by Lucinda John
“Aye, you straight?” I asked her.
“Uh, hmm,” she replied, still trying to catch her breath.
“You need me to walk you home?” I asked.
She looked up at me as if she wanted to object, but then when her eyes fell on the big dude she tried to steal from, she quickly shook her head yes. Walking over to my bags, I grabbed them and threw them over my back before helping her to her feet. I handed her the wallet and we quickly left the alley before the guy could come to or anyone else could walk back there and call the law.
“Thank you,” she said, after we walked for a good five minutes.
“No biggie,” I replied, with my eyes trained on her ass. She was walking ahead of me and the way her ass played peek-a-boo in those bubble gum shorts had a nigga in a daze.
“You’re the same guy from McDonalds the other day right?” she asked.
“Yup.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Shoot.”
“Are you homeless?”
“Something like that,” I replied, keeping shit short.
“Do you have a place to sleep or no?”
“That ain’t none of your fucking business,” I snapped.
“Fuck you. I was just trying to help your black ass out.” She sucked her teeth.
The way she turned up her lips had a nigga wondering what that mouth could do.
“Why you out here busting licks?” I asked.
“It was an easy target,” she replied.
“Whatchu mean?”
“He left his wallet in the front seat while he went inside the store. At first, I couldn’t muster up the courage to open the door and take it. When I finally talked myself into doing it, he was already coming out the store and caught me. Instead of calling the police, he decided to bring me to the back alley to teach me a lesson,” she said.
“Never second guess yourself; that’s how you get caught,” I said.
“Yeah, I know that now, but you still ain’t answer my question.”
“I’m outchea living, ya feel me,” I replied.
“Listen, my name is Mia and I live right here,” she said, pointing to the beautifully painted townhouse. “You can come in clean up and I can order us some grub. My OG ain’t here so you can chill up in here since it look like it’s about to rain,” she said, pointing to the sky.
I was about to object until I heard thunder and felt a few raindrops that had fallen on me. This is why I couldn’t get with Florida; the weather was so fucking unpredictable. One minute it would be hot as fuck, the next windy, and then raining. The weather up here switched up more than a bitch changed their pads when aunt flow came to visit.
“I guess I could chill.” I shrugged.
“Cool,” she replied, sticking the key in the door and opening it.
It had been a minute since I was able to chill in a house. Everything was well organized and in place. The red sectional decorated the living room along with a sixty-inch TV and wall décor brought the room together. On the wall were pictures of an older version of Mia, who I assumed was her mother.
“What’s your name?” She asked me.
“Romeo.”
“Cool.” She nodded. “Romeo, the room upstairs to the left is mine. You can chill up there since my mother room is on the first floor. You like Chinese food?”
“Yeah, that’s straight,” I replied.
“There is also a bathroom up there just in case you want to shower or anything; no shade.” She smiled, displaying some sexy ass dimples.
“You good lil mama,” I replied, and walked up the stairs.
I really needed to be at my post watching them niggas, but the way this rain was coming down, it looked like I would be in for a minute. I just hoped and prayed this broad’s mom ain’t come home tripping on a nigga. I wasn’t down for no hiding in no closet or jumping out the window type shit.
Taking advantage of being able to take a shower, I walked in the bathroom and locked the door behind me. I could tell this bathroom was designated for Mia by the way her bra’s hung on a rack that was mounted on the back of the door. Removing all my clothes, I grabbed a bath towel and a washcloth that were neatly folded on a rack. Running the water real hot, I jumped in and used the Dove soap to scrub my skin clean.
Fetching through my bag, I pulled out a clean pair of boxers, tank top, and a pair of cargos. Even though I was living on the streets, I made sure to look presentable when I could. I didn’t have the best clothes, but I made sure them shits were clean. If I had to I would bust small licks on little niggas that I would catch slipping in order to wash my clothes, eat, and get a few shit I needed. I never begged nobody for shit. A few people would leave a couple dollars next to me as I slept in the alley, but that was as far as it went for me. I was the go get it type nigga. If I needed something I went and got it.
After applying the Old Spice deodorant underneath my arms, I was feeling real good. Them quick wash ups in bathroom sinks wasn’t nothing compared to being able to fully wash your ass. A few times in a week, I would splurge on getting me a cheap motel where I could sleep in peace and wash my balls the next morning, but for the most part, sleeping on the streets was how I was able to prey on my victims.
“You look better,” Mia said, when I walked out the bathroom.
“I bet,” I replied, leaning my tall frame against the door.
“You tall as fuck? You ever played basketball?”
“Yup, in high school.”
“How old are you?” she asked.
“Eighteen. Why you out here busting licks when you living like this?” It was now my turn to ask the questions.
“Because my mama don’t give a fuck about me.”
“Why you say that?”
