Street Dreams

by K'wan

  “Trinity, you’re in a room full of hustlers. Do you think they really abide by the state drinking age? Go on to the bar and stop talking crazy. I’ll be back in a second.”

  Rio went off in search of Prince while Trinity bumped her way to the bar. The fellas in the club were like octopuses. It seemed like every few feet someone was trying to grab her arm or cop a feel. After slapping a few hands and cursing a few people out, Trinity made it to the glass-topped bar. The bartender was a tall dark man who wore a patch over one eye. When he got to Trinity, he glared at her with his one good eye.

  “Ah …” she stuttered. “Can I get a Hennessy straight and an apple martini?”

  The brutish bartender went off to make Trinity's drinks leaving her alone among the wolves. Trinity ignored the advances and tired come-on lines while she bobbed to the rhythm of “To Be Real.” After a few minutes the bartender returned with her drinks. When Trinity reached in her purse to pay for the drinks, a huge hand reached over her shoulder and placed a hundred-dollar bill on the bar.

  Trinity turned around to see who the latest sorry-ass cat was trying to get a rap. To her surprise she found herself staring at a belt buckle. The man standing before her had to be one of the largest she’d ever seen. He stood at least six-foot-seven without even trying. His bald brown head looked like a dented mailbox atop his shoulders. His broad chest fought to escape the confinement of his blue suit. The hulking man smiled at the bartender, exposing two rows of gold teeth.

  “Keep the change.” the big man said in a baritone voice.

  “Nah,” Trinity said, trying to force the fifty on the bartender. “I got it.”

  “Easy, shorty,” the man said. “It's on me.”

  “Ah…thanks.” Trinity picked up the drinks and tried to keep it moving, but he blocked her path. “Excuse me.”

  “Hold on a sec,” he said, smiling at her. “Think I can get a dance?” “Nah, I’m wit somebody.”

  “It's cool. I just wanna dance, not ya soul. What's ya name, shorty?”

  “Trinity. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” Trinity tried to brush past him, but the big man grabbed her arm.

  “Wait up, Trinity,” he said, steering her back to the bar. “Damn, girl. Whoever you wit must be a hell of a nigga. Shit, you damn near running back to him. Who you wit, ma?”

  “She wit me,” a voice to his rear said. The big man turned around and found a familiar face staring at him. He started to bark on the kid, but there was something familiar about him. After a brief stare down, the big man's memory cleared.

  “Get the fuck outta here,” the big man said. “Little ass Darius. Is that you?”

  “Sup, Truck,” Rio said, moving between him and Trinity. “I see you met my wife?”

  “What up, kid,” Truck said, hugging Rio. “Shorty wit you? Man, you got refined taste, kid.”

  “I know,” Rio said, taking his drink from her. “Welcome home, big boy.”

  “Man, it's good to be home. Them shit holes they use to reform us ain’t nothing nice. But shit, I ain’t gotta tell you, right?”

  “Man, I only did a year. That ain’t even a quarter of ya bid.” “Yeah, but time is time, right? So, Darius. Or should I call you Rio?” “Rio is fine. Darius is for my fam.”

  “Right, right. My pops used to tell me about this up-and-coming kid named Rio, but I never put two and two together. I hear you leading in MVP votes?”

  “Nah, man. I’m just out here trying to do me.”

  “Bull shit, li’l nigga. My pops told me he offered you a spot on the team and you turned him down.”

  “Yep. This ain’t a lifetime thang for me. I plan on retiring, not getting retired.”

  “Yeah, you was always a li’l scary and shit. I remember we used to chase ya li’l bookworm ass around the hood. Hey, you remember that time we dumped you in the garbage?” His comment was directed at Rio, but he kept his eyes on Trinity.

  “Yeah, I remember,” Rio said, tightening his jaw. “Y’all used to give a nigga hell.”

  “Shit, we never meant nothing by it. We was only trying to toughen you up. But the way I hear it, you one of the toughest ma fuckas in the hood now.”

  “You heard wrong, Truck. I’m just me.”

