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Chapter 118  Shop Talk

"Aww are you telling me this because you\'re afraid you\'ll be embarrassed?" Bianca asked teasingly. Malachi glanced at the shop they were about to enter out of the corner of his eye and debated changing his mind. "Yes, I am 100% sure these motherfuckers will try to embarrass me."

Bianca giggled and wormed her way past him like some kind of serpent. "Okay well know I HAVE to go inside."

Malachi tried to stop her, but his attempts were all in vain. This was their second official day as a couple, and the two of them were spending it running all sorts of errands in preparation for Luna\'s Gala in two days. While Bianca, Sei, Luna, and Anna all had to have dresses custom made and go shopping for accessories and pick out a good hair dresser and make-up artist and a gaggle of other things...

The only items on Malachi\'s to do list were :

A. Get a nice suit. B. Get a haircut. Leading to the current scenario where, after going to some fancy store that Malachi couldn\'t even pronounce that was on the other side of the country, they ended up here outside of Malachi\'s barbershop. Bianca pushed open the door and Malachi wearily followed her inside. The familiar homey atmosphere, the smell of wave grease, and the sound of low playing music that could barely be heard over the raunchy laughter. When Malachi and Bianca walked inside, the sound of laughter and clippers immediately ceased as everyone stared at the two newcomers. "Shit, I know that ain\'t Preach!"

"Hide ya momma\'s y\'all! Don\'t let that boy get a hold of em!"

"It look like Mr. Famous done remembered where he came from!"

"What\'s good little bro? Is your sister still single?"

In the blink of an eye, Malachi was being greeted by men young and old, all eager to see him after such a long time. However, they paused when they noticed an equally famous and beautiful young woman standing next to him. Bianca shunt back a bit due to the sudden influx of attention, and Mal took it upon himself to make introductions.

And give well needed warnings. "This is my girl Bianca... Act like y\'all got some sense."

Malachi knew just how out of pocket these men could be when it came to pretty women. He would hate to send this shop up into flames because one of them said her body was  cornbread fed. "Umm, hello." She said shyly. One by one, a few of the man came up to shake hands with Bianca and embrace Malachi, allowing him to make introductions. The first to step up was an older man with dark skin and an afro, wearing a orange dashiki and sandals that showed off his feet that were slathered in coco butter. "It\'s nice to meet you, sister. And it\'s good to see you again, brother Malachi." He said in a smooth, preacher-like voice. "B, this is Hotep. He\'s good people, just don\'t ask him anything about religion, politics, or sports if you wanna get outta here in under two hours."

"Oh, um okay. It is very nice to meet you." Bianca said kindly as she shook his hand. The next person to step up was a young man around their age who Malachi immediately dismissed. "Hell nah, get back."

"Mal? You really gonna do me like this now that you famous?" The man said in a tone of feigned hurt. "Fame ain\'t got nothing to do with it. You the last person I want around my girl, Triple D."

Bianca tilted her head in confusion as she lightly tugged on Malachi\'s shirt. "Umm.. why do you call him Triple D?"

"Cause he\'s a manwhore who tries to fuck any girl who has a pulse. So we call him dirty dick dork."

"Pffft.." Bianca snorted lightly at such an unexpected response and quickly covered her mouth as she tried not to laugh. Darnell (Triple D), merely rolled his eyes and walked off after seeing that he was clearly not welcome at this time. It was worth noting that he and Malachi didn\'t actually have that bad of a relationship, but their views on women were totally different. Malachi was the loverboy who would buy girls flowers, and Darnell was the fuckboy who would make them pay for their own Ubers after he smashed. The two were always making fun of each other. The next man to step up was also someone who Malachi knew very well. He was another older gentleman with salt and pepper hair and wearing clothes that had already started to fade. "Hey young lady, how you doing? I\'m Preach\'s Uncle Elroy."

Bianca was excited to meet another member of Malachi\'s family, but he quickly clarified that he wasn\'t his actual uncle, just someone who\'d known him since he was 5. "He\'s alright too, just don\'t loan him any money." Mal testified. "He acts like he can\'t pay anyone back."

Elroy clicked his teeth and shook his head in disappointment.  "All the money you making now and you still worried about forty funky ass dollars?"

"They wasn\'t funky when you borrowed em."Mal reminded. "I needed it back then to help get some gas in my car so I could get to my daughter\'s graduation! Surely now that you got all this money you ain\'t hurtin for it!"

