Payback With Ya Life

by Clark, Wahida

  Entering the gated community, Briggen coasted to a stop in front of his condo and jumped out to take the mail out of his box, then pulled up into the driveway. Shan’s car was already parked.

  “Welcome to my humble abode.”

  She cracked a smile as she followed him inside. The first thing she noticed was the large chess coffee table with pieces the size of hot-sauce bottles. “Where did you get this from? This is amazing.” The pieces were obviously handcrafted. The queen looked like a real queen and the knights were covered with authentic horsehair. “Impressive,” she mumbled.

  Then she took in the rest of her surroundings. The color gold overwhelmed her senses. Next was a pair of carved wooden seahorses that caught her eye. Even the living room furniture was gold with splashes of olive.

  “Oh my God! Are those real?” She went over to an open glass frame that held about ten seahorses suspended on fine wires.

  “Yeah.”

  She snickered. “Why do I get the feeling that I’m at the beach?” She twirled around and her gaze fell on the huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling. “That chandelier looks like a giant octopus. You got real seahorses in a frame, carved wooden seahorses over there, huge wooden seahorses on the desk, the seashell lamp and the colors? What the fuck?”

  Briggen laughed. “Why are you insulting my taste? I love the beach. This is my own little private beach house. I know you gonna let me have that.”

  “I’m not insulting you. But—”

  “But what?”

  “Why don’t you move somewhere where there is an actual beach or an ocean?” She couldn’t stop giggling.

  “I will one day. But for now, this is it.”

  “Let me guess. You brought this house from a clucker for a couple of rocks?”

  “Oh, you really got jokes, Shan. You really got jokes.”

  “So you said private. Does that mean that none of your hoes will be running up in here?”

  “You have nothing to worry about. Trust me. No hoes will be running up in here. So you can get comfortable and chill here as long as you like.”

  “Can I see the kitchen?”

  “Not if you’re gonna be insulting me and laughing in my face.”

  “Where is the kitchen?”

  “Just turn to your left.”

  She headed for the kitchen. It looked like an old ship. It had ship-replicated windows, an anchor and fishnets. It was very spacious and even with the stainless steel appliances it was still beachy and ocean-like. Even down to the wallpaper. “Aye, aye, Captain,” she joked. It was definitely beyond Shan’s imagination. “This is . . . so not you, Briggen,” she mumbled.

  Leaving the kitchen, she went to inspect the bedrooms. The master bedroom was olive green and had an impressive Gregorius-Pineo Moragas four-poster bed. The linen drapes went around the entire room. He had a La-Z-Boy, ottoman and huge flat-screen TV. The carpet was linen and olive. It was obvious that he hardly stayed here. She didn’t want to believe that this was his house. It had to belong to a couple of white yuppies.

  She ventured off to what appeared to be the guest bedroom. The walls were cream-colored, and the geometric espresso drapes made her dizzy. The bedspread was Horizon in espresso. A few pictures on the wall. Simple. Very different. The bathroom was old-fashioned with freestanding bowl sinks, something she had never seen outside a magazine. She backtracked to the master bath, which was huge. The shower was all glass. He could lie in the bed and watch whatever ho he had over for the night take a shower.

  “I brung most of your things in,” he said, startling her.

  “Thanks. I would love to take a nice hot shower, eat something and go to bed. You think you can accommodate a sister?”

  “I’m at your beck and call. I just want you to enjoy your stay at the beach house.”

  “Since you got jokes, you can take my bags to the guest room.”

  He smiled. “Just make yourself at home.”

  She called Peanut and left him a message on his voice mail, then she was finally able to indulge in a hot, steamy, relaxing shower. By the time she finished and threw on something comfortable the house smelled good. Her toes gripped the thick carpet as she followed her nose.

  “A brother that can cook. At least it smells like you can cook,” she teased.

  “Maine, you looking at a master chef.” He pulled off his apron and went to pull out a chair for her. She had slipped into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. And so had he.

  He fixed a plate and set it in front of her.

