by Keisha Ervin
“She smothered Taye and beat little Quin unconscious. He’s living, but he’s a vegetable.” It was hard for Janelle to retain all this; she shook her hands and fanned her face as if she were hot, while gasping for air as tears covered her face. Poppa could do nothing to help her, he was doing all he could to hold it together. This was the only time he told this story and it was too painful. Never again, he thought. Never again.
Janelle began to calm down only because of the Percocet they gave her. She became calmer, but the pain inside was bad; it wouldn’t stop. She sat looking at Poppa; he stared back at Janelle.
“What about your oldest boy?” Janelle asked as it came to her.
“He’s all right. He was with his grandmother that weekend. She still got him.”
Two Years Earlier
“Come on Niecy, let’s be outta here,” Janelle said, entering her sister’s condo in Newpointe. “You know they tow quick as hell out here.”
“Put this pass in the window so I can finish this el,” Niecy said, handing Janelle a visitor’s pass.
“Where Polo?” Janelle asked after coming back inside.
“Gone, carried his broke ass. Told that nigga he had to go. My rent is eight hundred fifty dollars and that nigga don’t come with shit but dick and weed,” Niecy said, handing Janelle the dutch. Janelle started laughing.
“Where he at? His mom’s?”
“Probably. I’m twenty-six and I’ve done it all. And don’t got time for games,” Niecy said, standing up.
“You late on your rent again?”
“Yeah, I’ll get it. Shit, I ain’t worried, don’t you.” Niecy applied her M•A•C lip gloss.
“Girl, you better get it right. You can’t lose your place or your car,” Janelle said.
“Well, let’s go see which one of these niggas in the club gonna pay this month’s rent. And if he act right, I might let him pay next month’s, too,” she said sarcastically.
“I heard that, stepping out with a four hundred dollar Coogi dress on, I know those shoes two hundred dollars, smoking haze, got the condo right, and can’t pay her rent. Do you got club money?” Janelle laughed as they headed out the door.
“Don’t worry about it li’l sis. I’ve been holding my own shit down for how long?” Niecy asked.
Janelle said nothing.
“Excuse me?” Niecy said sarcastically.
“You good, my bad!” Janelle said.
“Naw, I ain’t hear you. How long?”
“Fifteen girl, damn! Since you turned fifteen.”
They hit the interstate toward the beach. As they exited onto Laskin Road, they saw the cars backed up trying to get into Encore’s parking lot. Janelle hit seven on her speed dial.
“What up, J?” Lowe said. “We parked up the street by Wa-Wa. Danyelle right here with Reece.”
“Y’all don’t see me? I’m in the truck.”
“Yeah, now I do.”
“Y’all jump in here. I’m gonna valet, I ain’t walking tonight,” she said, stopping as Danyelle, Lowe, and Reece pushed in the Escalade.
“What’s the deal, girl? Niggas is in that bitch tonight,” Reece said.
“We out to have a good time, ain’t nobody studying these broke-ass niggas,” Danyelle said.
“If you broke, carry your ass, nigga!” Niecy said, laughing. They all laughed as Janelle pulled up in front of the club and got out of the truck. All eyes hit each one as they stepped out. Janelle was tight with her fitting Frankie B black velvet pants and off-white button-down that stopped just past her waist. Her three top buttons were undone, allowing the pushup bra to do its job and fool everybody. She had swagger and her money showed. Danyelle was dressed cute in a silk chiffon flutter-print dress and red sandals. She knew nobody could fuck with her clothes because her shit came straight from the Miami boutique that her man Tiger owned. Reece looked like a million bucks in the short skirt and blouse she’d gotten from T.J. Maxx, and shoes she had picked up at Barefeet in Janaf Shopping Center. She was cheap, but she could put shit together and fuck with any bitch. But as they approached the door, all eyes fell on Lowe and Niecy. The had the same swagger, they both walked slow, and they put an extra twist in their hips. Lowe also wore a pushup bra to appear to have bigger breasts. When she stepped in her heels, her ass was so phat that it swayed. Girls envied her and niggas stared to get a mental picture to talk about it later. Lowe stood four foot eleven and wore a size 11/12. She was a dream to every nigga who crossed her path. She hung tight by Niecy, because even though she, Janelle, Danyelle, and Reece all came out of school together and were now in their early twenties, the objective was to be like Niecy, act like Niecy, and fuck niggas like Niecy. Niecy was three years older than they, but she had trained her sister to keep her shit tight and her friends followed suit.
