Heart of the Hustle

by A'zayler

  “Thank you, sweetheart. I’m glad I make you proud.”

  She covered her mouth as she giggled girlishly.

  “Shut up.” She pushed him away as the buzz from the crowd around them drowned out the silence. “So, we’re hanging out or what?”

  “I think not.” Genesis’s voice stilled everything in Angel.

  He turned to her quickly, trying to defuse a dangerous situation she was blindly putting herself into.

  “Genny, this is Emelia. She’s the one I told you I grew up with.”

  “Snow,” she corrected him.

  “Snow?” Genesis asked with her face frowned up.

  “Yes, Snow. Only the people that I love call me Emelia.” Snow looked Genesis up and down with a murderous glare. “And I don’t even like you, so it’s Snow, bitch.” She gave Genesis the once-over again before looking at Angel. “I’m about to go check on our mamas. When you get rid of your ho, come holla at me.”

  Angel died slowly on the inside for Genesis, because it was obvious that Empress had gotten to Snow. He wanted to smile at her because her nickname was perfect for her. She hadn’t let up since he’d been talking to her, and she had placed her foot on Genesis’s neck the moment she walked up. Her loyalty was obviously unquestionable. She’d never met Genesis a day in her life, but all she needed to know was that Empress hated her. Now she did as well.

  “I’m so tired of your family.” Genesis sucked her teeth. “They’re so disrespectful, and you just let them say anything to me.”

  “No, I don’t.” Angel sounded exhausted.

  “Yes, the fuck you do.”

  Angel stared at her through piercing eyes, and she simmered down. She might have been mad, but she’d better remember who she was talking to.

  “You do.” She spoke a little softer that time.

  “Genesis, just let it go. Let’s grab some food.” Angel grabbed her hand, but she pulled it away.

  “Nah, I’m good. I’m ready to go.”

  Angel looked at her like she was crazy. She couldn’t possibly think he was about to leave a house full of people who had jumped through hoops to celebrate his life for one who hadn’t even remembered the significance of his day.

  “Genesis, I’m not about to leave. We ain’t even been here that long.”

  “Well, I’m ready now.”

  “I can’t leave my own party, Genny.”

  “Well, you can stay without me.” She rested all of her weight on one of her legs and crossed both of her arms over her chest.

  Angel could tell that she was serious about her little ultimatum, but what she didn’t know was that he was just as serious as she was. He wasn’t leaving his own party. That was just flat-out ungrateful, and he had been raised better than that.

  “How you getting home? You rode with me.”

  “I’ll call me an Uber.”

  Angel sighed and ran his hand over his face. “A’ight. Fine.” A small smile curved her lips but was short lived. “I’ll have my dad’s car service take you home. Give me a minute.” Angel walked off, leaving her standing there.

  He heard her scoff as he walked away, but he didn’t have time for Genesis’s drama right then. All day she’d been acting like a child, and he was annoyed with her. If she wanted to continue throwing a tantrum, she’d do it alone. She wouldn’t ruin his birthday.

  “Ay, li’l bruh, you good?” D’Angelo walked up to Angel with an open bottle of champagne in his hand.

  D’Angelo’s tall frame was similar to Angel’s, but he was a lot thicker. All of the time he’d spent in jail had paid off in a good way. He was ripped with muscles, with a face that carried years of stress and street smarts. Before going in, he and Angel had looked so much alike that they could have passed for twins, but now that he’d gained at least another hundred pounds and had cut his hair, they looked their ages.

  “Yeah, I’m good. Genesis’s spoiled ass is just getting on my nerves, as always.”

  D’Angelo looked toward Genesis before looking back at Angel, laughing. “That’s your fault. You’re the one got her spoiled like that.”

  Angel wanted to pretend that wasn’t the truth, but he couldn’t. D’Angelo was right, and so was his mom. He did go out of his way more than he should when it came to Genesis, which was why she carried on the way she did.

