With her in mind, he pulled out the earring that had fallen from her ear back at the club. Bigg couldn’t help but grin. Looking at it brought back their entire conversation. Unique’s mouth was a little out of control, but he knew that with a little thug love, he could fix that problem.
She was the flyest chick he had ever seen. Even though her looks resembled that of your typical girl next door, there was a roughness about her that intrigued the hell out of him. He wanted to get to know her, see what was in her head.
Tired of the club scene, Bigg decided he was ready to go home, so he tossed the broad on his lap a twenty and told her to get up.
“Where you going?” Cezar questioned.
“I’m getting ready to burn out but, ah, where shorty live at?”
“Who?”
“Unique, nigga, that’s who.”
“You just won’t give up, will you?”
“It ain’t even nothing like that. She dropped something back at the club, and I want to give it to her.”
“Yeah, right. She stay downtown on Washington in the Merchandise Mart building.”
Less than five minutes later, Bigg was on the highway headed back downtown.
* * *
Knocked out, dreaming of fucking Bigg, Unique was awakened by the sound of someone beating on her front door. Pissed off because she had been in a good sleep, Unique jumped out of bed, grabbed her robe, and headed for the stairs.
“Who is it?” she asked, sounding a little hoarse.
“Bigg.”
Startled, she stood shocked for a second. “How you know where I stay? You some kinda stalker or something?”
“Never that, sweetheart. Cezar told me where you stayed. Your earring fell out while we were standing outside the club, so I figured I’d bring it to you.”
Reaching up, Unique felt her ear; her earring was gone. Quickly she unlocked the door and came face to face with Bigg. She couldn’t get over how fine he was. Bigg was the kind of nigga that you wanted to go half on a baby with.
“You know you got a smart-ass mouth.” He eyed her up and down lustfully.
“Take it or leave it. That’s just how I am.” She snatched her earring from his hand.
“You’re welcome,” he said sarcastically while staring at her body.
Bigg had never seen a body like Unique’s. She was perfectly proportioned in all the right places. Her robe was short, so he had a perfect view of her thighs and legs. For a minute, he allowed himself to wonder how they would feel wrapped around him.
Just when he thought it couldn’t get any better, the top of her robe slightly opened, revealing one of her honey-colored breasts. Her brown, round areola was staring him smack dab in the face and begging him to come suck it. It took everything in Bigg to control himself. His dick was harder than a muthafucka.
“Thank you.” Noticing his eyes on her chest, she realized that her robe was open. Embarrassed, she pulled it together again.
“If you’re done staring at my breasts, I was asleep,” Unique stressed, standing back on one of her legs with her hand on her hip.
“What breasts? I know you ain’t talkin’ about those little bitty muthafuckas,” he joked.
“What you say?”
“Nothing. I’ma check you later, shorty.” Bigg laughed some.
“Yeah, whatever!” Unique slammed the door in his face.
Back upstairs in her bedroom, writhing in embarrassment over Bigg seeing her breast, Unique sat on the edge of the bed with her face in her hands. She couldn’t get Bigg’s eyes out of her mind. His eyes had shown more intensity and desire in just a split second than any other man she had ever known. Unique knew that she had to stay away from him before she ended up doing something she had no business doing.
* * *
A couple of weeks had passed since Bigg’s party, and things in Unique’s life had gotten back to normal. Business was booming, and she and the girls were in and out of town at least twice a month. Sitting on Cezar’s couch, Unique flipped through the latest issue of Us Weekly magazine while chewing a piece of spearmint gum.
Over the years, she and Cezar had built a very close friendship. Unique proved herself to be a ride or die chick. Cezar respected her gangsta. He respected her so much that he gave her the keys to his house. Only she and his mother had a set. Looking around his crib, Unique had to admit Cezar was doing the damn thing.
His $565,ooo home in Chesterfield held a spacious living room, gourmet kitchen, three bathrooms, four bedrooms, a game room, and an outdoor pool. Sitting down on his Mesa leather sectional, Unique ran her hands across the butter-soft material. The Sanibel coffee table that she had picked out years before sat in the middle of the floor. On top of it was an exotic, apple-green vase filled with white calla lilies.
