“Big, it’s cool—I’m cool. You know I would have both they mufuckin’ heads, but I’m man enough to admit I really fucked up wit’ Chelle.”
Big took a long breath. “Rah, you my dude. I ain’ know. I swear. There been a few times I seen Michelle up at the club. Early hours, though, before we opened. She’d come in, grab ya boy, and they go outside. I ain’ think shit ’bout it. He always came right back so I jus’ figured you sent her up there to pick som’n up or drop som’n off. I swear I woulda said som’n if I knew, Rah.”
My throat tightened up, my mouth was dry. How the fuck long this shit been goin’ on? All the fightin’, all the arguin’ ova what I was doin’ and she was doin’ her own dirt. I managed to croak out Big’s instructions.
“Like I said, B, I got this one. Keep the club in line, run the counts, an’ now you know so watch that nigga. Make sure the new product goes out. Any old shit that’s left, trash it. Hit the streets, let ’em know them ODs was ‘cause our shit extra right. We gonna make that shit profitable. I got new packages wit’ new labels. We pushin’ Inferno now, gonna be like fire in they veins, an’ if they do too much I hope they right wit’ God or they gonna witness the real thing.” With that I hung up and pulled out one of the kitchen barstools to sit down.
I called to check Michelle’s account, the one Honey set up. I wanted to make sure the six grand I used to open it was still there. I was gonna have Big do a few deposits from the club so I could start movin’ the revenue from Inferno into one of my own accounts. I was gonna have to play nice with Michelle. The house was in her name, the cars were in her name, and there was also my son to consider. If she wanted to fuck me ova, she had a lot of ground. She made enough so erething looked legit. I honestly needed her a li’l more than I wanted to.
I was now a man on a mission. I desperately needed to win back my girl. She’d always wanted to go somewhere tropical and now seemed like the perfect opportunity to get her away from everything going on. I made a few phone calls and checked our passports. We both needed a vacation and I had every intention of making this one to remember.
19
Lover’s Paradise
I ran my toes through the white sand and looked at my watch. It was goin’ on our second week in the Bahamas, and once again I was waiting for Chelle to finish a business call so we could go enjoy ourselves. I’d set us up at a seaside beach house. The shit cost retarded money but was worth it. From my understanding these super-rich white mufuckas buy these houses, fix ’em up, and pay who knows what in taxes jus’ to live in ‘em for a month or two at a time. They smart with it, though. When they ain’ livin’ in ’em they jus’ rent ‘em out and make you pay an ass load of paper. I shielded my eyes from the sun and looked up at the place. The walls were white stucco. I made a mental note when the caretaker was describin’ shit to us. Niggas, I don’t know what white stucco is, or what the hell it’s made out of, but that shit’s sexy! There were seven bedrooms all with heated tile floors and full baths. The master bedroom was on some Scarface shit! White carpet, white walls, Eastern king-sized bed. I ain’t even know beds came bigga than king-sized.
One of the walls in the bedroom was jus’ a row of glass doors that opened up to the beach. I could literally walk right outta those mufuckas, run a few steps, and dive into that ill-ass crystal blue water. Even with the ocean a few feet away we still had a rooftop pool, and that bitch looked like it jus’ ran off the edge. Everything was beautiful. The palm trees, the bushes, all the tropical flowers. It was jus’ my fuckin’ luck Chelle started her cycle and, on top of that, her intern wasn’t really workin’ out. The girl was an idiot. She’d forgotten notes on half the shit Chelle told her, so the office was calling every five damn minutes. We were in paradise and she was too stressed to take care of a nigga, or enjoy herself. She’d already spent most of the trip glued to either her laptop or her cell phone. I was gettin’ impatient.
The place was so big and empty sound traveled through it like nothin’. I could slightly make out Michelle’s voice. It sounded like she was in the study. Oh, yes. That mufucka had a study, with bookshelves full of old, expensive, antique-lookin’ books, some in English but most of ‘em were Latin or French. Glass cases with all kindsa ol’ white people artifacts like opera glasses, swords, and fabric somethin’ eggs. Hell, I saw why I had to sign my life away and put down fifty thou as a deposit!
I turned the knob to walk into the study. It was locked. What the hell? I knocked an’ could hear Michelle bustle toward the door.
