The Wrong Side Of Love: A Hood Love Story

by Charmanie Saquea

  “So,” Lola smiled. “Which one of you wants to go first?”

  “I’ll let you go first,” Jayliah said, never taking her eyes off Chanel.

  “Okay, Miss Coco. You can follow me to my chair.”

  “Wait, hold up, Lola. I was here first,” Chanel said with an attitude.

  “Would you like for me to call Zeek and tell him that, or would prefer to do it?” Lola questioned with a raised eyebrow. “I didn’t think so,” she said when Chanel suddenly turned into a mute.

  Coco just shook her head as she followed behind Lola to her chair. When she sat down, she finally decided to speak on the matter.

  “That broad was here before me, I don’t mind waiting.”

  “Honey, you must have thought Zeek was playing when he said he would personally come through here and shut this place down. It wouldn’t be the first time he has done so and I can’t have that, I need my little coins I worked hard for. I can’t be having him shutting shit down so she can sit there and wait until I get to her,” Lola exclaimed.

  Coco wanted to asked why would she let another man regulate her shop but she let that one go. She knew how Zeek could be and he was very intimidating at times but to go as far as to completely shut down the shop was a tad bit too much for Coco.

  “So, how long have you and Zeek been dealing with each other?” Lola asked.

  “Some time now.”

  “Okay, keeping your business, your business. I like it and respect it, some women come in here and tell all their business with no shame, so I can’t even be mad at you.”

  Meanwhile, Chanel was still in the front, pissed. She couldn’t believe the shit Zeek was on and she needed answers from him. She called him but he didn’t answer, just like she figured he wouldn’t do. She sent him a text.

  Me: We need to talk

  It took him ten minutes to reply, adding more fuel to her attitude.

  Zeek: You know where to come see me

  Chanel huffed as she got up. It pissed her off even more that she had to meet up with him at one of his damn hangouts like she was one of the homies or something. Saying fuck her hair appointment, she went to go meet up Zeek.

  When Chanel pulled up to the house on 7 Mile, some of Zeek’s boys were out there. They spoke and told her he was in the house. When she got in the house, she went straight to the back where she found Zeek in one of the rooms, sitting on a couch, counting money with a blunt hanging from his mouth.

  “You the only person I know that would do this shit on their birthday,” she said as she stood there with her arms folded.

  “That’s why I’m the only person you know they call the king of the streets; but what’s up? I got other shit I need to do for tonight and you holding me up,” Zeek said, never looking up at her.

  “I need to know what type of shit you’re on, Zeek. Like, please tell me what’s really going on.”

  Now Zeek had stopped counting money and was looking at her with a blank facial expression. He didn’t know what the hell Chanel was talking about and the fact that she was talking in riddles wasn’t making it any better.

  “I need you to speak English, Chanel, because you and I both know I don’t speak bullshit.”

  “So you’re letting this bitch whip the Bentley now? The one you was ready to shoot me over if I even so much as looked at it? Making threats to shut Lola’s shop down over this bitch? What the fuck! Is her pussy made of gold or something?”

  Ignoring everything that Chanel was just ranting and raving about, Zeek went back to counting the last of his money. With a down right attitude, she watched as he put rubber bands around the bills before throwing them in a duffle bag.

  “Wow, okay. So just fuck everything I just said, right? You know what? Fuck you, Zeek! You don’t—”

  Chanel’s words were cut off when Zeek suddenly jumped up and grabbed her by her throat before throwing her over the arm of the couch, lifting her dress up.

  “This what the fuck you wanted, right? That’s really what all that bullshit you was just spewing meant?” Zeek asked as he unbuckled his pants. He didn’t even wait for her to respond before he rammed his dick into her. Not even trying to make this pleasurable for her, he continued to pump in and out of her as quickly as possible.

  “Zeek, slow down.”

  Ignoring her, he continued to pump until he felt his nut building up. Quickly pulling out of Chanel, he released on her ass.

