Love and War

by Jackie Chanel

  Caprice’s trigger finger relaxed. Aries didn’t have a clue as to who he was really talking to.

  “You are either very observant or very gay,” she remarked. “No straight man would recognize Alexander Wang and know how much it costs too.”

  “I’m just good at reading people. And very observant. Helps in my line of work.”

  Caprice took a swig of her beer. “I bet it does.”

  Aries sat down in the chair that his cousin had abandoned. He lowered his eyes and smiled seductively at Caprice. She was sure that his smile would have dropped the panties of any other chick at the party. She ignored it. She wasn’t going to allow Aries to charm her. He may have been fine and talked like Billy D, but as soon as he came over to her table, Caprice figured out how to play his game.

  “Are you goin’ to tell me your name or not?”

  “Not,” she answered.

  “Why not?”

  “Because you already know it. Keisha wouldn’t have told you about me and forget to tell you my name.”

  Aries laughed. “You got me. Caprice, right?”

  “Caprice Burke.” She held out her hand and Aries shook it. “Aries, right?”

  “In the flesh.”

  “Ares, the God of War. Did your mother give you that name or is that your nickname?”

  “God of War? Nah, I don’t know nothin’ about that,” he replied. “But I guess it fits. Destiny fulfilled and all that jazz.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. These streets are a war zone. Constantly one battle after another. Win some, lose some, live to fight another day, hopefully. A lot of good soldiers don’t make it to see the next day. But I’m a master at this shit. That’s why I’m still here.”

  “This life,” Caprice stated, “isn’t destiny. It’s a choice. You can’t claim it as your destiny. This life you have, with the money, hood fame, and all the basic bitches you can ask for is what you want. If you didn’t want it, you wouldn’t fight the battles. If you didn’t want it, you would have walked away when it presented itself.”

  “So, you don’t sympathize with the plight of a hood nigga?”

  Caprice shook her head. “I don’t sympathize with anyone,” she answered. “We all have choices in life. You choose to fight these battles. You chose this life. Don’t complain about the pitfalls. You can always choose a different path.”

  Caprice leaned as close as she could to Aries without touching him. “And honestly, God of War, I suggest that you do.”

  Caprice finished her beer and stood up. “Enjoy your party. Tell Keisha to call me if she needs a ride home.”

  As she walked away from Aries, she laughed to herself. He was going to be so easy to take down.

  “God of War, my ass,” she laughed out loud. “I can definitely take him.”

  Chapter Five

  Caprice was sitting in the middle of her living room surrounded by her marketing notes. An open bag of Doritos lay beside her while she read and sang along to Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream blasting from her entertainment system.

  She was trying to get a head start on her finals. She had paid off her of her TA’s $150 each to get her an advance copy of the final study guide. Hopefully, she could talk her professors into letting her take the finals early because she wanted to spend the week before graduation with her best friend in Jamaica. She was absolutely positive that she could wrap up the Aries situation before school was out.

  “Why are we listening to this white people music?” Keisha complained from the sofa.

  She was supposed to be studying as well, but Keisha had spent most of the last hour texting and rolling blunts. Unlike Caprice, Keisha was more interested in getting Diesel to jump her bones than she was in acing her finals. Caprice wasn’t letting Aries anywhere near her bed.

  “I like Katy Perry,” Caprice replied. “She wears my lip gloss.”

  “How come I ain’t never seen any of your makeup in a store?”

  “Because you don’t shop at the stores that carry my products. You can order them online though.”

  Keisha pushed aside her drug paraphernalia and opened her laptop. “What’s the site?”

  “Islandsilk.com,” Caprice answered.

  “Oh yeah,” Aries said “he and Diesel are comin’ through to hang with us.”

  Caprice frowned. She was waiting for Keisha to leave so that Rocco could come over. She wasn’t in the mood to fake flirt with Aries.

  “Why?”

  “I just said why. To hang with us. You know you got a thing for Aries. That’s why you let me give him your number.”

  “And he calls me every day. That’s not cute.”

