John woke up this morning with money and sex on his mind. He woke up and started getting himself ready, trying to ignore his raging morning erection. Once he saw it wouldn’t go down, he scrolled through his phone and looked for different chicks he could hit up to get some pussy. It wasn’t unusual for him to wake up to texts from different chicks he’d smashed in the past. They’d message him during the night, trying to see if he was free to come over and give them the dick. He chuckled as he scrolled through the messages, but didn’t see anything that was particularly appealing to him at that moment. Furthermore, he had to get out in the streets and make his money, so he certainly didn’t have time to be driving far and going through a lot to get his dick to go down.
Just as John had given up on his search and decided that he’d just go on with his day then find something later on to climb into bed with, there was a knock at his bedroom door. It was Sparkle. He quickly pulled his sweatpants up and pressed his manhood further down into his pants. “What is it?” he asked when he opened the door and looked into Sparkle’s eyes.
Sparkle, who had just come to the door to ask for some money to go and buy food for Isaac, couldn’t help where her eyes went. John quickly noticed the way she was looking down at his bulging crotch. Sparkle snapped out of it and said, “Uh, uh. You got like fifty so I can go get some more food. You know you don’t keep no food in this house, John. You was always like that.”
John chuckled as he turned around and walked over to his nightstand, where he kept money hidden under a phonebook. He lifted the book up and pulled out a hundred-dollar bill. He gave it to Sparkle, sending her on her way, and finished getting ready. Within thirty minutes, as the clock struck noon, John was already down in the hood. He’d gotten several texts from his “customers” who wanted to re-up since they’d heard that some of the good stuff had arrived into Cincy. John made sure to remind everyone that he’d have some Colombian weed within a couple of weeks. The looks on their faces let him know that he needed to be sure he came back and made his money once it did arrive.
Around two o’clock, John hit his boy Camron up. Since Sparkle and Isaac had come to stay with him for a while, he’d told his boys Camron and Judge that they’d have to back up for a while and give him a little bit of space. And, of course, they had no problem with doing such a thing. Nonetheless, John liked coming back to his place and being able to hang out with his boys and smoke after they’d gone out and made their money. Camron had hit him up last night wanting to come over and smoke, but John had been too busy with Sparkle and Isaac.
“Yeah?” Camron answered. “Wassup family man.”
John chuckled. “Yeah, I guess that’s what I am for a minute,” he said. “It’s cool, though. Sparkle ain’t started no shit yet, so everything is good. What you up to right now, nigga? I’m down in your hood and was try’na see if you wanted to chill for a sec.”
“Hell yeah,” Camron said. He’d been staying with his cousin, but she’d already gone to work. “You remember which house is my cousin’s house, right? Come on over.”
“Yeah I remember. Be there in a few.” When John pulled up in front of Camron’s cousin’s house, he couldn’t help but to look up and down the street. Camron lived in one of the worst hoods in the area, even though he walked down the street as if he lived in suburbia. After seeing that the block was calm, for the moment at least, John made his way up to the door and knocked. Camron quickly let him inside and they chilled on the couch.
“What you been up to today, nigga?” Camron asked.
“Shit,” John said. “Had to get up and go make this money. Just got done goin’ to deal with these niggas that stay a couple blocks over and shit and was like let me hit my nigga Camron up and see what he doin’.”
“I ain’t doin’ shit,” Camron said. “Shit, a nigga thought about goin’ to the gym for a minute, but I don’t fuckin’ feel like it. I was try’na smash this one chick I met at the club one night, but she actin’ all funny and shit. I guess she got a dude or some shit and don’t want him to find out.”
“I know all about that shit,” John said.
Camron chuckled. “Yeah, I was thinkin’ about that shit, though,” he said, thinking about how just some nights ago, when he and Judge had been chilling at John’s place, John had come rushing through the door naked. The shootout afterward, of course, had put Camron a bit on edge. “You ain’t said much about that nigga Race.”
John shrugged his shoulders. “Shit,” he said, “I guess there ain’t really much to say. Shit, I was thinkin’ about how I was gon’ get that nigga back and shit, but then Sparkle and Isaac came to stay with me for a second so I was like I better chill so don’t no shit pop off while my son there.”