  “What the hell? I didn’t even get mine,” she squealed.

  Grabbing her hair, Zeek pulled her head back so she could hear what he was about to say.

  “I don’t give a fuck! Don’t ever question me about shit I do, I’m a grown ass man. The only thing you need to be concerned with is being ready to receive this dick whenever I’m willing to give it. Now get the fuck up out of here. I got shit to do,” Zeek said, making her feel stupid.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Coco and Jayliah pulled up to Club Toxic ready to get their party on. Due to Jayliah having Quaid while in her teens and Coco going straight to college right out of high school then being hired at the hospital she did her internship at, the two sisters had never partied together before, but tonight was surely going to be a night for the both of them to remember.

  “Oh my gosh, Jay! That nigga showed me up!” Coco laughed.

  “Girl, what are you talking about?” Jayliah asked confused.

  “You see that Rolls Royce!” Coco exclaimed.

  “No Zeek did not buy a fucking Ghost for his birthday! That nigga is ill, no wonder he had no problems with us pushing this damn Bentley around.”

  “Let’s get in this club so I can tell him about himself.”

  When the ladies walked up to the line, they were receiving all types of envious stares from the women who had to stand in line. The bouncer announced their arrival in his headpiece as he nodded his head at them and lifted the rope for them to enter. When they entered, another security met them and led them to VIP.

  “Jay, no this nigga don’t got a throne like he really a king,” Coco whispered in her sister’s ear as they shared a laugh.

  In the middle of the VIP section roped off with his boys, sitting in a throne was none other than Zeek, dressed for the gods in his gold and white ensemble. Zeek looked up and smiled from ear to ear when he saw Coco coming in his direction.

  “You put the capital s in stunt,” she told him.

  “Don’t forget to make the rest of those letters capital also,” he joked as he got up to hug her.

  “Happy 25th birthday, Ezekiel Clay,” Coco told him as she wrapped her arms around his neck to give him a hug.

  “Thank you. It’s a happy one now that you’re here.”

  Since he’d left the house before she woke up this morning, Zeek literally hadn’t seen Coco all day long and he missed her. He decided to show her just how much he missed her by shoving his tongue down her throat in front of everyone, not giving a damn who was witnessing this public display of affection between the two.

  “Uh, excuse me, Jacole, but you’re not the only one who came out to show Zeek some love tonight. I mean, damn,” Jayliah joked, making everyone laugh.

  “So irritating,” Coco sighed as she broke the kiss, wiping her lipstick off Zeek’s lips.

  “Aye, don’t go too far. I got something I wanna show you,” he told her as she tried to walk away.

  “I’m going over here to see Marco.”

  “Cool.”

  “Happy birthday, Zeek. I tried to bring your gift in but Coco made me leave it at the house with hers,” Jayliah told him.

  “It’s cool. Thanks, sis. You haven’t been having any problems lately, have you?” Zeek asked on a more serious note.

  No matter what bullshit she and Tariq were going through, Zeek would always consider Jayliah to be his family and if she had a problem, he had no issue solving it for her. All she had to do was say the word. Just because his cousin was acting all butt hurt didn’t mean he was going to turn his back on her.
r />   “No worries, everything is cool,” Jayliah assured him.

  “Marcooooo!” Coco sang as she squeezed in between him and a bird that was flocking him, hitting her in the face with her hair as she flipped her hair.

  “Excuse you,” the girl said.

  “You’re excused, bye.” Coco waved her off.

  Marco just laughed and shook his head as he wrapped his arms around Coco and pulled her in for a hug.

  “How you gon just come over here and got rid of my entertainment for the night?” he asked.

  “You know better than that, Marco. We don’t entertain birds. We need to get you a nice, wholesome woman.”

  “Well, I could have had one but you fucked around and let my brother get her,” he reminded her.

  “I know,” Coco groaned. “I’m sorry, Marco. I never would have thought that the person Jay ended up with would have been your brother. I told you she kept me from him for a while before she introduced me to him.”

