Boss changed all that the day he pulled up beside me in his Cadillac Escalade in the pouring rain.
Damn, he fine...I thought to myself as I began to wonder who he was and what he wanted with me. He had smooth dark chocolate skin with cocoa eyes and beautiful full lips. His long braids were fresh and tight, and his facial hair was perfectly trimmed and lined up. I was instantly infatuated.
“You need a ride, Ma?” he asked with an anxious smile and sexy-ass voice.
I paused for a moment; what I knew I was supposed to do and what I wanted to do were two different things. I was freezing cold, and my throat was starting to get sore - but I knew better than to accept a ride from a stranger.
“Where you live at?”
“21st and Breman,” I answered him without even thinking. “But first I gotta go pick my li’l sister up from school.” For some reason, I couldn’t stop myself from telling him things; in five minutes, he knew more about me than most of the kids I went to school with every day.
“Get in,” he said as he reached over and opened the passenger door so that I could climb inside. “I’ll give you a ride.”
My book bag was so heavy, I didn’t need much convincing. Besides, if he tried to pull something, there was always the blade I kept in my front jeans pocket. Against my better judgment and everything my mother had drilled in my head ever since I was a little girl, I got in his truck.
“What’s yo name?”
“Meesha.”
“I’m -”
“Boss,” I finished his sentence. “I know who you are. You used to live on 21st.”
“A long time ago.” He took his eyes off the road just long enough to glance my way for a second. “How old are you?”
“Sixteen,” I lied. “Almost sixteen.”
“You look a lot older.” He glanced back over at me again. “A whole lot older.”
He was closer to my mother’s age than to mine, but I didn’t care; I knew instantly that there was going to be something between us, and I wanted it too bad to just let it go. It wasn’t about his truck, his money, or the diamond jewelry on his ears, neck, and wrists...there was something special about him...something my little young heart had never experienced before.
“What school you go to?”
“Gateway Institute of Technology.” I gave him the long version just to try and impress him. “I’ll be a junior next year.”
“Goin’ to Gateway, you must be smart, huh?”
“I guess so.” I smiled, feeling like I’d finally made an impression on him. I wanted him to remember me when I got out of that truck. I wanted him to remember me every day for as many days as it took.
We got to Angie’s school ten times quicker than I usually got there on foot. I went inside to get her by myself, but I made sure to leave my book bag behind; he wasn’t about to leave before I found out more about him. That may have been it, and I might not have gotten another chance.
“Boss, this is my li’l sister Angie,” I introduced him to one of the most important people in my life. “Angie, say hi to Boss.”
“Hi, Mr. Boss,” Angie greeted him in her sweet little five-year-old voice. “Thank you for pickin’ me up in the rain.” She delivered her line perfectly, just as we’d rehearsed it on the way to the truck.
“You’re welcome, li’l mama.” Boss warmed up to Angie instantly, then turned his attention back to me. “Make sure and put her seatbelt on.”
“I will,” I assured him. “I always take good care of my li’l sister.”
He simply nodded his head in approval - and I took that approval and ran with it. What I told him was true: I did always take good care of Angie, but I made sure to be extra patient with her in his presence. I helped her up into his truck, then fastened the seatbelt around her tiny little body. Once I was satisfied that she was safe and secure, I got back in front and fastened my own seatbelt. Sitting next to him in his truck made me feel something I’d never felt in my entire life: important; not just to my mom or my little brothers and Angie, but important to somebody that didn’t even know me. That feeling was worth more to me than all the money in the world - too bad it wouldn’t last much longer; there was nowhere left for him to take us but home.
“Meesha, I’m hungry,” Angie whined from behind me. “We ain’t got no food at home but some bologna. What we gonna eat?”
I could have died from embarrassment. I didn’t want Boss to know that the only food we had in our house was a pound of bologna and a few packs of Ramen noodles. Suddenly, I didn’t feel so important next to him; I just felt insignificant.
“What you want to eat, li’l mama?” Boss turned around in his seat and gave Angie his undivided attention.
“I want a Happy Meal,” Angie damn near chanted. “Chicken nuggets.”
I couldn’t blame her. I was tired of bologna myself, and some hot salty fries from Mickey D’s did sound good. Hell, a Big Mac sounded even better. I was glad that Boss’ stereo was loud enough that he couldn’t hear my stomach growl. Other than the Pop Tart my boy Derrick shared with me earlier that morning at school, I hadn’t eaten a thing all day.
“That cool with you?” Boss turned to me and asked. “I could go for some chicken nuggets myself.” He smiled at me once again.
I didn’t know how he was feeling, but for me it was pretty much love at first sight. I wanted to be his girl so bad - and I was willing to do just about anything to make it happen.
“Let’s go.” I just sat back and smiled.
