by Deja King
"Yo, I see some serious heavyweight motherfuckers up in this joint tonight," Simone said, to Tierra as they both put an extra swagger in their walk.
"You ain't lying. One of these niggas got to be able to get me out my mama's house and back into the lifestyle I'm accustomed to."
"What about dude standing over there by the bar eyeing the shit out of you?"
"I know you ain't talking about that clear wrap over there!" Tierra barked.
"What, you don't fuck wit' white boys?"
"Hell no! You ain't neva seen me wit' one of those."
"Shit, if the motherfucker got paper why does it matter?"
"Besides the fact that no matter how bad they be irking my nerves, I love me some black men. A white boy gon' eventually say something out of pocket, and I'll have to slit his ass with my knife."
"Say something like what?"
"Call me a nigga, a black bitch... one of those terms that motherfuckers toss around loosely when they pissed the fuck off. `Cause I know when I'm mad, I'm quick to start throwing around a race, color, or something to describe what you are. Even though I don't like it, it's one thing for my own to call me out my name, but when somebody of another race do it, you better call 911, `cause it's about to go down."
"Girl, you crazy."
"No, I'm fuckin' serious. There are a lot of cute white boys running around, but they can bypass me and kick it wit' the cute little white girls out here. . .and there's no shortage of them."
"Speaking of cute, check out that fine specimen that just entered the building."
"You ain't lying! That nigga look fine and rich. Do you see that suit he got on? That ain't no S&K Menswear type bullshit either, his shit is official," Tierra commented, sizing the man up. Upon further inspection, her admiration quickly turned to disgust. "I can't believe this shit!"
"What?" Simone questioned while plotting on how to get the attention of the man who had walked in."
"When he turns his face back around, zoom in for a closer look."
Both women stood for what seemed like a few long minutes but were actually seconds, waiting to catch another full frontal glimpse.
"Get the fuck outta here! That's Carmelo! And look. Nichelle is with him, wearing a bad ass dress. She definitely didn't get that from Rainbow."
"Shut up, Simone!"
"I'm just saying. ..damn! But you can't front, Nichelle do look stunning."
Tierra watched as her best friend and her man made their way to the VIP area. She was burning up on the inside, wondering how in the fuck Nichelle's star was on the rise and hers was quickly fading out.
"Girl, come on, let's go over there and talk to Nichelle."
"You go `head. I'ma stay over here."
"Tierra, she over in VIP. You know they gon' be poppin' bottles. And all the real ballers gon' be laying in the cut over there. I thought you said you wanted to get out yo' mama's crib. So come on, let's go." Simone grabbed Tierra's arm and guided her to the velvet rope.
When they walked up, the big burly security man was blocking their path and seemed to have no intention of moving out the way to let them through.
"Excuse me, but can you move? Our friends are waiting for us over there," Simone said, pointing in the direction of Nichelle and Carmelo, although their backs were turned away from them.
"You don't have a VIP wristband, so you can't get through."
"Come on, Simone. It ain't that serious. Let's go."
"Hold on a minute." Simone was adamant about getting to the other side of that rope, and a little thing like a three hundred pound man wasn't going to stop her. She began waving her hands and calling out Nichelle's name until she finally got her attention.
"Baby, I'll be right back. There's Simone and Tierra."
Carmelo glared in their direction and wanted to tell Nichelle to leave those money thirsty broads right where they were at, but didn't want to ruin her night.
"A'ight, baby."
"Hey, ladies! I'm so glad to see you!" After security moved to the side, Nichelle gave Simone and Tierra a hug. She was sincerely happy to see her friends, especially Tierra.
"Nichelle, you killin' the game wit' that dress you rockin'. Drop a name. I know that's some label shit," Simone said, sounding hyped.
"Yeah, it's actually a Zac Posen. Carmelo picked it out for me."
"Bitch, you doing the damn thing," Simone added, giving her a pound.
"Yeah, that dress is hot," Tierra said, dryly.
"Come have a seat at our booth. I know you ladies want some bubbly."
