by Love Belvin
“I moved some things around and made sure Mrs. Jacobs avails herself. I’m in there, man. Proud of you.”
I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. “Cool. Later.”
“I’ll hit you when Washington hits me.”
I nodded again then ended the call. A limo pulled up and I moved outside the garage after hitting a button to close the door behind me. The car rolled up closer and I pushed my phone into my pocket. I could hear a Young Lord track banging against the pads inside, making me grateful my house was empty tonight. April was in South Jersey, checking on her crib. Jade and Kyree were by Lashawn’s house, having her weave installed.
Whatever that means…
The driver hopped out and jogged to the back door near me.
He nodded. “Mr. Bailey, sir.”
I nodded in return before stepping toward him. The moment he opened the door I heard raw lyrics blasting from the speakers.
“Bitches be the set up…get wet up…
Let you nut up…then burn you the fuck up.
They seduce you with that shit…
Stroke ya dick…then have they hands all up in ya pocket.
Shit, I know we all got our hustle and I ain’t tryna knock it.
But to the crack bitch, groupie bitch—and corny bitches, y’all be the same…
Stay the fuck out my hustle because, man, all y’all be fuckin’ lame.”
As a saved man, I now struggled with lyrics like these. I hadn’t felt that way about women in years. But I didn’t judge, because I understood the mentality. Young also went hard with them. He poured his soul in those lines. I had to respect him, even if I was no longer there emotionally. Dude was that dope.
The track had me crunked in no time as I hopped in the limo. I ducked and crawled inside until I saw an empty bench. Something inside of me loosened as I realized I was “off” of work and would be chilling with my woardie tonight.
“Oh, shit!” was yelled over the music. “Prayer boy’s out this bitch to play tonight!”
It was like slow motion as my eyes rolled from the two sets of legs on the other side of the car. At first they hit StentRo, who was smiling so wide, his eyes disappeared as he looked to his left, but down. My eyes followed his.
“You can’t avoid a nigga that’s in your face, homie! Ha!” He laughed with his tongue hanging from his mouth and eyes wide.
Alton Alston…
I had no idea what expression I made, but it got him amped.
“The fuck is wrong with you, bro? I gotta a wife; I get it. When ya period come on, it fucks with your mood. But I gave you two months and ya pussy should be dry by now.”
“The hell’s this dude talkin’ ‘bout, TB?” StentRo laughed as he spoke, believing Al was just being Al.
“Lemme get this nigga a drink,” Alton yelled before turning to the bar and grabbing a glass.
StentRo had one in his hand already. He looked tipsy already, too. I guess he would be. It was close to midnight. No way he’d just come from across the road. They had to have been in the streets already.
“Yo,” I spoke to StentRo. “You ain’t tell me this clown was coming, or else I woulda taken a raincheck.”
As soon as StentRo’s head went back in laughter, Alton was handing me a glass of Mauve he’d just poured while shouting angrily. “Hold the hell up, yo! You really beefin’ with me, bro? You really that petty?”
My face screwed. “Fuck you mean, am I that petty? Bitch, you petty…getting in the middle of something that died mad years ago. What man partners with a female to try to seduce another man to get with her again? That’s some maxi-pad-wearing bullshit!”
StentRo shook his head before taking another sip.
“Hold up!” Alton had to laugh at himself. “Why it gotta be seduction? Sounds to me like she just want to be cool again. What’s wrong with being friends. Church dudes can’t have sexy friends nowadays?” His eyes skirted to StentRo next to him.
I spit out air, blowing him off. My eyes went to the window and I took a long gulp. I needed to. Alton was about to have me spazz on his little ass, the last thing I needed before going into the fast I’d committed to next week.
“Oh, you ain’t got no words for me now?” Alton asked, rocking a slick smirk on his face. He took a sip of his drink before I cut my eyes again. “I tell StentRo to clear the night so we can celebrate your born day we missed last week ‘cause of our last game in Indiana, and this how you treat me?” He backhanded StentRo’s chest to reference him. “This nigga nice and retired and it’s me making sure tonight happened. Not him. He gets to travel, smile, and lotion them ashy ass tats to flex for the cameras. I’m still grinding, but found the time to plan a guy’s night out for your birthday, bro!”