  “You a class act, Rio. Most niggaz would’ve jumped at the chance to be a capo in a million-dollar-a-year operation, but not you. Yeah, you content to be a spot runner.”

  “It serves its purpose, kid. I do what I do and I’m good with it.”

  “Yeah, okay. If I was you, Rio, I’d be doing all I could to keep this fine young thang living like a queen. You know some niggaz would sell their souls to be wit a piece like this here. You better be careful, son. I’d hate to see a more qualified player snatch her from you. Y’all enjoy your night.”

  Rio just stared at Truck as he shoved his drunk ass back through the crowd. Truck called his self playing Rio in front of Trinity. Rio's body temperature rose about one hundred degrees. At that moment nothing would’ve pleased him more than to take Truck's life. Rio was so lost in his thoughts he almost didn’t feel the glass crack in his hand.

  “Damn,” Trinity said, taking the broken glass from him. “You a’ight?”

  “Yeah,” Rio said, looking at his soaked hand. “I’m cool.” “So, that was Prince's kid?” “Yeah. Good old Truck.”

  “That guy gives me the creeps. I can believe that he done killed a few niggaz.”

  “Fuck that nigga,” Rio said coldly. “He bleeds like everybody else. I don’t wanna see you around that nigga, Trinity.”

  “Please, you know I like pretty niggaz like you,” she said jokingly.

  “I’m serious,” he said, glaring at her. “Stay the fuck away from Truck. I don’t want him around you and I don’t want you talking to him.”

  “Okay, okay. Damn, what's up wit y’all two?”

  “Nothing. Just do like I say.”

  “A’ight, damn. Did you see Prince?”

  “Yeah, I saw him. Kicked it for a few, while you was over here wit ya peoples.”

  “Come on, Rio. Don’t even go there. He was trying to get at me. I didn’t even know who he was.”

  “Oh, so you talk to strange men on the regular, huh?”

  “Rio, knock it off. You know I ain’t trying to fuck wit none of these cats. I’m happy with you.”

  “Whatever. Look, let's just get outta here.”

  “But we just got here.”

  “I got a headache. You can stay if you want, I’m out.”

  Rio made his way to the door, leaving Trinity standing at the bar. She didn’t know what the deal was between him and Truck, but there wasn’t a whole lot of love between them. Trinity downed her drink and followed her man.

  Truck sat at a private table in the back, watching the couple and grinning. He knew he’d gotten under Rio's skin. When Prince had written him about his idea of promoting the youngster, Truck had flipped. Who the fuck was Rio to share in the wealth that was promised to him? Truck just laid in the cut and bided his time.

  Now that he was home, shit would be a little different. Prince was getting on in years and didn’t understand the new age hustler. It was a savage time for the street hustler. Only the most brutal or cunning man could hold sway in the jungle. Truck was a combination of both.

  Prince sat in a booth across the room, watching the exchange. When he had seen Truck approach Trinity he had started to intervene. At the last minute, he changed his mind and decided to see how it played out. Truck was an asshole as usual, but Rio handled himself like a stand-up dude. As Prince watched Rio leave, he knew something would come of the altercation. Truck thought Rio was still the same punk kid from back in the days. If he kept pressing the issue he’d find out different.

  6

  Rio and Trinity sat on the jungle gym, feeding each other fried chicken. It was a nice night so the “hawk” wasn’t too bad. Since they had been together Rio and Trinity had spent many a night just sitting outside, talking under the stars. Looking into Trini
ty's eyes, Rio thought she was still as beautiful as the day they met.

  Rio had been walking up Columbus Hill, trying his best not to freeze. He had been a college graduate for two whole months and still found himself broke as a joke and unemployed. He knew his old position on the block was still there for him, but that was a last resort. He had gone through all the trouble of getting a degree and he wanted to put it to some use.

  While Rio was making his way up the hill, he noticed a pretty little light-skinned girl, struggling with a shopping cart in the snow. The girl had made it almost all the way to the top of the hill when her cart fell over, scattering all of her goods on the sidewalk. People were just passing her by like they didn’t even see her. Rio, being the kind of fella he was, rushed to help her.

  “I got it,” she had snapped, throwing cans into the cart.