Security checked their purses and opened the door. The owner, Jeezy, greeted each one, but he hugged Niecy real tight. “Your night ends with me,” he whispered in her ear, setting up his ass for later.
“No, baby, your night ends with your wife,” she whispered back as they continued to hold each other.
He looked at his security and signaled to let the other girls in for free, then he leaned back, leaving his hands on her waist as she pressed against him, her hands resting on his chest. She watched her crew enter the club and turned back to Jeezy.
“It’s like that baby?” he asked, staring at her.
She shut her eyes for a second and opened them back up. She stared back at this nigga standing five foot five, medium build, rocking his Antik jeans, black Pradas, and eighty dollar T-shirt he’d picked up from C.R.E.A.M. that stopped at his waist, showing his $200 chain belt. His $25,000 Rolex was all the jewelry he needed and every bitch knew the cream-colored S550 sitting on twenty-twos in front belonged to him.
“Don’t start, Jeezy, please,” she said. They’d spent many late nights together, and she’d fallen for him, but she knew she was just a side thing and had started distancing herself. He looked out, but she felt she was too bad of a girl to play second.
“Have a good time, but you heard me, Niecy,” he said, looking into her eyes. Her flawless brown skin, small shiny lips, and high cheekbones made her irresistible. The fact that she only stood five foot two and her ass was the phat-test and softest he’d ever seen in his life, along with the gap that came from her slightly bowed legs, was killing him. She made not only him, but any nigga want to give her the world for just a night. Even though he’d fucked her several times he never got tired of her, and wanted her just as bad as the first time. He released his grip and got lost in a trance as he watched her ass jiggle with every step. He shook his head and walked back to his office.
Niecy walked over to VIP where her sister and friends were sitting. They had ordered drinks and stood looking over the dance floor. She had to get her head right, because Jeezy did to her what she did to him, but she knew wifey wasn’t going anywhere.
“What he want, Niecy?” Janelle asked, seeing her sister spaced out sipping on her drink.
“You know, putting in his bid,” she said as if it were nothing.
“He can bid over here, I’ll eat his little ass up,” Reece said, leaning back and thrusting her hips as if she were fucking. They all laughed, but they knew Reece was serious.
As 12:30 grew closer, Reece and Danyelle began to loosen up and started dancing. Cats began to stare and other girls danced with each other to shut them down, but when “Bust It Baby,” came blasting through the loud speakers, the bitches began to go crazy, and Lowe stepped down and began to dance. As she swung her ass from side to side, holding her drink, she drew the attention of everybody near her. She began to move harder and her crew crowded around her.
“Go Lowe, go Lowe, go Lowe,” they yelled to amp her up. Niggas began to move closer to see the VIP crew drawing all the attention, but cats stood their distance because they knew that stepping to these bitches meant they had to come correct. Then Big Rodney came through the crowd with thre
e niggas from his team. He stepped into VIP, signaled for the waitress, and ordered two bottles of Moët and a round of drinks for his team. Not saying anything to the girls, they tried to push them out of VIP. Rodney knew of Janelle and her crew, and knew it wasn’t happening. Other girls began to dance in front of them as they slowly began to take over VIP, until Danyelle looked at Janelle and smiled. Janelle got the waitress’s attention and ordered three bottles of Moët and a bottle of Grey Goose. She could see Rodney catch an attitude, so she invited Twin, Fats, and Ashley to join her, as she took VIP back over. Twin was her girl from P-town. She had a twin sister and both these girls worked for Janelle. They moved weight, having most of downtown Portsmouth locked down from Effingham to Lincoln Park; these bitches slung hard. Hard all day. Ashley also worked for her, but Ashley lived in Newport News and she was the only girl Janelle knew who sold diesel. Fats worked for her man, Choice. Now, Choice was from Brooklyn. He had come to Virginia and locked shit down with cocaine and heroin, but Choice kept getting locked up because of his quick temper and his attitude toward Virginia cats. He was quick to go to a nigga ass and even quicker to bust his gun, which had earned him a name in the street. This time, he had to give the state of Virginia eighteen months. He expected Janelle to hold down his business in his absence and do her own shit. Things usually went smoothly, because he had quickly built a name for himself. Cats in the street knew he would not hesitate to go back to jail or step to a nigga’s ass like it won’t shit. As quick as he came home he would go back, so they stayed clear of him and never fucked with Janelle.
