Love and War

by Jackie Chanel

  “He is feelin’ you,” Caprice lied. “Why else would he keep coming around you?”

  Keisha burst out in a loud laugh. “Because my head game is on point!”

  “Oh no,” Caprice groaned. “You sucked his dick?”

  “Sure did,” Keisha answered proudly. “I know you said I shouldn’t fuck him, but I couldn’t help myself. That nigga is fine! Don’t worry, Caprice. I got this. Diesel will come around. They always do,” Keisha bragged.

  No, they don’t, Caprice wanted to say, but didn’t. She was not going to school Keisha on how to get a man. They were the same age. She should already know how to play the game.

  “Why aren’t you coming to the party? I’m sure there will be plenty of bitches there for him to choose from. How do you know they won’t suck his dick better than you?”

  “Moms is having boyfriend issues again. They got in a fight and she put him out again. I need to stay here in case he comes back here on some crazy shit. But since you’ll be there, you can make sure that none of those ratchet ass hoes try to push up on him. You got my back, right?”

  “Yeah. I’ll keep them in check for you.”

  Caprice glanced at her alarm clock. It was almost eight so she told Keisha she’d stop by after the party if it wasn’t too late and ended the call.

  Dressing up for her first real date with Aries made Caprice feel like she’d stepped back into her old life. She hadn’t gotten dolled up for a date since she started screwing around with Rocco. Putting on her party dress and fuck me heels felt so good. She was actually looking forward to the party.

  Even though she had ulterior motives, she was anxious to see where Aries was taking her and how the handsome gang leader actually acted on a real date.

  She strapped on her Louboutins and smiled in the mirror. “You still got it,” she said to her reflection. “Show those ghetto ass broads what real Red Bottoms look like.”

  She gave her a quick toss and was putting her phone in her purse when Aries knocked on the door. She checked herself in the hallway mirror once more before she opened the door.

  Dressed in black slacks, a black Armani dress shirt, and black Stacey Adams, Aries looked delicious! He was holding a large bouquet of vibrant red roses.

  “Wow,” Caprice breathed. “You clean up well. No snapback tonight?”

  “Naw, baby. This that grown man shit you ain’t used to.” Aries smiled and handed Caprice the flowers. “You look great.”

  “I know.” Caprice spun around so he could get the full affect of her fuchsia and black Herve Lager dress. The dress had more of a Miami club feel than New York, but it made her ass look better than Amber Rose’s and that was all that mattered. She knew what kind of girls attracted Aries’ attention, and she didn’t want his eyes on anyone else tonight.

  “Let me put these in some water so we can head out. I’m starving.”

  Much to Caprice’s surprise, Aries was quite the gentleman. He knew how to treat a lady on a date. He opened doors for her and even pulled out her chair when they at La Grenouille, a fine dining French restaurant in the city.

  “This place is nice, huh?” Aries stated proudly. “We don’t have places like this on the Southside.”

  La Grenouille was nice, but it was just a three star restaurant. Caprice had been to better. She had friends in Miami who didn’t eat anywhere that wasn’t a four or five star establishment. Since she knew Aries was doing his best to impress her, Caprice played along. She wished that he had let her pick the restaurant. She was dying to try Felidia, an Italian restaurant on the Eastside. Her best friend, Janelle had given the place rave reviews. Janelle was studying to be a chef in Paris, so Caprice definitely trusted her opinion.

  “Do you want me to pick the wine?” Caprice asked.

  “Get whatever you want,” Aries said. “I don’t drink that shit. I’m a Hennessy man. You think they got that at the bar?”

  “Not VS,” Caprice replied. “But I’m sure they carry Hennessy XO. That’s the best one.”

  Aries grinned. “Look at you tryin’ to school this hood nigga on the finer things in life.”

  “If you’re going to eat at a fine dining restaurant, you should experience everything it has to offer.”

  “Yeah, probably. But to be honest, I don’t know what most of this stuff on the menu is. I bet you eat like this every day. I should stop bringing you pizza and KFC.”

