I Choose You: Hood Love at Its Finest

by Diamond Johnson

  Ten minutes later, my girls pulled up to my house at the same time. I set the alarm on the house and walked out the door.

  “Y’all all ride with me,” I told them.

  We jumped in my all-white Range Rover and were ready for war. All my girls had on exactly what I was wearing, except we had on different shoes.

  “Where she stay at Tisha?” Lani asked, brushing her hair in a ponytail because she had it hanging down.

  “Out in Dade. We should be there soon,” I told her, turning the music down some in the car.

  “Bitch I’m surprised Ty let your ass leave the house,” I told Lani, laughing.

  “Girl his ass was knocked out so I had to sneak out. He gon’ be calling me soon asking where the hell I went. I’ma just say I’m with y’all,” she said nonchalantly.

  I felt my phone vibrate in my lap. I looked down and it was Otis. He probably just got back home and was wondering where the hell I went. Shit, I should have told my girls to park across the street so he wouldn’t know I was with them. I knew for a fact that he knew my girls and I are about to be up to no good. He called me another three times and I just let the calls go to voicemail. He sent me a text.

  Baby: Tisha where the fuck you at? And your ass better not lie!

  I gave Lani the phone because I was driving and I didn’t want to text at the same time.

  “Lani tell him I’m out with y’all and that I’ll be home soon,” I said, turning into the development where Marshae stayed.

  “Bitch Otis gon’ fuck your ass up when you get home,” Kyla said from the back.

  Everybody started laughing. I was laughing too because I knew it was true. Otis wasn’t going to hit me or anything but he was for sure going to curse my ass out real good. I parked my car in Marshae’s driveway and my girls and I jumped out.

  “Y’all ready?” I asked them.

  “Hell yeah!” they all said in unison.

  I walked up to the door and put my finger over the peephole. I knocked three times and still no answer. I knocked again and that’s when I heard someone coming to the door.

  “Who is it?” Marshae yelled.

  “Umm my car broke down and my battery died on my phone. I was wondering if I could come in to use your phone real quick,” I told her, disguising my voice.

  A second later, this dumb bitch opened the door looking stupid as fuck.

  “You know you done fucked up right?” I asked her as soon as she saw my face.

  She tried to hurry and shut the door but she was too slow.

  I pulled the gun from my pants and said, “Bitch did you really think I was gon’ let y’all stupid asses jump me and not do anything?”

  I slapped her stupid ass down with the butt of my gun and walked over to go sit it down on the couch.

  “Look at what the fuck y’all did to my sister’s face,” Lani yelled when I made my way back over to them.

  Before I knew it, we went to work on that bitch. Eventually, her ass was knocked out cold. The whole time she just laid there taking it. I dared her ass to swing and I was gonna shoot her ass this time.

  “Alright y’all, let’s go,” I said to my girls.

  We all got back in the car and acted as if nothing even happened.

  “Bitch did y’all see Kyla’s ass when she kicked that girl in the face?” Tamika asked laughing.

  “Hell yeah, all our asses is crazy,” I said laughing.

  “But seriously though, I really love y’all. Y’all my girls. Y’all didn’t even have to help me do that but y’all did and I appreciate that,” I told them sincerely.

  “Aww, we love you too,” my girls said.

  Chapter 14: Otis

  Here it was almost midnight and I was sitting at home on the couch waiting for Tisha to bring her ass home. I don’t know where the hell she went but I kind of had a feeling. When I pulled up, I saw Kyla, Lani, and Tamika’s cars parked outside so I knew that they were somewhere plotting on some shit. Tisha didn’t know where Marshae lived so I wasn’t worried about her going over there fighting.

  When I left out the house a couple of hours ago, I went over to pay Marshae a visit. You see, I don’t believe in putting my hands on females but Marshae was going to have to be an exception because the bitch obviously had me fucked up. Did she really think I was gonna let her jump my girl and get away with the shit? I pulled up to her house and knocked real hard on her door. She came to the door with a white tank top and some pink boy shorts on. It was obvious she wasn’t wearing a bra because I could see her hard nipples poking through the shirt. I walked in and grabbed that bitch by her neck.