  The truth was, under any other circumstances, Aries was just the type of guy that Caprice would go for. He was tall, dark, and handsome. Aries was smart and very guarded though. He trusted few people, and from what Caprice could tell, he didn’t trust women at all. He loved women. He loved the attention they gave him. He liked impressing them, but he rarely opened up to them.

  Since the barbecue, Caprice talked or texted with Aries every day and he never mentioned anything about the Black Diamond Mafia. Maybe she wasn’t asking the right questions.

  “Twenty-five dollars for some lip gloss?” Keisha shouted. “Are you serious with these prices, Caprice? No wonder you sell this shit to white girls like Katy Perry. Real bitches ain’t wastin’ twenty-five bucks on some damn lip gloss.”

  “Real bitches wear my lip gloss every day,” Caprice snapped. Keisha’s comment, like so many of the other things she said, annoyed her.

  “Last year Island Silk grossed over two point five million dollars, honey. I mean, I’m not making CoverGirl money, but I haven’t invested hardly any time in the business since I’ve been at NYU. It’s doing pretty damn well with my mother running it.”

  “You made two and a half million dollars last year?” Keisha was in shock. She didn’t know anyone who made that type of money in a lifetime, let alone in a single year.

  “No, I grossed that much. I’m sure after taxes, advertising, and other expenses, I have a lot less than that.”

  “If you’re rich,” Keisha said, “why did you get this small ass apartment in the damn hood? They have some nice ass apartments in The Village. You’d fit right in with that crowd. Or SoHo. You could have moved to SoHo.”

  “I’m not rich,” Caprice corrected her. “I’m spoiled. There’s a difference. Besides, every dime that Island Silk makes goes into a trust fund that my mother set up. I can’t touch it until after I graduate from college. She gives me a certain amount of money every month. I found a cheap place so that I would have more money to shop and party with.”

  Caprice was surprised how easily the lies rolled off her tongue. At least Keisha was buying her story.

  “That’s fucked up,” Keisha stated. “Anyway, I want to try your stuff, but I can’t afford it. Don’t you have any samples? Or can’t you get me a good discount?”

  Caprice stood up and stretched her legs. “Order whatever you want. I’ll pay for it.”

  Keisha’s eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning. “For real?”

  “Yeah. I give my friends back home free makeup all the time. But it will take too long to get in touch with my mother and make sure she gets the right stuff and have it shipped up here. Just order it online or we can pick up some at Barney’s tomorrow.”

  “You know, I’ve lived in New York all of my life and I’ve never been to Saks or Barney’s.”

  A wide smile spread across Caprice’s face as an idea popped into her head. Shopping spree!

  She would take Keisha to Manhattan and treat her to a shopping spree and luxurious spa day. They could even have lunch at an expensive three or four-star restaurant that Keisha had probably never heard of.

  Once Aries saw how good of a friend she was to his cousin, maybe he’d consider her to be trustworthy. Caprice was hoping that he had a soft spot for his blood, besides his mother and sister. She still wasn’t ready to give it u
p so this plan had to work.

  When she made the suggestion to Keisha, the girl almost had tears in her eyes when she said yes. For a brief moment, Caprice didn’t feel like she was doing something shady. She felt good. Based on what Keisha had told Caprice about her home life, people didn’t do nice things for her often. Caprice had no ill feelings towards Keisha. She just needed her to get close to Aries. It wasn’t her fault that Caprice’s target was the girl’s cousin.

  “You better text your cousin and tell him to bring food if he’s coming over. I don’t have anything to eat in here.”

  “Yeah, I’ll let him know.” Keisha was still smiling and thinking about all the clothes she was going to get hooked up with. Maybe, if Caprice was feeling really generous, she’d hook her up with a real M. Kors bag.

  ****

  “Damn girl! How many slices of pizza are you gonna eat?”

  Sheepishly, Caprice pulled her hand back from the pizza box and spun around. Diesel was leaning against the kitchen doorframe with a grin on his face.

