Soft: Cocaine Love Stories

by Styles, T.

  “I hate bitches who act like niggas. You can’t want a nigga to protect you if you keep fakin’ like you got shit. Which one is it gonna be?”

  “Like I said, I could’ve handled it.”

  “Anyway, your purse was in here, so that shit was useless!”

  “Well, where was your shit, Mr. Braveheart? I don’t see you packin’ neither. If I’m not mistaken, you was duckin’ on the ground just like me.”

  If another nigga would’ve heard the way her mouth popped off, he would’ve walked out.

  “You just betta be glad you still breathin’.”

  She waved her hand and said, “Was that Bodie shootin’ at him?”

  “I don’t know what you talkin’ ’bout,” I said, noticing the burn on her floor from earlier. This chick stay wit’ some bullshit.

  “Gerron, I know you saw Bodie shootin’. He came outta your house.”

  “Look, some shit need to be left alone,” I warned her. “For your own good.” If Bodie found out she was sayin’ his name, she could have problems on her hands.

  When her phone rang, she ran into the kitchen and answered. I could tell by the look on her face that somethin’ else was up.

  Ginger

  “I need to know who the fuck you are and I need to know now!”

  “I can’t tell you. I just wanted to say I’m sorry about what happened.”

  Click.

  When she hung up, I rushed outside, ran halfway up my block, and banged on Shonda’s door with a closed fist. I had to know who that little bitch was callin’ my house. The door opened, and I walked my uninvited ass inside.

  “Shonda,” I said softly. Club pictures of her and Trixy were everywhere. “Shonda, we gotta talk,” I whispered.

  She didn’t answer, but I could sense somebody was inside. When I turned the corner leading to her bedroom, I heard a panting and started to go back, but curiosity got the best of me. I never saw her with a man. Once at her bedroom door, I couldn’t believe what I saw through a cracked door. Trixy was layin’ on the bed with her legs wide open, while Shonda ate her pussy.

  I laughed to myself, thinkin’ how she had the nerve to come at me about Milli when she was a carpetmuncher. I wanted so bad to make myself known, but I knew that little tidbit of information would come in handy later.

  Feelin’ slightly better about my newfound secret, I was still dissatisfied about not knowing who this little girl was who decided to make my life miserable.

  When I walked back into my house, Gerron was still there, and he had helped himself to a glass of my Bacardi.

  “You want some?” he asked, holding the cup out. I took it from him and swallowed it all.

  “Everything cool, shawty?”

  “Not really,” I said, lookin’ into his sexy sleepy eyes. I turned away quick.

  “Was that your peoples on the phone? Did she get away okay?”

  “Oh . . . no. That wasn’t her,” I said, remembering the shootout. Too much shit was happening for me to keep up. “Let me call to see if she okay.”

  My call went straight to voice mail, and I was worried.

  “She ain’t answer,” I told him, hoping he’d have an answer.

  “Damn,” he said, wiping his hand over his face. The sun from my window bounced off of his caramel-colored skin. For whatever reason, I was horny and knew he had to go. I could feel the seat of my panties getting slick. “Your peoples fine. You just gotta give her a minute to hit you up.”

  Although I was glad Gerron was there for me, it would’ve been nice to have Milli by my side. He was nowhere to be found and hadn’t called back since our argument.

  I decided to call him and give him more bad news, until Gerron said, “Well, let me bounce. I got some shit to do tonight. I’ll be over there for a minute if you need me. And then I’m movin’ . . . I mean . . . leavin’ town.”

  “You movin’?” I said, more anxiously than I wanted.

  He smiled and said, “Yeah, why? You upset or somethin’?”

  “No . . . uh, naw. You do what you gotta do. I just didn’t know.”

  “How would you? You don’t talk to me.”

  “You mean you don’t talk to me.”

  Silence.

  “Gerron, I know you don’t wanna talk about this shit, but I gotta know. Are you sure you tellin’ me everything you know ’bout the night I fell? Did you hear anything else from anybody?”

  “I ain’t answering that shit no more. I already told you I didn’t.”

