I'm sorry about the inconsistent updates you guys but I've been trying to get my stuff together so I can move. I move into my dorm room on Saturday so updates will most likely be inconsistent from now on.

Aubrey



I knocked on Kennedy's door and waited for her to open it. I'm leaving for Atlanta in a few minutes and I needed to talk to Kennedy about it. I know she's pissed that I'm leaving but I can't stay here in California anymore. Even though I've never been to Atlanta a day in my life, my life is in Atlanta. My old friends, my old crush and my ex. Except for Mama and Kennedy, my whole life went out to Atlanta and I've been stuck in a prison cell here for five long years with loose ends. Even if I don't go to Atlanta to get some shit started with Theodore, I need to go down there to find out where I stand with everybody.

Kennedy pull her bedroom door open, dressed in something more appropriate this time. Instead of her crop top and bootie shorts, she traded them for a longer shirt that covered her stomach and longer shorts that covered her ass. I guess what I said to her about dressing her age a few days ago really got to her.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I just wanted to stop by and tell you that I'm leaving."

She frowned. "I can't believe you're seriously going through with this. What about me and Mama? What about your life here in California? I thought you said you wanted to finish school? What happened with that or were you just lying to shut Mama up?"

I sighed. "Ken, I finished high school and got my GED when I was in prison. I was in there for five years, so what was I gonna do besides finish school? And I don't even have a life in California no more anyways. All of my friends left and so did Jaz. I know you and Mama are here alone but y'all got through the past five years without me, I'm sure y'all can get through a few more months. But what has me being here got you anyways?"

"At least you're here to protect us and you're here to talk to me. I know you like to talk about how I'm being fast by talking to guys but they show me attention. Mama's never around to show me any attention and you're always leaving. Every chance you get, you're leaving here and you won't even communicate with us. I know you and Mama don't have the best relationship but if we're as cool as you claim we are, why don't you talk to me? Huh? Why do you just leave me whenever you want but then come back as if nothing happened, only when it's convenient to you? That's not fair Aubrey."

"Sometimes you gotta be your own best friend Kennedy and talking to all these little niggas not gon' do nothing but get you pregnant and in trouble. I'm not leaving for five years, I'll only be gone for a couple of months or maybe shorter depending on how things go out there. And if I can generate enough money then I can come back out here to visit or you can visit me. This isn't goodbye Kennedy."

She sighed. "Then what is it? Because it seems like another one of your lame goodbyes. You're not coming back, are you?"

I sighed. "I am Kennedy! I just don't know how long I'll be gone but I'm coming back. I'm just a phone call away."

"You won't even pick up that basic little Obama Phone you got!"

I chuckled. "You know my phone is cheap and old but once I get some money, I'll get a new phone and I'll call you."

"Do you remember my number?"

I smirked. "Yeah, of course I remember your number. Is there anything else you need before I go? 'Cause I really can't be late."

"No, just have a safe trip."

"Alright. Can I get a hug?" I smiled as I extended my arms.

The smile on Kennedy's face widened as she stepped into my embrace. I wrapped my arms tightly around her, just so she could understand that I'll always be here for her. I know I haven't been the best big brother to her in the past but I'm trying my best and I want more from her than this. If things go well out in Atlanta, I want her to come out here with me since she'll just be getting into trouble in California. Regardless, I love my sister and I'd do anything in the world for her.

Adonis



"You look so damn beautiful," I told her.

Ever since I picked her up tonight for our date, I couldn't stop staring at her. Jazmine was looking too good tonight and the white two piece outfit she wore wasn't making my situation any better. I was hard just looking at how the outfit clung to every nook and cranny on her body and illuminated her chocolaty smooth skin. If we weren't in this restaurant crowded with people, I'd bend her over this table right now just to slid up in her.

Jaz looked up from her menu with a straight face. "Thank you." She eyed me up and down before she looked back down at her menu. "I see you got the fat bitch downstairs to braid up your nappy hair."

I smirked as I took a sip of my champagne, something I really didn't care for. I had money but I liked the simpler things in life. I didn't care for the expensive champagnes or this expensive restaurant. All I was good with was some dark liquor that could get me going, not this girly shit. The only reason I'm even doing this right now is to make Jazmine happy. We said some things to each other that may or may not have been true, but nonetheless, they were said ad we needed to get back in good with each other because I care about Jazmine a lot.

"My hair isn't nappy and I don't know any fat bitches downstairs. The only chick I acknowledge downstairs is my cousin."

"And she's a fat bitch."