“I feel you on that,” Camron said. “If some shit was to ever happen to my little boy, I’d really be ready to kill a nigga. But, naw, I was just thinkin’ about how much I wanna kill that nigga too for that foul shit. If anything, he shoulda jumped on his chick and got on her about that shit. It ain’t your fault she wanted some of the dick and her man can’t give it to her like she like.”
“That’s just what I was thinkin’,” John said. “That nigga really fucked up and shit, but I’mma chill for a second. But, best believe, as soon as Sparkle bounce the fuck up outta my place, I’mma be ready to go hard. And I know that nigga Race ain’t gon’ be expectin’ it ‘cause he think we some punk ass niggas or somethin’, but we showed him the real deal when we rolled up three deep and started firin’ bullets at that ass.”
“Yeah,” Camron said and chuckled. “I saw the look on that nigga’s face when he was runnin’. I know he ain’t think that shit was gon’ happen.”
“Yeah, well,” John said. There’s about to be a lot more shit happenin’ to that nigga as soon as I get a chance.”
“Hold up,” Camron said. “I don’t think you ever told a nigga why Sparkle all the sudden brought your son and the two of them came to stay with you?”
John sighed, knowing that this situation wasn’t exactly what he’d planned. “I don’t know,” he said. “She called me that night talkin’ some shit about how she got into it with her mama and all that about livin’ in her house, so she had to get the fuck up outta there. I mean, I’m cool with her and my son comin’ to say with me and shit, but a nigga hope that she ain’t thinkin’ she just gon’ live there as long as she want ‘cause that ain’t the kinda shit I’m goin’ for.”
Camron’s phone went off. It was Judge calling. “Hold up,” he said. “This Judge.” He answered the phone. “Wassup, nigga?”
“Wassup with you, Camron?” Judge asked. “What the fuck you doin’, nigga?”
“Shit,” Camron said. “John just came through for a second to get away from the family.” He chuckled, looking at John. “We just sittin’ here chillin’, prolly bout to smoke. You?”
“Y’all bout to smoke?” Judge asked. “Shit, I let my boy use my car. Come and pick a nigga up. I got some shit we can smoke, so you can tell John to save his and shit. Y’all gon’ come and get a nigga or what?”
Quickly, Camron tossed the idea to John and waited for his response. John said sure and grabbed his keys, stepping over toward the door. Camron told them they’d be right over to get him. Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up in front of the house Judge rented. While the neighborhood was okay, by Midwest standards, it was obviously that Judge and whoever else lived in his house weren’t taking care of the yard. Not only was the grass high and choked with weeds, but there were also abandoned toys and bikes scattered about the yard as if it were in the middle of a trashy trailer park.
John blew his horn several times then looked over at Camron. “Shit,” he said. “When the fuck is these niggas gon’ come out and actually clean this shit up?”
“I don’t even fuckin’ know,” Camron said. “You know that nigga got like ten people in there or some shit.”
A few seconds passed then Judge came walking out of the front door. He stopped to say something to somebody inside then r
ushed down the sidewalk and hopped into the backseat. “Wassup, y’all,” he asked, greeting his boys and shaking their hands.
“Nigga, wassup?” John asked as he pulled off. “Nigga, what the fuck is up with that front yard? You can tell y’all don’t live around no white people ‘cause you know them mothafuckas would be callin’ everybody on your ass for some shit like that.”
“Nigga, shut up!” Judge said. “You know we got kids livin’ in there. You know like ten people live in there, man. We can’t keep nothin’ together no more like we used to.”
The three of them laughed as John drove down the street. “Where was y’all niggas try’na smoke at?” John asked. “Shit, we can’t really do it back at my place, but I was thinkin’ we could chill somewhere and enjoy some of this weather before the shit get cold again. You know a nigga love smokin’ outside and shit on a nice day.”
“Shit, me too,” Judge said. “Shit, I know this park where we can go light up.”
“Okay,” John said.
As John got closer to the park, he thought it would probably be best to see how much weed he actually still had with him versus what he was supposed to sell later on in the afternoon. After seeing that he didn’t have enough on him to light up a couple of blunts, he decided to run back by his place and get some more. Judge and Camron agreed, waiting in the car as John rushed into his apartment. They looked at one another then Judge said, “Damn, that nigga got his baby mama stayin’ with him now. That’s some fucked up shit.”
