I Got Love For A Carolina Hustla

by Nikki Brown

  “There’s his Yukon right there.” My mom pointed the minute we turned on South Boulevard.

  “I see it,” I said unenthused.

  I didn’t know how he was going to react to the thought of having a baby by me and it was killing me. Deep down inside I knew that I was about to be a single mother, a paid one but definitely single and I didn’t want that.

  Lucas lived a dangerous lifestyle, and I knew it. I never knew when I was gonna get that call that he was dead or when the police were gonna come and kick down the door. No matter how much he tried to prove to me that he had me, the reality of the situation was that it could happen. No one was untouchable.

  Things would be a little different if I was his wife, so if anything happened to him, me and this baby would be set. I would have full access to all of his assets, a baby wouldn’t be as bad though then, but without those papers, I didn’t know if I could go through with this.

  “Let’s go.” My mom climbed out of the car and fixed the knee length skirt she had on. The wind was slightly blowing and her flawless 30-inch weave she had just got done courtesy of her new husband blew in the wind.

  My mother was a beautiful woman on the outside, but she was rotten to the core on the inside, and I hated that about her. She was hateful and self-serving, and the bad part about all of that was that I was just like her.

  Maybe if I could get Lucas to take me back, I could really try this relationship thing with him. I just didn’t know if I could go through with this pregnancy, he would just have to deal with that.

  “Where is Lucas?” I said the minute I was in the shop.

  I took in the atmosphere of the shop, and I had to admit, the place was beautiful. It had a petal pink and tan color scheme, all the styling chairs were a light brown, and each was equipped with an oversized mirror with lights. All of the tools needed to do their jobs were provided by Lucas and was either tan or pink in color. The ambiance was peaceful and professional. I knew better, these hoes were ratchet as fuck and they all wanted Lucas.

  “Didn’t she learn the last time about coming in here making demands and shit?” said the girl that rented the booth in the very front of the shop.

  Her name was Shawte, we’ve had more than one run in. She was a hoe who kept throwing herself on Lucas, and I tried to have her fired but her skills outweighed my request.

  I rarely came here and when I did it was to get money from Lucas. I had no desire to be anywhere around this shop, and it would be a cold day in hell before I let any one of these bitches touch my head. I didn’t like them, and they didn’t like me.

  “Is that how you talk to the owner of this shop?” My mom butted in, even though I wanted to tell her to shut the hell up, the look that was plastered on Shawte’s face was priceless, and I loved it. I let her continue.

  “That bitch don’t run nothing but her mouth.” the elder of the shop said from the back of the Salon. Ms. Pam ran the salon for Lucas, and she stayed in our business more than I would like her to. He would never defend me against her, and it pissed me off.

  “After this baby is born I bet you she will.” My mother boasted and I smiled.

  “That probably ain’t his baby,” Shawte included her two cents. “She looks like a hoe to me,” she laughed, and the other patrons in the shop joined in.

  I swallowed hard because the reality of what she just said. That was not about to be an issue either way because this baby would never take its first breath, that I was sure of.

  “Keep running your mouth, the unemployment line is near. Now, where is Lucas?” I yelled.

  “Oh, he in the back,” Shawte said with a smirk on her face, the snickers from the other stylist had me heated, but I knew that they were just jealous. I huffed and took off towards the back where I knew his office to be.

  The closer I got to the office the clearer the reason that the rest of the stylists were snickering became. A part of me knew that I couldn’t be mad, we weren’t together at the moment, but the shit was still disrespectful.

  “Fuck me back Lema,” Lucas moaned out, and the sound of his voice sounding as if he was enjoying their little rendezvous pissed me off.

  I burst through the door, he jumped but never pulled out of her, and when he saw it was me, he continued what he was doing. That was like a dagger through my heart. I never really got the love thing down packed, but I did care about him. I just cared about money and my family more.

  “Are you serious right now?” I asked him walking further into the room.