  “Did Milli do somethin’?”

  “You don’t trust your man?”

  “I do. . . I just—”

  “Well, if you do, just drop it!” he said, walking toward my back door.

  I rolled my eyes and walked with him. I didn’t want him to leave, but he was on his way out—until he saw the food on the stove.

  “Damn, that’s all you?”

  “If you askin’ did I cook, the answer is yes.”

  “Well, it look good, but it probably taste like shit,” he joked.

  “I think you don’t know shit about me. I got a baby and a man to cook for, and both of them like to eat, which means I can burn.”

  “That don’t mean shit but you know how to turn a stove on.”

  “You wanna taste it?”

  “I can.”

  “What do I get if it’s as good as I know it will be?”

  “Whatever you want,” he said, lookin’ into my eyes.

  I cleared my throat and said, “You know what I wanna know.”

  “Bye,” he said, moving for the door.

  “Sit down, boy. I’m just fuckin’ wit’ you.” I smiled. “Let me show you why I’m wifey material. Now, when I’m done wit’ you, I don’t want you tryin’ to leave your girl, ’cause I’m taken.”

  “You ain’t tellin’ me shit I don’t already know. Plus, I ain’t got no bitch—”

  I cut him an evil look ’cause I was sick of him callin’ females bitches.

  “I mean I ain’t got no girl. You already know that shit.”

  “You may not have a girl, but I be seein’ all them cluckers at your house. Don’t forget we cool, so there ain’t no reason to lie to me.”

  “I’m single, and I like it like that.”

  When he said that, I felt some kinda way.

  He sat down at my table and said, “You gonna eat wit’ me, right?”

  Since I hadn’t had anything all day, I made a plate and joined him. I wasn’t worryin’ about Milli comin’ over early, ’cause he never came before eight o’clock at night, and it was only three.

  “I can tell you was mad at me, but I appreciate you helpin’ me earlier, I know a lot of people would not have done that shit,” I said, drinkin’ my juice and pickin’ wit’ my food.

  “Yeah . . . me included. I don’t know what came over me.”

  “Well, why did you help me then?” I said with an attitude.

  “’Cause he hit you, and ain’t no dude s’pose to be hittin’ no female.” I smiled. “How’s your face?”

  “It’s cool. Just hurts a little,” I said, wipin’ the small scar I had almost forgotten about.

  I heard raindrops rattlin’ against the kitchen window. The window above the stove was partially open, and a gust of wind blew in and knocked a banana-shaped calendar magnet from the fridge onto the floor. I closed all the windows in my house. Then I realized I left the window down in my car.

  “I’ll be right back,” I said, grabbin’ my car keys from the table. “I left my car windows open.”

  “You want me to close ’em for you?”

  “No, just give me a sec.” I didn’t need people seein’ him in my car. It was bad enough he was in my house.

  I snatched the door open and ran out my back door. A purple haze hovered over my small house, and thunderstorms lit the sky. The moment I hit the last step, one of the black heels I was wearin’ got stuck in the dirt and caused me to fall flat on my face on the damp grass.

  As I lifted my
self off the ground, I heard someone say, “Damn, bitch! You stay fallin’! What, you can’t hold that big-ass head up?” Trixy laughed.

  “She stay gettin’ shit in her face!” added Shonda.

  When I stood up to see who was talkin’ to me, I saw Trixy and Shonda holdin’ a red umbrella, staring at me over my fence.

  “You should know ’bout shit in faces, seein’ as though you and Shonda stay eatin’ each other’s pussies.”

  The smile on her face was wiped clean, and both of them hustled up the street. I was so ready to let them know that I was on to their little secret that I wasted a chance to ask Shonda about that mysterious little girl who kept calling.

  I spat out a few strands of grass, dusted my clothes off, and ran to my car. Then I jumped inside my Benz and rolled up my car windows. I could see the open kitchen window from my car and smiled when I saw Gerron stuffin’ his face. Then it dawned on me: If Milli for whatever reason came home early, I would be busted.

