When Tyler walked through the front door, he looked and smelled as good as he always did. His wavy hair was freshly cropped, and his mustache trimmed. I loved when he visited me on the day of a fresh haircut.
After I closed the door, he stepped right up to me, placed a hand to the back of my head, and gave me a long, passionate kiss.
When he was done, I felt breathless and slightly dizzy. Damn that schoolgirl thing, I thought, smiling to myself.
“So, tonight is my lucky night,” I said. “You found thirty seconds to spend with me.”
“Business meeting with a couple of congressmen that was supposed to last all night wrapped up early, so here I am,” Tyler said, extending his arms out to his sides, like he was ready for anything.
“You know I could’ve been busy doing something,” I said.
“But you aren’t.”
“And your wife Kennedi and the girls won’t miss you too much, you being gone tonight?”
Tyler took my face in his hands. “Cobi, how about we not do this. Tonight I’m free, and I want to be with you. Let’s say we put everything else aside and just enjoy each other, okay? We can find a game, or a movie on TV, have a few drinks, and who knows? What do you say?”
He knew he was way too charming for me to deny, and he was right. I didn’t want to ruin it. “Fine. What do you want to drink?”
Tyler smiled, walked over to the sofa, grabbed the remote to the flat-screen, and thumbed it on. “Scotch neat. Make it a double.”
I poured us two short glasses halfway full with Black Label, walked them over to Tyler, handed him his, then sat down beside him.
He took a sip, threw an arm around me, and said, “Now why don’t you tell me about your day.”
I snuggled in next to him. “Okay, but I think I’m going to have to go back and get the bottle.”
43
Eric and Blac sat hunched over beers inside a dimly lit, crowded bar on Fifty-fifth Street.
Blac wore jeans, a T-shirt, and a hooded zipper sweat jacket. Eric wore the peach-colored Boss shirt, designer jeans, and a new pair of black loafers Cobi had bought him earlier.
Blac’s head was turned, looking out the storefront window of the bar. He shook his head, as though he couldn’t believe what he saw.
“What?” Eric said.
Blac turned to him. “He gave you that motherfucking Audi?” Blac said over an old Rolling Stones tune that played loudly in the bar. “Just gave it to you, like, ‘Here. Here’s the keys. Take it.’”
Eric took a drink from his mug. “Yeah, kinda like that, but I ain’t gonna keep it.”
“You crazy? He don’t even have to say he’s giving it to me. Make the mistake and put the keys in my hand, it’s mine. Hell, leave the keys on the counter or anywhere I can reach ’em, guess what?”
“I know. The car’s yours.”
“Damn, Skippy.” Blac grabbed his beer, took a couple of swallows. “And look at you, all Sean Johned out, looking like Boris Kodjoe and shit.”
“All right, you made your point. I’m lookin’ kinda crazy right now.”
“Naw, man. You looking good, for real. Which means dude wasn’t lyin’ about being who he said he was.”
“Naw. He wasn’t lyin’.”
“So you gonna be living there?”
“Guess so.”
“He a decent dude?”
“He’s okay, but I don’t know if he like me.”
“So why he givin’ you all that stuff?”
“Don’t know. He says he wants us to be family, but I think maybe he’s feeling guilty about him being raised like royalty and me being poor, and hopes tossin’ me a few dollars will help him sleep at night.”
“So you think he got a soft spot for guys who had a rough life, make him wanna hand out bags of money? Hell, take me over there. Introduce me to him,” Blac said.
“Don’t think so.”
Blac turned away from Eric and faced the bar. He stared at himself in the mirror behind the stacked bottles of liquor, thinking that maybe he had come on a little too strong. He would have to try again. He couldn’t afford to blow this.
Blac lifted his mug, took another drink, and wiped his mouth with his knuckle. He turned back to Eric, who seemed deep in thought. “I was just saying, he seems like a pretty cool dude, and to look just like you, that would be a trip to see. You really ought to let me meet him. Besides, I’d love to see this crib you in, if it’s all that you sayin’ it is.”
“Trust me, Blac. That and more. Dude even got a maid. It ain’t no joke.”
“So . . .”
“So what?”
“You gonna let me meet your brotha, or are you ashamed to say you know me?”
“Naw, man,” Eric said, punching Blac in the shoulder, smiling. “I ain’t ashamed of you. You can meet him.”
Blac smiled, too. “Introducing me to your brother means more to me than you’ll ever know, dude.”
44
Earlier, Blac gave Eric some dap when he pulled the Audi up in front of Theresa’s house to drop him off. After getting out of the car, Blac’s eyes were focused on the area around the dark street for any sign of Cutty’s people.
“You all right, man?” Eric said.
Blac showed Eric a fake, confident smile. “I’m good. Holla at you later, right?”
Blac cautiously walked up to the small, two-bedroom house, inserted his key in the lock, and walked in.
He closed the door and double bolted it. He leaned back and exhaled. He told himself that things would work out. He had a good lead. This Cobi guy had loads of money to spare, and it didn’t seem as though he had a problem parting with some of it.
