by Elliott, K.
“Okay… think about it. I have to be getting some sleep. I have an
accounting class in the morning.”
He pulled her toward him and gave her one more kiss. His penis
tried to break free.
Chapter 9
“Have either of you ever thought about investing in real estate?”
Tommy asked Twin and JoJo. They were at Twin’s apartment, sitting at his kitchen table. “You mean like buying old houses and fixing them up?” JoJo asked.
Twin looked at Tommy. “Why you asking this shit?”
“I may know of an opportunity.”
“What kind?” JoJo asked.
“This broad I’ve been seeing… her daddy deals with real estate and shit, out in Cali, and I’m supposed to talk to him and see if we can clean up this dirty money.”
“Okay, we’re trying to be legit now?” Twin said. “We’re trying to get out of the drug game after we wash the money?”
Tommy hesitated. He didn’t really want to answer the question. He didn’t want Twin and JoJo to think he was getting soft. He wanted them to think that he would run the streets as long as they did.
“Nigga, this girl you met influencing the shit out of you. When are we going to see this broad?” Twin asked, laughing.
“Naw, nigga. Can’t nobody influence me. I’m just getting smart, that’s all.”
“Shit. Seems like you want to get all legit all of a sudden. You meet a broad and it’s let’s try some real estate shit. Nigga, do you know that no real business is gonna pay like this?” JoJo asked.
Tommy decided that there was no use in trying to show them another way.
***** Mark found himself in a dark corner in the back of the Uptown Carousel.
A small busty black girl approached him. “You wanna dance?” “No, I’m fine.”
“Yes, you are.” She sat on Mark’s lap.
“Would you mind getting off me?”
She frowned. “So what are you in here for if you don’t want
entertainment?”
“Just to get a drink.”
“Nigga, you drinking water,” the woman said, glancing at the
bottled water in front of him.
“Listen, can you just leave me alone? I’m not bothering anybody.” “Oh… stuck-up-ass nigga. I bet you got a small dick, anyhow,”
the woman said as she walked away.
“Next entertainer up is Jennifer,” the DJ announced. Pop That
Thang by Christina Millian was played. When Jennifer walked on
stage, two black guys, two white guys, and a Hispanic—all with
money in their hands—surrounded the stage.
Jennifer walked to the edge and stood in front of the Mexican,
pulled her thong aside, and ordered him to give up the handful of
cash.
One of the black guys moved closer.
Jennifer walked seductively across the stage then looked back.
With her finger, she signaled for one of the guys to follow her. They
all scrambled and made their way to the other side of the stage,
where she got down on all fours. One by one they all relinquished
their cash.
Then another set of guys came up during the second song. By
the time she’d finished dancing the stage was covered with cash.
One of the bouncers brought a bag out to help her pick up all the
money.
As she left the stage, she walked by Mark’s table. “Hey, that was
quite a performance you put on up there,” Mark said.
“Oh, Mr. DEA, I didn’t know you were here.”
“Yeah, I’ve been here for a while.”
She slid into the booth beside him. “Will you buy me a drink?” she
asked.
“Jennifer, you just made at least three hundred dollars.” She frowned. “What is the world coming to when a guy can’t buy
a girl a drink?”
“No, it’s not like that at all. I was just kidding you.”
Jennifer smiled then flagged down the waitress and ordered a sex
on the beach.
“So what brings you here?” Jennifer asked.
“I don’t know. I guess I was kind of bored and didn’t have anything
else to do.”
She giggled. “You just don’t look like the type that would be hanging
at a titty bar.”
“Neither do you.”
She frowned. “Well, Mr. Federal Agent, my life hasn’t been all
peaches and cream.”
“Nobody’s life has. That’s only in the movies.”
The waitress placed Jennifer’s drink on the table. Soldier by
Destiny’s Child played in the background. Jennifer hummed along. “So you like street guys, huh?” Mark inquired.
“Not necessarily.”
“What kind of guys do you like?”
She sipped her drink, looked away for a moment, then said, “We
are a bit inquisitive, aren’t we?”
“Just conversation, that’s all.”
“I know. I’m just kidding with you, man. Don’t be so uptight.” She
reached across the table and loosened his collar. “Come on, man,
relax. I don’t like stiff guys.” She giggled. “I take that back. I like stiff
guys, but not guys that act stiff.”
“How did you and Twin meet?”
“We met in the mall. He walked up to me and told me to pick out
anything in the mall and he would buy it.”
Mark’s eyebrow’s rose. “So what did you do?”
“I went on a mini shopping spree. I spent maybe three or four
thousand dollars.”
“Does he make you happy?”
She looked away but didn’t answer.
“He doesn’t make you happy, does he?”
She drank the rest of her drink in one gulp. “You see, Mr. DEA, it
isn’t always about happiness; it’s about what you know.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I know you don’t understand, and that’s what I mean by stiff.
You’re a square. You’re not a bad guy; you’ve never had rough times.” “I beg to differ.”
