“Julius, who is this?” Natalia raised a brow.
“This is Skylar, Bart’s daughter. You met her at the Orangeburg celebration baby,” I replied.
“Yes, nice to see you again Natalia,” Skylar nodded and shifted her weight from her left to her right hip. “You know, your husband and I are working together now. He’s a real hard worker,” she added and bit her lip.
“Oh is he?” Natalia chuckled.
“Yeah he is. Well enjoy the rest of your day you two,” Skylar cheesed and then turned on her heels to switch out of the store. She ain’t even buy shit, which let me know this was planned.
“I’m ready to go,” Natalia said.
“You didn’t even get anything babe,” I frowned.
“I didn’t see anything I liked,” she spat and then walked towards the door.
I quickly hopped up and followed her, while trying to keep a hold onto all of her shopping bags. I didn’t catch her until we reached the car. I unlocked it with the remote, and she got in and slammed the door as I loaded up the trunk. Skylar was gonna get an earful.
“Baby what’s wrong with you?” I questioned when I got into the car.
“What did she mean when she said you were a hard worker?” she asked as a single tear ran down her face.
“Wait, you think I’m fucking her?”
“Are you? It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve cheated on me,” she sniffled.
“Natalia, I have not been cheating on you, ma. I’ve been all about you, and you know that,” I said in a low tone.
She didn’t say anything. She just stared straight ahead, as more tears started to produce. She quickly wiped them but it didn’t help much. I leaned over and stared into her face for a couple seconds before speaking.
“Natalia Lillian Tate, I love you and I have been faithful to you. I promise,” I whispered. “To be perfectly honest, she has been pushing up on me, but I’ve been declining her advances the whole time.”
“You can’t cheat on me anymore Julius, you have to be good to me! I’ve given you too many chances!” she sobbed.
“If anybody knows that I do baby. I swear on my life that I’ve been faithful aight. Don’t let that girl get in your head, that’s what she wants,” I said in a low tone and then planted a soft kiss on her lips.
At first, she didn’t reciprocate it, but she finally parted her lips and let me kiss her passionately like I wanted to. After kissing so hard and so long to the point where we ran out of breath, I pulled away. I wiped her pretty face and then pecked her once more.
“You straight?” I smiled.
“Yeah,” she chuckled.
“Good, stop crying. You’re way too pretty to be crying over a nigga, even if it is me,” I told her as I fastened my seatbelt and prepared to back out of my parking space. “You still want to go eat?” I questioned.
“Of course,” she cheesed. Thank God.
I dropped my wife off after we had lunch, and immediately went over to Bart’s house. Hopefully, that bitch was there. I didn’t want to call first, because I wanted to do a surprise pop up like she had done on me. I pulled up to the house and was happy to see her little Mercedes truck parked in the driveway.
“Seeing me once today wasn’t enough?” Skylar answered the door.
I snatched her up by the neck, and backed her into the house. It’d been a long ass time since I had put my hands on a woman, but this right here was a bitch. I kicked the front door closed and then banged her into the wall.
“You thought I was fucking playing?” I said through gritted teeth as I watched her gasp for air. “Well I’m not! Don’t fuck with me Skylar, I don’t give a fuck who your damn daddy is!” I shouted in her face then released my grip around her neck.
“Are you out of your fucking mind?” she screamed as she panted. “How dare you come in here and put your hands on me nigga!”
“You lucky I ain’t light yo’ hoe ass up!” I hollered.
“Fuck you Julius! I’m the wrong bitch to fuck with!”
“And I’m most definitely the wrong nigga, so I guess we will just have to see what happens! But, I will tell you this, you have one more time to pull some desert thirsty ass stunt like you did today! Fuck with me and Bart will be burying more than his mother,” I grimaced.
One more time! One more fucking time and I was deadin’ that bitch! I put that on my dead mother’s grave that I would be putting a hollow tip in that bitch if she came incorrect again!
