by Lucinda John
“You want anything in here?” I asked Shanie.
“Yeah, let me get my get some house stuff,” she replied, grabbing a few things her house needed. I was even able to get her a few Clean and Clear products for her face.
Since we had so much stuff, I ended up purchasing two duffle bags so we could carry it all in. To show her appreciation, Shanie invited me to have dinner over at her house. Before heading to her crib, we stopped at mine so I could drop my things off and take a quick shower, then we were on our way.
“Hey Ma, this my home girl, Mia,” she said, introducing me to a very beautiful heavy-set woman.
“Hey, Mia, I’m Tina, Shanie’s mom,” she sweetly said.
“Shanie, dinner is done on the stove. Make sure you situate your sisters for me. I’m about to pick up some overtime.”
“Ok, mama see you later, love you.” She smiled.
“Love you too, baby,” her mother replied, before walking out the door.
Last time I remember having that type of relationship with my mother was when I was younger. The love she once had for me now went to the slot machines. On many occasions, I thought of calling one those gambling crisis hotlines to seek some help for her, but I knew she would never get the proper help.
“Girl, where you learned to steal like that?” Shanie asked, as she fixed four plates of food.
“It came naturally,” I replied.
“Girl, you know you can make big money selling that shit.”
“I thought of it, but that shit too risky. I only steal what I need.”
“I hear you on that. Shawna and Sherry come eat,” she yelled out.
Two of the prettiest girls ran from the back room into the kitchen.
“Shanie, who is this?” the smaller girl asked.
“This is my friend Mia. Mia those are my little sisters Shawna and Sherry,” she replied.
Once the introductions were done, we sat at the table and ate a meal of collard green with neck bones, honey ham, cornbread, and yams. It had been a minute since I had a Southern meal so good so I savored every bite. I almost bounced off the wall when Shanie gave me a to go container. I made plans to fuck that shit up when I made it home.
I helped Shanie bathe and put the little girls to sleep, then we sat on the porch and smoked a joint. She was pretty popular on her street. Everybody who would pass us by would stop and greet her. She even had a few fine niggas asking for play, but she kindly declined their offers.
“Why you turn all them niggas down?” I asked, out of curiosity.
“My boyfriend Hot Rod is in jail and I’m waiting on him. Girl he would kill me if he found out I was giving this pussy away,” she replied.
“When he getting out?” I asked.
“He got six more months left if he don’t mess around and get in anymore trouble. He was supposed to get out last week, but he had more time added because he got in a fight,” she sadly replied.
“How long he been in?”
“Two years.”
“You waited two years for him?”
“Yup, that’s my baby.” She smiled.
That was when I realized she was a loyal chick. I didn’t mind fucking with her on a friendship tip because I knew she would have my back if I needed her. When it started to get late, I decided to walk my butt home. I stopped by the alley to see about Romeo and when I didn’t see him, I got mad. Frustrations began to fill me as I walked the whole block, searching high and low for his ungrateful ass.
Calling it a night, I decided to head home and was surprised when I saw my mother’s car parked out front. She never came home on Saturday nights since she was off on Sundays, so I was shocked to see her here. When I walked in the house, I could sense the bullshit. She was walking around the house mumbling to herself.
“Where the fuck have you been?” she asked, as I tried to make my way to my room.
I had to look back to make sure she was talking to me. She didn’t have the right to tell me when to come and go since I was basically caring for myself. The most she did for me was made sure the bills were paid, other than that I was on my own.
“Job searching,” I dryly responded.
“Well, did you find a damn job yet?” she asked.
“Nope.”
“Well, you need to hurry the fuck up and handle that shit. I can’t be paying all these bills and shit alone,” she had the nerves to say.
My mother paid five hundred dollars in bills a month and she made seven hundred dollars a week after taxes, so I had no clue why she needed me to help around the house. One of her weekly checks was enough to cover the bills and she would have two hundred dollars left over to gamble like she always did. She sold our food stamps therefore my help was not needed. If I ever got a job, I wouldn’t give that bitch a dime of my money and that was on God.
“Yeah, ok.” I rolled my eyes and stormed up the stairs.
I had to get my shit together and quick. I was doing well in school so I had no doubt that I could get a full paid scholarship to college. All I needed was a job and I would be straight.
Romeo
The bed I woke up in wasn’t the best, but it was still a bed. Pushing the covers off my body, I jumped to the floor and did my daily push-ups and sit-ups. I couldn’t get to the gym like I wanted to, but that didn’t stop me from doing various workouts. Once I was nice and sweaty, I made my way to the shower to wash up.
After getting all the information on Terrance from Mia, I waited until she fell asleep to leave. I went through the wallet she stole and grabbed two hundred dollars to help me purchase the gun I needed in order to buss the lick. I knew she wasn’t missing the money because she didn’t know it was there, but I was still going to pay her a visit to pay her back.
Once I purchased the gun I needed to hit up Terrance’s spot, I spent the rest of the night watching his spot like a hawk. That nigga was so immature with his shit that he didn’t have anybody watching over his spot. Every so often, he would leave his shit unattended because he thought nobody knew where he kept his stash. Unbeknownst to him, I was ready to go in and take all his shit because his dumb ass allowed a bitch to get that close to his work.