  I decided to find out where he was, so I turned on my car, and the engine purred like a kitten. Then I picked up the phone from the cradle and dialed his number.

  When I heard his voice, my heart sank. “Fuck you want, Ginger?”

  “Baby, can we talk? I know why you mad at me, and I know that’s my fault,” I said, hitting the vanilla-scented tree dangling from my mirror. “I wasn’t tryin’ to make you think I didn’t trust you. It’s just that so much shit has been happenin’—”

  “Fuck this shit, Ginger. It’s over.”

  Click.

  No! It can’t be over ! I called him back a few times and he didn’t answer. Tears snuck up on me and ran down my face. I punched my steering wheel over and over until my knuckles were sore. I lost my boyfriend, and I didn’t know what to do.

  I needed to be alone and decided to get rid of Gerron, so I went back to my house. Nicky approached me in my backyard. Although the rain pounded on both of us, I could still see she was angry.

  “Nicky, what happened to you?” I asked, examining her body. “Are you a’ight?”

  She wiped the water from her eyes and said, “You knew, didn’t you? You knew that shit was gonna happen today. That’s why you were actin’ funny.”

  “Nick, let’s go inside and talk about it. It’s rainin’ hard as shit out here.”

  “Did you know?”

  “No—I mean yes . . . I mean, not really . . .”

  “Which one is it?” she said, smoothing the wet hair from her face. “I thought we was s’pose to be friends.”

  “This is gonna be fucked up, but I had an idea he was gonna do somethin’. I just ain’t know what. This little girl kept callin’ my house and told me. I don’t know who she is though.”

  She rolled her eyes and said, “Ginger, why you keep lyin’?”

  “I’m not lyin!? I’m tellin’ you all I know. Some girl called my house askin’ for Shonda’s daughter, Renee. She said she overheard that someone was gonna set you up.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “Have you forgotten that I put my life on the line, lost my bracelet, and my money?”

  When she looked into my back window and saw Gerron fixin’ himself another unauthorized plate of food, she said, “So you fuck wit’ him now?”

  “You know it ain’t even like that, so don’t even start no shit.”

  When Bodie walked up on us out of nowhere, we both jumped.

  “I ain’t mean to fuck y’all up,” he said. “Is Gerron here? I got somethin’ for him.”

  Whenever he was in my presence, he made me nervous. “Yeah, he inside.”

  “You mind if I holla at him for a second?”

  Since I could see them from where I stood, I said, “Go ’head.”

  He looked around a few times and dipped inside. The slamming of my screen door rang a few seconds before stopping.

  “Wow, you got the whole crew over here now, huh?” she laughed. “First Gerron and now Bodie?”

  “Nick, you my friend, but I’m startin’ to get real tired of your shit.”

  “I bet you are.” She smirked. “So tell me somethin’, Ginger. How you know they ain’t involved? I do recall Gerron grabbin’ his money off the ground.”

  “I don’t know ’bout Bodie, but Gerron ain’t have shit to do with it.

  “Please! Even Stevie saw his ass scoop his money up and run. She the one who put me onto this shit.”

  “Stevie?” I laughed. “You comin’ at me wit’ Stevie when she left your ass high and dry?”

  “Whatever. All I wanna know is why the robber ain’t grab Gerron’s money when it was on the ground. Why he wait ’til we emptied our pockets and take our shit? Come on, Ginger. Everybody ’round here know he robs people. And if you not careful, he gonna do the same shit to you.”

  “Get out my backyard, Nicky.”

  She looked at me like she was gonna challenge me, and for the first time ever, I thought about pullin’ my gun on my friend.

  “Don’t call me, and I won’t call you,” she said, lookin’ behind me at Gerron standin’ in the doorway.

  She walked out of my backyard, and Bodie walked out the back door.

  “I appreciate it, sexy,” Bodie said. I ignored him.

  “What he want?” I watched Bodie hop over my fence. “I never did trust his ass.”

  “He gave me my piece back. And stay away from him, Ginger, ’cause I don’t all the way trust him either.”

  Gerron

  When we walked into the house, her phone rang again and she answered it. I wanted her to ignore that shit, because it seemed like every time she picked up the phone, she had bad news.