Irritated, she checked her watch and wondered what was taking him so long. Cezar had asked her to meet him at his house at two o’clock for a meeting. Looking at her watch, she saw that it was now going on three o’clock. If Unique had one pet peeve, it was when people were late and didn’t bother to call. Hearing footsteps nearing the door, Unique continued to read the magazine, pissed off.
“Took you long enough!” she yelled over her shoulder without looking up.
“My bad. Me and Bigg lost track of time.”
Hearing his name caused Unique’s heart to drop out of her chest. She didn’t know what it was about him, but the nigga had her going. Playing it cool, she continued to act mad.
“Next time call. You know I hate to wait.”
Taking a seat across from her, Bigg scoped out Unique’s physique while she pretended to ignore him. She looked fly as hell. Her all-black Gucci glasses shielded her eyes, but everything else on her was exposed for all to see. Her reddish blonde hair was flat-ironed bone-straight to the back, and MAC clear lip gloss adorned her lips.
She wore an all-black wife beater, which exposed her full breasts and read Rich Bitch, a pair of black 7 For All Mankind booty shorts that showcased her thick butterscotch thighs and legs, and on her feet were a pair of black patent leather Yves Saint Laurent stilettos. Bigg had to admit the chick was bad.
“You can’t speak?” he asked.
“Hi,” she spoke dryly.
Bigg could only shake his head and laugh. Sitting in his favorite spot on the couch, Cezar leaned forward and began to speak.
“I got a job for you two.”
“What is it?” Unique asked, perplexed, taking off her glasses. She never did a job without the girls.
“I’m switching my supplier.”
“Why? What’s wrong with Jose?”
“Jose be on some bullshit. All of sudden this nigga going up on his prices. Ain’t no way in hell I’m gon’ pay twenty five Gs a brick when I can get ’em for fifteen from my man Jackson down in Louisiana.”
“So, what you need me and Unique to do?”
“I need for y’all to go down there and set everything up. I have the car and hotel already set up for you. You’ll be leaving Thursday night, and I expect you back by Sunday afternoon.”
“Why can’t we be in and out? I ain’t trying to be down there the entire weekend with this nigga.” Unique scrunched up her face, agitated.
“Yo, ma, what’s the deal? You got a problem with me or something?” Bigg asked, heated. He had enough of her and her smart mouth.
“Yeah, I got a problem wit’ you. I got my own li’l thing going on. I don’t want to be bothered wit’ yo’ crazy-lookin’ ass.”
“Check it, ma. I’ve been making moves since you was in a training bra. You and your li’l gang of car-thieving friends ain’t seen half the dough I’ve seen, so don’t get it twisted. You will show me some respect.”
Appalled, Unique sat quietly. She couldn’t think of anything else to say. The only thing she could come up with to do was suck her teeth, roll her eyes, and say, “Whatever.”
“Both of y’all need to calm down.” Cezar laughed. “Whatever animosity you two got against each other needs
to be put aside. I need your full cooperation.” He looked at them both.
“I still don’t think this is going to work,” Unique mumbled, picking at her fingernail.
“Did I mention that both of y’all will be paid twenty Gs?”
“You should’ve said that at first.” Unique hopped up, grabbing her Bottega Veneta purse, preparing to leave. Placing her shades back on, she gave Bigg one last look and left.
Even though he tried not to notice it, Bigg couldn’t keep his eyes off of Unique’s big ass.
“I guess everything is set then.” Cezar got up too.
* * *
Pulling up to the parking lot of the clinic in which her mother lived, Unique looked in the rearview mirror and sighed. It was Family and Friends Friday. Every other week she and Patience would try to attend. Unique dreaded her visits with her mother. Every time she saw her, something bad would happen.
It never failed. After ten minutes of being in the same room with Unique, Syleena would have a fit. She never had one when it was just Patience. Syleena could sit for hours in complete silence and never utter a word, but when Unique entered the room, all hell would break loose. Unique didn’t know what it was that triggered those negative emotions in her mother. Maybe it was her father.