“Leave me alone, boy,” Lowe yelled as one of Rodney’s people kept trying to talk to her as she danced and drank.
“Leave her alone, Duke. Them bitches ain’t all that, fuck them,” the other dude said, touching his man.
“Bitch, ain’t no bitches here. Carry yo’ broke ass, bitch-ass niggas,” Niecy said, squinching her face. “Looking like six niggas on one blunt,” she added, laughing and giving Reece a pound, knowing she would join in. Breaking down niggas down was her specialty.
“Fuck you, ho,” Rodney said, stepping closer to Niecy. “Better watch your mouth, bitch.”
“Y’all mad because we shut y’all down. You need to just leave. We having a good time, and y’all fuckin’ up the program. Because these bitches in the club know from your dirty old Tims that y’all broke. Y’all came from work to the club,” Reece said, swinging her head and allowing her dreads to fling all over, showing attitude.
Before things got ugly, Jeezy saw what was going on and walked over. “Y’all okay, baby girl?” he asked Janelle.
“They being stupid,” Niecy yelled.
“Yo, I need y’all cats to go over to the other VIP; this one’s reserved. Thanks!” Jeezy said to Rodney and his crew.
“Fuck that, tell them hoes to move,” Rodney said.
“What?” Jeezy questioned with an attitude. He was trying to keep these cats from being on Choice’s list when he came home. Jeezy turned to the girls. “Calm down, it will be okay. Give it a sec,” he said, walking away to the back.
He looked over the club and didn’t see a crew that he needed, so he waited. Thirty minutes later he got a call:
“Yo, I’m pulling up, got my VIP?”
“Yeah,” Jeezy replied, smiling. “How many?”
“Four.”
“Meet you at the door,” Jeezy said.
Fifteen minutes later Jeezy stood at the door, allowing Dundee and his Lake Edward team to slide into the club for free and without being searched. Dundee and his team came up wearing their LEP platinum chains, draped in black.
“What up, fam?” he asked Jeezy, giving him a hug and a pound.
“You know what it is? I was holding your VIP over there, but those cats hard-headed and wouldn’t move, then they started beefing with my shorty and Choice’s girl.”
Dundee looked at his team and told them where their VIP spot was. “That’s us,” he said, pointing at Rodney and his team.
“What up, ma?” Tee said, getting close to Danyelle.
“What up, Tee?” she said.
“I still want you. Yo’ man ain’t fucked up yet?” he asked.
“Naw, fool. He acting right,” she replied. Danyelle never fucked around, her man was good to her. He had her caked up, he was caked up, and he showed her love like nobody had ever done. In return, she respected him to the utmost. Not to mention, he and his team had come up from Miami, hustled from Hampton to Richmond, and took murder as a game.
“Respect, girl, respect,” Tee said, thinking Danyelle’s man was Jamaican. “Did I sound like your man? Respect gurrl?” Tee added, laughing.
“He’s not Jamaican, he’s Trinidadian,” she said with attitude.
“Girl, I don’t give a fuck. Them niggas is all the same. You know where I’m from and he hit that Lake Edward yell ‘Lelelelele.’ ” She looked at him in disgust before he leaned closer to her ear and added, “And can’t nobody fuck with it, believe that,” and kissed her cheek. She wiped it off, but she was all right with Tee, and she knew he ran with an unstoppable team: Lake Edward Posse, run by the infamous Dundee.
“Yo, my nigga, this us,” Dundee said to Rodney and his team.
