Around the Way Girls

by Karen Williams Chunichi

  Mouse pulled into the garage and saw Nina’s truck. After leaving the crib earlier, he’d gone back to the club and slept on the couch in his office. After a few hours of tossing and turning, he figured he’d just have to face the music and go back home.

  He walked in the house with the intention of going straight to the guest bedroom and going to sleep, but to his surprise, Nina walked right past him in the hall without saying a word. Relieved that he’d gotten away without an argument, he headed into the kitchen to grab a bite to eat.

  As he searched the refrigerator, his cell phone rang. “Yo,” he answered.

  “What up, duke?” Maurice noticed Mouse’s tone of voice. “You a’ight?”

  “Problems, nigga, problems.”

  “After my nigga hooked shit up for you last night, you should be a’ight.”

  “Nah, man, it ain’t that. That shit was gravy. I was loving that shit.”

  “So what’s up, man? Wait. Don’t tell me—woman problems.”

  “You know it. I don’t know what’s up with Nina. She been on some real bullshit lately, man.”

  Nina’s voice sounded from around the corner. “I been on some bullshit? No, you been on some bullshit.”

  “Man, I’ll call you back.” Mouse quickly ended his phone call then directed his attention back toward Nina, who was now staring him in his face. “That’s what the fuck I said. You been on some bullshilt lately, Nina.”

  “Nah, I’m just sick and tired of you and your bullshit.”

  “So, if you so miserable, Nina, then find somebody else.” Mouse walked away from Nina. He was tired as hell, tired of arguing, and had more pressing issues on his mind.

  “Please don’t provoke me, honey, because I’m halfway there. As a matter of fact”—Nina stopped midsentence. She started to let him have it and tell him about the good loving she’d had with Jamal, but she knew a real woman never tells.

  “As a matter of fact what, Nina?” Mouse said as he walked up the stairs. “You got fucked last night? This morning? What?”

  Once at the top of the stairs, Mouse’s phone rang again. He looked down to see it was Jigga calling. He walked into the bathroom of the master bedroom and closed the door behind him.

  Mouse answered like he and Jigga were big friends. “What’s up, Jigga?”

  “My muthafuckin’ money, nigga.”

  “I got you, Jigga. All I need is a few more days, and I’ll have that shit in full.”

  “I hope you really sure about that, nigga, because that’s all you got left. Don’t make a nigga have to snatch your pretty little wifey up when she sneaking out early in the morning.”

  Mouse was distracted by a subtle thump on the bathroom door. He was sure it was Nina listening. He could even see the shadow from her feet through the crack at the bottom of the door.

  Not even giving a fuck anymore, he pulled the door open, and Nina nearly fell through. Mouse didn’t say anything. He just stepped around her and continued his conversation. “A’ight, man. Just give me those few days. I got you.” He hung up the phone.

  “What the fuck is going on?” Like a gnat that won’t go away, Nina was right up in Mouse’s face.

  “Nothing. I just owe niggas a few dollars, and they’re tripping, so just watch your back when you’re creeping in the early-morning hours,” Mouse said, full of sarcasm.

  “Watch my back? Mouse, what is going on? Am I in danger or something?”

  Mouse totally ignored Nina as he walked back into the bathroom and locked the door behind him.

  Minutes later, Nina heard the shower going, so she gave up on the argument. For the time being, anyway.

  “A Night Out”

  “Rain, rain, go away,” Rochelle chanted in the mirror while applying her makeup in the bathroom. The thunderstorm outside was definitely putting a damper on her plans for the evening. Wet clothes, wet hair, wet shoes and washed-up makeup wasn’t the look she was trying to step into the club with. Rochelle preferred for bitches heads to turn and for all eyes to be on her when walked in. The weatherman had predicted that the thunderstorm watch should end by eleven o’clock in the night, but Rochelle had a huge, trusty umbrella to protect her from each raindrop that threatened to melt her sugary-sweet body.

  Mercedes peeped inside the bathroom door. “You sure you want to go out tonight?”

  “I go out every Saturday night. Unless someone has died, plans won’t ever change.” Rochelle smiled. She knew Mercedes thought she would be too exhausted to do anything after eating her pussy good and a few rounds with a dildo, but boy, was she wrong.

