by L. Brown
He was so hard it hurt. Her walls were tight as he entered her in the missionary position. She shrieked from the pain, but her pain quickly transformed into pleasure.
He thrust in and out of her as far as his pelvic bone would allow. Their bodies moved in rhythm to the music, and they both made the love faces Trey was referring to. Perspiration escaped their bodies as the lovemaking heated up.
Kia blurted out more cries. Her pelvic muscles tightened, and she forcefully raised her hips, reaching her climax. She sunk her nails into his back, grinding them into his skin.
“I love you, baby,” she purred.
“I love you, too,” he responded in a broken whisper.
He let out several moans of his own as he reached his peak. He picked up the speed of his thrusts, chasing the best feeling known to man.
“Cum in me; cum in me,” she enticingly whispered in his ear. She wrapped her legs around his waist, clutching tightly just as he released in her.
He quivered, then collapsed on top of her. The two of them were breathing profoundly. They lost time of how long they laid there, cuddling. Eventually, she climbed out the bed, leaving him lying there, spread-eagle.
“Just like I promised, I’m about to make you something to eat.”
He nodded and watched his baby in amazement. He was at a loss for words. Besides the slippers she slipped into, she left the room completely naked. He laid there in a trance.
He was home, he’d just had some of the best sex of his life, and now his wife was in the kitchen, butt naked and cooking.
Damn! Life is good.
CHAPTER 3
THE FOLLOWING DAY, Donnie and Ghost linked up in uptown. Ghost parked the Buick Park Avenue and hopped in with Donnie in a jet-black Mercury.
The tint on the windows was as dark as the car’s door panels, making it impossible to see inside.
“Here,” Donnie said, handing Ghost a stack of bills as soon as he got in the car. Ghost took the bills without hesitation and started counting the bread, which totaled two thousand. Not much, but anything was helpful.
“Good looking. I needed this. I have to get back.” Ghost showed his gratitude. “So, what you doing out here?” He asked. He was curious about how his man was getting to a dollar.
Donnie filled him in on a bank robbery they had committed several days ago. Ghost listened intently as Donnie boasted about the events. The lump sum they received caught Ghost’s attention immediately.
They’d gotten away with $142,000, and Ghost was thinking about what he could do with a nice piece of paper like that right then. Although they had a little block and a crack house, they had never had that much change at once. Potentially they could have, but they loved to splurge—or do what they thought was splurging.
Up until this point, they’d been petty hustlers, but they’d just graduated from committing petty crimes to doing federal offenses that they could get crushed for.
Ghost knew, if he committed a robbery, he would have to invest his money in something legit to keep his promise to Kia about getting out of the game before it was too late.
Donnie made things sound so sweet, like it was no way for them to get caught. He was trying to persuade Ghost to take something down with him. Though Ghost had yet to utter a word back, he was already counting his money in his head.
“So you have another bank in mind?” Ghost asked, finally showing interest.
“Ain’t no question.”
“I thought you would never ask,” Donnie said, smiling ear to ear. He knew his boy was down for whatever.
Donnie reached into the center console and said, “Here. Take a sip.” He handed Ghost half a bottle of Henny.
Just as they were about to pull off, a car cruised up the block. A silver Ford Crown Victoria with tinted windows came to a halt next to them and blocked them in their parking spot. Ghost reached for the gun that was tucked in his waistband, but Donnie stretched his arm out, stopping him.
“Chill. That’s Reem.”
The driver’s window inched down, revealing Reem behind the wheel. A cloud of smoke wreathed into the air with the strong odor of weed following it.
“Oh, shit! When you get home, nigga?” Reem asked, after realizing Ghost was in the passenger seat.
“Yesterday,” Ghost responded, but he lacked the same enthusiasm in his voice.
“Yo! My bad! I didn’t get at you while you were down. I saw your girl and asked her did you need anything, but she said you were good,” he said, trying to make an excuse for his disloyalty.
“Yeah,” Ghost responded dryly. He glanced at him with a cold stare in his eyes. He wasn’t trying to hear the bullshit Reem was kicking. Reem didn’t get at me one time while I was down, and now he’s trying to justify that shit? Unbelievable.
The three of them had grown up together; they’d known one another since snotty noses in elementary school. From then until now, they’d hung together on a daily basis. They had shared countless memories together.
It really hurt Ghost that Reem didn’t take the initiative to get at him once. It was bigger than money—though a check would have been nice—but a letter just to show concern was the least he could do. Or maybe he wasn’t worth his time.
Up until now, Ghost felt like they were airtight and loyal to one another. To him, without loyalty, instead of a friend, he had a complete stranger in his circle. Reem now looked unfamiliar.
Reem leaned out the window and yelled, “Donnie Schemes! What’s good, nigga?”
He quickly brushed Ghost’s attitude off by diverting his attention toward Donnie.
Donnie was feeling the new nickname Schemes. He had received the name after putting together the scheme to rob the PNC bank. He had put the entire plan together: the casing of the bank, the stolen minivan, the switch point—all a vision he had mapped out to be perfectly executed.