  “Ho you real fuckin’ brave! Did you really think my woman wasn’t gonna tell me that y’all stupid asses jumped her?” I yelled.

  She was gasping for breath trying to tell me what happened. I didn’t give a fuck what the bitch had to say though. When I saw her about to pass out, I let go of her neck and threw her ass to the floor, causing her to hit her head on the wall in the process.

  “Marshae I don’t know what the hell is your problem but you’re not my girl and you never were. I’m not gonna kill your ass this time. You just hope it doesn’t have to be a next time,” I said with so much venom in my voice.

  “That bitch talks too fuckin’ much. She started saying how you went and tatted her name. I hate her,” she screamed.

  “She can say whatever the fuck she feels like saying and you damn right I tatted her name,” I said pointing towards my neck.

  “Let that be the last time you touch my woman, let alone look in her direction,” I said, walking to the door. I left that bitch right there on the floor looking stupid as hell.

  When I got back to the house, Tisha’s Range Rover was gone but I did see her friend’s cars in the driveway. I called her back to back but she didn’t answer her damn phone. I texted her ass to ask her where she was and all she said was that she was out. I called her after that but her phone kept going to voicemail. Her ass was gonna feel me when she got home!

  I picked up my cell phone to call Ty.

  “What’s up Otis?” Ty answered the phone.

  “Nigga what’s good? Is Lani there? Because her, Kyla, and Tamika’s cars are here but ain’t none of them over here” I told him.

  “Naw man, she not here. I been calling Lani’s ass for the past few hours.

  “Well they got to be together because Tisha’s car isn’t here. Marshae and her dumb ass friends jumped my lady tonight, so knowing Tisha and them, they out searching the damn city to find her ass,” I told him.

  “Nigga what? They jumped Tisha?” Ty yelled.

  “Yeah man, but I handled that bitch,” I told him and then Tisha came in the house trying to sneak up the stairs.

  “Here she go right here bruh. I’ma holla at you later,” I told Ty.

  “Alright man.”

  I watched from the window as Tisha and her girls talked amongst themselves and then hugged each other and she came heading for the door. I want back in kitchen and waited for her ass to come inside.

  “Naw Tisha, bring your ass on in here,” I said from the kitchen. She walked over to where I was and stood there looking nervous as hell.

  “Where the hell you was at?” I asked her.

  “Umm I went out to go get drinks with my girls,” she stammered.

  “Tisha don’t fuckin’ lie to me. You and I both know you didn’t go out to go get drinks dressed like that,” I yelled.

  “Okay bae, well don’t yell at me, okay,” she said.

  I didn’t say anything. I just stood there waiting for her to continue. She was dressed in all black with her hair up, so I knew she was out up to no good.

  “Earlier when you left the house, I followed you. I knew it was Marshae’s house that you went to because I recognized her car. I drove back home, called my girls, and we went over there and handled it,” she said, looking at the floor.

  “What the fuck you mean you handled it? What did y’all do?” I yelled with a lot of bass in
my voice.

  “We did the same thing that bitch and her friends did to me a couple of hours ago. I even pistol-whipped that bitch. Since you couldn’t seem to handle her, I did!” she yelled.

  I just shook my head at her hardheaded ass. I walked over to her and backed her into the wall in the kitchen.

  “Didn’t I say I would handle it?” I asked.

  “Yes you did baby but you were taking too long,” she said.

  I got a hold of her cheek and bit down on that shit as hard as I could. I wasn’t gonna fuck Tisha up, but I wanted to teach her ass a lesson. She hardheaded as fuck and for the most part, it was my fault because I let her ass get away with a lot of shit but her ass needed to learn when to fuckin’ listen. I didn’t want my wife sitting in jail because she was out here fighting bitches.

  “Baby stop,” she cried out.

