by Jauwel
“Not all of us are bad...” A voice said from the darkness of the room. “Are we?” Smoove stepped out of the shadows into the light. He looked at her as if he’d never looked at her before. Her grey tank top and boy shorts over her thick, curvy body made him lick his lips. Getting information out of her about Lance would be even more interesting than he thought. Under normal circumstances, he would never give her the attention she was looking for. On the other hand, if he needed information from her, he would do whatever he needed to do. Dink told him that he was sure Lance had been there, so Smoove wanted to make sure he found out how long he had been coming and what he told her. He needed the information so he could push Lance out of his position of power in front of the rest of 10th Mob for giving up Mob information to someone who was not affiliated with them. They would kick him out and look to Smoove as the person they needed to follow, which is exactly what he needed to build his empire.
Destiny couldn’t believe that the man she’d been lusting after for so long was standing in her living room alone. Why was he there? She couldn’t help but look at his caramel face and muscular body and remember why she was in love with him in the first place. In the back of her mind, she could hear Lance’s voice telling her not to betray him. Was this a test? Lance had just left, now Smoove was there. Lance must be testing her to see if she would remain loyal to him. Therefore, she was determined she would pass his test.
“I brought Dink home.” Smoove said, walking closer to Destiny. “I wanted to make sure he got home safe.”
“He shouldn’t have been out with you in the first place. You keep forgetting, he’s just a kid.” Destiny scolded with her finger waving in the air in his direction.
“You’re right. I’m sorry.” He moved closer to her, invading her personal space. “Do you forgive me?”
Destiny’s head told her to move away from Smoove, but her body was stuck in one spot. She had wanted to get his attention for a long time. Now, he was giving it to her. He put both of his hands on her thick hips then pulled her body close to his. Closing her eyes, she inhaled his scent deeply. She could feel her legs getting weak; she knew he could tell she was still attracted to him, but she had to pull away.
“Yeah,” she said quickly, moving her body away from his. “Just don’t let it happen again.” She began to walk toward her room, but he grabbed her arm, stopping her before she could go too far.
“Do you think it’ll be ok if I stay until I sober up some?” Smoove asked. “Dink said it was ok, but I would rather make sure it’s ok with you as well.” He began to rub his finger on the arm he was holding. Had she not known it was a test, she would easily have become putty in his hands. Lance meant the world to her, so she had to make sure she got this right.
“Fine!” She pulled her arm away. “Stay until you sober up, just lock the door when you leave.” Destiny walked down the hallway then closed and locked her room door. She didn’t want to be close to Smoove, it was too hard. She may have been in love with Lance, but Smoove made her question her feelings. Thus, Destiny decided to keep her distance, take a shower, and get ready for bed.
Chapter 20
Destiny was passed out in her bed, probably the best sleep she’d gotten in a long time, when she heard tapping at her door. Looking at her cell phone, she saw that it was close to three thirty in the morning. She took a deep breath and got out of bed to answer the door, remembering she’d locked it because Smoove was out there.
“Yeah, what’s up?” She questioned, leaning on the door, still not fully awake. Dink would’ve never tapped on the door like that, so she knew it was Smoove at the door. He was mumbling something, making it difficult to hear him. Without thinking, she opened the door and Smoove rushed in. He looked at Destiny with her beautiful skin and realized how much he wanted to touch her. Without a second thought, he grabbed her in his arms and pulled her into a passionate kiss. Although she tried to pull away, the lust she felt for Smoove made it difficult for her to do so. Once he recognized she was under his control, he wanted to do all he could to get answers relating to what Lance was planning. If he wanted to take him down, he needed to stay two steps ahead of him. Smoove rubbed his hands across her thick hips under her boy shorts, grabbing a big handful of both of her cheeks. He could feel her trying to resist, but he knew it would be hard for her to pull away. Therefore, he backed her up to her queen sized bed and laid her body down.
“What are you doing?” Destiny asked between kisses. “You have to stop.”
“Why, I thought you wanted this; I thought you wanted me.” Smoove stopped kissing her and stared into her eyes then moved his hands up her tank top to play with her nipples. Her body trembled at his touch. At that point, he realized all he had to do was give her what she wanted and she would tell him anything he wanted to know. “I guess you didn’t want me like you said you did. I guess you found someone else.”
“Yes, I did.” She moved away from him as much as possible, but there wasn’t very much room to navigate since he was lying on her. “He loves me.”
“Are you saying I don’t?” He stopped when he realized he needed to do more to get her on his side. “You just pushed me aside, not even caring about how I felt.” He looked at her with pain and confusion, hoping she wouldn’t be able to see through his deception and lies.
“I did.” She confessed, as her heart began to soften. “I thought you never wanted me.”