Chapter 18: Natalia
Harmony’s Bake Shoppe grand opening
This evening marked the grand opening of my bakery, and I was nervous and excited. I knew my cupcakes were great, but I was still a little scared of what the critics would say. Braxton emailed me the details letting me know the critic’s names. Lucy and I looked them up on Google, just to make sure they were legit and they definitely were. I didn’t expect them to be so well known, but I was happy they were nonetheless.
“Casey, Nikki and Brittani, here are your hats and aprons,” I told the three ladies I hired to work the front of the store.
They were all older than I was so it was kind of weird that I was their boss. Julius said it didn’t matter though, and to make sure that they respected me regardless. Our age difference was only three to four years so it wasn’t too bad I guess.
“Okay, so remember the promotion ladies. If they buy three cupcakes, they get two free,” I said and they nodded excitedly. “Savory cupcakes are not included,” I added.
“And don’t forget to give them the punch cards so that they will be more likely to come back,” Lucy told them and I nodded in agreement.
“They’ll come back anyways, Natalia’s cupcakes are bomb as hell,” Nikki replied and we all laughed.
“Hey baby, congratulations,” Julius entered the back room with flowers. He leaned down to kiss me and rubbed my small baby bump.
“Thank you honey,” I said as I handed them to Lucy to put in water. “Where is River? She said she would help tend to the critics whenever I was busy,” I said walking from the back. Just as I came to the front, I saw her coming inside.
“I almost thought you weren’t coming,” I exhaled.
“I would never break a promise I made to you,” she responded.
“So they will be sitting at those tables over there. Make sure that no customers sit there okay?” I said ignoring her weird statement.
“Got it boss. You look gorgeous by the way,” she commented and then walked to the back to put her stuff down. I shook my head and followed her to go check on the bakers.
It was 5pm and the opening was in full swing. We were extremely busy and even started to run out of multiple flavors. The critics loved all of the cupcakes I gave them so far and the nervousness I had finally started to die down.
“The lady that hooked you up with the food critics is coming?” Julius asked as he stuck his fork into one of my pecan pie cupcakes.
“It’s a guy, and he’s not here yet,” I replied as I searched the busy store with my eyes. “Oh there he is,” I pointed and stood up.
Julius froze as he and the guy made eye contact. A smile spread across Braxton’s face as Julius shot daggers at him.
“Thanks for coming!” I beamed once I neared Braxton.
“No problem beautiful,” he half-smiled and gave me a hug.
“Would you like a couple of complimentary cupcakes?” I offered.
“Absolutely,” he replied as he eyed me from head to toe.
“Just go to the side and let Casey know. You can have two cupcakes on me,” I said as I gestured for him to walk over.
I walked slowly and carefully through the crowd of people so that I could make it back to Julius. I couldn’t help but notice he had an angry expression and kept looking over at Braxton.
“Are you okay Ju?” I quizzed.
“How did you meet that nigga?” he gritted.
“We ran into each other at the grocery store.”
“After tonight, y
ou need to cease all contact with him,” Julius spat.
“What? Why, he really helped me-”
“Cut it off Natalia! Don’t ask me anything else about it,” he glared at me and I just nodded because I was caught off guard by his sudden outburst.
Besides, that little tiff between Julius and I, the night was a hit. The critics loved my cupcakes and promised me a great review on their blogs. The store made $4000 tonight, which was much more than I expected. If we could make that daily, I would be able to open up another location without asking Julius to put up for it.
Once the last few people left, I went to the back to look for my girls, bakers, and then Lucy and River. I thanked them and said my goodbyes to my team, and then went in search of my friends.
“Thank you so much Lucy,” I grinned as I walked into my office.
“No problem. When you get famous, you better make sure you mention me!” she half joked as she picked up her purse.
“You know I will. Where is River?” I asked.
“Bathroom. See you later best friend,” she hugged and kissed me then switched out.