“I’m so sorry, Rah, it must have locked by accident.” She turned and went back toward the desk that was covered in what I guessed were contracts, and started typin’ on her laptop.
“Well, are you ready to go grab some food? We need to call the caretaker an’ get some more groceries delivered.”
Chelle didn’t even look in my direction. “I can’t, Rah. I’m sorry. Cassidy is havin’ a hard time negotiatin’ this contract and she’s too inexperienced to handle this big of a deal alone. I need to reconfigure these numbers and send it to her before she meets with the clients again tomorrow. I’ll call the caretaker. Go get yourself somethin’ to eat before it gets too late.” She didn’t miss a tap on that keyboard.
I walked out and closed the door. I jiggled the handle to make sure it didn’t lock behind me.
I was glad my phone still worked out here. I was able to keep a heads-up on what was goin’ on back home. Puttin’ Big Baby in charge was actually a good move ‘cause D was too busy playin’ daddy to do much of anything. Accordin’ to Big, Inferno was sellin’ twice as fast as the usual product. There was a concert, and afterward a few big-time rappers and their entire entourage came through and spent a lotta dough; the club turned a week’s worth of revenue in one night. It was soundin’ like erething was gettin’ back to normal. Erething, except for me and Michelle. I’d told Honey I was leavin’ town to lie low and she understood. I texted her every so often, but she was gettin’ too inquisitive, too needy actin’. I didn’t know what happened to her li’l homegirls but when I needed them to be distractin’ her ass, they weren’t doin’ it.
I’d decided to shower and shave before goin’ out to find myself somethin’ for dinner. Even with the sun goin’ down it was still warm out. I put on some white linen shorts and a matchin’ shirt that buttoned up, but said fuck it and decided to leave the buttons undone and just go barechested. My yella ass needed to get a li‘l tan anyway. Michelle was still barricaded in the study, goin’ ova numbers or whateva. I didn’t even bother tellin’ her I was leavin’. The beach house was gated and kind of secluded so I walked down the beach, lost in thought. I was about a mile away from the house when my stomach growled and reminded me I was s‘posed to be lookin’ for food. I didn’t even notice that it’d gotten dark out. I could hear drums and people laughin’ somewhere up ahead; sounded like they were havin’ a good-ass time, maybe they had a li‘l bar or somethin’ out here.
I’d followed the sound of the music all the way up to what I guessed was someone else’s beach backyard. They had Tiki torches goin’ and a bonfire. As I got closer, I could see it was a party or cookout of some kind and there were women all over the place. Guess I’m crashin’. I was glad I wore what I did; as I passed a few guys standin’ by the fire I noticed ereone had on all white. My view was blocked by a line of trees, but as I walked aroun’ the small forest that served as a privacy fence I woulda sworn I’d jus’ died and this was heaven.
The house looked almost ten times bigger than the one me and Michelle were stayin’ in. The sand traveled halfway up toward the house and then turned into white stone with a huge, dimly lit pool in the center. The pool was so damn big they put a small island in the middle of it, with trees and even what looked like a small cave. The entire back of the house had white columns that ran like some Greek shit I’d seen in a book when I was a kid. Everything ’bout that mufucka screamed money, like Oprah or Bill Gates money. I could start to see more people as I got closer.
There were tables set out all over the place with white tea light candles and white flowers on ‘em. A few tables were full, but no one really paid me any mind as I walked through and tilted my head in greetin’ to the few people who did look my way. All I saw was black folk. I jus’ knew this was someone famous, a ball player or a singer—somethin’.
A nigga’s spider-senses were definitely tinglin’. I passed a couple of bitches in the pool kissin’ and almost tripped ova my own feet. I was used to strippers, fat-assed, down the street, thick, everyday bitches. These were model, TV, half black an’ somethin’, titty job and Botox injection, exotic-lookin’ bitches. There was a buffet table set up jus’ before the steps leadin’ into the house. I picked up a plate and grabbed myself some wings.
“What up, you eva been to one of these before?” I looked up; some dark-skinned nigga was pilin’ up his plate on the other side of the buffet table, talkin’ to me.
“Oh, yeah, nigga, shit nice, huh?” I answered, soundin’ like I did this kinda shit ereday.
