The Bed You Make: An Urban Hood Drama

by Tamicka Higgins

  “Yeah, I heard you do hair real good,” Judge said. “I heard some of them otha chicks talkin’ about how they go over to your place when you off work and stuff and you do they hair.”

  Riri blushed, touching her red-highlighted pixie-cut and smiled. “Well,” she said. “I be try’in’. I mean, you know I’m in school for it, but I just want to practice. You don’t have daughters, do you?”

  “Yeah,” Judge said, “but, you know how that go. You know how some of these baby-mamas be actin’ sometime. We cool at times then otha times they fuckin’ hate my guts and shit.” He shrugged his shoulders and chuckled. “Just depend how they feel. But, shit, too bad I ain’t cool with a couple of my baby-mamas ‘cause I could send them yo way to get they hair did cause when I be seein’ them, they be lookin’ tore up and shit like it’s nothin’.”

  “Boy, stop,” she said, swatting at Judge. “You ain’t gotta talk about them like that.”

  “So, um,” Judge said. “I see you got your hair did again. Didn’t you just get that shit? Your hair don’t never be messed up or nothin’.”

  “Hell naw,” Riri said, shaking her hair. She twisted her neck. “You not gon’ ever see me with my head fucked up. I just don’t do that shit. I keep my hair did ‘cause you never know who lookin’. For all you know, August Alsina or Trey Songz could be in town, havin’ a concert or somethin’, and stop by the local Target to buy a new t-shirt or somethin’.”

  Judge stopped what he was doing and looked at Riri with a stupid look on his face. “Yeah, they comin’ in here to buy they clothes,” he said. “Yeah, okay.”

  “You never know,” Riri said, laughing. “I mean, really. You know how they be talkin’ about the music industry don’t pay as much as it used to pay and stuff. They on a budget and stuff too.”

  “Yeah, I bet,” Judge said, chuckling.

  “Naw, but for real, for real,” Riri said, “I’m goin’ to a party tomorrow night at Blue Lights for this one dude me and my friends know. These dudes got money, so we gon’ go there and chill with them for a minute. I got to make sure that I look my best when I got up in there ‘cause I already know what people gon’ be expectin’.”

  “I see,” Judge said, thinking of what more he could ask to probe deeper into the situation. “I don’t know if I even been up to Blue Lights. I mean, what kinda party is it? What kinda nigga is havin’ his party up in Blue Lights? I always thought that was the kinda school that catered to the old school niggas and stuff. I ain’t know that they did otha stuff.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Riri said. “I mean, they do all kinda stuff. I heard there might be some strippers there, but it ain’t gon’ be like a stripper party. Boy, if that was the case, I’d have to tell that nigga Race I ain’t comin’.”

  Race? Race? Race? The name echoed in Judge’s head. There was one more thing he needed to know: the time. “I see, I see,” he said. “Hold up… What time you goin’ to the party ‘cause I don’t think you gon’ be able to keep that hair that long? I mean, the shit look perfect. I can see you now. You gon’ be try’na get it redone tomorrow before you go. You know how chicks are.”

  “Boy, stop,” Riri said. “I ain’t gotta be up at Blue Lights until like nine… I think that’s when it starts. So, me and my girls is gon’ go up there around like ten somethin’. I can’t believe you ain’t never been up to Blue Lights.”

  Judge shrugged. “I mean, if me and some boys went into that club one night,” he said, “then it must have been one of those nights I was fuckin’ wasted or somethin’.”

  “Okay, okay,” Riri said.

  Riri and Judge stocked the shelves for several more minutes before the manager Micah came walking over. He gave the two of them directions, telling them to get back to the stockroom. As they headed toward the back of the store, many thoughts swirled around Judge’s mind. As soon as he was out of his manager’s sight, he pulled his phone out and sent a text to John, telling him that he needed to get back with Camron’s cousins and be ready to go up to Blue Lights tomorrow night, late. He’d been talking with his boy John about his “meeting” with Camron’s cousins. As Judge went back to taking boxes off of the conveyor belt, he thought about tomorrow night and how Blue Lights was where everything was about to go down.

