Street Dreams

by K'wan

  “Fuck, I look stupid?” he asked in a threatening tone. “I know what y’all been doing. Trinity, you dropping ya drawers for this nigga?” “Please, Daddy,” she pleaded.

  “Please, my ass. You know you hot in the pants and so do this slick-talking li’l ma fucka. Rotten li’l cunt, you been out here fucking this nigga?”

  “Mr. Baker,” Rio said, cutting in. “I think you’ve had a little too much to drink. Why don’t I walk both of you home?”

  “You ain’t got to walk me nowhere,” Baker said, raising his voice. “Fuck, don’t you think you’ve helped enough? All I know is, that li’l bitch had better not pop up pregnant. If she do, that's yo ass and hers.”

  “Damn,” Trinity said, sucking her teeth. “I’m so sick of this shit.”

  “You watch your cum-drinking mouth,” Baker said, grabbing her arm. “Bitch, I’m ya father. You gonna learn to respect me.”

  Out of nowhere Baker slapped fire out of Trinity. She staggered backward, but managed to stay on her feet. Baker raised his hand to deliver another blow. His wrist was caught midswing.

  “Now, you listen,” Rio snarled angrily. “This might be ya daughter, but she's my girl. Trinity ain’t no goddamn punching bag. Please, don’t put your hands on her again.”

  Baker tried to break Rio's grip, but the man had him in a vise lock. The more Baker tried to struggle, the tighter Rio squeezed. The pressure got so intense that Baker dropped to one knee.

  “Rio,” Trinity said, placing her hand on his shoulder. “It's okay, boo,” she insisted, trying to calm her man. “I’ll just go with him.”

  “Trinity,” Rio said, squeezing tighter. “He's got no right to put his hands on you.”

  “It's okay, baby. I’ll be okay.”

  Rio waited until he had a few feet between them before he let go. Baker staggered drunkenly to his feet. He rubbed his sore wrist and shot daggers at Rio. Rio turned to Trinity and was about to hug her, when he caught a flicker of steel. Baker rushed Rio with switchblade drawn and murder in his eyes. Rio easily sidestepped the drunk's lunge and went into a defensive position. Baker turned to attack again, but the sound of a hammer cocking froze him.

  “Fuck is the deal?” Cutty asked, stepping out of the darkness. Cutty was a friend of Rio's.

  He was a short, dark-skinned kid with his hair in corn rows. The black army suit he wore made him almost invisible in the darkness. But the chrome 9 he waved was very visible.

  “Yo, Rio,” Cutty said, moving closer. “You straight?”

  “Yeah,” Rio said, looking at Baker. “I’m cool.”

  “Rio,” Trinity said. “I’m gonna take him home.”

  “You sure, ma?”

  “Yeah,” she said sadly. “I’m sure. I’ll call you, okay?”

  “A’ight, T. Hit me on the cell if you need me tonight.”

  “Punk-ass niggaz,” Baker mumbled. “Pull a gun on me? That's a’ight. You ain’t gonna never see my daughter. Ma fucka if I ever see you around my li’l girl again, I’ll kill yo punk ass.”

  “Keep it moving, old man,” Rio hissed. “I’m letting you slide off the strength of Trinity. But, if you keep shooting ya mouth off, I’m gonna let Cutty pop yo ass.”

  Rio stood there and watched the father and daughter depart. He didn’t relax until they were out of sight. When Baker had hit Trinity it took every ounce of self-control in his body to keep from killing the man. People often underestimated Rio because he was skinny. Rio had always known how to box and had been taking lessons in martial arts for the last couple of years. If he really wanted to kill Baker it wouldn’t have been hard.

  “Fuck was that all about?” Cutty asked, putting his gun away.

  “Hood shit, my man. Pure, unsaturated, hood shit.”

  “Bitch,” Baker screamed, when they entered the apartment. “You fucking fast-ass bitch. You and ya li’l drug dealer boyfriend think you’re hot shit, huh?” He grabbed Trinity by her blouse, ripping the neck line. “I’m gonna teach you, whore!”

  “Daddy!” Billy pleaded. “You’re gonna kill her!” Billy, was Trinity's youngest brother. He bore a resemblance to their father, sharing his brown skin and high forehead, but he was slim like their mother. The boy was only thirteen, but he was very protective of his sister. Billy only weighed one hundred pounds on a good day and really didn’t stand a chance against the 260-pound Baker. Still, the boy grabbed at his father's arm.

