“Stay here baby,” Richard said, pulling her from her thoughts. “I got to go talk to E for a minute.” Leaning over, he gave her a quick kiss before opening the passenger side door. Stepping out onto the street, he turned to face the two-story brick apartment building in front of him and headed towards the stairs on his left, the flight that led up to E’s apartment.
Chapter 3
Richard scanned the area before knocking on the apartment numbered 217. After the second knock, the door swung open; behind it stood his childhood friend, E.
“Brah!” Richard said, giving E daps and a half-hug. E stepped aside to let Richard in, closing the door behind him. “Wha’s u’ nigga?” Richard asked, nodding at the group of men sitting in E’s living room.
“Just chilling,” E replied, a gold-toothed grin stretching across his face. “You a’ight?” E’s smile replaced by a look of concern. “I know you gonna miss Big Wine. Your ol’ boy was cool as fuck.”
Richard shifted his weight from one foot to the other, thinking of how that question kept haunting him. “Yea brah, I’m straight.” Finally deciding that the people asking him that question had real love for him, he gave E a smile and playful slug on the shoulder.
Pretending to dodge Richard’s slug, E delivered a brotherly smack to Richard’s shoulder. “So what’s up, brah?”
“We got to get this money,” Richard answered.
“You never take a break!” E exclaimed, another golden grin spreading across his face as he shook his head. “Always thinking ‘bout money or how to get some. But hey, I’m with you”
“Shit nigga, money make the world.” Richard made a spinning, circular motion with his index finger. “But check this shit out here.” He took a few steps towards E’s mother’s room.
Caught off guard, E instinctively stepped in front of Richard, cutting him off from the room. He figured that Richard was just checking to see if E’s mother was home. “She at work, brah.”
Richard fully understood his friend’s defensive nature; he had the same nature himself, even when dealing with life-long friends and family. It wasn’t necessarily a lack of trust; it was simply a primal instinct of survival.
“I know, nigga,” Richard said, planting his hands on E’s shoulders, smiling. “I brought something over here last night. She called to tell me this morning and let me know where she put it.”
Suddenly aware of how ridiculous he was being, E stepped over to the side, shook his head and laughed. He knew he could trust Richard, and his mother had always treated Richard like a second son, which was exactly why Richard had a key to their apartment. A little embarrassed, E looked down at his feet.
Richard gave E a loving, brotherly smile. “What? You done forgot that’s my momma too nigga?”
“I know, I know,” E said, shaking his head, unsure of why he had become so defensive in the first place. “Fuck it.” He gave a small bow and extended his arm towards his mother’s room dramatically. “Let’s go get this shit.”
Without even looking at the rest of the room, Richard headed straight for the mattress on the floor. “Come on, help me flip this mattress over.” Richard grabbed one side and started to pull.
E walked over and grabbed the other side. Together, they flipped it over onto its opposite site, revealing a small tear on the bottom. Richard reached his hand in and fished out a large Ziploc bag.
“Wheeeeww,” E whistled when he caught sight of its contents. It looked like a big bag of Skittles. He tried to estimate just how many pills were in the zippered plastic bag, but there were just too many to count.
“Damn!” E rubbed his jaw in amazement. “Where the fuck you get all them pills?”
“I don’t ask you no questions when you come up on shit,” Richard replied. He gave E a hard glance, but the playful smile that pulled at the corners of his mouth reflected the trust and love the two men shared.
“A’ight,” E flashed a smile and raised his hands, palm up in surrender. “How many pills that is?”
“Two thou’,” Richard answered, holding the bag up so that E could better examine them. “Check this out – I paid six g’s for these pills.” He then placed the bag on the bed so he could explain the plan. “Now, here’s what we gone do, we gone put some in Big Brah trap, some in Richmond’s trap and then whatever club we gone to, we gone sell some for ourselves.” Richard opened the bag and started dividing some of the pills up into smaller bags. “We gone put them in the traps tomorrow, but when y’all get ready to go to the afterhours tonight, take a hundred with you and sell them there.” Each of the smaller bags that Richard had divvyed contained fifteen of the brightly colored pills. He then closed the larger bag and placed it back inside the mattress.