  “Damn, shorty,” he said, ignoring her protest. “Don’t bite my head off. I’m just trying to help.”

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to snap. It's just that I’m just so pissed off.”

  “I would be too if I was trying to play a superhero and do it all myself. Why ya man ain’t out here pushing this cart?”

  “Ain’t got one, don’t need one, don’t want one.”

  “Yeah, right. Every good woman needs a good man. Or at least should have one.”

  “And what makes you think I’m a good woman?”

  “Your eyes. They say that the eyes are windows to the soul.”

  “Really? Well, what do you see in my eyes?”

  “I see a future where all of the days are sunny. Where the flowers never cease to blossom and hunger doesn’t exist.” “My eyes tell you all that?” she asked suspiciously. “And then some. I left out the most important part.” “Oh, yeah? And what's that?”

  “The part where you and I are standing in a stony creek,” he said with sincere eyes, “under the spray of a waterfall. I reach into the clear water and pull a ring from the bottom. The ring is made of the rarest stones that shine like tiny suns. I place the ring on your finger and ask you to be my wife.”

  Trinity turned beet red. She usually didn’t talk to strange guys, but there was something different about him. She didn’t know if it was his beautiful words or the sincerity in his eyes, but there was something about this man that was special. After he helped her get the groceries back into the cart, they continued to walk and talk. Since that day the two had never left the other's side.

  “What you thinking about?” Trinity asked, wiping a smear of grease from Rio's cheek.

  “Ain’t nothing,” he said, snapping out of it. “Just daydreaming.”

  “Rio, it's two A.M. How could you be daydreaming?”

  “Don’t be a smart-ass, Trinity. You know what I mean.”

  “I know, Rio.”

  “We’ve been together for a while, huh?” “Yep. Over a year now, boo,” she said smiling.

  “One of the best years of my life, ma.”

  “And many more to come.”

  “Fo sho.”

  Trinity got silent for a while. She was just staring up at the moon wondering what it was like up there. Were there ghettos in space? “What you thinking about?” Rio asked. Trinity thought about it for a moment then said, “Tigers.” “Tigers?”

  “Yeah, tigers. Something wrong with that?”

  “Nah, nothing wrong with that, T. What is it with you and tigers?”

  “I don’t know. I just like em. Tigers are beautiful animals. They’re so free, ya know? They go where they want and they don’t answer to anyone.”

  “Plus they’ll gobble yo ass up.”

  “You’re so silly, Rio. But I do love tigers. I’ve never seen one up close.”

  “You’ve never seen a tiger?” he asked seriously. “No, what's so hard to believe about that?”

  “Nothing, I guess. Just thought that it was a little odd. You’ve never been to the zoo?”

  “Nope. My family isn’t the most highly functional one. When I was a little girl, I used to always watch National Geographic and hope to catch a glimpse of a tiger. They just fascinate me.”

  “Maybe one day I’ll buy you one,” he said seriously.

  “Rio, you’re sweet. But I don’t think people are allowed to own tigers. Especially not in the projects,” she responded in a defeated tone.

  “When you got money you can find ways around just about anything, T. One day I’m gonna be a rich dude.”

  “I believe you,” she said, stroking his face. “I believe you.” They both fell silent again. “Rio,” she said, laying her head on his lap. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Anything, T.”

  “Do you love me?”

  “Is the sky blue? Is water wet?”

  “Stop playing, Rio. I’m serious.”

  “Me, too. You’re the best thing that's ever happened to me, Trinity. I would declare my love for you from the highest mountain. Well, project building in this case. I love you now and I will love you always. Be it in this life or the next.”

  “If you really knew me, would you still say that?”

  “Trinity, I do know you. I know your heart as well as I know mine.”

  “What if I had a secret?” she asked hesitantly.

  “Trinity, unless you were born a man there's no secret that could make me stop loving you.” Rio rubbed his hand across her breast and was surprised when she jumped. “What's wrong?”

  “Nothing,” she said, sitting up. “It's nothing.”

  “Trinity,” he said, turning to face her. “Why do you always shut me out?”

  “You don’t understand.” She sighed.