  “What do we have here?” Shan licked her lips.

  “Briggen’s famous crab cakes, glazed carrots, roasted parsley potato wedges, and”—he went to the refrigerator and pulled out a huge bowl of spinach salad and placed it in the middle of the table—“to drink, your choice of vintage white or red wine.”

  “Impressive. Very impressive.” She poured a glass of the red wine. “Are you going to allow me to dine alone?”

  “Nah. I’m just making sure you’re straight before I sit down.”

  “I’m straight. Come on. I’m hungry.”

  He laughed, fixed himself a plate and sat down to join her. Her mouth hung open as he said grace.

  “Oh my God,” she mumbled. “How many faces of Calvin aka Briggen are there?”

  “Stick around if you really want to find out.”

  “I’ma stick my fork in this crab cake first.” And she did. “Oh . . . oh . . . Briggen. I love you.” She closed her eyes and savored the spicy seasoning. “Ohmygosh, these are so good. Look at me with a straight face and tell me you cooked these.”

  “I cooked them, girl.”

  “You are scaring me.”

  “I don’t know why you trippin’, brothers can cook.”

  “But—”

  “But what?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Enjoy the dinner, Shan, and stop insinuating that a baller can’t cook.”

  She started laughing. “I didn’t say that.”

  “Because I didn’t give you a chance to. Am I right?”

  “Okay. Okay. You got me.”

  “Umm-hmmm. Just enjoy your meal.”

  Shan had been chillin’ up at Briggen’s crib for the past week. At first he was in and out, basically stopping by to see if she was okay and to cook her dinner. She spent her time relaxing and getting her mind right as well as healing from the D&C. He eventually went to Detroit for four days.

  She was lying across his bed watching TV One on his flat screen, which was the only TV in the house, when she heard his Denali pull up. She glanced over at the clock and it read 1:48 a.m. She hadn’t seen him for a couple of days.

  He stood in the bedroom doorway staring at her. She pressed the mute button and tried to read his facial expression. They gazed at each other for several minutes before Briggen broke the silence.

  “You done fuckin’ with Forever?”

  That caught her off guard. “Where did that come from?”

  “I need to know. I mean I’m feelin’ you. Plus, we really haven’t taken time out to talk.”

  “Well, yes I am finished with your brother. I would have never—”

  Briggen cut her off. “I don’t need an explanation. All I needed to hear was yes.”

  He walked slowly over to the bed as he tossed his Detroit fitted cap over to the dresser and dropped the Al Wissam leather jacket onto the ottoman. He lowered himself on top of her and began playing with her nipples and gently planting kisses all over her face, shoulders and neck.

  “I missed you,” he whispered into her ear. “I’m glad you decided to stay.”

  She moaned as she wrapped her legs around his waist and began stroking the back of his neck. “You’re . . . so . . . tense,” she whispered in between moans.

  He paused with the kisses and playing with her nipples to look into her eyes. He eased up, kissed her chin and then went for her lips. She opened her mouth to play with his tongue. “Mmumm,” she moaned as she pressed up against his hard di
ck and continued to massage his neck. He gently slid her silk tee over her breast and began sucking on her nipple.

  “Briggen,” she whimpered. His mouth was now taking in as much of her tatas as he wanted to taste. “Briggen, hold up, baby.”

  He slowly allowed her breast to ease out of his mouth. Planting kisses along her shoulder and neck, nibbling on her earlobe and finally landing his lips on hers. “You’ve . . . got . . . the sweet . . . est lips,” he groaned in between kisses as she slowly ground her pussy onto his strong thighs. Her breathing was getting faster and their grinds more intense as Shan dry-fucked herself to a quick orgasm. Briggen’s dick was about to break as she trembled beneath him with her eyes closed. His huge hand massaged her ass, and then tugged at her shorts.

  “No, Briggen,” she purred.

  “No what?” He was still tugging on her tight shorts.

  “Briggen, what do you want from me?”

  “Oh, you done got yours, so now you want to talk? I want to fuck, that’s what I want.”