“You keep with them lies, don’t you?” StentRo sputtered as he busted out laughing.
I took a deep breath before tossing back more. I wasn’t expecting Al. A couple of weeks ago, StentRo asked me to chill tonight to celebrate my birthday. I thought it was weird. We didn’t hang out for birthdays, exactly. Unless somebody had a party, we wouldn’t take each other out. That was left to Zoey now that he was married. I was actually up in Connecticut on my actual birthday last week. I had a meeting with the coaches and knocked out a few community outreach obligations up there.
“I’m just saying, man,” Alton huffed. “You act like I was tryna hook you up with a stranger. It’s Brielle, man!” His hand went into the air. “What’s the big deal?”
For the first time tonight, I saw Stenton’s eyes. “Oh, this is serious?”
Yes!
I leaned toward him in the moving car. “The big fuckin’ deal is ain’t nobody beat for Brielle.”
“Oh!” Alton covered his mouth while his eyes went wild with humor. “Don’t act like you ain’t that same dude I walked in on riding her damn face with your cock down her throat, beating next to her heart!” My eyes rolled over to the window again. StentRo cracked up, shaking his head. Alton turned to him. “You know what I mean? This nigga acting like he ain’t know reaching all the way down there, tapping against her heart wasn’t gone have her ass crazy in the head for life.” Alton reached for a handshake.
StentRo waved him off, not rocking with him on this.
“Oh, you trippin’ on this petty shit, too, I see,” he told Stenton.
“I ain’t trippin’, man. You are!” StentRo screamed on him. “Dude got a for real lady at the crib. A fiancée, dumbass.” He laughed less, understanding the gravity of this situation.
“Nah, man!” Alton got louder again. “It’s a fiancée, but it ain’t a damn wife yet! I got the invitation and all. Trust me, homie. Have as much fun as you can before them cuffs click locked. Take it from us.” He blew out air as he sat back, shaking his head. Alton took a pull from his glass and before he could swallow it, he was sitting up again, face screwed as he tried to speak. “Why’re you trippin’ on B anyway. If you ain’t down, just say so. The girl said you won’t even open her DMs from her low key profile.”
I took the last swallow of my Mauve as I watched him with cold eyes. Alton watched, unmoving. StentRo scrolled down his phone.
“Because my wife would have my ass.”
“Nigga, engagement don’t make you married. You rushing into this shit too fast, man. Trust me!”
“You think I’m stupid?” I spat. “You heard what I said. She’s my wife, not my fiancée.”
Stenton’s head shot up from his phone like a cannonball. Alton’s head dropped, but eyes never left me.
All that could be heard around the car was Wale’s “Clappers,” definitely not setting the mood.
“You serious?”
“Very.” I kept my eyes locked onto his. In my peripheral, StentRo’s head hit the back of the chair and he slapped his face. That’s when I realized I’d let it slip. “It’s on the low.”
Alton’s eyes never left mine. “Shit, bro. When the hell did this happen?”
“Yeah!” Stenton pushed out. “Like…under my nose, dawg?
”
I moved to pour more brandy. The music was lowered.
“November,” my voice was low.
“Where?”
“How?”
They asked back to back. I didn’t want to get into it. The last thing I expected tonight was to talk about my marriage, especially because I didn’t exactly know if I was—legally. It wasn’t too much I’d share. Jade and I agreed to keep it on the low. I’d just blown up our spot.
After taking a big gulp, I muttered, “Macen Beach. Private.”
My eyes went back to the window where I saw we’d just hit the Lincoln Tunnel.
“Wait. Ez know about this?” Stenton’s forehead was wrinkled.
“He made it happen. Him and Lex.” That was it. I didn’t want to say more.
“Wow!” Alton looked dazed as he whistled. “Niggas getting drive thru weddings and shit.” He turned to StentRo. “Ya pastor about that express wedding life, huhn? First you and Zo; now TB and Jada.”