  “Unass me,” Baker said, slapping Billy to the ground. “I’ll kick ya li’l ass for you next. And you, li’l bitch,” he growled, turning back to Trinity. “I’m gonna show you how niggaz like him do whores.”

  “Daddy,” she pleaded, “don’t, please?” Trinity tried to struggle, but the drunk had her beat. Little Billy lay on the floor and cried as Baker carried his sister into the bedroom.

  Baker threw Trinity down on the bed and began to undo his pants. “Little slut whore,” he slobbered. “Open up for daddy.”

  “Please, Daddy,” Trinity cried. “This ain’t right. We ain’t supposed to be doing this.”

  “Oh, yeah? But it's okay for you to give it to that punk-ass hustler?”

  “Daddy, Rio's my man. We’re in love.”

  “Shut up,” he said, slapping her. “You keep running ya mouth and I’ll put something in it, bitch.”

  Baker wiggled his little penis out and climbed on the bed. He fondled her breast with one hand and tore at her leather skirt with the other. He groaned like a wild animal as he forced his way into his only daughter.

  Trinity closed her eyes as tight as she could and tried to relax. She had learned over the years that if she didn’t fight, he came quicker. As Baker pumped away, Trinity wondered how anyone's God could let something like this go on? If only Rio could somehow take her away from this place, she might know what it was like to be happy for more than just a few stolen moments. But that was a fantasy. Trinity's only thoughts now were to let God take her painlessly.

  “Yo, y’all niggaz know y’all violating,” barked Knowledge. His short, skinny ass looked like a brown Jiminy Cricket. He was a member of the notorious Thieves’ Clique. Although Knowledge was one of the smaller members of the clique, he was by far one of the most vicious.

  “That's my word,” he continued, “y’all niggaz ain’t even from over here, how you gonna try to just post up like that? Where's the respect for the block, son?”

  “Man, fuck you,” Divine said. Divine was an up-and-coming dealer, looking for a block to call his own. He had a medium build with squared soldiers. Divine looked like a Tasmanian devil high on chronic. “Y’all niggaz ain’t got no claim to this stoop. This shit says 104th and Manhattan, not Douglass. Fuck outta here.” Divine went back over to his peeps and laughed Knowledge off.

  “A’ight,” Knowledge said, walking away. “Have it ya way, kid.”

  Knowledge disappeared around a corner. He came back a few minutes later with Shamel and Slugger in tow. Slugger was Shamel's little brother. Even though most people wouldn’t call his six-foot-four, 250-pound frame little.

  “What up?” asked Shamel with his arms spread.

  “Ain’t nothing, God,” Divine said.

  “Gotta be something. I know my li’l mans and them wouldn’t come get me for nothing?”

  “Just a li’l block squabble.”

  “Block squabble? Fuck it's a block squabble and y’all is from like 110th?”

  Normally Divine would’ve said something slick, but that would’ve been a fool's move. He knew who Shamel was and what he was about. Violence. Best to bow out gracefully. “You got that, dawg,” Divine said humbly. “We up outta here. Peace, God.”

  “Peace,” Shamel said with a disgusted look on his face. “Ain’t shit peace.” Shamel reached under his jacket and produced a Desert Eagle. “Fuck the dumb shit. Y’all niggaz empty ya pockets.”

  “Yo, Shamel,” Divine pleaded. “This shit ain’t—”

  “Fuck up,” Shamel barked, clocking him with the gun. “Peel, you bitches.�
�� Reluctantly, Divine and his crew gave up their shit. They had come down the way trying to open up shop, but ended up getting rode on by one of the most feared and brutal stick-up kids in the hood.

  “Big man,” Shamel said to one of the boys. “Run that chain, son.”

  Trinity sat in the tub letting the scalding hot water wash over her. Her eyes were swollen from crying and her face throbbed from the beating. As she sat there under the water, her eyelids began to get heavy. “Soon,” she whispered, looking at the empty pill bottle. “Soon.”

  The little altercation with Trinity's father had Rio pissed. He’d never really liked the man, but he tolerated him because of Trinity. But Baker had taken Rio's kindness for weakness and almost got the business end of the deal. There was no doubt that if Rio had given him the nod, Cutty would’ve gladly aired Baker out. That wouldn’t have really helped much though, and Rio decided just to let the matter slide.