Boss drove us downtown towards the nearest McDonald’s. It was only a five-minute drive, but I enjoyed every second of it. As long as I was sitting beside him, I was good. I couldn’t figure out what to think of Boss. Did he feel sorry for me? Was I just his latest charity case? A man like him couldn't be interested in a girl like me, could he? I didn’t have anything of any value to him. I was smart enough to know that he could have any chick he wanted, but I was also brave enough to hope that the chick he wanted was me.
We stayed at McDonald’s for over an hour, just eating and talking. I couldn’t even finish my Big Mac; I was too busy trying to figure him out. Angie had a Happy Meal, an apple pie, and an ice cream sundae. She was good and full. As soon as we got back in the truck, she fell fast asleep.
“Thank you.” I leaned in and showed my gratitude with a kiss. “Wow.” The word fell effortlessly out of my mouth. To my surprise, he kissed me back. My head was high up in the clouds. I was kissing Boss, and he was kissing me back. My first kiss was with my best friend Jason when were only ten years old – but that was back before he told me he was gay. This kiss was different; it made me feel brand new.
“You kiss all the boys like that?” Boss joked, and it was at that moment that I saw for the first time that he was feeling me, too.
“No.” I tried my best not to blush, but I couldn’t help it. “Just you.”
I leaned back in and kissed him again. He made me feel safe and vulnerable all at the same time. I wanted to tell him all my secrets because I knew he’d keep them. All the bad things I’d heard about him were lies; they had to be. There was no way that this man who pulled me in out of the rain was capable of causing such pain. Other people just didn’t understand him - not like I could; not like I would.
As we sat parked in front of my family’s apartment, the rain started coming down harder and faster. Soon, we were sitting in the middle of one hell of a storm. It was so romantic; the rain sang background as his cologne mixed with my perfume, creating a sexy and unique aroma. Suddenly, though, the loud crashing thunder, followed by bright jolts of lightning, brought it all to an end - reeling me back into reality.
“I better get her in the house,” I said, pointing to Angie, who was still sound asleep in the backseat. “She needs a bath, and she hasn’t even done her homework yet.”
“I’ll carry her in.” He took off his beautiful tan leather jacket and put it around me. “You get the food.”
Not only did he treat me and Angie, but he
also sent me home with enough burgers and fries for my four little brothers. Maybe he was too good to be true, but I didn’t care. I didn’t want anyone to tell me about Boss; I wanted to learn it all for myself. That cold rainy day, he showed me that somebody other than my family could care about me. That day, a man with no reason to let anybody in had let me in. That day, we connected on a level that went so far beyond our age difference...that day was just the beginning.
Chapter 20
The next day, Boss was there waiting to drive me to Angie’s school. Before we picked her up, he told me he had a little surprise for me; well, it might have been little to him, but it was the biggest gift anybody had ever given me. Inside of a slim, black velvet rectangular-shaped box was the most beautiful diamond bracelet that I ever laid eyes on. It was a full 10 carats of flawless princess cut diamonds in a glowing platinum setting. I was speechless. I didn’t understand what I did that was so special. I was nobody. Girls like me didn’t get gifts like that; we watched the blonde-haired, blue-eyed girls on TV get showered with jewels that sparkled like the stars in the far away night sky and dreamed that it would one day happen to us – but in the back of our minds, we knew it never would. When stars fell to earth, they didn’t land in the ghetto – that is, not until Boss. He was a superstar, and he landed right at my feet.
“Come here and let me put it on you.” Boss took the velvet box from my hand and removed the bracelet. “I want you to wear this to always remind you of this day.”
“I’ll never forget.”
When he pushed up the sleeve of my pink Walmart sweater and put the bracelet around my wrists, I felt like I was in the middle of a fairy tale. Two days ago, I was sitting in our apartment praying for something good to come into my life; now, he was here.
“Meesha, I’m not a perfect man. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, but I wanna make up for that now. With you.”
“Okay.” I had no idea what he was talking about, but I would have agreed to anything with that gorgeous bracelet on my wrist.
The next few days were like a dream for me. Boss picked me up every single day, we’d head to Angie’s school to pick her up, then he’d take us somewhere for dinner. On Wednesday we had pizza, Thursday it was Chinese, and Friday we were back at McDonald’s - Angie wanted another Happy Meal. That Saturday, my mother had the day off so I was free to spend the entire day with Boss. We went to the mall, where he treated me to a surprise shopping spree. He dropped three hundred and eighty dollars at Lady Footlocker on three new pairs of Nikes for me, then we stopped at the nail salon, where he got my nails and toes done. Next, we went to Macy’s, where he counted out seventeen one hundred dollar bills like it was nothing. When it was all over, I had enough new clothes to last me an entire month. I felt like a queen. Boss was a perfect gentleman; he opened doors for me, he held my hand as we walked through the mall, and he even carried my bags for me.
