Try Me

19.

-tbh

Jason and I were sitting on the couch in my condo, he was sipping on coffee and I was trying not to pass out from exhaustion; the girls and I thought that it was best to set up the store for the grand opening before we left and thankfully Jason and Darian were there to help. When we managed to set everything up, Jason and I headed to my place to relax for a while. I figured that it was a good time to talk about his words from a few days before, which had been stuck on my mind; coupled with the way the boys at the party seemed to be afraid of him; I just wanted to know what his "old ways" were.

"Something has been on my mind and I want you to be honest with me. I don't care and I won't judge you, but I need to know what you did before you became an entrepreneur." I got onto his lap and cupped his face in my hands, making him meet my eyes. If I was honest, I only wanted him to tell me so that I could understand him better and so that I wouldn't be blindsided later.

Jason placed his cup on the coffee table and then sighed as he held onto my waist. "I'm telling you this because I trust you." I nodded and he went on. "I went to college on a basketball scholarship, my parents were beyond proud of me and I was excited. My dad lost his job during my first semester and my parents were struggling back home; D, Kev and I wanted a way to make fast money so that we could help them. Before I left, a nigga from my neighborhood asked me to move weight for him and I turned him down; at the time I didn't want to mess up my future. After what happened with my dad's job, I reached out and he gave me some work; I started out just taking drugs over state lines whenever I had away games because the money was good and I got it fast, but I wanted more so I started dealing on campus. Eventually I paid more attention to dealing drugs than school and I lost my scholarship." He paused and looked at me to gauge my reaction to his words; I nodded for him to continue. "Of course, after that I just wanted to bring in more cash to prove to my parents that I could still support them without a degree or getting drafted, I brought my brothers in and we worked our way up the ranks until I we were as close to the top as we wanted to be. Long story short; the first shop I opened was just supposed to clean some of the money that we'd accumulated but I realized that I loved running a legitimate business and over time, we all found better ways to make money and got out of the game. That was five years ago, and we've never looked back. I thought that I would be in that life forever, but I can't lie and say I don't sleep better knowing that the feds can't knock my door down in the middle of the night."

"Okay." I nodded when he was done.

"That's it? Okay?" He asked as he fought a smirk.

I shrugged, "What do you want me to say? I mean it's in the past and I get why you did what you did. I had a feeling, but I didn't want to assume." Everyone had a past, and I was in no position to judge him for his; I was just happy that he got out of that life before he died or ended up in prison. I was no stranger to that, and I understood the appeal of fast money. In a way, he had been dropping hints about his past since the night I that we met, the only difference was that he actually came right out and said everything when I asked.

"And you gotta know that if I thought that shit was still a factor, I wouldn't have involved you in my life or posted you on my socials. I don't keep in touch with anyone from that part of my life; shit my old boss is serving life at Rikers right now." Jason squeezed my waist unconsciously. "I just want to do shit that my parents can be proud of."

I nodded and shifted a bit in his lap. "I respect that. Why were those boys at the party so afraid of you? You're so nice."

"I'm nice to you and my family. Don't get shit twisted KP; I might not be in that life anymore, but people still fear and respect me. I'm mean as fuck and I've been working on my temper, but I still take it there if I need to. Plus, I'm their boss; I think most people are a little scared of their boss." Jason spoke lowly as if he didn't want anyone else to hear him. "You are way too easy to talk to."