Polo pops up on Mega’s turf with Mila’s name on his skin and a chip on his shoulder—testing love, loyalty, and Mega’s self-control.
Polo.
Mila’s ex.
Mega knew exactly who he was. What he didn’t know was what gave Polo the audacity to walk into his shop like there wasn’t bad blood between them.
“What you trying to get today?” Mega asked, like he didn’t know who Polo was.
“A cover up.”
“What you got, like a name or something?”
Without a word, Polo removed his jacket and revealed the name Mega dreaded seeing stamped on another man’s arm.
“Thought I was gonna be with this bitch forever,” Polo scoffed. “But you know how hoes are. They always got some kind of trick up their sleeve.”
It took all of Mega’s strength not to knock Polo’s head in for talking about Mila that way. He knew Polo was only trying to get a reaction out of him, but he would never give a jealous man the satisfaction.
“Hell yeah I do,” he nodded. “You know what you wanna cover it up with? Something simple, or you trying to get majestic with it?”
“Shit, I haven’t decided yet. I was hoping you could take that off my hands for me.”
It was obvious that Polo only came into the shop to see what he was up against and to pick a fight. But as a businessman, Mega didn’t play those kinds of games. He kept business and pleasure far away from each other.
“I ain’t gonna front.” Mega stood up from his chair and pulled his jeans up on his hips. “I’m a lil pressed for time right now. If you knew what you wanted, I could go ahead and knock it out for you. But since you don't, I can get you in a late session with Layton or one of the other girls when they’re done."
Polo stood up from his seat, chuckled, and grabbed his jacket. “That’s cool. I’ll think about what I wanna do and go from there. I'm a lil pressed for time too."
The blood in Mega’s veins boiled as he watched Polo walk out of the shop. He would never sneak an attack on an enemy while his back was turned, but he strongly believed that Polo was one snake that needed to be snuck.
“Why you grilling me?” Layton grew anxious when she looked up and saw Mega standing in her doorway.
“Did you know who your client was before he got here?” He asked, sounding furious.
“Nah,” she shrugged. “Guy just called and said he wanted to set up an appointment. What’s up?”
Mega gave Layton a curious look. He knew she would never set him up or purposely try to make him look bad, but he didn’t put anything past Mila. Or Polo.
“That guy was Mila’s ex.”
“You lying!” Layton wide-eyed. “He bold as fuck for pulling a move like that. I take it he didn’t really want a tat?”
“Hell nah, he ain’t want no damn tat!" Mega laughed. "That man came in here to see who I was and to throw Mila’s name in my face. He said he gonna ask for me anyway.”
They laughed and joked about Polo being jealous over Mila, but deep down inside, Mega was pissed. He loved Mila and wanted to make things work with her, but every time he got close to taking the leap and making it official, something resurfaced and made him reconsider.
“Real rap. If he had caught me anywhere else,” Mega pounded his fist into his hand, “I probably would’ve broken him down to a nub.”
“I’m already knowing,” Layton laughed. “But ay! Mila ain’t have nothing to do with this. Cause I already know how you are. You can’t be mad at her, and she ain’t even done shit.”
“Whatever, dawg. I’m about to get up out of here so I can get ready for this party tonight. You good? You coming through?”
“You already know I'm coming!” Layton cheered. “I’ll slide up there a lil later. You know I gotta come through with the drip.”
Polo’s tattoo ate at Mega’s pride the entire afternoon. It didn’t matter how long he made Mila wait to become official.
He really cared about her. And it was enough to make him pull up at her job to see what type of bullshit she had running with Polo.
He didn’t care if Mila wanted to be with the man she had history with. What he cared about was having his feelings played with.
When she saw his Jeep pull into the parking lot of the hospital, she knew there were only two reasons he would have come. One: He had something for her. Or two: He was pissed. They didn’t argue about anything that day, and she hadn’t done anything to make him mad, so she figured she was in the clear. Little did she know, her man felt disrespected, and he was upset about it.
“I saw you pull in.” She texted him with a heart-eyed emoji. “I’m taking a 15 now.”
It was hard for him to stay mad at her. In his mind, he knew it wasn’t her fault that Polo came to antagonize him, but Mega was a man who expressed how he felt and didn't let things go unsettled. So, she had to hear him out.
“Hey, baby.” She smiled widely as she got into the passenger seat. “You miss me or something.”
“Earlier.” He replied unenthusiastically. “We need to have a chat real quick.”
“Rawr!” she growled at his attitude. “I guess I’m in trouble again?”
“If that’s what you wanna call it.”
There it was. The confirmation that Mega was pissed off. About what? She didn’t know, but she really didn’t feel like dealing with another one of his mood swings or temper tantrums. Not after they had been doing so good.
“What now?” She sassed, rolling her eyes and folding her arms across her chest as she slid back into the passenger seat.
Mega was upset and ready to lash out about Polo, but he couldn’t hide the fact that Mila was sexy as hell in her scrubs.
“What’s up with your boy?” He asked, looking her up and down.
“Who?” Mila replied with zero emotion.
“Polo. He came to my job not too long ago on some dummy tattoo mission. I don’t need this shit, Mila. So whatever y’all got going on, you need to kill that noise or leave me alone for good.”
Mila sighed and shook her head. It seemed like no matter how much effort she put into making Mega believe she was done with Polo for good, it always came back to bite her in the ass. Sometimes, she felt like she was wasting her time in a relationship that wasn’t real.
“Mega, I really don’t have the energy to go through this with you again. I can’t control him. I left the nigga alone for good. What more do you want me to do? Kill him?”
“I feel like it’s gonna come down to that.”
“No, you’re just crazy,” she scoffed.
“Am I crazy? A nigga rolling up on me at my job, but I’m crazy?" He laughed. “Alright, kid. You still wanna kick it with me tonight or what?”
Mega had a way of getting his point across without getting himself worked up, and Mila hated it. He never gave her the chance to curse him out or throw jabs at him. He was the only one who got to do the checking and getting together, and she was over it.
“I don’t know,” she huffed. “You really just put me in a mood.”
“A mood?”
“Yeah. A mood,” she answered before he could finish his sentence.
She hated when he went on his trips about Polo. She thought she had made it crystal clear that that wasn’t where she wanted to be. And after listening to her cry about the trauma Polo put her through during their relationship, she felt like there was no reason for Mega to question her.
“Are you ever planning on making us official?” she asked. “Because if not, I need you to leave me alone. I’m not trying to be out here with my head in the clouds and then, out of nowhere, have my heart broken. Again.”
“What?” Mega frowned. “Where is this coming from?”
“It came from you coming up here interrupting my grind with this bullshit! I don’t want Polo. I did at one point, and he did the same shit you’re doing now. And you know what I did? I left his ass alone. So, you let me know what you wanna do, and I’ll let you know if I’m going out tonight or not. Until then, I’m going back to work.”
Before getting out of the jeep, Mila leaned in and kissed his lips, just to let him know there was no love lost between them. But if he wanted to keep her in his life, he needed to figure out where their relationship was headed. And fast.
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