Yeah, Blac would be just fine. He had nothing to worry about. Outside of coming up with a plan to get some of Cobi’s money. But he had to think about that later, because what bothered him now was the fact that he had been out of prison for almost a full day and there hadn’t been any word from Cutty. The man had to have known he was out.
Could there have been a chance that he just forgot about Blac? No. No way in hell. Then again, maybe in return for keeping quiet all that time, Cutty decided that Blac would not have to pay back the money for the drugs after all.
“Baby, is that you?” Theresa called from the bedroom.
“Yeah, just walked in,” Blac said, heading to meet her, his spirits uplifted by the chance he was off the hook.
Blac stepped into the bedroom. Theresa was in a nightgown, in bed. The TV was on, showing a commercial for dog food.
“You have a good meeting with your friend, baby?” Theresa asked.
“Yeah, it was pretty good,” Blac said, sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning over, and kissing Theresa. “How you doing?”
“Fine. Was just waiting for you to get home. You hungry?”
“I’m good. I had something while I was out,” Blac said, standing. “Think I’m gonna take a shower then come in here and do some nasty things to you.”
Theresa laughed. “Don’t take too long, or I’m gonna have to come in after you.”
Blac was in the hallway, his shirt halfway over his head, when Theresa added, “Oh yeah, somebody came by looking for you.”
Blac turned around, stepped back in, and pulled his shirt back down. “Who was it?”
“A couple of guys, said they was old friends of yours.”
“Did they say anything else?”
“They said they would be back.”
“When?”
Just then three loud knocks came at the front door, startling Blac. Worry covered his face.
“You okay?” Theresa said.
“Fine. Just stay right here.”
Blac nervously walked to the front door, pressed his ear against it, and listened. When the knocking came again, it panicked him so much he stumbled backward and almost fell. “Who is it?”
“Open the door, Blac. You know who the hell it is.”
Blac reluctantly did as he was told.
Standin
g on the stoop outside was Bones, the thin, muscular man who had pressed the gun to his head four years ago. Beside him stood another, shorter man, wearing a long white T-shirt and a black patch over his left eye. Blac saw the bulges in the waists of both men’s jeans and didn’t have to be told they were carrying.
“Come on,” Bones said. “Somebody needs to talk to you.”
“Let me just tell my girl—”
“You don’t gotta tell your girl shit,” the shorter, one-eyed man said. His name was Rondo. “You just gonna be out here in the truck. Bring yo’ ass on.”
Blac stepped out of the house and pulled the door softly closed.
The two men walked on either side of Blac to the Cadillac Escalade parked at the curb.
Bones opened the back passenger side door for Blac.
On the backseat was Cutty, looking as he had looked four years ago: short and evil and pissed off. His hair was longer. Some of it stuck out from under a baseball cap, the bill cocked to the side.
Cutty’s jeans were pushed down just below his hips. A scantily clad woman had her face in his lap, giving him a skillful blowjob. Blac noticed how the fake, bright pink fingernails of her hand slid rapidly up and down his erect penis.
“What the fuck you lookin’ at?” Cutty said, as calmly as if he were reading a newspaper. “Ain’t never seen a nigga get his dick sucked? Get in the fucking truck.”
Blac got in on the other side of the woman and stared toward the front seat.
“You remember the little deal we made, right?” Cutty said.
“Yeah,” Blac said, his eyes still forward.
“Look at me when I’m talking to you.”
Blac turned to Cutty, trying not to follow that errant eye of his.
“I said, you remember our deal?” Cutty said, his right hand buried deep into the woman’s weave, guiding her head as she continued sucking and stroking him.
“Yeah, I remember.”
“Good. Just needed to make sure you did, cause if I don’t get my 150K in . . .” Cutty held up his left wrist, glanced at his heavily jeweled watch. “Midnight will make nine days, bad things gonna happen. You clear on that?”
“Yeah.”
“’Preciate you keepin’ your mouth shut, but business is business. You owe me, and law of the street say I gotta collect or make an example of your ass. I let you slide, then I’m the punk, and young fools be gunnin’ for me. Can’t let that happen. You understand?”
“Yeah,” Blac said.
“Good. Now get out my truck so I can give this bitch what she been workin’ so hard for.”
Her mouth full, Blac heard the woman giggle.
“Yeah, okay,” Blac said. He opened the door of the truck and started toward the house. He heard the truck door open and shut behind him again, then footsteps moving toward him.
“Hey.”
Blac turned to find the man wearing the eye patch behind him, holding out a cell phone. “Cutty wants you to take this for when we need to contact you.”
Blac took the phone.
“Number is taped to the back. Whenever that bitch ring, you better be picking it up.”
45
I had told Tyler everything about what Sissy had planned for me. I told him the reasons behind the plan and how the family would supposedly benefit from the marriage. I then told him about my skepticism and my fear about going ahead with the whole thing.
“So what do you think I should do?” I said.
He was looking in my eyes, a sly smile on his face. “I know what I want to do to you.”
“I just asked you a serious question,” I said, pushing down his hand as he tried to undo the top button on my shirt. “I really want to know what you think.”
