by J Peach
“You can just pull out.” Once those words left her mouth my dick deflated. Clean or not, I wasn’t running in no bitch raw but Peaches. Wasn’t no bitch ‘bout to trap me with a kid. Fuck that. And Krystal’s ass was the type to do some snake ass shit like that.
“Bitch, get the fuck off me talkin’ that stupid shit.” Unwrapping her legs from my waist, I put Krystal down. “Hurry the fuck up and get ready.”
“You forever ruining every moment we have. You ain’t even have to be extra with the shit. Blaze, you gon’ stop callin me a bitch too. I bet yo ass don’t be like this with ol’ girl, so you ain’t gon’ keep doing me like this,” Krystal snapped as she angrily put her clothes back on.
“She ain’t got shit to do with this. That’s yo problem, yo. You want to be her and that’s not happening. You wanna be my bitch, Krystal? Huh? Is that what you want?” She stared at me for a long second before she rolled her eyes. “Yo ass don’t hear me talkin’ to you? Do you wanna be my bitch?”
Again she rolled her eyes, not saying nothing. Shrugging, I unlocked the door, pushing it open. “I’m ‘bout to go to the bathroom, I’ll meet you out front.” Why her ass was mad I ain’t know and I didn’t care. Krystal’s ass knew we weren’t gon’ ever be on no exclusive shit together. She ain’t know how to keep her mouth shut for the main reason and she was too damn weak to be my lady.
“I’ll come with you, just wait a minute.” She was too fuckin’ clingy.
“You gon’ go to the bathroom with me? No shit?” I asked, making her laugh.
“Why you say it like that?”
Wasn’t shit funny to me. “Fuck you tryna go to the bathroom with me fah? What you gon’ do, hold my dick while I piss then shake it when I’m done?”
Krystal smacked her lips. “See, this what I’m talkin’ bout. Like you ain’t even have to say all that. Go to the bathroom, Blaze,” she said with a wave of her hands.
“You mad now, huh? Kill that shit, you the dumb mothafucka tryna go watch me piss. Hurry up and meet me by the escalators.” Pulling up my pants, I turned to walk away.
“B,” Krystal called, making me look back at her to see she had her hand stretched out.
“What?” Again she smacked her lips.
“I need the money to pay for this.” Shid, I may have been using Krystal for her throat, but I always broke baby girl off with at least a stack when I left her. But all day her ass had been in my pockets. We’d been to about ten different stores and I had bought everything she picked up.
“Yo ass can’t handle this?” Her lips pursed together as she walked up to me.
“I can, but you’re supposed to pay for my stuff though.” My brows rose at that. ”Fo’real, Blaze?”
“Hell yeah fo’real. You ain’t my bitch, we ain’t fuckin—”
She punched me in the chest, cutting off my words. “Man, give me the money and stop playing.” Shaking my head at her, I pulled out my money. Flipping through it and finding a fifty, I gave it to her.
“If that ain’t enough, you can add to it.” Putting my money back in my pocket, I left the store and went to the bathroom around the wall from the escalator.
Chapter 20
Blaze
Once finished, I washed my hands and dried them using the paper towels to open the door. “Oh, shit. What the hell you doing at the mall?”
“Me? Last, I checked I was grown and could go where I please. And what I tell you about talkin’ to me like I’m one of yo boys,” she snapped, slapping me hard on the arm.
“Ma, gon’. What the hell you do, follow me to the bathroom? You know that’s stalking right.” Pulling my moms into a hug, I kissed her cheek only to have her slap the shit outda me. “Damn, why the fuck—” She hit me again.
“Watch yo mouth, Boon. Don’t kiss me, I seen you disappear with that damn girl in the dressing room. Who, by the way, looks nothing like Peaches. You know I ran into her yesterday and she was like, ‘I love Blaze, but I’m not gon’ deal with his disrespectfulness’. And my ass sat at the damn table talking to her, explaining how my son wasn’t this sweet dude and how she just needed to be patient with him. I told her how you liked her a lot, only to see this shit. Boon, you gotda do better than this. I thought you liked Peaches,” she fussed, making me blow out a heavy breath.