  “Get the fuck out, I’ll holla at you after I get this nut. I was almost there until yo ass fucked that shit up.” There was not a smile, nor a hint of humor on his face and it hurt me that much more.

  I don’t know where the tears came from, but they just rushed down my face and I couldn’t control them. As bad as I wanted them to stop they wouldn’t. I knew they said that pregnant women cried all the time, I guess this was part of that. Another reason I wanted no parts of this.

  “Fuck me shit.” The Lema bitch said while staring directly at me with a smirk on her face. Lucas never let up on his stroke, he was fucking her like I wasn’t even standing there. “Yes oh shit baby right there.”

  Her eyes began to roll in the back of her head and her mouth took on an O shape. The anger that built up just thinking about her stepping in and taking my spot burned me up. Her walking around in the latest fashions, going to spa days and all of that. Lucas looked like he was in heaven, I don’t remember him ever looking at me like that.

  “I’m bout to nut.” He announced

  “Shit me too.”

  The table to the left of me were full of little crystal figurines that I ordered him from Paris to put around the shop. I never even noticed that he didn’t. Well I was about to put them to use. Picking up one I started hurling them at them, they weren’t about to have no orgasms today on my time.

  “Fuck, what the fuck Kels.” Lucas yelled grabbing his shoulder that I landed a hit to. I picked up another and struck the side of her face and she tried to lunge at me, but Lucas was behind her and had her pinned between the desk and his body.

  “So you just gone disrespect the mother of your child like that?” They stopped struggling against one another and she looked back at him and he looked at me with an expression that I couldn’t read. “Yeah nigga you heard me, I’m pregnant!”

  Lucas

  The minute those words came out of her mouth my dick went limp, how in the hell was she pregnant if we hardly ever fucked. I ran through every situation in my mind that could have possibly led to this, and I couldn’t think of one, not a single one.

  Kelsi was sneaky, and I knew I couldn’t trust her, and when she started talking about if I got her pregnant, I would have to marry her and shit I started to strap up. Yeah, I wanted a kid, but I knew that I didn’t want to be with her for the rest of my life I would end up killing her.

  She was selfish and only wanted my money, which was more than likely why she was putting on this little charade. Slowly pulling out of Lema I stepped back and turned my attention towards her.

  “Yo quit fucking with me Kels.” I gave her a warning look she knew that I didn’t play with shit like this. She reached into her pocketbook and pulled out a piece of paper from the doctor, and I looked over its contents. “This right here say you around eight weeks, if I count that shit up correctly I was in Miami when you supposedly got pregnant so I ain’t really feeling that shit.” I threw the paper in her direction.

  Worry washed over her pretty face but just as fast as it appeared it was gone again, but confidence reappeared. “It’s just an estimate Lucas, from my last period. I won’t know more until they do the ultrasound. And can y’all disrespectful asses put some fucking clothes on.”

  “Fuck you bitch you came in here fucking up my time, take yo ass home he’ll be there shortly.” Lema reached for her dress and headed to the bathroom that I had in my office. “Oh yeah, I forgot he put you out.” She tossed over her shoulder.
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  I gave her a look that told her to chill. I knew I shouldn’t have never talked to her about my shit with Kels but I was pissed that day, and she came in the office to get some dick, and I ended up telling her everything, down to me fucking Ocean. Bad fucking move on my part.

  “So you pillow talking with this bum bitch now, and I thought you fired the hoe,” Kelsi yelled, and Lema stopped in her tracks.

  “Yo Lema I got this take yo ass on somewhere.” I waved her off, and she sucked her teeth and mumbled something, I didn’t bother to ask her to repeat, I would just deal with her later.

  “What’s going on back here what’s all of the…,” Charlotte said walking into the doorway, her words were cut short by the vision of my dick laying against my thighs sticky with Lema’s juices.

