Long As You Know Who You Belong To

by jwppublishing

  “If this bitch don’t fall back…,” I mumbled.

  A light knock at the door attempted to further annoy me. If this was Nakami, I swear before God…

  “Hey, boss. I know you said no interruptions, but she said it was urgent.” My club manager, Trickie, poked his head through the door. I started to protest until he opened the door wider and revealed that was Blu and not Nakami. Surprised, I stood up to greet her.

  “You good, bro. She can come in.”

  Trickie nodded and stepped back, letting Blu through. She smiled shyly and waited for Trickie to close the door.

  “What’s up, Blu? Whatchu doing here?”

  Blu and I were cool, but I wasn’t sure why she had just popped up at my club. She was a dope little chick and much more level headed than Nakami, but her and Kimani hadn’t been fucking with each other for a few months. It’s not like I was bothered by her presence; I was just curious.

  “Hey, Grey,” she said as she nervously wrung her hands.

  Now I had never known Blu to be nervous. During the many times that I’ve been around her, I had witnessed her be bold, brash, unapologetic, and forward. So this timid and shy Blu had me thrown for a loop.

  “You want a drink or something?” I asked her.

  “No, no. Uh, do you mind if we step outside, though? I…I…” she started fanning herself and turning a little pale. I didn’t know what was going on with her, but she looked like she might pass out any second. So I rushed around my desk and walked her out to the patio of the club. Blu inhaled deeply several times before she turned to me with a weak smile.

  “You good, ma?” I asked, genuinely concerned after that little episode.

  “Well… I’m pregnant.”

  Nakami

  March 2015

  My breakfast came flying out of my mouth in liquid form as soon as I got to my car. Never had I been so hurt that it actually made me physically sick. But I guess hearing your best friend tell your fiancé that she was pregnant would do that to you. Fucking bitch! How could she do that to me? She knew how I felt about Grey, and she just couldn’t help but shake her big ass all up in my man’s face. I knew she was a gutter ass hoe, but I befriended her anyway. In the past few years, I’d starting having a gnawing feeling that she wasn’t feeling my booming business, my luxury condo, and my fresh-off-the-showroom-floor whip, but I honestly thought that putting her on and having her manage the strip club would squash all that. Apparently her jealousy was more deep rooted than I could imagine.

  I tried to push thoughts of her fucking my man into the back of my head, but then I remembered; the warning about Grey, her not wanting to commit to Kimani…the fucking Arbor Mist. THE FUCKING ARBOR MIST! This bitch had been coming for my man the whole time! But it wasn’t just my man that she wanted. She wanted my life, and she was willing to do the grimiest shit she could think of in order to plop her fat ass in my spot. She one upped me. She was going to have my man’s baby before I could even attempt to get pregnant. My best friend was having my fiancé’s baby.

  Having that thought pass through my brain caused me to gag. This time I was able to catch myself before the rest of the contents of my stomach came spewing out, and I quickly hopped my ass in my car. This was unacceptable. I could feel the wrath brewing inside of me as I turned the key in the ignition and skirted off. I didn’t know what the fuck I was going to do about the situation. But whatever I decided on, these primary color named mothafuckas were going to regret fucking over a chick like me.

  Grey

  March 2015

  “You are? That’s great, sis!” I grabbed Blu up in a hug and spun her around. Thoughts of her about to pass out a few minutes ago entered my mind and I quickly put her down.

  “My bad, yo. But damn! I’m going to be an uncle. That’s dope!” I was genuinely excited for her and my brother. But the look on her face told me that she still hadn’t come to terms with the situation.

  “It is my brother’s baby, right?” I asked with a little more anger in my voice than I had intended.

  “Of course it is!” she shouted. “I just… I don’t know…” she stuttered.

  “You don’t know what, ma?”

  “Kimani and I aren’t really speaking right now, and I don’t know if he’ll be as excited about this baby as you are.”

  “I understand you’re nervous about telling him. But if that’s his kid, he has a right to know, Blu. Fuck all that lovey dovey shit ya’ll been mad at each other about. Regardless of whether or not you want to be in a relationship with him, Kimani needs to know.” I grabbed Blu up around her shoulders and brought her close to my body.

  “I know my brother. And I know he’s hurt because he really loves you. But he’s going to take care of his kid, no matter what ya’ll are going through.”

  Kimani and I were raised by a single mother who held down jobs like a Jamaican to make ends meet. Our low-life daddy only came around to hit and quit my mother on a semi-regular basis. When that nigga was done busting one, he walked out the door without even acknowledging our presence. He never claimed us, touched us, hugged us, or provided for us. As kids, we couldn’t understand why. So I knew that Kimani would never leave his own seed out there without a father if he was alive and able to be there. That just wasn’t a part of his make-up.

