by Leo Sullivan
“Shit, tell them about “Dickie” Teena,” Jazmine said snuggling closer to her lover.
I could tell that she loved Teena, but I still didn’t get it. I guess it wasn’t meant for me to get, but I could understand it.
“Oh, she gets a stiff dick. Whenever she wants it I just strap “Dickie” on and tear that shit up.” After she said that she downed the rest of her beer.
I scrunched up my nose. “I don’t understand that. If you want a dick why not get yourself a man?”
“I know,” Peaches jumped in. “It just doesn’t make sense to me. I thought a real lesbian wouldn’t want any kind of dick whether it’s real or a strap on.”
“I don’t want to be with a man, but I still have a G-spot,” Jazmine laughed. “You two ain’t into women, so you wouldn’t understand. It’s about penetration and the pleasure it causes. It’s not about a dick. Women are more sensual creatures and I’m just more physically attracted to them.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess.”
Teena got up to go join the men. She always ended up doing that and we always expected it. She seemed to act more like them anyway.
“You should go with us to Myrtle Beach. Teena will probably be with Buff and Zeus and we won’t be around them like that anyway. We can do our own thing and what they don’t know won’t hurt them, right?” Peaches asked with a wink.
“Yeah, we’ll have our own fun. You cool with that?” I asked.
Jazmine nodded. “A’ight,” she said with a sly grin on her face.
I didn’t know it then, but due to circumstances bike week would be the last thing on any of our agendas.
* * *
The party was over and a lot of people had come by to see Zeus. I watched everybody leave as I rolled my second blunt. Things should have been all good, but something was still deeply troubling me. It was like a premonition warning me that something was going to happen. I couldn’t figure it out, but it was gnawing at me. I needed to find my father’s killers and then there was my mother and her dreary past.
I hadn’t talked to her much since the day of the home invasion. She was worried crazy about me. She told me that she was moving again and she wanted me to go with her. I couldn’t help but wonder what she was running from. I made a mental note to have a sit down with her. Since she had joined the church we hardly spent quality time together. I knew that she took issue with me living with Zeus, but I was a grown ass woman.
There were the recent events with the home invasion and the punk ass DA who was still threatening to charge us with murder if we didn’t get our stories straight. Not only that, but what the hell was Officer Greyson up to? All of those things were on my mind. I decided to swim a few laps to clear my head before going in the house. There was a cold front on its way that night and when I felt the chill I decided to go inside.
Teena and Jazmine had left and Buff and Peaches were locked in their bedroom making up. I could hear them when I walked by and that shit made me horny as fuck. As soon as I entered our bedroom, I noticed Zeus’s jean shorts on the floor. The shower was running and steam seeped through the bathroom door, which was cracked opened. I heard him in there singing a Jodeci’s song.
“Baby won’t you just stay…” He was all off key, but he was singing his heart out. I couldn’t help but chuckle as I picked his shorts up and emptied the pockets so I could take them to the cleaners the next day. I pulled his money clip out and removed the bills. After I put the money inside my butter leather Prada tote bag, I placed the empty money clip on the nightstand. I checked the other pockets and dug out a red cigarette lighter and a folded piece of paper. Of course I unfolded it and saw that it was a phone number and a note that read:
Hurry up and put this number in your phone b4 your bitch finds it.
Lexie
He probably should’ve taken her advice. I peeled my bathing suit off and sat down on the bed butt naked. I heard him turn the shower off as I waited for him with his cell phone in my hand. His sexy ass exited the steamy bathroom with a towel wrapped around his slender waist. He hadn’t dried off good and there was still water glistening all over his defined body. The sight of his bullet wound made me want to nurture him, but at that moment, he had some explaining to do.
“What’s up baby?” He asked. “You waitin’ for big
daddy?” There was a wide, toothy grin on his face.
“Yeah, I was waitin’ for you…big daddy,” I said without cracking a smile.
He dropped his towel with a grin on his face. “Why’re you holdin’ my phone?”