  “We can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’m on my period.” She was still bleeding from the miscarriage.

  He looked down to her face to see if she was playing. “Awww damn.” He rolled off her onto his back.

  She smirked as she seductively straddled his thighs, undid his belt buckle, unsnapped his jeans and slid his zipper down. He was breathing heavily as he looked on, anticipating what she was getting ready to do. His massive hard-on pushed through the slit in his boxers.

  “You’re too little to handle this nigga.” He pointed down at his dick.

  “Nigga, please, you obviously don’t know who I am. I have a master’s in brain surgery. They call me the head doctor.”

  “Well, I need some help, Doc.” He watched her as she stroked him. “Show big daddy what . . . ungh . . . you got.”

  “Uhmm-hmmm. Listen to yourself. Big daddy can’t even form a sentence and I ain’t even got started yet.” She leaned down, blew on the head and then began sucking him. One hand massaged his balls while the other hand was gripping the base of his dick, sending Briggen on a frenzy and whining like a bitch. Grabbing on to her head, he grunted and then released a warm load of semen all down her throat.

  She slowly released his limp dick and was on her knees with a smirk on her face, both hands on her hips, looking down at Briggen, who had his eyes closed.

  “Nigga, if I didn’t know what your dick game was all about I would call you the one-minute man. I hadn’t even got started yet.”

  His eyes remained closed but he smiled. “Don’t let that shit go to your head. I bet you can’t do that shit again.”

  “Nigga, what! Look at this.” She lifted his dick with a couple of fingers and it flopped back down.

  “Oh, so now you got jokes.” He pulled her on top of him and greedily kissed her. “I gave you a cool point. I thought you was gonna leave a brother hangin’. But you showed me that you got skills. I’ma have to hold you hostage,” he teased.

  “I don’t think so. I’m leaving in a couple of days.”

  “A couple of days?”

  “Yeah. I gotta call Brianna’s mother to see how the funeral went and I gotta talk to my brother and convince him that I’ll be all right.”

  “I don’t want you to go. You can stay here. You got the joint all to yourself. I need you, Shan.”

  “Need me? Briggen, don’t start. This is something I have to do for me. I can’t stay in this town much longer. I can’t.”

  “I need you, girl.”

  “Briggen, you don’t need me. Now I’m trying to be nice and not bring up all those bitches you got. But you’re really pushing me.”

  He grabbed her by her locks and kissed her again. “I need you, Shan. There’s no way I can compare you with them other broads.” He traced her jawline with his thumb while gazing into her eyes, forcing her to look away. He turned her face toward his and kissed her again. “I need you. And you know it’s not for selfish reasons. I need you. I can’t let you get away this time.”

  “Well, if it’s not selfish and you really do need me, leave this shit and come with me.”

  “Cali is too far, but we can go someplace else, not too far, not too close. And I bet your brother would like that much better. You don’t have to answer me now. Think about it.”

  “So, you would leave all of this shit behind? For me?”

  “Not in a day. But I could do it in a couple of months.”

  “There is no way in hell I could stick around for a couple of months.”

  “I’m not asking you to. What I’m saying is that I could go back and forth but it will take me a few months to get shit wrapped up. Don’t answer me now. I want you to think about it. All right?” he asked her again.

  “Why me, Briggen?”

  “You know why. Them bitches are a one-hit wonder, in it to win it for themselves. You know they don’t give a fuck about me. They just want the money. I may get grimey sometimes but I’m still human. I do have a heart, Shan. At the end of the day when the dust settles, I gotta have somebody to be in my corner, not just in it for the paper. Somebody with that bulletproof love. And you know you the one.”

  “I can’t believe this shit!” Shan stormed out of Brianna’s mother’s house. “Two damn weeks and they haven’t even buried the girl.” Shan yanked at her locks as she talked to herself.