I laughed. "She's thick and only in the right places. You make it sound like you're jealous or something. I know you lusting after my little cousin but hating his sister isn't the way to get him. If anything, that's pushing him away. But what do I know? I'm only the nigga that you like to call over when you're horny. Right?" I asked just to make her feel guilty since she's always off thinking about Lindsey and Prince. If I didn't know any better, I would say she's obsessed with him.

"I call you over for more than sex," she sighed, never making eye contact with me.

"Look shorty, I got tons of females lined up but I'm tryna stay faithful to you 'cause I actually care about you, not that you even care though. If you really ain't tryna be with me, tell me no so I can leave."

She sighed. "How can I be invested in you when you said you were going to kill me if I left you?" she whispered. "What kind of crazy shit is that? You know how I feel about Prince and you."

"Oh," I smirked. "So you finally acknowledge me. I'm surprised. You've had your head shoved so far up Prince's ass that you've been completely ignoring me as if I don't exist."

"I ignore you because you do shit that pisses me off, like now. You're trying to make me feel guilty only because you feel guilty for treating me the way you have. I've never done anything wrong to you. You've known since before we even moved out to Georgia that I was in love with Prince but you continued to pursue me as if my love for him didn't exist. You can't get mad when I don't reciprocate my love for you the way you do for me."

"He doesn't want you shorty. He has a girlfriend. How many times does somebody have to tell you that?"

My intention was to never hurt Jaz but clearly somebody had to burst her bubble. I just don't know why she doesn't understand that Prince doesn't want her. He's dealing with Milan and I'm sure he's got other females he can get with. Plus he already said he wasn't interested in her, so why can't she just move on to a nigga that's been dropped all of his hoes just to make things work with her?"

"Yeah, he doesn't want me because you never did anything to help the situation. You said you'd talk to him about he and I but you didn't."

"I did and he wasn't feeling it so I dropped the conversation."

"And you lured me in so that I could take my attention off of him and put it all on you. You convinced me to sleep with you and now you've got me out on this date with you like I'm your next hoe."

"I never forced you to do anything," I smiled nonchalantly.

"You know what, you didn't and that's why I'm leaving." Her grip tightened on the large pitcher of water the waitress bought to us before she tossed is all on me, getting me, the table cloth and my clothes soaking wet. "Fuck you Donny." Jaz stood up and threw her napkin down on the table before storming out of the restaurant.

I wiped some of the water out of my eyes as I leaned back against my seat. People were staring and were appalled since this was supposed to be an upscale restaurant but I can't even say I'm surprised. I can't ever bring a female out to have a good time without them acting like they don't have any common sense. I guess that's what I get for messing around with these crazy chicks though. All they wanna do is fight and argue and Jazmine is a clear example of that.

Teddy



With flowers in one hand and Milan by my side, I knocked on Victoria's door. I had to come out to Los Angeles for business and since Milan claims I've been neglecting her, I decided to take her along with me this time. She usually doesn't come since she works a lot but she took a few days off so she could come out here with me. And since we've been busy and working all day, we decided to come over to Victoria's to spend some time with her and Jayvion.

Victoria pulled the door open and her smile quickly turned to a frown. "Mr. and Mrs. Reed. I didn't know the lovely couple was in town."

I took a deep breath, preparing myself for Victoria's pettiness. "Yeah, we just came to handle some business. It wasn't anything planned, just kind of spontaneous but since we were in town, I just decided to stop by and see you. I haven't seen or heard from you since last month when you came to visit. I just wanted to see if you were all right."

Victoria sighed. "I'm good. Jayvion and I are doing good, that's why I haven't really gotten around to calling you back."

How busy could they really be? It's just the two of them living here so it's not like they have any children to run after. Victoria works from home but it's not like she really needs to work with the money I'm giving her. I'm giving her over half a million a year, which she should be using to relax and pamper herself, not continue to work and support a nigga like Jayvion. Sure, he goes to work everyday and makes some nice money but what I'm just gifting Victoria every year is money than he makes in two years. He can't give her what I can.

"Well, we've been busy too," Milan smiled, I guess since she could feel the tension. "Teddy's really been doing a lot of coaching here lately so he's been pretty busy. With him, it's like early mornings, work all day and then late nights. And when he does have free time, he's still trying to figure out plays for the next game. You know, he has a difficult job."

Victoria eyed her, clearly displaying that she still didn't like Milan after five years. "That I know but how hard can it be watching grown men play with balls all day? The only difficult part about his job is that he has some eye candy every time he comes to work," she snickered as she stepped to the side. "You two can come in. Jayvion just ran out to pick up something to eat but he'll be back soon."

