing up. She got shit to handle on his end of this shit.”

When he said that, I already knew what the fuck was going on.

He looked at me. “Take me to Hustler’s on Bourbon Street. These fucking dawgs just don’t know when to fucking go back to the wetlands where they belong.”

I wanted to laugh and tell that nigga that the meeting was tomorrow, so don’t trip, but they must have started moving product without our permission.

“We need backup?” I asked him.

He smiled wickedly. “Nah, our backup is in the back seat, nigga.”

I looked in the mirror, and she winked at me and smiled as I pulled onto the highway.