E listened intently, despite the fact that he already knew Richard’s plan. He and Richard had been selling together since they were kids; they had an understanding. Hell, they were family. But the discussions were always necessary. They were a technicality that you always discussed, no matter how long you had known someone.
“Here, brah,” Richard smiled, holding one of the tiny bags in between his fingers and thumb as he extended his hand towards E. “I know you wanting to roll out, especially after seeing all them pills.”
“Bet that up, brah,” E replied, reaching for the pills, but just before E’s fingers closed around the tiny package, Richard snatched it away, clenching it in his fist.
“Don’t give them niggas in there no free pills neither.” Richard said, voice hard, face stern. “Charge them six dollars a pill. That’s homeboy price, but anybody else...”
“I know, ten dollars,” E cut in.
“A’ight,” Richard placed the bag into E’s open palm, smiling, satisfied that he had E’s full understanding. “I’m gone holla at you later.” Richard stuffed the other bag of pills into his pocket, flopped the mattress back down on the floor and prepared to leave. “You can come to Gina’s house tonight if you want, before you head to the club.”
E smiled and reached for his friend and pulled him in for a hug. “Kid, I love you.”
Richard reciprocated the hug with a smirk. “You my lil’ brother from another mother. I love you too.” Richard smiled and playfully shoved E as they finished their hug. “Now stop getting soft on me, nigga.” As he exited the bedroom, Richard stopped by the couch, giving daps to all the guys sitting in the living room before heading for the door, “I’m gone holla at you boys later.’”
As E closed the door behind Richard, Mondo, one of the men sitting on the couch, seared the door with a hateful glare, but before E turned back towards the group, the look had vanished.
E turned to face the guys sitting in his living room. “A’ight! Y’all niggas listen up! I got these pills for the low.” He held up the small bag Richard had just given him. The looks from the group ranged from complacent to eager. Mondo was particularly interested in what E had to offer, but he turned his head away in an effort to hide his eagerness.
“Now look, y’all niggas only got to pay six dollars a pill cuz Rich Kid a pill junkie too, and he know how it is.” E glanced around the room, making sure that he made eye contact with each and every man in the room before he continued. “Everybody else got to pay ten dollars though. I don’t give a fuck if they know you. I don’t know them, so it’s ten dollars.”
“Damn E,” Mondo said as a smirk spread across his face. “Let me get one them, make sho’ they straight.”
E’s brow furrowed in anger and disbelief. “Who the fuck you thinks’ you is?”
“I’m gone pay for it,” Mondo replied defensively, trying to hide the fact that he had really hoped to get one for free.
Beep! Beep!
E walked over to the apartment window, pulled back the thick green polyester curtains and peered outside to see what all the commotion was about. Sitting right out front was a gray Nissan Maxima. Not recognizing the car, he closed the curtain most of the way, leaving only a tiny slit for him to peer through.
He watche
d the driver’s side door swung open. Out of it stepped Bay-Bay, one of his girlfriends. Her five and a half foot tall frame, tiny waist and voluptuous hind end walked towards the stairs of his apartment. Her breasts looked like ripe mangos under the blue tank top, and it looked as though she wasn’t wearing a bra by the way her nipples poked through the sheer material.
His heart raced faster with each step she took. The thought of bending her over and smacking her round ass while pounding her from behind excited him, but the fact that she had a motive beyond simply having a good time gave him a good enough reason to resist the urge.
“Damn!” E cursed under his breath as he headed for the door, opening it just before Bay-Bay knocked. As she walked through the door and into the room, she grabbed the front of E’s pants, cupped his penis in her hands, and pulled her face into E’s neck, nuzzling it with her nose.
“Damn baby, you gone make me put a baby in you, grabbing me like that,” E groaned, pulling away from her grasp.
“Pfffft!” Bay-Bay snapped her head side to side. “Don’t play no games with me boy. I done tried to make you blow me up, but you back out every time.”
