by Nicety
I breathed, inhaling deeply before exhaling relief. Tears flowed from my eyes slowly trickling down the side of my cheeks as they closed unable to hold them open any longer. I was feeling some type of way, a sharp tingling sensation shot through my pelvis.
"Agh!" I exhaled.
"Bitch are you fucking while you on the phone with me?" The rise of Flava's voice let me know that I had succeeded in pissing her off.
"Sorry chick. It was out of my control." I giggled.
"Ugh, you're a nasty ass Mink, always thinking about yourself."
CLICK.
Ha. That bitch needed to be mad for a while. If she wasn't stuck on her high horse all the damn time maybe she could be like me. But all she knew to do was hate on me and be jealous. I didn't care what she or anyone else had to say about our relationship. In my eyes, she was nothing but another jealous hearted bitch.
"Now that you done came all in my mouth, let a nigga stick it in really quick." Cash said coming up from my snatch with wetness all around his lips.
"Mmm. I'd really love to but I've got to go. Sorry boo." I smiled as I jumped up straightening my clothes. "So how about that little scratch you owe me?"
"Owe you? You smokin' if you think I owe you something and anyway like I told you before, I don't have it on me. I'll bring it by tonight when I come and get you from the corner."
"What? Cash, don't fucking play with me." I snapped crossing my arms.
"Shut up girl you knew what I meant. I told you you’re gonna meet me on the corner from now on cause I ain't going to that nigga's house and have him shoot my ass up."
“Scary ass.” I mumbled. "You are really starting to piss me off. I ain't got time for this I gotta go."
Before he could respond, I walked out of the room and out of his house. Using him was easy as pie sometimes but he had those days when he made me work for it. I hated those days. Usually, I would oblige him but I had business to take care of. My cell exploded constantly with calls from Cash as I made my way around the corner to the shop. I didn't answer because I knew if I did he'd only want to fight. After pissing me off about my money already, I didn't have time to entertain that.
Three blocks later, I found myself at the doorstep of Yehia’s Hair Shop on 53rd right off of Harper Street. The windows and the door were modest at best but once I stepped inside I felt like I was in hair Heaven. The smell of hair spray, shampoo and steam from the curling irons filled my nostrils almost making me want to do the happy dance. The walls were plain white as any other typical business; same for the floors, but what made this shop stand out from the rest were the twelve silver chairs and mirrors on each side of the shop. I could go to either one of those stylists and get my hair whipped to perfection, no problem, but I wanted Gigi. More like I needed him since I had no damn money.
“What’s good baby?” I smiled sauntering to the back of the shop finding Gigi elbow deep in shampooing a client.
“Let me tell you something, boo boo. Okay, ain’t nothing going on up in here if you ain’t got my scrilla.” He pointed flinging soap and water everywhere.
“Nigga I told you—“
“No, Mink! I need my cash front and center in my hand before I even touch that botched up shit you call a weave up there. And I can tell you ain’t been takin’ care of it neither.” He frowned turning his big nose up at the sight.
“Gigi, I told you when I get the money I would pay you. Could you keep your voice down?” I whispered leaning in towards him.
“Well when you get that shit then I’ll flip your whip other than that its desert storm up in this bitch!” He continued to yell looking down the way at his boss, who just so happened to be the owner and also his new beau.
“Ugh, I swear you get on my nerves.” I mumbled angrily as I pouted and headed for the door.
“Hmm. Just like Flav gets on your nerves?” He asked watching my mouth drop open as I pivot pointed around on my heels.
“That heffa called you?”
“Mmhmm, and told me everything, honey. Word of advice, stop beating people up for telling you right; you were wrong, Mink.
“Ugh wrong my ass. How about having my back for change?” The sulking look on my face became impossible to hide.
“If you stay off of it long enough then maybe I will. Ha!” Gigi’s words could have pierced through thick paned bulletproof glass right along with his hazel contacts followed suit.
