Ms. D looked back and forth between the two women. “What da hell is going on between you two?”
Neither woman spoke.
Ms. D shook her head. “I know y’all not even trying to get at each other about no nigga. You been friends for as long as I can remember. Friendship, unlike dick, should always come first. These dudes out here run through y’all girls for a minute, and then they on to the next. Then what you left with?”
Normally, Falisha and Kim would listen to Ms. D’s advice, but this time it was different. They didn’t want to admit it to each other, but their feelings were heavily involved. Kim had love for Lamar, but Falisha was in love with Lamar, and that was a big difference. And the crazy part about it was Lamar had love for both of them, almost equally for that matter.
One thing Ms. D knew for sure was that if Falisha and Kim continued to go down the road they were on, things would get ugly real fast.
Chapter 24
Ever since Darious stopped working at the store, it had been super boring for Tammy at work. Her new coworker was a female who could barely speak English. The limited conversations they had were primarily about work, and nothing else. Tammy sighed as she thought of Darious. She missed his humor, which made her workday enjoyable, and passed the time. However, she knew that him moving on to his new job at Charlotte Medical Center was a good look.
“Yo, I’m bringing all this shit back,” a voice yelled from the other side of the counter, startling Tammy, whose back was turned.
When she turned around, she was relieved that it was Darious standing there with his fist over his mouth, laughing at her. “You was scared as shit.” He laughed.
“Shut up,” Tammy said, reaching over the counter and punching him in his arm. “What are you doing here anyway?” she asked.
“I got off early today, and I figured I’d take you to lunch. I already talked to ya boss, so you good,” he said and smiled.
Tammy cleaned up her workstation and let her coworker know that she was going on her lunch break. She wasted no time taking off with Darious. She only had a half hour, so they walked across the street to McDonald’s.
“Yo, I need to talk to you about something,” Darious said, taking a seat in the booth with Tammy.
“Uh-oh. That don’t sound good,” she said and took a bite of her burger.
Darious smiled, assuring her that it wasn’t bad at all. He just had something that he needed to get off his chest before it killed him.
“I’m in love with you, Tammy,” he said, looking into her eyes.
The burger that Tammy was chewing on seemed to expand in her mouth. She grabbed her Sprite to help wash it down.
“I don’t . . . Well, wow.” Tammy had a hard putting her words together.
Darious smiled and took her hand. “Every night that I get home from work and walk through the front door, I be hoping that you’re there sitting on the couch waiting for me. It takes me every bit of an hour to get to sleep once I’m in the bed, because I can’t stop thinking of you, and wondering if you’re thinking about me. I think about all the ways I wanna make you happy and try not to do anything that would make you unhappy,” Darious said.
Hearing the sincerity in his voice, Tammy felt warm all over. She was feeling something for him too, but she wasn’t sure it was love just yet. He made her feel incredible. It had been so long since she’d felt adored, and protected. He had given her the resources to provide for her kids, made sure everything was straight, and had the bedroom game beyond incredible. Everything he had just expressed mirrored what she felt about him as well. She checked her watch; thirty minutes seemed like only five at the moment.
“Can we talk about this later?” Tammy said, touching Darious’s face. “I gotta get back to work, but I definitely want to talk about this.”
“Yeah, yeah. I will call you later,” Darious said, taking a sip of his soda.
“We can talk at my house. Come by tonight around nine o’clock,” Tammy told him. Inviting Darious to her home was a huge step. She had never allowed any man to walk across the threshold other than Chris.
She took a few more bites of her burger, and placed the rest on the tray. “I guess I need to get back over there.”
Darious took the tray to the trashcan and extended his arm to Tammy. “Yeah, I guess so. You sure about me coming over?”
Tammy shook her head and kissed his cheek. “I’m sure,” Tammy said, and then kissed his lips.
* * *
Ralphy pulled up to the block, jumped out of the Range Rover, and dapped all his homies who were standing out there. Being back in the hood had never felt better, and now that he was back on dope boy status, the hood was loving him once again.
