Durty South Grind

by L. E. Newell

  “Oh yeah.” He smiled and sniffled.

  “Damn, that sinus still be fucking with you, huh?”

  Rainbow frowned. “Hell yeah, ever since you gave me this shit that day in the sand pit.”

  “What!” Sparkle retorted astonished.

  “You heard me, nigga,” Rainbow repeated.

  “Shiiiieeet, you the one that gave me that shit.”

  Rainbow harrumphed and sniffled again. “Uh-huh, man, this shit been fucking with us like forever, ain’t it?”

  Sparkle squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yep, and snorting that white mack don’t be helping none, either.”

  Rainbow hunched his shoulders and stared around the restaurant before he sniffled. “Speaking of…let’s hit the bathroom for a taste. Shit be the bomb, too, dog.” When he got up, his black silk shirt spread open and revealed a gold digger’s spade glittering on his herringbone necklace. “Come on, let’s do this.” He got up and led the way away from the booth.

  When they got into the bathroom, Rainbow took out a gold cigarette case. As soon as he opened it, the strong odor of the coke exploded into the air. It was some of that pinkish gold-flaked stuff Sparkle had seen that first night he had gotten out with JJ. Rainbow took two tokes and closed his eyes as the rush blazed through his brain and caused his forehead to bleed beads of sweat. He blinked several times and shook his head. “Oooh wee, whew! Man, this is the best stuff that I’ve ever had, dog.” He yanked the necklace over his head and passed it and the case to Sparkle.

  Sparkle took a quick one on one and frowned because that shit bombed on him the same way. He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Oh shit, man, what the fuck…where the fuck?” He sniffled and rubbed his nose. “Man, where ya’ll niggas getting this stuff from? I ain’t never seen no pink blow before.” He started wiping the sweat off his forehead.

  Rainbow grabbed a paper towel and started wiping the sweat off his head too. “Damn, that shit good. You about ready to go bang these hoes up?”

  Sparkle scooped another hit to his nose. “Trying to keep me with ya ’til the sting, huh?” He took one more scoop and passed the case back.

  Rainbow smiled. “That’s right. Think ya’ll know a nigga, don’tcha?”

  Sparkle took the towel out of his hand and started brushing the excess powder off his nose. “How in the hell I can’t know you, man. Come on, I want to try some of that black one anyway.”

  “Shiiieeet cool, knock the bitch’s back out. Let’s roll.”

  As he followed him out the door, Sparkle placed his arm across his shoulder. “Man, I thought that ho was working for that nigga Percy and JJ.”

  Rainbow squinted his face up and flipped his shades off his eyes and perched them on his forehead. “Percy and JJ, nigga, please. Man, hell naw, them niggas be working for… Hold up, wait a minute. Now that nigga Percy be doing thangs for me, but who the fuck is this nigga JJ anyways?” He grunted and began rubbing his earlobe—something he always did when he was puzzled about something.

  A hard frown creased Sparkle’s forehead for a second or two before he answered, “That’s the nigga you talked to the other day when you called Debra’s crib. But fuck that, soldier; them two niggas gave me the impression that we all were going to be like triplets in this drug thang.” He hunched his shoulders, wanting to know the real deal. He hated being lied to for the hell of it.

  Rainbow smiled. “Naw, my nigga, I beep the twins with code to hit Princess whenever I want them to take her something. I had no idea that you was with them hoes. Hell, dog, I would’ve hollered at you then if I had known that.”

  Sparkle exhaled and lowered his shoulder. “Well, I’ll be damned, and you know the twins, too?”

  “My nigga, I’ve had them sneaky bitches for nearly three years now. Other than Lady, those two have been with me the longest.” Rainbow smiled, exuding the same confidence he’d always shown.

  At the sound of one of his favorite females, Sparkle’s smile widened. “Lady…man, how my baby doing?”

  Rainbow laughed out loud. “Following orders as usual.”

  “Following orders; nigga, you a mess.” He smiled as he leaned away and punched him in the shoulder. It was good to know that his main man hadn’t changed a bit.

  “As always, and from now on, I might add.” He laughed a little harder, so proud to be a hood legend.

