by CJ Hudson
“Yo, Ivory, you think you can give me a ride to the mall? I gotta explain to my boss why I missed work today.”
“I got you, youngsta. But now that you ballin’ and shit, you can kick in some gas money.”
As soon as Ivory walked out the door, Hakim waved his hand at her. “I ain’t givin’ her ass shit.”
“You’d better. She will put your ass out.”
“Yeah, right,” Hakim said, heading for the door.
“Hakim, please be careful,” Tammy said with worry in her eyes.
“I’ll be okay, sis.” Just before he got out the door, Hakim turned to his sister and looked her square in the eyes.
“If you feel that you gotta talk to Mama about this shit, then that’s cool. But don’t say nothin’ to that busta-ass nigga. ’Cause I swear to God, if he puts his hand on you, I’m gonna kill him.”
Tammy stared back into the face of her sibling. It took less than a second for her to be convinced that he meant every word. While waiting for her mother, Tammy decided to call and check on her friend.
Chapter 22
Nancy woke up in a cold sweat. The last thing that she remembered was her father yelling at her on the other side of her door. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember why, though. Nancy then got out of her bed and staggered to the bathroom. After splashing cold water on her face, Nancy looked in the mirror and noticed that her eyes looked glassy. She also saw that her once-beautiful skin was beginning to appear ashy. Her fingernails were becoming brittle and chipped. That’s when she realized that she wasn’t taking care of herself.
She was starting to resemble a cocaine zombie. Unable to bear looking at herself any longer, Nancy walked out of her bathroom and headed back toward her bedroom. On the way there, her stomach reminded her that she hadn’t eaten anything in quite some time. Nancy took a detour and headed for her kitchen. After devouring a bowl of ravioli, she suddenly remembered that she was supposed to be at work.
“Oh, well,” she said, shrugging her shoulder. “Too late now.” Since she had the boss in her hip pocket, Nancy knew that nothing was going to happen to her. She also knew that her coworkers were going to be pissed, but she didn’t care. She grabbed her phone off the table and saw that she had three missed calls and one text message. Before she could respond to Tammy’s text, the phone vibrated in her hand. She no longer had to worry about calling Tammy back because it was Tammy on the other end of the phone.
“What’s up, girl?” she answered the phone.
“What the hell do you mean, what’s up? Where the hell have you been? Don’t you know you were supposed to be at work today?”
“I was feeling sick. I talked to Mr. James about it, and he told me to just stay at home.”
Although Tammy knew that Nancy was lying, she let it slide. She was just happy that her friend was okay.
“I’m still feeling kinda fucked up, though. I’m gonna just lie back down.”
“All right, if you say so. Call me if you need me.”
After hanging up with Nancy, Tammy said a prayer for her. Her gut feeling told her that Nancy was worse off than she was letting on.
* * *
April and Cookie had been sitting in the bar for hours, tossing back tequila shots. In between drinks, they were bashing their significant others. Several men had already tried to step to them, but with their attitudes on hate mode, the fellas didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting any play.
“I know one thing,” Cookie spat. “I’m getting tired of that muthafucka cheating on me.”
“You got that shit right,” April concurred. “Hank think a bitch stupid, but I been hip to his bullshit for a while now. I’m just biding my time ’til I roll out on his ass. I been workin’ on something that’s gonna shock the shit out of him.”
“I hear ya, but I’m on some get-back shit. I want some fucking payback for my feelings. That nigga wanna cheat on me? Well, two can play that muthafucking game.”
April was so mad she could barely see straight. She had been faithful to Hank since the day they started dating. He had smooth-talked her into believing that the only reason he’d started cheating on her in the first place was because the other women were doing things in the bedroom that she wouldn’t do. He’d told her that it was her responsibility to please her man in the bedroom by any means necessary. She’d even gone so far as to give him the ultimate gift for a man and allow another woman to come into their bedroom and participate in a threesome.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m gonna get me some dick on the side tonight,” Cookie proclaimed. “I’m tired of getting my feelings hurt ’cause that nigga wanna be a dog.”
