Another Hood Love

by Jontu'

  We had been spending less time with each other, and he was just acting downright weird. I had a feeling he was messing around with other females, but I had no proof. I swear, if he was on some shady shit, we were going to have some issues, I didn’t have time for him to be playing games with my feelings. Shit, we had money to make and if he wanted to play games, he could do that shit on his own time. I was trying to be chill tonight and not trip off the small shit, but I swear if he was on that funny shit when he got here, I was liable to cut his ass.

  I was riding with Jah to the party, and Jaeda and Tone were riding together; the rest of the Squad was going to meet us there, but Tamia and Jamiya were supposed to follow us there. They wanted to ride with me, but I told them I was riding with Jah and I wish I would let those little thots get too close to my man. Jamiya thought she was slick always giving my nigga the googly eyes; she better quit playing with me before I gave her ass the black and blue eyes in return.

  I heard a knock at my bedroom door.

  “Come in!” I yelled over the music playing from my Beats speaker. Jah walked in a couple of seconds later wearing a red Polo button-down with some dark grey button fly 501’s, and some black and red velvet high top Giuseppe sneakers; his jewelry was simple, a small platinum Jesus piece, and the cord bracelet that Uncle Ken had gotten him and Tone for graduation. Damn, my babe was looking good as hell and he would want to wear red like me. We were so in sync; that’s why I was so bothered by his actions lately. He was smelling real good as he approached me and leaned in for a kiss.

  “What’s good baby?” he said as he flipped my hair over my shoulder.

  “Shit, I’m pretty much ready, just have to put my heels on,” I said as I relit the blunt I was smoking on, handing it to him after I took a quick hit.

  I gathered my things and checked the time; it was already 9:30, so it was definitely time to do it moving. We still had to cross the bridge, and traffic into San Francisco was no joke at this time on a Friday night, because everybody was either on their way to party or to go eat.

  “T, Jamiya, y’all ready or nah?” I yelled as I made my way down the stairs. I ran right into Tamia as soon as I hit the last step, “Damn bitch, watch that shit,” I said, giggling a little.

  “Yeah we’re ready, MyMy come on!” she yelled to Jamiya, and we all left out the house and headed towards our cars. The rest of the house was already gone; my uncle and aunts had gone ahead to make sure everything was straight, and Tommy had gotten dressed at his little girlfriend’s house.

  Soon as we got in the car, Jah’s phone began to ring; he pulled it from his pocket and looked at it before silencing it and placing it on his lap. I stared at him, but his ass acted like he didn’t feel me burning a hole in the side of his head. This nigga, I thought. His phone began to ring again, and this time I grabbed it. I looked at the screen and it said E, so I answered it.

  “Hello,” silence. “Hello!” I said a little louder, “Stupid bitch!” I yelled before hanging up and calling the number right back.

  “Man you tripping my nigga, give me my shit,” Jah said as he reached for his phone. I leaned away from him as his phone rang again from the same number. Once again, I answered it.

  “Who the fuck is this?” I said into the phone; silence. I hung up; I didn’t have time to play these games with them or Jah’s ass. “Jah, who the fuck is that?” I said as I gave him the evilest glare that I could muster up.

  “Man you on that bullshit blood, that’s my nigga E, his phone must ain’t got no service or something,” he said as he grabbed for his phone again; this time, I handed it right to him. “You over there getting mad for nothing; you need to kick back with your retarded ass.” He started the car, and I just stared at his ass.

  “Maybe I should just drive my own car,” I said while shaking my head.

  “Hell nah you not, you already faded and I be damned if you wrap your whip because you mad over nothing, bruh please,” he said and pulled out the driveway, with my cousins trailing us as we headed toward the freeway. I turned the music up and retrieved the bottle of Avion out of my purse as I sat back and thought about what my man was trying to hide from me. Jah and I didn’t say anything to each other the entire way to Frisco. I was heated and just wanted to be left alone. I was so mad I didn’t even take any selfies to post on my Instagram.

