I Can't Let Go

by Chenell Parker

  “What’s up Princeton? Damn, can your baby mama get a hug?” the cute, shapely woman asked him.

  “Fuck outta here with that baby mama shit. Ain’t no telling who your hoe ass was fucking,” Prince snapped.

  “Don’t try to put on because you got a lil audience nigga. If it wasn’t yours, why were you trying so hard to make me get rid of it?” Marisa asked.

  “I was taking one for the team. I was willing to foot the bill for the other niggas. You couldn’t pay me to touch your hoe ass again though,” Prince assured her.

  “Fuck you! It takes a hoe to know one,” Marisa fumed.

  “Come on Kimora. Fuck this bitch,” Prince said, making Marisa look at the other woman closely. Sure enough, it was her. She was surprised that it took that long for recognition to set in. She’d seen enough of her pictures on Instagram to point her out of a lineup. Marisa was salty and she couldn’t walk away without saying something.

  “Kimora?” Marisa asked with a smirk.

  “Do I know you?” Kimora countered.

  “No but it seems that we have a lot in common,” Marisa replied as she lowered her tube top a little to show her the huge tattoo that read ‘Mrs. S. Dixon’ that was on her right breast. Prince had seen that tattoo a million times but it never meant anything to him back then. Now, seeing the look of rage on Kimora’s face, he began to connect the dots.

  “It’s crazy that I’ve explored every inch of his body and I’ve never seen your name anywhere,” Kimora said, wiping the stupid smirk from her face.

  “I don’t have to be anywhere on his body as long as I remain in his heart,” Marisa replied.

  “Well, I’ve never heard of you before but it’s nice to meet you. It’s crazy how you fucked with my man and my best friend and they never even mentioned you to me. You must be easily forgotten. Back up a little sweetie. I would hate to roll over your feet. Your shoes are dirty enough.” Kimora smiled as she and Prince got into the car.

  Marisa was only trying to get under Kimora’s skin but she didn’t seem to be too bothered. She and Tino were together for almost two years before Venus came along. It was cool though because he still gave her time and money whenever she wanted it. At least he did up until two years ago when he got with Kimora. Tino told her not to call him anymore and she only saw him if they so happened to run into each other on the streets. He had pictures of Kimora plastered all over his Instagram and he seemed to be in love with the bitch. He was cashing out on Kimora with vacations, cars and shopping sprees. Marisa was tight with Val at one time but she had even backed away. She claimed that she didn’t want to disrespect her son’s girlfriend by talking to her but she never gave a fuck about that when he was with Venus.

  “That bitch is scandalous as fuck. I didn’t know that she used to fuck with Tino but that tattoo is old as fuck. She had that shit long before you even got with him. I’m proud of you though, sis. I’m happy that you didn’t let her hoe ass get to you. You handled that shit like a boss,” Prince complimented.

  “Nigga please. I’ll never let a bitch make me step out of character but I’m pissed. He must be entertaining that hoe for her to feel bold enough to step to me,” Kimora fumed.

  “Nah, I can’t see it. I think she’s salty because he’s not entertaining her. That nigga is too in love. He ain’t trying to lose you over no bullshit,” Prince assured her.

  “Are you serious right now Princeton? Who knows more about the games men play than you? You wrote the damn playbook. Don’t try to defend that nigga. He gon’ see me about that shit,” Kimora swore.

  “I understand sis. Just let the man explain before you start spazzing. I already know how you are. Innocent until proven guilty,” Prince said as she pulled up to his house.

  “Just be on standby in case I need a place to stay,” Kimora replied.

  “I’m about to get up with one of my hoes but you got the key to let yourself in,” Prince said as he kissed her cheek and got out of the car. He didn’t even go inside. He hopped into his own car and drove away.

  Kimora dialed Tino’s number as she drove but he didn’t answer. They were supposed to be going out to dinner but he never said what time. She was taking her best friend’s advice and giving him the chance to explain himself. Two more calls to his phone with no answer and Kimora was heated. She knew that he couldn’t answer his phone if he was playing ball but she had a feeling that it was more to the story. Her gut was telling her to roll up on him at the park, so she turned around at the next corner and headed in that direction.

  When she pulled up, she saw a few men on the basketball court and she knew that Tino was one of them. The courts were kind of far from the parking area but she remembered what he had on. Besides, his black Range Rover was parked about three spots over from where she was. Kimora watched them for a while until the game ended and they all walked back over to the tables. Her blood was boiling when she saw that Venus was one of the women who was sitting there. That old bitch just couldn’t stay away. She was always following Zoe around to all of their family functions and making a fool of herself. Kimora decided to call his phone again and she watched as his cousin’s girlfriend handed it to him. Tino was talking and he didn’t bother answering. He was all up in Venus’ face but Kimora decided to give him another chance. She called his phone for the last time and watched him silence his ringer.

  “This nigga got me fucked up,” Kimora fumed as she got out of the car with her small pocketknife in hand. Her first mind told her to go over there and act a fool but she had something even better in mind.