  I ignored her cries and continued to put a lot of pressure in that same spot. She was hysterical now, pulling at my shirt, trying to get me to let go of her cheek. After a few seconds, I let her cheek go and she dropped to the floor crying.

  “I’m sorry,” she whimpered, holding her cheek.

  “Tisha your spoiled ass needs to start listening. You so damn hardheaded. I told you I would handle it and I damn sure did when I went over there tonight,” I told her.

  She just sat there on the floor sniffing and wiping her eyes. I felt kind of bad for doing my girl like that but her ass don’t listen. I picked her up from off the floor and sat her on top of the kitchen counter.

  “Tisha baby, I’m sorry but you need to start listening to me when I tell you shit. And let that be the last time I have to blow your damn phone up wondering where the hell you at,” I told her. She just rested her head on my chest and all I heard was soft whimpers coming from my girl.

  “Stop crying ma. Go get cleaned up and come back downstairs with me,” I told her, kissing her on her bruised cheek. I lifted her off the counter and slapped her hard as hell on her ass when she walked off.

  About thirty minutes later Tisha came downstairs after taking her shower. She looked and smelled so good. She had on one of my Nike shirts with some pink booties on her feet. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun. It looked like the swelling on her eye had gone down because it wasn’t as bad as it was earlier. She walked into the kitchen and pulled her Chinese food from out of the refrigerator. After she warmed it up, she came and sat on the other couch instead of sitting next to me like she normally did.

  “You not gon’ share your food with me?” I asked, teasing her.

  She ignored me and continued to eat her food. I sat there watching her for a few minutes. Then I got up and went over to where she was sitting. I took the food from out of her lap and brought it over to where I was. She just sat there pouting.

  “If you want your food, you better come get it,” I taunted her.

  She walked over to me, took the food from out of my hands and I pulled her down into my lap. She looked at me and rolled her eyes.

  “Why you wanted me to come down here with you Otis? So you could annoy me?” she asked.

  “No I actually wanted to watch a movie,” I said, sniffing her neck. “Mmm you smell so good” I told her.

  “You see what you did to my cheek?” she whined.

  “Yeah I see it. That’s what happens when you don’t listen,” I told her straight up.

  She didn’t even respond. She just sat there taking small bites of her food. That’s how mean my baby was. She didn’t even want the rest of her food but she tried to force herself to eat it so she wouldn’t have to give it to me. I took the food from out of her hands and finished it off for her. After that, we sat there watching Power on Starz. Ten minutes later, Tisha fell asleep right there on my lap. I picked her up and laid her on my shoulder as I carried the container with the food in my other hand. Still carrying her, I walked into the kitchen to throw the food away and went upstairs. I put Tisha under the covers in the bed and I jumped in the shower right quick. I got in the bed with my boxers on and pulled my girl over to me to lay on my chest.

  Chapter 15: Lani

  It was a Saturday morning and I was up at 9:00 a.m. on the dot. I rolled off the bed to see Ty still there sleeping. When I got home last night, that man laid me out. I knew I was gonna hear it from him because I left without telling him where I went and when he was calling me, I wouldn’t pick up the phone. I went downstairs to get breakfast started. I made cheese eggs, French toast, ham, and grits. I took the breakfast upstairs to give to my husband.

  For the most part, Tyrone and I were doing pretty good. After that whole Ashley situation that happened a while back at my salon, we didn’t hear from her again. I guess that was just a sick game that bitch liked to play, with her ugly ass. I wanted that ho to pop back up though because I still wanted to beat her ass some more.

  “Baby wake up, I made you breakfast,” I said to Ty.

  He sat up and wiped the sleep from out of his eyes. When he sat up, I put the tray in his lap and told him to enjoy. As he was eating, I jumped in the shower. I had to be to the shop at 10:00 because that was my first appointment for the day. I came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around me. I walked over to Ty and took the tray from him. I sat on his lap, still in my towel and wrapped my arms around his neck.

  “You still mad at me baby?” I asked, kissing his lips.

  “Naw baby, I’m good. Just don’t let that shit happen again,” he told me.