The sound of that niggas' name had me tense. Who was he to lure Victoria into divorcing me, convince her that I'm some bad guy and that her family doesn't want anything to do with her, move her down to Santa Monica and basically cut her off from everything she knows? "Oh, we won't be staying that long," I commented.

Victoria shrugged her shoulders. "Alright. Suit yourself."

Once we stepped over the threshold, I let go of Milan's hand. "Milan, why don't you go to the living room while Victoria and I put these flowers in some water?"

"Alright."

Milan kissed my cheek and walked to the living room while I followed Victoria back to the kitchen, and damn did she look good. Just looking at her from behind was making me hard but I knew I had to keep my composure since Milan was around. But Victoria knows she looks good, even though she's gotten older. I'm telling you, if Victoria said she wanted me right now, I'd drop everything, including Milan, and get back with her with a quickness. Victoria and I were going through a lot a few years ago and the divorce just happened. It wasn't something the two of us really wanted deep down but we had people from both ends swaying us in the wrong direction. To this day I regret handing her those divorce papers. It was the biggest mistake of my life.

"Are you just gonna stare at me or hand me those cheap ass flowers?"

The sound of Victoria snapping her fingers broke me out of my thoughts, making me smirk. "They're not cheap. I spent a lot on these rose."

Victoria turned up her nose as she snatched the bouquet of white roses out of my hands before tossing them in the garbage. "I don't even know why you thought bringing roses to your ex wife was a good idea, especially since we had them at our wedding."

I smirked. "I didn't know it was that big of a deal."

"Well it is. White roses mean innocence, purity, sympathy. Clearly three things you lack. But most importantly, they mean true love, which is something I'm clearly not to you so don't bring them back to my house for your wife's sanity. You should be giving her roses, red, white and any other color but not your ex wife."

"Alright. You know I'm not too good with that kind of stuff. What would you suggest I bring?"

"Don't bring your wife to my house, one. And two, you don't need to bring me anything, especially not any flowers."

"Why?"

"You know why," she replied.

I smirked. "I do. I just wanted to hear you say it. Tell me why I can't do anything for you."

Victoria took a deep breath as she smashed the roses and pushed them down further in the trashcan. "You're so immature and childish, it's sickening. I don't know why you popped up here tonight, and decided to bring that little girl with you, but my fiancee and I had an entire evening planned and I don't feel like entertaining guests tonight. I'm about to make myself some coffee and I hope that by the time I'm done, you and that little girl will find yourselves to the door and leave."

I raised an eyebrow. Everything she said had went in one ear and out of the other when I heard Jayvion was her fiancee. "You're getting married?"

That envious smile of Victoria's crept up on her face. I always hated that smile of hers. "Yes. We're getting married next summer," she said as she showed off the medium sized rock that sat on her finger. "How do you like it?"

"It looks like something cheap you'd win out of a bubblegum machine. How could you get married on me Tori?"

Her smile turned into a frown as she folded her arms. "The same way you went and got married on me Teddy and then had the nerve to invite me to that damn wedding, as if I'd show up. Y'all even had the nerve to make me her Maid of Honor. The broad doesn't have friends or someone desperate to step in? You're out of your cotton picking mind Theodore."

"We invited everybody out or courtesy."

"Yeah, and you wasted your time because not one of your children showed up."

"Theodore came."

"Yeah because he probably gets a thrill out of seeing her fake ass titties bouncing around every time she's around you. Don't get mad at me that you aren't happy with the little girl you chose over me."

"I'm happy."

Victoria smiled. "Oh, that's not what you said to me on your wedding day or every day that you called me while on your honeymoon. You told me that you wanted that to be me standing at the alter with you and you making love to me in Jamaica."

"And it could have been."

I reached out to wrap my arms around her but she took two steps back.

"Don't touch me, especially since you've been touching all over that little girl you're baby sitting tonight."

"She's a grown woman."

"And half your age," she added. "Don't try to go back and forth with me Theodore. Just take the little bit of pride and dignity you have left and just leave. And take your little play date with you!"

Victoria yelled after me as I stormed up to the front to Milan. Just as I left her, she was sitting on the couch in the living room tapping away at her phone. I snatched her up and we walked out of Victoria's apartment. I don't know why Victoria's putting on a show just because Milan's here but she never acts like that when it's just the two of us. Usually Victoria and I can be cordial but I guess Milan's presence really bothers her self esteem.

Theodore III



"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"

I turned my attention away from my money and looked to my side. I could hear Princess running through the condo and when she finally entered the dining room, she was holding my burner phone, something I told her to never touch. I took my phone out of her hands with a quickness as she climbed into the seat that faced all of the money I had spread across the dining room table. I usually try not to take business home but my money is something different. Even though it gets counted at the station, I like to go back and check over it weekly.

