URBAN: What A Thug Wants

by Shantel Johnson

  “Sorry.”

  “You lucky I don’t pop on your ass right now, but we got things to do. Go back to the club. I’ll bring you there.”

  Giselle watched him slam the car door in her face. Janine looked so sad. When Martin walked around the car and was out of eyesight, she quickly waved goodbye to Giselle. Giselle waved back and watched the green car drive away.

  Chapter 8

  “Are you sure the car was green?” Antwon asked. Giselle had just came over to his place. As soon as she told Lionel what she saw, he thought the three of them should talk.

  “Yes, I’m sure.” Giselle nodded.

  “How sure?” Antwon asked again. When Giselle shot him a look that she was annoyed, he just shrugged his shoulders. “Look, if we’re going to do this, I’m going to make sure.”

  “The car was green.” She repeated herself. She turned to Lionel. “You know I’ve seen the car already with you. I know how it looks like. It was the exact same green car.”

  “Oh shit.” Antwon said quietly. “And it was with the girl with natural hair.”

  “No, she had long straight hair.” Giselle saw his face change. “But she could have put a relaxer. Or she could have flat ironed her hair.”

  “What is that?” Lionel and Antwon said at the same time.

  “I have an idea. Do you have a laptop?”

  They set the laptop down in front of her. After it booted up, she went straight to the internet. She got on Youtube and put in Janine’s screenname.

  “What are you looking for?” Lionel questioned.

  “She said that she was starting a youtube page. I’m just seeing if she set it up yet. If she did, then we know for sure it’s her. If not, then it could be Monique.”

  “Monique? Who the fuck is that?” Lionel held her shoulders.

  “Just someone who threatened to shoot me.” She answered.

  “Now that sounds like the bitch that set me up.”Antwon was convinced.

  “But she didn’t get into the green car.” Lionel pointed out.

  “Man, fuck the green car. I think it might be Monique.”

  “Did she upload any videos yet?”

  “No.” Giselle answered.

  Antwon got up and started pacing. He was so close to his answer. The fact that he had been shot and that he was almost killed constantly weighed on his mind.

  “That’s a sign.” He started to mumble. “It’s Monique.” He took out a cigarette and started smoking. He was still talking to himself. “It’s her. I know it’s her. That’s why the pictures haven’t popped up because it’s her.” He sounded more frantic and manic. Giselle and Lionel exchanged looks.

  “Let’s not get crazy here.” Lionel said. “Monique is not the stripper she saw hop in the green car.”

  “I just want to get this nigga that tried to kill me.”

  “I know son, but we can’t get the wrong dude.”

  “You’re right.”

  “I think I found a way to get her picture.”

  They came over and she explained that even though Janine didn’t upload any videos yet, she did have other information on there.

  “You see right here. She has links to her other social media. You know like Facebook and Instagram. What if she has pictures on there too?”

  “Let’s go.” Antwon rushed her. “I’m sorry, but you don’t know how much I need this. I’m not used to sitting back and waiting. I’m usually out there getting niggas myself. This nigga shoots me and I have to sit here and look shit up on a computer.”

  “We got to be smart about this.” Giselle suggested. She clicked on her facebook page, but it was locked and private. “Okay let’s try the link to her instagram.”

  Once she clicked on the link, Antwon jumped up. He got excited.

  “That’s her.” He pointed to the screen. “Look at the pic of her with that big ass hair. That’s her. Roll down a bit more.” When she did, he cursed out loud. “Motherfucker. That’s her on the day that I got shot.”

  “How do you know?” Lionel wondered.

  “Because look, it’s the same outfit from that night and it’s in front of the club. Shit, look at the weeks, it’s around the same time. Keep going through her pictures.” As she scrolled down some more, they saw a picture with her and some guys at a party. “Fuck! There goes that nigga that tried to put one in my head.”

  “That’s her boyfriend Martin.”

  “Good, now we need to know where they live.”

  Lionel and Giselle looked at each other again. Giselle wished that she never opened her mouth. She knew that Antwon can fly off the handle. Lionel told her story and just being in his presence sometimes, she could see that herself.

  “What are you going to do?” She kept scrolling down. “You just going to go over there and kill him? If you do that, that makes you no better than him.”

  “Yeah but if I do that, I’ll be more alive than him. I won't make the mistake that he did. I won’t leave him alive.” Antwon said and then his eyes opened wide. “Wait, what’s that right there.” He pointed to a picture of Martin and Janine in front of a building. “I know where that place is. I know that store behind them. This is in Bed Stuy.” Antwon threw his jacket on. “I’m out.”

  Lionel went after him but Antwon was almost already out. He caught up to him, but Antwon kept walking away.

  “What you bout to do son?” He asked his friend, but he already knew.