“You think I playing?” E took a hold of her wrist and pulled her into his body, whispering in her ear, “Be here tomorrow morning when we get back from the afterhours.” But even as the words had left his mouth, he tried to devise a plan for avoiding her predatory claws.
“Why can’t we do it now?” Bay-Bay gave E a seductive pout. She reached for the front of his pants again, but he quickly pushed her away.
“Cause I got shit to do.” Just then, he remembered the Maxima sitting outside of his apartment. Quickly changing the subject, he asked, “Who that rental for baby?”
“Rich Kid told me to get it for you.” She dangled the keys in front of his face.
He extended his hand to take the keys, but then wondered whether Rich Kid had paid for it yet. “He give you the money for it or do I still got to pay for it?” He knew that, even if Richard hadn’t paid for the car, he could just coax Bay-Bay into paying for it. Of course, that meant giving her what she wanted, and what she wanted was his dick; more accurately, his baby. The thought made him shudder.
“Depends on how you plan on paying,” Bay-Bay cooed seductively, jingling the keys once again. “If you plan on paying in dick, then hells yeah, you got to pay. But if you paying in cash,” she jutted her hip out in annoyance, “then he already gave me the money.”
Without another word, E snatched up the keys. She had already given him the answer he needed, which meant he could avoid her tomorrow morning without having to pay for the car.
Bay-Bay placed her hands on her hips and chomped loudly on her gum. A clicking sound exited her mouth as the gum snapped between her teeth. E knew what was coming; she was steaming inside, ready to tell him off. She’d been trying to nail him for months, but so far, the furthest she’d gotten was a few grabs at his penis.
“’E, you gone sell me one them pills or what?” Mondo hollered from across the room. Had the circumstances been different, Mondo’s interruption would have been a source of irritation. In this instance, however, he was grateful for the interjection. Mondo had probably saved him from a serious tongue-lashing and a great deal of embarrassment in front of his boys.
E walked over towards Mondo so he could pay for the pill. E couldn’t be certain, but it looked as though Mondo was irritated. He assumed it was because he’d had to pay for his pill.
“Baby, you got pills?” Bay-Bay asked. She was standing over by the window, looking over her shoulder at him.
E answered her over his shoulder as he exchanged Mondo’s cash for a pill,” Yea’ baby. You want one?”
“Nah, but these bitches might’” Bay-Bay replied, pointing out the window. She had heard the girls pull up, music blaring, when Mondo had interrupted her conversation with E.
E turned to look in Bay-Bay’s direction, trying to determine which girls she had been talking about, but he couldn’t see past the curtain or her head. He started to walk towards the window so he could join her, but she had already dropped the curtain and turned to face him before he had reached her.
“Well,” Bay-Bay said, giving E one final lustful look-over, “I gotta go.”
E walked her to the door. Just before she walked out, E grabbed her elbow. He’d just remembered something. “When that nigga give you the money for that car?” He wondered how Richard had come up with enough money to rent two cars. E had always suspected that Big Wine had had money stowed away, but he hadn’t been certain. It wasn’t that it really mattered, one way or the other. E was just curious.
“Like two days ago,” she replied. That confirmed it. Richard hadn’t ever had quite that much money just laying around. Wine had to have left it to him.
“You know his ol’ boy died, right?” E asked.
“Yeah, but he don’t act like it.” To be honest, Bay-Bay was a little bewildered at Richard’s calm demeanor over these last few days. It was like he had something else on his mind…but what else could possibly be more important than mourning the death of his father. Shrugging her thoughts off, Bay-Bay leaned in, stood on her toes and gave E a kiss before turning around and heading for the stairs.
Just as Bay-Bay was shrugging her thoughts off, E started contemplating Richard’s strange behavior. It was one thing to act strong in front of your homeboys, but E was like family and Richard had barely mentioned Big Wine’s death at all. It was like something else was fueling him forward, distracting him from the grief. Like Bay-Bay, E wondered what that distraction might be.
Chapter 4
“I want some conch salad too, so don’t let them eat all of it,” Richard said as he gave Alicia a hug, rocking her back and forth, squeezing her tightly.
