That Bona Fide Hood Love

by Shvonne Latrice

  Exhaling heavily, he responded, “I don’t want to be. I just don’t get how you could do this to me. She was my girl. So now every time I bring a woman around, I have to be worried that my own brother will take her?”

  “Jamal, quit acting like you were in love with Kasslyn. She was a fucking chess piece in yo’ stupid ass game, and she deserves better than that. You know damn well if you brought a bitch around that you were really fucking with, I wouldn’t even look her fucking way.”

  “How do I know!” He hopped up.

  “Because I just fucking told you! I ain’t never in my life pressed up on a female you was interested in! But with Kasslyn, I know you, and I knew you wasn’t feeling her like you claimed. Shit happened, and I started to give a fuck about her ass, so I wasn’t gon’ let you do her dirty!”

  Jamal began pacing, lips tight and hands at his waistline. Little nigga was angry. Shit was comical because he wasn’t about to move nothing.

  “Bro, you say I don’t know her, neither do you.”

  “I know more than you do. You couldn’t tell me shit about her background.”

  “That was then.”

  “Okay, where are her parents?” I frowned, crossing my hands at my waist.

  “Gone.” He waved off nonchalantly. “Dead. Her mama died of cancer or something.”

  I chuckled.

  “Exactly. Let this shit go, and we’ll have peace. Otherwise, shit is gon’ get worse, and Jamal, you already know you’ll come out losing. That’s how it’s always been, right, bruh?” I gave him a half smile, enjoying the sight of him seething.

  “You’re right. I’ll let it go.” He sat back down behind his desk. “Our relationship as brothers is more important to me than a woman I have no real connection with.”

  “Smart man.” I turned to leave.

  “And since I’m your brother, and I love you… and since you do have genuine feelings for Miss Collins, I guess it’s right I tell you that it was my idea she lie about her sexual status.”

  Whipping back around to face him, I frowned. “What?”

  “About her being a virgin. Yeah, see, I knew if we told the truth, which is that she’s not virginal at all, you, Mom, Dad, and everyone else would shame me. So… we lied.”

  “You’ll say anything, won’t you?” I shook my head at his lying ass.

  “Fine. You don’t believe your own blood, why don’t you ask her?”

  Declining to say anything, I left Jamal’s office before I hauled off and beat his ass. No way he was telling the fucking truth. I’d been all up in that pussy, and if it wasn’t some virgin shit, then baby girl hadn’t been touched in shit… years. I knew not every girl bled everywhere and all that shit, so there was no real way for me to tell. I just believed her, and the fact that Jane told me to her knowledge Kasslyn hadn’t fucked her clients. Jane’s ass had no reason to lie.

  I’d fucked plenty of bitches, virgins included, and Kasslyn seemed no different from them, even her mannerisms in bed from when I first smashed her.

  “Nah.” I shook my head as I entered my office, closing the door behind myself.

  I wasn’t about to let Jamal fuck with my head.

  Just three nights later…

  Tonight, Kasslyn and I were out to dinner. Even though we’d been fucking around for a nice while now, this was only the second time we’d actually been somewhere nice. I’d even given her my card so she could hit the nail shop, salon, and shop a little bit. Shit was crazy how I had no issue spoiling Kasslyn, giving her whatever the fuck she wanted.

  Don’t get it twisted; I was never the type of nigga to be selfish with my bitches. I’d given both Everly and Rhea gifts here and there, since a lot of shit was simply chump change to me. But with Kasslyn, I was much more generous because a nigga wanted to be. Everly and Rhea usually asked me for shit, or hinted at a bag or a pair of shoes that had caught their eye.

  “You did all this for me?” I smirked before sipping my drink.

  Batting her eyelashes as the restaurant’s dim lights illuminated her mocha complexion, Kasslyn replied, “Of course, who else?”

  “That’s the right answer.” I took her hand to kiss the back of it. “I think it’s time you switch places with Jamal.”

  “Meaning?”

  “You come live with me in the main house, and he can go back to the guest house.”

  “Is he gonna be okay with that?”

  “Don’t matter; that’s my house, and you mine. Right?”