  They continued to kick it as they headed across the Kroger parking lot toward the hotel. Suddenly they heard screaming tires coming in their direction. They jumped out of shock and looked behind them to see a big sedan streaking directly at them. Instinctively they leapt out of its path onto the grassy area in the same direction to get out of the speeding car’s path. They drew their guns as they spun in a roll. They were about to open fire at whatever fool who had come at them like that, when they heard a big Santa Claus-like laugh bellowing from the driver’s window.

  “What the fuck ya’ll scary-ass old-timers doing out this way this time of night?” the husky voice of their ole doping partner, Duke, rang in the night air. He stuck his big face out of the window, cheesing hard for a mug.

  “You big, crazy, fat muthafucka, you done lost your mind or what?” Sparkle screamed at the top of his lungs. Inside he was feeling good about seeing another of his boys.

  Rainbow picked himself up off the ground and added, “Blind-ass bastard, give me your insurance card. I’m going to sue your big ass for vehicular harassment.”

  Duke stepped out of the car jiggling with laughter, looking like a fat penguin in a full tux with tails and all. They embraced and started shooting each other body punches. Looking beyond Duke’s massive shoulders, Rainbow saw his car rolling down the sloped pavement toward the wall and yelled, “Oh shit, big dude, you may need to get out your insurance card, for real, dog!”

  Sparkle and Rainbow burst out laughing as big boy screamed like a banshee and bounced his big ass after the car. By the time he was able to lean into the car’s window and jerk it into park it was only a few feet from the wall. With the sudden stop, his big ass bounced off the fender, slammed into the wall, slid down it and plopped loudly on the pavement huffing and puffing big time.

  His buddies were laughing so hard that their sides started to ache. Rainbow looked over at Sparkle, who was down on his knees gasping for breath. He was laughing so hard that his eyes had started to water.

  There was a real stupid look on Duke’s face as he sat there spread-eagle against the wall like a battered penguin. He let out a heavy sigh as he stared at the pair for a few seconds before he burst out laughing himself, his big belly shaking like a gigantic bowl of Jell-O. After awhile he wheezed. “Man, I should’ve ran over the both of ya’ll dirty asses.”

  The two of them grasped their sides and crawled over to the wall to sit on either side of him. The trio looked back and forth between each other and burst out laughing all over again.

  Duke started hiccupping but still managed to repeat himself, “Man, what ya’ll niggas doing out this way?”

  Rainbow wiped the laugh tears from his eyes and cheeks. “We was headed to the hotel to enjoy some phat-ass hoes. You wanna come with us because there’s three of them.”

  Duke wrinkled his nose. “Not if ya’ll got some stanky-looking bitches with funky pussy up there.”

  Rainbow sniffled. “Oh hell naw, big fellow, I got black queen Princess, Sidney and a fresh new honey I just copped named Candy.”

  That surely got him excited as he sprang to his feet like a jack-rabbit. Cheesing from ear to ear, he bent down and reached out with both hands to help them to their feet effortlessly. Bucking his chest out, he started shaking his waistband. “Candy, huh, is she good enough to eat for a sweet?” His eyes were bucked wide with anticipation.

  Rainbow brushed himself down and proudly. “Yep, that’s her name, aight, Candy. I bet your fat ass a grand that she can get that little dick of yours to spit in sixty seconds flat. Then again, nigga, what the hell you doing out this way in the p
enguin suit looking like a fucking pallbearer?”

  Duke ran his big hands down his chest like he was ironing out the fabric and spread his arms out wide. “Man, that girl Cynt had me up at some banquet for one of her co-workers, some kind of black-tie affair…it was alright.” He rotated his shoulders and pinched his nose as he narrowed his eyes at Rainbow. “Sixty seconds, huh; nigga, please.”

  Rainbow thumbed his nose and retorted, “What part you didn’t understand, the six or the ‘o’? Hell yeah, sixty seconds—that’s what I said, ain’t it? Guaranteed, straight up, playa.” His poker face was set in stone.

  Duke covered his mouth with his fist and stared at him for a while. “Naw, that’s aight, no bet. Your ass is too damn tight to put up even a fucking penny that quick unless you had locks. Besides, why betcha when I’m about to taste the bitch’s game for free? Hell, I’ll dub my hat off to you if the bitch can perform that miracle.”