  “I hear you, Grey. I do. But I don’t know how to do this. I love him. More than anything or anyone I’ve ever loved in my life. But I just can’t give him what he wants.” Blu sniffed as tears dropped like rain drops from her eyes. “I’m going to tell him, but I can’t face him yet.”

  “Whatchu mean?”

  “I’m going to go away for a little bit, just a few weeks at most. I

  need to get my head together, wrap my mind around the idea of having a kid, and think about how I want to approach this for the sake of our child.”

  I let go of Blu and looked at her, confused.

  “Go away? Man, what the hell is that going to do? Ya’ll women, I swear.”

  “It may not make sense to you, but it’s all that makes sense to me. Please? I promise I won’t leave Kimani hanging for long. I just need some time.”

  I stayed silent for a moment. I never kept anything from my brother, even though we weren’t as close as we once were. But looking at how distraught Blu was, I was willing to allow her some time to pull it together…especially if it meant that my brother would get another shot at the girl he was in love with. I’m a thug with a heart…what can I say?

  “Yeah, man. I won’t say shit. But you’ve got two weeks. Kimani is already going to lose his head when he finds out you dipped, but you can’t have me lying to my brother. Get your thoughts together and bring your ass back here,” I warned.

  Blu nodded her head, and I could only hope that she was taking me seriously. I had eyes and ears everywhere that I needed them. If she violated, I would not hesitate to drag her ass back to the city.

  Nakami

  March 2015

  I currently had a plan. It was shaky at best, but it would have to do because it was all that I had. In the end, I still wanted Grey to be my husband. Fuck the bullshit, my hoe ass friend and that bastard baby. I had never loved someone as completely as I did Grey, and I wasn’t going to let that go just because my so-called bestie didn’t know how to keep her vagina to herself. She would pay dearly for her fuck-up. But first, Grey would need to learn a lesson.

  I pulled the rented Nissan Altima into Kimani’s driveway and parked. I was relieved to see that he was home. Quickly, I exited the car, dropped a few eye drops in my eyes, and shook my head. I approached his front door and knocked. I took a few deep breaths and shook the jitters out of my system. He opened the door with a shocked look scribbled across his face.

  “Nakami, what are you doing here?”

  “I… I…I don’t know what to do!” The waterworks were in full effect, as I grabbed him and cried on his shoulder.

  I could feel his body tense up against mine, and I smiled to myself. This wa
s going to be fun.

  “What’s wrong? What happened, ma?”

  “He… I…,” I fake stuttered.

  “Hey, hey. It’s ok.” Kimani pulled me into his house and closed the door behind me. “C’mon.” He led me into the living room of his beautiful home. The black Italian leather sofas, rich mahogany wood fireplace, and cherry wood floors made the living room look masculine and expensive. You could tell that he’d hired an interior decorator by the style of the plush grey rug on the floor, the patterned throw pillows, and the odds and ends that littered his coffee table and bookcases.

  I sat down on the couch and attempted to wipe the tears away. He noticed and hopped up.

  “I’ll get you some tissue. Hold up.” He jogged out of the room and returned a few seconds later with some Kleenex. “You want something to drink?” he asked.

  I sniffled for effect, glad that he offered. “Yeah, I’ll have whatever you’re having.”

  He walked off to the open kitchen and roamed the refrigerator. “All I have is milk, bottled water, and wine. Unless you want something stronger than that.”

  “After the day I’ve had, I’ll take something dark on the rocks. You might want to make yourself one too. You’re going to need it,” I said, hoping that he didn’t decline.

  A few moments later, he returned with two glasses of what smelled like Hennessy. I took one from him as he sat down next to me. I observed him move, and I could understand the appeal. He was prettier than I normally like my men, but there was no mistaking his good looks. The tattoos that traveled from both his arms to the base of his neck added a much needed edge, and his sparkling green eyes looked like exotic oceans that any woman would gladly take a dive in. Although I was purely here on a mission, I smiled inwardly at the pleasure I was going to reap from the pain that had been caused.

  “So what’s going on, ma? Talk to me?” Kimani looked at me over the rim of his glass.

  “I don’t even know how to put this into words.” I started the tears back up.

  “C’mon, stop crying. Just tell me what’s going on.”

  “Blu’s pregnant,” I blurted.

  Kimani’s already pale face turned damn near clear once those words came out my mouth. Unsure of what to do with himself, he lowered the glass to the coffee table, then raised it back towards his lips, then finally placed it on the coffee table. Abruptly, he stood up and walked away from the couch with a confused looked painted on his face.

  “I know you’re her girl, but what does that have to do with you?”

  “It’s Grey’s baby.”