He looked aroun’ and leaned like he ain’t want anyone to hear him, even though there was no one within’ a ten-foot radius.
“I bought the Empyrean package. The shit was a flat two hundred grand. I’m hopin’ it’s worth it. I ain’ neva spent that much before.”
I raised my eyebrows and nodded. “I’m sure you gonna have a good fuckin’ time. I’m ’bout to head inside.” I had no idea what he bought but I ain’t wanna be an accomplice to a damn thang; sounded like product to me. I started eatin’ my wings and walked into the mansion.
This was the kinda shit you see on TV. The first thing that caught my eye was what I thought was a statue of a woman. I walked toward it, admiring the glitterin’ gold ass and was ’bout to admire some glitterin’ gold titties until the mufucka looked at me. A nigga almost shot up outta there, chicken wings and bones trailin’ behind all over the marble floor. I didn’t even notice all the different metallic-hued statues when I came in. People were crowded aroun’ a few here and there. I brought my eyes back to goldie. Her hands were palms together in front of her stomach, like she was prayin’ standin’ up. She looked back at me silently with the sexiest grey eyes. I heard someone walking past me say somethin’ ‘bout livin’ statues, they completely naked ‘cept the body paint. I had to start thinkin’ ‘bout baseball and doughnuts ’cause a nigga was ‘bout to show goldie and anyone else who wanted to see that I was enjoyin’ the display. They had a free bar set up on the side. I went over and ordered a shot of Remy, then ordered myself two more. I needed to relax.
I saw niggas who looked like they could be from ‘round the corner or outta a movie. It was hard to tell who had paper and who didn’t. The same went for the women. They were everywhere, some in white dresses, some in white skirts and tops, some in nothin’ but bikini bottoms. I made my way through a crowd of people gathered aroun’ what I thought was a Soul Train line or some people dancin’. I was tryin‘a get closer to see what had everyone’s attention. We were in the middle of a huge foyer an’ the walls were all lined wit’ pillars. There wasn’t a single light on in the entire place. Candles were set up everywhere. I slowly pushed my way through the crowd to get a better look at whatever new performin’ artist surprise had them starin’ in silence. I’d jus’ excused myself past a tall-ass nigga I swear coulda been a playa I know from the Suns, but immediately lost all thought as the movement in the center of the room finally caught my eye.
The floor was draped with red silk. I could smell jasmine and what I thought was weed. I found myself frozen in place watchin’ as this lean ebony-dark girl wit’ long jet-black hair was lyin’ on her stomach. I had no idea if she was cute, ugly, or what ’cause her face was buried in anotha bitch pussy. What the hell did I walk into? The crowd was a mixture of men an’ women. Everyone was watchin’ and jus’ enjoyin’ the show. I crossed my arms in front of me and acted like I belonged. The bitch eatin’ pussy stopped and started to get up, while the other girl got on all fours. I could feel myself gettin’ excited. The dark-skinned one was actually finer than a mufucka. As she got up I noticed she had thick, full lips, big, round titties—nipples pointed—and... What the fuck ... The bitch had a dick! I had to fight every muscle in my body to keep my composure. No one else seemed even the least bit shocked. She was a he and she/he was postin’ up to fuck the otha bitch and that definitely was not a strap-on!
I slowly eased my way outta the group jus’ as easily as I’d eased in. I was backin’ my way toward the doors and I bumped into what I’d have to say was one of the most beautiful women I’d eva seen in my entire life. She was small, ’bout five one, and she had the face a million bitches would sell they souls to have.
“Damn, I didn’t see you down there.” I chuckled. Shit, I was actually nervous. For the first time in my adult life, a woman was givin’ me the jitters.
“Maybe you should pay more attention to where you stomp, Sasquatch.”
She had a slight accent. I’m from the streets so if it ain’t Spanish or Chinese I really can’t place it, but it was sexy than a mufucka. “Wow, why so hostile? I apologized to you an’ erethang.” She was staring up at me angrily like a mini tigress ready to pounce. For a moment I jus’ stared back and found myself amazed at how fuckin’ beautiful she was. I couldn’t tell if she was white, light-skinned, or what, and her eyes were a sexy golden-hued brown. A breeze was comin’ in through the door behind her and her fragrance drifted into my senses. She smelled like sweet coconut and vanilla.