  “MOM!” Kelsi yelled, and Charlotte licked her lips and put her hands on her hips to finish her rant.

  “I know this is not what I think it is.” She was trying her hardest to not look at my dick, but it was proving to be impossible for her, she looked uncomfortable but in a sexual way and I refused to correct the situation, it was bringing me too much joy.

  “My eyes are this way.” I chuckled.

  “Pull up your got damn pants Lucas.” Her eyes weren’t on me they were boring a hole through her mother, while her mother was still trying to figure out if she could handle everything I was working with. Good thing for Kelsi I fucking hated that bitch and I would never break her off, not even if she paid me.

  Charlotte cleared her throat, “So you get my daughter pregnant while you in here screwing something else.” She rolled her neck and put her nasty attitude on display.

  “Yeah I was fucking, I’m single as fuck so I can do that, but the baby part, the jury is still out on that.” I shrugged and gave them both some truth. “I don’t think that’s my baby and the way Kels is looking I don’t think she does either.”

  Her eyes darted around the room before they landed on me again. She needed to think of something to say, and until she had the perfect comeback she didn’t say anything, she let her mother talk for her.

  “This is your baby, and you know it. You are gonna have to man up, or we can make the courts make you man up. Forty percent of all of your lucrative businesses sounds real nice.” The smile on Charlotte’s face was sickening, and I wanted to pull out my nine and shoot that shit off, but instead, I nodded, it would never get that far if this was my baby.

  “Lucas this is your baby, I haven’t been with anyone else.” Kels tried the sweet approach, but I could still hear the lie through it. “I wouldn’t play with you about something like this, no matter what you do to me,” she waved her hand around. “We need to at least have a conversation about it.”

  “Look I will take care of the baby IF it’s mine, but this,” I pointed back and forth between the two of us, “is over. You ain’t willing to accept my family and you ain’t trying to do shit the woman supposed to do, and I ain’t got time for it.”

  “But we are your family now.” She pointed to her stomach that she didn’t even seem excited about.

  “I guess we’ll have to talk about that but right now I need the both of y’all to go.” I pointed to the door and Kelsi hesitated.

  “Can we at least have a conversation?”

  I was about to answer her, but the phone to the Salon rang, and I looked at the caller id, and it was the school. Quickly answering the phone, I held my breath for what they were about to say.

  Young had been on some other shit the whole time he had been with me. A few days after we finally got Cherice to stop tripping the lady from the state told us we could pick him up from her office. Shit been going down hill from there.

  Trying to figure out what was going on with him was like pulling teeth. I didn’t know whether I was coming or going with him. Every now and then he’ll get this far away look in his eyes, I knew there was something really wrong but he wouldn’t talk to us. I wanted to help him, but he kept shutting me out. Instead of vocalizing his hurt, he was showing the fuck out, so I was sure that the call I had just answered wasn’t a good one.

  “This is Lucas Sharp.”

  “Are you really gone answer the phone in the middle of a conversation,” Kelsi yelled out and I held up my hand and shot her a deadly look that made her take a step back. She knew not to fuck with me, she had met Kraft before.

  “Yes Mr. Sharp, I’m calling on behalf of Kameron, he assaulted a teacher today during lunch, and the police are ‘bout to arrest him. You will have to pick him up at the police station. We need to set up a time to discuss your options because we are voting whether or not we are going to expel him from school.”

  “And that warrant’s an expulsion from school?”

  I knew that Kam was a handful and he had been acting out but for her to say they were considering kicking him out for the rest of the school years was a bit much if you asked me. Assaulting a teacher is fucked up but got damn his ass needs an education.

  “According to the cafeteria staff and other students, Mr. Crane told him that he looked very nice today and that he should dress like that more often. They said when Mr. Crane went to shake his hand he drew back and punched him in the nose and began to scream, I’m not a faggot.”