Killing Dre had made the decision to get back in the game easy. Catching that body brought back memories of the power he had held back in the day in the streets. Scoop had looked out for him by giving him a couple of ounces of heroin on the strength of his game. Like a chick seeing her man after his bid, the streets had welcomed him back. Once he got the taste of what it felt like to pull down them stacks, Ralphy had not looked back.
“Damn, big homie, what it do?” Scoop said as he walked out of the store to meet Ralphy.
“Ain’t shit, li’l nigga. Business as usual,” Ralphy responded, letting Scoop know that he was there to pick up his money.
“Damn, playboy, I hate when you talk to me like that. I’m starting to feel like you treatin’ me like the rest of these niggas out here. Don’t forget who got you back in the game, homeboy,” Scoop said, walking over to his car and grabbing the small backpack from his back seat.
Scoop might have said it in a joking way, but he was serious about what he said. When Ralphy got back in the game, he stepped on the gas and rose over his peers in a very short period of time. Ralphy’s street hustle was that of a Princeton scholar, which pushed him above the rest.
Ringo Street used to be Scoop’s, but now it was Ralphy who was supplying the block. He had also picked up Thomas Road, Belmont Avenue, and the Academy Projects. Scoop knew firsthand how Ralphy could kill and destroy people who stood in his way. So for now he could only stand down, and submit to his takeover. Ralphy grabbed the back pack and headed back to his SUV.
“Yo, what up wit’ homeboy?” one of Scoop’s homies asked as he watched Ralphy pull out of the parking lot. He stared at the truck; he had heard the way the dude had spoken to Scoop, and found his tone to be arrogant. “That nigga think his shit don’t stank,” the young’un said, taking a pull off his Black.
“Yeah, well, the rise of some folks can make them think they can’t ever fall,” Scoop said before walking back inside his store.
* * *
Chris waited in line in front of his counselor’s office to get inside, so that he could make a social phone call unmonitored. What he had to say couldn’t be said over the regular inmate phones, because someone was always listening. Here in the counselor’s office, anybody could say whatever they want freely without worrying about it coming back and biting them in the ass. Talking reckless on a fed phone can get a nigga a whole new indictment.
When Chris finally got into the office and was approved for the call, the only person he wanted to call was his little brother, Outlaw. When it came down to Chris, Outlaw would do just about anything for his big brother. Outlaw wasn’t sweet by a long shot; at the young age of nineteen, he had half the neighborhood scared of him, and the other half respected his G.
“Wassup, li’l bro,” Chris said into the phone when Outlaw picked up. “My counselor gave me a phone call,” he told him, letting Outlaw know that the line was secure. “Yo, I need you to take care of something for me,” Chris said, lowering his voice some so the counselor wouldn’t hear him.
“Yeah, whatever you need, big bro. Just let me know.”
“Yo, I think my baby mom got a nigga around my kids. I need you to swing through the block and see what it do,” Chris instructed.
“Say no more. I’m on top of it like yes
terday. You good, bro? I’ma put some money on ya books when I get off the phone wit’ ya,” Outlaw said.
“Nah, bro, I’m good. I just need you to take care of that situation for me,” Chris said, looking back at the counselor.
He hung up and nodded to his counselor. Just like that, he had taken care of whoever was trying to be in Tammy’s bed and around his kids. Outlaw would take care of it quickly, and without questions.
Chapter 25
Lisa walked down the hallway toward Naomi’s room. It was quiet, so Lisa knew that Naomi was either playing in Lisa’s makeup or she was asleep. She slowly opened the door to see Naomi fast asleep, dressed in one of her new outfits with her backpack on. Lisa laughed at how adorable she looked, and ran to her room, grabbed the phone, and snapped a couple of pictures.
“This will come in handy in a few years,” Lisa said to herself. She placed the phone in her pocket and began pulling off Naomi’s shoes and removing the backpack. As she placed it on the bed, she noticed a cell phone on the side of the backpack. She pulled it out, and swiped the screen. The wallpaper on the phone was a picture of Naomi and Ralphy. Lisa turned the phone over.