“Listen to your grammar. Nobody in my circle would say that.” “Okay. Your point is?”
The waitress put two more drinks on the table—another sex on
the beach and another bottled water.
“My point is that you had your parents growing up. They lived with
you. My daddy molested me.”
Mark didn’t know what to say at first. Finally, he uttered, “Sorry.” “Twin never knew his father, and his mother sold ass to support
him and his brother.”
“Okay, I think I know what you’re getting at,” Mark said as he
thought about his parents. He’d known all the time that he was
fortunate to have such loving parents.
“My point is people have wounds, Agent Pratt, wounds from
childhood that are hard to cover up. People are hurting, and we mask
our hurt with material stuff like designer clothes, cars, and plastic
surgery.”
“I think I see where you’re going.”
“See … drug dealers and strippers are two of a kind, and they go
together like peanut butter and jelly.”
“But you are such a sweet girl. I just hate for you to be in this
situation.”
“And what situation is that?”
“Dancing for a living and dating a hustler.”
“You can’t save the world, agent.” She stood from the table. “I’m a
big girl. I can handle myself.” She walked away.
Mark stared at her ass. He’d gotten an erection.
*****
“What the fuck is this lipstick doing on y
our collar, Motherfucker?” Nia pressed as she presented the shirt to Tommy.
“I don’t know shit. I was drunk last night. I don’t know how I got
home.”
She walked over to the bed and looked at Tommy with suspicion
but didn’t say a word.
“Listen, Nia, why don’t you just get the fuck out of my face before
I hurt you.”
Nia threw the shirt at Tommy. “You ain’t gonna do a goddamn
thing. If you hit me, my brother will be over here so fast to whip your
fat ass you won’t know what hit you.”
“And I promise you that nigga will get a free ride to the morgue.
So if you want to spare your mama a funeral, you won’t call that
coward-ass nigga.”
Nia picked up a pillow and hit Tommy with it. “You fat bastard. I
know you’re cheating on me.”
“I told you, I was drunk. I can’t remember what happened last
night. How did I get home, anyway?”
“Nigga, you drove home,” Nia said furiously.
Tommy’s cell phone rang. He grabbed his pants that were on the
floor and pulled the phone from a pocket. “Hello.”
“Tommy, this is Hector, Manny’s brother.”
“What’s up, Hector?”
“The police got Manny.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. I’ll tell you about it when you come down. Maybe we’ll
have drinks, okay?”
So many questions ran through Tommy’s head. He wondered
how Manny had gotten busted. He wanted to know what he’d gotten
busted with. And there was the ultimate question: Was he cooperating
with the police? Tommy got up and put his pants on. He started to
pace.
“Where are you going?”
Tommy held his hand up to Nia’s face. “Not now, Nia. I have other
shit to worry about.”
Nia saw that he was serious. “What happened, Tommy?” “Manny, my supplier, has been busted.”
“So what do you have to do with that?”
“Nothing. I’m concerned, that’s all.”
Their eyes met and held. Nobody said anything. He thought about
Alicia and her father. He knew he had to make the trip to California.
He had to find a better way.
***** After Tommy left, Nia walked into the kitchen, picked up the cordless telephone, and called JoJo.
“I need to see you,” she said.
“Why?”
She giggled a little. “I need to see my friend.”
“Oh, you want to see Monster, huh?”
“Nigga, you ain’t holding like that,” she laughed. “But, yeah, I do need some dick.”
“Where is Fatboy?”
“He left. He got some bad news today. Somebody name Manny got busted.”
“Manny is our connect. Well, Tommy is the only one he deals with.”
“I don’t know where he went, but I’m glad, though. Now me and you can get away.”
“You are a scandalous bitch.”
“You like it, though.”
JoJo was silent. He thought about what that would mean for him. The connect was in custody, and he didn’t have any other way of making money. He didn’t have the stash of money that Tommy had. He needed to talk to Tommy to find out the details.
“So, nigga, you going to fuck me or what?”
“I can meet you in a couple of hours. I need to talk to Tommy to find out what the hell is going on.”
“Okay, I’m going to wear those lace panties that you like. You know, the ones that make my ass look extra fat.”
“Hell yeah,” JoJo said, though the only ass he was concerned with at that point was his own. He knew that if Manny started ratting, everybody would go to jail. Although Tommy was his childhood buddy, he didn’t know how that shit would play out if Manny started a drug conspiracy. He hung up the phone and called Tommy, who answered the phone right away.
“Hey, I was just about to call you.”
“Why? What’s going on?” JoJo tried to act surprised. He couldn’t let him know that he’d spoken to Nia.
“Bad news. Manny is in custody in Miami. His brother, Hector, called.”
“Damn. So what does this mean? Are we finished or do we need to pack up our shit and get out of town or what?”
“No. Don’t worry about that. Manny only knows me. He met Twin once, but I don’t think nobody has anything to worry about. Manny ain’t that type of guy.”