  Diesel stood about 6’4” with an athlete’s physique. While Aries was built like a basketball player, Diesel looked like he could be a wide receiver for the New York Giants. He had smooth brown skin, deep waves, and more swagger than his best friend. Caprice was immediately suspicious of him because he was always around.

  Diesel and Aries were complete opposites. She couldn’t understand how they ended up as best friends. It had to be the money. The Black Diamond Mafia was making beaucoup cash off the drugs that the Bonatelli family supplied them. Every time Aries talked about his car, or what new watch he wanted to buy, or poppin’ bottles in the club, Caprice wanted to slap the shit out of him. Didn’t he know that he wasn’t supposed to bite the hand that fed him? Obviously not, or he wouldn’t have sent his goons after her brother.

  “My kitchen, my pizza,” Caprice said with a smile. “I can eat as much as I want.”

  “How do you keep up that body when you scarf down five slices in an hour?” Diesel laughed.

  “P90x and good genes,” was Caprice’s reply as she scooted past him and walked into the living room.

  Aries and Keisha were sitting on the sofa passing a blunt between them. Three more sat on Caprice’s coffee table. Keisha tried to pass the blunt to Diesel but he shook his head.

  “You’re not going to indulge with your friends?”

  “I don’t feel like gettin’ high,” Diesel replied. “What about you?”

  “I don’t smoke.”

  “You both are lame as fuck,” Keisha giggled from the couch.

  “Weed kills your brain cells,” Caprice said as she sat on the floor with her books.

  “No it don’t,” Aries argued. “It’s good for you. Increases your stamina and all that shit.”

  “I know right!” Keisha hollered. “I ain’t never met a nigga who didn’t fuck me proper when he was high!”

  “Keisha,” Caprice looked up from her study guide at her friend. Diesel and Aries were laughing, but she didn’t find anything funny.

  “TMI, girl. We’ve talked about that.”

  Diesel leaned over in the chair he was sitting in and tousled Caprice’s ponytail.

  “Don’t act like you’re shy,” he teased.

  Caprice couldn’t help but throw a flirtatious smile at Diesel. He was so damn sexy!

  “I’m not shy. I just don’t talk about sex with people I’m not fuckin’.”

  “Aye man,” Aries interrupted, “quit flirtin’ with my girl.”

  “I’m not your girl,” Caprice corrected him. “If I was your girl, we’d be alone right now.”

  Aries grinned. “Yo! Y’all niggas get the fuck outta here,” he joked with a hint of seriousness.

  Aries might have been joking, but Diesel’s expression had gone from joking to pissed off in seconds as he looked at his phone.

  “On the real, we need to roll outta here,” he told Aries. “Brooklyn just texted that Nico and Rocco been ridin’ through the spot.”

  “Man, fuck them guidos!” Aries yelled. “Nico’s bitch ass ain’t gonna do shit but get his ass whooped again. Let’s bounce. I’m gon teach that fucker to stay away from around here!”

  Caprice stood up and went into the bathroom. Aries and Diesel were so into their conversation that they didn’t even notice her leave the room. Safely inside her bathroom, Caprice pulled out her phone and sent Nico a text.

  Aries is at my place! WTH are u doin over here?

  We were lookin for someone. Then we were comin over.

  DO NOT COME HERE! Go back to SI! I got this!

  I don’t trust him.

  Neither do I, but you gotta let me do this. Go home!

  Fine. Be careful.

  Caprice slipped her phone in her pocket and stepped into the hallway. She could see Keisha, Diesel, and Aries getting ready to leave. Not wanting them to catch up with her brother, Caprice tried to think of a way to stall them.

  “Aries!” she called. “Come here for a second!”

  She waited in the hallway until Aries rounded the corner, then Caprice walked into her bedroom. He followed and shut the door behind him.

  “What’s up?”

  “You’re leaving?” Caprice asked. She wasn’t faking her anger. She was pissed that he actually thought he was going to do something to her brother.

  “Yeah. I got business to handle. You mad?”

  Caprice shook her head. “Why would I be mad? I mean, it’s cool that you never want to spend any time with me.”