“Galaxy 4?” she whispered to herself. She looked at the photo again; it appeared that they were at an amusement park, but it wasn’t the local one. Ralphy was standing behind Naomi smiling and pointing to the camera. Seeing the two of them together brought up memories of the three of them. She sighed and undressed Naomi down to a T-shirt and panties. She pulled the covers up over her and kissed her cheek.
Before turning out the light, she noticed a laptop at the foot of Naomi’s bed. He had really taken Naomi on a shopping spree. “What did you do, Lisa?” she asked herself as she watched Naomi sleep.
Every day, Lisa kicked herself for tearing her family apart. She hated sleeping alone, her heart ached for her husband, and at times the pain was so intense she had actually thought about suicide. Naomi’s face would enter her mind, and save her from committing something so stupid.
She looked at Naomi’s phone. She wanted to put it down, but curiosity took over. She swiped through the pictures on the phone. Ralphy and Naomi smiled at her from each one. She went to contacts and saw Ralphy’s phone number under My Daddy in Naomi’s contact list. She stared at the number with her finger hovering over the call icon. She thought better of it. After all, what would she say to him? He would probably hang up as soon as he heard her voice anyway.
She lay back on the bed with Naomi and took a photo of the two of them. She attached it to a text message and typed, I miss my family. She hit send and then cuddled up with her daughter for the night.
* * *
Darious parked his Charger on the street, a few houses down from Tammy’s due to the orange cones and blue flags in front of her house. The city was working on the water line, and the asphalt had been torn up. He began walking toward her house, not paying much attention to the two hooded men standing at the stop sign smoking. He pulled his cell phone out and called Tammy to let her know he was outside. Tammy told him she would be heading downstairs to open the door for him. When he got to her building, he called again, to let her know that he was outside.
Darious was oblivious to the two hooded men. Outlaw and his boy, Ratchet, had been waiting all day to see if anybody showed up at Chris’s house. Outlaw recognized the white Charger from when Tammy had dropped the kids off at his mama’s house a few times.
“You ready, li’l nigga?” Outlaw asked, pulling out a black Glock 9 mm.
Ratchet reached in his waist and pulled out his back automatic .45 and cocked a bullet in the chamber. Neither one of the men said another word as they both proceeded to walk toward Tammy’s house with their guns out.
As Darious approached Tammy’s house, he noticed the men walking quickly toward him with guns drawn. His heart began to pound; he couldn’t see the men’s faces, but he could clearly see their guns. He froze at the front door, bracing himself for what was to come. He held his breath as they got closer. He felt the wind on his back as Tammy opened the door, but he didn’t look away from the approaching guns.
* * *
Lamar rolled the cock ring to the base of his dick, and then stuffed it in his G-string. He looked at himself from the side and was satisfied with his member’s appearance. The harder and bigger the bulge, the bigger the tips.
“Yo, you’re up,” Chip, the manager of the club, walked in and told Lamar.
Lamar put the rest of his outfit on and headed for the stage. It was ladies’ night, so he didn’t have to drink alcohol the way he had to in order to perform in front of the gay community. He was on a natural high and his game face was on.
Lamar stood behind the curtain, waiting for the MC to introduce him. He popped his neck and stretched. After a few moments, he realized that it was quiet on the other side of the curtain. He peeked out and noticed the silhouette of a woman sitting in the chair on the stage, but he couldn’t make out the face from where he was standing. He looked out in the club, and no one was there: no servers, security, or DJ. He walked closer to the woman in the chair, and realized it was Kim. Lamar laughed and exhaled.
Kim knew the owner of the club, and she had decided to call in a favor. Her law firm had represented the owner, Moose, in a tax evasion case. She had put together the motions needed to get his case dismissed. When she called him, he didn’t hesitate to oblige her request to give her the club for the first thirty minutes.
“What you doing, Kim?” Lamar asked, looking out into the empty club.
“I came to see you dance,” she said seductively, tossing twenty dollar bills at him.
