Halleigh found a comfortable space on his chest as her legs intertwined with his, and he kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arms around her. Then they both drifted into a peaceful slumber.
Chapter Eleven
The next day, they headed back to Flint. Mimi and Tasha rode in Tasha’s car, while Halleigh rode back with Maury.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Tasha asked Mimi, noticing the twisted-up expression on her face.
“Nothing.” Mimi stared out of the side mirror at the couple following closely behind them. She cut her eyes, pushed her seat back, and pushed her oversized knock-off Dior glasses up on the bridge of her nose.
Truth be told, Mimi didn’t like the fact that Maury and Halleigh were riding back to Flint together. Mimi couldn’t understand for the life of her why he hadn’t asked her to roll back with him. As a matter of fact, she didn’t understand why he had stayed up in Halleigh’s face the entire time they’d been in New York. She wondered what Halleigh could possibly have that she didn’t. After thinking about it for a minute, she came to a conclusion—Nothing.
Mimi sighed. She was sick of Halleigh playing the weak and innocent role, the role that always seemed to make it so that she was the center of attention. Hell, if it wasn’t for her ass, Tasha would have never made a way to get us from up under Manolo. Why’d it take this bitch to make her finally give a shit? I been there selling pussy and getting beat down forever and a day and the bitch ain’t never try to do no prison-break type of shit when it came to my ass.
In Mimi’s eyes, with Halleigh all up in Maury’s face all the time, it was a wonder he could even breathe. Mimi folded her arms over her chest and thought, Fuck it. If he wants to ride with her ass, let ’em. But that nigga could have been getting the best blow job in his life while we rode.
Halleigh had no clue about Mimi’s brewing anger toward her. Had she known that Mimi was feeling Maury like that, she would have quickly fell back from the jump—not that she was leaning forward or anything like that.
Early that morning, she and Maury had gotten up to talk, and after expressing her concerns to Maury, he agreed to give her time to get herself together. They both decided that it was best for them to be friends and let their relationship progress naturally instead of forcing it.
Being honest with herself, Halleigh had to admit that she did like Maury. But she knew that she’d made the best decision for herself. She needed some “me time,” if ever anybody did.
Maury didn’t seem to be upset with Halleigh’s wishes, and his behavior toward her didn’t change at all. In all actuality, he respected her more. And that same respect he showed her was one of the reasons she liked him so much. No matter what the end brought, Halleigh was sure that Maury would become one of her most valuable friends.
Maury glanced over at Halleigh, who was staring idly out of her window. He knew that Flint was the root of all of her problems and that she wasn’t thrilled about returning. He reached over and grabbed her hand and told her, “Everything is gon’ be all right.”
She looked over at him, giving him a weak smile and a nod. “I know,” she replied, but her tone wasn’t believable.
The frightened looked in her eyes made him glad that he was accompanying them back to Flint. If anything popped off, he wanted to make sure he was there to have the women’s backs.
Maury put in Jay-Z’s CD American Gangster, and Halleigh reclined her seat, as they followed behind Tasha and Mimi and prepared themselves for the ten-hour drive back to the city of Flint.
The first thing the girls did when they arrived back in Flint was find a place to lay their heads. They eventually planned on checking in on the place they had just days ago called home, the roof Manolo had kept over their heads, but they knew it wasn’t safe to rest their heads there.
After checking out two other places that had FOR RENT signs in the windows, the girls managed to rent a three-bedroom apartment on the outskirts of Flint. Spots like that didn’t care about credit checks and all that mess. All those slum lords wanted was the cash required to move in. If they had to put you out on the streets and rent to the next, then so be it.
Maury moved into a one-bedroom spot nearby and told Tasha to lay low for another couple days, just to be on the safe side.
Tasha agreed to keep her girls in line for a couple of days. Halleigh wasn’t going to be a problem, that she could bet the farm on. Mimi, on the other hand, was back in her element, and Tasha didn’t know how long she could keep her still before the desire to go get her hustle on in the old way kicked back in.