Even if I wanted to ignore him I couldn’t. He sashayed his skinny jean wearing, mocha skin having self through the shop. I was mad as ever but couldn’t help but to admire his blonde faded Mohawk and the fact that he had been hitting the gym a little harder this week. As his bony arm swung effortlessly to shut and lock the door behind me, I couldn’t help but wonder if I had indeed burned my bridge with him. I couldn’t understand why none of my usual charm was working on him this time. On the way out the door and as it practically slammed behind me, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was losing my touch. The rain that dripped onto my face as the thunder rolled on only confirmed my inner thoughts. For some reason, it was turning out to be one hell of a bad day. Regrettably, I took out my cell.
Yeah, it’s C. You know what to do.
UGH! I know Cesar sees my fucking number. He’s gotta be smokin’ something to be treating me like this. Everybody was trippin’ on me but it was all good because once I get on top they can all kiss my ass. I’m gonna make sure of that. Fuck them all. Desperate and hating the feeling that brought on, I gritted my teeth as I dialed another number into phone. It was a safety net that I knew by heart, one that would always do whatever I asked no matter what. I loved obedient niggas.
“Cash, can you take me home?” My lips cringed as my eyes lowered.
Chapter 9- Cesar – 4 weeks later
“What’s good girl?” I said putting the phone to my lips.
“Shit, you. You coming through?”
“I’m already in front of your building. Com’ on and buzz me up.”
“Dang, Cesar. That was quick. Here I come though.” Her voice always sounded so sensual, so damn sexy.
Her super thick thighs danced down the stairwell as I watched through the long glass door, waiting for her to hit the lock. She wore red booty shorts with a white baby tee; both of which hugged her body so tightly they could have been painted on. I could not stop staring and even licked my lips a bit. She knew what she was doing and I knew what I wanted to do. The door opened and I walked in grabbing her, wrapping my arms around her soft body. The scent of sweet honey filled my nose. I just wanted to close my eyes and drift off to an island with her and that smell alone. The touch of her arms wrapped around my neck rubbing me gently made me want to take her right there in the hall.
“Com’ on.” She said grabbing my hand leading me up the stairs to her apartment.
She pushed the door to her apartment open and it was just as I imagined; a small cozy spot of heaven. There were brown plush sofas sitting next to large floor plants; a big flat screen TV that had to be no bigger than a 50” sat in the middle of the wall and she had bookshelves. There never would have been any bookshelves at my house seeing as though I didn’t have any say so in how it was decorated and Mink never read anything besides a clothing tag. Her apartment was built much like mine with the bedrooms in the back and an island separating the kitchen from the living room but it was surely nicer than mine ever was.
“You want something to drink?” She asked walking towards the kitchen.
“Only you, Lasha.” I replied pulling her arm towards me for a nice sloppy tongue-lashing.
Just as I reached my hand around to her protruding firm backside, my cell rang with a distinctive tone. I knew who it was and as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t ignore the shit. It slowly pissed me off just thinking about answering but my fingers released her cheeks grabbing the phone anyway.
“Yeah?” My tone was almost angry.
“Boi, boi. What goes on?” Yolo’s voice blared through the receiver.
&n
bsp; “Not a thing. I was actually on my way out to you, man.”
“Aiight. I’m at the office waiting on you bruh. We need to talk.”
“Talk? That shit don’t sound good.” I replied stepping away from Lasha to focus on business.
“Don’t worry ‘bout it, just com’ on through.”
“I got you.” I said hanging up the phone as my eyes shifted to Lasha spread out on the couch comfortably.
“You gotta go?” She asked revealing a smile more beautiful than gold.
“Yeah but I’ll be back though. I wish I could spend the night with you, move in and never leave.” My lips kissed her forehead softly.
“Naw, you got your son. You can’t have him thinking you don’t care about him too. My momma walked out on me and my daddy when I was eight years old and I never saw him again. I know what it feels like.” Lasha replied batting her long dark eyelashes at me. “Besides I have school tonight. Can’t get all the way to senior year and fuck up now.”
“Yeah, you’re right schoolgirl. What were you going for again?”