“Ma, I’m not talking about this with you. I’ll talk to you later, i’ight?” Kissing the top of her head, I pulled back, but she started talkin’ again.
“What happened to I wanna marry her? I like sleeping with her? Boon, what happened? I know she came to your lot after we talked because I saw her car up there. So?” My moms was nosey as hell and wasn’t ashamed of the shit. I took off my hat, ran a hand over my head and face, “Fine, don’t answer. Who is this girl? Do you like her? I saw you give her money—”
“Damn, how long yo nosey ass been watchin’— Yo, quit hitting me.” She hit me again.
“Who is this girl and do you like her?” Shaking my head, I leaned against the wall and folded my arms over my chest.
“N’all, man, we just cool, that’s it. Peaches told me you drove her down, blowing and shit. Man, Peaches got stuff to think about before coming back at me. She confused I guess. Shit, I don’t know what be going on in that chick head.” Licking my lips, I shrugged.
“Oh, okay. I’ma call her—”
“Yo, ma, you trippin’. Don’t go callin’ that damn girl. We talked yesterday, so kill that, we good.” Fuck she was gon’ do? Call and ask Peaches what happened. “Yo, don’t call her, I’m serious as hell.” Her ass would most definitely call Peaches on that shit.
“Okay, Boon. I’m not going to call her, dang. So do you go in the dressing room with all your female friends and take them shopping?” My moms asked, while mimicking me by crossing her arms and leaning on the wall.
“N’all, just this one. She good peoples, though.” After I said that she let out a heavy breath with a shake of her head. “What?”
“Good people? Who the hell you think you’re talking to, Boon? Baby, you can’t go around treating your side bitches like they’re your main. Boon, that’s trouble waiting to happen. If you got yo friend, then leave Peaches alone. But know this, that girl is crazy about you, she actually told me she loves you. I don’t know what happened between you two, but she cares about you. Blaze, don’t hurt her.
“If you want to go shopping with your friend and go into dressing rooms with her, then do that, but leave Peaches alone. That’s not right, Boon, and you know it. If she’s confused then let her be, but in the end she’s going to come back to you. And once she do, you’re going to feel like shit for this. Then again, you probably won’t. Damn, maybe I shouldn’t have talked to that damn girl—”
“I told you that.” Laughing, I wrapped my arms around my moms. “I’m playing, don’t hit me. Ma, me and Peaches cool. I’m giving her time to figure herself out is all. This shit with that chick ain’t nothing. I promise, we just cool and she blow a nigga—.”
“Boon, I don’t wanna hear about no girl sucking on your little chick-o-stick.” Letting her go, I moved back.
“Yeah, okay. Where you ‘bout to go?” I asked her.
“Back to the Laundry Mat. The detergent man is meeting me there in a bit. You can stop by and help unload the truck.” Putting my hat back on, I nodded.
“I’ll be there in ‘bout fifteen minutes.”
“Alright, Boon. You be careful out here messing with these girls. I don’t want to have kick nobody ass for beating you up again.” She broke out laughing after saying that.
“I’m sorry, Boon, but that little girl be whooping yo ass. She done it twice now. I’m not gon’ fight her only because I like her a lot. Anybody else, just call me. Plus, I’ll have to shoot Peaches little ass for real. Peaches not about to have me walking around busted the hell up, bleeding from the face,” she joked, still laughing. Wasn’t shit funny about that, Peaches was just lucky that I liked her itty bitty ass, otherwise I would’ve been fuck’d her up.
“Ha, ha, ha funny. Get outda here before I tell Marcus you creeping.” Pushing past me, my mom laughed.
“You do that, Booney,” she said while holding up her ring finger. “Unlike you, my husband was smart enough to know when he found a good woman and put a ring on this finger. Yo dumbass gon’ let yo good thing run right past you because you can’t wait until she figures herself out? You too busy tryna entertain friends.
“Blaze, you have to understand, you’re not an easy person to be with. I’m your mother, believe me I know. Now hurry up and come to the Mat so you can pay the man. I mean, since you’re in a spending mood. Bye, Boon,” my mom called over her shoulder as she walked away waving.
Damn lady crazy.
Once she was outda sight, I walked to the escalator where Krystal stood.