Even thought I wasn’t heavy in the drug game, I knew enough to realize that a female could be a nigga’s biggest downfall, especially one like Mia. Chicks like Mia had the ability to make you lose focus and have you doing shit out of character. The fact that Mia had known information about his work that he should have kept to himself proved how green he was when it came to the game.
The lick I busted on Terrance was easy as fuck. I didn’t even need a gun to complete the job. I waited until he left with some chick and walked in the house. At first I thought he would be smart enough to take the stash with him, but after searching the whole house, I discovered a cabinet that was slightly open. Opening it, I found a cheap safe inside that I was able to pop open without putting in a combination.
When I opened the safe and found five thousand in cash, along with a pound of weed, I really realized how dumb these so-called block niggas was. His dumb ass left all this money and drugs unattended and didn’t even think to put a lock on his shit. He deserved to have all his shit took and I gladly accepted it all. After stuffing my duffle bag with the money and drugs, I used the back window to escape the house, and disappeared in the wind where I caught three buses until I reached Miami.
In Miami, I was able to get the proper supplies I needed to break down my weed into down bags to flip them. At first, it was harder getting niggas to buy from me because I was new to the city, but once I found one nigga to test my shit, he put in a good word and the customers started coming in. Three days later, I was out of weed and had three thousand dollars to add to the other five thousand I stole.
Now that I was back in Fort Lauderdale, I had moves to make. I had to go back to studying these dumb ass block boys in order to hit a bigger lick. Yes, I had eight thousand to my name, but I couldn’t live o
ff that shit for long.
Once I was dressed, I placed one thousand dollars in my pocket and made sure the rest of my money was secured in my duffle bag, which I locked in the hotel’s safe. Grabbing my key card, I placed the do not disturb sign on my door and walked towards Mia’s house. I wanted to thank her for looking out for a nigga and give her some money to hold on to. I was the type of nigga that looked out for those who looked out for me, so it was a must I showed her some love.
Before I could make it to Mia’s street, I spotted her walking with a slim, thick chick. The girl had a nice little body on her and looked cute, despite all the blackheads that decorated her face. They both were holding books in their hands and engaged in a deep conversation that had them laughing their asses off.
“Mia!” I called out, catching her attention.
When she saw me her face lit up, but then quickly turned into a frown. I know she was probably still mad at me for the way I left her without a ‘goodbye’ and she had every reason to be. I didn’t trust her enough to tell her why I left, so I just hoped the money I was going to give her would smooth things over between us.
“What?!” she snapped.
“Let me holla at you real quick,” I said.
“Whatever you got to say to me, you can say it right here!” she spat.
“On the real man, I ain’t cut for that fly ass mouth. Let me talk to you over here or I’m out,” I replied. I was not about to chase this broad. She had another thing coming if she thought I was going to kiss her ass because she gave me a floor to sleep on and Chinese food to eat.
“Girl hold on let me see what this nigga want,” she said to her friend, before sucking her teeth and walking towards me.
“What do you want?” She rolled her eyes.
“I wanted to thank you for looking out for me and to give you this,” I said, slipping the money in her back pocket.
The way my dick jumped after feeling on her ass was something serious. The chemistry was definitely there and if I had my shit together, I would have been got at her. I knew she wasn’t about to fuck with no bummy ass nigga when she had problems of her own, so I decided to dismiss any thoughts of getting with her.
“Don’t tell me you was the one who hit that lick on Terrance,” she whispered, causing me to look at her all crazy. She was high as fuck that night so I didn’t think she would remember the shit she was telling me.
“What the fuck you talking about?” I faked dumb.
“Hold on,” she said, running back to her friend. She said something and her friend walked off. I didn’t know if she sent her friends to go get those niggas, but I was strapped and ready for whatever.
“Come on,” she said, walking towards her house. I wasn’t going to follow her at first, but I didn’t get that snitch-type vibe from her. I followed her in her house, and up the stairs to her room and waited as she made sure the door was locked.
“When I heard on the block that Terrance was hit, for some reason I thought of you being the one behind it. I know how loose my lips are when I get high, but I have great memory. I recall you asking me so many questions about Terrance and how he operated his lil business,” she said.
“I don’t know what the fuck you talking about.”
“Where did you come up with this money?”
“I make moves,” I replied.
“I’m not mad at you for hitting up Terrance, hell. It was coming; he was always careless with his shit,” she replied, and shrugged her shoulders. She reached in her back pocket and pulled out the money I had given her and counted the bills.
“A band? Damn, good looking out.” She smiled.
The way her smile lit up the room did something to a nigga. She had my head gone and she didn’t even know it.
“Where are you staying?” she asked.
“In a motel.”
“You know you can always crash here. I know staying in that motel cost money and shit. For the G you just gave me, you can shack up in this bitch for a month,” she said, causing me to laugh.
“What about your moms?” he asked.