  Once we were close to the club, I texted Jaeda to see where she was at, and she said that they were parked and sitting in the car smoking. I swear, she smoked more than most niggas I knew, but I guess that was her way of keeping sane and calm. I definitely needed to keep calm before this fool drove me all the way crazy. Once we parked, we walked up the street to the club; we could have used the valet to park, but Jah didn’t trust anybody to park his cars. He said he had no reason to trust the valet not to steal, and he didn’t want to even put himself in a position to have to beat somebody’s ass.

  Once we got close to the club, Jah grabbed my hand and we walked up to the red carpet, and posed for the cameras as we entered the club. I looked up and realized that the club sign now said “The Hideout” and not “Purple Paradise.” That was a quick change, I thought and stepped in, letting Jah’s hand go.

  “Cut that shit out Lae,” Jah leaned down and said sternly into my ear. I turned away and admired the club; the inside had been completely remodeled. The club looked really good; where there were once tables, they were replaced with two rows of movie theater style seats that wrapped around the stage. On both sides of the stage, there were these glass boxes with neon lights coming from the floor underneath, with a dancer in each. This place looked much better than how it used to. Soon as we entered, we were led upstairs to the VIP section, where my family and the Squad were already seated and popping bottles.

  It was still early, but there were a considerable amount of people already inside. As we sat down, Tamia and Jamiya were stepping inside the section as well. A waitress had walked over, and Jah had ordered a bottle of Rose’ once she had taken everyone else’s orders. I was surprised, because the California strip clubs didn’t even sell liquor. I nodded my head to the music, then stood up from my seat as I moved to the other side of Jah so that I could sit next to Jaeda. I was so disgusted with his lying ass and I missed my little sister; she was looking cute and feeling Godly in her all-white. She was cute in a pair of high waist shorts and a high low boyfriend top, with some dark green peep toe booties. I leaned in and kissed my sister on the cheek, and she smiled as she took a sip from her water bottle and then returned a kiss on my cheek.

  “What you in here looking angry for?” she grilled me.

  “Ask ya ugly brother,” I responded as I rolled my eyes.

  The waitress came and set our bottles down at our table, and left just as quickly as she had come. Once the waitress had disappeared, Uncle Ken stood up and grabbed all of our attention. He was looking nice in an all-black Ralph Lauren Black Label suit, with some black Gucci loafers. I focused on what he was saying as he smiled brightly; he proposed a toast to Tommy’s birthday, and then explained that not only was this a celebration for Tommy, but also a celebration to another level of business.

  Apparently he wanted to surprise us, because once he said that he now owned this establishment, I was definitely surprised and excited for him as well. This was a big step for him as a business owner; I raised my glass to toast. I guess all that money he was getting between the streets and the women he had working the clubs, along with his other business ventures, was paying off tremendously. My uncle lived modestly, so you could never really tell how rich he really was. He and my aunts began to turn up; both Shae and Quita were popping their asses all on him. I decided to enjoy this night as well, so I continued to sip from my glass and let loose.

  Sage grabbed my hand and pulled me away from my seat, and we began to twerk as the DJ played Rae Sremmurd’s Throw Some Mo I was lightweight loaded, and this party was a great distraction from all the bullshit. I spotted Tommy looking drunk as hell as he sloppily
kissed his girlfriend, while a thick light-skinned stripper gave Tommy a lap dance, so I pulled my phone from my clutch I began to take random pictures of everybody, and then took selfies with the squad, including Tamia and Jamiya. Jaeda and I weren’t super buddy-buddy kicking it with our cousins, but we were cool enough to chill with no shade being thrown. We were in our section turned up until I felt the energy shift. I looked up as Ericka and her patna stepped in the section, with these goofy ass mugs on their face. I stopped dancing and watched as she came into our booth, as if this was where they were supposed to be. I mean, they did jobs for us but they weren’t Squad, so baby had it twisted if she thought she could come get fucked up over here; she better go spend her little money at the bar like everyone else. Sage turned towards Ericka and her friend that was looking ridiculous in a neon pink dress that looked a little too tight for her body.

  “I think y’all might be in the wrong section,” Sage said as she pointed to the sign that said Reserved. Ericka began laughing as if a joke had been told.

  “No sweetie, we were invited to this VIP section,” she said as she pointed around the booth.