"You got a text from somebody. They said Carlito left the country a few hours ago. Who's Carlito, Daddy? Where's Carlito going?"

I scrunched up my face. "Didn't I tell you not to mess with this?"

She nodded her head. "Yeah but it kept on ringing so I looked at it. I thought it was gonna be my friend calling you. Is she coming over tonight?"

I sighed. Ever since I introduced Princess to Goldie, she's constantly been on Princess' mind partially because Goldie always takes time out to spend time with her whenever she comes over. Mama's right, Princess needs siblings but I'm just not ready for the now. Princess has taken a liking to Goldie and it's the same for Goldie. She and I aren't together or anything but I do appreciate her spending time with my daughter even though she doesn't have to.

"I don't know baby girl. Back to my phone. Don't go looking through my stuff Princess, especially this phone."

She smiled. "Is that the phone you call your lady friends on? Is Carlito a lady friend?"

I sighed. She clearly wasn't understanding this, so I lied. "Yeah, this is the phone I call my lady friends on but Carlito's not a lady friend. This is my personal phone so you can't go looking through this. It's important information in here that's only for me to see."

Her eyes widened and so did that big smile on her face. "OH! Like a secret?" she whispered.

I nodded my head as I placed the phone in my pocket. I need to be sure to keep this away from Princess but more importantly, keep it on me more. If Princess could get to it then anybody could've gotten to it. "Yeah, like a secret baby girl. The stuff in this phone is my secret so don't ever look in here or mess with this and I'm serious about it. A'ight?"

"Yes Daddy." And just like that, Princess' attention averted to all of the stacks of money I had sitting on the table. "Are we rich Daddy?

"We're not rich. We're wealthy."

Princess scrunched up her face. "What's the difference?"

"Rich is just having a small amount money for a short amount of time but being wealthy means you have a lot of money and power for a very, very long time. Like an entire family can be wealthy."

"Like me and you?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah but not just two people. The entire family has money, power and respect anywhere we go. That's wealthy baby, and don't forget that. You're royalty Princess. You want some money?"

Her eyes widened. "Me?"

I chuckled. "Yes, you, beautiful. Take however much you want."

Princess's small hands grabbed a small stack of money and her hands shifted through all of the bills. It looked like she was hesitant about taking the money because she was. That's one thing I loved about Princess and that's one thing my parents never taught Lindsey, Isaiah and I. We've always had money, and lots of it, but they never taught us the value of the money. They never taught us how much blood, sweat and tears went into making the money so therefore, we were all careless with money and willingly spent it because we always knew we'd have money.

Princess will always know that she has money, but I've been trying to raise her to know that money can go quickly if you're not careful with it and humble about having it. I've been working on humbling myself but Princess is who I'm envious of. She's always humble about money, and even when I try to spoil her, she never wants to take it all.

She placed the stack of money back on the table and shook her head. "No, I don't want any money. Can I help you count it?"

I smirked as I handed her a stack of money that I already counted. It was a stack of five hundred dollar bills. The money was sorted already but I just wanted her to count it to get practice with her Math. "Yeah, count that for Daddy."

Princess took the rubber band off of the bills and counted each dollar bill carefully while I stuck to counting out the hundreds, fifties and twenties. I separated each denomination into it's own pile until each one was sorted out. Just as I reached to count the stack of hundreds, the doorbell rang. Princess immediately sprang out of her seat and ran across the condo to the door. She knew better than to open the door so she put her ear up to the door.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"Mya!"

Princess' smile grew wide. "Can I let her in Daddy?"

"Wait a second." I closed the doors, shutting off the dinning room from the rest of the house and locked the doors. I trust Goldie won't do anything or steal from me but you can't be too trustworthy of people when they see hundreds of thousands of dollars just laying around so I made sure the doors were locked before looking out of the peephole to make sure it was actually her. It was, so I pulled the door open.

Princess immediately attached to Goldie's leg as soon as I opened the door. "I'm so glad you came over Mya!"

Goldie chuckled. "I told you that I'd be coming back to see you Princess but I did bring you something."

"You didn't have to bring her anything," I told Goldie as she walked inside of the condo with a VIP Dancers bag in her hands.

"Oh, it's fine. The last time I was over, Princess told me she wanted to be a ballerina. She said she has a leotard and ballet shoes but she wouldn't be able to be a real ballerina without a tutu so I bought her one."

I sighed. "Mya, I appreciate the thought but don't you need the money for school?"