“She got a gambling problem. After the bills are paid, all the rest of her money goes to the casino. She don’t make sure I’m straight; hell most of the time, ain’t no food up in this bitch to eat. So I gotta hustle in order to eat,” she said, sounding sexy as fuck.
“Why are you homeless?” she asked.
“My pops wasn’t shit; my mama wasn’t either. The only chick that really gave a fuck about me was my grams and she died, and you know shit happens.” I replied.
Before she could speak another word, there was a sound of the doorbell, followed by a series of loud knocks.
“That must be the food,” she said, jumping up and causing her titties to bounce.
I watched in awe as she ran down the stairs to the door. Shorty was thick as fuck in all in the right places. The way she had her hair, I could tell all that shit belonged to her. She wore no lashes, fake nails, or make-up, and she still looked beautiful. Mia was the type of chick that had the ability to have any nigga eating out the palm of her hands. The fact that she was out here getting it on her own instead of fucking for a come up, said a lot about her character.
“Finally, the food,” she said, marching up the steps. She walked in the room and locked the door. She then sat on the floor and started unwrapping the food. The last meal I had was three sausage burritos from McDonalds, so a nigga’s stomach was rumbling louder than the thunder outside.
“You must be hungry,” she smirked.
“I can eat.” I shrugged.
She handed me a container of vegetable fried rice and honey garlic wings with an orange Crush soda while she sat back and ate her food, which was the exact same thing I had.
“I ain’t know what you liked, so I ordered my favorite,” she said, in between bites.
“It’s cool,” I replied before digging in.
For ten minutes straight, the only thing that could be heard was spoons scraping against the food containers, lips smacking, and sips from the soda can. We were going in on our food, both eating like we hadn’t had a meal in years. I made a mental note to ask her about this Chinese restaurant because this shit was hitting.
“How old are you?” I asked.
; “Seventeen, but I’ll be eighteen in a few months,” she replied.
“Cool.”
“Where yo ole man at?”
“My father is a married man. When I was six months old, they made us leave our country because of my mother’s disgrace. Not wanting us to die, my father who is a rich businessman, was able to get us to America safely, then he cut all ties with us,” I replied.
“Where are you from?” I asked.
“Somalia,” she replied.
“That’s what’s up.” I nodded, now understanding why her skin was a rich color of dark.
“Where are you from?”
“Chicago.”
“What are you doing down here then?”
“My moms had me and left me with my grams to chase behind my daddy who had the dreams of becoming South Florida’s biggest pimp.” I said, causing her to giggle.
“I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize. That shit funny to me too.” I waved her off.
“It don’t look like the rain is going to let up, so you might as well crash here,” she said.
“Nah, I don’t want no problems with ya mom’s.”
“You straight,” she said, getting up to grab me some fresh blankets. She made me a pallet on the floor then disappeared into the bathroom to take a shower.
As she was taking a shower, I looked around the room at her things. She didn’t have any name brand clothes, but everything was clean and neatly placed on hangers. Majority of her shoes were from Old Navy and Payless, but that didn’t stop her from stacking them neatly in her closet. A chick like Mia was able to get away with wearing off brand clothes. She could rock a garbage bag and still look better than all these hood bitches that was fucking for Gucci and Prada.
“You smoke?” she asked, coming out the bathroom wearing a pair of green pajama bottoms with a white crop top.
“Yeah.” The last time I had some good weed was when I was able to lift it off some young block nigga.
After getting him for a half a pound and eight hundred dollars in cash, I got on a city bus and left that side of town. Even if he didn’t see my face, I wasn’t trying to risk having niggas gunning for me while I didn’t have shit to protect myself with. I was far from being a square ass nigga. I could get down with the best of them, but nothing could beat getting hit with a bullet.
“Where you get this weed from?” I asked, taking another toke.
“From this nigga that stay up the street. He knows I like to burn, so he gives me a few bags here and there because he know I’m good for it,” she replied, reaching for the joint.
Tell me about this nigga,” I asked, once she was nice and high.
“What nigga?” she asked, with a goofy look on her face.
“The one that gave you this weed.”
“Who, Terrance?”
“Yes. him.”
“Oh, Terrance just a little nickel and diming weed boy that got a crush on me,” she replied.
“He getting money?”
“He got a lil paper. He just bought him a 2014 Impala.”
“Oh, yeah? Where he be at?”
“On the corner of Thirteenth Street by the gas station. There’s a bando behind the gas station where he be stashing his drugs and money when shit get hot,” she rambled on.
“How you know?”
“He tried to bring me over there and get some. I wasn’t having that, so I copped my weed and left.”
“What color is the bando?”
“White and grey.”
“Ok, cool.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Nothing,” I replied, laying my head down on the pallet she made for me earlier. She had just given me my next hit and didn’t even know it.
Mia
The next morning, I woke up and Romeo was gone. That rude bastard could have at least left me a thank you note or some shit, I thought as I sucked my teeth. Today was Saturday, which meant my sorry ass mama would be at that damn casino all day. Grabbing my towel off the rack, I went to the bathroom to take a shower in order to start my day.