It was crucial that the girls stayed out of niggas’ radars. Word could easily get back to Manolo that they were out kickin’ it, doing them instead of seeing about him. That would be a red flag for sure, and it wouldn’t take long after that for Manolo to put two and two together and figure out that they were the ones behind his arrest. If that were to happen, then they would have an entirely new set of problems on their hands.
With Tasha, Halleigh, and Mimi out of harm’s way, Maury took the opportunity to familiarize himself with his new surroundings. Riding up and down the city streets, he immediately recognized the mentality of its hoods. He could tell that he was in a city that bred killers.
And he couldn’t be more right. Every nigga in Flint had the heart of a lion, and if he didn’t, then he had his gun to back him up.
Maury knew that scary dudes were the first ones to reach for their pistols when something popped off; therefore, he would have to be on point, especially being in a town that wasn’t his home. Dudes always recognized outsiders, and would often try to test them. He immediately decided that he needed to hook up with a Flint native, and knew exactly who he would go to.
Maury knocked on the door to Tasha’s apartment. He needed to get at Mimi because he knew she could feed him the information he needed that would allow him to distinguish between the haves and the have-nots of Flint. Mimi had worked the streets of Flint much longer than Halleigh, and besides that, she was live in the game, so he knew that she knew all the players—the starters and the bench warmers. He knew he’d have to watch her, though, to make sure that she knew when to tone herself down and when to keep quiet about things.
He could just as easily have gone to his sister to get information, but she hadn’t been in the streets working them the way both Mimi and Halleigh had. And even though Halleigh had been out there on the grind, she was too low-key. Maury did know that eventually Halleigh’s assets would be beneficial too. Since she was low-key, he figured she was the type who just sat back and observed a lot of stuff, so sooner or later he’d need to see Flint through her eyes too. But, for now, he needed to get at Mimi, and soon.
After Maury knocked a couple of times, Halleigh answered the door. She was wearing one of the outfits he had purchased for her. The BCBG jeans and a fitted black turtleneck sweater gave her a mature, classy look.
“Hey,” she greeted, a smile instantly forming on her face upon seeing Maury standing there.
“What up, ma?” He responded with a smile of his own. Halleigh was the only chick he knew who could possibly distract him from making money. Her aura attracted him, and when he was in her presence, he was always focused on her.
He leaned in and gave her a hug, trying his best to keep it friendly, as she’d requested. He had to keep his mind on the money if he was going to make the most of his little trip to Flint.
“Come on in.” She stepped to the side so he could enter their apartment.
“You good?” he asked her. “You need anything?”
Halleigh laughed and shook her head. “No, I don’t need anything. I was actually just on my way out. Tasha’s not here.” She grabbed her leather Hermes bag. “But she should be back any minute. She just ran to the grocery real quick to pick up a few things.”
He looked Halleigh up and down and asked, “Yo, so where you headed, shorty? Matter of fact,” Maury said as if a sudden thought had just popped into his head, “why is Tasha’s a
ss even out anyway? I thought I told y’all to stay low. Hell, I could have gone to the damn store for her.”
“Chill,” Halleigh said, pressing her hands downward as if telling him to calm down. “We have been laying low for the past couple days. And Mimi’s here. She’s right in her bedroom.” Halleigh pointed to the closed door toward the end of the hallway.
“Good. At least somebody has some sense to keep they ass in the house,” Maury stated. “There’s too much at stake for any fuck-ups. The last thing y’all need is for Manolo to get a whiff of y’all’s asses and try to come at y’all.”
“That’s not going to happen. Tasha made a few calls to a couple of people who keep their ear to the street. There’s no word out there about what’s up with Manolo. We called the jail. No bail is set, so he probably won’t be on the streets for a minute.” Halleigh shrugged. “So we figured we can’t hide out in this matchbox forever. Besides, I’m just going to grab some lunch right at the little restaurant down the block. Is that all right with you?”