“Aye,” Krystal quickly turned my way, looking relieved.
“Dude, I thought you left. I was just calling your phone,” she said, holding hers up and showing my number on the screen.
“I wouldn’t ditch you like that, I’ll let you know before I leave. I am about to go now, though. And you gotda be at work so I’ll catch up with you later, i’ight?” Krystal let out a loud sigh followed by a groan.
“Blaze, I just called off thinkin’ we could chill for the rest of the day,” she whined, wrapping her arms around my waist.
Grabbing her arms, I moved them from my body. “Fuck you do that fah? I got shit to do the rest of the day, but I’ll get up with you later,” I told her, making her eyes roll.
“Then can I ride out with you, I mean I ain’t got nothing to do.”
Shrugging, I licked my lips. “N’all, you can’t ride with me. Shid, call yo job and let’ em know you coming in. I’ll call you sometime during the week.” Turning away from her, I started walking toward the front of the mall.
“Blaze, you really just gone leave me here?” Ignoring her, I kept walking.
Shid, she ain’t ride there with me so I wasn’t leaving with her. And I wasn’t about to start a scene in the mall by arguing with her like she wanted so I could stay.
I hopped on my bike, started it up and quickly sped off.
****
Pulling in front of Bubbles Laundry Mat, I parked next to King’s candy red, old school, box Chevy. I cut my bike off and sat up, staring at the bubble gum, light blue and pink building. I laughed as I thought back to when I first bought the damn place.
Once my moms got her shit right and graduated from college with a business degree, I was getting paid by then. I was making enough money to move us from Delaney and with my moms having her degree, I opened up Bubbles Laundry Mat.
I didn’t know why, but for some reason crack heads hung out at the oddest places around there. Corner stores, laundry mats, car washes. I had that laundry mat running while serving niggas in the back. Mothafuckas that came to wash and was hooked on cocaine stayed lit. There was a little room in the back I had setup, letting they ass snort that shit. I never let they ass smoke a rock in there, though.
My little shop ain’t last long, though. Once moms found out about what I was doing, her crazy ass flipped the fuck out. She threated to call the cops on my ass and everything if I ain’t get that shit outda there. She took the business serious and said I wasn’t about to fuck her shit up.
She took over the laundry mat and I couldn’t step foot back in that bitch no matter what. Moms fuck’d me up, set my ass back. The business and everything was in her name so it wasn’t shit I could do about it and I found myself right back in Delaney at our old crib serving outda there.
“What got you thinkin’ so hard?” King asked, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Shid, thinkin ‘bout when moms kicked my ass outda this place. This ‘bout the first time I done been back here, a nigga scared to go inside.” Slapping up with King six times, we shook up. I got off my bike. “Why you up here?”
“I always stop by to see mom B when I’m in this part of town. Didn’t I tell you to keep her away from Peaches? Bianca talk to damn much, yo, ol nosey ass.” Punching King in the arm, I laughed.
“Leave moms alone, she can’t help herself. I ain’t have shit to do with her and Peaches talkin’. From my understanding, she chased Peaches down, honking and shit. Moms like her though.”
King shook his head. “Ain’t shit good gon’ come from that.” He was right.
“Who the fuck you tellin’? Peaches ass already overthink every fuckin’ thing. Now with moms in her ear, shit gon’ be worse.” Just thinking about that had a sigh leaving my mouth. Then again, it could’ve been a good thing, moms did have her coming to me yesterday. As I thought that, the detergent man pulled up in a big white truck.
“Nigga, fuck you. Peaches smart as hell, though. Fuck you got a brain fah if you ain’t gon’ use it? Peaches ass think and analyze every damn thing. That’s good, can’t have her out here blind and dumb like most of these chicks.”
“She smart, but her ass dumb as fuck. Yo, pull around the back then back in.” The man nodded before doing as told.
“Oh, shit. I tried to get at yo girl and that bitch straight played my ass.” My brows rose at that.
“Who?”
“Light skin, chubby, big ass booty, hips.”
“Krystal?” King snapped his fingers, humming.
“Yeah, that bitch. I went at her on some straight friend type shit and bitch blew my ass off. She loyal, but I’ma hit that ass though. I promise.”