"I do but sometimes I can buy my friends nice things," she said as she handed Princess the bag. "I spent hours looking for the right tutu Princess, that's why I'm so late, but I hope you like it."

Princess smiled. "I'm sure I will. Thank you Mya," she said as she hugged on to Goldie's legs.

The smile on Goldie's face told me she wants being nice to Princess just to get in good with me. She actually had a genuine smile on her face. I knew it wasn't fake because the two of them have been growing closer over the past month. Of course Princess constantly asked why Milan wasn't around as much as she used to be but she's five and has a short attention span. The thoughts about Milan didn't last long once Goldie started coming over every Sunday for dinner and periodically throughout the week when she wasn't working. And while Princess warmed up to Goldie well, my family did too.

Princess eventually ran off to the back so she could try on her new outfit as I turned to Goldie. "I was starting to think you wouldn't come by."

She smiled. "I got caught up looking at the tutu's."

"About the tutu's, I appreciate it. I didn't know she wanted to be a ballerina."

"Yeah, she said her teacher used to be a dancer so she wants to be like her teacher."

I sharply inhaled at the thought of Mocha baiting my daughter to be a stripper just like her. Of course Princess doesn't know the kind of entertaining Mocha does but I do and I don't appreciate her taking advantage of my daughter. I'm going to say something to her tomorrow when I drop Princess off for school.

"You want something to drink?" I asked Goldie as we walked back to the kitchen.

"I actually can't stay tonight. You have me scheduled to work tonight so I need to head over to the club before Donny docks me for being la--"

"It's nothing that a phone call can't handle," I said as I pulled my phone out of my pocket to text Adonis that Goldie wouldn't be coming in tonight and for one of the other girls to cover for her. "Donny might be in charge of the girls but I own the club and what I say goes. All the other girls report to Donny but you report to me, a'ight?"

She smirked. "Alright Mr. Reed. Are you like this with other girls?"

"Never. You're the first."

"Oh, I feel special then."

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Look at me!"

I took a deep breath. I can't ever get tired of hearing her yell my name as if she was hurt. I looked down at Princess who had on her pink tutu, pink leotard and pink ballet shoes. I smiled as I picked her up. "Oh, you look so beautiful Princess. Tell Mya thank you."

"Thank you Mya."

"Oh, it's no big deal for my friend," Goldie smiled.

For the rest of the evening, Princess danced around the condo, showing off her dance moves even though she's never been in a dance class a day in her life. She twirled around, jumped in the air and just ran around the condo in her big, fluffy pink tutu. She was already attached to this thing so I knew it would be hard trying to get her out of it since she'd be trying to wear it every single day.

I was finally able to put Princess down and get a break once it was her bed time. I walked from the back and up to the front with Goldie. Goldie was sitting on my couch waiting on me to get back. While she and Princess have grown closer the past few weeks, so have she and I. We've still kept it somewhat professional between the two of us since I'm still her boss and she's still my employee but I do enjoy her company. But not just her company, her vibe is exactly what I need in my life right now. With all the negativity surrounding my life, I need my beautiful Princess and Goldie to help mellow everything out.

I plopped down on the couch next to Goldie, causing her to turn in my direction. "You know, I know you said you'd pay for me being over here since I'm missing days at work but I just don't feel right about this. It's almost like you're paying me to spend time with you and your daughter. I feel bad."

I smiled. "Why? I offered and I like you being here with me Goldie. You don't like it here?"

She smiled. "No. I like spending time with you, I really do but you don't have to pay me to spend time with you. I'll just make the money up by doing extra shifts or I'll have to readjust my schedule to spend time with you guys."

"Don't you need the money though?"

"Yeah, of course I need the money. I want the money but it's not right and I'm not flat out broke. I'm raking in $600-$800 a night and $500 on slow nights. I'm making well over my means of living and I'm able to pay off my college tuition with what I'm making but it wouldn't hurt me to take a few days off. You know, I don't wanna do this my entire life."

"Well, I figured you wouldn't. I figured you'd put that college degree to use that you're trying to pay for."

She smirked. "Hopefully I'll be able to in the next year when I graduate."

"What do you want to be?"

"Well, I'm majoring in Business Management and Accounting. When I graduate, I'm hoping I'll be able to get a management job with a company or be able to work my way up to the managerial position."

Damn. Maybe Goldie will come into use later on down the line. "So what about dancing? You're gonna give that up?"

"Yeah. I never wanted to do it in the first place. It was just a way to make some extra money."

"What if your nigga wants to see you dance?"

She smirked. "Then he'll be the only person that I'm entertaining. Why'd you ask? You like to see me dance or something?"