Halleigh could see the hesitant look on Maury’s face. He didn’t reply.
“What?” Halleigh dropped her arms to her side in defeat. “Since you’re so worried, why don’t you just come with me?” She hadn’t spent any time with Maury since they had come back to Flint. She did miss being around him. She loved his listening ear.
“Yeah, all right.” He tossed her the keys to his car and said, “Go on and wait for me in the car. I’ll be right out. I need to use the restroom.”
“I’m driving,” she teased, knowing he would never let her behind the wheel of his Lexus.
“Yeah right, shorty. You know better,” he stated as he watched her walk out the door. He turned and hurried down the hall to Mimi’s room. He knocked lightly.
Mimi snatched open the door and put her hand on one hip when she saw Maury standing there. He hadn’t said two words to her since she had given him head back in New York, and she was furious about all the attention he was giving Halleigh. She wondered when Halleigh had found the time to suck his dick, ’cause obviously she had done something to keep the boy interested in her.
“What up?” Mimi asked with an attitude.
“What’s up with you, ma?” Maury asked as he entered the room and closed the door behind him. “I’m just coming to check up on you, make sure you’re straight.”
Mimi looked him up and down to find any sincerity in his words. Was he just fucking with her mind, trying to come back for seconds, or was he really trying to look out for her? Hoping for the latter, she loosened up. She took her hands off of her hips and crossed her arms across her voluptuous chest.
“I’m good,” Mimi told him. “I’ve been trying to get to know you better, but you’ve been playing me to the left.” She walked toward him and stood directly in front of him. Then she reached between his legs and took hold of his firm penis.
Maury had to admit, Mimi was one of the most aggressive chicks he’d ever met. He wished he wasn’t feeling Halleigh so much, because he would definitely twist Mimi out. He thought of Halleigh waiting in the car for him and quickly decided to keep things strictly business with Mimi. He saw potential in Halleigh and didn’t want to fuck up his chances with her over Mimi.
He removed Mimi’s hands from his body. “Nah, it’s not like that. As a matter of fact, I got this business that I need to discuss with you.”
“Business?” Mimi’s ears stood at attention. She knew business always meant money, so she was more than willing to listen. She put money over dick any day, unless the dick transferred into USD.
“Yeah, business,” he repeated. “I want you to show me who out this way is getting it.”
Mimi shot back, “ ‘Getting it,’ as in, you’re trying to take it from ’em? Or ‘getting it,’ as in, you’re trying to see who the competition is around Flint?”
“You already know what’s up, Mimi. Ain’t nobody fucking with this dried-up-ass dope game out here. I’m trying to take a nigga for what he got.”
“What’s in it for me?” Mimi was always down for whatever, but something had to be in it for her, and on top of that, it definitely needed to be worth her while.
Maury knew that he could easily manipulate her into giving him the information without giving her shit, but he decided against it. “I’ll give you ten percent of the take,” he offered. “You wit’ it?”
Although ten percent didn’t sound like much, it wasn’t in Mimi’s nature to turn down any type of profit. She knew that ten percent could mean a lot, as long as she handled her end of the deal right. “Yeah, I’m wit’ it,” she replied.
“Maury!” Halleigh called from a distance.
Mimi rolled her eyes at the sound of Halleigh’s voice vibrating through the house. “Get with me when you get off your leash. I got some information that’ll help you,” Mimi said dryly. She opened up her bedroom door and let Maury out.
Maury had peeped Mimi’s jealousy toward Halleigh a long time ago, but he dismissed it. I did let her suck my dick and then toss her to the side to get with her girl. The thought made him chuckle as he met Halleigh in the living room.
Halleigh stood in the doorway, her arms crossed. She asked sweetly, “Was you gon’ make me wait all day?”
“You know it ain’t like that, ma,” he responded. He put his hand on the small of her back and led her out of the house.
