“I won’t, sir.”
“None of that ‘sir’ stuff.” Swag held out his hand to shake hers. “I’m—”
Before he could introduce himself, they were interrupted by King’s voice. “Oh, there you are.”
They turned around to look at King, who was walking their way. When Swag walked into the room, the essence was so warm, vibrant, and peaceful. Now, the atmosphere felt below zero degrees. She was undoubtedly the Snow Queen or “The Snow King” of her palace.
King looked at Twinkle Toes, then at Swag. She smiled. “I see you two have met.”
“Oh, not officially,” Twinkle Toes said with a chuckle.
“Really?” King said. “Well, Solomon, this is my daughter, Josephine Batiste.” King pointed to Twinkle Toes. Josephine and Swag shook hands.
“You can call me Josie,” Josephine said.
“No, he will not. You are strictly Josephine after your idol, Josephine Baker. Josephine, this is our houseguest, Solomon Carter.”
Josie ignored King and continued to smile at Swag. “Nice meeting you, sir. I mean, Solomon.”
“You too, ma,” Swag said.
He stood in amazement because he didn’t know King had a child. “Your daughter? How? King, was you six years old when you had Josie or something?”
King shook her head and laughed. “Oh, no, baby. Josie isn’t my blood child. There is no way in hell I’m fucking up this body for nine months of pure hell. I have a world to rule.” She walked over to Josie. “For now, I have an adopted child and protégé.” She put both her hands on Josie’s face. Then she walked in circles, admiring her child.
She’d cared for Josie ever since she was 12½ years old. At first, she nurtured her like she were her flesh and blood child, but now that Josie was getting older and sexier, King had so many plans for her. Sometimes, after sex with one of her guys or girls, King would often masturbate herself to sleep just thinking about Josie. And the best part about Josie that turned King on was that baby girl was still a virgin. If there were one thing King loved, it was a good ol’ virgin, especially a female. Her passion for Josie, however, could wait. She noticed a few things with Josie were out of place, so she frowned.
“Sweetie, what did I tell you about dancing to that god-awful African jungle music? This won’t take you places like ballet will. And what’s up with the getup?” King pointed to the African attire and head wrap. “I make sure you have plenty of prima ballerina outfits and materials to help you make your own. Not this mess.”
Swag couldn’t believe King was insulting Josie’s attire and Haitian culture. But what got him was how Josie was taking King’s insults with a simple sweet smile on her face.
“Please dispose of the garment, ASAP,” King said.
“Sure, Mother, no problem,” Josie replied softly, knowing damn well she wasn’t throwing away an outfit she’d made— especially one she considered the best outfit she made yet. For now, she was going to put it in her secret place where she kept outfits King didn’t approve of.
King smiled and looked up at the head wrap on Josie’s head. “For God’s sake, Josephine.” Without asking, she took the headwrap off Josie’s head.
Swag had a look in his eyes like, “Oh no, this trick didn’t.” Now that was mad disrespectful what this bitch just did. This chick! But then Swag noticed why King wasn’t feeling the head wrap on Josie. It was covering her long, black girl hair, which, in America, would be considered good hair. Josie’s hair flowed down her back. It was the icing on the cake that brought out her beauty.
King threw the head wrap to the side and stroked Josie’s hair. “You know how I feel about these rugs on your head. No child of mine wears those. Hair this good should never ever be covered or even cut. I don’t want you ever to wear this shit in my presence. The only towel I want to see on your head is the one you come out of the shower wearing. Understand?” King placed her hand on Josie’s shoulder.
Josie thought her mother’s hand on her shoulder was like venom from a snake, but she didn’t want to make her mad. She put a smile on her face and told King what she wanted to hear. “Sure, Mother, not a problem.”
King smiled. “Thank you, my child. Now, go to your room and get out of that outfit. Dinner will be served in a few hours.”
Josie nodded.
King narrowed her eyes and looked seductively at Swag. “Come, Solomon.” She walked toward the door to exit.
After King left the room, the chill from her negative vibes evaporated.
Swag addressed Josie again. “Nice meeting you, Josie. And don’t worry about what King said. You look beautiful in that outfit, with or without the head wrap.”
Josie was flattered. “Thank you. It was nice meeting you too, Solomon.”
“Swag.”
“What?” Josie asked with a confused look on her face. “Swag?”
“Yeah, that was my tag name back home. If I call you Josie, then you can call me Swag. Just not when King’s around. Between us.”
Josie giggled and nodded. She was about to open her mouth when she heard King from outside the room, yelling, “Solomon! Come! Now!”
Swag walked to the door, and in moments, Blood entered the room with a twisted face.
“Hurry up. The King doesn’t like to wait,” Blood said. “Let’s go.”
“Nice meeting you, Ms. Josephine,” Swag said.
Josie nodded and mouthed, “You too, Swag.”
That bought a smile to Swag’s face. He felt all warm and fuzzy around Josie. He hadn’t had this feeling inside him for years. He didn’t know what kind of Haitian voodoo Josie had put on him, but it was working. The feeling he had wasn’t sexual—it was like something he hadn’t felt since Zaria. He wanted to get to know Josie on a physical level. She seemed so pure, innocent, and like a diamond in the rough. Being around her made him feel like he was a teenager again. But Swag’s mood changed when he felt a hard blow to his head.
“Ow!” Swag fell to his knees. “Shit! Shit, man!” He rubbed the back of his head. It felt like his head was on fire from that hit. “That shit hurt!” He looked up at Blood, who was in his space. Blood chuckled as he cracked his knuckles.
“Young buck, what I gave you was just an appetizer out of respect for the King, my King. If you fail to follow the King’s orders again, trust and believe, the repercussions will be a whole lot worse.”
Swag rolled his eyes and rubbed his throbbing head.
“You hear me?” Blood said, pulling Swag up by his neck.
Swag was in utter shock. He didn’t know if Blood planned on snapping his neck.
Blood shouted in his ear. “Do. You. Hear. Me?”
Josie moved in another direction because she didn’t want to be in the middle of this bullshit. Her heart went out to Swag. Please don’t hurt him, she thought.
Swag was in so much pain that all he could do was cooperate. “Yeah, yeah! I hear you, man. Shit!”
Blood smiled and patted him on his head. “Good boy.” Then he pushed him down to the ground. “Now, move your ass!”
Swag struggled to get up, and Josie rushed over to help him. He waved her off. “Back up. I got this! Shit!”
Josie stepped back. “Fine!”
Swag regained his balance and walked out of Josie’s dance room. She walked around for a moment, trying to process what had just happened. “Damn,” she whispered.
She