  “I’m regretting that shit now.” Angel took the bottle of champagne from D’Angelo and took a long gulp of it. “I should make her ass stand over there with an attitude all night. Shouldn’t even take her home.”

  D’Angelo and Angel were cracking up at Genesis’s expense when she walked over to them with much attitude.

  “If you’re done being childish, can you take me home now?”

  Angel stopped laughing, while D’Angelo stood next to him barely able to catch his breath from the comedy unfolding in front of him.

  “Nope. My dad’s car will take you.”

  “Fuck no. I don’t know that damn man. He could do anything to me.” She spoke dramatically.

  Angel groaned inwardly. “Well, stay here, then, because I’m not leaving my party.”

  Angel watched Genesis’s face form deeper into her scowl. Her bright skin was flushing red from obvious anger, but he didn’t give a fuck. She was doing that to herself. All she had to do was act like she had some sense and chill with him there. If she wanted to go out of her way to be a nuisance, he’d treat her like one.

  “You make me so fucking sick, Angel.”

  Angel was about to tell her just how tired he was of her as well, until D’Angelo intervened. “Look, li’l bruh, go enjoy your party and I’ll take her home.”

  Genesis gave D’Angelo the same frown she’d given Angel, while shaking her head. Angel, on the other hand, didn’t give a damn.

  “Cool. Call me when you get home so I’ll know you made it.”

  “Fuck you, Angel. If you wanted to make sure I was safe, you would take me yourself instead of staying at this stupid party with these people.”

  Angel couldn’t believe how selfish Genesis sounded right then. Yeah, it was definitely time for her to go home. She was making him think things about her that weren’t right.

  “You mean at this stupid party with these stupid people that loved me enough to even host a party in my honor?” He chuckled in disbelief. “I don’t know why I’m staying either. Take your ass home,” he told her before turning and walking away.

  As soon as he walked back into the foyer of the house, his eyes fell on Snow. She was walking up to him dancing smoothly to the music. He watched the way she rolled her body sexily to the beat before she grabbed his hands.

  “Come on, birthday boy. Don’t let that little bitch ruin your day.” Snow danced closer to him as she pulled him toward the dance floor.

  The music was loud as she sashayed around in front of him. People moved out of their way with every step they took. Angel had never really been a dancer, but he needed a serious pickup right then, so he fell in stride with her.

  The soulful Southern jazz played throughout the house as the sway in Snow’s hips captured his attention and kept it. Angel could feel himself getting lost in her curves. He’d diverted his eyes a few times, but they invariably traveled right back to her. Her entire aura was too hypnotizing to ignore.

  “Stop looking at my ass, Angel. It doesn’t belong to you.”

  When he looked back at her face, she was smiling playfully. He couldn’t even deny the fact that he was busted.

  “You’re twirling it around for me to see, don’t get shy now.” He grabbed her and pulled her to him so that her back was to his chest.

  “Shy is what I’m not,” she told him over her shoulder as they stood in the middle of the floor dancing.

  The feeling of her hips moving against his growing erection put Angel in such a place of peace that he wouldn’t have been able to describe it if he tried. The closest thing he could compare it to would be coming home from a long day’s work and falling face first into bed. Her bod
y next to his felt as good as coming home. That was a feeling he hadn’t felt in a long time, but one he could most definitely get accustomed to.

  “You’re rubbing your ass all over me like you know what to do with it,” Angel whispered in Snow’s ear, while at the same time his right hand palmed her abs.

  “You’re holding on to me like you know how to handle it,” she tossed back at him. “I know you remember what happened the last time I danced for you.”

  Angel’s body flushed warm from the thoughts of their very first sexual encounter with each other. Even with it having been so many years ago, just the thought of being inside Snow’s warm body had his mind free-falling into the gutter. He looked down at the way she was grinding all over him. What he would give to be buried deep inside her like that again.

  “I figured that would hush you up,” she boasted.

  Angel leaned down and pecked her ear swiftly. “It did, because I remember . . . and I want it again.”