Mimi watched from the living room window as Maury opened the car door for Halleigh. She couldn’t believe how he tried to play her. Yeah, nigga, I got some information for you.
She decided to put Maury up on Malek, make him think that Malek was the biggest kingpin Flint had ever seen. Then, once Halleigh found out about Maury’s plans to rob Malek, she would never fuck with him.
Nigga think he just gon’ play me. I’m-a make sure Hal can’t stand the sight of the nigga.
Tasha sat in the styling chair as the stylist worked in her hair. New Attitudes was buzzing with gossip, and everybody was talking about Jamaica Joe’s going-away party.
“Yeah, that nigga is out of the game. Word is, he bought a house down South and ain’t never coming back,” a girl stated as she flipped through a hair magazine. “His party is gon’ be jumping. You know everybody gon’ come out to show him love.”
Tasha smiled to herself as she thought about Jamaica Joe making a clean break from the drug game. They had known each other a long time and at one point meant a great deal to one another. Tasha knew that she would be attending Jamaica Joe’s party this weekend. It was time for her to show her face again, to let it be known that she was no longer one of Manolo’s hoes.
After getting her hair finished in loose curls, she paid her stylist and prepared to leave.
As Tasha reached the doorway, Keesha entered the salon and made her presence felt by bumping Tasha harshly, causing her to drop her purse onto the floor. “Excuse you,” Keesha said as she mean-mugged Tasha.
Tasha told her, “I know you saw me coming out of this mu’fucka. You better watch where the fuck you going. Now pick my shit up.”
“No, you better check your tone before I tell your little secret,” Keesha replied softly.
“Bitch, you better stay in your place.” Tasha peered at Keesha in a threatening manner.
“I know about your little set-up, Tasha. You, Mimi, and Halleigh better stay in your places. Y’all bitches treated me like shit when y’all thought you were sitting on top of the world, always looking your nose down on a bitch because she wanted to get down with Manolo. It’s funny how the tables turn.”
Keesha pushed her luck with her last comment, and Tasha smacked the shit out of her, as if she were her pimp. The girls in the salon abruptly ended their conversations and focused on the scene unfolding before them.
Before Keesha could even react, Tasha grabbed her by the back of her weave and brought her head down onto her knee. Keesha screamed in pain and surprise as Tasha pushed her face into the floor. “Bitch, you better remember who kept your ass. I run shit. You ca
n never be a boss bitch like me,” she stated as she pushed her head into the marble floor forcefully.
Tasha stood up, collected her belongings, and straightened her clothes as Keesha rolled on the floor, moaning.
Tasha could hear the laughter and instigating comments break out inside the shop as she stormed out and hopped into her car. She had to get to Halleigh and Mimi. They had a problem to handle.
Halleigh sat across from Maury in Applebee’s. They were talking and enjoying each other’s company as usual.
“So, what have you been up to these past couple days? I haven’t seen you since we got here,” Halleigh stated as she picked at her food.
“Nothing important. I’ve just been getting to know your city.”
“You still could’ve stopped by.”
“You sound like a woman who was trying to see her man. You can’t have it both ways, Hal. You’re the one who said you just wanted to be friends.”
“I know, I know, and I do want us to be friends. I just missed you, that’s all,” she admitted. “I’ve gotten used to spending so much time with you, and then when we got back here, it just stopped all of a sudden.”
“I can see this ‘friends thing’ is gon’ be hard already.”
Halleigh laughed loudly at the look of distress on Maury’s face. “Is it that hard for you?”
“Don’t play, Hal. You know how I feel about you. You say you’re not ready, but when we’re together, it feels like this is where you want to be. You’ll fuck a nigga head up, if he let you.”
Halleigh smiled because of how strongly Maury felt for her. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I can’t expect you to act like my man if you’re not my man,” she replied. “That’s not fair to you.”
Maury shook his head. “You ready?”
Halleigh nodded and then hopped out of the booth, while Maury placed his hand on the small of her back.
Back to the Streets Page 11