“How am I going to dance without any music?”
Kim raised her hand, and Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop” song rushed through the speakers. Lamar looked at Kim as she uncrossed and crossed her legs.
“Dance; entertain me,” Kim said as she let the twenties flow from her hands. She had a few stacks, and showering Lamar with them was nothing. Lamar moved around her like a panther on a prowl. He had to admit dancing for her like this was making his dick even harder. He leaned down to kiss her, and Kim raised her hand. She moved away from his lips and stuffed a few more twenties in his G-string, then pushed him back. She stood up, pressed her breasts against his chest, and looked into his eyes.
“Eventually, Lamar, you will have to make a choice, and you will need to do it sooner rather than later,” Kim said, tracing his lips. “You see, I’m a woman who can do this,” Kim said, pointing to the empty club. “I’m about my business, but if you like fucking little girls in a hospital room bathroom, to each his own. Get your shit together and do it quickly. So by the time you get off tonight, you need to have made a decision, or I will make it for you.”
Kim walked off the stage, leaving a trail of twenties behind her.
Lamar watched her disappear into the darkness. The doors of the club opened, and women began to fill the club. Lamar stood center stage with a hard dick, and a lot to think about.
Chapter 26
Darious looked down the barrel of the gun, closed his eyes, and braced for impact. Right before Outlaw began to fire, Tammy opened the front door, causing Darious to fall inside the home. She had the baby in her arms, so Outlaw decided not to start shooting wildly at the house. Instead, he walked up on the steps to get a better shot at Darious.
“No, Outlaw!” Tammy yelled, standing over Darious to shield him from the danger. “Please!” she pled, holding out her hand.
If Tammy didn’t have his niece in her arms, Outlaw would have shot Darious right there. Looking into Sinniyyah’s eyes, Outlaw backed off, but not before letting Tammy know what was on his mind.
“Next time I catch ya boyfriend ’round here, I’ma blow his fuckin’ head off. You gon’ show my brotha some fuckin’ respect, whether you like it or not. Make this the last time we have this conversation,” he told Tammy, before tucking his gun back into his waist.
He gave Darious a stern look before he and Ratchet turned around an
d walked off into the night. Tammy kneeled down to help Darious up, but he snatched his arm away from her, got up off the ground, and headed for his car. Tammy ran behind him, looking over her shoulder in the direction were Outlaw and Ratchet went.
“Darious, please don’t leave,” Tammy begged, knowing that it wasn’t quite safe for him to leave yet.
“He was about to shoot me,” Darious said, stopping at the driver’s side of his car. “Ya people is crazy. I ain’t got time for this.”
“I know, I know, and I’m sorry, but please don’t leave right now,” she said, looking over her shoulder again.
She knew Outlaw, and was well aware of what he was capable of. Chris had told her enough stories of his and his brother’s murderous ways. She knew that as soon as Darious pulled off from the block, Outlaw was the type of nigga who would be waiting for him, to finish what he had started. The best thing for Darious to do now was go inside her house, where he was protected by the presence of Chris’s kids. After Tammy had a chance to explain all of that to him, Darious did just that.
* * *
Visiting hours were almost over for Ms. D. She had been given the good news that she was being discharged the following morning. Falisha decided to head home for the night and wait for Lamar to get off work. She had something special planned for him, and it involved some new lingerie she had purchased earlier in the day. She had it all planned out how she anticipated the rest of the night would go, and what she was going to do to Lamar.
“Damn, wassup, stranger?” a familiar voice said from behind, while Falisha was waiting for her cab.
She turned around, and there was Fox, standing there with his phone up to his ear. It had been awhile since Falisha had seen him, and she couldn’t quite put her hands on it, but he definitely looked different for some reason. It wasn’t his clothes, or the new haircut he was rocking, nor was it the fact that he had lost some weight. It was something else.
“How have you been, Fox?” Falisha greeted him, leaning in for a friendly hug. “Is everything all right?” she asked him, looking up at the hospital.
Single Ladies Page 17