“I told you four weeks ago that I’m pre-med. So once I graduate then it’s off to med school and then after that I’m quitting Home Depot’s ass.”
“Shit, maybe you can quit sooner than later.”
“Huh? What are you talking about, Cesar?”
“Hmm. Nothing. Listen, I gotta ride, but I’m gonna call you later alright?” I kissed her soft succulent lips again, smacked her casually on her ass to feel that thang jiggle just a little and headed out the door.
The entire ride to the club, I could think of nothing but the night I saw Lasha there in that tight silver dress. She stood out, catching my eye faster than any of the females that surrounded her. It hit me that I blew her off all this time for Mink’s lying and cheating ass when all the time I had a good woman sitting right in front of my face. Better late than never though and I’ll be damned if I let her gorgeous ass slip through my fingertips. Lasha is definitely wifey material, something that I never even contemplated with Mink.
I pulled up into the empty lot of the club, parking right next to Yolo’s black BMW. Grabbing the shoebox out from under the passenger seat as I did every day for the last for weeks, I exited the car and headed to the door using my backdoor key to get in. As usual, inside I found Yolo with his cell glued to his ear, chapping away to somebody about something. I didn’t care to listen; whether it was business or pleasure I didn’t give a fuck. I listen for my name, that’s it. If it doesn’t concern me, I ain’t got no business in it.
“Ay, Yo. I just came by to drop off this change from the morning rush today.” I said placing the shoebox down on the table and heading back towards the door. “We can rap later.”
I hadn’t been to the apartment Mink and I shared in weeks, since I’ve been working for Yolo. My son wasn’t there, I figured there was no need for me to even lay eyes on Mink’s triflin’ ass. She was like a stray dog that if a stranger fed, would never go away, so I decided what better place to sleep and hang than the club, Passion. All I wanted to do was curl up in the backroom down the hall and catch a few z’s before the 8am shift. My cell read 5:45am so I knew that was damn near not about to happen. Yolo sat at his desk in one of his tailor made suits like he had just stepped off the red carpet with Steve Harvey or somebody. It was early in the morning on a fucking Wednesday and this nigga looked like he was fresh off the movie screen. None of that flashiness interested me though. I was strictly here to get money and stack it high so I could get out of this shit unscathed. This business had a way of pulling you in too deep so I needed to make sure I stayed one foot ahead.
“Hold on my dude. Take a seat for a sec.” He said holding the phone away from his ear pointing to the seats in front of his desk.
“Oh naw man, I just wanted to make the morning drop. Chill, we got plenty of time to talk.” I replied hoping to skate out of the office and avoid his lengthy conversation.
His finger pointed up in the air and then down towards the seat in front of his desk insisting that I took a seat. My chest sank as I exhaled; walking back towards the chairs and plopping down, I realized that I was more exhausted than I thought. Sleep hadn’t been my friend much these past few weeks but the money has been rolling in like clockwork. I hadn’t paid the bills and rent since I hadn’t been there but my son didn’t need or want for anything and is enjoying a broke-free summer. Mink was probably heated since I knew Flava had to have told her by now that I got money. She probably thought she was about to be knee deep in my pockets by now. Haha. Crazy bird was always flying into shiny glass windows, thinking ahead of herself.
“Ah, my nigga.” Yolo smiled as he slammed his cell down on the desk. “Playa, playa. I gotta say man; you have been doing your thing over there on the set, bringing in some serious revenue, dude. I’m impressed.”
“It’s nothing, dude. Just doing what I said I was going to do and trying to make it happen for my fam too, you know.” I replied feeling my eyes become heavier and heavier.
“Yeah, yeah. But now that that’s good over there, I don’t think you need to monitor that on a daily anymore. I think it’s time to get you on the trust factor making some real serious dough. You know what I mean?”
“Uh, naw Yolo. I don’t follow.”
“Ceasar, it’s time to stop nickel and diming on my side hustle and step up with the big boys.”
“Side hustle? Nigga, I thought this was what you did all along.” I laughed forcing myself fully awake to get the gist of his words.
