by T. N. Baker
Now a real troublemaker, he created unnecessary drama with this kid named Righteous from Lefrak City. Ness had an altercation with him at a traffic light one day, ’cause he felt dude disrespected him by cutting in front of him without using his signal.
The truth was, Righteous had shit locked down on his side of Queens, selling top quality cocaine for fifty bucks a pop. The cokeheads loved him, and the crackheads preferred to buy his shit and cook it up themselves, because they got more for their money. Word was spreading around Queens about dude’s product and price, and Ness wasn’t happy about that. He ain’t want nobody getting money in Southside Jamaica, but him. Eventually, Righteous would be a problem.
Ness arranged to meet up with Smitty and K.C. in Ajax Park to discuss how they should handle their competition. When Smitty and K.C. arrived, Ness was on the empty court with his shirt off, shooting hoops.
“Yo, what up, my niggas?” Ness greeted them with a pound.
“Ain’t shit,” Smitty responded.
“Chilling,” answered K.C.
“Yo, Smit, how’s shit moving over there by you?” Ness asked.
“Yo, son, shit’s been a’ight. Why? What up?”
“Word. What about by you, K?” Ness questioned.
“Everything’s straight where I’m at, dawg,” K.C. answered.
“Yo, what’s up with that kid Righteous? Y’all heard of that nigga?” Ness was still shooting the ball around.
“Yeah, I met dude when I was up north. He’s a cool nigga,” K.C. said.
“Um, what he do time for?” Ness inquired.
“He caught a one-to-three for some bullshit,” K.C. said.
“Well, that nigga should’ve stayed locked the fuck up, ’cause I don’t like him.”
“Come on, man. Ain’t no need to get caught up in no bullshit over some nonsense. We don’t need that type of heat right now,” said Smitty.
“Smit, man, what’s up with you? You been on some real sucker shit lately.”
“’Cause, man, you be on some bullshit. You getting real loose with the words I and my. This shit ain’t yours alone, nigga. You need to leave all that unnecessary drama alone and try to stay focused on what we doing, dawg.”
Smitty couldn’t believe that Ness was coming at them like that.
“Unnecessary drama? What the fuck you talking about? That muthafucka just came home and already he trying to interfere with my fucking money. Shit ain’t going down like that. I ain’t gon’ let a muthafucka move in on me. Just like I did with that nigga C, niggas gon’ know that I ain’t that dude. I’ma make an example out of any nigga that tries to step up.” Ness sounded like a madman.
“Yo, dawg, just leave that shit alone.” K.C. just wanted to drop it already.
“Quite naturally you gon’ say that. Nigga, you just fucking stood here and said you was cool with dude, so I ain’t even fucking with you right now!”
“Yo, me and that nigga ain’t tight. I ain’t say I’ll break bread with ’im. You’re bugging. I could see if that nigga Righteous was trying to get at you, but you hating on the man for trying to eat. What he got going ain’t even putting no dents in our pockets, dawg!” K.C. responded.
“Well, I still ain’t feeling kid, yo, and I ain’t gonna wait until he become a problem. You’se Smitty’s man, dawg, so why is you even talking to me anyway, huh?” K.C. didn’t feed into Ness’s cocky-ass bullshit. He just shook his head, thinking, This nigga done really bugged the fuck out.
“Yo, I’m out,” Ness said, throwing his shirt back on as he headed toward his Range Rover.
“Fuck y’all pussy-ass niggas,” he mumbled, hopping inside his truck.
Everything Smitty and K.C. had said went in one ear and out the other.
The high from the purple haze made him feel like the baddest nigga alive, with murder on the brain. He turned down his radio and slowly crept down the streets of Lefrak housing, approaching the area where Righteous usually hung out.
Ness didn’t really know the nigga’s description, as far as his height and weight. Their beef took place while they both were driving, and he vaguely remembered his facial features, but that wasn’t going to stop his plans. He parked his truck and waited.
“Yo, shorty, c’mere,” Ness called out to a young boy around sixteen as he walked past. Ness noticed the kid’s hesitation. “C’mere. I ain’t gon’ do shit to you. For real, I just wanna ask you something.”