He was digging himself. He turned his swag up on a million, emphasized the bop in his walk, and gestured like a ball player. At six foot, he kept a fitted cap pulled down to his brows. His beard stayed smothered with grease, and he was a slick talker. He could talk his way out of anything and others, into whatever he desired. Like he had just talked Ghost into taking something down.
“What’s good, Reem? We’re about to go look at another bank.”
Ghost grimaced. He didn’t necessarily agree with Donnie telling Reem the plan. Though they were childhood friends, he still had some animosity toward him for neglecting him while he was down.
“That’s what I’m talking about, baby! You heard what Kiss said, ‘Nowadays they given Rico out to the gang leader, to tell the truth dawg to hit a bank sweeter!’” Reem said excitedly, trying to quote Jadakiss’s lyrics. “Yo, I’m going to hop in there with y’all.” He pulled off wildly, whipping the car into a vacant parking spot.
After jumping in the car with Donnie and Ghost, the three of them drove to the bank to do some homework. For several minutes, they rode in silence. The music played low, and the mood in the car was sort of morbid. The three of them were obviously in deep thought, tuning out the music.
Reem broke the silence, saying, “Here.”
He stretched a stack of bills over the seat and over Ghost’s shoulder. Maybe breaking his man off a check would alleviate his thoughts about his disloyalty.
“It’s a stack,” Reem told him. “I’ll hit you again, but that’s what I got on me right now.”
Ghost reluctantly took the change and stuffed it in his pocket. He knew the guilt was as heavy on Reem’s chest as the heat that was coming off of his. The look on Reem’s face had been discernible from the moment he saw Ghost sitting in the car. They both knew Ghost needed the money. And what better way to make things right than to pass off a couple dollars?
“I really feel some type of way about you not getting at me,” Ghost finally said, tired of suppressing his emotions.
Reem cut off the long-winded lecture and rambling Ghost was getting ready to start.
“My bad, nigga,�
�� he said sincerely. “I was caught up out here, and I realize how you feel. It’s no excuse, so I ain’t even tryna justify it. I was outta line, and that shit won’t happen again, homie.”
Ghost felt the apology was sincere, but he wasn’t going to drop it that easily. “Man, we’ve held each other down since snotty noses in the playground and playing manhunt.”
The talk lasted ten minutes into the ride, but the silence overpowered and lasted the rest of the ride. They all lingered over the talk and heartfelt words. They knew the tension would die, but time had to do its job. They always fought, fell out, and disagreed, but they would always eventually return to being the brothers they were.
Donnie could make out the bank up ahead. They traveled up Germantown Avenue, crossing into the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia.
“There it goes. Right there,” Donnie whispered as if someone outside the car could hear him.
“This jawn look sweet!” Reem snapped in excitement.
They all glanced at the Sovereign Bank, which was a rather small branch of the big-time bank. It was a standalone bank, resting on the corner. They crept by, attempting to be inconspicuous. There was a bus terminal directly across the street, flowing with commuters. On the other side of the ave, there was a train station, also, pouring with early-goers. A newsstand was obscuring the view of stragglers standing above the platform from seeing the bank—perfect.
They bent the block to get another look at things. Ghost took note of the front and side entrances. The decorative bushes in front of the bank blocked part of the front window.
The side entrance stood out because it was adjacent to a walkway that was between the bank and a little no-name store. The walkway led to a parking lot behind the bank. There was another driveway leading to a small block from the parking lot. It was the perfect getaway route. Almost as if the bank was set up to be taken down.
Schemes was already familiar with the entire layout of the bank: its area, its employees, and even where they lived. He’d been scoping the bank since the last takedown. He had watched it open and close. He’d even followed the manager home. After all, his name was Donnie Schemes.
“So what y’all think?” Schemes asked.
Reem leaned forward, between the two seats, and said, “You already know what time it is with me.” He was in without even thinking.
They both turned to Ghost, who was rubbing his chin. His eyes were squinted as if he was in deep thought.
“Let me think about it,” he told them, feeling the urgency. Reem huffed and puffed and thrashed against the backseat
like an angry child.
“Think about it? What is there to think about?”
“Man, I just came home yesterday! What I look like running headfirst in a bank the day after I touched!” Ghost retorted aggressively.
Donnie Schemes butted in.
“I can dig it,” he said, nodding. “Just give it some thought. We can get some nice paper outta here.”
Ghost nodded his head. He was already considering how much they could come up. He thought about how much his boys came up and what he could do with that kind of bread.
But, in the back of his head, thoughts of Reem’s disloyalty were still throbbing. Was he worthy of being trusted? He was ambivalent about committing the robbery with him. He needed to think things over.
Donnie Schemes dropped them back off on Widener Place— a small block of Ogontz Avenue. Widener Street was where it all began. A few years ago, they had set up shop on Locust Avenue, completely muscling the block.
They parted ways. Ghost got in his car, and the other two got in theirs. The Hennessey they had sipped while in Schemes’s car hit Ghost as soon as he swung his feet out the car. The Park Avenue rocked back and forth as he recklessly lashed out the parking spot.
He peered in his rearview and saw Reem and Schemes’s cars next to one another. Schemes’s car was double-parked in the middle of the street next to Reem’s. He figured they were discussing the robbery. He knew he had to make up his mind quickly, or they would move without him.