April thought about what Cookie was saying. She, too, was getting fed up with being the victim.
“And if you was smart, yo’ ass would do the same,” Cookie said as she reached into her purse and pulled out a pack of condoms. She reached over to April, opened her hand, and put them inside of it.
“What the fuck you gon’ use?”
“Don’t worry. I got an extra.”
April noticed the sly smile on Cookie’s face and shook her head. “You planned this damn shit, didn’t you?”
“You damn right I did. The second you called me,” she said, starting to laugh. “If them muthafuckas can have their fun, we can have ours. All we gotta do now is sit here and wait for these niggas to shoot their thirsty-ass regular. Shit, I need me some fresh dick anyway.”
The two women gave each other a high five and ordered another drink apiece. After taking a sip of her drink, Cookie looked toward the door and saw a slightly heavyset chocolate-skinned man walking through the door. An evil grin slid across her lips. “How mad are you at Hank?”
“Pissed the fuck off is more like it,” April snarled. “Why?”
“Because I just figured out a way to really get some payback on them niggas.” Cookie then nodded in the direction of the door.
April looked and immediately started snickering. “You bad as fuck.”
“Not yet, but I’m ’bout to be.” Cookie got up and sauntered over to her mark.
* * *
Bobby woke up with a large smile on his face. His dick was rock hard, and pre-cum oozed from the tip. He’d just had the most intense erotic dream he’d ever had. Just to make sure that it was a dream and not reality, Bobby reached over to the other side of the bed and felt around.
“Damn,” he uttered. Although he knew that it was a dream, he really wished Tammy were lying next to him. Bobby smiled as he thought about the conversations he and Tammy had engaged in since he’d met her. He was intrigued by her goals and liked that she wasn’t just another hood rat from around the way. Tammy was the only person who knew that Bobby liked to write. He never told Red or any of his boys because he didn’t want to hear the jokes that were going to come with it. He was serious about his writing and didn’t want to subject himself to the negativity of his peers’ responses. He didn’t know why he told Tammy. He just felt like he could tell her.
Feeling extremely motivated, Bobby sprang from the bed. After taking a trip to the bathroom, he went back to his bedroom and picked up the half-smoked blunt that was lying on his nightstand. Then he went into his living room and sat behind the desk that held his notebook. With the remote control, he clicked on the CD player and pressed play to start the music pumping.
He decided to listen to a new artist from New York he’d been hearing about. After listening to the gravelly voice rain fire over the beat for a few minutes, Bobby lit the blunt and took a pull. He nodded as the rapper flowed with distinct New York flavor.
“Damn, that nigga’s kicking some shit,” Bobby said as he started writing. Because he couldn’t type that well, Bobby wrote his stories down with the intent of having someone type them for him at a later date. As the music flowed through his ears, Bobby let his mind race through the city of Cleveland. With his mind cocked liked a semiautomatic pistol, the words effortlessly slid through the chambers of his th
oughts, down the barrel of his arm, and out of his itchy trigger finger. The red pen he used leaked ink on the pages like blood. Bobby was in such a writing groove that he never even heard his phone vibrate.
By the time he put down his pen nearly an hour and a half later, he had written over a thousand words. Bobby’s wrist was sore, but he felt good about being able to write as much as he did. A sudden thought occurred to him as he reached for his cell phone. After picking it up, he saw that he had missed three calls from Red. “His ass can wait,” he said as he started texting Tammy.
Hey, I know it’s l8 so I’m txtin u nstead of callin. I have smthin I wnt u to rd. Give me a call wn u gt the time.
Bobby didn’t know if he was doing the right thing by letting Tammy read his work, but he did want to get someone’s opinion about his writing. After sending the text, Bobby called Red to see what was so important.
“Where the fuck you been? I been trying to call yo’ ass for the last hour.”
“I was asleep,” Bobby lied. The last thing he wanted to hear was Red talking shit to him about his writing.