We didn’t have fast food that night; instead, he took me to Landry’s Seafood House for a nice intimate dinner. It was my first time dining there. We sat out on the patio and watched the people go back and forth across the lake in their rented paddle boats. I was having such a good time, I began to wonder whose life I fell into and when they were going to come back and claim it.
Chapter 21
By the time I turned sixteen, I was already head over heels in love. It didn’t matter to me what everybody else thought - Boss had my heart; if he wasn’t right for me, no one was. Nobody treated me better, and nobody made my life more meaningful. He said things to me that stopped me in mid-stride. I knew he loved me, too; he told me every single day.
For my birthday, Boss let me pick out any car I wanted. The price didn’t matter. Plaza Motors sold some of the most beautiful luxury vehicles on the planet, and we weren’t there long before I set my sights on a pretty little Porsche. The Cayenne was part-car and part-SUV, and a perfect red paint job adorned the exterior while smooth black leather flowed throughout the interior; it was the perfect combination. I wanted it bad, so I got it – and it didn’t take me long to realize that being Boss’s Bitch came with benefits. I didn’t have to turn many pages, though, to find out that it also came with plenty drawbacks.
I’d been living with Boss for two months when the drama began. I was standing over the stove frying fish in one skillet and scrambling ground beef in another, waiting for my Big Daddy to walk through the door. That night, I was preparing his favorite dinner of fried jack salmon, spaghetti with extra meat and extra sauce, garlic toast, and 7-Up cake for dessert. When the telephone rang, I dashed across the room to retrieve it from the base...a few short minutes later, I found myself wishing I’d just let the muthafucka ring.
“Hello?” I answered half out of breath. “Hello?” I repeated when no one responded.
“Can I speak to Boss?” An unknown female voice requested to speak to my man.
“Who is this?”
“Excuse me?”
“You excused,” I snapped. “I said who the fuck is this?”
“Just tell him Asia’s on the phone.” Her high-pitched voice was really starting to irk the fuck out of me. “He knows who I am.”
“And who the fuck are you?”
“Ask yo man. He knew exactly who the fuck I was last night.”
The ignorant bitch laughed, then hung up in my ear. I looked at the Caller ID: the call came from The Candy Shop - and I knew exactly what time it was then. The Candy Shop was a massage parlor known more for its blow jobs than its massages. Tia Knowles owned the place, and she just so happened to be old friends with my mother. I was so upset by the conversation that I paid no attention to the fish burning on the stove. Let it burn; I had bigger fish to fry.
“Hey, baby,” Boss said, answering his cell on the first ring.
“’Hey baby’ my ass!” I yelled in his ear, wishing he was already home so I could yell right in his face. “Nigga, who the fuck is Asia?”
“Who?”
“Boss, don’t play with me,” I warned him before he got too deep into his lie. “Who the fuck is Asia?”
“Baby, I don’t know no muthafuckin’ Asia.”
“That’s funny ‘cause the bitch just called here.”
“What she say?” He was beginning to sound as guilty as I’d already decided he was.
“If you don’t know the bitch, then why the fuck you worried about what she said?” I asked him in a very calm, logical fashion. “Huh, Boss? You got a clever response for that one?”
He didn't respond, nor did he need to; his silence said it all. The night before, he told me he was at The Two One having a few drinks with Pee-Wee. He was lying through his fucking teeth.
“I knew this shit was a mistake.” I could have kicked myself in the ass for moving in with him so fast. “My mama tried to tell me; she said livin’ together changes everything.”
“Baby, listen to m -”
“Nigga, fuck you.” I told him in a whisper, then hung up the phone. “Fuckin’ liar.”
I stood there in a daze...this shit couldn't really be happening...who the fuck did he think he was? Better yet, who the fuck did his side piece think she was fucking with? My mama didn’t raise no punks.
I hurled the phone across the room like it was a football, and it hit the wall hard and cracked before crashing to the floor. The hum of the dial tone didn't distract me at all. The fish was burnt, so I walked back over to the stove and turned both burners off. The entire meal went into the trash - even the food that wasn’t ruined. That nigga didn’t deserve my food; let his side hoe cook his dinner.
My mother warned me that I’d have to go through those types of things. Boss was a rare breed: he was young, handsome, and financially secure; Black men like that were rare where I came from. My mother also warned me that when it did happen, I’d better handle my business – and that was exactly what I planned on doing.
“Excuse me!” I yelled as soon as I stepped foot in The Candy Shop. “Which one of ya’ll is Asia?”
<
br /> I had all of their attention - but I was only there for one. The bitch was bad on the phone, and I hoped she was just as bad in person; that would have made kicking her ass even more satisfying
“Who wants to know?”
I recognized that voice instantly. It was irritating over the phone, but in person it was just plain nauseating. I scanned the room, searching for whoever the voice belonged to – and there she was, looking exactly how she sounded on the phone: ignorant.
“Bitch, I know who you are.” I started to walk towards her. “What, you thought I was just gonna let that shit ride?”
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