  “How much longer is it going to take you to get ready?” Mercedes asked, disappointed.

  “About thirty minutes,” Rochelle responded, although she knew thirty minutes really meant an hour. Hopefully, Peaches won’t show up tonight. I want to enjoy myself minus the drama. It doesn’t help that Mercedes got an attitude. She looked at Mercedes. She could tell something was bothering her.

  Since Rochelle had gotten out of the shower, Mercedes had left the bedroom three times to use the phone. She wondered who the hell she was calling, but decided not to even mention it.

  Instead, she rushed to finish getting dressed. And, just like she’d figured, an hour later she was dressed, and she and Mercedes were on their way out the door, headed to the club.

  “Forty dollars each to get in the club,” the bouncer yelled as Mercedes and Rochelle walked up and stood in line for the club.

  “What the hell is in that club, other than a few naked bitches, that I need to pay forty dollars to get in there?” Rochelle frowned her face up, shaking her head. She grabbed Mercedes and turned around and started walking back to the car. “Bad enough, we were charged five dollars to park. I fuckin’ work here. I should get in free.”

  After being robbed blind by his own employees a few times, Mouse declared to his staff, “If you’re not working you’re treated like a customer—You pay to get in, you pay to play, and you pay for drinks.”

  “Rochelle, you didn’t get dressed up all sexy for nothing.” Mercedes stopped in her tracks then reached in her purse and pulled out four twenties.

  “You got me, baby?” Rochelle cooed in her ear.

  “Yeah,” she nodded, grinning.

  Mercedes always had Rochelle. If she couldn’t pay to get her nails, she paid, weave done, she paid. There was even one time, on the brink of eviction, Mercedes stripped at the club to gather the money to pay for two months of back rent she owed. Whenever and however Rochelle needed her, she was always there.

  For Rochelle, having a personal ATM and free pussy wasn’t so bad, and was better than what she was able to get out of most niggas. “Baby, can you get me a drink?” she inquired as soon as they walked into the club.

  “I sure will.”

  “You know what I like. While you go to the bar, I’m going to the bathroom.”

  Rochelle stood in front of the full-sized mirror and gave herself a quick glance, confirming she looked like the shit.

  She came out of the bathroom and walked up behind Mercedes without her even noticing. She listened as Mercedes screamed into her cell phone, leaving a voice mail for a nigga named Jamal, talking about, they were supposed to be together for the weekend. She gathered that Mercedes was pissed because she thought the guy was with the next bitch.

  As she listened, it dawned on her. That’s probably why she seemed so uneasy all night.

  “Rochelle, baby, what’s good?” Li’l Man put his arm around Rochelle’s waist. “I’ve been calling, but you’ve been sending me straight to your voice mail.”

  “Hey, hon. I’ve just been busy.” Rochelle was lying through her teeth. Between Peaches and Mercedes gunning for her attention and Nina’s drama, she hadn’t had a free moment to get up with him.

  “Who the fuck is this nigga?” Mercedes demanded before throwing their drinks on the floor. She acted as if she was ready to fight.

  “Low tones,” Li’l Man suggested.

  �
�Don’t fuckin’ tell me how to talk,” Mercedes yelled, getting even louder.

  “He’s a friend. Calm the noise down.” Rochelle’s head was starting to pound, and the last thing she needed was to hear Mercedes’ never-ending mouth.

  “Rochelle, call me when you’re free, so I can show you what a real ten-inch chocolate dick feels like in your pussy walls.” Li’l Man walked off.

  “So you fuckin’ that nigga too?”

  “Maybe I should say the same for you. Who the hell is Jamal? You couldn’t be with him, so you settled for me?” Rochelle walked away, leaving Mercedes speechless.

  As Rochelle walked past, Mariah called out, “Chelly Poo!”

  “Oh! Hey, hon.” Rochelle greeted Mariah with a hug. She was so irritated by Mercedes’ statement, she didn’t even see Mariah.

  “What’s wrong?” Mariah asked, noticing the frustration in Rochelle’s face.