  That still didn’t change the fact that he was pissed off. Rio genuinely loved Trinity, but sometimes she could be a little much. She could have mood swings and shut him out whenever she wanted, but flipped on him when he would withdraw. Another man would’ve been long gone, but Rio was different in that way. Their relationship, in addition to his own personal problems, was a strain on him. What he needed was to let off some steam. Just then a light went off in Rio's head. He pulled out Precious's number and smiled. It was at that moment he could feel little horns sprouting from his head. When Rio called Precious, she was thrilled to hear from him. After a bit of small talk he cut to the chase. Precious agreed to rendezvous with him.

  She originally wanted him to come to her apartment in the Bronx, but Rio didn’t feel like going up there. She offered to come to his house, but he was hardly a fool. All it would’ve taken was for some loud mouth to see them together and he would’ve been in the doghouse with Trinity. Caution was in order.

  Rio told Precious to meet him at a hotel on Fourteenth Street. After he hung up with her, he hopped in a taxi and headed uptown. His first stop was at the bootlegger. He purchased a bottle of champagne and a pint of cognac. Next he went to see Dread to cop some dro. After all that was accomplished, Rio snatched a box ofcondoms and shot downtown.

  It took him about half an hour to make the preparations for his little meeting. He figured that he had a little time to kill since Precious had to come down from the Bronx. To his surprise, she was already waiting in the hotel lobby. She was looking quite sexy, wearing a three-quarter lavender leather jacket and matching riding boots. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, exposing her cute face.

  “What's up, girl?” Rio asked, spreading his arms for her.

  “What's good, sexy?” she said, hugging him around the waist. “I was a little surprised to hear from you after that li’l thing in the club.”

  “That wasn’t about nothing,” he lied. “Let me go see what they’ve got available.”

  “No need,” she said grabbing his crotch. “I already took care of that. We’re in 224.”

  “You’re on top of things, huh?”

  “Yep,” she said, licking her lips. “Hopefully I’ll be on top of you before the night is over.”

  “Be careful what you wish for,” he said, leading her up the narrow stairway.

  Rio held the staircase door open for Precious to pass. When he looked at her body he couldn’t help but to whisper, “Damn.” Precious had it. She unlocked the door and went in, with Rio on her heels. The rooms at the hotel weren’t the most plush, but they were clean and cheap. Besides, it wasn’t like they were vacationing. The room would only be needed for a few hours, if that.

  Rio opened the bottle of yak and plopped on the bed. “Here we are,” he said, grinning.

  “Indeed,” she said, sitting in the wooden chair opposite the bed. “You don’t know how much I’ve thought about you since that night, Rio.”

  “I feel you,” he said, taking a sip. “You’ve been on my mind, too.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “No doubt. You left a lasting impression on me, girl.”

  “What was up with those chicks at the club?”

  “Oh, I told you that wasn’t nothing.”

  “Yeah, right,” she said, twisting her lips. “Red bone looked upset. Was that your girl?”

  “Why you ask me that?”

  “Come on, Rio. We’re both grown. Ain’t no need to lie, boo.”

  “Yeah, that was my girl.”

  “I figured that,” she said, putting one leg up on the chair, showing him that she didn’t have on any panties. “It's all good though, baby. Shorty can have you for the long run. I just want you for a little while.”

  Precious slowly licked her index finger and slid it between her legs. Rio sat on the edge of the bed with his tongue hanging out of his head as Precious began to massage her clit. At first she was just rubbing it with her finger, then she slid it inside her vagina. First one finger, then two, then three. Precious was moaning as she fingered herself for Rio's viewing pleasure.

  Rio absently began to rub himself as he guzzled the cognac. Precious stood up and walked over to the bed. Rio reached for the tie on her leather jacket, but she pushed his hand away. She laid him back on the bed and popped the bottle of champagne. Precious began to drink greedily from the bottle while she wiggled out of her leather jacket. Just as Rio had suspected, she was nude beneath it. Precious continued to chug, letting the champagne spill freely down her breasts and stomach. When the bottle was about halfway finished, she put it to the side and began to undress Rio.