I smiled. "As your boss, I'm not allowed to watch my female employees and plus I've got a club to run. When y'all girls are on stage dancing, watching y'all are the last thing on my mind."

She slightly frowned. "Oh."

"But I do steal a few glances at you. And you the only chick I've taken to get a little extra from me once the club is closed for the night. And you the only chick I've invited over in a really long time."

"So that must mean I'm special, huh?" she smiled.

I smiled. "Very special."

"And I hope you don't think I'm some kind of slut or hoe because I've slept with you a few times and you've given me money for it. I'm not a prostitute and I wouldn't have taken the money but you insisted. I just never turned you down because I liked the attention and I like what I see. You might think I'm special but the attraction is definitely the same on my end Prince."

I smirked. "You know you not supposed to like your boss, right?

"You're not supposed to like your employee either."

I do like Goldie because she's so different from the other girls I've been with but a large part of me still loves Milan. I mean, I was sleeping with her for five years so that attraction and love is still there. It'll always be present but I want to get over her. She played me for five long years and I don't want to be made out to be a fool.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I guess I like my employee then. So what'chu doing tomorrow night?"

"Working, you know that."

"Alright, well what about tomorrow during the day? I can take you to my favorite French restaurant, just me and you."

She smiled. "That sounds good to me."

I like that I'm trying to move forward with Goldie but apart of me wants to reach out to Milan. She's been calling me and texting me trying to apologize and I have yet to return any of the messages. I didn't plan on returning them but just thinking about her makes me want to call her just to see how she's doing or I could even visit her.

Lindsey



Cash: I'm pulling up right now.

Lindsey: I'm leaving the door open for you baby.

I placed my phone on my nightstand before I climbed out of bed and stood in my full length mirror to admire myself. I decided to reward Cashmere since he's been doing a lot better so I was wearing a black lingerie set. The set left little to the imagination since they bra and panties were see through but I knew Cashmere wouldn't care. He'll probably just rip it off of me before he gets all the way through the door. But he's been doing better so this is his treat, for now.

I didn't feel bad about throwing hot grease on him weeks ago because he deserved that. After all the shit he's put me through, all of the times we've broken up and been in arguments on account of him, he deserved something for his rash behavior. The way I see it, he's been getting off easy the past few years but I just got fed up one afternoon when his fat ass was just laying in bed sleeping. He had been sleeping for hours and even after I took Daniel to school and came back, he was still in bed. So I decided to give him a wake up call. I heated up some Canola Oil, just enough so that his skin would burn and blister and wake him up but cool enough so that he wouldn't be burned too much.

So once the oil was hot and to my liking, I walked into my bedroom and tossed it on his fat ass. I was aiming for his dick but he covered it up with his hand and ended up getting his hand burned in the process. He was screaming and yelling and all in my face about throwing the grease on him but I just laughed because it was funny. Cashmere's ass deserved the hot oil but he deserves more. The next morning he's laid up asleep in my house, he and I are gonna be playing grit ball.

But since that morning, Cashmere's been doing a whole lot better. I guess I got my point through since he's been coming home at a reasonable hour. I hate that he's out half the night but that's what comes with working at a club so I can excuse him for that. But he comes straight home now and he's here with me during the day unless he's working with Theodore or at work. And he's been letting me check his phone daily. I know it may seem like I'm going to extreme measures just to preserve this relationship but Cashmere and I love each other and this is just another bump in the road. We can get through this.

My heart skipped a beat when I heard him beating on the door. I quickly stepped into my heels and raced up to the front. I wanted him to find me, so instead of opening the door for him, I unlocked it and yelled, "It's open!" before running back to my bedroom. I climbed on to my bed with my back to the door, my face down and my ass up so he could have easy access when he gets into the room.

The smile on my face grew wider once I heard him enter the condo. He wan't saying anything since he was probably looking for me but I could hear him walking through the condo, slowly. He was taking forever to get back here, like he didn't know where I was at. I just stayed in position until I heard him enter my bedroom.

"I've been waiting all day for you, Daddy."

My hands clenched the sheets tighter as I felt him spread my legs open and run his hands across my smooth back. His fingers traced down my spine, causing goosebumps to rise on my skin. He even caressed the spot where the tattoo of Andre's name was previously at on my back before moving down to my butt. I'd gotten the tattoo removed a couple of years ago since it didn't mean much to me but bad memories now. Instead, I had Cashmere's initials on my wrist, exactly like how he had my name tattooed down his entire right forearm. See, me and Cashmere's love is strong and evident, even without the tattoo's. Sometimes, we just have a fucked up way of showing how much we love each other.

