Trapstar Double book (Parts 1 & 2 Boxed Set)

by Blake Karrington

  “So what do you ladies have planned for the night?” Brandon asked, trying to fill the awkward silence in the room.

  “Nothing much,” Charrise said while taking him by the hand and pulling him into the living room. “We’ll probably just watch some TV and wait up for Brianna, so she can give us all the juicy details of your date!”

  Brandon smiled in response.

  “You know,” Selena added with a smile of her own, “girl stuff.”

  Brianna entered the living room wearing an outfit that nearly took Brandon’s breath away. It was just the type of understated sexy that he liked. She wore teal skinny jeans with a nearly sheer tunic that hung off of her right shoulder. Her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail that fell between her shoulders in soft curls. Brianna’s lips shined of gloss and her eye shadow glimmered when she blinked. She carried a small golden clutch purse that matched her platform heels.

  “I’m ready. Are you?” she asked Brandon.

  Brandon stood up and his eyes grazed over her in admiration. He walked to her and reached out for a hug. Brianna kindly accepted his gesture with a soft squeeze in return.

  Outside, Brandon’s BMW 6 series coupe glistened in the setting sun. He rushed ahead of Brianna, making sure that her hands would not have to touch the door. She appreciated his efforts to be a gentleman. Although Tre had taken very good care of her, a gentleman he was not.

  Once inside the car, she noted that he kept it just as shiny and clean on the inside as he did the outside. As they drove towards South Park Mall, Brandon took the opportunity to get to know Brianna.

  “Are you from Charlotte?”

  “Yeah, born and raised.”

  “Wow… that’s a rarity. Most people here are transplants.”

  “I get that all the time. How about you?”

  “I grew up here. But I’m from a small town called Greenville. What high school did you go to?”

  “East Meck. You?” Brianna smiled as she followed the rules to this familiar conversation. It was one of those discussions that always helped break the ice between two strangers.

  “Garinger. I had friends that went to East though, what year did you graduate?”

  “2004.” She answered.

  He grinned. “So that means you’re around 25 or 26.”

  “Was that your way of trying to figure out how old I am?” she said with a side eye.

  “Kinda.” He laughed. “But I was also just trying to get to know you.

  Before she could respond, they pulled up to Cowfish near South Park Mall, and Brianna was excited. She loved sushi and had wanted to try the restaurant, but hadn’t gotten around to it yet. As they parked, Brianna reached for the door, only to be interrupted.

  “I’ll get that for you,” Brandon said as he jumped out of the car and met her on the passenger side to let her out.

  At the entrance of the restaurant, Brandon and Brianna were greeted by the hostess. “Welcome to Cowfish,” she said with a smile. “Two people tonight?”

  “Yes,” Brandon said.

  “Ok, now there’s a twenty minute wait. Is that okay?”

  Brandon looked over to Brianna. “Is that ok?”

  Brianna simply nodded as she looked past Brandon into the interior of the restaurant. The place was lively and bright, filled with 3-d art and pops of color. She noticed the shelves lined decoratively with ketchup and soy sauce on some, and the combination of soy sauce and mustard on others.

  The hostess handed Brandon the buzzer and the two headed outside to wait. Brianna walked a few steps ahead of Brandon and stopped once she found some free space to linger.

  “Did I mention how beautiful you look tonight?” Brandon said, as soon as she turned around.

  Brianna beamed. She relished in simple compliments that were so much different from the normal, ‘Damn baby you thick’, or ‘You’re so goddamn sexy’.

  “Thank you.” she replied. “But don’t think that made me forget about you trying to sneak and ask my age.”

  “So I guess it’s only fair I reveal my age.” he said.

  “Naw, let me ask you in the same sneaky way you asked me,” she flirted.

  “Aiight, go ahead.”

  “What year did you graduate from Garinger, Brandon? I have sooooo many friends that went there, maybe you know some.” she exaggerated.

  “I doubt it,” he replied.