Laughing at King, I shook my head knowing his ass was gon’ try. “I don’t give a fuck, I ain’t fuckin’ her. She’s only loyal until she sees Peaches ass. Bitch mouth get to spittin’ straight bullshit. Yesterday, Peaches beat her ass twice. Peaches wasn’t even thinkin’ bout the bitch and she started in—”
“I thought you wasn’t fuckin’ with Peaches no mo?” King asked, cutting me off.
“Shid, I hadn’t seen her ass until yesterday. After she talked to my moms and shit she brought a nigga some food from Jimmy’s then came to the lot. So I’m posted on her car—Peaches ain’t know Krystal was in the truck. Shid, to be honest I forgot about her ass being there too, but when she found out, Peaches wasn’t even fuck’d up about her ass. She had walked away ‘bout to go in my office when—”
“Wait, you let Peaches in yo office? Nigga, I’m starting to get jealous. I don’t even know what it look like in that bitch and you let Peaches in there? I done known yo ass for years and I ain’t never got an invite. Damn, B, that hurt,” King finished saying, holding his chest.
“Shut the fuck up. I got a sister, but I ain’t gon’ tell nobody—”
“Yo, that’s different, Peaches the only family I got. That’s mine right there and I gotda do what’s needed to protect her. Shit was working until yo ass got out and that shit happened at Voodoo.” Laughing, I nodded, thinking about when we first met.
Yeah, I’ma have to get her ass back.
“That’s a good thing, though, for me anyways. But like I was saying, Peaches went to walk away and Krystal ran up on her ass. Peaches flipped that ass over real quick and started beating the shit outda her, but that bitch was still talkin’ mad shit. Then went on to tell Peaches I recorded us fuckin’, took it to her and we watched that shit.”
“Hell n’all—”
“Fuck I’m thinkin’. Shid, Peaches ass crazy. I thought her ass was gon’ turn around and start swinging on my ass. You know, thinkin’ she believed her. Then that bitch like, ‘I’m pregnant.’”
“Hell n’all,” King said again, laughing, making me nod my head. “I thought y’all wasn’t fuckin?”
“I ain’t never fuckin’ that bitch, boss, nigga. I ate that bitch once, other than that, she be blowing me or we just be smoking, nothing else. G, I tried to choke the fuck outda that bitch. She do suck a good dick though, all that extra I don’t know where that bullshit came from.” King hummed, thinking. “Don’t be looking like that, yo. I might throw her ass a stack or some shit like that or smoke with her. It ain’t shit wh
at you thinking,” I told him as he stared at me with a raised brow.
“How the fuck you know what I’m thinking? Answer this though, you take her shopping and pay for her shit, take her out to eat?” I was shaking my head as he talked.
“Hell n’all— Yeah, today I did take her ass to the mall, this the first time.”
“Nigga, you can’t be treating yo hoe like she yo main bitch. The fuck. That bitch already ain’t wrapped tight and you taking her ass shopping,” King said and I found myself mugging him.
“My moms said that same shit today when she saw us.”
“Mom B smart as hell, that’s why. But if you gon be fuckin’ with that crazy bitch, you need to leave Peaches outda that shit. I done told yo ass that once before, shit ain’t gon’ fly. If you gon’ trick off with these bitches, then leave her alone.”
Because I had a sister I understood where he was coming from. At that same time, I fuck’d with Krystal because she gave good head. And until she started popping at the mouth again, I was gon’ keep fuckin with her. Shid, she done spat so many lies wasn’t nobody gon’ believe shit she said.
“Boys, are y’all gon’ stand out here and talk all evening or come help? This man got other stops,” my mom yelled from the door, ending our conversation.
We quickly made our way to the back of the building and started unloading the fifty-five gallon buckets from the truck and into the back room. Once we finished, I paid the man. After, we just stood outside the wash talking to my moms for a few minutes before leaving, heading to the courts.
****
Pulling into the park, all the shit I thought about getting Peaches back quickly left once I saw that lavender car parked in the lot. I instantly got pissed thinking about her ass sneaking out my crib that morning.
I cut the bike off and ran a hand over my head and then down my face. I hoped she didn’t say shit to me because I might’ve just choked the fuck outda her ass.