These Streets Don't Love You Like I Do

by Charmanie Saquea

  Khan laughed as he shook his head. “If your ass wasn’t in her auditioning for a music video, you would’ve heard me come in.”

  Ahnesty rolled her eyes with a smirk. “Whatever, dude. You hungry?” she asked.

  “Hell yea. You’re the only person besides my mama that I let in my kitchen anyways. What you cook?” he asked.

  “You’ll find out when I’m done. Go get yourself cleaned up,” she instructed him.

  “Alright, Ms. Bossy,” Khan joked before he left the kitchen.

  Ahnesty sighed as she reached for her phone to send Faizon a quick text message.

  Everything is good on my end

  Never in a million years would she have expected to be in the position she was in now, but like they say, love will make you do some crazy things. When she heard Khan’s plans to take Fabion out, she immediately started thinking of how she could stop him.

  When she told Faizon, Tone and Zo her plan of getting back with Khan just to find out all his information, she was scared shitless. She honestly didn’t think he would let her back in that easily, but it was a bonus for her.

  The plan was to have Khan trust her enough so that he would tell her how his whole operation worked. She needed shipment dates, times, how much money was supposed to be picked up from the trap, and all of that stuff. As soon as she found out everything she needed to learn, she would tell Faizon so he and Tone could come in and mess everything up.

  Instead of Fabion’s traps being robbed, it was going to be Khan getting robbed. Since he claimed he was barely making any money, he really wasn’t going to be making any now. This is why she had to make Fabion feel like she didn’t want to be with him anymore.

  She couldn’t juggle both Fab and Khan at the same time, so she had to cut Fab off for the time being since most of her time was going to be spent with Khan.

  Zon: Be careful sis, I would hate to have to body a nigga.

  Ahnesty exited out of the message when she heard Khan coming. She had to be extra careful to make sure she didn’t get caught up.

  “Are you sure you’re not going to have your nigga coming over here trying to shoot our asses?” Khan asked as he sat at the island.

  “What nigga? I don’t have a nigga. Plus, how would he even be able to get in with that big ass gate you got out there?”

  “True, but you never know what niggas would do in the name of love.” Khan shrugged.

  “Humph, if you loved someone, you would do everything in your power to keep them happy and make sure you never lose them. If cheating on me means you love me then I don’t need to be loved,” she said as she looked at him with convicting eyes.

  “Damn, why do I feel like you’re talking about me?” he asked.

  “If the shoe fits, you know what to do with it.” She shrugged.

  Ahnesty left the conversation at that as she fixed Khan’s food and placed his plate in front of him. If playing wifey to Khan was what she needed to do to get the info she needed then so be it. As soon as she got what she wanted, she was taking her ass back to Fabion. Lord, please help me not to do anything unholy to this man while I’m in his house, she silently prayed.

  13

  The next morning, Ahnesty woke up to the smell of food and fingers being ran through her hair. When she slightly opened her eyes, Khan was just sitting there staring at her. She looked up into his grey eyes and smiled.

  “You know light skin has never been my thing but I made an exception for you,” she told him.

  “Yea, I've always been an exception to the rules.” He smiled.

  “Whatever, boy,” she said as she sat up. “It's only nine in the morning and you're fully dressed. Where you going?”

  “I gotta make some moves, it's money to be made,” he told her as he placed the tray of food on her lap.

  “Breakfast in bed? For me? What did I do to deserve this?” she joked.

  “Cut it out,” he laughed. “I figured since I didn't fix you breakfast the last time, I would do it for you today.”

  “Awww, look at Shakhan being sweet.”

  Khan just smiled while shaking his head. “Are you going to be here when I get back?” he asked while handing her a key.

  “Not sure. I have a pretty busy day with Chas today so I might go home or crash at her place.”

  “Alright, lock up.”

  Ahnesty finished her breakfast then jumped in the shower afterwards. After she got dressed, she went walking down the hall where she remembered Khan’s office was. She was hoping she could find some type of information in there.