  Snow moved slower and laid her head back onto his shoulder. “Angel,” she moaned with her eyes closed. “Don’t do that.”

  He could hear the uncertainty in her voice, so he toned it down a little. “My apologies, beautiful.”

  When Snow spun around and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, she smiled up at him. “Apology accepted. Now, let me help you enjoy your birthday.” She beamed at him and he smiled back.

  Angel was in heaven. Now, that was how a man celebrated his birthday.

  Chapter Six

  Respect goes both ways

  The smoke from D’Angelo’s blunt floated from his mouth and over toward Genesis. He could see her fanning the smoke away but continued to exhale the potency of his neatly rolled weed. She was in his car, so she would have to deal with it until she got out. Had she been acting like she had some sense, she wouldn’t be with him anyway.

  “Can you please put that out?” she sassed.

  D’Angelo looked at her out of the side of his eye. “Nah.”

  Genesis sucked her teeth. “You’re just like your brother. Empress didn’t raise y’all worth shit.”

  Had D’Angelo not already been aware of how spoiled she was, he probably would have taken offense to her talking about his family, but he didn’t. Angel had Genesis’s head so far up her own ass that she would probably talk down on her own family if the situation was to arise.

  “Your mama must not have been shit either. You’re a horribly ungrateful little ho that doesn’t know how to talk to people.”

  “Muthafucka, don’t be calling me names. You don’t even know me like that.”

  D’Angelo shrugged and pulled into her driveway. “I know enough.”

  He could feel her looking at him as he kept his gaze straight ahead, but he ignored her. It was past time for somebody to bring her back down to reality, and he was the perfect person to do it. D’Angelo and Angel were complete opposites when it came to women. Angel made women believe the world revolved around them, while he made them question whether they were even in his world at all.

  “You’re welcome,” he tossed at her as she was getting out.

  “Nigga, fuck you.” Genesis slammed his door and headed up the sidewalk.

  D’Angelo’s whole body got hot as he hopped out of his car and followed her to her door. That tantrum shit might have worked with Angel, but he wasn’t the one. She was going to respect him or get her ass beat; one of the two. When it came to his respect, he had no problem putting his hands on anybody who needed it. Whether it be a woman or a man.

  “Bitch, you done lost your muthafucking mind slamming my door and talking to me like that.”

  Genesis spun around with just as much attitude as she’d had all night. “I haven’t lost shit. I said what I said.” She gave him the once-over before turning her back on him and unlocking her door.

  D’Angelo stood behind her trying to mask his anger long enough for her to get in her house and away from him. He’d almost made it, until she walked through the door and turned back around to face him.

  “Get your ass off my porch before I call the police.”

  The police?

  This ho had him fucked all the way up. Before she could even see what was happening, D’Angelo had Genesis by the front of her neck. He pinned her against the wall in her living room, kicking the door closed behind him.

  “Why you like to fuck with me?” he grumbled in her ear. “You like when I’m rough with you, don’t you?”

  Genesis nodded feverishly while snatching her dress up so that it was around her waist. As soon as her feminine parts were exposed, D’Angelo dropped to his knees in front of her and pushed his face between her thighs.

  Genesis’s head fell back as she held on to the back of his head for balance. He was feasting on her goodies and taking away her breath at the same time.

  “Fuck, D’Angelo,” she squealed.

  “Open your legs some more,” he growled without bothering to move his mouth from her sex.

  Genesis did as she was told, and he went full throttle. D’Angelo had a face full of Genesis’s pussy, and that was how he liked it. He’d been hungry for her from the moment he tasted her. As much as he tried to think of her as Angel’s girlfriend, he couldn’t. She belonged to him. Fuck Angel.

  Angel may have been his brother, but that didn’t change how D’Angelo looked at him. He was weak for women and allowed them to run all over him. D’Angelo, on the other hand, dicked bitches down and gave them his ass to kiss if they had a problem with that.

  “Give me the dick, D’Angelo,” Genesis demanded.