“How could you think that? I always wanted you, I just couldn’t show it.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t want anyone to hurt you to get to me. I don’t want anything to happen to you, but I want you by my side. I guess I better go.” Smoove hoped she was falling for the lies he was telling her. He watched as she tried to hide what she was thinking, but it was written all over her face. She wanted him. Now he had her right where he wanted her. All he had to do was get her to tell him everything she knew about Lance. He kissed her deeply which made her uncontrollably wet, her body throbbed beneath his body. She wanted him but didn’t want to betray Lance. The more she looked at him, she realized she couldn’t help herself and kissed him back. All she wanted was for Smoove to love her. Now that he’d told her how he really felt, she found it difficult to hold back her feelings. She couldn’t believe she was finally getting the chance to kiss Smoove, so she wanted to make sure she enjoyed the moment. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she continued to kiss him as he put his thick, strong hands underneath her boy shorts and grabbed a handful of her round, juicy butt. The more she felt his hands caressing her body, the more she wanted him, until, suddenly, she realized what she was doing and pulled away.
“No!” She pushed away from his kiss. “I can’t do this. Really, I need you to leave.” She pulled her body away from his then pointed to the door, making sure he understood she wanted him out. Smoove was shocked at her dedication to Lance. Nevertheless, he needed information from her. So, by any means necessary, he had to do what needed to be done. “I can’t, I’m sorry but you have to go.”
“Really, you gon’ shut me down for Lance?”
“Hold on, how you know I’m fuckin with Lance?” Destiny asked full of attitude, putting her hands on her hips.
“I check up on you from time to time. I always have my eye on you.” Smoove smiled.
“Well, it ain’t no need for you to do that. He makes sure I’m fully taken care of.”
“Oh yeah, you think so, huh? You ever been out with him in public, he ever buy you anything, he ever do anything for you other than fuck you?” Smoove looked at her sternly.
Grabbing her by the arm, he pulled her close to him again. “I wouldn’t do that to you and you know that. If you my girl, then you my girl, ain’t no need to hide it. What, you ain’t fine enough to be on his arm when he hit the street?”
“Get the fuck off me.” Destiny stated with a mellow voice. She didn’t want him to know he was getting under her skin, but he was. He was saying all the things she was wondering in the ba
ck of her head, but hadn’t said aloud–afraid if she verbalized it, it might make it true. But the fact remained that the only time Lance came over was for sex and to ask what her brother was into. Was Smoove right? Was Lance playing her for information about her brother?
Smoove knew Destiny would be defensive about the questions he was asking, but he had to put the idea in her head if it wasn’t already. From her facial expression, he realized he had touched a nerve, making her think about what he’d said. Although he was doing anything to get her on his side, he wasn’t telling her anything that wasn’t true. After leaving her alone for a couple of minutes and not speaking, he could see that she was really struggling with what the truth was. He took a deep breath and looked at her. By now, she was vulnerable. It was the perfect opportunity to regain her attention.
“Look, I know it’s hard to hear, but truth is truth. I’m just trying to be real with you. I talk to you, I care about you. I know how that nigga do.”
“Yeah, I know you know how he do, he’s ya boy…your side nigga. So why you so quick to give him up like that? Aren’t y’all niggas supposed to stick together or something?” Destiny queried.
“Yeah, that’s my boy, and has been since we was little mans, you know what I’m saying. But lately, he been on some other shit; he even been kicking me to the left. I don’t know ma, I just know I’m here ‘cause I wanna be here, not ‘cause I want something out of you. I just want you.” He wrapped both of his arms around Destiny then kissed her softly on the lips. Destiny sank into his touch and kiss but was rejected when he pulled away and walked toward the door. She didn’t know exactly how to feel or what to think. However, the one thing she was sure of was Smoove didn’t lie to her and he wasn’t keeping things from her.
“Smoove,” she called out to him before he reached the doorknob, grabbed him by the hand, and pulled him back to her for another kiss. “Maybe we can work something out–something that’s real.”
Knowing his scheme had worked, Smoove smiled. She was hooked and he didn’t even have to have sex with her. He understood that her mind was weak and she would turn on her man if she got too emotional. If she found out he was cheating or lying to her, she had a mouth loud enough to make people listen. Women who put all their men’s business in the street was the worst thing a man could have. He had to admit that she tried to holdout on telling him what was really going on with her and Lance. However, once he made her realize Lance might be using her, she didn’t see a reason to be loyal to him.
“Maybe we can work out something, if you’re real about your shit. I’m not trying to be played again.” Destiny put her hand on her hip, looking at him, and waiting for an answer.
“Well you know,” Smoove said with his deceitful grin. “I been looking for a First Lady of 10th Mob.”
Without hesitation, Destiny thought of the street status she would get by being the first lady of 10th Mob, just being a part of 10th Mob was one thing, but being first lady was another. She knew she would have to provide Smoove with all the information she had, but had to be careful because she didn’t want Smoove to use her like Lance was.
“Yeah, that’s nice and all, but I need something; I need to know your word is real.”
“It’s real baby, trust me.” Smoove tried to continue his con game, but could tell Destiny wasn’t buying it.
“Yeah right, we’ll see.” Destiny retorted with a stern face, but she began to smile when she realized she could use this information to her advantage. “Actually, I’m sure we can think of a couple of things you can do for me right now.” Grinning devilishly, she grabbed a handful of Smoove’s man meat then pulled off his shirt, displaying his thick chest. Smoove simply smiled back. He knew exactly what she had in mind.