  “What the fuck? I’m about to go put a bullet in that dude. The fuck you think this is?” Antwon was shouting.

  “Is he there right now? Do you know where that dude is at?”

  “I’m going to pop up at that house and surprise the dude. Don’t try to calm me down.”

  “I got to. You not thinking straight right now. Look, let’s come up with a plan and do this right. From what it looks like, this dude ain’t right. So we have to plan things out.”

  Antwon rolled his eyes. He started to cool down. He knew his friend was right.

  “Okay.” He gave in.

  “So, how about you and me go get some drinks and think this all over.”

  “Just us boys?” Antwon looked back at the building. Giselle was coming down the steps. “You going to leave the wife at home?”

  “I think you and me can handle everything else. I’ll go drop her off and then you and me…”

  “You and me gonna plan it out.” Antwon finished the sentence. He walked back to the building. He said his goodbyes to Giselle and went back to his apartment.

  “Come on, let’s get a cab.”

  They hailed a cab and when they were seated inside, she started to touch Lionel. She rubbed on his crotch and started to tease him.

  “What are you doing?” His eyes lit up. “You’re trying to start something.”

  “I might.” She licked her lips. “Can I ask you a question?” She squeezed his growing erection.

  “Yes….” But he wasn’t really listening.

  “Am I just a booty call to you?’

  “What?” That snapped him out of his trance.

  “Am I just some ass for you to get?”

  Lionel was confused. He didn’t know where this was coming from. He thought that everything between them was going great. In fact, he was happy where they were going. She never complained, told him exactly how she felt, and when he asked for her help, she didn’t hesitate. So where was this coming from?

  “You already know how I feel about you. I tell you all the time that I care for you.”

  “But we never talk about our future.”

  “What do you see us doing?”

  “I see us doing something together, but we never talk about it.”

  “To be honest, with all that’s going on, I never got the chance to stop and talk about it. But I promise you, once we settle everything, we’re going to not only talk about it, but start making moves.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “I’m making enough money with Antwon so we don’t have to wor
ry about only relying on the money you're getting. Besides, Antwon was talking about going legit. From what it looks like, everything is going to fall into place. We just have to wait.”

  “I can wait.” She beamed. Everything looked like it was going to go well.

  The cab pulled up in front of their building. As they got out, Lionel spotted Ms. Rita stumbling around. He shook his head and started to walk towards the building. Giselle rolled her eyes and tried to steer clear from her. Everyone could see that she was high as a kite and knew about her attitude. So everyone just let her walk around.

  “That lady needs help.” Lionel commented.

  “You know what they say. The first step to progress is admitting that you have a problem. She’s not that type.”

  Then they saw the green car down the block. Lionel hid behind a car and pulled Giselle down. They watched Ms. Rita stumble to the car. She knocked on the window.

  “Martin is crazy. He’s going to kill that junkie.” Giselle whispered and Lionel nodded his head. Ms. Rita kept banging on the window and it finally rolled down. Someone handed her a paper bag. The car pulled away. Ms. Rita’s eyes opened wide and she ran inside the apartment building. She was running so fast that she didn’t even spot Giselle and Lionel.

  “What the fuck is going on?” Lionel asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Go back to the apartment.” Lionel suggested.

  “I’ll see what I can find out.”

  To see the same green car with Ms. Rita was driving them crazy. This whole situation was getting more and more out of hand, but they both wanted to know what was going on

  Giselle knocked on the door of the apartment. Laura opened the doors and signaled that she should be quiet.

  “Ms. Rita just came here on some bullshit. I told her to not get high here, but I just don’t have the strength to fight with her.” Laura told her.

  “She’s getting high?”

  “Yeah, she came here with a paper bag full of her fucking drugs.”

  “A paper bag?”

  “Uh huh. It’s weird though.”

  “Why?”

  “I didn’t give her no money and she doesn’t work.”

  “So where is she getting the money for it.” Giselle completed her thoughts. “I got to go.” She started walking away. “You have my cell phone number, right?”

  “Sure, you gave it to me some time back.”

  “Good. Call me when Ms. Rita leaves.”

  “Okay….”

  Giselle met Lionel in the hallway. She told him all that she saw and he just nodded his head along. He still didn’t know what was going on, but he knew not to tell Antwon when he saw him. Antwon would probably kick down the apartment door and kill Ms. Rita while trying to get information out of her. He started rubbing his head. He was getting a headache trying to figure everything out.

  “You know what will make you feel better?” She gave him a seductive look. He started to tell her no, but she kissed him. He was getting aroused and then she whispered in his ear, “Just a little taste.”

  “You know I got to meet my friend.”

  “Just a quick one.” She gave him that same stare. “Just to take your edge off.”