  “By who?” Jaeda jumped in front of Sage and said, looking around the VIP at everyone. She looked extra pissed, so I went and stood next to my sister. I wasn’t sure if they had some fonk that I didn’t know about, but I was rocking no matter what. Again, this bitch began to laugh. I swear, she must have been three parts retarded or something, all that laughing for no reason. Soon as I stepped forward, I felt Jah come and grab my arm.

  “Man leave that shit alone Lae, let’s go throw some money,” he said into my ear. I must have turned and looked at him as if he had sprouted two heads.

  “Nigga the fuck I look like leaving my sister when it’s obvious there is an issue?” I was heated. At that moment, everything began to come together but before I could say another word, Ericka began to speak.

  “So Jahlil, it ain’t cool for us to chill in your section? We not good enough to sit with the Squad?” she yelled with extra emphasis on Squad. I was stuck as I watched Jah’s face turn into stone as he stared at this dizzy bitch.

  “Bitch you playing with fire and I suggest you get ghost before you get fucked up,” he seethed as he inched towards her. Tone and Rico got up and grabbed him to pull him away.

  I finally caught my voice and I almost couldn’t even tell that the words had come out of my mouth I was so pissed.

  “Jah, you fucking this rat ass bitch?” I yelled. He didn’t say anything; he just stared at me.

  “Don’t lie nigga, I dare you to lie in my sister face!” Jaeda yelled. I turned and looked at her. “I was going to tell you earlier, but hella shit was going on and I didn’t have a chance,” Jaeda pulled her phone out and showed me a screenshot from Ericka’s page. It was a picture of her and Jah lying in bed. Jah was sleep, and this bitch had clearly snuck and took the picture while she had the chance. I hated dumb bitches like her that knew they are the side bitch, but always felt the need to try and flex on somebody with these whack ass behind the back pictures of niggas. The shit was weak as fuck, and I was pissed the fuck off.

  I turned around and punched Jah in the mouth. I couldn’t believe this dumb ass nigga was fucking around on me with a bitch that was in my fucking face. Ericka snickered as her and her ugly ass friend slithered out the booth. I turned around and grabbed the bottle of Rose’, and threw it at that nigga as I ran up out the booth.

  “You shady as fuck,” I heard Jaeda say as she ran to catch up with me. I went straight to the bathroom and I felt like the room was spinning, so I leaned against the sink trying to gather my bearings. I was so mad that I couldn’t cry or think – I was definitely seeing red, and I would probably stab Jah’s ass if he came anywhere near me at this moment.

  I looked up as Jaeda, Lexis, and Sage all came in the bathroom and locked the door behind them. I shook my head as Jaeda threw her arms around me; I didn’t want to cry – I couldn’t cry, but he played me like a fool and I felt like an idiot. My phone beeped and I pulled it out to see that I had a picture message from an unknown number. I opened the message, and in front of my face was a sonogram picture with this bitch Ericka Martin’s name in the corner. My jaw and my heart dropped at the same time as I turned the phone to show them the message.

  Jah

  I swear, I don’t know how I ended up with such bad luck, but this shit was for the birds. I had fucked up royally, and I didn’t know if Laela would forgive me for this. I couldn’t have her mad at me though. Right now my back was against the wall, and I didn’t know what to do. I had been trying to shake Ericka’s clingy ass for weeks, but the more I tried to distance myself from that bitch, the clingier she got. That bitch had started popping up at my house and to the block unannounced. I was glad that Laela hadn’t ever been there when she did, although one night I had a super close call. Laela had spent the night with me one night, and I had gotten up in the middle of the night to take a leak and grab bottle water.

  When I got in the kitchen, I heard somebody pull in the driveway, and when I looked it was Ericka; she hopped out the car and soon as she was about to ring the doorbell, I had opened the door. It was after 2 a.m. and this dumb bitch was about to ring the damn doorbell. At that moment, I realized that she didn’t give no fucks, and I needed to leave her ass alone. I closed the door behind me as I stepped out on the porch, and her dumb ass started to raise her voice bitching about me not answering my phone, and shaking her because of Laela and shit. I don’t know what had changed between us in her head, but the bitch was tripping.