“Naw, C. I just like to keep my hands in every aspect of getting money. Ya feel me? Never put all your eggs in one basket.” He replied walking over to the long deep black bar in the far corner of the room. “Drink?”
“Naw, I’m good.” I replied as he poured himself a stiff one. “So where’s the real money at?”
“Why don’t you catch a flight with me right now? You busy?” He said finishing what looked like a half a glass of Absolut.
“Catch a flight, right now? Man, what the hell is going on dude?” I tried to hold the bass in my voice, not allowing it to crack.
I wasn’t afraid to fly or anything but it was known of Yolo that when you took flights with motherfuckas, your ass was liable to not come back. I didn’t know if this nigga trusted me or not. I didn’t know if he was trying to set me up or if I was paranoid. All I knew was that if push came to shove, I would fight my ass off to be the last man standing and good ol’ Yolo would be taking that dirt nap instead of me. He was cool, but I could never put anything past anybody when dealing with money.
“Right now, nigga!” His echo rang loudly throughout the office. “The fuck is you scared of?”
“Never scared, Yolo.” I replied calmly.
“Aiight then. You don’t need to pack or take shit. How much is in the box this morning?”
“Almost four stacks.”
“Good, take it. It’s yours.”
“What? You lettin’ me have the pot, Yolo?”
“Dude, you’ve been bustin’ your ass for these past few weeks. You took over a spot that was making no money and got it breaking two stacks a shift or better. How can I not reward some shit like that?” He said killing his cigar in the ashtray before walking to his office closet door. “Didn’t you earn it?”
“Hell yeah! I was just makin’ sure that you weren’t bluffing or nothing; giving me the entire pot and all.”
“My nigga.” Every time he said that word, he sounded funny with him being Mexican and all. “You ready to take this flight, Cesar?”
“Not really but let’s do it.” I reluctantly agreed.
I stuffed the money down in my pocket and headed downstairs to wait for him outside by his car. I was nowhere near prepared for what he had in store for me nor did I have any idea where we were going. The only thing I did know was that I needed to keep my eyes and ears open just in case anything popped off. Yolo was cool but the truth was I didn’t trust anybody outside of my son and myself.
Yolo met me at the black BMW, popping the locks on the doors from the button on his keychain. I slid back in the cream colored leather seats admiring the wood grain interior he must have had installed. It must be nice. I thought as I couldn’t help but to wonder what the fuck would happen next. My mind felt like it was about to start playing tricks on me, having me paranoid and shit. When I was younger my mother used to tell me that I could always tell when I smelled bullshit, because my nose would turn up unknowingly whenever someone told a lie. I could never tell but I decided to put that theory to the test.
“So, where are we headed?” I asked nonchalantly.
“To Midway Airport then we’re gonna hop a plane to Miami.” He responded as he drove on.
“Miami? That’s wassup. What’s out there?”
“My other business.”
“Shhhh, Yo, I feel you on being a man of few words and shit but straight up dog, where the fuck we going, dude?” I shifted my body to look the man in his face while keeping one eye on the road.
His laughter was sinister but I realized that I hadn’t turned my nose up yet. I didn’t smell bullshit anywhere in the air. I waited on him to finish getting a kick out of my question; the car went silent and he leaned back in his seat.
“What? You don’t trust me?” He asked slowly.
“Hell, it ain’t that. I just like to know what’s going on. Ya feel me? I like to be abreast of the situation.”
“Abreast huh?” Yolo chuckled again. “Sit back and relax, C. I wanna tell you a story.”
**Thick thighs swayed and heels clacked as the ladies walked out of the white door and onto the empty and shiny wooden floor. There were six of them all lined in a row and all wearing the same thing, shiny gold masquerade masks paired with black-laced corsets and matching thin thongs. Their heels were a wedged sole and they had eight gold wings on the front of each shoe. As a young man I had never seen anything so sensual or sexy like that in my life but my pops decided that this was the night that I learned about the family business. I was like a kid in a candy store at only twelve years old, hoping I could control my manhood from standing at attention with all the ass that was in the air.