  “Hello?” She exhaled, floppin’ on the sofa.

  She looked frightened.

  Here comes the bullshit.

  I walked into the kitchen and poured us another drink.

  “Mr. Clairmont, I still haven’t heard anything about Leona. I really am sorry.” She paused, taking the drink from me. She took a few modest sips before swallowing it all. “Trust me, if I hear anything, you’ll be the first person I call.”

  When she hung up the phone, I sat next to her, and she started cryin’.

  “You a’ight?” I asked.

  “I don’t understand why all the shit is happenin’ to me! Today has to be the worst day of my life outside of the day when they took my baby. And then . . .” She sobbed harder. “And then Milli dumped me!”

  “That nigga ain’t gonna leave you. He just talkin’ shit right now.”

  “How you know?”

  “If he a real nigga, he’d be a fool to let you go over some dumb shit. Y’all been together too long.”

  “I wish I believed you, but he’s been actin’ different lately. And now Mr. Clairmont askin’ me ’bout where his daughter is again, and me and Nicky beefin’ over some bullshit.” She cried harder. “I don’t know what to do!”

  “Shit gonna be a’ight, Ginger. You gotta take shit easy though. You takin’ on too much.”

  Although I hated seein’ females cry, I wasn’t the best nigga to console ’em either. I was a gun-totin’ dude from Kentland, and all I thought about twenty-four-seven was gettin’ paper. But here I was feelin’ like there was nothin’ more I’d rather do than make her problems go away. I was s’posed to be on my way outta Maryland by now.

  “I . . . I need another drink,” she said, moving toward the kitchen before her body went limp to the floor and she was crying again.

  I put my drink down, lifted her up, and her head fell against my chest. Her body was damp and warm from being caught in the rain. Walkin’ her back over to the couch, I tried to place her down, but she gripped me tighter.

  “It’s gon’ be a’ight, Ginger. You gotta be strong like you been,” I said real slowly. I tried to place her down again, but she still ain’t let me go.

  “Hold me,” she sobbed. “Just for a little while.”

  “I got you,” I reassured her.

  For whatever reason, her vulnerability
turned me on. I was so used to shawty cussin’ me out that I didn’t stop to think that she might have a sensitive side. I tried my best to prevent my dick from gettin’ hard, but the shit wasn’t workin’. If she stayed in my arms two seconds longer, it was gonna be a wrap.

  “Ginger, I ain’t tryin’ to disrespect you, for real, but if I don’t put you down, I ain’t gonna be able to help myself.”

  She looked up into my eyes and said, “Please . . . I don’t wanna be alone right now.”

  It was over. I moved in for a kiss, and she kissed me back. Then I ran my tongue over her lips and gently sucked the bottom. Damn, they tasted so sweet. I think the alcohol had us on ten, and we ain’t give a fuck.

  “You sure ’bout this?” I asked, because I didn’t want a drunk fuck.

  When she didn’t respond, I slipped my tongue back into her warm mouth. While our lips connected, her tears rubbed against my face. She wasn’t cryin’ no more.

  I tried to place her down again, but this time she pulled me toward her. I threw the sofa pillows on the floor and fell between her warm legs. The handles of our guns clanked each other, and we took them out, placin’ them on the floor next to the couch. Then I remembered I was in this dude’s house. What if he came in here and shit got outta hand? I’d be forced to kill him when I was dead wrong.

  “I’ma have to take a rain check, sweetheart,” I said, lifting up.

  Her eyes look sad, and she said, “So you gonna leave me like this?”

  “You know I want you, but if your folks come in here, I’ma have to bust his ass.”

  “I told you we not together no more,” she said, liftin’ her shirt, freeing her titties. “And I want you to make love to me.”

  “So just like that, it’s over?” I ain’t never ask a bitch these many questions when offered the pussy, but there was somethin’ ’bout Ginger I wanted, and I didn’t want to start something we wouldn’t finish.

  “Right now, I don’t even give a fuck about Milli. So what we gonna do?”