“Yeah, maybe not, though,” Camron said. “I mean, I wouldn’t be doin’ that shit with my baby mama cause all she wanna do is start shit and fight all the time. I don’t think that chick Sparkle is like that. Then again, I don’t really know her like that.”
“I don’t either,” Judge said. “Shit, I gotta use the bathroom but I don’t wanna go in there and cause no problem with the chick cause we there.”
“Problem?” Camron asked. “How the fuck is some shit like that gon’ cause a fuckin’ problem with that chick? It ain’t like she fuckin’ live there or nothin’ like that. Come on, nigga. You can’t be scared of no chick.”
Just as John had been walking into his building, he looked into the window next to the door and saw his boys headed up the sidewalk. He stopped and waited on them to catch up. “What y’all niggas doin’?” he asked.
“I gotta use the bathroom real quick, man,” Judge said. “Is that coo?”
“Shit, come on,” John said, motioning for them to follow him.
John let them in. When they stepped in the door, Sparkle was just coming out of the bathroom, having just gotten out of the shower. Because Isaac was sitting in the kitchen area, looking at something on his laptop, Sparkle had been going to see what he was doing. A little shriek slipped out of her mouth when she saw three men walking through the door unexpectedly. Quickly, she ducked back into the bathroom, but not without Camron and Judge noticing the way her big ass jiggled when she moved.
“Oh, shit,” John said, snickering. He pointed toward the bathroom for Judge.
John went back to his bedroom and let himself into his stash of weed. Because he wanted to be sure he had enough to make his money later on in the afternoon and night, he went ahead and pulled his scale out. Just as he was weighing a large clump of weed, Sparkle came into the bedroom. She was fuming and it was written all over her face.
“John, is you fuckin’ serious?” Sparkle asked. “I mean, damn! You couldn’t let me know that you was comin’ back here with a couple niggas or nothin’ like that? Shit, I was just gettin’ out of the shower and shit and y’all come walkin’ in the door with no warnin’.”
John sighed and looked at Sparkle with a confused look. “What the fuck is you talkin’ about, Sparkle?” he asked. “This is my fuckin’ place and shit. You just supposed to be stayin’ here. I ain’t gotta tell you shit about me bringin’ my boys over and shit. I know you ain’t just thinkin’ that I gotta change my whole life because you wanna fuck shit up with your mama and come stay with me.”
Sparkle put her hand on her hip, looking back as Judge flushed the toilet and came out of the bathroom. He glanced into the bedroom then turned away, seeing the mean look in Sparkle’s face. Sparkle turned back to the father of his child, knowing that she had to let him know that even though she was staying with him, she was still a woman and wanted to respected as such, if nothing else. She hated the way John turned back to his weed as if whatever she said was irrelevant.
“John, I don’t care if this is your place or not,” Sparkle let him know. “I got Isaac, your son, here and I don’t want no crazy stuff to happen when he here. I ain’t sayin’ that you gotta ask me or no shit like that, so I don’t even know what you talkin’ about. All I’m sayin’ is that since me and your son is stayin’ here, if you wanna bring niggas over here, I’m just askin’ that you let me know so I can make sure I’m okay and not surprised or nothin’. I mean, you saw the look on my face when y’all niggas came walkin’ in the door. I was so scared. I mean, all I had on was a towel and no warnin’.”
“Okay, Sparkle,” John said. More than anything, he just wanted her to walk away and let him get on with his day. He suddenly remembered why their relationship hadn’t worked out. Sparkle’s disposition, at times, was just too much. “My bad, shit. I know you see me over here doin’ this and you wanna come and start shit over nothin’. My bad. Okay? Next time I’ll send you a text or some shit first. I’ll let you know first, shit.”
“Hold up, nigga!” Sparkle said, raising her voice. “I hope you ain’t over there with some nasty attitude when you know you the one who was wrong and shit. You ain’t even have to send a text to let me know or nothin’, but you could have at least came into the apartment first and made sure that shit was clear before y’all just come walkin’ up in here walkin’. Don’t talk to me like I’m gettin’ on your nerves or somethin’.”