  “I’ve been here for an hour.”

  “Not alone, though,” Caprice said. “I mean, I think your friends are cool, but I thought you wanted to get to know me.”

  “I do.”

  “Then why do you always have somebody with you when you come around me? You don’t want to be alone with me?”

  Aries shook his head. “It’s not like that. But I don’t do a lot of shit alone, except fuck. It’s safer.”

  “Well,” Caprice put her hands on her hips and glared at Aries. “It’s been two weeks since we met, and I like to get to know a person without all his homeboys around. If that can’t happen with you…” she broke off the sentence and shrugged her shoulders.

  “How about we go out this weekend? I’m throwin’ Diesel a birthday party at Amnesia. We’ll have dinner and go to the party, okay?”

  Caprice sighed. “I guess that will work.”

  “Good.” Aries pulled a bankroll out of his pocket and peeled off five hundreds off the top. He handed them to Caprice.

  “I don’t need that,” she said.

  “I know you don’t need my money,” Aries said. “But I’m giving it to you anyway. Buy yourself something nice. I’ll pick you up Saturday around seven or eight.”

  “Seven or eight? Which one is it?” Caprice asked as she slid the money under her pillow. Aries thought he was being cute by giving her money. She was just going to put it towards Keisha’s shopping spree. She wouldn’t be caught dead wearing something that Aries had bought.

  “Closer to eight,” Aries replied. “Look, I have to rollout. Looks like we have a little problem tonight.”

  Caprice feigned innocence. “What kind of problem?”

  “You ain’t got to worry about that.” Aries turned to leave. “I’ll take my cousin home so you can study.”

  “Alright.”

  Aries leaned in for a kiss but Caprice turned her head so his lips landed on her cheek.

  “Bye,” she said.

  Aries shook his head at her, thinking she was just mad that he was leaving. A few seconds later, Caprice heard the apartment door close and she ran to lock it. She waited a full five minutes to make sure that no one was lingering outside of her door before she called her brother.

  “I hope to hell you’re on your way home,” she said when Nico picked up.

  “We are.”

  “You can’t keep coming over here!”

  “I have to. What’s it going to look like if we stop coming
around as soon as you hook up with Aries? Besides, he still owes me money.”

  “Aries is not going to pay you any money. He has a new connect, dummy! If you don’t ease up, we might as well call it quits. Then I can bring my ass home. Give me some space, Nico!”

  “You’ve had two weeks!”

  “Give me some damn space, damn it!” Caprice shouted. “I’m going to take care of everything. You just pick up the phone when I call you.”

  Caprice knew her brother was scowling on his end, but she didn’t care. He had to back off and let her uncover the information they needed, and do what her father ordered her to do. He had to stop interfering.

  “Listen to me,” Caprice demanded. “Aries is not going to rest easy if he thinks he still has to worry about you. I want him to think that he won. Please, Nico,” she pleaded. “Give me a couple more weeks before you ride through here again. Please.”

  Finally, Nico relented. “Fine,” he growled. “But if you-”

  “If I need you, I will call you. I promise. Goodnight Nico.”

  “Bye Caprice.”

  Caprice tossed her phone on the bed and fell back onto her pillows.

  “From Prom Queen to this?” she laughed out loud. “How is this my life?”

  Chapter Six

  “I can’t believe you are not going to the party!” Caprice yelled across the room. Her phone was lying five feet away on her dresser as she got dressed so she had to yell in order for Keisha to hear her.

  “You picked out that cute Alice and Olivia dress from Saks just for tonight! How can you not go to your boyfriend’s birthday party?”

  “Diesel is no more my boyfriend than Aries is yours. I don’t know if he’s feelin’ me like that.”

  Caprice knew that Diesel wasn’t feeling Keisha in a girlfriend sort of way. He treated her like she was one of his boys. That wasn’t a good look for Keisha at all. Caprice almost felt bad for her, but she had warned Keisha on two different occasions that girls shouldn’t chase after boys. They don’t like that.