Stenton laughed, going back to cheeks and eyelashes. “Yo, Jade’s gone serve you up a fade if you ‘on’t get her name right, kid.”
Alton’s face fell and he turned toward me. “I did. I never get her name wrong. Right, TB?”
I just shook my head. “Well, now that you know how much damage you’re doing to my life by giving out my number and asking her to come to ya birthday party, maybe you can grow a brain and stop.”
“Yo!” he piped up. “Let’s not even talk about how much that fucked up my birthday. Brielle ain’t never nowhere randomly. I ‘on’t care how cool her and Nisha is. I was supposed to have her and Young Lord perform. They were gonna do that cut, “Sun Showers,” together until you text me with threats and shit.” He had the nerve to look mad.
I was more than mad when I had to diffuse a situation before Jade got wind of it in Philly. Now that I knew she was pregnant that night, it made me that much more upset with dude that he would play around like that.
“Just don’t do that shit again,” I warned. “Yo, Al, man, we go way back. You like to joke around and even go too far at times, and I take it on the chin. All them church and crying jokes, I’ll eat. But when it comes to Jade, we can cross over into a new territory that ain’t no coming back from.”
“Word,” StentRo added.
Like he was sucker punched from behind, Alton’s neck whipped to face him. Just when I thought a wisecrack was coming, he looked at me again, then StentRo.
“I’m feeling judged right now. Y’all think because me and Nisha go through our bullshit, I’m the bad guy now? I’m the fucking bad seed because of how I choose to handle my stress? The Bible says don’t judge or you’ll be judged!” His finger was in the air.
“It also says, ‘What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder’.” StentRo hit with the scripture.
“Word.”
Alton’s eyes bounced between the two of us and we waited for it.
“Man, fuck y’all bitches. Sensitive ass pussies. Me and Nisha gone be alright. I just gotta get my shit together first,” he whined defensively.
My eyes rolled back to the outside view. Then they scanned all the windows so I could get a good view of the City.
“Yo, where’re we going? I thought we were going to the Boogie Down.” My eyes roamed the streets of Harlem.
“Nah. There’s this spot right off Lennox I wanna check out,” StentRo answered. “Supposed to be litty.”
I cocked my head to the side at Al. He snapped out of his funk and caught on quickly.
“Man, listen!” he yelled. “I’m trying to get my soul right from lies I’ve told over the years and you wanna bring up a tiny one I told a few seconds ago?”
I shook my head before swallowing back the rest of the Mauve. The guys did the same and we eventually pulled up to a club, ready to hop out. I’d never been to this spot before and it didn’t seem that popping, judging by the emptiness on the street. That’s when it hit me.
“Got three professional athletes in here and not one piece of armor?” I referred to the lack of security.
Alton waved me off and moved to the door being opened. “Man, ya CMD ass don’t need no security. You ain’t got hands no more? I know prison ain’t soften your blows, my nigga.”
He was out the door before I could respond—if I wanted to. I stopped reacting to Al and his tomfoolery a long time ago, learning how to pay him no mind.
StentRo went after him, snickering. He was definitely tipsy. In fact, so was I. I hadn’t had a drink in weeks. That Mauve hit me hard and fast on the ride over. I was…nice as the cool spring air hit me. It was a little crisp, but nothing I couldn’t handle in the Gucci leather bomber jacket Jade laid out for me to wear tonight. It was loud with too bright colors, but I decided to roll with it. It was weird being dressed by my old lady. I also understood it was a part of her job.
“Yo, this a private party or something?” I asked, following them into a side door, down a short and narrow alley.
“Something like that,” StentRo answered with a blank face before pulling open a big metal door.
I wanted to ask for an explanation, but got too curious when we were hit with a black curtain. StentRo walked through first, Al followed, and I was last in line. It was dark and…quiet as hell. This was getting weird.
StentRo led us to another door. This one was glass inside an aluminum frame with black paint covering it from top to bottom, so you couldn’t see through it. He banged twice with his fist. My eyes flew open.
Are we in a private sex club?