  “Did the teacher do something to him or touch him to make him react that way?” Alarms were going up, and something wasn’t adding up for him to just spaz out like that just from the teacher telling him that he looked nice. It was more to the situation and if that teacher so much as looked at him in a fucked up way he wouldn’t teach anywhere else. Hell, he wouldn’t breathe anywhere else.

  “We watched the tape and the only time that Mr. Crane approached Kam was when he went to shake his hand. The tapes don’t have sound, so their conversation came from witnesses.” She informed me.

  “Well, I need to see those tapes.”

  “And that is your right, but I assure you, Mr. Sharp, that—” I hung up the phone I didn’t need to hear anything else she had to say.

  Lema was coming out of the bathroom as I was making my way in, Charlotte started with her shit, and I dismissed her. Kelsi sat down behind my desk and started going through my shit, Lema laughed and headed back out the door to continue on her way. Our ten minute getaway turned into a damn near a half hour, and she had clients to deal with.

  Washing up I got dressed and came out of the bathroom, Kelsi was sitting at the desk with a box of condoms that I kept in the office for times like today.

  “What are these?” she asked standing up and walking in my direction.

  “I’m single as fuck, you know that so don’t question me.” I glared at her. “You need to go get yo mama up out of my shop before things get real disrespectful around here.”

  “Like they weren’t disrespectful enough.” she rolled her eyes.

  “I ain’t got time for this.” I waved her off and went to the door and opened it, signaling for her to make her exit.

  She just stood there staring at me. My eyes traced her body mentally trying to think how I didn’t notice any changes in her, then I realized that I hadn’t looked at her like that in a while. We hadn’t had sex in over two months which was why I was so confused as to how I was this child’s father.

  “Yo get the fuck out.” I bluntly announced, sighing heavily she walked in my direction.

  “I’m pregnant with your child, and I don’t have anywhere to go.” Batting her eyelashes, she dug deep down and pulled out some crocodile tears from somewhere and let them roll down her face. “Can I come back home?”

  “That’s not your home.”

  “Lucas are you serious so what do you want me to do, go and stay at a shelter?”

  “Where the fuck you been staying?”

  “With my mom but her husband wants me out of the house.” That was a lie, I knew it and so did she. “Ask him if you don’t believe me, he said they needed their space that they were still young and adventurous.”

  “I could tell by the way yo mama was
looking at my dick that she still looking to get her groove back.” I laughed, and she reached her hand up to slap me, but I caught it. “You ain’t that fucking stupid.” I gritted, and she gradually lowered her hand.

  “This baby is your responsibility too,” I yelled at him.

  I reluctantly told her that she could come and stay in the guest room downstairs, but that didn’t change shit about our situation. Being with her was not something that my heart desired, and I wasn’t about to force myself to do that shit because she may be carrying my seed.

  Her ass thought that she was gone pin this baby on me and I not find out for sure if the baby belonged to me but she had another thing coming. A DNA test was right around the corner, and she didn’t even know it. If I find out she been on some bullshit, it’s gone be hell to pay.

  Dismissing her, I hopped in my car and headed over to Mecklenburg County Jail to grab Young. I called my brother to meet me there, and he let me know that he was on his way.

  ***

  There were so many people lined up to speak to the magistrate, I was pissed the fuck off, and I was gonna make sure Young knew just how much. I talked to pops about his behavior, and he said that he may be struggling with the fact that he witnessed his mother commit murder and go to jail, say he may need to see someone. At first, I was against that, but now it may be something I needed to look into.

  “I don’t know what’s going on with Shamar, we had a talk about everything, and I thought she was going in the right direction.” That voice had my dick bricking up immediately, it was her.

  After the morning I left her house I tried to call her, and she wouldn’t answer my calls worth shit, I even tried to pop up at her house, and she wouldn’t come to the door. A few days later after my pop up, she sent me a text saying it was for the best if we just didn’t contact each other again. I wasn’t feeling that shit, but I wasn’t about to press her about it.