“Naw, my nigga. We got this,” Rodney said. Before Dundee could react, Los walked up, followed by Nitty.
“You heard my man,” he said, knocking the bucket of ice and champagne on the floor. Then Jah slapped two of their drinks out of their hands, and smacked Rodney unexpectedly as he tumbled out of VIP.
“Where is this going?” Dundee asked as he gripped the cocoa-colored gun, revealing the Coco-Bologrip, staring at this bitch-ass nigga team. They moved on and eased out the club, swearing revenge, looking sad.
Dundee grabbed the waitress and ordered five bottles of Dom, so everybody on his team could have a bottle. Then he ordered a bottle of Goose & Patron. As they drank, Jah eased over to Niecy. Los eased over to Lowe, and Dundee began talking to Janelle. Janelle tried to ignore him, but his swagger and the words he spoke had “baller” all over them. As they got drunk, they got funnier, and before long they were all having the time of their lives. Then Lowe and Niecy began to dance, and it had niggas mesmerized like they were dancers on a stage. Just to fuck with Janelle, Dundee pulled out $200 in fives and began tossing them at the girls until his crew yelled, “Make it rain on them hoes, make it rain Dun, make it rain.” Dun, caught up in the moment and drunk, stood on the chair, pulled out a stack of twenties equal to two grand, and let it rain on Niecy and Lowe. The club went crazy. Bitches went crazy and Lowe stared at Dundee, knowing he was that nigga. She eased over in front of him, put her ass on him, and he rode her ass until his dick was rock hard. He stared at Janelle with thoughts of her being his bitch. She was too real. But he knew of Choice, and the thought of a New York nigga having anything he wanted was some bullshit. Dundee felt he was that nigga.
Lowe did a move where she bent over slightly and positioned his dick, which she felt through the jeans, right in the middle of her ass and pressed back. Dundee almost lost his balance, but his attention was now on Lowe. She threw her head back, stared at Dun, then continued to dance as she moved away and eased over to Niecy, just like Niecy had taught them: do something to make the nigga want you, and he’ll come running like a little puppy. Dundee finished his bottle while glancing over the crowd. He saw Jeezy heading for his office with security around him, which meant he had the door money. Dundee walked over to Lowe and leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Gotta hollah at Jeezy and then we out.” He walked away.
“What he say?” Danyelle asked.
“He wanna fuck,” Reece said. “I know he do.”
“He gotta hollah at Jeezy, then we out.”
“Out where? We came together.” Danyelle said.
“We leave this bitch together,” Janelle said, but Niecy and Reece didn’t agree with that one, and Dundee had Lowe’s mind in a blur.
Dundee walked to the back office. “What up, baby? I�
��m outta here. What you doin’ after this?”
“Shakespeares!” Jeezy yelled.
A light went off in his head. Hell yeah! The after-hours club out Oceana sounded like a winner. “I don’t know, cuz, I got to see what shorty gon’ do,” Dundee said with a smirk.
“Who?”
“Lowe, nigga! That bitch phat as shit.”
“That she is, but she got two kids by my man, Stink.”
“Stink from out Carriage Houses?” Dun asked.
“Yeah!”
“I heard that, but guess what?” Dundee said smiling.
“What’s that, son?”
“That’s your man and I ain’t never fuck wit’ him like that, but I’m gonna fuck the shit out of his baby momma. That’s real talk,” he said seriously.
“Do you, nigga. Stink been gone almost two years, pussy probably dripping and she broke,” Jeezy said.
“With those kids,” they said simultaneously and broke out laughing.
“Naw, man, check this, Janelle and Danyelle, they got dough and they shit straight, but yo’ girl Niecy and especially Reece, money and more money, but Niecy so bad, she can get it and keep getting it.
“She crazy though,” Dundee said.
“What you mean, I been hitting her for a minute,” Jeezy said, laughing.
By this time they were standing at the open doorway leading back to the club, when Reece came by, headed to the ladies’ room.
“Where you going? Come here,” Jeezy said, smiling and easing back. She stumbled, but got her composure and stared at Jeezy. She wanted him to hollah, but remembered who he was fuckin’ with.