Cashmere's hands continued to massage my butt but something was off about this. Usually, he would've wrapped his hand around my neck since we both like it rough. I partially think he likes to wrap his hands around my neck to get out the aggression he has towards me since he claims I annoy him so much. But he didn't do that now, which wasn't like him.

"Daddy, wrap your hands around my neck. Please."

Cashmere kept one of his hands on my ass while the other glided across my arms and slid around my neck, just the way I liked it but it felt weird. Normally, Cashmere's hand would cover my entire neck since he's so much bigger than me but it wasn't like that right now. His hand only wrapped around part of my neck and he wasn't even applying pressure like he normally would. I'm used to him applying pressure since I always think he'll black out on me one day and choke the living life out of me but his hands were almost hanging off of my neck. This is like Cashmere.

I looked down at the hand and almost pissed my pants. That's not Cashmere's tattooed hand. I shoved the person's hand off of my neck and quickly turned around as my heart rate sped up since I was expecting the worse. Theodore and King told me there would be people trying to hurt us here in Atlanta, I just didn't think it would be any time soon. My eyes popped open and the worse was standing in front of me with a wide grin on his face.

"AHHHHH!"

"AHHHHH" Aubrey yelled back, scrunching up his face.

"AHHHH!

"AHHH!"

Since it felt like Aubrey and I were in a screaming match, I quickly grabbed the small robe that matched this lingerie off of the bed and wrapped it around myself so he wouldn't get anymore crazy ideas. "What the hell are you doing in my house?! I thought you were in prison!" I yelled. On the outside, I was coming off as tough and like his presence wasn't effecting me but it was. On the inside, I was scared as shit but I wouldn't let him see that side of me.

Aubrey chuckled before he cleared his throat. "I actually got out about a month ago on good behavior. You know, I've always been good at following orders," he smirked before he reached out to touch me again but I swatted his hand away.

"Get the hell off of me! You need to leave Aubrey and I'm serious!"

I mustered up the courage to climb out of bed, grab his crusty ass hand and drag him out of my condo.

"Damn baby. How you just gon' snatch me up like we wasn't in the middle of something?" he asked.

"Because you're gonna get your ass beat in a few minutes."

Cashmere had to still be outside or trying to get upstairs since I've been waiting so long on him but if he even saw Aubrey in the condo, he'd flip out. Niggas who cheat on their girlfriends always get overly jealous because they think their partner is cheating just like they are. Cashmere would've kicked Aubrey's ass and given me an ear full but he would've kicked my ass if he caught Aubrey feeling up on me like he's my man or something.

I pulled my door open and pushed him out into the hallway. Aubrey may have been a threat to Theodore and our family int he past but deep down, I know Aubrey would never hurt me. He may talk a bunch of useless shit to me just to waste my time but he'd never physically hurt me which is a good thing. But I'm not too sure about this new Aubrey. I mean, he's been gone for five years and has been locked away in a maximum security prison with men for a very long time so there's no telling what he's experienced or what's been inside of him or what he's been inside.

From my interactions with him now, he seems normal, like the Aubrey he was before he turned against my family. But I'm just not comfortable with him coming into my condo uninvited, not speaking as if he was somebody I was expecting and then having the nerve to feel up on me when he knew full well I wasn't expecting him to be in my house, let alone in Atlanta.

Aubrey chuckled. "Lindsey, I know you wouldn't beat my ass wit'cho fine ass. Five years really can change a woman," he said as his eyes roamed down to my open robe. When I saw what his eyes were looking at, I quickly closed my robe and tightened the belt around my waist so he wouldn't be able to see any parts of me. "You know, five years later and you're still beautiful but you're even more beautiful now. You know, I basically spent everyday thinking about you and what you said to me when I was in my coma. I can't remember much from when I was out but since you were by like everyday to see me, I can remember bits and pieces and I appreciate you coming to see me. I always knew you'd come around to me."

I shook my head. I guess this is what King wanted since he had me talking to Aubrey everyday when he was in a coma. I was expecting something like this to happen but just not this soon. "Aubrey, please stop. I don't even know why you're here. You're probably here to start more shit, aren't you? Because if you are, you've got something coming for you. I don't appreciate the shit you did to my family, my brother especially. Our family never did anything to you but you immediately turned your back on us."

He sighed. "I know and I shouldn't have. Five years in prison with nothing to do but think about my actions left me questioning a lot of the shit I did in the past and I apologize about it all. That's why I came here. At first, I had the mindset to come here, raise hell and basically continue where I left off in California but then I got to thinking about all the shit we've been through in the past and decided not to. I apologize about coming into your room like that but I couldn't help myself. It's been five years since I've been with a woman and I just got a little carried away. You know you're just so fine to me Lindsey."