  “Yes.” She gave me that shy smile before eating more of her food. “When I first met you, I thought we’d end up in a knife fight, not this.”

  “Nah. You knew you wanted to sit on this dick.”

  “Nigga, please. The last thing I wanted was some dick.”

  Her comment made me think about what Jamal had said earlier. That was a statement a virgin would make… right?

  I had to close my eyes briefly to rid my mind of its current thoughts. I was doing just what my brother wanted me to; doubting Kasslyn and looking at her ass sideways on the low.

  “Yeah, but now yo’ ass is addicted.”

  “I plead the fifth.”

  We laughed in unison, just as a figure approached our table. Kasslyn and I both looked up to see Rhea standing there, angry as hell. She was glaring down at Kasslyn, shaking her head as if she’d betrayed her in some damn way.

  “Rhea,” Kasslyn and I said at the same time.

  “How the fuck you know her?” I pointed to Rhea, talking to Kasslyn.

  “How do you know her?” Kasslyn retorted, cocking her head, wearing a confused look.

  “He knows me because I am his girlfriend!” Rhea hissed. “And she’s one of my clients! I thought we were friends! How dare you fuck with my man!” Rhea snatched Kasslyn up by her hair, and the two women began to tussle.

  I knew Kasslyn wasn’t the fighting type, so I quickly got up to break them apart but was surprised to see Rhea on the losing end.

  “Oh my gosh!” Another patron hollered as Kasslyn and Rhea crashed down onto her muthafuckin table.

  Kasslyn was wearing Rhea’s face out, until I grabbed her ass and yanked her away.

  “You stupid bitch! I am pregnant with his baby and you try to fight me!” Rhea shouted, teeth covered in her blood.

  “Rhea, get yo’ ignorant ass up!” I barked, placing Kasslyn to her feet. I felt her looking at me, I guess wanting answers to what Rhea had just revealed, but this wasn’t the time. “Go to the car, Kasslyn.”

  “Go to the car? Oh, so you pick her over the mother of your child?” Rhea was acting a fucking plum fool in the middle of this restaurant. Every fucking day she reminded me why I would never wife her stupid ass.

  “You ain’t the mother of my fucking child bitch, and stay yo’ ass away from me from now on.” I started escorting Kasslyn out who’d been quiet, so I guess she was in shock.

  “I hope she leaves you for the nigga she was hugged up in the club with! Elliot! That’s her real man!” Rhea shouted at my back as we left.

  The fuck?

  Kasslyn

  After hearing what Rhea shouted, I noticed a shift in Kaseem’s demeanor as he continued walking me to the car. I wanted to say something, but honestly, I was still in a bit of shock that the man Rhea had been venting about all this time was Kaseem.

  Here I was, damn near head over heels for him, and she was carrying his child. I should’ve taken my ass back to Jane when I initially wanted to.

  I wasn’t a fighter; however, I did know how to fight and well. But I felt bad for fucking Rhea up the way I had. I liked her, and she was pregnant, but she forced me to knock her ass upside the head when she grabbed my hair.

  Growing up, I was always the one to try and walk away, no matter how disrespectful the person was, but once you touched me, I was going to beat your ass.

  “Is it true?” I asked once we were in the car and Kaseem was pulling off.

  He didn’t say anything; he just turned his music up and sped
through the streets. For a moment, I thought he was going to kill us, but somehow, he made every stoplight and didn’t mow over any cars or pedestrians in this Maserati.

  He seemed incredibly angry, to the point where I was now terrified to say anything to him, even though I was pissed too.

  We got home thirty minutes and some change later, and once out of the car, I tried to head back to the guesthouse.

  “Come here,” Kaseem stated seriously, so I followed him into the main house, and up to his large bedroom.

  I’d only been in here twice, and I was amazed by its size and decor every single time like it was the first visit. This man was balling.

  “Kaseem, is what she said true?”

  “What?” He frowned deeply. “Hell nah she ain’t having my fucking baby!”

  “So you haven’t been sleeping with her? It’s not possible?”

  “It’s not possible because I haven’t fucked her raw in a minute.” His jaw twitched as he stared down at me. His handsome face was beyond perfect.