“Calm down, love, let me make it up to you. What’s ya name?” What can I say? I’m jus’ a charmin’ mufucka. Her name was Leilani and I was in complete lust with her fine li’l petite ass. A human sculpture walked past. I did my best to ignore the fact that it was a naked green nigga, and grabbed two champagne glasses off his tray.
She took her glass and started to walk outside.
I followed her like a puppy.
“How do you like it here so far? Have you played yet?”
I wasn’t sure what she meant, but if what I saw inside was how these niggas played, I wasn’t goin’.
“No, love, it’s not really my scene. I’m even tempted to ask if you all woman from what I seen up in here tonight. What the fuck kinda party is this?” My cell phone buzzed in my pocket and I jumped. It was Chelle. I ignored the call. She’d been ignorin’ my needs this whole trip and I needed to relieve some tension. I put my phone back into my pocket and waited for Leilani to answer my question.
We’d walked out of sight of the house opposite of the way I’d wandered in from the beach. There was a gazebo with torches set up ‘round it. I could see dozens of pillows scattered ’round on the floor. I was gettin’ even more excited and nervous as I followed her toward it. I gulped down the rest of my champagne and was relieved to see a bottle sittin’ in an ice bucket inside. I picked it up and poured us fresh glasses, then sat down on what had to be the softest red and gold pillows I’d eva put my ass on.
“This is Hedonism. You probably shouldn’t be here, but I like how you are different so I will not say anything.” Her accent made her pronounce all of her words so fluently. I couldn’t wait to see what she sounded like moanin’ my name. I really didn’t peg her as the screamin’ type.
“Hedonism, ain’ that some kinda Sodom-an’-Gomorrah-type shit?” I felt like a li’l kid again, all this shit was so new and so different.
“No, babee, you misunderstand the term. Hedonism is universal love and passion. There is no jealousy. No boundaries. People pay great amounts of money to participate here. There are no rules and there is no one to tell you that your desires are bad or wrong.”
One word was swirlin’ in my head as my eyes widened in understandin’: Jackpot!
Turned out her husband ran the whole fuckin’ thing. He even dipped and dabbled wit’ men and women but ironically was too jealous to let Leilani do her thang and too involved to give her any attention. Over the course of the next two hours I fucked her in every position I
could think of and some that would have never crossed my mind in this lifetime. I was in heaven, but I needed a quick break and reluctantly separated myself from Leilani’s body. As I reclined against the pillows she took a sip from her glass and started suck a nigga dick with a mouthful of cold champagne.
“Love, jus’ gimme a few minutes. I promise daddy got a lot more.” I was close to bein’ fucked up from all the shots and champagne on a pretty much empty stomach. This shit felt like a dream. I was watchin’ Leilani’s lips while she worked me back into stiffness. I didn’t see her husband watchin’ us, I didn’t hear him walk up on us. My head was leaned back and my eyes were closed. I felt a sharp, splittin’ pain as I was hit across the back of the head and then it went black.
20
The Greatest Man Alive
It felt like my mouth was full of sand and I was burnin’ up.
“Chelle, turn the AC on. Baby, it’s hot.” I thought I was home in my bed. I tried to open my eyes but the light was too bright and I felt a searing pain shoot across my face and temples. I managed to squint as best I could and was hit by a wave of nausea. I rolled onto my side and vomited ‘til there was nothin’ left but dry heaves. I was naked. The night before flooded back to me in one large flashback, up ‘til the part where I was gettin’ head an’ then nothin’. What the fuck did she do to me? I could barely make out my linen shorts in the sand a few feet away. It hurt like hell to move but I needed to get the fuck outta there. I maneuvered into my shorts and was relieved my wallet and cell were still in ‘em. I did my best to stand and began limpin’ my way across the beach, prayin’ that if God jus’ got me back to the house I’d be a good nigga from now on.
I passed the colossal house that now looked cold and deserted. The party was over and ereone had left to go back to their normal lives. It felt like forever but, finally, I could see the white stucco of the house we were stayin’ in. That was all I needed. There was no energy left in my body and I collapsed by the bedroom doors that overlooked the beach. My ears were ringin’ and my head was poundin’. No. My ears weren’t ringin’, it was a woman screamin’ my name.
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