  Overly sure of himself, Rainbow smiled, flexed his shoulders and nodded. “I’m definitely sure, dog. The bitch is like that, man. Hmm-mmh, why you think I let her ride with Princess? She bad, playa. Oh hell yeah, she the real deal, dog, for sho.”

  Duke ran his eyes up and down Rainbow’s body. “Damn, bro, why you so big on that black-ass ho Princess?”

  Rainbow licked his lips, wiggled his nose and cocked his head to the side before he spat, “Because playa playa, she done pulled off some drastic shit for me that any ho wouldn’t. Believe me, dog, she’s definitely earned her stripes; especially coming from me. And even before you open your big mouth, you don’t need to know what, know what I’m saying?” he finished with macking flair.

  Duke gave him a curt nod. “Uh-huh, okay, I feel ya; sorta like me and that dirty bitch of mine, Cynt.”

  Sparkle interjected, “Damn, she like that? Hell, I thought my girl Lady was your one and only, dog,” and playfully shoved his shoulder in disbelief.

  Rainbow twisted his mouth down. “Man, Lady will always be my number one, just like ‘B’ and Yolanda, just like you and you know who. Who, by the way, came out on Auburn Avenue the other day and inquired about yours truly.” His eyes bucked wide open as if to say, Whatcha gotta say about that there, soldier?

  Duke smiled and punched Sparkle on the shoulder. “He must be talking about Lady Bev, huh?”

  Sparkle grimaced. “Hey, fuck you, fuck both of ya’ll. Come on, let’s go tap some of that fine ass up there in the room waiting for a nigga to soak his dick in some stanky juicy juicy.” He didn’t want to discuss Beverly period—at least not with these two fools.

  After a full night of three-way swap-a-ho, coking, oiling both boy and girl, and smoking reefer-laced blunts, Sparkle stirred awake at the smell of a Waffle House breakfast box being waved under his nose.

  The first thing that registered on his hazy mind was the three sex kittens prancing around in bras and thongs, sharing a shooter full of coke. He fought off a yawn, then wiped the crust out of his eyes. “Where my dogs at, ya’ll?”

  Princess sashayed her black sexy ass right up to him, the aroma of all-night fucking and sucking permeating the air around her. It intoxicated his senses because that shit was really good and stood between his legs. Her crotch was so close that he could feel the heat emanating from it. His dick started to rise as he thought of how she was riding him in reverse cowgirl style. That pretty shiny black ass spread wide across his thighs a few hours ago. He stirred uncomfortably on the bed with sexual tension.

  She placed her hands on her hips, smiling seductively as she hunched her fragrant pelvis forward. “Baby, those boys been gone. Rainbow told me to get you up in time to get to Five Points before twelve.”

  He looked into her conniving eyes with the feeling that she was disrespecting his dog with the way she was acting out of his presence. He definitely didn’t have time for that bull, so he grabbed her Lady Omega-laced wrist and twisted it around to face him. To his surprise it red 11 a.m., so he pushed her away and jetted for the bathroom to freshen up. He hollered over his shoulder as he opened the door. “Yo girl, ya’ll got any mouthwash or—” He nearly bowled right over Candy when he turned around for an answer. She ooohed when she pressed up against his semi-erect morning hardness.

  With a sweet smile on her face, she cooed, “Here you go, baby; figured you’d want this.” She handed him a small bottle of Scope from a pair of dainty little hands that were fashioned with designer nails and several gold and platinum rings.

  Her feminine aroma was just as intoxicating as Princess’s. He stepped back smiling at her glittering eyes. “Thank you, sweetheart. You’re a real doll.”

  She batted those big brown puppy dogs at him, spun around like a perky pixie and poked her round little donkey butt out as she sashayed away with a sweet smile dimpling her rosy cheeks.

  He shook off the sexually induced trance the girls had caused and closed the door. After taking care of his hygiene, he bid them adieu. He considered calling Rainbow but decided to go to Debra’s to check in first. His intuition told him that besides doing that scam, there was no telling what would come next. Rainbow was as wild as ever. As he crossed over I-20, he looked up at the gathering clouds and wondered if it was an omen of whether anything would go wrong.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  A Gathering of Foes and Friends

  The unexpected rain caught Black Don totally by surprise as he parked his dark blue Lexus. He took a quick peek into the mirror to check out the chinstrap he’d gotten the barber to trim up. Damn, he did favor that nigga 50 Cent when he angled his face a certain way. Maybe them bitches weren’t bullshitting him when they teased him about the resemblance. Hell, both of them were top players so it was all good.