Malachi made a blank face as he held out his hand without saying a word. Elroy grumbled and rummaged in his pocket before pulling out a wad of cash and dumping it into Malachi\'s palm. He hurriedly left the shop not long afterwards, and Mal began to smell something funny about the whole situation. Checking his palm, Malachi had only received twenty one dollars and a McRonald\'s gift card.

Knowing Elroy, Malachi wasn\'t really counting on their being money on it. Afterwards, Mal made a few more hasty introductions before they were finally able to get past the entrance and walked a bit farther into the shop. Malachi and Bianca came to a stop in front of an old man standing by a barber\'s chair. He was a somewhat burly man with a pot belly and dark circular glasses. His full beard was immaculately cut and styled, and shined with the luster of some essential grooming oil. "Tone."

"Preach."

The two men smiled and clasped hands before embracing each other like they were family reconnecting after a long time apart.

When they separated, Bianca politely shook hands and introduced herself, and questioned his barber about something she\'d noticed consistently since they\'d walked in. "Can I ask, why does everyone call Mal \'Preach\'?"

The entire shop suddenly erupted in laughter, while Malachi covered his face from the embarrassment. "That boy used to go to sleep in church every Sunday!"

"Sitting in the back of the choir snoring his damn life away!"

"The pastor used to get so mad he\'d make him read scripture till he could preach it himself!"

Bianca suddenly smirked and grabbed Mal\'s arm, excited to have learned something new. "My boyfriend was a choir boy~?" n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Malachi: "No."

Tone: "Lying ass."

Bianca pulled out her phone and started to text Aisha for old videos before she suddenly paused. "How come you never sang for any of us?"

Malachi leaned down next to Bianca\'s ear and whispered teasing words. "I like it better when I make you girls sing for me instead."

Initially she did not understand, but soon her cheeks started to warm up and she put a short but necessary distance between them. Tone chuckled as he patted the chair and gestured for him to sit down. "Those powers of yours come with help talking to the ladies?"

"Nah, nothing like that." (Yes they do.)

Evidence of Mal and Tone\'s close relationship was in how he immediately knew the kind of cut he wanted without even needing to ask. Bianca took a seat in front of them and watched with interested eyes and even took a few pictures in the process. Tone was more of the quiet and reserved type, and maybe that was why he and Malachi always got along so well. He didn\'t ask Malachi for any favors, or try to start kissing up to him, instead they just talked about regular things without even mentioning his societal status. It was an extremely refreshing change of pace. "What\'s been going on with y\'all boys lately?" Mal asked. He was immediately besieged with a flurry of answers before they suddenly trailed off and lost steam. The men glanced silently at Bianca before giving vague responses. "Nothing much..."

"I\'m straight."

"My wife put me out, but I\'m not tripping."

Bianca noticed that the atmosphere was almost uncomfortable and it wasn\'t hard to determine the reason. "Are you guys acting like this because I\'m a girl...? Because you can talk comfortably, I don\'t really care."

The men glanced at Malachi out of respect and he merely shrugged in response, and it was all out of control from there. "Craig got his bitch fucked by somebody else!"

"Damn."

"Ack!"

While Malachi made a face like he\'d been punched in the gut,  Bianca doubled over in her chair as she tried to suppress a snort. Sitting in the corner of the shop, a tired looking man with a bald head looked like all of the life had left his eyes. "I confronted her about it but she tried to lie to me saying they ain\'t do nothing cause it ain\'t fit."

"DAMN!" The collective shock erupted from everyone in the barbershop with functional ears, and they were all looking at the broken hearted man with pitiful looks. "And I\'m like what the hell you mean it didn\'t fit? I fit don\'t I?! Why the hell he don\'t fit!?" Craig cried. "You don\'t want me to tell you why he don\'t fit, Craig."

"Don\'t worry big bro, you just gotta have your villain arc."

"He too old to be talking bout a damn villain arc, he just gotta kill himself and start over."

The conversation quickly became wilder and more uncut, and Malachi wondered if it might have been too much for the innocent Bianca. Although after taking a look at her, he quickly dismissed such a conclusion. His girlfriend was laughing harder than anyone else, and it was clear that she was feeling right at home in the atmosphere. He was initially a bit worried to bring her here but now, he was glad that he did. The beautiful smile on her face made it all so worth it. -

Outside of the window, a very beautiful woman who seemed to be imperceptible to those around her was watching the young couple fondly. "The two of them are so cute... I should say hello."