Not sure whether he could trust Ness’s word, the boy slowly walked over toward the truck. His palms started to sweat, and his heart pounded rapidly.
“Yo, li’l man, you scared? I told you I ain’t gon’ fuck with you. I just want you to do something for me, a’ight?” asked Ness.
The boy slowly nodded his head.
“You talk, little nigga?” Ness asked sarcastically.
This time, the boy answered, “Yeah.”
“A’ight, good. That’s better. Yo, you know Righteous?”
The boy nodded his head again instead of opening his mouth, making Ness so angry that he started to yell at the kid.
“Yo, man, I thought you said you could fucking talk?”
“I c–can,” stuttered the frightened boy.
“Then answer me, nigga, and stop shaking your fucking head. Now yes or no, do you know him?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Is he out here right now?”
“Yeah.”
“A’ight then, without pointing, where?”
“He across the street in front of the bodega on the corner.”
“A’ight, what he got on?” Ness asked.
“I think he got on a green-and-white shirt and some jeans,” said the boy.
“You think, or you sure?”
“I’m sure,” answered the boy.
“A’ight, good lookin’ out. Here.” Ness handed the boy five twenty-dollar bills and left him with words of advice, “Toughen up, shorty. Learn how to open your fucking mouth and speak, a’ight?”
The boy didn’t answer. He just clutched the bills and took off running, wanting no part of any mess that Ness was up to.
Slowly, Ness drove up to the bodega, and sure enough, he spotted Righteous wearing a green-and-white Celtics jersey, standing in front of the store, hugged up on some chick.
Ness got out of his truck and walked up on him. “Yo, what up, nigga?”
“What up? I know you, dawg?” Righteous slightly pushed his girl to the side. It didn’t dawn on him that Ness was the guy from the traffic light. That was some minor bullshit he had brushed off, but Ness didn’t look at it that way.
“Nah, son, you don’t know me, but we bumped heads a few days ago. I came to tell you that you can’t pump that shit you selling around here no more.”
“What? Who the fuck is you, dawg? This me over here, nigga. I own Lefrak. I gotta give it to you, you a bold-ass bastard.” Righteous was taking Ness for some little clown-ass nigga.
“Oh, word. I’m funny, huh?” Ness quickly pulled out his .38 and unloaded four bullets into dude’s chest.
Since their conversation never got loud, no one anticipated any kind of beef, so when the shots rang, the few cats that was around scattered instead of coming to Righteous’ defense.
“Yeah, nigga. I’ll be funny, but how ’bout that was your last laugh?” asked Ness, calmly pointing his smoking gun at the frantic girl who had been with Righteous.
“Shut the fuck up, bitch!” He silenced her with one to the head and hopped back in his truck, speeding off.
Chapter 77
Keisha kept watching the clock, anticipating her date with Rob. It seemed like time moved extra slow, just because she looked forward to finally moving on.
It had been almost two weeks since Tucker kicked her out, and he hadn’t even tried to contact her yet. However, he had managed to call Loretta at least two times a day to check up on their son. Keisha started to get jealous when Loretta would say he called, so her calls slowly started to decrease. She hated the fact that
Tucker cared about their son more than he cared about her, when for seven years she was his number one. Now she felt invisible. It wasn’t that she didn’t love her son, because she did with all her heart, but she felt the three of them were supposed to be a family.
Keisha wanted a reason to hate Tucker. She started to blame him for what she felt she missed out on—her teenage years. That didn’t work. Regardless of how bad she tried to paint the picture, she couldn’t ignore the fact that Tucker never put restrictions on her and was only guilty of taking care of her and providing a comfortable life for both of them. She had a good man, and she hated herself more and more for cheating.
Out of spite, Keisha felt it would be best if her son stayed in Atlanta with her mother. If Tucker can’t find it in his heart to forgive me, so we could raise our son together, then he’ll never see him again.
Rob was in front of the house beeping his horn at exactly eight o’clock on the dot. Mrs. Wright rushed over to the window to see who was in front of her house, blowing his horn like a darn fool, when Keisha came running toward the door.