"See, I told you." Simone nudged Tierra as they followed behind Nichelle.
When they sat down, Simone spoke to Carmelo, giving him a big Kool-Aid smile, but Tierra kept her face lowered, purposely not wanting to make eye contact with him.
"Let me pour you some champagne," Nichelle offered, trying to ease what could easily become a tense situation. Both the ladies raised their glasses up, ready to catch a buzz.
"Nichelle, come here for a second. I want to introduce you to somebody." Nichelle handed the bottle to Tierra and walked over to Carmelo. "Baby, this is Marley, the birthday boy."
"Hi, it's nice to meet you, and happy birthday."
"Nice to meet you too. If you don't mind, can I borrow your man for a moment? I want to introduce him to some of my people."
"That's fine."
"I won't be gone that long," Carmelo said, giving Nichelle a quick kiss on the lips.
"Man, that's a pretty little young thang you got right there," Marley remarked after Nichelle sat down.
"Yeah, that's my baby. She's the one."
"Let me find out you might be in love!"
"Ain't no might to it. I am in love."
"Ain't nothing wrong wit' that. Shit, I'm in love too...wit' pussy!" Marley said, slapping Carmelo on his shoulder. "But let's talk about my other love right now."
"Which is?"
"Money, nigga!"
"And I thought it was all pleasure tonight, no business."
"Always business, which brings pleasure." Marley grinned then added a wink. "I have this cat I've known for many years now, who is interested in getting his product from you. I told him you got the purist coke in the streets."
"So, I take it your vouching for him?" Carmelo wanted to make it clear before going any further. He didn't like fucking with new buyers, but since he knew Marley was a straight shooter and they had an excellent business relationship, he was willing to be open to the idea.
"No doubt. You know me, I wouldn't waste your time if I couldn't vouch for the nigga. He shoots straight from the hip, just like me."
"Enough said, lead the way."
"Radric, this my man, Carmelo."
"I've heard great things about you in the streets, but it's good to finally meet you," Radric stated as he stood up to shake Carmelo's hand. "This here is my partner, Renny." Renny rose up and shook Carmelo's hand too. "We're looking forward to breaking bread wit' you, so what you need to know?"
"Nothing," Carmelo answered in a composed tone.
Radric and Renny glanced at each other, then at Marley, who also seemed to be taken aback by Carmelo's one word response. "If you're good with Marley, then you're good with me. Let Marley know how much weight you want, and he'll give you the price."
The three men all exhaled in relief. "Thank you, we appreciate that. We hope to do a lot of business wit' you," Radric said, shaking Carmelo's hand one more time.
"Not a problem. Now, if you fellas excuse me, I don't want to keep my woman waiting any longer."
"Shit, I wouldn't either if my woman looked like that," Marley said, once Carmelo was out of earshot.
"You ain't lying! Nichelle definitely ain't looking like jailbait no more," Radric admitted.
"Her two friends are cute too," Marley said, noticing them for the first time.
"Yeah, but them two tricks is trash. You flash enough money, they'll be more than willing to spread `em."
"Thanks for the inside scoop, Radric."
>
"You look out for me, I look out for you. That's what niggas making money together do."
"No doubt."
Renny sat back in his seat quietly, as Radric and Marley made small talk. He was interested in watching the interaction between Carmelo and Nichelle. He hadn't seen her in so long, and she was even more striking than he remembered. He didn't know if it was because she was dressed up or what. All he knew was that he wanted her for himself.
"Oh, baby, I love being inside my pussy!" Carmelo moaned as they made love in the living room in front of the fireplace. This was the third time they had sex since coming home from the party. Each time seemed to become more intense as their bodies and souls intertwined.
"Carmelo, I'm gonna love you 'til the day I die."
"You better," he whispered in Nichelle's ear, right before cumming inside her.
Right after a cab dropped Tierra off in front of the projects, she noticed a dark car driving slowly behind her. She started to pick up her pace, and the car began speeding up. She was about to take off her heels and make a run for it, but it was too late.