  Only because I was wrong, I let my man have a quickie. I usually don’t do that before I go to work because Ty ass will purposely wear me out so that I wouldn’t have to go to work. I got up from the bed, put my towel back on and went into my walk in closet to find something to wear. I decided I would throw on my jean shorts jumper with a pink half shirt underneath and my pink Gucci sandals. I wore my hair down as usual with a part in the middle. To complement my outfit, I threw on my pink accessories and my pink Furla purse to match.

  It was 10:00 when I got downstairs. For some reason, time and I just didn’t get along. It was going to take at least another fifteen minutes for me to get to the shop.

  “Alright baby, I’m leaving. I love you,” I yelled downstairs from the living room.

  “Alright Lani, I love you too,” Ty yelled back.

  I decided to drive my candy red 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA-class today. I only drove the Range Rover on certain occasions. I got in the car and it was hot as hell. I drove to work bumping to the Migos CD that Ty left in my car the last time he drove it.

  Ten minutes later, I was pulling up to the shop. I stepped out and it was a full house this Saturday morning. I spotted Kyla, Tamika, my friend Peaches and two of the other stylists that worked there but I didn’t see Tisha. I knew she was coming in today because I saw one of her regulars sitting at the front waiting for her. I spoke to everyone as I made my way to my back office. I sat my purse down at the table and pulled out my phone to give Tisha a call.

  “Shit O,” I heard Tisha whimper into the phone.

  I know this bitch did not answer the phone while she was fuckin’. Then the bitch had the nerve to get mad at me when she called me the other day while me and Ty was getting it on. O sounded like he was hurting my girl though. I laughed because she must have tried to ignore the call but ended up answering it by mistake. I hung up the phone dying laughing. I just hopped her ass hurried up because she had a lot of people waiting on her slow ass to come do their hair.

  I made my way back out to the front of the salon. I went to my station and got everything ready so I could start on my first head. Once I was done, I called my first client over. It was one of my regulars named Shay. I gave her a roller set last weekend so this week I was just giving her a re-curl. That shouldn’t take longer that 30 minutes.

  “So what’s been up Lani?” Shay asked me when I started her hair.

  “Nothing really girl. What’s been up with you?” I asked her.

  See, Shay was a ghetto and nosey bitch. She stayed out in Dade
County and she knew everybody and their mama’s business. Every time she came to get her hair done, she always had a damn story to tell. That’s why I just did her hair, made small talk, and kept the shit moving. I would never tell this talkative ho my business so the whole damn world could know.

  “Nothing much girl. So you know that girl Ashley right?” Shay asked, getting right to the point.

  “I mean no I don’t know her, but she came in here a while back running her mouth so I had to punch her in it. She was with some girl and she tried to jump in, so my girls fucked her up, while I handled Ashley,” I said nonchalantly.

  “Well that bitch been talking a whole lot of shit. She say she want your head and that she gonna take Ty from you and a whole bunch of other shit,” Shay told me.

  “If that bitch wanted my damn head, she would have attempted to do the shit already. She know where the fuck I work. And about her trying to take my husband…I would like to see her try it,” I said laughing.

  That was the end of that conversation. I guess Shay found herself trying to get a reaction out of me but that wasn’t going to happen. I wish a bitch would try to take my man!

  I finished Shay hair ten minutes later and I was so happy to get this ho out of my seat. She paid and took her ass right on. I started on my next client right after. I looked into the front of the salon and I spotted at least another five of my regulars. Shit, it was going to be a long time until I got a break and I didn’t even eat this morning.

  One hour later, I was on my third head and in walked Tisha. This bitch was fucking glowing. She had her hair up in a tight bun on top of her head and some Tom Ford sunshades on. She was wearing a pretty ass white Versace sundress with some gold sandals to match. She was carrying her oversized white Louis Vuitton handbag. Before she walked in, O stood there by the door talking to her. He had his hand around her ass, whispering something in her ear and she just kept nodding her head and smiling the whole time like a little schoolgirl.