Back at home, he was greeted by Kha at the front door.
“What’s up, Ghost?” his little man said with a smile on his face.
Kha was always thrilled to see Ghost. He wasn’t his pop, and Kha knew that, but Ghost was there for him as a male figure in his life.
The duties that came along with being that figure were cool with Ghost. He wanted children of his own, but he looked at Kha as his. He was sure Kha looked at him in the same light, but Ghost kept things the way they were supposed to be.
“What’s up, little man?” Ghost greeted him back. “What you doing?”
“About to play the game. You wanna play?” “Yeah, set it up.”
At infancy, Kha lost his dad. He was only a few months old when his pop was brutally murdered in the streets. Ghost hadn’t known his father personally, but his name had rung a few bells in the city. He was known for getting a little money in the streets.
Some broke, miserable niggas attempted to rob him. They kidnapped and murdered him. Rumors were whispered that he refused to come up off that money, so they killed him. The assailants were apprehended not long after the botched kidnapping.
Even worse, once they were caught, the feds grabbed the case because of the kidnapping, and one of the dudes went in heavy. He made a plea agreement with the government to cooperate for a lighter sentence. He ended up sitting on the other two at trial, and they got the wheel. The rat got a break, getting a180-month sentence.
Ghost knew how tremendous the effect of losing her baby’s father was on Kia. A year after the tragedy, they met. She was still grieving with a heavy heart when he came into her life. It took time, but she slowly gave up her excessive mourning.
Ghost played a major part in her healing process. He would hold her in his arms while she wept into the night. This took a lot of strength, care, and love for him to do. He couldn’t help the jealous feeling that would arise as she would divert her attention from him to another man. The feeling was senseless, and he would immediately bury it back into wherever it had dug its way out.
Ghost and Kha sat, playing the Play Station 3. He always spent time with him, playing the game, wrestling, or throwing the ball. He’d even taught him how to ride a bike.
Kha had never been subjected to being raised in the hood. Being raised on the outskirts was having a hell of an effect on his upbringing, and he vowed to keep things that way.
“What’s your mom doing?”
“She’s laying down. She’s been sleeping since we got home.” Kia maintained a fairly decent job as a sales director for the Hilton Corporation. Between the money she made and the change Ghost pulled in from the streets, they were doing all right.
Once they lost the game, Ghost asked, “Did you do your homework yet?”
“No, not yet.”
He grabbed Kha by the top of his head, gave him a gentle rub, and said, “Go get your book bag.”
He watched the boy disappear down the hallway to go get his backpack. Suddenly, the thought of the robbery popped back up in his head. The thought wouldn’t leave him alone, and he didn’t want it to, either.
He thought about that bread again. He thought about Kha and Kia and how they weren’t ever victims of poverty. As a man, he felt like it was his job to keep it like that.
He grabbed the phone off the table and dialed a number on the touch screen.
“Yo!” Donnie answered.
“When you tryna move?”
Donnie Schemes laughed at him. “That didn’t take long, huh?”
“Man, fuck all the small talk! When you tryna move?” “I’ll get with you tomorrow, so we can rap.”
“Whatever, man. I need this paper, so let’s move ASAP,” Ghost said ambitiously.
“All right, all right.” Schemes laughed.
The decision was final. Ghost was on a mission. He needed some money. To get it was by any means—even if he had to take it.
&nb
sp; CHAPTER 4
THE NEXT MORNING, GHOST was awaken by an eruption of noise as Kia yelled at Kha—something about getting ready for school. It was 6:26 a.m., and Ghost knew he had to meet with his boys this morning, so he got up and got himself together.
The scent of breakfast pervaded the house. Kia was the perfect housewife. She cooked, cleaned, and worked, and the sex was spectacular. The idea of moving in with her couldn’t have been a better one. He was feeling like a family man.
Ghost dialed Schemes’s number and, when he answered, asked, “What time we getting together today?”
“As soon as possible.” Schemes was ready to move.
“All right. I gotta drop my lil man off at school, so let’s meet uptown like eight-thirty.”
“All right. That’s cool.”
Ghost agreed to drop Kha off to school in the mornings, and Kia would pick him up in the afternoons. Ghost knew it wouldn’t be long before wifey started nagging at him about getting a gig. But Ghost wasn’t on that shit wifey was talking about.
He liked the layout of the bank and felt good about getting away with the job, so he was banking on that. He entered in the kitchen and found Kia standing at the stove in her robe, whipping up some breakfast.
“What’s up, baby?” he said as he grinded up on her ass. “You’re pretty excited this morning,” she said, feeling him grow hard against her backside. She was naked under the robe, and the grinding aroused both of them.
Kia tilted her head back and hunched her shoulders from the warmth of his breath against her neck.
“Stop, boy,” she whined.
Reluctantly, he let go of her and sat at the kitchen table.
After the three of them had breakfast, they left the house. Ghost and Kha escorted Kia to her car like the men in her life were supposed to do.
“Mommy, can Ghost pick me up from school?” Kha asked. Kia looked at Ghost for his answer. “Not today, little man. I