“Well, I was trying to get a hold of you ’cause them niggas over that way wanted to get a little something-something. But don’t worry ’bout it. I sent them two young niggas who was at the party to take care o’ that shit.”
Is this nigga smoking the shit we s’posed to be sellin’? How the fuck is he gon’ send a couple of fucking rookies to take care of business? “You think that was a good idea to send those muthafuckas? We just met those niggas.”
“You just met them niggas. I been knew what kinda work those cats wanted to put in. But check it. We still over here chilling if you wanna come through and smoke a couple of burnas with us.”
Bobby thought about it for a minute. He was done with his writing session and didn’t want to call Tammy so late, so he figured, why the hell not? “Give me about thirty minutes.”
After hanging up with Red, Bobby hurriedly got dressed. On his way to Red’s house, he figured he would stop at the store and pick up a box of blunts since they always ran out. Stopping at the first corner store he came to, Bobby quickly jumped out and headed inside. His thoughts drifted to Tammy as he was entering the store. Not paying attention, he bumped into an older cat making his way out.
“Hey, young blood, watch where you . . . Bobby? Is that you?”
“Ah hell nah, what’s up, Tick?” Bobby spoke when he realized who he almost knocked down. “Where the fuck have you been hiding?”
“I been here, been there, been a li’l bit of everywhere,” Tick answered. Tick was one of the originals from back in the day. Before drugs ravaged his body, he was one of the most sought-after hitmen in Cleveland. Anyone needing someone snuffed out, Tick was your man. He was a former Navy Seal who was well schooled in the art of assassination.
Back when Bobby was a young G, Tick came to his rescue one day when some older heads caught Bobby in the trap and tried to rob him. Tick came out of nowhere to save the youngster’s hide. When Bobby asked Tick why he had helped him, Tick told him that he couldn’t just sit by and watch three grown men beat up on a young dude trying to eat. Little did Bobby know that Tick himself had planned on robbing him that night and was pissed off that the other dudes had the same idea and beat him to the punch.
Bobby thanked Tick by hitting him off with a nice sum of cash for watching his back, but ever since then, he carried a pistol with him. Bobby looked at Tick and felt bad for him. The once-graceful features of a man who resembled Will Smith were now just a fading memory. Tick’s skin was now ashy, and his hairline receded so much Bobby wondered why he didn’t just cut it all off. He’d lost a good fifty pounds since Bobby had seen him last, and the teeth that used to be white were now on the other side of yellow, the ones that he had left anyway.
“Bobby, I hate to ask you this, but you think you can spare a few dollars for ya old buddy? I get paid next week. I can meet you back up here and square up wit’ you then.”
Bobby sighed and reached into his pocket. He knew that if he gave Tick money, he’d never see it again. Tick had pulled the same thing on him a little less than a year ago. But ever since Tick had saved him from getting robbed and catching a beat down that day, Bobby felt like he owed Tick, because that was the first time anyone other than Robin had looked out for him. Bobby knew, however, that he had to draw the line somewhere. If he didn’t, then Tick would try to get money from him every time he saw him. Bobby gave Tick a stern look.
“I can’t keep feeding yo’ habit every time I see you. I love you like cooked food, but I ain’t no ATM.” Bobby peeled off two twenties and handed them to Tick.
“I know,” replied Tick. “I appreciate it, though. I’m gonna pay you back, I promise,” Tick said as he scurried away.
Chapter 23
Tammy sat in front of the television with one leg crossed over the other. She couldn’t wait for her mother to get home so she could have it out with her. No dick could be that good that you would have your own child locked up.
After receiving the text message from Bobby, Tammy seriously thought about calling him back and asking him to come pick her up. Then she thought about her family situation and decided against it. This was one conversation that she and her mother needed to have.
Tammy needed to know where she and Hakim stood with their mother. Tears formed in her eyes as she wondered if her mother was actually going to put a man before her kids. Every indication that Janice had given her so far was that she was. Tammy wanted to brush it off as simple infatuation, but deep in her gut, she knew better. She didn’t know what her mother saw in Steve, but she was definitely in love.