  “Dammit!” she sighed in frustration when she realized the door was locked.

  Feeling defeated, she retreated back to his room and gathered her belongings so she could leave. As soon as she got in her car and prepared to leave, her phone started ringing. Seeing that it was Fabion calling her, she thought about not answering it.

  “Yes, Fab?’ she answered.

  “I need you to meet me somewhere,” he said.

  “Where and for what?” she asked as she pulled up to the gate and typed the code in for it to open.

  “Bloomfield,” he said.

  Ahnesty damn near dropped her phone when he said that. Oh shit, does he know I’m out here? she thought to herself as she looked around suspiciously. Her entire plan would be out the window and she would be dead if Fab found out she was even within fifty feet of Khan, let alone his house.

  “Why you wanna meet there?” she asked skeptically.

  “Stop asking so many questions and just bring your ass on. I’ll text you the address,” he told her before hanging up.

  Ahnesty sat there outside of the gate and sighed. Her little plan was starting to make her paranoid and she was only one day in.

  “Girl, you have got to get ahold of yourself,” she told herself out loud.

  ___

  Ahnesty sat outside of Khan’s house for at least a half hour so it wouldn’t seem suspicious that she was already in Bloomfield. She was grateful that the address Fab sent her was on the other side of the township. When she pulled up to the house, she had to make sure she had the right address.

  “Oh my God,” she said as she got out of her car.

  This house was a damn mini-mansion. Khan’s house wasn’t little, but this house definitely put his to shame. She slowly walked up the stairs that led to big double doors. As soon as her foot touched the first step, the door came open.

  “Close your mouth before something fly in it.” Fab smiled as he stood in the doorway.

  She didn’t even realize her mouth was open until he said something. She closed her mouth and met him in the doorway.

  “Fabion, whose house is this?” she asked him as he led her in.

  “This belongs to us,” he told her.

  Ahnesty damn near snapped her neck when she whipped her head to look at him. She searched his face for any sign that he was joking or playing with her but he held a straight face.

  “Us as in who?” she asked for clarification.

  “Us as in Fabion and Ahnesty,” he said as he pulled her into his arms.

  “No, no, no! Fab, I thought we were clear on the fact that I needed a break?”

  “Yea, I got you but whenever you decide to get your mind right, you know where home is.” He smirked as he slapped her on the ass. “Check the garage.”

  Ahnesty’s eyebrow went up in suspicion when she heard that. She didn’t know what else Fabion had up his sleeve.

  “I don’t even know where the garage is.”

  “Go to the left side of the stairs, in the kitchen, take the elevator to the ground level,” he instructed her.

  Ahnesty was trying to act like she wasn’t impressed but she was really about to burst from the anticipation. She knew she was lying to herself when she said she was going to stay away from Fab. Was that even possible? Now here his ass was, bearing gifts and making it even more difficult.

  Following his instructions, she got on the elevator and pressed ‘G’ to go to
the ground level. When the elevator stopped and the door opened, she screamed like she had lost her damn mind.

  “AHHHHHHH!” she screamed as she ran over to her gift.

  A cocaine white Bentley Continental GT with a purple bow on top of it sat in the garage. Fab had left the keys in the door for her so she unlocked it and hopped in. The interior was white and wood grain. The seats were as soft as butter as she sat in it and felt herself just melt.

  “Oh my God! He got me a Bentley!” she said to herself.

  “I take it you like it?” she heard.

  She climbed out of her new baby and ran back over by the elevator and jumped in his arms. She kissed him all over his face before finally kissing his lips.

  “Look, Ahni. I don’t want you thinking I did all this because I was trying to swindle you into getting back with me. I respect you choice to take a break but that don’t mean that I’m going to stop loving you or doing for you. I have to leave in three hours to catch my flight to Columbia and I just wanted to leave you with something,” he told her.

  “How long are you going to be gone?” she asked.