  CHAPTER 9

  Race woke up feeling good on Saturday. Not only was it his birthday, which had fallen on a weekend this year, but the nasty fall weather that could roll through Cincinnati this time of year had held off. While it certainly wasn’t as warm outside as it had been, it certainly wasn’t as cold as it could be. On top of all this, knowing that John’s boy Camron was somewhere suffering for shooting at him pleased him.

  With his gun on the nightstand next to his bed, he leaned back with the windows open. Warm wind rushed into the bedroom as he leaned back and looked down at the nappy head going up and down in his lap. Even though Race loved to have a bad chick as much as the next guy, there were certain things the less attractive chicks could really get done better. For that reason, he always kept a THOT who was a bit out of shape on call. And last night turned out to be the perfect night. He wanted some birthday head, so he decided to call this chick who worked at a Walgreens not too far away. At thirty-five years old, she looked as if she’d been pretty back in her day but it had faded with the weight. Her hair, as well, looked as if it hadn’t been done in a while. However, because the chick was so talented when it came to orally pleasing a man, Race was able to overlook her less-than-lackluster appearance because he was so consumed with the sounds of her slobbering on his penis.

  “Shit, you up this early suckin’ this dick like this?” Race said, groaning as he leaned his head back into the stacks of pillows. He’d gone to sleep with the chick sucking on his penis, and it was so nice to wake up to his manhood in her mouth once again. He took several hits of a blunt he’d rolled last night, only having smoked half of it. “Fuck, this feel good.”

  Shanni smiled and looked up at Race. She always came running when he called. Not only was he good looking, but he had a nice body and a nice place. Shanni also got the feeling that Race had money, but it never came up. He didn’t like talking much. In fact, there’d even been times he’d have her come over to find him sitting on the couch with his pants already down.

  “You like how I suck that dick?” Shanni said, lifting her head up and stroking Race’s soaked manhood.

  “Fuck yeah,” Race said, rubbing her nappy, undone hair. He pulled his hands away, tired of the feeling. “Just keep suckin’ on it.”

  “Why don’t you ever wanna fuck me, Race?” Shanni asked. “You know I got that good pussy.”

  Race sighed as he looked down at Shanni. This wasn’t the first time she’d brought up him putting it down on her. When it came to getting his manhood sucked on, Race was a lot more relaxed about the chick. However, having sex was a totally different story. There were certain women he just would never stick his dick into and that was that.

  “You know how it is,” Race said. “I don’t wanna cheat on my girl.”

  “I feel you on that,” Shanni said. She kept her eyes locked with Race as she lowered her head and licked his balls. “But, still, I mean, it ain’t cheatin’ if your girl don’t never find out about it.”

  “Yeah, but still,” Race said, just wanting her to shut up and suck his dick. “I like the way you suck my dick. Don’t nobody suck dick as good as you.”

  Shanni licked Race’s heavy balls even more furiously. It drove her crazy to watch a man nearly pass out from her oral talents. “I know that’s right,” she bragged. “And I make sure I get a lot of practice.”

  Race chuckled under his breath. “I bet you do,” he commented. “Damn, you got that magic tongue. You even better than white girls.” He looked down at her out of shape body. While Shanni certainly wasn’t fat—yet—she was certainly on the way. Her sides were starting to spill out. The random scars all over her body just weren’t attractive. If he were drunk and hadn’t been having a good night,
he could easily get an erection and give it to her. Nonetheless, it was his birthday and he was going to make sure he had a good day. Getting some head in the morning from this dick-hungry chick was more than enough for him. “Just suck on it. Just slob on that dick like ain’t no otha dick in the world.”

  Shanni did as she was told, being driven by the pleasurable sounds that erupted out of Race’s mouth. She made sure to look up at his face every so often. And every so often, he’d look down and cheer her own, telling her how good she was. It wasn’t long before Shanni felt the palm of Race’s hand gripping the dome of her head.

  “I’m ‘bout to bust this birthday nut in your throat,” Race announced. His balls tensed up; his legs shook and became stiff. Soon, his head fell back into the pillows as he slowly pushed Shanni’s head all the way down until her nose was pressed into his pubic hair. She took a deep breath as he came in her mouth then pulled her head up, taking deep breaths to get herself back together.