  “Then make me understand. I wanna help, T, but you gotta let me in.”

  “Rio, sometimes I don’t know about us.”

  “What you talking about girl? We’re soul mates.”

  “Rio, I love you more than waking up in the morning,” she said passionately. “If I had it my way, we’d be together for a long time. But you deserve better.”

  “Trinity, you’re talking crazy.”

  “No, no, Rio. You don’t know what you’re saying. I’m damaged goods. You deserve someone more like you.”

  “Trinity, I don’t care nothing bout them other niggaz you been with in the past. You’re with me now. If I couldn’t have you, then I wouldn’t want nobody.”

  “Rio, I want you to understand what you’re getting into before — “

  “Shhh,” he said, placing his finger over her lips. “I know just what I’m getting into. My heart tells me you’re right and I’m co-signing it.”

  Rio pulled Trinity to him and began to kiss her softly. He started at her forehead and worked his way down to her stomach. Trinity moaned in ecstasy as Rio fondled her breast. He used his index finger to play with her clit, while he sucked her nipples like a starved puppy. Rio was about to slide her skirt up, when it started raining.

  “Ain’t this some shit?” he said, looking up at the sky.

  “No.” She pulled him on top of her. “Don’t stop. I’ve always wanted to make love in the rain.”

  Rio lay his leather jacket on the floor of the jungle gym and placed Trinity on top of it. He removed her panties and slowly slid her skirt up to admire her nudity. Trinity had the perfect body. Not a scar or blemish on her. Just as soon as he had the thought, he noticed the bruise on her thigh. He hesitated to ask her about it, deciding to let it slide.

  Rio balanced his weight on his palms and slid on top of Trinity. Between the warmth from her body and the cool rain on his back, it was a euphoric feeling. Rio aimed his penis and penetrated Trinity. Her vagina was as warm as beach sand on a summer day, but something was different. It had been about a week or so since they had sex. Yet he slid right in. Usually they had to work on it for a second or two, but not tonight. Something nagged at the back of Rio's mind, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

  “Darius,” she moaned. “Make love to me. Make me feel like I’m special to you.”

  Hearing Trini
ty's sweet voice made Rio forget about everything except giving Trinity whatever she desired. He tried to be a gentleman about it at first. He wanted to take his time and do it slow, but Trinity wasn’t having that. She wanted to fuck, not make love. The two went at it for a good half hour. The harder Rio pumped, the louder she screamed. He had to put his hand over her mouth to keep her from waking the whole project up. When it was all said and done, the two lovers lay holding each other. The only sounds that could be heard were their heavy breathing and the last droplets of rain hitting the monkey bars.

  Rio lay on the wet steel looking up at the smoke rings his cigarette was giving off. When he was with Trinity he felt like the luckiest man alive. She was everything a man could want. Beautiful, intelligent, and dead nice with her hands. Trinity had quite the reputation as a boxer.

  Rio looked over at Trinity and noticed that she was shivering. He moved to comfort her, but she turned away. He loved the shit outta Trinity, but the girl had major issues. Then he heard her quietly sobbing.

  “Trinity,” he said, sitting up. “What's wrong?”

  “I’m okay,” she said, sniffling. “Just got a lot on my mind.”

  “Come on, girl,” he said, standing. “Time to get you indoors.”

  Trinity allowed Rio to help her up without wigging out. The two lovers dressed in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. After they finished dressing they hopped off the jungle gym and headed toward Trinity's building. When they were about halfway there, Trinity's father came staggering out of the building. By the way he was tripping all over himself they could tell he was tore down.

  “Shit,” Trinity mumbled. “Just what the fuck I need.”

  “It's okay, boo. He just a li’l tipsy, that's all.”

  “Well, well,” Baker said. “What do we have here?”

  “What up, Mr. Baker?” Rio asked. “How you doing?”

  “Nigga,” he slurred, “how the fuck you think I’m doing?”

  “Enjoying your night, sir?”

  “Yeah, but probably not as much as you, huh? Trinity, what the hell you doing out this late?”

  “Me and Rio just came from the club. He was just walking me home.”