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ᴀᴜʙʀᴇʏ 'ᴅʀᴀᴋᴇ' ɢʀᴀʜᴀᴍ

It was the night before my birthday, and I'd just touched down in New York a few hours ago.

Had a couple business meetings and all, but really, I came out here for Onika. She had me twisted up in my head lately, and I needed to sort that out.

I hit up her friends, hoping they'd tell me what's going on with her, but they didn't even bother texting me back. Now I was feeling some type of way frustrated, like I wasn't even worth the courtesy of a response.

Like damn.

But for now, I had to shake that off. I was at one of the hottest strip clubs in the city, my peoples all around me, celebrating early.

The vibe was right. The lights low, the music loud, and the energy wild. Cash was flying everywhere. I had a drink in my hand, throwing the last couple of bills toward the stripper who was killing it on the pole.

She was bad, no lie, but my mind wasn't all the way there. Even with all the distractions, I couldn't stop thinking about Onika. I needed to figure out what was really going on with her.

I made my way over to the bar to grab another drink, just needing something to take the edge off. Ant came up beside me, still glued to the action on the floor.

"Man, they outdid themselves tonight," he said, leaning against the bar, eyes still locked on the dancers. "It's a whole bunch of big booty bitches in here tonight!"

I laughed, almost choking on my drink. He wasn't lying though. The place was packed, and the women? Crazy.

Ant noticed I wasn't as hyped as usual and gave me a side glance. "You good, bro? You've been real quiet since we got here."

I shrugged, taking another sip. "Yeah, just got some shit on my mind."

"It's about Onika, isn't it?" Roxx said, sliding up next to me at the bar. He always had a way of seeing through the bullshit, even when I wasn't saying much. I glanced over at him, about to brush it off, but he just raised an eyebrow like he already knew the answer.

I sighed, setting my drink down. "Yeah, man. She's been on my mind heavy."

Roxx nodded, leaning back against the bar. "I figured. You didn't fly out here just for the meetings and the turn up. You still trying to get in contact with her right?"

"Something like that," I muttered, looking around the club. The lights were flashing, girls were dancing, but all that noise just felt far away. "But she's been distant. Her friends didn't even hit me back when I tried to reach out."

Roxx chuckled, shaking his head. "You know how it is, bro. They're probably just blocking for her, playing defense."

I clenched my jaw, running a hand through my beard. "Maybe. But she can't keep dodging me forever. You know I don't even play like that when it's something I want."

Roxx didn't say anything for a moment, just stared into his drink like he was thinking something over. Then he turned back to me. "Listen, you know I got love for you, but you need to ask yourself—you really wanting something real with this girl or is this a moment type ting?"

I knew he was right. Onika wasn't the kind of woman to play games. If I was serious about fixing things, I had to be ready for whatever came next, even if it wasn't what I wanted to hear.

I looked back at Roxx, my mind made up. "I'm serious bro. You know I don't chase women, they chase me but I swear to god there's something about her that I just can't let go, feel me?"

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