  She slowly removed his mock neck and began to lick his bare chest. Precious then proceeded to slide Rio's pants and boots off. She looked at his throbbing penis and found herself getting more excited. She opened her mouth as wide as it would stretch and made Rio's penis disappear.

  Feeling the heat from her mouth, Rio almost came. She began to lick and suck him viciously, trying to get him to come, but he held fast. Seeing that this tactic wasn’t working, Precious took it to another level. She raised up from Rio and retrieved the champagne bottle. Rio looked at her puzzled as she walked back over to the wooden chair. When Precious placed one leg on either side of the chair he understood what was going down.

  Precious licked the mouth and neck of the bottle, making sure she had it good and moist. After lubricating the bottle she slid it inside her. Rio looked on in amazement as Precious began to work the bottle in and out of her vagina. She bucked wildly as she came over and over again.

  “You like this?” she asked. All Rio could do was nod dumbly as Precious fucked herself with the bottle.

  Rio couldn’t hold his composure any longer. He snatched Precious from the chair and threw her roughly on the bed. She tried to claw at his chest, but he slapped her hands away. The last thing he needed was evidence of what he was about to do. After he put the condom on, he jammed himself inside Precious.

  Precious felt good to Rio, even through the condom. He stroked her like a wild man as she threw it back at him. After a few minutes in the missionary, he flipped her over and began to stroke her from the back.

  “That's what the fuck I’m talking about,” she huffed. “Take this pussy, daddy! Take it!”

  Rio continued to pump away, trying to smash out Precious's insides. The whole time she cursed and cheered him on. Just as Rio was about to come, she jumped up and pulled the condom off. Rio released himself in Precious's mouth and on her face. She lapped up every bit of it like the good little freak that she was. When it was all said and done, Rio collapsed on the bed feeling ten pounds lighter.

  “Damn,” she said, wiping her mouth on the sheet. “That shit was the bomb.”

  “You ain’t never lied, girl,” he agreed. “We need to do this more often.”

  “I don’t think so, Rio.”

  Rio looked at her with a confused expression. “What you mean by that?” he asked, sitting up. “Wasn’t I good?”

  “Oh yeah,” she assured him. “You were the best. The thing is,
you’ve got baggage, Rio.”

  “Baggage?”

  “Yeah, you’ve got a girl.”

  “That didn’t seem to stop you from fucking me just now.”

  “Listen, Rio, you’re everything a girl could want. You’re fine, smart, and getting money. Another place and time and I would’ve loved to have you as my own, but this can’t be. You’ve got a girl and I ain’t into breaking up homes. That just ain’t my style. I wanted to fuck you, so I did. Now that I’ve got it out of my system, it's a done deal. No offense, baby, but it ain’t that serious.”

  Rio watched Precious dress and didn’t know what to think. He wasn’t sure if he should be offended or flattered. It was nothing really, though. He was winning all the way around the board. He had fucked a fine broad and she didn’t want any strings attached. He could go back to his life with Trinity and no one would be the wiser. Pretty good deal if you thought about it.

  “Thanks, Darius,” she said, blowing him a kiss. “Another place, another time.” Precious flashed Rio a smile and walked out of the hotel room and his life.

  7

  Rio sat on the benches in front of 875, watching the flow. It was check day, so the block was jumping. Crack heads of all shapes and sizes shuffled back and forth, trying to get their fifteen minutes of fame. It fucked Rio up to see what a little white rock could do to a nigga's character. People that used to be on top were sucking dick and selling ass to get they high on. It was sad, but a grim reminder of how fucked up it was to be a product of the ghetto.

  The way Rio saw it, the whole hustler fiend relationship was a cycle of sorts. A lot of the people who made up the fiend population, sold it at one point or another. They traded their souls for the very illusion they were pushing. Rio watched countless faces in his hood take a fall from the poison. It was sad how something man-made could decimate an entire community. Those who sold the product were harbingers of death. But a good few of them answered to Rio, so where did that put him? Rio knew that what he was doing was wrong, but survival won out over morals.

  “What it is, young blood?” asked Sonny. Sonny was a booster from around the way. The hustlers would place orders for certain things they needed. Sonny would steal them from the stores and sell them at a discount or trade them for rock. He was a tall fella, with skin that looked like a Nestle's Crunch. Little pus-filled bumps were scattered on his face, making him quite a sight. Rio hated talking to the man, but he always spent money with him.