  “Damn, nigga,” Shanni said. “Happy Birthday.”

  Race wiped the sweat away from his forehead and laughed. A warm, steady breeze came through at just the right moment. It rushed into the windows and over his body as his shrinking manhood lay over his leg.

  “What you gon’ do today?” Shanni asked.

  At this point, Race was coming down too fast to really entertain any sort of conversation with Shanni. She’d always been the kind of chick who wanted to talk after he’d had his orgasm. He shrugged and answered, “Shit, me and some boys gettin’ together. That’s all. When you gon’ be ready to go?”

  Shanni hopped up and got herself ready, realizing that she needed to get back to tending to her own life. She still couldn’t help but watch Race get up and get ready. Even when she’d been back in his age group, more than a decade ago at this point, she still hadn’t really had the chance to consistently hook up with a dude of the same caliber as Race. Not only did Race have swag and money, but he also had a nice body and would gladly call her back to come and perform oral sex.

  Race quickly shuffled Shanni out the door, promising that he’d hit her up when she could come over again. When he closed the door, a chuckle slipped out of his mouth and he shook his head. “Damn, that bitch like suckin’ dick,” he said to himself. He pulled the waist of his sweatpants out and looked inside at his glistening manhood. He wouldn’t be surprised if some of Shanni’s spit had dripped off and was running down his leg. “Fuck that felt good.”

  Race went back to the bed and finished smoking the blunt. Every time he looked around the bedroom, he couldn’t help but think about Imani. Over the last couple of days, she’d been sending threatening text messages to him, talking about how she was going to get him back in more ways than he knew. At first, he was a bit alarmed. But then he thought about Imani’s reputation and what kind of people she actually knew. The chances that she’d actually be able to get some guys that were bold enough together to come and get her was almost laughable.

  The more Race thought about Imani, the more he laughed at the idea of what her face must have looked like when she saw Maya rolling up. Race remembered all too fondly growing up with his sister and being able to look down the street from the front porch and see her wearing some girl out on the corner.

  “Let me hit Maya up and see what she doin’,” Race said, grabbing his phone. It was his birthday and knowing that Imani was going to have a fucked up day made him feel all the better. She’d gotten what she wanted—John’s big dick—and now she was going to have to pay the price.

  “Wassup?” Maya answered. “Happy Birthday!”

  “Thank you, thank you,” Race said. “Just woke up and was wonderin’ if you could do a little somethin’ for me as a birthday present.”

  “And what’s that?” Maya asked.

  “You think you can go see Imani again?” Race asked then chuckled. “You know, I was chillin’ here, smokin’ this weed when I first got up, and I was thinkin’ that maybe for my birthday, Imani would wanna see you.”

  Maya chuckled. “Race, boy, you cruel,” she said. “You know she gon’ probably kill herself from gettin’ that ass beat not once but twice in a week by me. You shoulda see the way the little bitch was screamin’ for mercy when I was wearin’ that ass out on the playground.”

  “I bet,” Race said. “But, you see, here is my thing. She come textin’ me talkin’ about how she gon’ get me back and shit.”

  “Get you back for what, Race?” Maya asked. “That bitch was up in y’all place, suckin’ on some otha nigga dick and fuckin’. What the fuck she got to get you back for? What the fuck you do wrong?”

  “Not a damn thing,” Race said. “And that’s why I’m like how the fuck you gon’ be hittin’ me up talkin’ about you gon’ get me back and shit when you was the one fuckin’ some otha nigga. I swear, I shoulda listened to y’all when you was try’na tell me that that bitch was no fuckin’ good. She a fuckin’ hoe, I swear.”

  “All right, for your birthday I’ll do it,” Maya said. “I don’t know when that bitch gon’ learn that she don’t need to come after my brother like that cause that’s how she gon’ wind up keep gettin’ that ass beat. If she want somebody to feel sorry for that ass, then maybe she need to go fuckin’ talk to whatever nigga she was fuckin’ around with that night you walked in on her hoe ass and then she’ll see. Over here, you see, we don’t give two fucks, swear to God.”