  A pair of headlights flashing from the other side of the hotel snapped him out of his short reverie. The distorted vision caused by the rain and accompanying mist had him contemplating venturing across the hotel’s parking lot to the hoes’ room. The jittery feeling he was experiencing had him wondering if he was tripping off the heavily laced blunt he had sucked up earlier. This was just before he had gotten the call from Big Bertha about the attempted robbery.

  As the rain started to bang harder on the windshield, he wondered why his little crew of niggas hadn’t answered his calls. Now that really had him pissed. He was used to them being at his beck and call whenever he wanted them to be.

  Fucking younguns. Damn, you can’t rely on their unstable asses for nothing when you sho nuff need ’em. He kicked the door open. He pulled the hood of his leather jacket over his head and stepped into the downpour. In a crouch, he jogged across the lot. He hated coming to these haunts, especially this one with this mini-jungle surrounding the back and sides of the hotel. It really gave him the creeps. By the time he reached the walkway, he didn’t know whether he was shivering because of the freezing rain or the paranoia effect of the blunt.

  He rapped on the door and froze when a chilling sound made him shake from head to toe. He was leery but turned around curious with fear. He went into a defensive crouch when he thought he saw something move in the mini-jungle along the embankment sloping from the interstate. Was one of his enemies lurking in the bushes? Was this whole robbery bit a setup to catch him in a fucked-up situation? The goose bumps along his arms were no joke.

  He jumped again when he heard the nerve-wrecking sound again. He squinted at what appeared to be movement for several seconds before he realized that it was only the wind.

  “Damn, I’ve got to stop fucking with this coke so damn much. Shit’s got me shaking like a leaf. Aw man, what the fuck was that?” he muttered before he realized it was his car keys dangling in his pocket. Heaving a sigh of relief, he wiped his face and blew into his fist to calm himself down. Shaking away the jitters, he cranked his neck in a couple of circles, turned to finally knock on the door and nearly jumped out of his skin when it was snatched open.

  “I thought I heard—” she started to say when her breath caught at the sight of the gun aimed in her face. She flinched from t
he wild look in his eyes and stepped to the side.

  “Girl, don’t be scaring me like that. You can get yourself blown away with that shit,” he spat angrily as he replaced the nine-milli Glock back under his armpit.

  Frowning, she spat back, “Man, what’s wrong with you? All I did was open the door because I heard something out here.”

  Ignoring her angry stare, he barged into the room. She backed up to the bed and sat down, in no mood for a nonsense confrontation.

  Feeling the need to maintain his gangster image, he eyed Mercedes, one of the dancers who worked at the strip club he partly owned on the east side of town on Lee Street. In the short time she’d been dancing at the club, he’d really taken a liking to the little Vietnamese honey, but in an effort of hard playerhood, he refused to show her any weakness. He turned to his usual gorilla control and growled, “Why ya’ll bitches wait this long before ya’ll told me about this shit?”

  Bertha, the big-boned honey, recognized the coke glaze in his eyes and mustered the energy to deal with the situation. There was no telling how they might react to any kind of defensiveness. She swallowed and started fidgeting with her white gold heirloom necklace as she muttered in a low voice, “We didn’t really want to bother you, baby, because the niggas ain’t get away with but three or four dimes. Shit, it was more like a snatch robbery but I figured you’d want to know about it anyhow.” She batted her long eyelashes innocently.

  He’d barely heard her, as thoughts of little Mercedes lapping between Bertha’s big red thighs caused his dick to stir. And since he didn’t want them to see his shit rising in his pants, he started pacing back and forth between them.

  After a few anxious moments, he finally regained control of his dick and went to lean against the dresser under the television. He took a deep breath, bowed his head and started rubbing the stubble on his chin. “For one, I want to know if you’ve seen them niggas around anywhere; and two, why in the hell you ain’t at work? Especially you, Bertha, because you know damn well that I don’t trust those other bitches to be trying to run thangs. And three, you could’ve told me this weak-ass shit whenever I saw you again at the club.”