  ,

  I grabbed her and pulled her towards her car; soon as we were in her whip, I choked her ass up. I was so pissed off at the fact that she came to my house on some bullshit and my girl was there; she started crying and telling me how she loved me, but she wasn’t about to keep letting me use her and then shake her when I wanted to. Once she started talking about not making runs anymore, I tried to talk some sense into her; wasn’t no use in fucking over the money behind some feelings. As I let her go, I realized that her titty was hanging out of her tank top; my dick jumped and like the freaky bitch that she was, she noticed it. She licked her lips and then pulled my dick out my basketball shorts; I fucked her right there in the driveway with my bitch sleep in my bed. I was a cold nigga, but I couldn’t help it. I didn’t like when I didn’t have control over the situations around me. I should have turned that bitch around the moment she pulled up and made her cut, but the dog in me was on some other shit.

  I mean yeah, a nigga was fucking around with a few hoes but shit, that’s how shit goes when you young, handsome, and paid. A nigga like me always wanted to have his cake and eat it too; it wasn’t fair to Laela, but it was life. Shit, I wasn’t going to stress though. I was going to try and talk to her when she cooled down, but if she ain’t want to give a nigga another chance then shit, I didn’t know. I wasn’t going to let this shit come between my money, and Big Ken already warned us about letting this relationship fuck up the business so shit, since it was hella ass bouncing and a nigga was faded, I was about to enjoy the rest of my night.

  I saw Laela and the girls leaving out the restroom and heading back towards the VIP section, so I made a beeline for the main stage where they had the club lit. I didn’t know if they were staying or leaving, but I wasn’t trying to be in the midst of those angry black women; shit, my shoulder was still aching where that bottle hit me. Laela had an arm on her. I had to remind myself to only make her ass mad in an empty room with pillows and marshmallows.

  I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket and I reached for it, thinking it was one of the niggas from the hood or something. I opened my text messages and just stared at my phone as I read the message in front of me.

  E: So I already sent this to ur little girlfriend and I hope that u enjoy ur night, me & ur baby made it home safely. We would love if u came home to us when u done, I’m sure Laela is koo on u but we still love u DADDY!!

  Me: Dumb bitch k
ill yourself!!

  E: Now that’s no way to talk to your baby’s muhva, ur mad now but u will be okk once you feel these lips later on. Toodles!

  I stared at the sonogram picture, and I was kicking myself in the ass. I had been running up in Ericka raw for the past couple of months, and she wasn’t the only one.

  “Fuck!” I said out loud as I threw a stack of ones at the stripper on the pole in front of me; the bitch wasn’t barely doing shit with her ugly ass, but I just needed to throw something. I had let my dick get me into a world of trouble. I had a pretty ass bitch that did whatever for me; treated me like a king; somebody who loved my dirty draws and was loyal, smart, and gangsta, but my dumb ass loved to go run in these ratchet ass nothing ass hoes, because they nasty asses would bust it wide open for a little paper. Now I had this dumb bitch pregnant. Fuck my life.

  I fucked around with the squad for a little longer as I stole glances at Laela; she was forcing herself to party, but I could feel the hurt and disappointment oozing from her pores. I wanted to just grab her and hold her, and tell her it would be okay, but how could I want to love and protect the very person that I disappointed and disrespected?

  “Aye my nigga, we bouta cut up out of here,” Tone said as he came and stood next to me by the bar. I nodded my head, never taking my eyes off the stripper in the white two-piece in front of me.

  “Laela riding with y’all?” I asked.

  “Nah, she gonna ride with Tamia and Jamiya, she said she was just going home and Jaeda staying with me tonight.” I dapped him up and gave a head nod to the rest of the squad before I turned around and continued watching the show the stripper in white was putting on.

  I was zoned out just sitting in the club; when I checked the time, it was going on 4 a.m. Laela hadn’t bothered to text or call me, so I sent her a simple I love you text but never got a response. I decided to finally turn it in. I threw the last stack of money I had in my hands and headed out. The club was still lightweight moving, but I was cool on the scene. As I drove back to Oakland, I thought about what I was going to do with a baby; would Laela forgive me and stay by my side, or would she say fuck me and move on? I wasn’t no lame ass nigga and I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I was going to fight for my girl; she was made for me, and I couldn’t lose that over this dusted ass bitch with average pussy.