  “I know. It’s cool, though.”

  They heard a commotion coming from the area she had left Zeek and her sister in and they looked up to see Zeek holding Jayliah back while Tariq was holding another female back. Always ready to ride for her sister, Coco rushed over there to see what the hell the problem was with Marco hot on her heels.

  “What’s wrong, Jay?” she asked, stepping between her and Zeek.

  “That nigga foul, Coco. On my son he is,” Jayliah said as she tried to calm herself down.

  “See it and weep, bitch. You know what it is!” the girl yelled at Jayliah.

  Coco snapped her head in the girl’s direction and for some reason, something about her was very familiar.

  “Bitch, shut the fuck up, the only reason you got courage right now is because I can’t get to you!” Jayliah yelled back.

  “This shit is not going down tonight. Jay, I need you to call down and let this shit roll off your back,” Zeek told her.

  “Who is that?” Coco asked, wanting either of them to answer her.

  “That’s the same bitch that fucked up my car that one day. The same bitch he was playing stupid like he didn’t know! You a dirty ass nigga, Tariq!”

  “Why the fuck does it matter, we are not together!” Tariq barked at her.

  Jayliah snatched her arm away from Zeek and rushed out of the VIP section. Coco tried to after her but Marco stopped her.

  “I know that’s your sister, but I got her. Stay here and help your man enjoy his night,” he told her.

  “Thank you, Marco. Check her thigh. She came strapped and I’m not trying to have her go down for murder, so please take that from her,” Coco begged.

  “I got you,” Marco slightly chuckled as he took off in the direction Jayliah had just headed in.

  Coco cut her eyes in Tariq’s direction and was about to take a step towards him but Zeek quickly axed that.

  “Dead that shit,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist and walked her towards a secluded area that led to some other areas.

  “Zeek, your cousin is foul as fuck and you know it. He better be glad tonight is all about you, or else I would have set it off up in here. I told him day one that I don’t play about my sister,” Coco fussed as they got on the elevator.

  “Mhm,” Zeek moaned as he kissed Coco’s neck and tried to slide his hand up her dress.

  “Stop, boy, you play too much,” Coco laughed.

  “I’m not playing, you feel that shit,” Zeek said as he placed her ass on dick. “My shit harder than Chinese arithmetic and I ain’t never did the shit, but it just sound hard.”

  “You are just too much. Why you walking around here like you own it?” Coco asked.

  “Shit, you might as well say I do. I saved this bitch from closing down,” he said as they got off the elevator and he led her to a door.

  As he opened the door, Coco could hear laughter from inside.

  “It’s about time, Zeek. I’m too cute to be sitting in a office all night.”

  “With that outfit on, this is exactly where you’re going to be all night,” Zeek told his sister.

  “Boy, please.” She waved him off.

  “Anyways, Coco, this is my big sister Megan, my baby sister Payton and my queen, Joyce,” Zeek introduced.

  Coco had a shocked look on her face because she had no idea that she would be meeting the rest of Zeek’s family tonight. Hell, she never thought she would see the day where she would be meeting his mom or his sisters. He had told her when he started to get deep in the drug game, he shipped them out on the first thing smoking and they now lived in California so she never thought she would get the chance to meet them. Especially since they weren’t in a relationship.

  “He didn’t tell you, huh?” Joyce, his mother, asked with a little laugh.

  “I’m sorry, no he didn’t; but it’s nice to meet you three. I wish he would have told me so I would have been more prepared,” Coco said as she simultaneously pulled her dress down and cut her eyes at Zeek.

  “Chile, please. You have on more clothes than I’ve seen on them girls on those monitors over there. You look beautiful.”

  “Right, you look good,” Zeek cosigned while slapping her on the ass.

  “Can we please get out of this office now?” Payton asked. “Not to be rude to you or anything, Coco, but we’ve been sitting in this office since we got to the club and this is no fun,” she pouted.