  “Girl, Mercedes. She always is saying some shit to piss me off.”

  “Oh, lordie.”

  Mariah shook her head. The drama with Rochelle and Mercedes was so common, she didn’t even care to hear about it.

  Just then Mouse caught her eye. “Excuse me,” she said then walked away before Rochelle could even respond.

  Mouse motioned his boys to come into his office and talk business. He wanted to talk with them about gambling, to see what they could set up for the night. Once in the office, he went straight to his personal bar, and made sure everyone had a drink in hand.

  As Maurice was introducing everyone, the door opens, and Mariah appears. Her eyes on Mouse, she sees no one in the room and heads directly toward him. Finally realizing there were a group of men amongst her, she scanned them quickly then stopped dead in her tracks after noticing Maurice among the group.

  Then she acted like she’d made a wrong turn. “I’m sorry. I was looking for the bathroom.”

  “Back out the door and on the right,” Mouse said nonchalantly. He directed his attention toward the group.

  “Okay, thanks. Sorry to interrupt.” Mariah gathered herself and walked out the room. From the looks of things, everyone believed she was truly lost. She made her way back toward Rochelle, who sat at the bar alone.

  “I’m about to get the hell out of here,” Rochelle said as soon as Mariah walked up.

  Rochelle was pissed off about being second best, so she hooked up with Li’l Man and convinced him to take her home. She left Mercedes at the club by herself without even saying good-bye.

  Lucky for Mercedes, she had driven her own car this night. It didn’t take long for her to realize Rochelle was nowhere in sight. And it took even less time to realize Li’l Man was gone as well. When she saw that the both of them were gone, she already knew the deal. Normally, she would have been on her way to Rochelle’s house, but this time she decided to cut her losses and stay.

  Mercedes spotted Mariah in the corner. “What’s up, Mariah?”

  “Hey. You know Rochelle is gone, right?” Mariah spat with a slight attitude.

  “Yeah, I know. She’s tripping because a friend of mine, Jamal, is in town.”

  Jamal? The sound of that name caught Mouse’s attention as he walked past the girls unnoticed. He was headed to the bar to handle a situation with his bartenders.

  Bored, with Jamal nowhere in sight, and not wanting to go home to an empty apartment, Mercedes decided to flirt with a few of the girls she knew from the club. Within a few minutes, she spotted Mouse in the corner by the bar talking to a couple of his bartenders. Finally something to hold my attention. She headed in his direction.

  She gently tapped him on the shoulder and whispered in his ear, “It’s been a long time.”

  Mouse turned around to face her. “Not now, Mercedes. I’m busy. Besides, I overheard you saying Jamal is in town.” He turned back around to continue talking to his bar staff.

  After Mouse finished his business with the bartenders, he began to think. He sat at the bar trying to put two and two together, his brain racing. He wondered if it was a coincidence a nigga named Jamal called Nina’s phone and then he hears Mercedes saying Jamal is in town. I bet this nigga is the same person. They probably both fucking him and don’t know it.

  Years ago, Mouse had found himself in the same predicament. This shit was like déjà vu. Nina had made the mistake of letting Mercedes’ trick ass come and stay with them. It only left the door open to Mouse getting his dick sucked, and not by his wife.

  “Licky or Sticky?”

  Rochelle quickly hopped in Li’l Man’s truck and shut the door, and Li’l Man sped out of the parking lot, blasting the latest Lil Wayne CD.

  As if being known as one of Jigga’s main soldiers on the streets wasn’t enough, Li’l Man loved being noticed, especially by bitches wishing they were in the passenger side of his ride. Since their encounter at the restaurant he’d done a little research on Rochelle. He hadn’t heard much about her, except she worked at the strip club and that she definitely knew how to ride that stick, both of those a plus in his book.

  Jigga had sent him out to watch Mouse so anybody that was close to Mouse was an asset to Li’l Man, and to have that asset to be a bitch that rides the hell out of dick was a hell of a deal. Anxious to get into Rochelle’s head and panties, he started kicking his best game to her.

  “Mmm, you look good and smell just as nice. I like a woman who takes pride in her appearance. The rare times I have caught a glimpse, you always have your shit together. What perfume do you have on?”