Tyler grabbed the remote from beside his thigh and clicked off the game we had been watching. He stood and held out a hand. “Come on. Let’s go to your room. There’s something I want to show you.”
I crossed my arms. “Can’t you do any better than that? Seriously, I need to know what you think about this.”
“Okay, okay,” Tyler said, grabbing my arm and pulling me off the sofa. “We’ll go to your room. You give me what I want, and afterward I’ll tell you exactly what I think about your sister’s little plan.”
“Fine,” I said, taking Tyler’s hand and leading him toward the stairs. I glanced down at my watch, and saw that it wasn’t even eight o’clock. Eric said he wouldn’t be home until late. I would make sure Tyler was long gone by nine-thirty at the latest.
We had made love for almost forty-five minutes, taking our time like we always did.
Now, just finishing, we lay naked beside each other in bed, both of us breathing heavily, a light coat of sweat covering our bodies.
I was happy in that moment. Tyler had only been here, in my room, in my bed like this on a few other occasions when my parents were away on trips. But now I could have him over whenever I wanted, and I knew, soon, I would want him over all the time.
I wanted to ask him when, if ever, it would just be the two of us, but I knew he would avoid the conversation. Besides, I truly did need guidance about the situation with the woman I was set to marry.
“What are you thinking?” Tyler asked me, leaning up on an elbow and rubbing a hand over the shaved stubble on my chest.
“I want you to tell me how you think I should play this.”
“Okay,” Tyler said, lying on his back, crossing his arms behind his head. “You told me earlier, Sissy said the business might be in trouble, that P&G might be attempting a hostile takeover, and the shares that you’d receive once you marry might help you hold on to the company.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you think even with the additional shares, that she’ll be able to save it?”
“Tyler, you don’t know Sissy like I do. If you did, you wouldn’t even have asked me that question.”
“Then you answered your question. The shares are important, and you need to get them,” Tyler said. “I would seriously consider this, Cobi. But even if you aren’t sold yet, there is a benefit that you might not have thought of.”
“What is that?” I said, disappointed, hoping Tyler would say marrying this woman was the last thing I should do.
“Do this, and you’ll be married, a family man,” Tyler said, sitting up in bed, looking at me very seriously now. “I know one day you want to be attorney general, and I even believe you made mention of political aspirations. This will help you be the man people want to see.”
“You mean, lie some more? I don’t want—”
“Cobi,” Tyler said, laying a hand on my wrist. “I hate to say it, but what do you think you’ll be doing when you marry this woman? You’re lying then, you might as well take advantage of all the benefits. Also, it will help deflect any suspicion as to whether you and I have something going on.”
“Are you worrying about being found out? You know how careful we are. Why would you even think—”
“Never think that we can’t be found out. Do you know what kind of news that would make? A state’s attorney and an Illinois state senator having a lurid, gay relationship—that would sell a lot of papers and make a lot of money for some people, and there are folks out there who know that.”
“We’re fine,” I said, turned off by the direction of the conversation. “I would never put you in that kind of jeopardy. I don’t appreciate you insinuating that.”
Tyler laid back down and stared up at me. “You know you’re so handsome when you’re angry.”
“Shut up,” I said, trying to push him out of bed. But he was all muscle and wouldn’t budge.
“Come here and give me a kiss,” he said, trying to pull me on top of him.
I climbed him and gazed down in his eyes. “So I’m going to go through with this, not just because you think I should, but for all the reasons I mentioned before you gave your opinion.”
“I think it’s a good idea.”
“Me being married won’t mess things up between us?
” I asked, concerned.
“Does me being married mess things up for us?”
“You’re lying in my bed, right.” I laughed. “So it hasn’t messed things up too bad.”
“Once you get getting married, we’ll share the same situation. Things will be even better.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” I said, not knowing if that would really be the case.
“There you have it. Now where’s that kiss?”
I lowered my face and kissed Tyler. I wished he could just stay here the night. As I kissed him, I considered making that request, when I thought I heard a sound in the hallway.
“Hey Cobi, you in there?” It was Eric. He was just outside my door.
Filled with panic, I called loudly, “Eric don’t—”
“We finished up early and—”
Eric must not have heard me, because there were two quick knocks on the door, and then it swung open.
46
After busting in on Cobi, Eric froze, unable to process what his eyes were seeing. His brother, naked, lying on top of another naked man.
Not until Cobi said, “Eric, please!” Did he snap out of his trance and pull the door shut.
He hurried to his room, feeling as though he had blown it, as though he had given Cobi reason to take back everything he had given him and to put him out on the street.
Eric stood, his door partially closed, until he heard Cobi’s door open and the footsteps of the men move through the hall and down the stairs.
Eric stepped out after them and stood by the top of the stairs listening to the hushed voices of his brother and the other man. He felt so sick to his stomach that he pressed his hand against his belly, trying to settle it. What he had just witnessed was so very disturbing to him, but worse, it brought back those images, the ones he had worked so desperately all those years to forget. He pressed his hand harder into his belly, fought the horrific memories out of his mind, and listened to what was being said downstairs.
He wasn’t able to make out everything, but he did hear Cobi say, “Everything will be all right, I promise. He won’t tell.”
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