The first thing I did was get on the bus and head to the library. I was able to purchase a bunch of gift cards with the credit card I stole out of that man’s wallet, so I was going to print out the certificates so that I’d be able to use them. As I sat on the bus listening to Oui by Jerimih, I couldn’t help but to think about Romeo. It was something about his rough looking ass that had me interested. Once I left the library, I was going to make it my business to head to the alley I saw him in to give him peace of my mind.
When I made it to the library, I made a reservation for a computer then decided to check out some books while I waited.
“Hey girl!” Shanie yelled out, causing folks to look at us all crazy.
“What’s up, girl,” I replied, in a more hushed tone.
“You never hit me up I see,” she said, placing her hands on her hips.
With the shorts and crop top she was wearing today, I was able to see the outline of her curves. She was actually looking real cute now that she had her hair done in a high low bob.
“I’ve been busy putting in these job applications. What’s up with the management team over there at your job? They still ain’t called me yet.” I said.
“Girl, they just hired somebody too. That’s why I thought you ain’t do the application.” She smacked her lips.
“Nah, I did it,” I replied.
When the time came for me to go on my assigned computer, she followed me. She watched me like a hawk as I printed out the various gift certificates from different stores. I separated the ones I was going to keep from the ones I was going to sell. When I was done, I did a few more job applications and logged into my email to see if I had any emails regarding interviews.
“Fuck!” I yelled out, reading a ‘Thank you for applying, but we found some one else’ email.
“What’s wrong?” Shanie said, looking up at me.
“Nothing,” I replied, closing out my emails and logging off the computer.
“You done?” she asked.
“Yes, I’m about to go,” I replied, grabbing my cross body bag from the back of the chair.
“Cool, I was getting ready to go too,” she said, following behind me.
We made small talk as we walked to the bus terminal. During our ten minute walk, I was able to learn that she lived a few streets down from me. Her mother was struggling to take care of her and her little sisters and that was why she worked for McDonalds. Shanie was a mad cool chick and I was feeling her vibes.
“I wonder what these bitches out here gathering around for,” she said, as she pointed at a group of girls I’d seen around the neighborhood.
“Girl, who knows.” I paid the girls no mind as I posted an ad on Craigslist of the different certificates I was selling.
“Aye, you was trying to talk to my nigga the other day,” one of the girls said causing, me to look up.
“Who you talking to?” Shanie asked.
“That thot ass hoe next to you. What you suppose to be her spokesperson or some shit?” she asked.
“Nah, I’m capable of handling my shit. So, what nigga am I supposedly fucking with?” I asked, preparing myself for the fight of my life. I knew without a doubt I could take out this simple hoe, but she also had five more girls with her that I knew would jump my ass. I didn’t know if Shanie was about that life, so I had to be able to hold my own.
“Terrance.” She popped her lips. “My home girl saw you coming from the bando with him. So what’s really good?” she asked, getting all hype and shit.
“Girl bye, I will not entertain no mess like that, especially when you know why I was at the bando. You know what your nigga do for a living so miss me with that shit. You just tryna fuck with me cuz ya nigga hot on my clit,” I smacked, while rolling my eyes.
“NaNa, fucked that hoe up,” one of her friends said, causing her to run up on me.<
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I was already in my fighting stance so when she threw her first punch it was nothing for me to duck and eat her up with two blows of my own. I was beating her ass and just as I expected, her home girls got mad and jumped in. I didn’t expect for Shanie to have a bottle of mace in her purse, but she did and went to spraying hoes. Together we did dirt and fucked up the majority of them hoes, just the two of us.
A security guard was able to rush in and break up the fight. When he threatened to call the cops, Shanie and I jumped on the first city bus we saw while the other girls scrambled away making threats that didn’t move me. We were sitting in the back of the bus catching our breaths when I felt blood.
“Them hoes cut me,” I said, looking down at the line I had on my arm that was bleeding.
“Dirty hoes can’t fight no way,” Shanie spat, grabbing me a few wet wipes that she had in her bag.
“Thanks for holding it down.”
“Girl, what type of bitch would I have been if I just watched you get jumped? I hate hoes that can’t handle up when there’s one on one,” she carried on.
“Girl, ain’t that the truth. I was heading to the mall, you riding?”
“Yeah, but I ain’t got no money though. I had to use my check to help my mama with the light bill,” she replied.
“It’s cool. I gotchu.”
When we arrived at Sawgrass Mall, I was able to go to the Dollar Store to purchase a mini first aid kit to take care of my wound. When I was done, we walked through the mall and I did my thing as usual. Shanie wasn’t good at shoplifting, so I got her a few things while she played lookout. When we went to Target, I decided to use one of the gift certificates since stealing personal hygiene products was hard because of the sticker sensors that are on them.