When Unique was younger, Syleena often told Unique that she was the spitting image of him. Whenever Syleena looked at Unique, she remembered the rape. As a child, Unique didn’t know how to handle hearing things like that. It made her feel dirty and unwanted.
“Come on. Let’s go get this over with,” she said as she unlocked her door.
“Don’t be like that, Nique. Maybe this time things will be better,” Patience reassured.
“Yeah, we’ll see,” Unique mumbled underneath her breath.
As she walked down the cold, beige-colored corridor to her mother’s room, Unique could feel the air in her lungs begin to fade. Seeing her mother had this effect on her, and she didn’t like it one bit. Her main purpose in life was to always keep it together and to never let her real feelings show, but when Unique was around her mother, it was like she was instantly zapped back to being a little girl, unable to defend herself from her mother’s hurtful words and violent tirades.
“There go my girls,” Nurse Sandy spoke.
“Hey, Sandy.” Unique smiled halfheartedly. “How you been?”
“Good. How you doing, Miss Honor Roll Student?” Nurse Sandy said, referring to Patience.
“I’m doing good.”
“Well, look, your mother’s been waiting on you. She’s been talking about seeing you all day. Why don’t you go see her while I talk to your sister for a bit?”
“Okay,” Patience replied as she turned and walked into her mother’s room.
“Did she say anything about wanting to see me?” Unique asked, already knowing the answer.
“No . . . not this time, Unique. She’ll come around, though.”
“Uh-huh, but what is it you need to talk to me about? Tone paid the bill, right?”
“Yes. Tone paid the bill, but we’ll talk about him later. Come sit down with me.” Nurse Sandy ushered Unique over to a nearby couch.
“It must be something bad. What happened?”
“We did an exam on your mother the other day, and—”
“And what?” Unique asked, becoming impatient.
“The doctors think your mother might have brain cancer.”
“What?”
“We didn’t want to alarm you until we had all the facts, but for the past two weeks your mother has been having hallucinations. At first we thought it was just her acting out because of her schizophrenia, but then the seizures began. She’s had two in the past week. The doctors did a CT scan on her and found a tumor on her occipital lobe.”
“I can’t believe this.” Unique sat with a stunned look on her face.
“Now we’re going to do all we can to help her, but with your mother’s mental health, it’s going to be hard.”
“How am I going to tell Patience this?”
“I don’t know, but you’re going to have to be strong for her, Unique. She’s really gonna need you now,” Nurse Sandy said, wrapping her arm around Unique’s shoulder.
“This is just too much for me to handle right now.” Unique let out a loud sigh.
“Just pray, Unique. Everything’s gonna be all right.”
“Thanks, Sandy.”
“You’re welcome, sweetie. Now go on in there and see about your momma.”
It took everything in Unique not to buckle over and fall as she stood up. She was so hurt by the news of her mother’s illness that she didn’t know which way was left or right. Standing on the outside of her mother’s door, Unique glanced in and watched as Patience and Syleena laughed and talked like two old friends. Unique and Syleena never had conversations like that.
She hated to feel jealousy toward her sister, but Unique often found herself envying Patience. She wondered what it felt like to have their mother look upon her adoringly or to laugh at the things she said. Syleena was always so happy to see Patience. When she saw Unique, the only thing she saw were the eyes of her rapist. Now Syleena was sick, and Unique knew that she may never get to have the healthy relationship with her mother that she prayed for as a child.
“Hey, Momma,” Unique spoke as she entered the room.
Each time she visited her mother, Unique was amazed by how beautiful she was and how much Patience took after her. Anyone that looked at her mother could tell that she was a knockout in her day. She had the prettiest caramel, kissed-by-the-sun skin; long, thick hair; and the most alluring brown eyes that anyone had ever seen, but as the years went by and her illness became worse, Syleena’s looks seemed to diminish.
“Patty Cake, will you get me a glass of water?” Syleena said, ignoring Unique’s presence.
“Sure thing, Momma.”
“So, Momma, how you been?” Unique asked once again, trying to spark up a conversation.
