All the King's Men ( An Urban Love Story )

♟Pick your family♟

"What's good sis," Marquis greeted Jaden as she entered the booth in his tattoo shop.

"What's up." She greeted him then turned her attention to the girl he was currently tatting. She was a light bright chick with thick curly hair pulled on top of her head in a bun. He was tattooing her back and Jaden couldn't tell if she was sleep on the table or if she just had a high pain tolerance, because who the hell sleeps through tattoos?

"Jae, this is the lil homie Lala. Lala, this is my sister Jaden." He introduced the two.

Lala opened her eyes and looked at Jaden and gave her a small smile followed by a head nod.

"So what you come up with for me?" Jaden asked Marquis. He had been working on the sketch of Jadens first tattoos. She planned to get destiny's name on the inside of her wrist and Desmond's initial on her ring finder, with a crown. Desmond already had her name tattooed on him, three times to be exact. Once on his neck with her lips, once in his left hand, she once over his heart. Desmond also had Destiny's name opposite her mothers on his chest.

Marquis nodded his head over to the sketchbook and Jadens eyes lit up as soon as she saw the drawings, "Quis, this is dope! You so awesome, bro." She complimented his work.

"Thanks. So when you wanna get started on yours?" He asked. "They're small so they won't take long,"

"Whenever you're finished with the rest of your clients for the day. No rush though. Des said he'll be up here in a lil after he drops Destiny off." She told him.

He nodded his head, "Cool, so how was Destiny's first time meeting her other grandpa?" He asked.

Jaden had been spending time with her father gradually. It had been a few months since their dinner. He made clear that he was in the wrong, being that he was a married man having an affair on his wife. When Cassandra ended up pregnant with Jaden, he tried to step up on multiple occasions. When he pressed about taking Jaden's mother to court for his parental rights and visitation with his child, Cassandra told him Jaden wasn't his.

He was truly sorry for not coming around anymore and letting a lie like that keep him away, but he promised to keep in touch and try his hardest to make things right and so far he'd been keeping true to his word.

"It was really good. He couldn't believe he's a grandpa, but he loves that little girl already. You know how she is."

"Man, Destiny definitely has me wrapped around her little finger." He chuckled. "Dakota got baby fever now." He shook his head.

"You better put a baby in her before she change her mind." Jaden laughed.

Just as Marquis was nearing the end of Lala's tattoo, Desmond arrived at the shop.

"Sup witchu." The men quickly tapped elbow's because Desmond didn't want to interrupt Quis' process. would have to change gloves and all that.

"Aight La. You can get up and go look in the mirror." Marquis told the girl.

She lifted her tiny body up off the table and walked over to the mirror.

"It looks soo bomb on you." Jaden complimented. "Gemini Queen."

"Thanks, Jaden." Lala said, cheesing hard and admiring the work. "I appreciate you, Marquis." she thanked him as he put a clear bandage over the angel wings with the Gemini sign in the middle that she'd gotten tattooed in the upper middle of her back. "I'll have Amaud send you the money. I'll text him now." She said taking out an old flip phone and pressing a few buttons before slipping it back in the pocket of her baggy jeans.

While Marquis cleaned up his workspace,  Desmond went into the office to wait until he was done. Marquis' his phone vibrated on the table and he saw the payment notification, "Got it. Good looks, tell his ass to come see me soon." He said, fist bumping Lala.

"I will." She smiled. "It was nice meeting you." The girl said to Jaden before she grabbed the motorcycle helmet from the counter and exited the shop. A few minutes later, you could hear the bike outside rev up and she was gone.

"If you want, I can get you now Jae. Get ready and I'll be right back." Marquis told her before walking out of the room and going into his office.

"Who was that?" Desmond asked once Marquis came in.

"This girl named Lala. Her brother brought her through one day, and I been her tat man ever since." He explained.

"Paying all that money, but runnin round with a flip phone?" Desmond asked.

Quis shrugged, "I stay outta people's business." He paused, "But her brother works for one of the families." He said in a lower tone.

That was all Desmond needed to know. He knew about the crime families, but that wasn't his get down. Quis' girlfriend, Dakota came from one herself, but Desmond didn't hold it against her. You can't pick your family.

"Makes sense." He said, before making sure no one was near the door. "So Reggie's tryna file assault charges against me for that shit last year," he confided.

"Fuck him." Marquis shrugged.

Desmond blew out a breath, "Its my fault. I paid for that niggas silence but I knew I'd have to keep doing it. My attorney said stop paying." He confessed.

"Then listen to the man you pay to take care of your legal troubles. Stop paying."

He ran a hand down his face, "Jaden's gonna kill me if she finds out."

"Why'd you do it?"

"To keep her mama from harassing her and keep them quiet. I hoped that they'd be able to be close again... turns out, her mama just a money hungry dope fiend."

"So tell Jae the truth. She know who her mama is."

Again, you can't pick your family.

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