  ***

  “That’s game nigga. Y’all niggas know y’all can’t see me on the court. I should have gone to the NBA,” Tino bragged as he threw the ball to Bryson.

  He and Ronald were playing against Bryson and Ramon and those niggas were sore losers. Both their girlfriends were in attendance and that only made shit worse.

  “They already know what it is,” Ronald laughed as he looked at the frown on his little brother’s face.

  He walked up to the table and took the towel that his girlfriend, Simone, was handing him. Simone had started hanging tough with Venus over the past year and she was sitting there too. Venus was damn near salivating over Tino but he ignored her thirsty ass just like he always did. Kimora was all that he knew now and he didn’t even acknowledge other women. Ronald understood why though. Kimora was a bad bitch and she shitted on all of their women, including his. Her sister was bad too and Dirty loved the fuck out of her.

  “Cheating ass niggas,” Bryson fumed when he walked over and grabbed his bottle of water.

  “Take your lick nigga,” Tino laughed, right as his phone rang to Kimora’s special ringtone.

  “Here cousin, wifey has been calling,” Simone said as she handed him his phone. She held on to his phone while he played ball because he didn’t trust Venus’ scandalous ass.

  “Answer the phone so I can speak to her,” Venus smirked as she looked over at him.

  Tino had changed a lot since they broke up two years ago. Venus thought that he was going to be hitting her up for sex like he used to do with Marisa, but he had her fooled. She ended up being the one to call him before he told her to stop. From what she’d heard, Kimora had him gone and he’d never cheated on her. Venus and Zoe were still best friends, but her husband would never let her hang out at certain places. She was too classy to be in the park watching niggas play basketball and he would never allow it. That was her reason for befriending Simone. That way, she could have the best of both worlds and still be around the man who she was still very much in love with. Venus had lots of men that she dealt with, including one of Tino’s married cousins, Franco. He took very good care of her, but he took better care of his wife, Amari. All Venus ever wanted was one man to love, who would take care of her for the rest of her life. That’s what her mother had with her father up until the day they both died in a car accident eight years ago.

  “Play dumb if you want to.” Tino frowned.
/>   “How am I playing dumb? I just wanted to say hello.” Venus smiled.

  “You childish as fuck man. Kimora already know what’s up. Another bitch could never, especially you. Two years without the dick got you going crazy,” Tino laughed.

  “You be talking all that hot shit but I see you didn’t answer that phone though,” Venus replied as his phone rang again.

  She laughed when Tino silenced it and ignored yet another one of Kimora’s calls. He wasn’t dumb and he knew not to answer when she was around. Venus was always trying to talk loudly to let Kimora know that she was in his presence. She was petty as fuck and Tino wasn’t about to let her ruin his happy home with her bullshit.

  “I’ll get up with y’all later cuz. I gotta hop in the shower and get ready. Me and wifey got plans for the night,” Tino said, making Venus frown.

  All the time she had been keeping her eye on Marisa and it was a whole other bitch who came and snatched her man right from up under her. A young bitch who had him moving like an entirely different person.

  “Alright fam. Hit me up tomorrow about that business that we need to handle,” Ronald said.

  “That’s if his slave master lets him. You know he can’t make a move unless Kimora says so.” Ramon frowned.

  “You mad fam?” Tino asked Ramon with a smirk. “If so, you don’t have to wait for me to get you right. They got a lot of niggas out here that sell weight. I’m sure their shit ain’t as good as mine but they’ll move whenever you want them to. I’m just not one of them. My girl will always come first and I’m not apologizing for that. That lil money that I get from you matters none to me.”

  It was sad that his own cousin was a hater who was jealous of him. He and Ramon used to be mad cool when they were younger but things changed once Tino started making money. Ramon was always talking slick and it took everything in Tino not to lay him the fuck out most times. It was only because of Ronald that he never did. Ronald and Dirty were always the peacemakers in the crew and they always talked Tino off the ledge. Besides that, Tino loved to piss him off.

  “You got that cuz,” Ramon said with a phony smile, right as they heard a car alarm going off.

  “Aye Tino, ain’t that Kimora over there?” Bryson asked as they all looked towards the loud screeching sound.

  “The fuck!” Tino yelled when he saw Kimora with a tire iron, breaking all his windows.

  He was stuck for a minute but he snapped out of it and took off running in her direction. As he got closer, he saw that all four of his tires were flat as Kimora calmly walked back to her car and pulled away.

  “Damn man,” Ronald said as he followed his cousin to his damaged truck. Tino was fuming as he pulled out his phone and called Kimora’s number.

  “Don’t call me now nigga. Go back and smile up in that hoe face like you been doing. Fuck you! It’s over!” Kimora barked when she answered the phone.

  She didn’t even give him a chance to reply before she hung up and blocked his number. She called Miko’s phone and her sister answered on the second ring.

  “What’s up sis?” Miko asked when she answered.

  “Meet me at my house Miko. I need help getting all my shit,” Kimora replied.