The driver pulled up on the curb, blocking her path, and flashed the high beam lights, flooding her vision. The driver then turned off the lights, and Tierra was able to get a clear look at the familiar face. "I have a proposition for you. Are you interested?"
"Yeah, I'm interested."
"Then get in the car."
Tierra walked around to the passenger side and did just that. In her mind, any proposition had to be better than the ones she currently had. . .which were none.
When you're running the streets and living your life, it's easy to get so caught up, to the point, that not only do you miss the simple clues pointing to your fate, but also the ones slapping you right in the face.
"Girl, what time we going out tonight?" Tierra asked Simone as she sat on her bedroom floor giving herself a pedicure.
"Sorry, I have to pass. I have a date tonight."
"Wit' who?"
"You don't know him. It's a new cat I met."
"Met where?"
"At that birthday party we went to a few weeks ago."
"Who?"
"Just a guy," Simone answered, trying to keep it vague.
"So you not gon' give me no names, no details?"
"This nigga might be the one, so I'ma keep shit to myself for now. You know, I ain't tryna jinx the shit. If it go to the next level, then I'll fill you in."
"Let me find out you getting brand new. Humph! If you knew what I know, you'd fill me in. I would hate for you to get sprung out and then realize you got stuck wit' one of my leftovers."
"Bitch, please! Trust, this is one nigga that ain't ran up in your pussy, that's why I'm keeping him to myself."
"You sounding real confident over there."
"I am. But like I said, if shit start getting serious, maybe we can go on a double date. He got a lot of niggas that work up under him. I'm sure one of them wouldn't mind kickin' it wit' you."
Tierra frowned at the phone, "Trick, you play too much. You know I don't fuck down."
"Damn, we are in a recession! I thought you was willing to take whatever you can get at this point."
"Don't worry about me, I'm good. You ain't the only one that came across some potential options. But I'll keep my shit close to the vest too. Girl, anyway, let me hit you back. That's Nichelle on the other line."
"Cool. Tell her I said what's up."
Tierra didn't even bother to respond and clicked over to the other line. "Hey girl, what's going on wit' you tonight?"
"Nothing. I'ma stay home and chill."
"I thought you, me and Simone could go out to dinner or something, but she got a date. So why don't we go catch a bite to eat? We haven't hung out in a minute."
"True, but I'm a little tired. Plus, I'm doing some writing."
"Writing? What sort of writing?"
"Like a short story. I'm actually enjoying it."
"Let me find out you `bout to get all higher learning on me."
"Girl, be quiet."
"Well, can't you put your pen and pad down for a few hours and make time for your best friend? I mean, we are still best friends, aren't we?
"Of course! I am hungry, and Carmelo did say he would be home late."
"Then let's do it."
"Okay, I'll meet you in front of your crib in about an hour."
"Cool, I'll see you then."
"Man, shit been looking real sweet for the last few weeks," Radric said, between pulls from his blunt, while taking the ramp onto 1-95 South toward the Turnpike.
"You right. Hooking up wit' that dude, Carmelo, was a very smart look. I ain't got no complaints about his product. Niggas everywhere loving that shit."
"And then we gon' get that heroin from your cousin, Arnez. Before you know it, we'll have the streets on lock. We'll be the one-stop shop that everybody wanna get they drugs from."
"That's the game plan. Shit, at this point, I'm fuckin' happy that Arnez finally decided to come out of hiding."
"What, the nigga on the run?"
"Fuck if I know. I didn't want to ask him too many questions on the phone. All I know is dude been missing in action since CoCo got locked up. Maybe that nigga was on the indictment too, and he just ain't wanna tell me."
"Yo, you think it's a good idea for us to be going to Philly and meeting up wit' him?" Radric asked, starting to feel somewhat paranoid.
"Nah, we straight. Trust, if that nigga thought for one moment some shit was going down, he would be the first to break the fuck out. That motherfucker values his freedom. He ain't tryna be locked up, not even for a day."
"Cool, `cause I definitely wanna talk business wit' the nigga. I'm pumped that you let me roll wit' you down there."