“Great job tonight Natalia,” River smirked as she walked into my office.
“Thank you and thanks for helping out today,” I replied.
“I’d do anything for you,” she said. That was it; I had to say something.
“River, are you- do you like me?” I inquired.
“Of course I like you,” she giggled.
“No like me as in, you have romantic feelings for me,” I reiterated.
“Umm, no. You’re nice and all but I don’t swing that way,” she shook her head and folded her arms.
“I was just asking because of the things you say,” I chuckled nervously because I was slightly embarrassed now.
“Just because I compliment you, doesn’t mean I want you Natalia. Not everyone is interested in you,” she scoffed.
“I don’t think everyone is interested in me, I was just wondering. I’m sorry River, I guess I was just paranoid,” I replied.
“It’s cool. See you tomorrow morning,” she exhaled and then left.
I wanted to smack myself because I felt so stupid. She probably thought I was some conceited little bitch that assumed everyone wanted a piece. I wasn’t like that at all though, I just genuinely thought she wanted more from me than a friendship.
I locked the place up, and turned on the alarm before leaving. As I drove home, I thought about the way Julius acted tonight. He and Braxton didn’t speak to one another all night, but I did see them glaring at each other every now and then. I was relieved when Braxton finally decided to leave. I pulled up to my home, and took a deep breath before entering the house to confront Julius.
“How much did you make?” Julius asked as I walked into the bedroom. He was sitting on the bed watching Harlem Nights.
“A lot,” I responded dryly as I began to undress.
He watched me undress and change into my nightgown. I dimmed the lights in our bedroom, and then walked to my side of the bed without uttering another word. I propped the pillow up behind me to support my back, and stared at Eddie Murphy and Jasmine Guy.
“Your back hurts?” Julius asked. I shook my head yes without looking his way.
“Come here and let me give you a massage,” he offered.
“I’m fine,” I said as I slid down, and laid on my side with my back to him.
“Don’t be mad baby,” he whispered as he hugged me from behind, while caressing my small belly. “I didn’t mean to yell at you, I just can’t have you associating with him,” he added and kissed the nape of my neck.
I didn’t say anything back and just shifted my body. He craned his neck around and pecked my lips. I pretended to be sleep, so he turned me on my back.
“Stop Julius, I’m tired,” I whined.
“So what. I’m not letting you go to bed angry,” he smiled as he kissed my face and then my neck.
“I’m not angry,” I chuckled because his neck kisses tickled.
“Then tell me you love me,” he picked his head up, and stared down into my face.
“You know I love you.”
“Not good enough,” he said and went back to attacking my neck. I felt like I was gonna pee because it tickled so much.
“Okay! Okay!” I laughed. “I love you, daddy,” I said seductively.
“That’s better,” he smirked and then dipped his tongue into my mouth.
Chapter 19: Julius
Brax had me hot as fuck trying to mess with my family. I had no idea what his intentions were with Natalia, but I wasn’t gonna wait to find out. Fucking with me is one thing but coming for my wife or kids was a whole ‘nother thing.
I saw him walking out of Target, and quickly got out of my car. It was around 12pm on a Tuesday, so there weren’t that many cars in the parking lot. As he neared his car, he spotted me and chuckled to himself.
“How you doing Julius?” he smiled.
“What the fuck you trying to get cozy with my wife for nigga?” I frowned.
“Look, I was just helping her out. It was all innocent,” he cackled with his big ass.
“Well make that the last fucking time you do anything nice for my woman,” I spat.
“Nah, you ain’t about to push up on me barking orders and shit lil’ nigga!” he growled.
“I’m warning you homie. You’ve been really working my nerves. You don’t wanna end up like ya little homies you sent to work my block,” I threatened.
“Oh yeah, I ain’t forgot about that. Watch your back,” he cheesed with his weird ass.
“For some reason, I doubt I need to,” I winked and booked it back to my car. When I got in, he was still standing there with a dumb ass look on his face.
