The Marriage Favor (Crenshaw Kings, #1)

by Shvonne Latrice

That was no fucking problem in the beginning, because Nori was a woman that was easy to fall in love with. She was beautiful, with creamy light skin, a slim, thick frame, long dark hair, and brown eyes. On top of that, she was humble, ambitious, a rider, and super fucking down to earth. Shit began to switch up once my father handed me the reigns to the drug empire, St. Thomas Society. It was almost like a switch had been flipped inside of her fucking head. She went from what I had just listed to an air headed, conceited, shallow female that I could barely stand to lay next to. Then to make matters worse, she was a horrible fucking mother.

Again, he stared me down so hard, and my ass was staring right back, amazed at how handsome, suave, and sexy he was. His lips were thick, his teeth were perfect, his eyes sparkled, and his deep honey complexion was so clear that I was one hundred percent sure he had a skin routine. His scent had taken over the living room. It was musky with a little bit of citrus, oak, and vanilla. It was the scent of a boss ass nigga, one with good dick, money, a slick mouth, and a cocky demeanor.

If she didn’t start showing a nigga some love, I’d have to go a little harder. Why, I didn’t know, because I didn’t even understand what the fuck I wanted from her. I couldn’t and wouldn’t leave Nori, but it was something about Lisara that gave a nigga the inability to just keep it pushing past her ass like I’d done an umpteenth amount of females in the past. I didn’t know if she did voodoo or what, but if I found out she did, this spell she had over a nigga would make a lot of fucking sense.

I was doing the best I could but was learning quickly that I needed help raising these soon to be men. Now that they were older, there was a disconnect. I didn’t understand them, and they didn’t understand me. The lines of mother and son had been blurred. It was now mother and grown man, and I was having a difficult time navigating this new territory.

Staring into her eyes, I couldn’t help but to press my lips to hers. Lisara jolted back for a second, scanned my eyes, and then leaned back in to kiss me just as deeply as I had her moments ago. Placing her delicate hands against my jawline, her lips parted for me as I slipped my tongue into her mouth. We went back and forth, sucking lips, tongue, and swirling it around one another. Although a nigga was in a full-fledged relationship, I hadn’t kissed with tongue in a fucking minute. I brought her over into my lap, running my hands up her shirt as we continued to kiss hungrily as fuck, like we’d been aching to do this shit, and truthfully… a nigga had been. Moans escaped her mouth as she kept my face locked between her palms. My hands gravitated to her round ass, before going up her back and around to the front to toy with her nipples. My dick had gotten so hard it was fucking ridiculous.

I hoped that I either got over this pull I had toward Lisara or figured my way out this shit with Nori—a way that wouldn’t weigh heavily on my conscience.

“Girl, I wish you would attempt to put hands on me. My family may have been in the church, but fighting is not unfamiliar to me. Step to me on some rah-rah shit and watch me fuck you up. Okay? And while you’re in my face hollering about your man, who you need to be talking to is him! I don’t owe you shit, bitch, he does! So if you don’t like him hanging out with me, then tell his ass to stop.” I bucked my eyes at her. Her nostrils flared, and the grip on her purse tightened. “Keep playing with me, Lisara.” “Oooh, damn. Let me guess… You can’t tell that nigga shit because he’ll leave your ass, huh?” I giggled. “That must suck. No wonder you’re here in my face. Well, like I said. Don’t come back up to me, especially not to my job talking that same stuff, because I don’t take threats lightly.

“I’m gon’ let you rock until I get my head together. But when I do, I’m coming for you, Lisara. Be ready, and make sure it ain’t no other niggas in my pathway.”

“And you two milliseconds from losing yo’ nigga, so what that say about yo’ pussy, huh?”

And worst of all, I could tell she didn’t really give a fuck about Asif. Not once had she asked where he was, how I found out about his appearance, nothing involving the situation. It was painfully obvious that Nori was one of those women who put her nigga over her child. As long as she was cool with me, she couldn’t give a fuck less about Asif.

“Yeah, I’m good. I just missed talking to you.” I kept it real. “Let’s go somewhere private.” I took her hand in mine. Shit felt good too. We ended up in a private room, and for a minute, I just appreciated how beautiful this woman was, and not only on the inside. I did want to help Shakur, but if I was being honest, the thought of making Lisara be my wife, whether it was on some fake shit or not, had a nigga feeling some shit I couldn’t quite explain.

Nori wanted to play with me and my livelihood, knowing full well I had six children to provide for, well I was about to play with something she loved way more than I did my fucking job—her nigga. I was gonna marry her man and see just how much she liked that. She had so much shit to talk about me as if I was beneath her, but little did she know, I was gonna be her man’s missus.

It was only five hundred dollars, but beggars couldn’t be choosy. It did annoy me, though, because I’d seen the cars Block drove and the watches he wore. I also didn’t miss that he wore custom pants or Brooks Brothers blazers often either. But, I just didn’t have it in me to finesse more out of him than he freely gave.

Omg! Please don't let Block be this man's Dad! I feel like it's coming.