  “You’re not supposed to be having fun. It’s my birthday, not yours,” Zeek told, her.

  “Zeek, stop acting like that.” Coco rolled her eyes. “Come on, y’all can come with me.”

  “Oh, thank God,” Megan sighed as she and Payton rushed over to Coco as the three ladies left out of the office.

  “Well, mama?” Zeek asked as he flopped down on the couch next to her and kissed her cheek.

  “I hope I’ll be seeing a lot of Miss Coco, even if I do have to fly down here to see her because I know you won’t be bring her to Cali to see me,” Joyce told her son.

  “You like her?” Zeek asked.

  “So far so good, it’s something about her.”

  “That’s what I said.” Zeek smiled. “She’ll be around as long as she acts right.”

  “You need to be the one acting right, little boy. Now get on out of here and get back to your party.”

  “You don’t want to come down with us?” Zeek asked.

  “Oh no, baby. My days of turning up are over,” his mama said as she waved him off.

  Zeek laughed as he got up. “Mama, what you know about some turning up?”

  “Boy, you better act like you know.”

  “Alright now,” he laughed.

  Zeek loved and cherished the moments he spent laughing and joking with his mother because there was a brief moment in their lives when all that came to a halt. It took her almost five years to get over the death of her husband and to get over her depression but she did and came be even stronger than before.

  When Zeek made it back to VIP, he saw that Chanel was there but he ignored her and he thought she would ignore him too after their little episode earlier in the day but he was obviously wrong. Walking straight past her, he headed in the direction Coco and his sisters were in. That alcohol that she had consumed and seeing that he was ignoring her for the next bitch had Chanel feeling some type of way.

  “Really, Zeek? All I was trying to do was wish you a happy birthday since I forgot to do it earlier when you had me bent over the couch while this bitch was at the shop getting her hair done,” Chanel said with a smirk on her face.

  “Oh, wow,” Payton said in shock.

  “Ignore her,” Zeek warned Coco as she turned around to face Chanel.

  Coco just chuckled and shook her head. “You’re pathetic. I already told you about referring to me as a bitch. If you know what’s good for you, you better go on bout your business.”

  Remembering that Coco sucker punched her, Chanel took the drink she had in her hand and tossed it in Coco’s face before pu
nching. Being quick on her toes, Coco countered with a punch of her own. Before a full out brawl could break out, Tariq and another one of Zeek’s boys helped Zeek break up the fight. By now, Coco was amped up. She wasn’t much of a fighter but when you took her there, it was a wrap.

  “You stupid bitch!” Coco yelled as she tried to fight Zeek to get out of his arms.

  “Aye, calm the fuck down!” he barked at her while pulling her dress down. “You got your business all out and shit. You got one more time to hit me and I swear to God, I’m knocking your little ass out. I’m not Chanel, you don’t wanna go there with me.”

  Coco stopped hitting him, but she was still trying to get out of his arms so Zeek walked her over to the rail of VIP and threatened to drop her over it if she didn’t calm down. By then, security had rushed over and was trying to get to Coco to escort her out of the club.

  “I wish the fuck y’all would touch her and y’all see me standing here,” Zeek told them. “Just get that bitch over there out of here.”

  Finally calming down, Coco was ready to go. Pushing Zeek out of her face, she tried to walk away.

  “Fuck you going?” he asked.

  “Home, where you think?” she asked as if he was stupid.

  “Alright, I’ll be there in a minute,” he told her, trying to get a kiss.

  Putting her hand up in front of his face, she stopped him. “My house.”

  “Whatever, you better be in my bed when I get there,” Zeek yelled after her.

  Coco didn’t even feel the need to respond to him. She didn’t even know why she was mad or had an attitude. Zeek had straight up told her he was not going to stop fucking that girl and that should have been her cue to leave his black ass alone then. But nope, she continued to let him drag her in deeper and deeper, and now she was stuck feeling and looking stupid and she had nobody to blame but herself.