  Race laughed, loving how confident his sister was. “You gon’ come through tonight at the Blue Light?” he asked. “I know you ain’t forgot that a couple of my niggas is throwin’ a birthday party there for me. Gotta warn you, though, that there gon’ be some strippers there, so if you don’t wanna see big clappin’ asses then don’t come.”

  Maya laughed. “Oh, don’t worry,” she said. “I’mma come through for a minute. I might not stay there the whole night, cause you know some bitch might say somethin’ wrong to me and make me have to beat her ass in front of everybody, but I’mma come through.”

  “Coo,” Race said. “And make sure you let me know when you go and see Imani.”

  “You think she still over in them apartments, with her sister or whoever the fuck that was?” Maya asked.

  “Shit if I know,” Race answered. “But you know what her car look like. If you roll over there and you don’t see her car, then don’t worry about it. But, if you can catch up with that bitch and fuck her up real good on my birthday so she’ll really remember how bad she fucked up, then even better. Shit, if you can get that shit on tape, it would be even better.”

  Maya chuckled. “All right, Race,” she said. “All right. I’ll see. I’ll hit you up and let you know what the fuck happened. Shit, I can’t even lie, man. It was kinda fun whoopin’ that ass. I’mma really make her cry, and I’mma try to get the shit on tape.”

  Race hung up feeling rather smug about the situation. Knowing that Imani was going to go through another ass whooping today really put a pep in his step. Now, for the rest of the day, he was going to chill until it was time to head to the party. He’d gone up the mall yesterday and had bought the perfect outfit. Furthermore, he’d already made sure the apartment was cleaned and put together. If his luck was right tonight, and he suspected that it was, he was going to be walking through the door after the party with two big booty strippers who would love to have a good time with him all night long.

  ***

  The first time Maya rolled around Jasmine’s apartment complex, Imani’s car hadn’t been parked out front. She cursed then went about her day, going to hang out with some of her girls. When they were out, going here and there, Maya decided to ride back by the apartment complex and see if Imani was there. As luck would have it, Imani’s car was parked right out front of where she’d taken the beaten from Maya. Maya went ahead and pulled into a spot, telling the three girls with her what the deal was.

  “How you gon’ get her to come out?” one friend asked. “Girl, you not gon’ just walk up to the door and beat her ass when you
answer, are you? You don’t even know if she gon’ answer.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Maya asked. “And there’s kids in there. I hated havin’ to beat the bitch’s ass in front of some kids, but oh well. Fuck that bitch. Let me see what I can do to get her to come out and get that ass beat again.” She paused for a moment, giving some thought to the matter. Just then, she saw one of the kids who’d been watching the fight come running out of a door. This gave Maya an idea.

  “Hold up,” she said.

  Maya climbed out of the car and waited for the little boy to come running out to the playground. When the kid got good and comfortable on the swings, Maya went and leaned against Imani’s car. She folded her arms and gazed out across the parking lot, knowing that it was only a matter of time before the little boy would go running into the house to inform his auntie that a woman was leaning against her car.

  Maya smiled when that very thing happened. The little boy went running in the house and not a minute later, Imani came to the door. The terrified look on her face said it all. Maya noticed and went charging, walking quickly, toward the door. The little boy rushed into the house and the door shut. May walked up to it and knocked with her big fists.

  “Bitch, come on out here and get that ass beat again!” Maya yelled. “Get that ass out here so I can beat that ass right now! Come on!” Maya waited a long couple of minutes, eventually seeing that she was being ignored. “Okay, you gon’ act like you don’t hear me. Okay, I’mma make sure that you hear me you scary bitch!”

  Maya turned around and rushed back out to Imani’s car. She started kicking the sides then used her elbow to break one of the windows. Even though it hurt at first, hearing the sound of shattering glass travel across the apartment complex brought about a sense of accomplishment. After breaking the front driver side window, Maya marched right on around to the other side. Just as she was preparing to break that window, the front door opened and Imani came rushing out with her sister. The two chicks walked with their fists at their sides, looking as if they were about to join forces and take over the world. Maya snickered and mumbled, “This shit gon’ be easy. These bitches is fuckin’ simple.”