  Caprice frowned. “I told you I’m not like that. I don’t know why you’re always accusing me of being so damn bougie. I live around the corner from you.”

  “Just because you got a cheap apartment don’t mean you don’t enjoy a certain type of lifestyle. How much did your entertainment system cost again?”

  When Caprice didn’t answer, Aries continued, “I know all about your life before you moved to New York. You know I did my research, don’t you?”

  “You Googled me?” Caprice tried to sound completely appalled. “Why would you do that? All you had to do was ask me whatever you wanted to know!”

  “Stop trippin’,” was Aries’ smug reply. “I know I’m not the first person to check out your Facebook page before taking you out. Miss Teen Florida, huh?”

  Caprice rolled her eyes. She wasn’t concerned about what he saw online. She’d Googled herself before she met Aries, just to make sure that there was nothing floating around cyberspace that could link her to the Bonatelli family. Even though birth records were public record and her birth certificate did say Caprice Bonatelli, somehow her parents had managed to have her birth records sealed. She didn’t know how or why they did it, but she was grateful.

  The only personal information that Aries could have seen was her bio on her company’s website and that was at least two years old. Plus, she was very careful about what she posted on Facebook and Twitter. For the most part, it was all business related and she never posted pictures of anyone in the Bonatelli family.

  “Well, since we’re telling secrets, I Googled you as well,” Caprice smirked. “Nice mugshot.”

  “I always look good, even when I’m being arrested,” Aries shrugged his broad shoulders.

  “How much time did you do?”

  “Fourteen months. Wasn’t nothin’. I slipped up. Won’t happen again. I ain’t never goin’ back to jail.”

  “Considering your source of income, that’s a pretty bold statement.”

  “Yeah, but they’ll have a hard time getting to me this time,” Aries replied. “I got a whole team who will do years before they give me up. Niggas can feed their kids because of me. They know I’ll look out for their people.”

  The waiter brought their drinks. As Caprice sipped her French Bordeaux, she carefully considered her next question. She wanted to get Aries talking about his new supplier, but she didn’t want to come off as suspicious and intrusive.

  “What’s Les Ravioles de Homard à l'Estragon? Is it beef?”

  “It’s lobster and tarragon ravioli. Try it. It’s a really good dish.”

  “What are you going to have?”

  “Whatever you order,” Caprice said. “You can order for me. I trust you.”

  She smiled at Aries and knew she had him when he put down his drink and stroked her hand.

  “You’re sexy as hell, you know that right?”

  “Thank you.”

  “And you know how to let a man be a man. A lot of these bitches out here don’t know shit about etiquette or good food. All they want is chicken and Appletinis, and always be wanting to run shit.”

  “Maybe it’s because you call them bitches,” Caprice replied. “If men thought more highly of all women, then we wouldn’t act the way we do. Maybe we only act like bitches because y’all do.”

  “Touché,” Aries laughed. “I like you, Caprice. I really do, and that’s sayin’ something.”

  Caprice knew he meant it. She accepted his compliments, but didn’t have the desire to return the favor. She was on a mission and had a man waiting for her back in Staten Island.

>   “Well, I have to admit that I don’t usually date guys like you,” she replied honestly.

  “Guys like me?”

  “Don’t act like you don’t know what I mean.”

  “So you’re saying you’re not one of those goody-goody girls who date thugs because it’s exciting.”

  “Exactly,” she nodded. “It’s not exciting. It’s dangerous. Y’all get killed or go to jail. Or, you try to use girls like me to do illegal shit for you. I saw it happen to a friend of mine back home. She got involved with this drug dealer and he had her driving around with drugs in her car for him. Now she’s locked up and he’s still walking around South Beach.”

  Caprice tried her hardest not to laugh and to keep a straight face. She had no idea if Aries believed her story or not. She was making it up as she went along. She didn’t know any girls who were locked up, but she’d seen enough episodes of Women Behind Bars to know that it happened to plenty of girls.