“Is that for you, Keisha?” she asked.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“I should hope not, ’cause a real man would get out the car and ring the bell,” Mrs. Wright said.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. T. Maybe he isn’t sure which house to come to,” Keisha said as she went out the door.
“Hey, Rob.” Keisha was wearing a big smile once she got in his car.
“What’s up, baby?” he responded.
She giggled and then answered, “Nothing.”
“So, where you wanna go?”
“Wherever you wanna go.”
“Well, I was thinking we could make this a Blockbuster night.”
“Blockbuster night, huh? Well, I haven’t been out in a long time, so what kind of date is that?” she asked.
“That’s you, me, and a movie from Blockbuster at my crib.”
That ain’t no real date, she thought, but if his company could help take her mind off Tucker, then why not?
“Okay,” she replied.
* * *
Rob’s studio apartment looked like a real bachelor’s pad—no sense of style, everything was black or gray, and he didn’t appear to be a neat person, especially, since he had to push a pile of dirty clothes off the bed for Keisha to have a seat.
“Okay, which movie do you want to see: The Italian Job or Unfaithful?”
There was no way Keisha was gonna sit and watch a movie about a woman cheating on her man, so she selected The Italian Job. Rob popped in the DVD, pressed play, and before the previews could finish, he was all over Keisha. He started to kiss on her neck as he ran his hand slowly between her closed thighs.
Keisha let out a soft moan and slightly opened her legs, giving him the okay to continue. Rob climbed on top of her and started to rubbed the erection that bulged from his jeans up against her as their tongues intertwined.
Winding her hips in a circular motion, Keisha moaned louder as her panties started to get wet. Rob unfastened her bra and encircled her perky B cups into his hand as he softly sucked and gently bit her nipples.
“Oooh, yes,” she moaned as her pussy throbbed for his dick.
Rob raised up for a moment to take off his pants, and Keisha removed hers also. He turned off the TV, putting them in complete darkness, and slid inside of her raw.
“Yeah, baby, you feel that? Damn, your pussy good,” Rob said as he fucked her.
Keisha lay there in silence. She didn’t feel a thing. It had felt better when they had their clothes on. Out of curiosity, she reached her hand down between her legs to see if he was really inside her.
“Uh-huh, baby, what you doing? I’m about to cum,” he said as his breathing got heavy.
“Wait a minute. You don’t have a condom on. Uh-uh, get off of me!” she yelled, pushing him off just as his body started to jerk and his thick cream erupted all over her pubic hair.
“Damn.” He took a deep breath, and his little dick slowly started to go limp.
Damn, was right, Keisha thought. Disappointed and dissatisfied, what was she gonna do? She couldn’t take the pussy back, so she decided to make the best of it and at least try to get some rest next to a warm body for the rest of the night. She snuggled up close to Rob and closed her eyes.
Minutes later, he nudged her shoulder. “Come on. You ready? Let me take you home.”
Chapter 78
Shana was experiencing a burning and itching sensation in her pussy. It was the worst kind of discomfort that she had ever felt in her Iife. I swear if K.C. gave me something, I’ll kill his ass, she thought.
Even though she had started making him wear condoms ever since he admitted to sleeping around on her, all types of disgusting thoughts crossed her mind.
What if he gave me something I can’t get rid of, like herpes, or maybe even AIDS?
Shana loved K.C., and through all his wrongdoing, she was still trying to hold on, but if he had given her some kind of sexually transmitted disease, she would never be able to forgive him. Sure, he fucked around, but she dealt with it as long as he respected her enough to at least use protection.
She kept her discomfort from K.C. and held out from sex for a couple of days, hoping it would go away, but it didn’t. She didn’t know which was worse: fighting off K.C., or trying to soothe the irritation with every coochie cream Duane Reade, CVS, and Rite Aid carried.
Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore, so she went to the clinic to find out what was wrong. Going to the department of health was embarrassing, especially since it was located on Jamaica Avenue, and everybody hung out on the Ave, so the chances of not being seen were slim.