This nigga was playing games as if I knew nothing about him. Did he really think I was that dumb? Hey, maybe it would continue to work to my advantage if he thought I was just come young dumb nigga.
Brax has a whole little family at home. He lives with his baby mama; this chick named Sonia. Sonia was sexy as fuck and bourgeois as fuck too. She acted as if her nigga was still the king, always keeping her nose in the air. She had a light honey complexion and was thick in all the right places. Every nigga besides my team and myself, have tried to get at her while Brax was in jail and she swatted every one of them off like flies. Those niggas weren’t Julius Tate though. Sonia had plenty of reasons to have her nose in the air, but Brax still being king wasn’t one of them.
At first, I was slightly worried, because I couldn’t pursue her like I needed to since I was married. I wanted to take a picture of her sucking my dick and send it to Brax in the mail. But, because I was a married man, that couldn’t go down. Even though it would be for a somewhat good cause, I refused to cheat on Natalia. Although it was a slim chance that she’d find out, I didn’t want to do her like that. I was just gonna spring a little harmless flirting on Sonia’s ass and lure her to one of the homies.
Plenty of times in the past, way before Natalia, shit way before Bianca, I used to have bitches so in love with me that they would agree to fuck my homeboys. Y’all thought I was bad when Natalia met me. That was nothing compared to how I was a couple years before her. They thought they were just being down for me, but they should’ve realized that any man that would ask you or even let you fuck his boys don’t give two shits about you. I don’t even think I would be able to function if another nigga fucked Natalia, let alone one of my friends.
I pulled up to the Starbucks on King Street because Alonzo let me know she stopped there every day on her lunch break. Sonia was a schoolteacher, so she was nothing like these little hood rats that usually dated drug dealers. Anyway, there was a park right in front of Freddo’s, which was next door to Starbucks. I pulled up, shut my engine off, slipped off my wedding band and then hopped out. I wasn’t dressed too fancy because honestly, that wasn’t my style. I wore a white t-shirt, a black Balmain jacket, black jeans, Supreme Jordan 5’s and an Andre Emery snapback.
I walked into the place and just my luck, she was the last person standing in line. I came up behind her and pretended that I was gonna order something like a regular customer. She was whining into the phone about something and I was sure she was talking to her bitch ass baby daddy. There were two people on the register at the front, so we were both able to come up and order at the same time.
“An iced tall hazelnut latte please,” she told her barista. I saw her look over at me out the corner of my eye, as she continued to talk into the phone.
“What is that strawberry thing you guys have?” I quizzed as if I really wanted to know.
“Oh well, it could either be the strawberry Frappuccino or the smoothie,” my barista replied.
“I see, what do you suggest?” I looked over at Sonia.
“Well, do you like thicker drinks?” she smiled and it was very seductive.
I was slightly caught off guard because she wasn’t coming off as the bourgeois bitch I’d heard about. She seemed like she was ready and willing to get dicked down by another nigga.
“I like all drinks,” I responded.
“Go with the Frappuccino, more flavor,” she winked and then grabbed her receipt from the young barista.
I ordered my drink in the smallest size because I hadn’t planned to really drink it. I walked to the area where you pick it up and made sure to stand very close to Ms. Sonia. She finished her conversation, and looked over to me as she hung up.
“I’m Sonia,” she stuck her hand out. She was wearing a tight ass pants suit that hugged every part of her curvy body.
“Ju,” I told her not wanting to give my full name just yet.
“Ju? That’s interesting. So I guess you’re picking this drink up for your girl?” she raised a brow. Wow, she was using a nigga’s line. Dudes always said shit like that to see if you were taken or not.
“I don’t have a girl,” I replied and cringed on the inside. This ain’t cheating, it’s all a part of a plan Julius, I told myself.
“What? Good looking guy like you?” she moved closer to me.
Falling For A Hood King 4 Page 7