  “I’ll probably be gone a week this time, so you can at least miss me a little.” He smiled.

  Ahnesty climbed out of his arms and went to close her car door before putting her keys in her pocket. She walked back over to Fab and pushed him back into the elevator until his back was against the wall.

  “You said you have to leave in three hours?”

  “Yea, why?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

  She closed the doors to the elevator but didn’t push any buttons. She walked back over to him and grabbed at his belt.

  “I guess you better get to work,” she told him before biting her lip.

  It had been a while since she had some hood loving in her life and she was horny as hell. Fucking Khan wasn’t a part of her plans so she was definitely about to get her fix while she could.

  14

  “Khan, I’m hungry,” Ahnesty whined.

  “Okay, crybaby, we’ll get you something to eat in a minute,” he told her.

  It was day three of Fab being gone and day four of her plan to take down Khan. She was missing Fabion something terrible. Khan was still hadn’t given her anything she could take back to Faizon and she was starting to doubt her plan was going to work.

  “Where are we going?” she asked with an attitude.

  “It’s the last Friday of the month, baby. I gotta pick up my money,” he explained.

  Ahnesty perked up a little when she heard that. Maybe my plan might work after all, she thought.

  “Are you sure you should be doing that with me in the car?” she asked to play it off.

  “Why not? You’re not going to try to rob me are you?” he asked.

  Not me, but my brother is. “No, I’m not about that life.”

  “Okay then, so I ain’t worried.”

  Just then Ahnesty’s phone vibrated in her hand. Fabion was calling her but she had to reject his call. She thought she was discreet with it but Khan saw who was calling her.

  “You gonna drive that nigga crazy,” he told her.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Rejecting his calls, chilling with his enemy. All that shit will drive a nigga crazy,” he explained.

  “How would you know?” she questioned.

  “Maybe you forgot I was in his shoes two years ago. You just don’t know what that shit do to a nigga, especially when he really love your ass.”

  “Well, you two fucked up, I didn’t. Had you been thinking with your head and not with your dick—”

  “We would still be together. Right?” he said as he pulled up to one of his trap houses.

  “Who knows, Shakhan? We can’t dwell on that, though. Let’s just focus on right now.” She shrugged.

  “Whatever you say, Ahni,” he said before getting out. “As a matter of fact, jump in the driver’s seat.”

  Ahnesty got out of the car and walked over to the driver’s side. She was so focused on texting Faizon an address that she never noticed her cousin standing on the porch taking pictures.

  “If it isn’t little Miss Goody Two Shoes, Ahnesty,” Emani called out to her after she got a few flicks in.

  Ahnesty looked up at her and rolled her eyes. It was the middle of September and chilly. She wasn’t about to stand out in the cold and entertain Emani so she got in the car without speaking.

  Emani laughed as she walked over to the car and tapped on the window. Ahnesty sighed as she slightly rolled the window down.

  “What, Emani?”

  “So you act like you don’t want to be seen with me but you’ll be out in public with your nigga’s enemy?” Emani chuckled. “And Nana always thought you were the good one.”

  “Have you ever heard the statement that when you assume shit, you make an ass out of yourself? I’m grown. Don’t worry about me,” Ahnesty told her.

  “Yea, so how does Fabion feel about this? That is, if he knows.” Emani smirked.

  Having enough of Emani’s bullshit, Ahnesty rolled the window up on her. She wasn’t worried about Emani telling Fabion anything because she wasn’t even allowed to come near him. He didn’t like her and every time she crossed his path, he would threaten her.

  “Hey, Khan!” Emani called out to Khan once she noticed him coming out of the house.

  Khan just hit her with a head nod before jogging to the car and getting in. He put a bag in the backseat and Ahnesty happily sped off.

  “Where to next?’ she asked.

  ___

  Later on that night, Ahnesty was lying in Chasity’s bed holding Saria. She had been out with Khan all day and she was tired as hell. She didn’t know if she could go on with this plan any longer for a couple of reasons.

