Powder Blu

by Brandi Johnson

  “So what’s it gon’ be?” he asked, smiling.

  “Naw, I just wanna stay at home and relax,” I said while I was plotting and planning in my mind what outfits I was takin’ to Jamaica with me.

  “Okay, well here take this,” he said, peeling off five one hundred dollar bills. “Go to a day spa, get a massage, a mani and pedi or whatever else it is you women do there and just relax until I get home. I’ma call Yogi and tell him I need him to run the business for a few days while you and I are out of commission, and don’t call us for shit, how that sound?”

  “Awwww, baby, thank you,” I said, giving him a hug.

  “You don’t have to thank me. You my girl. I will go out my way to make you happy,” Budz said.

  “When you comin’ back?” I asked, needing to know how many days I had free to spend with Black.

  “Why?” he asked, suspiciously.

  “Dang, baby, I wanna surprise you wit’ somethin’ since you so good to me, that’s all,” I lied.

  “Oh, okay, that’s wassup. All I want you to surprise me wit’ is some head. You haven’t given me any of that in a while,” he said grabbing his dick while smiling.

  The thought of sucking Budz’s dick instantly made me sick to my stomach. I damn near threw up on his ass. He was right, it had been awhile; and was gon’ be even longer. What the fuck I look like sucking on this nigga’s dick knowing he be sticking it in my brother’s nasty ass? This nigga had me fucked up!

  “I got you,” I lied.

  “My baby,” he said, giving me another kiss on the cheek before standing up. “I’m ’bouta go pack; my flight leaves in a few hours.”

  “Okay,” I said as I watched him walk away.

  I couldn’t wait to call Black and tell him the good news about me being able to go to Jamaica with him. I was too outdone by the fact that Budz had asked me to go to Miami with him after he’d already asked Miguel to go first. How dare he? I played second to none. I was the boss bitch and I always came first. He might not have known now, but I guaranteed he’d find out soon enough!

  Chapter 32

  Paradise

  My flight to Jamaica was so relaxing. It had been forever since I could really sit back and not have anything to worry about or a hundred things to do. Black had already left when I called him to tell him I could go with him, so he sent me a ticket and told me he would see me when I got there. I couldn’t wait to see him. It had been awhile since I’d seen him; he’d been so busy handling his business he didn’t have time for anything else. When my flight landed at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay I hurried to the baggage claim to retrieve my luggage. I was so anxious to see Black. As I stood waiting on Black to show up, some tall, skinny black guy dressed in a tuxedo walked up to me with a sign with my name on it.

  “You have to be Blu ’cause Mr. Black said I would be pickin’ up a beautiful young lady and I don’t see anybody else as stunning as you,” the driver said.

  “Yes, I’m Blu,” I said, bashfully.

  “Follow me.” The driver grabbed my suitcase and escorted me out to his limo. He put my luggage in the trunk before walking back over to me.

  “Make yourself comfortable,” he said opening the door for me to get in. “There is a bottle of Hardy Perfection Fire back there for you to sip on until I get you to the villa.”

  “A bottle of what?” I asked before getting in.

  “Hardy Perfection Fire,” he repeated. “It’s a six thousand dollar bottle of the oldest and best tasting cognac around. Most folks says it taste like chocolate, coffee, and oak. I think it has a more distinct taste myself. Me personally, I like it because it’s smooth goin’ down and I don’t wake up with a hangover. I know a few rich cats that only buy it for the unique design of the crystal bottle which represents earth, light and air.”

  “Oh, okay,” I said impressed as I climbed into the back of the limo. I picked the bottle up and poured me a shot to calm my nerves. After all this time I couldn’t figure out why Black still made me nervous. I’d had two more shots by the time we pulled up at the villa. I was feeling this cognac.

  I waited for the driver to come open the door. He took my luggage out of the trunk and handed it to some guy before opening up my door. He held out his hand for me to grab. I grabbed his hand and he helped me out. “Enjoy, beautiful lady,” the driver said tipping his hat before going back to the driver’s side, getting back in, and pulling off.