I rolled my eyes, not believing a word that was coming out of his mouth. Aubrey was set to kill my brother if he hadn't went to prison, so you can't tell me five years in prison really made him change his mind. That should've increased his hatred for our family since we're the reason he was in prison.

"Look, I know you really probably not feeling what I'm saying since I put y'all through so much shit but I think I needed prison. It was just a way to stop me from going down the path I was on because if I continued, I was gonna end up dead. Everybody from my crew ended up dead except for me and that's for a reason."

"Which is?" I asked, folding my arms.

"I got more potential than just selling dope. I should've been doing other shit but instead, I got with the wrong crowd and had to face the consequences. Prison helped me become who I am today and that's a stronger person. I'm sure you haven't been to prison or even jail in the past five years but you can't say you haven't grown from the shit that happened in the past Lindsey. Can we all just move on?"

"I was a grown woman then and I'm a grown woman now and I'm set in my ways. I still don't fuck with you and I don't trust your sneaky ass because of all the shit you pulled in the past. You're extremely sneaky to me for even finding out we left California, came to Atlanta, found my condo, came into my home unannounced and had the nerve to feel up on me like some kind of perv. I don't trust you Aubrey and unless Theodore says otherwise, my thoughts about you remain the same."

He sighed. "A'ight, guess I can't be mad at that. I fucked up in the past and I'm willing to change. Where's Theodore at?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know." I took a deep breath as I heard the elevator doors opening up down the hall. I quickly glanced down the hall and saw Cashmere walking off of the elevator. Oh shit. "Look Aubrey, I don't have anything to say to you and you don't have anything to say to me that'll make me change my mind so I'll like it if you'd just leave me and my family the hell alone."

He sighed again. "A'ight. I know you know where Theodore lives but what about Jazmine? You know where she's at? Shit, anybody from the past will be fine. I'm just tryna reconn--"

"Watch out little nigga."

Aubrey was cut short by Cashmere he walked right up to him and pushed him out of his way so he could walk into my condo. Aubrey stumbled back against the wall since Cashmere was so much bigger than him and he didn't even say anything to defend himself. I guess he knew he stood no chance against Cash so he shit his damn mouth. That's one good thing about Cashmere. Nobody ever tried anything with him or me because people were always so afraid of him.

Cashmere walked into my condo with a bottle of champagne in his hands before he stood in front of me. He examined my face before lifting my face up and sticking his tongue down my throat, probably just to prove a point to Aubrey for being here right now. Me and Cashmere's tongues wrestled each others while his hand grabbed a huge chunk of my ass before slapping it. This is definitely how Cashmere feels. He's always so rough with me and I like it. I pulled away from Cashmere and wiped my mouth.

Cashmere wrapped his arm around my neck and pulled me up against his chest as he turned to Aubrey. "You enjoy the show between me and my girl little nigga?"

Aubrey frowned. "N--"

"Shut the fuck up," Cashmere barked. "I don't know who you are or what the fuck you doing but don't come around here again when you see my girl dressed like this. And don't be looking at her either unless you tryna get yo ass whooped. You hear me?"

Aubrey knew he was no match for Cashmere so he swallowed hard, swallowing down some of his pride before responding. "Yeah, I got it. It's all cool nigga. I won't be around here no more."

"Good and keep it that way."

Before Aubrey could get another word in, Cashmere slammed the door in his face and made sure to lock it. Maybe Aubrey will just listen to Cashmere and catch the earliest flight out to California because he's really not welcome here. Cashmere knew better than to question me about my fidelity so he didn't say a word about Aubrey popping up here. He just picked me up in his arms bridal style and carried me back to my bedroom. He tossed me down on my bed before the two of us got naked and went to work on each other but my mind was drifting off to Aubrey the entire time.

I don't know what Aubrey's got up his sleeve but part of me feels like we haven't seen the last of him. He'll be back soon.

~~~

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How do you guys feel about this chapter? Is Aubrey really trying to make amends with the Reeds or is he trying to get revenge on them for everything that happened in the previous book? Should he leave California to go to Atlanta? How do you guys feel about Jaz and Adonis' relationship? Will they be able to work out their issues, especially since Aubrey's back? Will Jaz and Aubrey get back together? How do you guys feel about Goldie getting in good with Theodore and Princess? How do you guys feel about Aubrey popping up on Lindsey? Was it wrong for him to pretend to be Cashmere? Is Aubrey a threat to the Reeds?