  “Why is that?”

  “I graduated a few years before you.”

  “Ok, I had older friends,” she lied. She didn’t have many friends at all in high school. The ones that she did have weren’t any older than her.

  “I graduated in ’98.” He revealed.

  “Okay, okay,” she said calculating his age in her mind. “Making you 32?”

  “Ding ding ding!” he yelled. “And the winner of Guess That Age is Brianna!”

  She chuckled, finding his corny joke amusing. The buzzer in Brandon’s hand began to vibrate and light up.

  “That’s us,” he said, leading the way back to the doors of Cowfish.

  They pair was seated in a booth near the bar of the restaurant. They each flipped back and forth through the pages of the menu trying to decide what they wanted to order.

  “I think I’m going to try something new tonight.” Brianna announced.

  “You’ve been here before?”

  “No,” she said indifferently.

  “You’ve never had sushi before?”

  With a scrunched up face she responded. “Of course I have!”

  “Then what do you mean you’re going to try something new?”

  “I’ve never had burgushi before,” she said with a smile.

  “Ahhh haaa, which one?”

  “The deliverance roll sounds yummy. I like trying new things.”

  “Is that right?” Brandon asked.

  “Yeah, kinda like going out with you.”

  Brandon laughed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Brianna shrugged. “I usually go for guys who are a little rougher around the edges.”

  “And I’m not?”

  “Ahhh…” Brianna started just as the server returned to the table to take their food orders.

  Brianna had never felt more normal that she did on that night. Having pointless conversation about age, school and food choices rather than family drama or illegal activities felt good.

  After completing their orders, Brandon said, “Now tell me. What makes you think I’m not a rough neck?”

  Brianna couldn’t help but laugh. “The fact that you’re saying rough neck at all, proves my point.” she uttered.

  “Ok, so you’re judging me because I’m not current on my street terminology.”

  “Don’t get me wrong,” she said while she continued to laugh. “It’s not a bad thing.”

  “I’ll give you that. I’m not rough around the edges, but I’m also not a square,” he explained.

  Brianna nodded. “It’ll be up to you to prove that to me.”

  “That means I get another date?” Brandon asked.

  “If it’s the only way for me to get to the bottom of whether you’re a square or not, I’m in.”

  “I’d been waiting of the perfect chance to say something to you, but the time never seemed right. It didn’t seem real when we ran into each other at my office.”

  Brianna cringed inside. She hadn’t stopped to think about what Brandon might think of her going to see an attorney. She wondered if attorney-client privilege would prevent her own attorney from sharing her personal details with Brandon. She wondered if he’d even asked.

  “Yeah, work stuff,” she managed to murmur.

  “Well you’ve got yourself one hell of an attorney.” he said with a smile.

  “Oh yeah?” she asked, trying to see how much he knew about her.

  “Definitely! He’s a well-rounded guy, one of the best in the firm. But I’m sure you know that already. What kind of business are you into?” he asked.

  Brianna k
icked herself for not preparing a response to this line of questioning. In hindsight, she knew that this would come up, but she’d been so focused on other things about the date that she’d slipped.

  “Well…” she said, and hesitated. “ I’m a pharmaceutical sales rep. But I’m working on opening a company of my own.”

  It’s not a straight out lie, she silently whispered to her conscience. Plus, she’d always considered opening her own business eventually. The only thing was that she hadn’t quite figured out what business would be.

  “Is that right? Young and ambitious, I can respect that!” Brandon replied.

  “It is,” she said with a smile. “But right now, I’m not really telling too many people about it because I’m still in the planning phase. I just needed a lawyer to look over some of the preliminary paperwork to make sure I’m on the right track and doing things the right way, ya know?”

  “I get it. In other words, that’s not something you want to share with me right now.”

  “Don’t take it like that. We barely know each other.” she said with a laugh.

  “And let me reiterate. Tonight we change that!”