Tammy’s attention turned toward the door as she heard the locks click. A plan to see where her mother’s loyalty was quickly entered her mind. Janice walked through the door with a glow on her face. The look pissed Tammy completely off, but for the sake of her plan, she had to maintain her composure.
“Hey, Tammy. I’m surprised you’re still up,” she said with a fake smile on her face. “I thought you would be knocked out by now.”
“I’m waiting up for Hakim. He texted me while I was at work and told me that he would be home today. I’ve tried to call him a couple of times, but he’s not answering, and to be honest, I’m starting to get a little worried. You haven’t heard from him, have you?”
As Tammy patiently waited for an answer, Janice stood there, trying to decide whether she should tell Tammy the truth or lie to her daughter. “No, I haven’t,” she said.
“Really?”
“Yeah, really.”
“So, where’s ya boyfriend?” Tammy asked as she turned her head back toward the television.
“He’s at home, why?”
“Just asking.”
Without saying another word to her daughter, Janice walked up the stairs, went into her bedroom, and shut the door. For a few seconds, Tammy sat there in shock. It was tearing her apart that her mother was choosing a man she barely knew over them. Tears flowed down her face as she turned the television off and stood up. Rage flushed through her body as she headed up the stairs and walked toward her mother’s bedroom.
* * *
Ivory rolled over on her back, exhausted. She and her lover had just engaged in two hours of mind-blowing sex. “Damn, Hakim, that shit was the fucking bomb. I think I came about three or four times.”
Ivory had never meant to seduce Hakim. On the way to the mall, she had to stop off at her house to pick up a blouse that she was going to return to JCPenney. Hakim asked if he could come in and use the bathroom. While waiting for him, Ivory figured she might as well fire up a blunt and get a few puffs in. When Hakim came out of the bathroom, she passed it to him. One thing led to another, and before they both knew it, Ivory was on her knees with Hakim’s penis in her mouth.
Hakim felt bad for cheating on Nikki, but he couldn’t pass up the chance to do something that he’d secretly wanted to do for a couple of years now. Ivory, however, had no such feelings o
f guilt. Since the dude she was going to see wasn’t answering his phone, she felt quite satisfied that she was able to get herself some feel good.
All of a sudden, Ivory started laughing loudly.
“What the hell are you laughing at?”
“I was just thinkin’, if yo’ sister caught us fucking, she would kill our asses.”
“Whateva. I’m a grown-ass man,” Hakim bragged.
Ivory rolled her eyes. Hakim may not have known it, but Ivory was well aware of how Tammy felt about her brother.
Hakim looked at Ivory’s naked body with lust in his eyes. Her legs were spread, and her neatly trimmed bush caused him to salivate. Licking his lips and rubbing his hands together, he grabbed his dick and walked toward Ivory in an attempt to get a second helping of sex, but he stopped dead in his tracks when his cell phone buzzed. Looking at the caller ID, he saw that it was Nikki.
“I gotta take this call right quick,” he said, heading toward the bathroom.
“Take yo’ pussy-whipped ass on then,” Ivory said as she started fingering herself. Hakim’s dick got so hard it became painful. “But if you want some more of this gold, you betta bring yo’ ass back over here.”
Hakim looked at his phone and then back at Ivory and laid it on the table. He smiled devilishly as he walked back over to Ivory’s bed and climbed in.
* * *
With tears streaming down her face, Tammy stormed up the stairs. She couldn’t get to her mother’s room fast enough after the initial shock of her mother lying to her had worn off. Her mother had all but told her that Steve was more important to her than her kids were. Breathing fire, Tammy burst into Janice’s room, screaming obscenities.
“I guess you weren’t going to fucking tell me that you had Hakim arrested, huh?”
Janice looked like a deer caught in headlights.
“What? You didn’t think that my brother was going to tell me what the hell happened? How the hell can you call yourself a mother when you’re putting your own son in jail?”