Shana paced back in forth in front of the building for about ten minutes before she went inside, but that was the easy part. The hard part was not running into a familiar face while inside the waiting room, because more than likely if you were there, it was to treat an STD of some kind.
She quickly scanned the room as she walked over to the front desk to get a number and fill out a questionnaire. She was relieved when she didn’t recognize any of the faces.
The wait was about an hour before her number was called. Inside the office, the doctor handed her a few STD brochures and asked her all types of questions regarding her sexual history before asking her the nature of her visit. After explaining her discomfort, the doctor told Shana to get undressed and lie back on the table.
Shana was so uncomfortable. She was twenty-three, married, and this was her first GYN checkup ever. The doctor told her to relax and talked her through the examination. In minutes it was over, and Shana was told to get dressed and return to the waiting room until the nurse called her for blood and urine samples.
As she walked down the hallway, reading the information the doctor had given her, someone called out her name.
“Shana!”
Shana’s heart dropped when she heard the familiar voice. She looked up and recognized Chasity, dressed in one of those two-piece blue hospital uniforms, as if she worked there.
Fuck, Shana thought. Out of all people and all the places in the world, why did she have to run into her in here?
“Girl, what are you doing in here?” Chasity said as if everything was cool between them.
Shana rolled her eyes and refused to speak at first. Even if they were cool, she thought, That’s the last question I want to be asked right now.
“Listen, Shana, I know you’re probably still mad at me, and I don’t blame you if you are, but I just want to say I’m sorry for the way I acted. I was just a little hurt, you know. Besides, I put dancing and all that other bullshit behind me ever since Scar was killed.”
“Scar is dead? What happened?” Shana asked.
“I don’t really know what happened. I wasn’t at the club that night. Supposedly she left with some guy who, for whatever reason, nobody was able to identify and was later found butt-ass naked in a dumpster not far from the club, with a slit throat,�
� said Chasity, getting teary-eyed.
“This happened at Honey’s?”
“Yeah, about a month ago.”
“Wow, I’m surprised I didn’t hear about that,” Shana said.
“I’m not. Don’t nobody care. To them she’s just another trick, but to me she was a good friend. You know, I actually have custody of her daughter, Starlavee, now. She’s six.”
“Oh, okay. I’m sure you’ll take good care of her,” Shana said.
“Yeah, me and my boyfriend are raising her together.”
“Boyfriend?” Shana was surprised. She couldn’t believe her ears.
“Yes, I have a man now. He’s much easier to handle than . . . you know.” She laughed.
Before Shana could respond, her number was called again. “Oh, hey, that’s me. I gotta go, but you take care. And Chasity, thanks for apologizing.” Shana walked into the nurse’s office feeling like fifty pounds had just been lifted off her chest.
The nurse took her blood first, then handed her a cup and asked her to go to the bathroom and bring back some urine. Once she brought the urine sample back, the nurse gave her a pregnancy test, and in minutes, a negative result came back. Unfortunately, her discharge sample came back positive for Chlamydia. The nurse told her that it was a sexually transmitted disease, but the good news was it was curable. She gave Shana an antibiotic injection and informed her that it would take up to five days for her blood work to come back from the lab confirming whether she had any other STDs.
It took a lot to break through Shana’s thick skin, but she had just reached her limit with the bullshit. With tears streaming down her face, she wasn’t gonna take it no more. She lost herself a long time ago, fucking with K.C., but loving him was no longer worth her dignity. She put up with his ass whippings, his verbal abuse, and even his cheating. K.C. owed her more than this, because she had always been there for him. Being that down-ass bitch wasn’t cute no more.
Chapter 79
Epiphany was enjoying her time with Wild so much that she didn’t want it to end. In twenty-four hours they had already managed to do so much. He had bought her a Burberry bikini to swim in, amongst other things they had picked up during their shopping trip. They also played video games and spent half the night talking. Her stay felt more like a mini-vacation away from the hood, and it made her realize just how much she was ready for some changes in her life. Being with Wild was a different experience for her. He wasn’t the cutest nigga, but he had the means to expose her to a whole new world, not to mention the other qualities she required: money, money, and more money!