  “Welcome to Jamaica,” some guy standing outside the villa greeted me while handing me a tall, fruity drink with an umbrella sticking out of it.

  “Thank you.” I smiled before taking a sip of my drink. “Ummmm.”

  “Mr. Black awaits you,” another person said as I headed up the villa’s walk.

  I was greeted by four more men as I walked inside the villa. I couldn’t believe how beautifully decorated it was. I was taken aback by the view of the ocean from the front door to the back of the villa. I’d only seen shit like this on House Hunters, never in real life. This seemed so surreal; Budz had never taken me to a place like this.

  “How you doin’, beautiful?” Black said, walking in from the balcony. The sight of him instantly got my sugar bowl sticky. He wore a tight-fitting, crisp white T-shirt, a pair of khaki shorts, and a fresh pair of tan and white Sperry Top-Sider shoes.

  “Hey, Black.” I smiled widely as I walked over to him.

  He leaned down and gave me a kiss on the lips. “There’s brunch out on the balcony. You hungry?”

  “I’m starvin’,” I replied as I followed him out to the balcony. The view of the water from the balcony was more stunning than it was from the inside of the house. There was a mini buffet set up with every piece of fresh fruit you could think of: sausage, eggs, bacon, pancakes, crepes, waffles, you name it and it was on the bar.

  “Hold up, I need to take this call,” Black said answering his ringing cell phone.

  I fixed myself a plate of fresh fruit and a crepe as Black sat on the phone yelling at somebody. He was speaking in a different language so I didn’t know what he was talking about. I knew by the tone in his voice and the mean expressions he was making it couldn’t have been good.

  “I’m sorry you had to witness that,” he apologized.

  “It’s okay,” I assured him before sticking a piece of pineapple into my mouth.

  “Niggas be tryin’a get over and shit,” he fussed.

  “I already know,” I agreed, knowing damn well I didn’t even know what he was talking about.

  “Anyways, what you wanna do while you here in Jamaica? We gon’ make our time here all about you,” Black said smiling.

  “I don’t know. What is it to do?” I asked.

  “It’s okay. I’ll plan our day for you and I guarantee you’ll have the time of your life.”

  “That’s wassup.” I smiled.

  “Okay, sexy, I got some business to handle. I will be back in a couple hours so be ready to have some fun,” Black said standing up from the table. “Take a shower, get dressed in somethin’ comfortable, and I’ma take you out on the town.”

  Black leaned down and gave me a kiss on the lips before walking into the house and out of the villa.

  I sat back and took in some of the beautiful view before going into the villa to get dressed. As I was digging through my suitcase to find something to wear my cell phone began ringing. I picked it up off the bed and my heart began beating faster. I didn’t want to answer it, but I knew if I didn’t, Budz would just continue to call until I did. I slowed my breathing before answering.

  “Hello?” I answered, looking around to make sure Black hadn’t snuck back in.

  “Wassup, baby?” he asked.

  “Hey, baby,” I replied.

  “What you doin’?”

  “Nothin’, ’bouta get in the shower, put on a pair of pajamas, and watch these movies I rented,” I lied, but not technically because I was about to get in the shower.

  “What you rent?” he asked.

/>   “I rented The Hangover Part III, Goodfellas, and Boomerang.”

  “Awwww, man, I wish I was there so I can watch ’em wit’ you,” Budz said.

  “I wish you was too,” I lied again rolling my eyes.

  “I was callin’ to let you know that I won’t be home until Monday instead of Sunday night. Mr. Davenport had to fly out to Jamaica on an emergency and won’t be back until Sunday, we didn’t get a chance to handle our business yet. As soon as I take care of my shit I will be home I promise.”

  Nigga, I don’t care if you don’t ever come back, I thought. Budz seldom used the word “we” anymore; it was always “me, me, me.” “Awww, baby,” I said, pretending to be upset.

  “I know, Blu, but you know I gotta take care of this. You like livin’ like Jay-Z and Beyoncé don’t you?”

  “Yeah,” I replied.