  “I have a confession,” she said.

  “What?” Chasity asked as she folded Saria’s clothes.

  “I’ve been with Khan almost every day since I found out about Fab and Nikki,” she blurted out.

  Chasity slowly turned and looked at her cousin like she had just grown three heads. “Come again. I think I heard you wrong,” she said.

  Ahnesty sighed. “Not like that, Chas. That day I disappeared, I was at his house and I heard him on the phone plotting on Fab. So my crazy ass thought of this plan to set him up to be robbed and all this crazy stuff. In order to do that, I had to get some inside info which requires me to actually be around him,” Ahnesty explained.

  “Now I definitely know you have lost your mind. Ahnesty, listen to what the hell you just said. You do realize you are putting yourself in the middle of some beef these niggas have been having since forever, right?” Chasity asked.

  “What am I supposed to do, Chasity? Just sit back and let Fabion lose everything he worked hard for or possibly get killed over some bullshit?”

  “Ahnesty, Fabion is a grown ass man who I’m pretty sure is capable of taking care of himself. I’m not saying you don’t have the right to want to protect him and have his back. The logical thing for you to have done was to tell him what you heard and let him handle it however he was going to handle it. I can’t even believe he’s cool with letting you go through with this,” Chasity fussed.

  “He doesn’t know,” Ahnesty informed her.

  “That’s even worse! Have you ever thought about what could happen when Khan finds out you set him up? Do you think he’s going to let it slide? Hell no, Ahnesty! He’s going to come after you,” Chasity exclaimed.

  Chasity wasn’t mad that Ahnesty wanted to have Fab’s back. She was mad because there was a possibility that this would not go right and her cousin could possibly get hurt. This wasn’t some normal high school beef that Ahnesty was dealing with. This was some grown man, street war shit.

  “You’re right, Chas Chas. Besides, I ran into your sister today while I was with Khan and she was talking crazy. I don’t know if she’ll tell Fab or not, but I can’t be too sure.”

  “I don’t put nothing past her trifling ass. Yo
u remember what she did to me, and I’m her damn sister. I still owe her an ass whooping for that, so if she does get some courage and run her mouth, I’ll beat her ass for you. Nana can’t save her this time,” Chasity fussed.

  “I just don’t know what to do. Like, I already started so I feel like I have to finish, but the time I’ve been spending with Khan reminds me of all the things I seen in him when we got together. It’s scary as hell,” Ahnesty confessed.

  “Ahnesty, please don’t tell me you are falling back in love with this man? The same man you’re plotting to set up,” Chasity reminded her.

  “No, I’m in love with Fab, but you never get over your first love, right?”

  Chasity shook her head and took Saria from Ahnesty. “Baby, you need to go to them prayer meetings with Nana because only God can help you with this one, chile.”

  15

  “Fabion, you are supposed to be helping me,” Ahnesty complained as she hung up clothes in the closet.

  “I told your hardheaded ass to leave those clothes where they were at and I’ll buy you a whole new wardrobe. But you don’t listen,” Fab said while lying back in the bed flipping channels on his new 70-inch TV.

  “And I told you that I don’t need new clothes when I’ve barely wore half of the clothes I have now,” she told him.

  She was grateful that Khan had to go to Miami for a business meeting. She tried to talk him into letting her go but he wasn’t having that. She didn’t care anyways because Fab was back in town and she wanted to spend some time with him.

  “Fab, let me ask you a question,” she said as she bounced on the bed next to him.

  “What’s up?” he asked without taking his eyes off the TV.

  “Why did you choose to be a part of the drug game? I mean, it’s not like you’re dumb, you have a Bachelor’s Degree so why not use it?” she asked.

  “Honestly, I only got that degree to try to make my mama happy. She kept telling me and Zon that we were going to end up like our Pops or dead. I did it just to appease her but when she said to hell with me, I said to hell with her and did what I wanted to do.”

  “So do you love the street life and everything it has to offer? Or do you just love the fast money?”