  “So that’s the only reason it’s not possible? You’ve fucked her since you’ve been heavily dealing with me?”

  “I don’t see the problem, Kasslyn. I deal with you, but we ain’t exclusive. I can fuck whomever I want when I want to.”

  My neck jerked subtly because I was genuinely puzzled. I had the complete wrong idea this whole time, and I was a bit embarrassed about it.

  “So you’ve been having sex with Everly, Alexis, Rhea, and me… this whole time?” I did my best to keep my voice from trembling as my eyes began to drip. I immediately wiped the lone tear, not wanting to appear weak.

  “Kasslyn—”

  “Answer the question.” I stepped back when he neared me.

  “Yeah, fuck you want me to say? I just told yo’ ass we ain’t exclusive! Plus, I’ve only been with you lately.”

  “Okay, that’s good to know.” I whipped my body around to exit the bedroom.

  “So you mad?” He got in front of me, blocking the door. “Who the fuck is Elliot?”

  “An ex!”

  “Did you fuck him?”

  “Why?” I was still trying to get around him. I didn’t know why I was trying when his solid ass was hard to move.

  “Because you told me you was a muthafuckin virgin, but now I’m thinking otherwise.”

  Twiddling my thumbs, I stared down at my fresh acrylic nails before peering back up into Kaseem’s hooded eyes. He was upset, and so was I, but I was also afraid to admit the truth.

  “Yes.” I spoke so lowly that I was sure he didn’t hear me.

  “Speak up.”

  “Yes. I had sex with him, but I was seventeen years old, and it was years ago. I haven’t been with anybody since.”

  “So you ain’t think to mention that you lied.” He nodded, laughing a tiny bit as he finally moved away from the door.

  “I thought you knew,” I lied… again.

  “How!” he roared, making me jump. “How the fuck would I know! I’m going off what the fuck yo’ ass is telling me!”

  “So now you don’t like me because I’m not a virgin? You’re the one hoeing around fucking town!”

  “I don’t give a fuck if a bitch is a virgin or not! I’m pissed that yo’ ass lied about the shit because now I don’t trust yo’ ass!” His glare was so intense that it rendered me speechless.

  “You lied too!”

  “About what, Kasslyn? Huh? I never once said that you were my girl and that I was only fucking you. Nah. But you told me multiple fucking times that I was the only nigga to ever fuck you.”

  “I didn’t want you to be mad… I’m sorry! It was Jamal’s idea to lie.”

  “Yeah, and it was yours to keep the shit going. You can go back to the guesthouse, Kasslyn. Fuck what I said earlier.”

  My feet were stuck as tears trailed my cheeks.

  “Kaseem, it doesn’t matter really. What matters is that it’s only been you lately. And like you said, it’s only been me lately.”

  “Kasslyn, even if I did want to be exclusive, you’re a fucking liar, and I can’t be with a female I don’t trust. So get up out of here.” With that said, he walked off to the bathroom within his room and shut the door.

  For ten minutes straight it seemed, I stood there not knowing what to do. Finally, I left the bedroom and went back to the guesthouse to cry myself to sleep.

  After submitting my portfolio, a little bit ago, I was accepted into design school. I was so happy about it and thankful that I would have something to keep my mind off of the drama that surrounded me. I’d just finished picking the classes I would be taking, so to celebrate, Leila and I were going to go have a fancy lunch.

  “Okay, so how long before you get rich off of this shit?” Leila quizzed as she twirled her fettuccine onto her fork. I had the same thing but with chicken and shrimp. I was starving and willing to spend the extra cash.

  “Not sure.” I giggled. “But ever since I did the design for Opulence, I made a website for myself and added that to my portfolio. I’ve been getting quite a few email inquiries about work.”

  “Okay then, Kasslyn Collins. Don’t forget me on your way up.” Leila tossed her new strawberry blonde wig.

  “I know you don’t plan on working for Jane forever.”

  “Actually, I do, at least until I meet a paid sucker like Jamal who is willing to marry me without even knowing me.”

  “No, Leila, you can get your own money.”

  “How, Kasslyn? I’m not smart, and I don’t have a talent like you do. You’re a phenomenal designer, and that’s something you can make plenty of money off of. Me on the other hand, my only talent is riding dick and talking shit.”

