“You know me and Lauren kick it now, so I've seen the nigga around. Honestly, I don’t even think they are in love or no shit like that. She was his media rep. In my opinion, I think she only marrying him to catapult his image.”
“Bullshit. Get Lo on the phone to see where she at.”
“Bro, don’t?—”
“Real talk, don’t tell me shit else but where my wife is, bro.”
“She’s getting ready for her bachelorette party. They get married tomorrow.”
I chuckled mirthlessly. “Tomorrow? Yeah, nah. That shit ain’t happenin’. Hurry up and get me to the crib, bruh,” I told him. There was no way I was losing my girl to some movie extra ass nigga. I didn’t know what Jordin was on, but I’d be damned if she gave another man her hand that wasn’t me.
As we rode through the neighborhood, I realized how much shit had really changed. I felt like I was in a different dimension, seeing the different businesses and homes that had been torn down and rebuilt.
By the time we got to my house out in Royal Oak, I had calmed down a bit after seeing the house Meeko pulled up to. It was a colonial-style, brick, tri-level home with a balcony and a three-car garage. I could see the silver Ford F-550 sitting in the driveway, along with the silver Mercedes-Benz SUV I told him to cop for Jordin.
I wanted to smile, but thoughts of my first love marrying another nigga were low-key killing a nigga. Maybe telling her not to wait for me was a bad idea. I just thought she would never love another the way she loved me. I could see now how much of a fucked-up thought that was.
I stepped out of Meeko’s truck as he met me around front, handing me a set of keys.
“You straight, fam?”
“I’m not. But I will be,” I replied.
“I got about an hour to spare before I have to go drop Lauren off at the venue, if you need me to show you around ya crib.”
“I’m good, bro. I just need a minute.”
“You sure, bro? A lot of shit has been updated?—”
“I’m sure, man. I need some time to think and get my mind right.”
He nodded, and we slapped palms.
“My number is programmed in the phone if you need me. I know that shit wasn’t what you wanted to hear, but I knew you needed to hear it. I’m with whatever you on, my G.”
I gave a curt nod. “‘Preciate it, fam.”
He nodded and walked back to his truck, and I headed inside my house. The house I had built from the ground up for the person I thought was the love of my life and me.
There was no way I could allow this shit to go down. It didn’t matter if I was wrong or not.
Jordin was mine.
And all I needed was this day to prove to her that we belonged together.
I went inside the house and opted not to take a tour. I found the master suite, looked inside the huge walk-in closet, and saw it fully stocked with everything I needed, coordinated and in order. I nodded in approval at what Meeko had set up, then stripped out of my attire and found the door to the en suite bathroom.
Everything was in pristine condition, with a white-and-gold color scheme, double sinks, double showerheads, a bench in the shower, and a sunken bathtub that I was sure she would enjoy.
As much as I wanted to bask in being out of that hellhole and coming home to luxury, I didn’t have a lot of time to waste. I opened the storage closet inside, grabbed a washcloth and body wash, then stepped into the shower. After realizing it was a touchscreen for controlling the settings, I washed quickly, then stepped out, wrapping the towel around my waist. I was in desperate need of a shave, but it was tolerable. I hurriedly brushed my teeth, then went to find something casual to wear.
Since it was April, it was a little cool outside, so I went with a gray cashmere sweater, black jeans by some designer I knew nothing about but looked expensive, and some black Timberland boots. In the center of the closet was a counter with multipledrawers. I opened them all and saw fresh underwear, ties, socks, and jewelry.
I knew Meeko’s ass had nothing to do with putting all of this together by himself, but I appreciated the fact that he listened and stayed solid the whole time I was away. Not too many niggas would have survived the friendship, but as I said before, I did a lot for a lot of people, so the respect was there. Meeko was my brother from another mother and always held me down, along with Trouble and Killa.
Again, I made haste to get dressed, sliding on the platinum, blue-faced Rolex and platinum chain. I sprayed on some Creed cologne, grabbed my wallet, phone, and keys, and hurried out of the house.
I opened the text thread and saw a message from Meeko letting me know where my baby was. He explained in detail how to use the navigation system in my truck because he knew I wouldn’t know how to navigate from the iPhone. I typed the address in once I got the car started, then hurried out of the driveway to the one woman I wasn’t letting get away from me.