  Brianna and Brandon made it through their main course with Brianna being overly honest about her upbringing. That was the only part of her life that she could talk to Brandon about, without worrying that he’d run in the opposite direction. Almost everything in her life that happened after she’d met and moved in with Tre was top secret.

  On the walk back to the car, Brandon said, “I know your sister and friend are back at the house waiting on you, but I don’t want to take you home just yet.”

  “To be honest, I’m not quite ready to go back yet either,” she said, while bumping him slightly on the shoulder.

  “I’m happy to hear that. Did I pass the square test tonight?”

  “I’d give you a B plus tonight.” she responded.

  Brandon stopped mid-step gave Brianna a hug. “That’s passing,” he said.

  She squeezed her arms tightly around his neck as he held her around her petite waist. She looked up at him. “Maybe next time you’ll get an A.”

  “I’ll work on that,” he replied.

  Brianna put her head down and he tilted it right back up towards him, then leaned down to give her a kiss. She freely accepted his soft lips and moist tongue, and she felt a familiar tingle between her thighs. She squirmed a bit before pulling away.

  “Damn,” she mumbled under her breath.

  “What’s that?” Brandon asked with a slight grin.

  “Nothing,” she stammered. Brianna could already feel her panties getting wet from that brief kiss. She pulled away. “Thanks for taking me out tonight.”

  Brandon made the few short steps towards the car, then let Brianna inside and closed the door behind her. On the drive home, Brianna pulled out her phone for the first time that night and saw that she’d missed several calls and texts from Charrise. Her heart began to race with nervous energy as she scrolled through the messages and realized that while she was out having a good time, a crisis was happening.

  __________

  “Be back in this house by 2:00 a.m., Jonathan.” He heard his mother say to his back as he headed for the door.

  Like most guys his age who’d begun to smell themselves, he smacked his teeth at her request. His father’s baritone voice intervened.

  “Did you hear your mother boy?”

  “Yes Dad.” Jonathan quickly answered, knowing that he couldn’t give the same response to Herman.

  “Good, cause if you don’t have your ass back here by 2 o’clock, you will be answering to me. Is that clear?”

  “Yes sir.” Jonathan answered.

  “Alright then, enjoy yourself.” his father finally said.

  “And honey please be careful.” his mother shouted.

  “I will mom.” Jonathan said, before walking out the door.

  “Come on Lorraine, that boy has got to grow up sometime.”

  “Yes, I know that, but he is our last one, you know. Our last baby bird to leave our nest.”

  “I know that Lorraine, now would you please go to sleep? If not, then please allow me to. I feel like shit.”

  “Well Herman if you’d stop —”

  “Don’t start with the lectures tonight Lorraine, I’ll drink when I damn well please!” he shouted before turning his back to her.

  Lorraine stared at her husband’s broad back and shoulders for a long moment, then turned her body in the opposite direction and prayed a silent prayer for him and her son.

  __________

  “Let me see your IDs” the big, larger than life security guard said to the three young men at the entrance of the club.

  The young men fumbled through their pockets until they each found their identification.

  The guard looked at the identifications, then back at each of them. He repeated the same gesture three times. “This ain’t neither one of you lil muthafuckas. Now turn around and take ya’ll lil young asses out of here before I…”

  The big bouncer’s words were cut off by the shortest one standing in the middle who produced three one hundred dollar bills from his pocket.

  “Just give us two hours and the money is yours, big fella,” he said.

  The bouncer looked around, making sure no one else was within earshot. “Guess it’s you three little nigga’s lucky night.” He reached out and grabbed the bills, then continued. “Two hours. Two hours and I’ma walk through this club. If I see any of you little nigga’s still here, I will personally throw you out myself. Now get the fuck inside the club because your time started five minutes ago.”

  __________

  Hakeem sat alone at a table sipping on a glass of lime and Ciroc. He checked his diamond encrusted watch for the time, then smiled at the thought of simply having the expensive watch on his arm. Four months ago, he’d damn near forgotten about the watch or any other jewelry he had purchased. The only thing that had mattered was trying to survive everyday prison life, and most of all, trying to stay alive in the process.