I heard how Stenton got down in his single days with sex clubs and ropes and cuffs. He’d even confirmed it since I’d been home and we’d gotten tighter. But not Alton. He wasn’t into kink. Why would he bring Al and me to something like this?
It ain’t my bachelor party…
Or was it?
The door opened and StentRo moved through without hesitation or words. Al followed him. I couldn’t leave my boys in case something went down, but if we survived this—
A record scratched from the speakers. The lights went up: red, purple, and blue.
“SURPRISE!” a crowd yelled together, at once, scaring the shit out of me.
The record scratched again. “Y’all make some noise for the birthday boy, Trent ‘TB’ Bailey!” That loud, hyped voice had me jumping again, my heartbeat on speed.
The lights flashed, giving me chopped views of the inside and the two levels of bodies swarming around. Two Tons O’ Fun’s “Just Us” flowed hard from all over the building, the bass beating against my chest.
I felt someone grab me, pulling my shoulders down. I dropped my eyes and saw Alton’s arms.
“Happy birthday, bro!” he tried over the music. “Love you, man.”
Before I could think of a response to his moodiness, my shoulder was clutched. I looked over and saw StentRo smiling with chinky eyes. He was nice off that Mauve. He handed me a glass of bubbly and clanked his against mine, telling me to drink up. I peeped Zoey approaching him from the back, but smiling happily at me when she wrapped her arms around his waist. My other shoulder was smacked. I turned to find Jordan there, mocking my reaction to this…apparent surprise party.
“You looked about to shit ya pants, man!” he mimicked my response to the surprise again before embracing me.
I had to laugh at myself. I was still shocked. Stunned really. Between the crazy lights, pumped up crowd, ear-splitting music, and my little buzz, I was dazed.
Before I could respond, I felt a tap on my back and turned around. April rushed into my arms. I guessed at some point, Alton left.
“You looked to be in a state of damn shock!” she screamed.
I was. Couldn’t even speak. I saw a few of my cousins behind her, waiting to greet me.
“Kev and Marcey!” I shouted, reaching down for a hug.
I was happy to see them and even joked about them being old enough to be in the club with me now. This was crazy.
The deejay cut
the record again. “Let’s give my man some love for his born day!”
My shoulder was grabbed again. Guys from my team gathered around me and started the CK chant.
“What is a King?
Sit down, let me tell you while you polish this crown.
Dedication, leadership, skills, and no fear!
We prowl the field, slay a panther, and devour bears…”
Chests were pounded, shoulders were knocked together, and their voices matched the music pouring from the speakers. It felt like Greek fraternity behavior. Before they were done, I was handed a shot of something. I swallowed it back because it was brown, even though I still had champagne in my right hand.
Coach Lou walked up, wearing a goofy smile. “Your paranoid ass almost peed your pants.” He laughed before hugging me. “Happy birthday, TB. One of the best to ever do it.”
Wow…
That meant a lot. Lou never got sentimental; it struck something in my chest to hear that. A slew of my coaches underneath him were next to show love. Still in a state of shock, I spoke to all of them. Finally, Eli walked up with his wife, Mel.
“Trent!” he sang proudly, extending his arms for a hug. When we did, he made sure I heard, “Happy birthday, son, and many returns. Couldn’t be more proud of you.”
He pulled back, patted the side of my beard, then stepped aside to let Mel give the same greeting. After them were some of my legal people: Chesney’s staff, and accountants. I fought through my stupor to receive their love and return it. I hugged more people than I could count. It was like I was moving down the line. The weird thing about it was me growing tipsier by the second, but still feeling this line of love wouldn’t end until I made it to the right person.
I found myself downstairs, at some point, still greeting people when I saw someone who made my neck snap back.
“Ah, man!” I shouted, laughing at the same time. “You gotta be kidding me!”
Divine walked over to me with his hand in the air, offering me love. With one shoulder, we dapped it up.
“Yeah,” he spoke close to my ear for privacy. “That was a close one.” He found it funny, too.
“But you said ya wife was calling you. I thought you meant in the next room, or something.” I was still shocked.