  We both burst into laughter, but it ceased as I began to think about what Leila was saying. I loved her, and I didn’t want her continuing this lifestyle forever. She was always cheering me on, but never herself.

  “Well, maybe you can be like my assistant or something, until you figure things out. We all have a talent, we just have to figure out what it is.”

  “Will this assistant job pay me $8,000 a week?”

  “Damn, bitch. That’s how much you make working for Jane? I only made half that, before giving her, her cut.”

  “That’s because you weren’t giving up the pussy.”

  “Shit. Well then yeah, stay your ass over there until I get rich.”

  We doubled over in laughter before continuing to eat our food.

  Once we had dessert, we paid and then did a little bit of shopping, both buying one another gifts from Louis Vuitton. We always did stuff like that, and the stores always differed.

  When our feet began to hurt from being out, I invited Leila back to Kaseem’s place so we could relax in the guesthouse. She agreed to spend the night, which I was excited about.

  “Ooh, so many wine choices.” Leila took a bottle out, examining it. “Can we open this one?”

  “Yep, of course.” I nodded. I didn’t know if we could since it belonged to Kaseem, but fuck him. We hadn’t talked in days.

  I grabbed some wine glasses from the cabinet as Leila worked the cork and then popped it. Once we filled our glasses, we returned to the living room, cut the fake fireplace on, and relaxed.

  “You okay?” Leila quizzed, because after I took a gulp of the wine, I felt like it was going to come up.

  I was about to respond, but I knew I was about to vomit, so I jumped to my feet and raced to the side bathroom since it was closest.

  Dropping to my knees, I hugged the toilet and puked my guts out right into it. When done, I noticed Leila nearby, pulling my hair into a ponytail.

  “Was that wine spoiled?” I groaned, wiping my mouth with some of the tissue from the roll.

  “Honey, wine doesn’t spoil; it actually tastes better the longer you don’t open it.” Leila caressing my head felt so good. “Are you sure it’s not anything else?”

  “Anything else like what?” I whined, eyes closed, and enjoying the soothing feel of he
r rubbing my head.

  “Like a baby.”

  “What?” I quickly snapped out of my illness so I could stand up. “No, what the fuck?” I cut the water on to rinse my mouth, before storming out so I could go to the main bathroom where my mouth utensils were.

  Leila followed me, standing in the doorway as I began to brush my teeth.

  “I mean, you told me you had sex with Kaseem.”

  “And? I had sex with Elliot back in the day too. Doesn’t mean I was pregnant when I threw up.”

  “True, but you didn’t have unprotected sex. Let’s just check to be sure.”

  I rinsed with mouthwash then spit it out before saying, “Okay. I’ll do it so I can shut your ass up.”

  She chuckled as we returned to the living room to put back on our shoes.

  We went straight to CVS Pharmacy, got the tests, and then came back where I took them. I already had to pee since I hadn’t done so for a minute.

  “Okay, time’s up. Let’s go look.”

  “Happily.” I pranced to the bathroom to check the tests, and what I saw made my mouth dry up and my stomach cramp.

  “Oh shit.” Leila came and stood next to me. “Well at least he’s rich.”

  “Leila, money doesn’t mean anything.” I scooped one of the tests up for a better look as if the result on it would change.

  “You told me you loved him, and you think he feels the same way.”

  Leila’s statement made me remember how out of the loop and stupid I was to think Kaseem loved me. How foolish was I to think he and I were some Romeo and Juliet when I was nothing but an addition to his long list of bitches.

  “He doesn’t love me.” I sat down on the closed toilet top, staring at the hamper across from me.

  “He said so?”

  “Basically. He has other women that he’s seeing as well, and one of them claims to be pregnant by him.”

  “Claims? What the fuck he say?” Leila folded her arms.

  “Yeah, claims. He says it’s not the case, but it’s Rhea.”

  “The bitch from the club? What kind of soap opera shit is this, Kasslyn?”

  “I had no idea she even knew Kaseem, Leila. And when I tried to discuss this possible baby, we somehow moved to the topic of me lying about being a virgin.”