  “Well, if you wanna continue to live like them, I gotta handle this business wit’ Mr. Davenport, okay?”

  “Okay,” I said, acting like I was hurt.

  “I love you and enjoy your movies.”

  “I love you too and I will,” I said before pushing the end button and dancing around the bedroom.

  I was awakened by Black’s lips on my cheek. I looked up at him and smiled.

  “What’s up, sunshine face?” he asked.

  “Damn, I don’t even remember fallin’ asleep,” I said, sitting up yawning and stretching.

  “Sorry it took me so long. Mr. Davenport had a lotta convincin’ to do. He had to come correct if he wanted me to leave my current connect to come fuck wit’ him,” Black said, taking a seat on the foot of the bed.

  So Black is the emergency Mr. Davenport had to fly to Jamaica for. Small, small world. “Did he convince you?” I asked.

  “You damn right he did!” Black said excited as he stood up from the bed and began pacing the floor. “He made me an offer that I couldn’t refuse. I’m about to take over Chicago and Cleveland.”

  “That’s wassup, Black. I’m happy for you.”

  Black walked over, sat next to me, and stared me in my face. “I’m ’bouta make more money than you can ever imagine. And I need somebody to share it wit’ so are you wit’ me or what?” he asked.

  “I’m wit’ you,” I replied excited.

  “Good. Don’t make me regret this,” he looked at me with one of the scariest looks before standing up and walking out of the bedroom.

  “I won’t,” I said feeling uneasy. If I didn’t know anything else, I wasn’t ’sleep to Black. I knew that nigga meant business and just like Budz he would take me and anybody else out who got in the way of his money.

  Chapter 33

  No Time for Games

  My trip to Jamaica was a much-needed one. Black did exactly what he said he was going to do: he made sure the mini vacation was all about me. He took me shopping at some of the local duty-free shops in Montego Freeport and bought me some of the cutest handmade purses, dresses, and a few jewelry pieces. We took long walks hand in hand on the beach, laughing and talking the entire time. He took me to some extravagant restaurants and had me tasting foods and drinks that I’d never even heard of. Black surprised me with some of the stuff he was into. He took me on Safari rides, jet skiing, ATV off-road adventures, and snorkeling. Who would have thought he enjoyed shit like this? But out of all the things we did together, making love on Doctor’s Cave sandy white beach was the best. I can’t lie; being in Jamaica with Black was the experience of a lifetime. I would have loved to have been able to share this experience with my momma, I thought, momentarily wishing we had that typa relationship. Hell, she was too ignorant to appreciate anything outside of the hood anyways; the moment vanished quickly.

  As I was pulling into the carwash my cell phone began to ring. I looked down at the number and didn’t recognize it. Budz was always giving my number out to people so I went ahead and answered it just in case it was important. “Hello?”

  “Blu?” a somewhat familiar voice asked.

  “Yeah, this Blu, who is this?” I asked.

  “This is Mr. Davenport,” he replied.

  “Mr. Davenport?” I asked, wondering why he would be calling me instead of Budz.

  “Yes, Mr. Davenport,” he responded.

  “Oh, okay how are you?” I asked, suspiciously.

  “I’m good.”

  “You must be lookin’ for Budz. That fool don’t neva keep his phone charged. When I get back to the house I will have him call you, okay?” I said.

  “I don’t wanna talk to Budz, Blu. I wanna talk to you.”

  “Huh? About what?” I asked confused.

  “Look, Blu, I need to talk to you. It’s very important.”

  “Mr. Davenport, I think you should talk to Budz. He would be so upset if I went behind his back to discuss business with you.”

  “It’s not about business, Blu. It’s about you and me,” he stated.

  “What about us?” I asked defensively, hoping this old cat wasn’t trying to get on with me. He was handsome and all but this nigga was old enough to be my daddy.

  “No, nothin’ like that.” He laughed, catching on to my insinuation. “Look, I will be in Chicago on Thursday. I will call you when I get in town and get settled so I can tell you where to meet me at. This meeting needs to stay between me and you.”