As Richard squeezed, Alicia could feel the hard steel of his gun jutting into her side. “Boy, Daddy should have never gave you no gun, cause now, every time I see you, you got one,” her nose wrinkled as she pulled away from his intrusive thug gear. She glared in the direction of his hidden gun with disgust. “You even had one at the funeral today.”
“Sis, you know a lot a mother fuckers don’t like me, so don’t even trip,” Richard replied. His tone was serious, but a half grin gave away his joking demeanor.
Alicia hardened her look and crossed her arms over her chest. She knew her brother well enough to know that you had to be hard with him when giving a direct order, and what she was about to say was a direct order. “Hmph,” the haughtiness in her voice palpable, “Well, you bet not do nothing to Dwayne.”
Richard raised an eyebrow and asked, “Where he at anyway?” Alicia had only said that HE couldn’t hurt Dwayne. She’d never said anything about E or Skinny. Maybe E could catch Dwayne off guard and pistol whip him at the party.
Even before the sinister grin could finish taking its place on Richard’s face, Alicia knew what her brother was thinking. “He ain’t here yet, and you bet not let Skinny or E do nothing to him neither.” Her face was so close to Richard’s that he could smell the barbeque ribs on her breath.
“Damn, Sis,” he said, retreating back a step. “You bee reading my mind? How ya’ know E and them be coming over here anyway?”
“You don’t stay nowhere long without them popping up,” Alicia replied matter-of-factly.
“A’ight, you got my word,” Richard seethed through gritted teeth. “He good and I ain’t gone fuck with him,” quietly adding, “Today.”
Alicia scowled at him, her eyes intense. She drew in deep breath, ready to give Richard a what for, but before she could attack, Gina entered the kitchen.
Gina spotted Richard immediately. Her face lit up with a wide smile and sparkling eyes. “Brother!” She yelled across the tiny room. “Come give your big sister a hug.”As Richard reciprocated her grin and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, Gina fought the urge to nag him about Dwayne. She was certain that Alicia had already given him the third degree. Besides, Alicia had more pull when it came to talking
Richard out of doing something crazy. Those two had always shared something special. Gina had been jealous of it when they were younger, but now it was just a part of life.
Richard released Gina from the embrace but kept his hands on her arms, the smile that had been on his face just moments before was replaced by a look of concern. “How you holding up, big Sis?”
“I’m gone be a’ight,” she replied, smiling weakly. Secretly, she doubted the certainty of her own words. Trying to cover her doubt, Gina quickly changed the subject. “Where Skinny at?” glancing around the room as she spoke. “I know you running that girl crazy.”
Before he could answer, Gina’s son, Pop bolted through the back door.
“Ma!” he yelled. “The DJ’s just got here!”
Richard smiled as he spotted his nephew. The young features, eager attitude and feisty temper always reminded Richard of himself when he’d been that young. Richard walked over to where Pop stood. “Wuz up, nephew?” putting his arm around Pop. “Come on. Let’s go pay the DJ’s.” Just before walking out the back door, Richard remembered Gina’s question. Calling over his shoulder, he answered, “Skinny out here in the car. She coming in a minute.”
“Damn Unc,” Pops said, looking up, still wrapped under his uncle’s arm. “What, you cried when you went home? Cause I ain’t seen you cry at the funeral and you sho’ don’t look like you gone cry now.”
Richard smiled down at his nephew and tightened the grip on Pop’s head slightly for a brief second. Crying hadn’t crossed his mind since he’d left the funeral. Sure, he was sad. Sure, he missed his father, but crying was a sign of weakness and weakness could get you killed. “Ain’t nothing to cry for, Pop.” Richard’s head shook in the negative as he spoke. “That ain’t how my daddy raised me.”
As Richard and Pop made their way towards the DJ van, Richard noticed Skinny storming down the walkway to the house. Her arms swung stiffly at her sides. Her lips were tightly pursed. Richard knew that look well. Skinny was pissed.
The Family Is Made (Part 1) (Thuggin In Miami) Page 3