  “You’re better than that. I told you that you’re not a booty call, so I’m not going to treat you like one. I’m going to talk to my boy and then come back and do it right.” He kissed her nose.

  He made his way back outside and kept looking for the green car. He didn’t see it at all. What was it doing there? And what Ms. Rita had to do with it? He kept trying to think of a connection, but he was coming up short. He was back at Antwon’s place. He found Antwon there drinking beers.

  “No wife?”

  “Nope.” Lionel said but then looked away. “You know, I told myself that I wasn’t going to tell you but I don’t think I can keep it to myself.”

  “What’s up?”

  “I saw the green car again right in front of my building.”

  “The same green car.”

  “Yes, the same fucking one.” Lionel couldn’t believe it.

  “What the fuck is going on?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Antwon was about to get angry but then it hit him.

  “Oh shit.” He popped out of his seat. “I fucking got it.”

  “What is it?”

  “I wasn’t supposed to get shot that night.”

  “Yeah, you were supposed to get robbed.”

  “Nah, not even. I think the whole shit was for you.”

  “What?” Lionel made his way to Antwon’s fridge. He had a feeling that he would need a drink.

  “I don’t live at your building and that damn car was at your building. I think them niggas was after you.”

  “Then, why did you get shot? Why didn’t they shoot me?”

  “Because that night at the club, you left early with Giselle.”

  “So?”

  “I guess the plan was switched to me while you were gone.”

  A light bulb went off.

  “Maybe Ms. Rita set me up.” Lionel was thinking out loud.

  “People know we making money. I’m guessing them niggas gave her the opportunity and she took it. It’s easy to get a crackhead on your side.”

  “For real. All they had to do was toss her a couple of rocks and dollars.”

  “You know one time I gave her some drugs, just to get her off my back.”

  “She probably been keeping an eye on you since then. Or maybe your name came up and she was willing to give you up.”

  “So now what?” Lionel wondered.

  Chapter 9

  Giselle’s moans could be heard in the hallways of the hotel. They were loud and frequent. Lionel was kissing her sweet spot between her legs, and she couldn’t keep quiet. She dug her nails into his shoulders. He loved how turned on she was. It just made him get more and more excited. He sucked and licked until she started shaking. He held her down and when she finished on his face, he smiled.

  “And you wanted me to have a little taste.” He bragged. She got up and was panting. She felt something take over her. She crawled over to him, pulled out his erect self, and put him right in her mouth. She licked his head slowly and then started to put him slowly in her mouth. She bobbed up and down. She got it wet and kept going until she felt her lips were getting numb. The tingling feeling made her slow down. She did it slowly and he got even more stiff.

  He put her flat on her back, pulled her legs, and brought her to him. He put himself inside of her. He went fast and hard. She gripped the side of the bed and then moved her hips along. He looked down at this beautiful creature. He couldn’t believe his luck. He felt something new. He was suspicious before, but as they flipped into new positions, he was pretty sure.

  “I think I’m in love with you.” He groaned as she was on top of him.

  “Wait, what?” She stopped. “What did you just say?”

  “I think I love you.”

  “You either love me or you don’t.” She challenged him. “So you can’t think you love me.”

  “I do love you.” He smiled.

  “Are you sure?” She started moving slowly and he moaned along.

  “I’m sure.” He quickly agreed.

  “Good.” She started squatting up and down on him. He held on to her and moved along with her. She squealed and fell on top of him. He rolled her around and was on top of her. He plowed into her until they both finished.

  “What?” She was out of breath. The way her face glowed, he felt his heart get warm. He just stayed next to her. He brought her in close and squeezed her. She wiggled in his arms and laughed.

  “You’re awfully touchy-feely. I’m not complaining, I’m just noticing.” She smiled as he spooned her.

  “I just wanted to touch you for a little while longer.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “I know that. It’s just that we’re so close, so I wanted to take advantage of that. Once Antw
on gets his whole thing out of his system, we are going legit, and you and I are going to do something together.”

  “What do you think that is?”

  “I don’t know.” He never really thought about it. “What is it you like to do?”

  “I don’t know.” She exhaled. “To be honest back home in North Carolina all I liked to do was watch my mom get dressed up and go to the hair salon.”

  “So maybe open your own hair salon.”

  “It’ll be our hair salon.”

  “I don’t know much about hair.”

  “I’ve seen my father run his businesses, I’m sure it’s the same.”

  Giselle thought back to all the meetings that her father brought her into his meetings. He would go over projects, the fiscals reports, predictions for oncoming businesses. She heard her father talk about it all. He would bring her in on the meetings so she could learn as much as she could. At first she hated it, but now that he was gone and she might have to do it for herself, she was glad that he did.

  “Whatever you say. We’ll do whatever business you want.” Lionel said soothingly.

  “What about you? What do you want?” She was curious.