  “I don’t handle my ladies that way,” Aries told her. “I like good girls, and I try to keep them that way.”

  Caprice took a bite of her salad and stared at her date.

  “How does all this work?” she asked. “I mean, you have all these guys working for you, but obviously you and Diesel are the ones making the most money. How is that?”

  “It probably works just like your company,” Aries replied shortly. “I’m sure you have people selling your makeup. You aren’t going to consumers and selling it yourself. I bet you keep the lion’s share of the profits.”

  “Yeah, but I’m sure there is a difference between selling lip gloss and selling crack. I sure hope there is.”

  Aries laughed. “Not much of a difference. Business is business. It’s all about supply and demand.”

  “But how do you get your supply? Mine is made in Tampa. You have to get yours from Colombia or some place overseas, right?”

  “You ask a lot of questions,” Aries easily deflected her question. “But you don’t like answering them, do you?”

  “I don’t have a problem with it. I’m just trying to get to know you. Isn’t that how relationships are built?”

  Aries gave her his panty-dropping smile. “So, you want to be in a relationship with me?”

  “Depends,” Caprice replied with her own flirtatious smile. “We’ll see.”

  “After two weeks it’s ‘we’ll see’?” Aries chuckled. “You’re somethin’ special, Caprice.”

  “Thanks. I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  “You should.”

  Aries sat across from Caprice and watched her finish her salad. He usually dated the crème de la crème, and she was still so different from any of them. He had top notch bitches, from school teachers to models that he casually dated from time to time. They all could learn a thing or two from Caprice. From day one, he knew she was just the type of female he wanted, but it wasn’t going to be easy to get her. Unlike most females, she thought she was on the same level as him, or higher. In a small way she was, considering her background. It was going to take a lot of hard work to break her down, but Aries was down for the challenge.

  Chapter Seven

  A knock on her front door caused Caprice to look up from the pile of books and study guides on her dining room table. She snapped the cap back on her yellow highlighter and sighed. She wasn’t expecting anyone and the interruption was irritating.

  “Who is it?” she called out .

  “Diesel,” the voice answered.

  Caprice reached into her purse and slid the safety off her gun. Diesel was always around when she hung out with Aries, but she and him weren’t friends. They certainly weren’t cool enough for him to be stopping by her apartment.

  She rose from the table, clutching her weapon tightly in her hand. She had every reason to be cautious.

  “What do you want?” she asked while looking through the peep hole.

  Dressed in the BDM signature all black, Diesel was one hunk of fine. Even so, she had to be careful. In any circumstance, he could easily overtake Caprice if he wanted to.

  “Keisha told me to meet her here. Open the door, girl.”

  “Where is Aries?”

  “Probably with his baby mama,” Diesel replied. “Are you goin’ to open the door or make me wait in my car?”

  Hesitantly, Caprice unlocked the door and stood in the doorway with her hand behind her back.

  “Why did Keisha tell you to meet her here? She hasn’t called and asked to come over.”

  “Her momma is home. Apparently, she don’t want no gangstas in her shitty ass house. Keesh is your girl, right? You ain’t gon cockblock her, are you? Not when you got a spare room, right?”

  Caprice laughed as Diesel winked at her. “Boy, if I’m not gettin’ none in my own crib, do you really think I’m going to let my friends fuck in here?”

  Diesel eased past her. Caprice moved to the side and let her gun fall down the side of the couch between the cushions. She was fairly confident that Diesel wasn’t there to hurt her, especially when he sat down at her dining room table and pulled a bag of weed out of his pocket.

  “You don’t mind, do you?”

  “Nope,” she answered and shut the door.

  She crossed the living room and sat down across from him to resume studying. Five minutes later, the small dining room was saturated with the smell of Diesel’s good smoke. Although Caprice wasn’t smoking, she was starting to get a slight contact buzz.

  “What you studying?”

  “Everything,” Caprice chuckled. “Got finals coming up, and if I want to graduate, I have to ace every single one of them.”