However, when I got pregnant by Prime, she had a change of heart. She knew he was rich and would soon inherit St. Thomas Financial, so she begged with her dying breaths to keep Asif and birth him. I was against it until she pointed out to me that Prime would forever be tied to me if I had his child, his first child at that. She assured me it was highly unlikely that Prime would marry me, and this was a surefire way that I would always be taken care of financially and always have a reason to be in his life. After that, I was sold.

“I smelled sweat when you opened ya legs, love. You gotta shower, not wipe off.” He turned his back to me. “Goodnight.”

Petty af lmao

“I guess I’m confused. You don’t want to leave Nori because she has held you down, but now you’re saying you’d just send her on her way?” I frowned. “Nah, I wouldn’t leave Nori, a woman who stayed down for me, for a woman I just like or just wanna fuck on. However, leaving her for a woman I feel I can build some shit with and actually make this life shit worth living is another story, Lis.” “So you just wanted to fuck me before?” “I did, I ain’t gon’ hold you, baby. You beautiful, and it’s natural for me, as a man who is attracted to you, to wanna fuck you. But as I spent time with you, other shit started developing. Now I feel like you could be that one for me, on some real shit.”

I know it’s hard as a muthafucka but trust me. Millions of people do with their bank accounts, loans, and other merchandise if you know what the fuck I mean, but I need you to trust me with yo’ heart. It’s way more valuable.”

“I’m yo’ husband, Lis. Whether it’s been on some traditional shit or not, the fact remains. As yo’ husband, it’s my job to protect you and provide for you. Part of that shit is investing in you. Any man can buy any bitch a bag, a car, shoes, or shit, even a high-rise condo, but a man who invests in you got a different type of love for you, baby. That means he wanna see you win on yo’ fucking own, and I wanna see that shit.

This woman was in here bonding with my fucking mama, living in a house I paid for, and sitting on my dick raw, when she don’ fucked my pops. I was disgusted as fuck, hurt as fuck, and confused than a muthafucka.

“Came to bring you a new watch because you clearly don’t know what fucking time it is. If you did, yo’ ass would be at home, feeding and fucking yo’ man like you ’sposed to.”

“You not my girlfriend or some little bitch I’m fucking on. You Mrs. St. Thomas, my wife, and this not how we deal with shit. When we got an issue, we address it and move forward. Ain’t no fucking running.”

“I don’t want no miscommunication, no running, none of that shit. I wanna love yo’ ass, make you happy, show you what the fuck it feel like when a man loves the fuck out of his woman. If we gotta sit in a muthafuckin’ room for twenty-four hours to get on the same page, that’s what we gon’ do. Ain’t no divorce ’round here. If you run, I’m gon’ always chase you, but I ask that you don’t make me do that shit. Stick with me. I’m yo’ nigga. I love you.”

“Similar.” He shrugged. “We have a reputation to uphold, and Lisara does not fit the mold. You need to repair things with Nori and continue to be a family with her before you mess around and impregnate that wife of yours and end up being stuck with her ass.” “Let me tell you something, Pop. I run this shit. I run the St. Thomas Society and St. Thomas Financial. That means you nor anybody else can tell me what the fuck the rules are, nigga. I make the mutahfuckin’ rules. Lisara is my wife, and she won’t be disrespected, especially not by yo’ ass. You either get with the muthafuckin’ program, or shut the fuck up about it. Them yo’ only two options ’cause if you mention what me and my woman got going on like it’s yo’ business, one more time, I’m gon’ be forced to put hands on yo’ old ass just like I would a nigga on the street.” With that said, I turned to leave the kitchen. “I won’t fight you on this because it’s obvious your mind is made up and you have somehow fallen in love with her. But know this, son; I will never approve of her,” he called to my back. “Yeah, well as of late, yo’ approval don’t mean shit. I’m out.” I skated, going to tell my mama ‘bye’, allowing her old ass book club members to flirt with a nigga, and then I dipped.

“What’s up?” Lequay entered the kitchen as I leaned against the counter, sipping the water. Nigga hadn’t spoken to me in weeks outside of the times he had to. “What’s good?” I asked him back. “Look, I know we ain’t been cool since you let me go and everything, but I wanna say thank you. You’ve done a lot for all of us, way more than that nigga who just left has ever done.” He shook his head in disgust. Bet Devante didn’t know his sons knew his deadbeat ass was in the building. “He and my mother may have just divorced, but shit has always been this way. “My mama has been a single parent but married ever since I could remember, and I hated the shit. Then you came and switched it up. I ain’t never seen her this happy, this carefree. Seeing you send her off to shop, get her nails done, get her hair done, and just enjoy life means a lot to me, P. My mama ain’t never got to enjoy life. She always been about us.” He sighed and glanced off. “For that, I’m gon’ always be grateful for you and how you lead the family. I need that guidance,” he expressed. Lequay was wise as fuck beyond his sixteen years of age. “I need to see how you treat a woman, how you lead a family, and you’ve shown me that.”