  “Damn, the Feds will hide a nigga.” The twenty-five years that he’d recently given back could attest to that.

  Hakeem had been raised around triple O.G gangstas, who were bred, born, and raised by the code of the streets. All his life, Hakeem was taught to despise the very thing he’d been labeled… a notorious snitch nigga.

  However, the generational curse of a man standing strong, doing his time, and keeping his mouth shut had become a thing of the past. All the standup niggas were either dead or in prison doing sentences so long that their kid’s kids, had kids while they were away. Times changed with the new generation and some of the most violent and notorious hustlers would flip before they could be driven down to the station. After returning to the streets, usually the same ones they’d left, other hustlers welcomed them back with open arms, instead of slaughtering them on the spot.

  “Would you like a nice and naughty lap dance?” a short and thick redbone asked, breaking into his thoughts.

  Hakeem looked at his expensive watch once more. He had twenty more minutes before his two partners would be there, and hell, they would probably be another half hour late anyway, he figured.

  “What da hell?” He reached inside his Rock Ritual jeans and brought out a neat stack of large bills.

  That move alone caused the sexy stripper to begin moving gracefully around his chair in a sultry and seductive dance. She then raised her right leg and stepped over his lap and sat her damn near perfect ass down on his dick, which was already straining at his zipper. She grinded, bounced, and rotated that ass like her life was dependent on it.

  __________

  “Man, how did you pull that off?” Jonathan asked his best friend Kevin’s cousin who went by the name A.J.

  “That shit was nothing kid. I do it all the time.” He looked over at Jonathan, and then burst out into laughter.

  “Whatchu laughing at?” Jonathan asked.

  “Yo
u!”

  “Me? Why the hell are you laughing at me?”

  “Cause, nigga you still a virgin, that’s why.”

  “What the hell you mean, I’m still a virgin? Nigga I —”

  “Chill, chill with the sensitive shit Jonathan, I’m not talking bout that type of virgin shit, I’m talking bout you never been inside a strip club, homie.”

  “No I haven’t, but what’s the point?”

  “There is no point, I just wanna give you the in’s and out’s with dis shit. Please don’t sleep on these dancers, bro. They got more game than half the niggas in this bitch.”

  “And?” Jonathan asked confused.

  “And, nigga just keep a check on your pockets while they grinding on you. Oh yeah, also make sure you keep up with the song count. Because the DJ will put a mix on you and the chick will be talking through the switch and the next thing you know, you owe them for five songs and you won’t remember one!” all of them started laughing.

  “Gotcha.”

  “Good… now let’s go feast on some ass and titties.”

  __________

  “Bout time you niggas showed up!” Hakeem said to the two young men dressed in matching red shirts and hats.

  Without answering him, they both immediately began throwing up several gang signs.

  Hakeem quickly answered with his own.

  All three then burst out into yells. “What up my nigga!!!!!!”

  “Damn you two niggas ain’t changed!” Hakeem shouted over the music.

  “I see you haven’t either,” the bigger of the two said as he eyed the sexy stripper, making her way back towards the bar.

  “Bitches, money and poppin’ bottles, will always be this nigga’s motto.” Hakeem said.

  “Fo sho.” The smallest of the trio agreed.

  “Speaking of money, what you got in mind on how the three of us gon eat, my nigga?”

  “Relax Lil Flo. In a few days, money will be the least of our worries homie. But tonight, it’s all about poppin’ bottles, that kush, and these bitches.”

  “Speaking of bitches, I saw that broad you used to fuck wit earlier today.” Lil Flo said.

  “What broad?” Hakeem asked.

  “I’m talking bout that caked up broad, Keem. The one that’s got damn near all of the queen city on lock. What’s her name, Brianna or somethin’ like that?”