“Don’t look all worried and shit. I didn’t go through it. I was actually about to program this number in your phone for you. If you had done it, I wouldn’t have found it. Who the fuck is Lexie and don’t ask me why I went through your pockets. I always do that before I take your shit to the cleaners and you know that. So, who the fuck is Lexie? Was she here today? Is that how you got her number? Your ass ain’t even been home from the hospital a minute and you try me with this bullshit!” I stood up in all my naked glory and got all up in his face.
He backed up a little bit. I knew he was in no mood or condition to fight. “Babe, calm down. I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”
I gave him the piece of paper and he looked at it as he shook his head. “She must’ve snuck that shit in my pocket. I don’t know nobody named Lexie.”
I laughed at his sorry attempt at a lie. “Oh my God, really Zeus? That’s the best your ass could come up with? At least put some effort in your lies. How’d the bitch get close enough to you to put a fuckin’ number in your pocket? You let another woman put her hand in your pocket? Not only is that access to your money, but its access to your dick too. What if a nigga had slid his finger in my pussy tonight? How the fuck would you feel about that shit?”
“Damn babe, why the hell you gotta go ham on a nigga before even hearin’ what the fuck I gotta say? You need to calm down and listen.”
“The only thing I’m about to listen to is you say that you don’t fuck with this bitch and you’re gonna call her and confirm that shit right now! Then you’re gonna call every last bitch’s number that I find in your phone and confirm the same thing! I ain’t even playin’ with your ass. I don’t give a fuck what’s goin’ on, or you being in your condition and shit. It ends tonight. If you don’t call that sneaky bitch, I’ll do it myself!” As I finished my tirade, I shoved his forehead with my pointer and middle fingers.
With an annoyed look in his eyes, he snatched his phone away from me. I could see the huge vein that would pop out of his forehead when he was mad. “You ain’t even gotta be goin’ off like that and shit. Sometimes I think your lil’ red ass is fuckin’ crazy!”
“So what, maybe I am crazy, but you better dial that fuckin’ number!” I yelled not backing down.
“Why the fuck you gotta be so gotdamn loud! Huh? You want Buff and Peaches to hear us and shit? You wanna put on a show for them? They ain’t payin’ us no damn mind. They’re down there fuckin’! Some shit we need to be doin’. I think fussin’ turns your ass on,” he said placing the phone on the nightstand.
“Oh, don’t even try it Puta! If you think I’m crazy why the fuck are you still with me huh? Is my tight that chocha that damn good that you can’t leave my crazy ass? Huh? If you don’t want me let me fuckin’ know and I’ll make it easy on you and leave your ass!”
“I ain’t no fuckin’ bitch Ze, so watch that bullshit!” Suddenly his eyes softened. “I love you… I don’t want you to leave me… not now… not ever.” He lowered his voice. “I need you in my life, you’re my heart, my soul…my everything. I would never do anything to hurt you. We have been through some shit together; especially lately.” He looked at me sincerely and I could tell that it was his heart talking when he continued. “Damn right you got some good ass pussy, but that ain’t the reason I don’t want your crazy ass to leave me. Well, it ain’t the only reason.”
I rolled my eyes at him and dialed
the number. He let out a deep sigh like that was not what he wanted me to do.
“Hello,” a female’s voice answered.
“Is this Lexie?” I asked.
“Uh huh and who the fuck is this?” She asked.
“I’m the bitch who found your number before my man could put it in his phone,” I stated.
“So why the fuck you callin’ me? Check your man for tryin’ to holla!”
“Calm the fuck down bitch. I ain’t with all that back and forth drama and shit. I’m gonna let him handle it. Since he tried to holla he’s about to let you know that he fucked up and gave you the wrong impression.” I narrowed my eyes at him as I pressed speakerphone.
“Shorty, you know you’re wrong for that shit! I ain’t try to holla at you. You was reachin’ around me talkin’ about you was tryin’ to get the mustard and shit. You must’ve snuck the number in my pocket then. I love my woman and I ain’t tryin’ to get fucked up over this dumb ass shit!”
“Nigga fuck you! That is why I keyed that bitch’s car and threw a brick through the windshield” She yelled and hung up the phone.
“Oh, fuck,” he said trying to look all innocent. I started to hit that nigga in his chest with all my strength, but I thought about his gunshot wound.