“You are, Sparkle!” John yelled. “You are! I mean, shit. You come in here startin’ some shit about some normal shit like me walkin’ through the door with my boys and shit, like I do all the time. Shit, if you wanna know how I really feel and shit, if you don’t fuckin’ like the way I live and shit, then you welcome to go on somewhere else then and Isaac can stay with me until you back on your feet.”
“What the fuck?” Sparkle asked. “Nigga, is you fuckin’ serious? I can’t let him stay here with you and whatever you got goin’ on.”
“Yeah, well,” John said. “It ain’t like he can stay with his mama. After all, his mama can’t get her own shit together and gotta go around stayin’ with people and shit, so I don’t know what the fuck you talkin’ about. You ain’t even makin’ no money. I’m bein’ nice by lettin’ you stay here.”
Sparkle huffed and puffed then stopped herself from letting cruel things come out of her mouth. She turned around and got Isaac’s attention. “Come on, baby!” she announced. “Daddy don’t want us here no more, so we gotta find somewhere else to go now, baby.”
John slammed the weed and scale down, jumping up. He rushed to the door then out into the living room. “Sparkle, stop all that shit!” he said. “You fuckin’ trippin’ over nothin’.” He looked at Judge and Camron as they watched in confusion. “Isaac, man, don’t listen to your mama. You can live here as long as you want.”
“Whatever, nigga!” Sparkle said. “You just sat in that bedroom and told me that you ain’t even try’na have me here.”
“Sparkle, stop all this!” John said, grabbing her arm. “Calm the fuck down.”
Judge and Camron had gotten to the point where they felt awkward standing there and watching. Judge nudged Camron’s shoulder then the two of them walked back out to the car to wait. John looked into Sparkle’s eyes with a serious expression. “Stop, Sparkle,” he said, pulling her arm back toward the bedroom so they could talk. “Isaac, just keep on doin’ what you doin’ over there,” he shouted toward the living room as he pulled Sparkle into the bedroom. “Me and Mommy gotta talk f
or a minute, so just chill for a second. Okay?”
“Okay, Daddy,” Isaac said, going back to looking at his computer.
Sparkle stood in the bedroom with her arms folded as John closed the door. He turned and looked at Sparkle. “Sparkle,” he said, “you ain’t gotta do all that shit. Why can’t we just talk calmly without havin’ to cause no scene in front of Isaac? You know he prolly thinkin’ what the fuck is goin’ on with his life since you got him up in the middle of the night and drove him down the highway and shit to go and live somewhere else. Just calm the fuck down, okay. I told you that from now on I would send you a text or whatever and let you know if I’m about to walk up in the house with some niggas. Just calm the fuck down, okay? You ain’t gotta do all that, Sparkle.” He chuckled and grabbed her arm gently. “Why you always so high strung?”
Sparkle pulled her arm away and walked up to the window, looking out. She let out a deep breath. “Okay, okay,” she said, smirking. She realized that her reaction was probably a little bit too much. Furthermore, she could only imagine what was going through Isaac’s head. After all, her blowup just now was the second he’d seen of his mother within the last week or so. “I’m just scared about my life, probably. I was just mad because I was nearly naked and you just came walkin’ through the door with a couple niggas I don’t even know.”
“You know them niggas,” John said. “I know I shoulda said somethin’ first, but you know that I wouldn’t bring no niggas up in here that you don’t feel like I could trust and shit around my child and his mother. I know we ain’t work out at the time and shit, but you know too that I still got love for you and shit. So, why you trippin’, Sparkle? Huh? Why the fuck you trippin’?” His eyes dropped down to Sparkle’s big, wide ass. She still looked as good as she’d looked before she had Isaac.
Sparkle turned and looked at John. “Yeah, you right,” she said. “You just scared me and I was mad. You know I got a lotta shit on my mind right now, John. I don’t know what the fuck I’mma do. I’m still try’na find a job, but I don’t know what we gon’ do. I mean, I know that me and Isaac can’t stay here forever and shit.”
The Bed You Make: An Urban Hood Drama Page 7