  “I’m on my way,” Miko replied, not even bothering to ask what happened. She and Dirty went through the same shit every other month with Kimora and Tino and she didn’t even care anymore.

  When Kimora got home, she grabbed some garbage bags and started throwing her stuff inside. She knew that it would take Tino a while to get home because of what she’d done to his car. About an hour later, she had her half of the closet cleared and she was working on doing the drawers. Miko had started putting the bags in Dirty’s Suburban and Kimora helped her.

  “Don’t put nothing in the front seat sis. I’m riding back with you. I’m leaving his car here. I’ll get me another one.” Kimora frowned.

  Once she had everything packed, Kimora left her keys on the dresser and locked the bottom lock on the door. As soon as she got to Miko’s house, she grabbed her duffle bag and went to take a shower. All kinds of unknown numbers were calling her phone but she never answered. She knew that it was Tino and that’s why she didn’t bother.

  “Can you get my stuff out of the truck when you get a chance?” Kimora asked while looking at Dirty.

  “Yeah, I got you sis,” Dirty replied, even though he had no intentions to. Tino had been calling him nonstop and he was going crazy. He swore that he was done with Kimora after what she’d done to his car but Dirty knew that he was lying. As soon as he got home and saw that her shit was gone, he would be on his way to their house to get her back.

  “Go lay down and relax,” Miko said to her little sister. As soon as Kimora walked away, Dirty’s phone rang and Tino’s number popped up again.

  “What’s good cuz?” Dirty asked when he answered.

  “Yeah man, I just got a rental. She fucked my shit up bad. I had to get it towed from the park. On God, I’m done with Kimora bruh. She can have the house. I’ll get me a room until I find something else. She be spazzing on a nigga for nothing. She didn’t even have to do all that,” Tino fussed.

  He was pissed that he had to wait for almost three hours for a tow truck. He spent another two hours getting a rental car and it was dark by the time he was done with everything. Kimora had blocked his number but he didn’t care. She was being childish and not even giving him a chance to explain himself.

  “Where you at now bruh?” Dirty asked.

  “I’m going by my mama for the night. I need a shower and a bed and I’m not trying to see her crazy ass right now. I might fuck around and slap the shit out of her,” Tino fussed.

  “Alright man. Hit me up if you need me,” Dirty replied before he hung up.

  “He don’t know that she’s gone yet. You know he’s coming straight over here as soon as he finds out that she left.” Kimiko yawned.

  “I know baby but we need some rest. We have to be on the boat at noon tomorrow,” Dirty replied. He and Miko were taking a seven-day cruise and he wasn’t in the mood to deal with his cousin’s mess. They had been up for over twenty-four hours handling business and selling the last of their dope. He was happy that they were already packed up because they would have been pushed if they weren’t. He knew how it went when Tino and Kimora got into it. Sometimes the shit lasted all night and morning.

  Tino pulled up to his parents’ house and was happy that he didn’t see any cars in the driveway. He went inside and upstairs to his old bedroom. He still had clothes there from when he and Kimora stayed there, so he went straight to the shower.

  “Her stupid ass,” Tino fumed as the hot water caressed his body.

  He was stressed and Kimora wasn’t making it any better. They both had bad tempers and they always went overboard when they got into it. Once he was done taking his shower, Tino threw on some basketball shorts and a t-shirt before lying down in the bed. He tossed and turned for over an hour before he grabbed his phone and tried Kimora’s number again. She was always blocking his number but she sometimes unblocked it when she calmed down. After trying three times, Tino knew that he was still blocked, which meant that she was still pissed.

  “Fuck it,” he said as he jumped up and grabbed his keys.

  He couldn’t sleep without her and she knew that. He was ready to kiss her ass and make it right, just like he always did. He drove to their house, practicing what he wanted to say to her once he got there. When he pulled up and saw her car in the driveway, Tino relaxed and hurriedly made his way inside. The house was quiet and too dark for Kimora to have been in there alone. When he got to the bedroom and didn’t see her, he opened the closet and almost passed out.

  “The fuck!” Tino fumed when he saw that her side of the closet was empty.

  He opened the drawers and saw that they were empty too. Kimora still had a few feminine products in the bathroom but that was about it. Tino felt like his heart was beating out of his chest and he almost fell down the stair
s trying to get out of there. He didn’t know if she was by Prince or Miko, but he tried her sister’s house first. It was late but Tino didn’t give a damn. He parked behind Dirty’s truck and banged on the door while ringing the bell at the same time. He knew that Dirty was about to curse him out but that was a risk that he was willing to take. When the porch light came on, he heard the locks being undone. Once the door was opened, Bryson stood there wearing a scowl on his face while his girlfriend look scared standing behind him.

  “Don’t come in here making all that noise bruh. And if you wanna kill yourself, go do that shit at your own house,” Bryson fussed as he and his girlfriend walked away.

  Tino walked down the hall to the room that he knew Kimora used to sleep in when she visited but the door was locked.