Chapter 21
From what Tae could see, Lance stayed true to his word. Not only had he lit a fire under the lawyer handling his case, he also heard he was able to get a 10th Mob member locked up in the same facility as him to watch his back. Lance considered Tae to be extremely loyal. For that reason, he wanted to ensure that the 10th Mob he loved was just as true to their word as he was. For a man that had nothing, his word was all he had; it was something Tae believed wholeheartedly. All Tae could do now was make sure he didn’t cause any problems behind the walls of Dawkins, which, on a daily basis, was proving to be more difficult .
Like most men in the world, the men at Dawkins loved sports, in particular football and basketball. They played it and talked about it; most of all, they wanted to watch it. Dawkins Correctional Administration granted all the inmates with television privileges the ability to watch the games when they came on. However, whatever channel the sporting events were aired on, the TV had to remain on the same station all day. That was providing, if they were aired during the allotted time slots. For that reason, the channel couldn’t be changed if a specific game was coming on and that was the bottom line. Dawkins had a couple of areas where inmates could have rec time, none of which were better than the Big Room. The Big Room was the largest lounge area in Dawkins. The inmates gave it the name because of the extra large plasma television that was on the wall and the size of the room. To the inmates, it was more like a movie theater than a lounge area.
With the opening of the Big Room, the inmates were overjoyed that they could lean back and watch a full basketball or football game. Unfortunately, like everything in Dawkins, it was a short-lived experience. About two years ago, fifteen officers were called into the Big Room to break up a thirty-five man fight while watching the Super Bowl. Even though most of the inmates didn’t like either team, the argument over the game gave them a reason to express how they felt toward one another. Thus, an uncontrollable fight broke out. After the fight was controlled, the Big Room was shut down to all inmates until further notice. Oftentimes, inmates complained that they didn’t have anything to do with the fight, so it was unfair that they were all being punished for a couple of knuckleheads who wanted to fight anyway.
Administration didn’t lift the ‘shut down’ of the Big Room, but they did think of another solution to provide inmate’s access to the Big Room and keep them in line. They decided they would provide privileges to individuals that didn’t cause any problems and did what they were supposed to do. Thereby, creating a program that would monitor inmates who were trying to make a difference in their life. Those men were enrolled in the STAR Program, which was an acronym for Satisfactory Transition Acceptance Reform. They were permitted to attend classes as long as they performed their assigned tasks as well as stayed clear of any altercations or disciplinary write-ups while in the program. Good standing in the STAR program also gave them an advantage when it was time to go before the Prison Review Board for release. However, the most important thing to the men in the STAR program was the privilege to access the Big Room. The program was still in its trial and error stage, but they were pleased that the program was working in their favor for the most part.
Most of the inmates not enrolled in the STAR program hated it, mostly because they couldn’t keep themselves on track long enough to be accepted. They constantly harassed the men in the program, saying they were too good to hang with ‘common niggas’. As a result, they tried chumping program attendees to get them kicked out. Consequently, the STAR program caused many of them more problems than usual. Because he was already sticking out like a sore thumb, Tae didn’t tell anyone he was enrolled in the program. Not for any other reason than to be able to watch basketball in peace. Tae was supposed to take his balling skills to the pros, but the streets called and he answered, causing him to miss his opportunity to have a better life. Even though he hated missing his chance to make it to the pros, basketball was still in his heart. On his old block, he still had the fastest feet and the best three-point shot from the side lines; he never missed a three-pointer.
“So lil nigga,” Cotton said to Tae. “I hear you got an invite to watch the playoffs in the Big Room.” Cotton pulled him over to the side of the room. Being that Tae wanted t
o keep him out of harm’s way, he didn’t converse with Cotton in front of anyone.
“How da fuck you hear dat?” Tae asked, looking baffled. Tae made it a point not to tell anyone he was in the STAR program, not even Cotton.
“Just because niggas don’t be talkin, don’t mean I don’t be hearin’ shit. I know mo’ ‘bout what’s goin’ on up in dis bitch than da damn guards do.” Cotton shook his head about the fact that he knew everything that went on in Dawkins, even if it was supposed to be kept quiet. Somehow, Cotton found out everything he wanted. “So you going or what? I got a bet on da game and I need a good pair of eyes to give me da rundown.”
Tae knew Cotton always had something up his sleeve, especially if it involved making money. Tae agreed to get him firsthand information on the game if he cut him in on the deal. Cotton didn’t have a problem with that, he had already planned to give Tae a portion of whatever he made. What Cotton didn’t want to tell Tae was he’d bet against Black and heard that he also had a man in on the game. Cotton knew if he didn’t have someone watching the game for him Black would lie and tell him anything to keep from paying him his money. In addition, it was important that he let Tae know because of who Black had on the game.
“Yo, ah youngin…,” Cotton paused. “I gotta be up front wit’ you. Black is da nigga bettin’ against me.”
“Ok, so what?” Tae laughed, knowing there was no way Black would get in to view the game, so he could watch it in peace and make some easy money for both him and Cotton.