  D’Angelo took one last long slurp of her juices before standing and picking her up. Genesis’s legs wrapped around his waist instantly. Not even bothering to go all the way to her room, D’Angelo laid her on the sofa in her living room and commenced to taking his pants off.

  Once his dick was free and he’d shielded himself with a condom, he was back between her legs and entering her center. Genesis’s mouth fell open as her body welcomed him.

  “Damn, it’s been too long. You’ve been letting my brother up in my shit?”

  Genesis’s head shook, but D’Angelo knew she was lying. Angel lived and breathed for Genesis. There was no way he wasn’t hitting it, especially as good as it was. Hell, that was probably why Angel was as gone off the pussy as he was. The gushy, wet drug Genesis had between her legs was enough to make a nigga cry, so Angel would have been a fool to not be hitting it.

  “I don’t give a fuck if you do, he ain’t doing you like I do, is he?”

  “No, baby,” she moaned in his ear.

  D’Angelo was pushing deeper and deeper into her, making sure to touch bottom. When her legs shot straight up on both sides of him and she screamed, he knew she was near an orgasm. It never took her long to bust, which was another reason he loved fucking her. He didn’t have to go all night without climaxing early like he had to do with most women. Once she was done, he could be done.

  “Ohhhh, D’Angelooooo.” Her breathing was ragged as she tried to catch her breath.

  D’Angelo continued pounding her down until he felt himself on the verge of an orgasm as well. The moment the tip of his dick began to tingle, he pushed deeper and released into the condom. They were both breathing hard as Genesis moved from the sofa to get him something to clean up with and to flush his condom down the toilet. When she returned, D’Angelo cleaned up and got dressed.

  “Lock up, li’l mama. I’ll see you later.”

  “Hope it’s not too far away.”

  D’Angelo gave her a lazy grin before kissing her mouth. “That all depends on you. You’re the one in a relationship.” He winked at her and exited her house.

  Once he was back in his car, D’Angelo checked his face to make sure he was good and then pulled off. He was more than positive the party was still in full swing, and he needed to make his rounds. He’d spotted some serious eye candy up in there before he’d left, and he needed to make sure she saw him as well. It had been a long tim
e since he’d enjoyed the beauty of the chocolate Snow. D’Angelo chuckled to himself. This was about to be fun.

  * * *

  “So, you never miss California?” Angel asked Snow as they stood in front of the waterfall in the backyard of his parents’ house.

  She shrugged her shoulders before tossing the flower she’d been picking the petals from onto the ground in front of her.

  “It’s nothing to miss for real. My life is in California. Has been for years. There’s nothing for me here to miss here except Empress and Vinny.”

  “Damn, just leave me out, then,” Angel said sarcastically.

  She looked at him with a small smile on her face. “I will, because you don’t matter. I never even think about you anymore.”

  Angel turned so that he was facing her. “You for real?”

  He didn’t want to be bothered by it, but he couldn’t help it. The serious way she’d said it let him know that she wasn’t joking one bit; that was seriously how she felt.

  “Yeah, I’m for real, nigga. You don’t think about me, so I don’t think about your ass either.”

  “How do you know what I do? You don’t know if I think about you or not.”

  She waved her hand toward him dismissively. “The fact that I never hear from you says enough for me. If you thought about me you would call, email, hit me up on social media, any damn thing that you never find time to do.” She rolled her eyes at him and posted up with her hand on her hip. “Now, say I’m lying so I can slap you.”

  Angel rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. He thought about lying but couldn’t think of anything fast enough that she might believe.

  “Exactly. So, like I said, there’s nobody here for me except your parents. I talk to at least one of them, if not both, every day. Empress calls me every morning, sometimes on three-way with my mama, and sometimes just me and her. Vinny calls me every night to see how my day went.” She walked closer to him and took a seat on the small bench he was sitting on. “I don’t know where they got you from. You ain’t nothing like us.”

  “Sure as hell ain’t.”

  “You say that like you’re proud of it or something.” She frowned.