“You said you didn’t know her, but she keyed my car and threw a brick through my fucking windshield!” I screamed, in fury. “Why would the bitch do that if it ain’t shit goin’ on? We are about to call every hoe’s number you got in this muthafucka.”
His eyes were frantic. “What the fuck babe? I told you I don’t know what she’s talking ‘bout, I swear.” He pleaded with sweat starting to accumulate on his nose and forehead. I threw the phone at him. It barely missed his head, because he ducked just in the nick of time. It shattered the dresser mirror as I looked for something else to throw. He stumbled his ass out the room right before I picked up a glass vase to throw at him.
“Your punk ass is goin’ sleep in the guest room tonight! You can listen to Buff and Peaches fuck because you sho’ ain’t getting none of this pussy. Go ask Lexie for some pussy with your trifling ass!” I slammed the door hard as hell.
Hours later I sat up in bed listening to Keith Sweet’s song, “How Deep is your Love” on the 102.1 FM Quiet Storm. Instantly I started feeling sorry for my baby. Maybe he was right. Maybe that chick was on some stalker shit. He needed me and I knew that it wasn’t just because of his injuries.
I crept out of the bed in a lacey, white see through gown. The hard wood floors were cool to my bare feet as I made my way down the hall to the spare bedroom. Zeus was fast asleep with his mouth open and the TV was blaring game highlights on Sports Center. I looked at him and thought about what that bitch had said. She was the one who’d broken my fucking windshield and instantly I felt a pang of anger. I thought about slapping the shit out his ass. That was until he winced, coughed and gripped at his chest in his sleep. He was shirtless and I could see the ugly scar. Instantly my heart ached for him.
“Come on baby, come to bed,” I said sweetly.
He stirred in his sleep, clutched his chest and looked up at me with puppy dog eyes. I took his hand and led him back down the hall to our bedroom. That night we made strong, passionate love. I don’t care what anybody said, makeup sex was the best. Besides, maybe that chick Lexie was lying. Call me naïve, but that was just how much I loved that nigga.
Chapter 3
Shit hit the fan when the Carolinas were experiencing a major cocaine drought. Buff and Zeus were among the few elite who had ‘work’. Sure as shit, just as Buff had predicted, Money contacted them in desperation. He needed to cop two birds. Buff had always assured us that it wouldn’t be long. We soon discovered that Money had three addictions and all of them were bad for your health if you were a drug dealer. He liked to gamble, snort coke and spend lavishly on bitches, including his main girl Desi. That bitch had been bragging about how Money had bought her a new condo right before Zeus had been shot.
That night Zeus, Buff and their crew plotted Money’s demise. They had agreed to meet him at Trois, the club they owned, to deliver the coke in the unlit back parking deck. That was the normal procedure when they conducted business, so Money had no reason to be suspicious. There they would ambush that nigga, murder him gangland style, place his body in the trunk of a car, weigh his corpse down with bricks and dump him in the river.
Actually, I had found out about the plot accidentally. I just happened to walk by the study on my way to the kitchen. I had on some boy shorts, Zeus’s oversized t-shirt and some flip flops with my hair wrapped up in a scarf. I heard the muffled voices in the office. The lights were dim and there was a thick fog of weed smoke hovering over them as they huddled around the table. A.J., Jimmy Stokes, Tony Band, Mike D and crazy ass Jerry Spinks were all there.
Jerry Spinks?
I walked in and spoke politely. I knew that I looked a hot mess, but all of us had attended junior high together. Well, everybody except for crazy ass Jerry Spinks. During those formative years he was in a mental institution.
“Hey, everybody!” I chimed with a wave of my hand. Actually it was my excuse to be nosy.
What’s up Zeaira!” They all said in a chorus. That was when I peeped the arsenal of weapons that were laid out on the table. It looked like a fucking gun show. Zeus cut his eyes at me with a screw face. He knew that I was trying to be in their business. I stuck my tongue out at him and exited the room. I stood in the hallway and infiltrated their confidential meeting. I didn’t like it when Zeus kept secrets from me. I knew that they were up to something big, but he wouldn’t let me know what it was.