  Shan was in for a shock when she stopped by Brianna’s mother’s and was told that they were too distraught to bury Brianna but would cremate her when they got over their grief. Of course they hadn’t been too distraught to go over to her house and clean out her closet and take the furniture. Her sister and her mother both had on her clothes and jewelry. Shan couldn’t stomach being in the same room with them. She was in absolute disbelief. They gave her the key to Brianna’s condo and wanted Shan to clean it out for their trifling asses.

  As soon as she got in the car she picked up her celly and called Peanut. When she was getting ready to turn off her phone he decided to pick up.

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s me. I need you to meet me at Brianna’s. I got the key.”

  “Give me a half hour.”

  “Hurry up.”

  “Twenty minutes, Shan. Damn.”

  “I’ma sit outside until you show.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  When Shan pulled up in front of Brianna’s it felt eerie. “Damn you, Brianna,” Shan spat as she hugged herself. She dialed Peanut again, crying.

  “Ten minutes, Shan, damn. Hold tight.”

  “Why you gotta holler? I can’t stop shaking. I can still feel her. Her mom and her sister had on her clothes and her jewelry. I think them bitches are crazy.”

  “Everybody deals with death differently, Shan.”

  “It’s just fucked up, that’s all I’m saying. They haven’t even buried her yet. Who lets a body sit up for two weeks? We just as bad; we didn’t even have plans to go to the funeral.”

  “You muthafuckin’ right! Fuck burying her. I sure didn’t have any plans to go nowhere near her bitch-ass funeral. I would have done some ignorant shit.”

  “You still feel like that?”

  “I hate that bitch!”

  “It doesn’t matter. We gotta bury her. I don’t even know how much shit like that cost.” Shan was rambling.

  “Don’t sweat it. I got it,” Peanut assured her.

  “Where are you?”

  “Almost there. Sit tight.”

  “Hurry up, I’m waiting.” Shan hung up and called Briggen.

  “What’s up, shawty?” Briggen asked.

  “Hey.”

  When he noticed that she wasn’t going to say anything, he asked, “You all right?”

  “Not really.”

  “What’s up?”

  “I’m getting ready to go into Brianna’s house. It just feels . . . weird.”

  “It’s supposed to. That was yo’ girl. Y’all were tight.”

  She sighed. �
�You know I gotta bury her. Her own mother told me that she is not up to the task.”

  Briggen chose his words carefully. “Look at it this way, your girl wouldn’t want it any other way.”

  Shan thought about it for a couple of minutes. “You know what? I didn’t look at it like that. Thanks. I needed to hear that.” She dried her eyes and they kicked it for several minutes before Peanut pulled up next to her. “I gotta go. My brother is here. See you when I see you.” She hung up.

  “Damn.” Briggen looked down at the phone. He and Woo were kicking it at their meeting spot. “She didn’t even ask where I was or was I coming by the crib. She just told me, ‘See you when I see you.’ ”

  “Nigga, you ain’t all that. Not every shawty is gonna sweat you. It ain’t like you the best thing since sliced bread,” Woo teased as he laughed at him.

  “You don’t understand. I am the best thing since sliced bread. I’m Briggen, nigga. I’m that nigga,” Briggen said with a straight face. “And she chillin’ up in my spot talkin’ ’bout see you when I see you.” He even had to laugh at that one.

  Just then his dope broad Tami came in. She walked over to him, gave him a duffel bag and kissed him on the lips.

  Peanut and Shan were cleaning up Brianna’s condo in silence. It was weird for both of them. She had been a big part of their lives. And the condo was just as much theirs as it was hers. Peanut took the kitchen and living room and Shan took the rest of the house. Brianna’s mom and sister had taken only the clothes and the big stuff. Peanut had called a locksmith to come open Shadee’s safe. They didn’t understand how the greedy broads had overlooked it. The way they left everything in shambles, it was obvious that they were in a big hurry.

  Shan was seated on the floor, going through a briefcase of papers. The last two documents caused her to break down.

  “Peanut,” she cried out. “Peanut!” she then screamed.

  He ran into the bedroom and she was sitting on the floor crying. “Shit, you screaming as if someone was jackin’ you, girl, damn.”