  “Okay,” I said, slowly.

  “See you Thursday,” he said, hanging up the phone.

  For the life of me I didn’t know what Mr. Davenport wanted with me. If it wasn’t about business then what was it about? I didn’t know him and he definitely didn’t know me. Matter of fact, I’d only met him that one time on the boat; other than that Budz had been the one meeting with him. Him wanting me to come alone and not tell Budz about this meeting didn’t sit well with me.

  I was a nervous wreck for the next three days. I could barely eat, sleep, or think straight. The thought of what Mr. Davenport wanted with me constantly bothered me. It bothered me even more that I couldn’t tell anyone about this meeting. Shit, if this nigga decided to kill me, nobody would even know who did it. I couldn’t call Black and run this meeting by him; he’d told me as I boarded the plane to come home from my Jamaica trip to not contact him again until I had taken care of Budz.

  When Thursday finally rolled around, I watched my phone all day like a hawk, constantly checking it for missed calls. The later it got, I started thinking that maybe Mr. Davenport had changed his mind about meeting with me, which really had me curious about what he wanted.

  I was sitting at the table around seven o’clock counting money when my cell phone began ringing. My heart beat quickly. I picked it up and looked at the caller ID. It was a number I didn’t recognize so I answered it, hoping it was Mr. Davenport.

  “Hello?” I answered anxiously.

  “Hello, Blu, my dear. Sorry it’s so late. I had some important business to handle so I had to take a later flight,” Mr. Davenport explained.

  “It’s okay,” I said, nervously.

  “Can you come meet me at my condo?”

  “Yes,” I said and waited for Mr. Davenport to give me his address. “Okay, gimme like half an hour and I’ll be there.”

  “See you then,” he said, before hanging up.

  I finished counting my money before taking it upstairs to the attic to put it in the safe. I heard the front door close as I came down from the attic.

  “Blu, where are you?” I heard Budz call out.

  “I’m comin’ down from the attic,” I yelled.

  “What you doin’ up there?” he asked, meeting me at the bottom of the attic stairs.

  “I was puttin’ some money in the safe. What else you think I was doin’ up there?” I asked, smartly.

  “You been gettin’ real fly lately and I’m about sick of it,” Budz said, frowning.

  “Oh, well,” I said, shrugging my shoulders, attempting to walk away from him. I’d been in my feelings serious since coming back from Jamaica. Budz had come home Monday just like he
’d said and all I could think about when I looked at him was this nigga liking ass, literally.

  “Oh, you think this shit a game, don’t you?” he said, grabbing me by my arm.

  “Get off me, nigga!” I yelled, snatching away from his grip.

  “Bitch, I ain’t gon’ tell you no more that I run this,” he yelled before hauling off and smacking me across the face.

  I could taste the blood from my busted lip. I ran into the bathroom to examine my face.

  “See what you made me do to you?” Budz stood outside of the bathroom door and said.

  I shot him a crazy look.

  “Come here, and let me see,” he walked into the bathroom and said, grabbing me by my face. “Ain’t nothin’ wrong wit’ you.”

  “Budz, you busted my fuckin’ lip!” I shouted.

  “You’ll be all right! You should learn not to run ’em so much,” he said before turning to walk away.

  “Faggot-ass bitch,” I mumbled under my breath.

  I walked into the living room and grabbed my keys off the coffee table as Budz sat flipping through channels. “Where you ’bouta go?” he looked at me and asked.

  “I got some business to handle,” I replied as I headed to the door.

  “Wit’ who?” he asked.

  “Dang,” I huffed.

  “See, that’s what just got ya ass smacked a minute ago,” he replied. “G’on and get ya ass outta here. I don’t even care where you go.”

  “Fine wit’ me,” I said while opening the door and heading to my truck.

  I pulled up in front of the address Mr. Davenport had given me and sat in my car for a few minutes, trying to pull myself together. I really wanted to know what he wanted with me, but at the same time I was afraid to find out what it was. I finally got out of the car, headed up the walkway, and knocked on the door.