What I really couldn’t understand was what the hell crazy, stuttering ass Jerry was doing there?
He had a history that read like a psychopathic nutcase’s life story. When he lived down the street from me and my mom in Campbell Terrace, he and his grandma were arguing about his fat ass eating up all her food. She’d had enough and refused to let him cook. That same night, thirteen year old Jerry got up out his bed, doused the entire living room with lighter fluid and set it on fire as his eighty year old grandmother slept. He got his crazy ass back into bed and went to sleep. Needless to say the entire apartment almost burned to the ground.
His grandmother was fortunate to make it out alive when a neighbor smelled the smoke and called the fire department. Jerry was the last one to be rescued by fire fighters. Although he’d gone back to sleep, miraculously he only suffered slight smoke inhalation.
Just a year ago on a dare, Jerry got drunk, tied a sheet around his neck to use as a parachute and dived out of a third floor window. He broke both of his legs a collar bone and had other minor injuries.
“Sa,sa, sa, sa, sa, sa, sa, sa, sa, sa, say da, da, da da, dat agggggg… again?” Jerry stuttered.
“I said wait until I give Money the McDonald’s bag with the dope in it and he starts walking away before you bust on his ass,” Zeus repeated like Jerry was hard of hearing. It wasn’t that. Jerry was just stupid.
“M, m, m,m,m McDonalds. Y’all got Fo, fo, fo, fo, food?”
That was it. I had heard enough, I barged back into the room unannounced with an attitude.
“Zeus, can I speak to you a second?” All eyes turned to me.
“Not now baby I’m in the middle of something,” he protested as Buff turned around in his seat to give me an annoyed look. I ignored him.
“It’s important!” I glowered at Zeus and stood there like I was a tree that intended to grow roots into the floor until he came.
“Gimme a sec,” Zeus said getting up from his chair. His jaw was clinched tightly together, like he was mad, but trying to hold it in.
Once we were in the hallway and a safe distance away, Zeus turned on me. “What the hell is your problem Ze? You embarrassing me and shit in front of my niggas in there?”
“That stupid, retarded, dumb ass, crazy muthufuckin fat Jerry is the problem! I know damn well y’all ain’t getting ready to do somethin
g with his dumb ass! If you are you should be embarrassed by that!” I spat.
“Jerry is cool. You just have to know how to talk to him.”
“Jerry is going to get your ass a seat on death row.”
Zeus gave me a shrug, looked up at the ceiling and then back at me.
“We came up a man short. Money has to go. Both of us can’t walk this planet after what he did to me. His ass is a wrap!” Zeus pressed his lips together tightly. Right then I knew that it was personal and Zeus was into his feelings.
I tried to talk to him so that he could see things rationally.
“Why is it gonna take so many of y’all to murk one dude?” I heard my voice rise.
“Cause three of Money’s brothers were involved in the robberies that Money set up. I got shot up and one of the homies had got bodied before that, Money and his niggas have to be dealt with and I ain’t taking no chances.”
My heart skipped a beat. No wonder there was so much artillery on the table. That was some real hood ass nigga shit and I knew it. All a bitch could do was play my position. I knew that I had to fall back, so my resolve shattered and my heart sank. I placed my forehead on his chest.
“Baby please be careful,” I cooed. Zeus gave me a subtle nod, turned and walked off leaving me standing to stare after him.
* * *
I watched late night reruns of the Jerry Stringer show as dark shadows from the TV danced on the walls in the darkness. The bedroom curtains whooshed when the front door closed. A blunt of Kush smoldered between my fingers as I lie in the big ass King sized bed on silk sheets. I resisted the urge to look out of the window to see Buff, Zeus and their henchmen walk off into the night on a mission to commit multiple murders.
On one hand I counted a body on each finger. Three brothers, plus Money already made four and if Desi showed up with him that was five.
“Fuck,” I gasped and sat up in bed with my nerves on edge. I needed someone to talk to. Peaches and Buff had gotten into a nasty argument as usual. After crying to her mother on the phone she went to her house for a while. Well, at least that was what she told me. Truth be told, the bitch had been acting real fucking shady lately.