  “NYU, huh? Heard that school is hard as hell.”

  “College is hard, period. Doesn’t matter which one you go to.”

  “What’s your major?”

  “Business.”

  “You gonna get your MBA?” Diesel asked through the haze of smoke.

  Again, Caprice chuckled. What could this thug know about MBAs and everything graduate school entailed? He probably hadn’t even graduated from high school, like his best friend.

  “My parents want me to go to graduate school, but I don’t know,” she answered truthfully. “Four years of this shit might be my limit.”

  “That’s dumb,” Diesel replied. “I wish I would have gone to graduate school. A bachelor’s degree don’t mean shit in this fucked up job market. You need a Master’s if you want to make any real money.”

  “You went to college?”

  “Why you lookin’ at me like that? A nigga can’t be educated and still be in these streets?”

  Caprice shrugged. “How am I supposed to answer that without pissin’ you off? Let’s just say, I don’t know any dudes who went to college to sell drugs.”

  Diesel laughed. “Stringer Bell.”

  Caprice burst out laughing. “Are you serious? That’s a television show!”

  Diesel smiled at her. “Seriously though, I went to Brooklyn College. Graduated last year. No one knows that shit except my mother.”

  “Why keep it a secret? There’s nothing wrong with having an education.”

  “You wouldn’t understand,” Diesel answered.

  The sexy grin he gave Caprice made her tingle a little. She was completely surprised that the man sitting across from her was a college graduate. He was a living breathing example of why you couldn’t judge a book by its cover.

  Caprice started at Diesel, wanting to know more about the brown skinned man sitting across from her. She wanted to slide her chair next to him and talk about all the things she couldn’t talk to Nico or Rocco about. She wanted to talk about the economy, the Obama Administration, and see what the last book he read was. From the way he talked, Caprice knew that Diesel was a lot smarter than she gave him credit for. The only thing that stopped her from sliding next to him and running her hands along his deep waves and starting an intellectually stimulating conversation was the fact that Keisha was into him. Now wasn’t the time to burn any bridges.
Aries was tough to crack and Caprice needed his cousin to soften him up. She couldn’t piss her off now.

  “When is Keisha supposed to get here?” Caprice asked.

  “She’s supposed to be on her way. Don’t worry about us,” Diesel grinned. “I’ll take her to a hotel or somethin’ since it appears you’re going to spend your Friday night buried in your books.”

  “What else am I supposed to do?” Caprice threw a sly smile Diesel’s way. “You said Aries was kickin’ it with his baby mama.”

  “That pisses you off?”

  Caprice shook her head. “Nope. Why would it?”

  “Because I said he was with his baby mama, not with his kids.”

  “If he would rather chase pussy than spend time with his children, why is that my problem?”

  “You know how bitches are,” Diesel replied. “Y’all be goin’ nuts when a nigga be checkin’ for other hoes.”

  “Did you just use bitches and hoes in the same sentence while talking to me?” Caprice raised her eyebrows. “I am neither one of those things so I can’t relate. Let’s just say, I don’t give a damn who Aries spends his time with. He has hoes all over this city. He’s gotta get some ass from somewhere since…” Caprice paused and burst out laughing. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  Diesel tried to erase the surprised expression from his face and failed. “You sayin’ Aries ain’t tapped that yet? You sayin’ that nigga lied? Are you fuckin’ serious, Caprice?” Diesel howled.

  “He said he slept with me?” Caprice had to laugh also. A man as powerful as Aries bragging about some pussy he hadn’t even tasted was a damn shame.

  “Yeah,” Diesel nodded. “Said you were just like the rest of them. Said you act different, but you gave it up just like they all do.”

  “Well, that’s a lie.” Caprice leaned back in her chair and grinned. “It takes a lot more than a fat bankroll and a pretty smile to get in my pants.”

  Diesel, still laughing, nodded. “Apparently. I can’t believe that nigga lied. You got any music?”