“Here you go, Ma.” Patience handed Syleena her cup.
“Thanks, Patty Cake. You so good to Momma.”
“Momma, I know you hear me!” Unique snapped.
“Is that man with you?” Syleena asked calmly.
“What man, Momma?”
“That damn daddy of yours.”
“How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t even know who my father is?”
“Come on, Ma, you were doing good. Try to be nice today,” Patience pleaded.
“Yeah, Momma, I missed you. I even brought you a present.” Unique opened up her purse and pulled out a small jewelry box. Opening it up, she revealed a white gold necklace with a small heart pendant attached. “See, here, it’s a locket. It has a picture of me and Patience in it.”
“Get that damn thing away from me!” Syleena screamed, slapping the jewelry box away. “Patty Cake, help me! She’s trying to hurt me again!”
“No, she’s not, Momma. Unique’s trying to be nice. Please calm down.”
“Don’t you see she’s the devil? She’s just like her father, a Satanist!”
“Momma, no, I’m not. I wish you would quit saying that!” Unique yelled, aggravated and hurt by her mother’s words. “I love you. Why can’t you see that?”
“You’re a liaaaaar! You don’t love me. You’re out to finish what your father started. I’m not stupid. Patty Cake, help me! She’s out to get me! Please?” Syleena begged while holding on to Patience’s arm.
“You know what? Fuck this! I ain’t got time for this shit. I’m sick of you always treating me like this. I am not my father,” Unique snapped. She grabbed the jewelry box off the floor and left the room.
“Unique, don’t leave,” Patience pleaded, following after her.
“Nah, fuck that. I hate her.”
“You don’t mean that, Nique. Calm down.”
“Yes, I do. I’m tired of this shit. I got other things to deal with besides having to deal with her crazy ass. Now go and finish your visit. I�
�ll be in the car.” With that said, Unique headed back to the car and cried for what seemed like hours.
3
I Wanna Get 2 Know Ya
It was two o’clock Thursday morning. Unique sat patiently in her living room, awaiting Bigg’s arrival. He was late. Tapping her foot, she sat mad as hell. They were supposed to be on the road by now. Unique tried calling his cell phone, but each time his voice mail would pick up. This was the very reason she didn’t work outside her circle. At least with the girls she had complete and utter control.
The past week for Unique could be described as hell, to say the least. After the disastrous meeting at the clinic with her mother, more bad news came in. The doctors called and confirmed that Syleena indeed had brain cancer. The only thing Unique could do was break down and cry upon hearing the news.
She regretted everything she’d said that day. She was just so frustrated by the news of her mother possibly having cancer and by her mother’s behavior that it all just became too much for her; but Unique, being the chick she was, managed to somehow bring it all back together. She and Bigg had a job to do, and she couldn’t let her mother’s illness get in the way and fuck up her head.
Speaking of Bigg, after doing some background digging, Unique learned that before he got locked up, he was doing it real big. He grew up on the south side of St. Louis with Cezar. They both attended the same high school—Roosevelt. Bigg was a good guy. He played basketball his entire time in school, but his dreams of making it to the NBA were dashed when he busted his knee during a game. Bigg was crushed. Playing ball was supposed to be his ticket out of the hood.
Since his dreams of playing ball were no longer in reach, he turned to the streets. Cezar was already in the game, so it was only natural that Bigg linked up with him. Cezar introduced Bigg to the drug game. They both sold girl and boy, but as time passed, Bigg gained more territory than Cezar. Cezar wasn’t the jealous type, but no matter how hard he tried, he could never bring in a fourth of Bigg’s cheese.
Bigg had everything that Cezar wanted: real estate all over St. Louis, two barber shops, liquor stores, a beauty salon, five luxury cars, celebrity friends, and around that time, he had even ventured into the music industry. Business was booming for Bigg. He was living the high life of a young, rich, black bachelor—that was, until he was pulled over with ten kilos of cocaine in the trunk of his car. Bigg was seventeen years old and sentenced to ten years in prison, but he only ended up serving seven. With Bigg gone, Cezar took over and began running the streets of St. Louis.
For the Strength of You Page 17