  Rochelle grinned. “Coco Chanel.”

  “That’s kind of pricey. Back in the day, my mother wore the same thing.”

  “Well, if I save my pennies, it’s definitely worth the price tag.”

  “Speaking of pennies, besides the club, do you work anywhere else?”

  “Nah, not right now. Eventually, I would like to go back to school for interior design. Give me a budget under five hundred dollars and I can fix up a whole house. “

  “Ma, your face lights up when talking about that subject. You must really be into it.”

  “Yeah, I am. Give me an empty room and I can bring it to life. I have to confess, I am a female who loves going to Lowe’s to pick out new home décor and giving my walls a new splash of color.”

  “So when I get my house, you’ll help me design it?”

  “Not for free. I’m sure we can work something out though.” Rochelle giggled.

  The late night brought a cool breeze. Rochelle’s arms were folded. She was beginning to get goose bumps. Plus, it didn’t help any that Li’l Man had all of his windows down, so everyone could see it was him driving the Range Rover.

  She was starting to get slightly irritated but wasn’t sure if it was because Li’l Man was acting more like a little boy, showing off his new Jordan’s, or if it was Mercedes crossing her mind every few minutes.

  Li’l Man noticed she was uptight. “Come on, ma. Don’t tell me you upset by that lipstick broad?”

  “No, I’m good.” Rochelle nodded.

  “So tell me, are you gay, bi, or what?”

  “I’m experimenting.” Rochelle smiled.

  “Rochelle, the first thing I want you to know is that you can confide in me. Now, I’m going to ask one more time. What’s really going on between you and Ms. Lipstick?”

  “Her name is Mercedes, not Lipstick. I don’t appreciate you disrespecting her.”

  “I stand corrected. You hungry? I’m trying to get IHOP takeout.”

  “Sure.”

  “Continue, please.” Li’l Man nodded, making a left turn into the IHOP parking lot.

  “Mercedes and I go way back. I had my first girl-on-girl experience with her. No matter what the fuck you think, what we have goes deeper than pussy licking. She’s more like my rock. Whenever I’m in trouble, need something or someone to confide in, that girl has always been there for me. More than I can say for any sorry-ass nigga.” Rochelle confessed.

  “Wow! I didn’t know it could get that deep betw
een females. And don’t knock every man for one man’s fuckup.”

  “Yes, things can get deep between females. As far as that don’t-blame-one-for-all statement, I’ll just ignore that.” Rochelle rolled her eyes.

  “Cool. I’ll dead the convo about your feelings against guys, but only if you promise not to judge me based on the next cat.”

  “Okay. I can do that.”

  “Now back to you. The way I see it, maybe you need to let Loudmouth cool off a bit and talk to her later.”

  “Maybe, you’re right. But do me a favor.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Stop disrespecting my friend. You wouldn’t like it if someone called you li’l dick.”

  “Actually, I wouldn’t give a fuck. One day, you never know, when I’m holding your titties in my hand, fuckin’ you from the back and making you moan, you’ll know if I got a li’l dick or not.”

  “Whatever!” Rochelle giggled, finding Li’l Man’s comment amusing.

  “So, you like working at the club versus a nine-to-five gig?”

  “Yes, I love working at night. For one thing, the money is double what I would make sitting behind a desk. Mouse runs a tight ship, but he’s a decent boss. I know his ass make a killing at the club. As the bartender, my little scraps can add to up to three fifty a night.”

  After getting their takeout and taking Rochelle home, Li’l Man walked her all the way to the front door to make sure she got there safe and sound. He ended up with a kiss on the lips. He took it a little further and nibbled on her ear before breaking out. He didn’t want to fuck her yet, figuring the best pussy was one that was marinating for him.

  “Caught Red-Handed”

  Annoyed by Mouse’s bullshit, Nina had got dressed and headed to pay Jamal another visit.

  After hours of lovemaking, she said to Jamal, “Baby, I’ve gotta go. Mouse said some crazy shit to me earlier about watching my back. So I don’t want to be out too late, just in case there is some truth to what he’s saying.” She searched for her panties and bra.