“Tommy, you know what? Real estate don’t sound like a bad idea after all.”
“Now you see what I mean, huh?”
“I do.”
“JoJo, rest assured, if Manny were to implicate me in anything, I would never do anything to hurt you. I love you like a brother.”
JoJo was speechless. He hadn’t expected Tommy to say that. Suddenly, he felt bad about sleeping with Nia. His friend was a good guy overall, and he was loyal, which was a rare trait nowadays. “Tommy, I love you, too.”
***** Nia stood in front of the bed, her hands down flat on the mattress. JoJo grabbed her small waist then pushed himself inside of her as deep as he could go.
“Damn, Daddy, not so rough!” she screamed.
“You said you wanted it, now shut up and take this dick.” “I like when you talk rough to me.”
JoJo slapped her ass hard and pulled her hair.
“Pull my hair harder.”
JoJo thought about Fatboy, and then he looked down at Nia the
slut. The site of this good-for-nothing woman made him harder. He pulled her hair as hard as he could without yanking it out, and the slut was enjoying every minute of it.
They changed positions. She looked down at him, pressing his chest with her hands. The juices from her vagina drenched the condom, and the smell of sex lingered in the air. He still couldn’t help but think about Tommy and how he’d said he loved him earlier. Still he was doing some foul shit.
Nia finally stopped moving. “What’s wrong?” “Nothing’s wrong. I am just tired, that’s all.” He slid from underneath her.
“You’re not into it.”
JoJo got up and walked into the bathroom. He turned the water on, grabbed a towel, and began to wash his face.
Nia had followed him. “JoJo, what is going on with you, man?”
He turned and faced her. “I don’t feel right fuckin you behind Tommy’s back.”
“Oh my God, this nigga gets a conscience now.”
JoJo narrowed his eyes. “You know what Tommy told me today?”
“No, and I really don’t care right now.” She grabbed JoJo’s arm and tried to pull him back to the bed, but he wouldn’t move.
JoJo yanked his arm back. “I’m going to tell you anyway.”
She stood silently.
“Tommy said he loved me like a brother. I believe that shit, too, man. Your man has a good heart, and this is the fuckin thanks he gets, a slut like you.”
“Nigga, don’t you go blaming me for this shit. First of all, Tommy has a problem that he won’t correct. His dick won’t get hard. Second, I never forced you to get with me. I didn’t rape you. And third, that nigga, Mr. Innocent, came home last night with lipstick on his collar, so don’t give me the bullshit.”
JoJo stared at her for a brief moment then walked over and hugged her.
She gazed at him through teary eyes. “JoJo, I love Tommy, too. And I know he’s a good person, but I have needs. Everybody has needs. Don’t think that I enjoy fuckin around on him.”
“I know you have needs, but this creeping around is really starting to get to me.”
She shoved him away then got dressed, slipping her thongs inside her purse. She left without saying goodbye.
Chapter 10
“I need to meet with your daddy right away,” Tommy said to
Alicia.
; “Tommy, what’s wrong?”
“I would rather tell you in person.”
“Is there something you can’t say over the phone?”
Tommy hated when people asked that. He thought it was a nobrainer.
“Let’s just meet somewhere.”
“Like where?”
“Have you eaten yet?”
“No,” she said.
“Let’s meet at the Cheesecake Factory.”
***** The wait at the Cheesecake Factory was about an hour. Tommy didn’t really care for the food there. He thought it was highly overrated. He thought it was just one of those places where the superficial went to be seen, just to say they were at the Cheesecake Factory. Since becoming a big drug dealer and making a lot of money, his life had become mostly artificial.
The hostess finally came and seated them in a booth in the front of the restaurant.
“So what’s up, Tommy?” Alicia asked.
“The worst thing that could possibly happen.”
She narrowed her eyes.
Tommy drank from his glass of water, still not saying anything.
She looked around. Nobody was paying any attention to their table. “Okay, Tommy, what the hell happened?”
“Well, Manny got busted.”
“Who is that?”
“That’s my connect; you know, the guy that I get my product from.” “Yeah, I know what a connect is. I’m not green, you know.” “I know. I keep forgetting.”
She smiled but didn’t say anything. Instead she reached for his hand and held it briefly.
“Alicia, I need a new life.”
“So what are you saying, Tommy?”
“I’m saying you were right. I can’t go on like this. I need to see your dad and get some advice on how to clean up my act.”
“So you think Manny might snitch on you?”
“That’s not what I’m saying at all. In fact, I don’t think Manny will tell on me.”
She sipped her water then smiled. “Tommy, I want to help you, whatever you need me to do to make sure every thing is okay with you. I don’t want to see another black man sent away to prison.”
He smiled and she grabbed his hand again.
“Tommy, I don’t want to see you in trouble.”
“Alicia, when can we go meet your pops?”
“We can leave Friday, if you want.”
***** Alicia and Tommy stepped off the plane in San Francisco. They walked hurriedly to baggage claims, where Alicia’s father was waiting.