“She takes her annual trip to Las Vegas around this time every year. This year her and her gambling buddies decided to stay up there for two weeks so you can stay and we’ll figure the rest out when the time comes,” she said.
“Iight cool. When ya moms leaving?” I asked.
“She already left.” She giggled.
“Ok, let me make some moves and I’ll swing by later.”
“Cool, I’ll be here.” She shrugged her shoulders.
I took the time to look her over and man was she bad as fuck. She was dressed down in a high waist jean skirt and the matching jean crop top. Around her waist was a gold belt that matched her shoes and the hoops she wore in each ear. She had her dark black hair pulled into a perfect bun that sat high on top of her head. I was starting to grow suspect about her. A girl this fine had no business being single. With all the big and small time ballers running through the hood, I was sure she could find her a nigga that would have her laced.
“Aye, you ain’t got no nigga that’s gon’ be on some beefing type shit?” I asked.
“Nah, I’m single.”
“Why?”
“Cuz I ain’t fucking. All these nigga wanna fuck and I ain’t that type of bitch. A nigga thinks because I look like a video vixen that I’m suppose to bust it open like a pair of scissor when they throw a couple dollars my way, and it don’t work that way. I believe in love and all that other mushy shit.” She grinned.
The more Mia talked, the more she had a nigga caught up. I was here on a mission to get rich with no intentions on falling in love, but Mia’s sexy ass was tugging at my heart. I was never the one-woman type of nigga back in my day, nor did I believe in love, but Mia had a nigga feeling something different.
“I’ll be back,” I said before walking out of the house, and making my way to my post. I was feeling Mia, but I couldn’t let her knock me off my square. I had a mission and I was going to complete it by any means. I was tired of living on the streets; I was prepared to make some boss nigga moves.
“If you come in too late, I’ll leave the key in the mailbox for you,” she called out.
* * *
It was midnight when I finished watching a few of the traps I was getting ready to hit. Because I was a one-man army, I had to be extra careful about when I made my move. I went to the hotel I was staying in, grabbed my things, and checked out. When I made it to Mia’s house, all of the lights were out, except the porch light. I stuck my hand in the mailbox, grabbed the key, and opened the door.
When I walked in the house, I spotted her sleeping on the couch with the TV watching her. I chuckled to myself as I thought of her little ass trying to wait up for a nigga. Walking over to the couch, I picked her up and carried her to her bedroom.
“Are you hungry?” she asked me, the moment I laid her on the bed.
“I could eat,” I replied.
“Iight, you can wash up and I’ll heat you up some food,” she said, getting out the bed.
The sight of her in a pair of spandex shorts and a sports bra had my dick ready to tear in them guts. Since I was a guest in her home, I decided to be respectful. I went through my bag in search of something to wear, then headed to the bathroom to take a shower.
After my shower, I walked in the room feeling good and ready to eat on whatever that had the room smelling so good. When I walked to her desk where my plate of food was, my mouth started to water. She had baked spaghetti and fried tilapia sitting next to a tall glass of grape juice. It had been a while since I had a home cooked meal, so a nigga was fucking some shit up.
“Slow down, I made enough for seconds.” She giggled.
“This shit bussing. You made it?”
“Nah, the bitch next door did.” She rolled her eyes.
“Aye, you gon’ cool with all that attitude,” I firmly said, giving her ass that ‘don’t try me’
look. Instead of giving me back talk, she walked over to the bed and sat on it.
“I was thinking maybe I could help you,” she said.
“Help me with what?”
“Set up niggas. I mean, I know a lot of niggas that be dying for me to look their way. I could go in and get you the info you need so you can do ya thing.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I said, gulping down the juice.
“I want to. I mean, it could benefit us both. With me about to graduate, and my eighteenth birthday around the corner, I’mma need to make some moves. I’m having a hard time finding a job and the way my mama set up, I can’t depend on her for nothing. I ain’t tryna be assed out ya know,” she said.
“Yeah, I hear ya,” I replied, turning my attention back to my plate.
“So, what you think?”
“We’ll talk about it later. You tryna smoke?” I asked.
“Yeah, roll up,” she said, with a hint of attitude in her voice.
I sold the majority of the weed and left a good amount for my personal enjoyment. Pulling out my stash, I broke down the weed and rolled us three joints. I didn’t know if she could hang, but I was about to get fucked up tonight. I had a bottle of Patron and Hennessey, so I was about to be in my zone in a few.
“You drink?”
“Not often, but I’ll take a cup of that Patron,” she said, getting up and heading downstairs. When she came back, she had a bottle of orange juice and Coke in her hand.
“You can’t take your liquor straight?” I laughed.
“Nah, I chase my shit.” She giggled, as she poured orange juice in her Patron.
We laughed, smoked, and drank until we both was in our zone. The more I got to know Mia, the more I started feeling her. For some reason, I wanted to be that nigga to save her from it all. I knew I was no good to her in the condition I was in. My pockets where low and I didn’t have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of, so I decided to put my feelings aside.
* * *
“Why you burning the house down?” I asked, as I walked in the kitchen.