"No doubt. You put me down wit' your connect, so it's only right I return the favor."
"That's what's up. Here, take a hit." Radric extended the blunt to Renny.
"No, I'm good," Renny said, declining his offer. And Renny was good. He never dabbled in any sort of drugs, only occasionally having a drink. He had constant paranoia about getting caught slipping in the streets from some sort of drug or liquor induced high.
"Suit yourself. That means more for me," Radric bopped his head to the music, as he sped down the highway.
When Nichelle pulled up in front of the projects that she grew up in, the whole block seemed to pause. All you saw was mouths dropping, and ooh's and aah's coming from corner watchers.
At first, Tierra thought everybody was sweating how her jeans were gripping her spectacular signature ass. But then as she looked forward and peeped the custom ice-blue CLS550 pulling up, she too dropped her mouth. "What the fuck! Carmelo letting you hold his whips now?" Tierra cracked, walking up on the driver's side where Nichelle was.
"Nope, this was a birthday present. Peep the tags."
Tierra strutted to the back of the car with an attitude in her switch. They damn sure were some vanity plates, with "NICHELLE" written on them. All she could do was shake her head before stepping in the passenger side.
Tierra was used to all eyes being on her because of her pretty face and small waist, but won't nobody on the block thinking about her at that moment. The only thing the males and females were lusting after was the official ride she was getting into.
"Yo, this shit is fire," Tierra admitted, not able to contain how fierce the whip was.
"I know, I couldn't believe when Carmelo surprised me with it. I had no idea he was gonna come at me so hard."
"And damn, Nichelle, I feel bad."
"Why?" she asked driving off.
"What type of best friend am I, that I didn't even remember your birthday?"
"Don't worry about it. I know you've had a lot of shit on your mind."
"You have no idea. It's been hell being back home at my mom's crib. She be tryna regulate and preach to me at the same time. She be pressing me to enroll in community college... saying I need to learn a skill. I tried to explain
to her that I do have a skill. It's just not the kind you can learn in a schoolbook," Tierra joked.
"You are ridiculous. But you never know you might enjoy taking some classes. I mean, I never thought I would love writing, but I do."
"So now you love writing?"
"Yep. I don't know if I'll ever be good enough to get published, or however it works, but when I'm doing it, I get this sense of peace that I don't get from anything else. That's why I say, maybe you should follow your mother's advice and enroll in school. What they always say... `A mind is a terrible thing to waste'?" Both girls burst out laughing, and for the first time in awhile, it felt like old times again.
"So where we eating?"
"It's up to you."
"Girl, you know I want to check out our soul food spot up in the cut. I'm dying for some of that macaroni and cheese."
"Hell yeah, and some collard greens. That's exactly where we going," Nichelle said, making a left on Jamaica Avenue.
After a ten minute ride, the girls pulled up to their favorite spot, ready to get their grub on. When they got to the door, walking up right behind them was a group of girls.
"If it ain't Nichelle Martin's stuck-up ass!" Tierra and Nichelle heard one of them snarl.
At first, Nichelle ignored whoever was popping shit behind her back, because she knew with any type of `hood shine came hating. But the chick kept running her mouth.
"I bet she think she cute, `cause she pushing some niggas' car. I wonder how much dick she had to swallow to make that happen." Her whole crew laughed extra hard, pumping her up.
"Ho, who the fuck you think you talking too?" Tierra turned around, walking up on the chicks.
"Tierra, don't even pay them birds no mind."
"Bitch, who you calling a bird?"
Nichelle looked up to see who wanted to bring it, and instantly recognized her enemy. "Lerrick, we ain't at school, and this isn't no playground. You and your crew can carry that drama somewhere else."
"You Lerrick Duncan, Kay Kay little sister?" Tierra asked, folding her arms.
"Yeah, why?"
"Because when we was in high school, I used to beat her ass on a regular `cause she had a foul mouth just like you. And if you keep fuckin' around wit' my girl, Nichelle, I'ma spank yo' ass like I did your sister."