  The look on Kimani’s face almost made me want to cry real tears. His face dropped down to the Maison Margiela shoes on his feet, just as I imagined his heart did.

  “What did you just say?” he muttered.

  “Please, don’t make me say it again,” I clutched my stomach, as if it pained me to speak on it.

  Kimani bolted out of the room and up the large iron staircase.

  “Kimani!” I shouted.

  I got no answer, so I took that time to initiate phase two. I reached into the pocket of my light trench coat and pulled out the bottle of prescription sleeping pills. Inside, I had an already crushed pill that I dumped into Kimani’s drink. I used my finger to stir the contents and quickly took my seat on the couch after hearing Kimani come back down the stairs.

  He was frustrated. “She’s not answering the phone,” he huffed.

  “Did you think that she would? Grey told me ya’ll weren’t talking before you found out, so why would she answer now?” I countered.

  “Does she know that you know?”

  “No.”

  Kimani paced in a small circle. “Man, what the fuck?” Suddenly I could see the fire in his eyes and, before I could stop him, Kimani grabbed his car keys off the coffee table and headed towards the door.

  I hopped up and ran behind him. “Where are you going?”

  “To find Blu!”

  “She’s gone!” I screamed. Kimani stopped in his tracks but kept his back to me. “I went by her house before I came here. I sat in the car for a half hour trying to talk myself out of killing her, and she came out with two suitcases and hopped in her car.”

  Kimani remained silent for a moment, then he shrugged his shoulders. “Fuck it, then. I’m going to go find my brother's bitch ass."

  He opened up the door, and I reached for his arm. I cued the crocodile tears and got ready to hit him with everything I had. I’d never been into theatre, but I had always been with the dramatics. “Please! I know you're upset, but so am I. I don’t have anyone else to turn to. I can’t tell my dad because he would murk that nigga on site, and the one person I would normally turn to is the cause of the bullshit.” I could feel Kimani’s muscles relax a bit as I held on to his arm. “Please.”

  Slowly, Kimani closed the door and turned to face me. He studied my face for a moment and then sighed deeply. “I gotchu, sis.”

  I smiled weakly and walked back into the living room with Kimani following behind me. He tossed his keys back onto the coffee table and picked up his drink before he sat back down on the couch. I kicked my shoes off and curled my feet underneath me. Kimani looked into his glass, and my heart rate picked up. I couldn’t see any remnants of the sleeping pill from where I was sitting and was hoping that he couldn’t either.

  “I can’t stand warm liquor. I’ma go grab me some more ice. You want some more?” he asked.

  “No, I’m good. Thanks.”

  Kimani walked out of the living room and back into the kitchen. I breathed a sigh of relief as I heard the ice machine spit out a few cubes. Kimani returned a few moments later with the same glass of Hennessy. He surprised me when he threw the entire contents back in one swallow before plopping down heavily onto the sofa. A weary look wavered in his eyes, as he glanced at me and then trained his gaze on the empty glass.

  “How’d you find out?” he asked.

  I watched as he leaned back onto the sofa with his eyes closed. The pills I had were potent, and I knew that they would kick in almost immediately. As I began to talk, I could see him begin to fade so I loosened the belt on my trench. It was time for phase three.

  Grey

  March 2015

  I was like a kid approaching the candy store. I had been so caught up at the club with the books, then Blu, then organizing the pick-ups from the trap, that I almost forgot that I had my date with Blaze tonight. Yeah, I had a date with another chick and I didn’t feel the least bit bad about it. Nakami had been past worn out her welcome, fake fiancé or not. I was closer than ever to deading that situation, and I was happy to have Blaze to take her place. I had to be careful, though. I didn’t need another Nakami on my hands.

  I walked past the mirror that adorned the hotel suite I was paying for and made sure that I was fresh. Dressed in a pair of Paper Supply jeans, a button down denim shirt by the same designer, and a pair of beige suede Christian Louboutin Amory boots, I was definitely clean. I finished off my look with a pair of beige suspenders that were casually hanging off my hips and a grey scully that housed my dreads that were in need of a re-twist. I had sprayed myself with Clive Christian cologne on the way out the bathroom and threw on my favorite watch, the Dover by Jord. A nigga was looking and feeling good, like a boss nigga should. I had told Nakami that I had to shoot a quick move out of town for business and, surprisingly, she didn’t put up a fight.

  Happy than a mothafucka, I walked out of my room at the Mr. C Hotel in Beverly Hills and took the elevator to the restaurant downstairs. Instead of being seated and waiting for Blaze inside the restaurant, I chose to wait for her in the lobby of the hotel. I stood around for less than ten minutes before she sauntered in the door. The dictionary didn’t currently have a word fit to describe this woman. Fuck the restaurant, I was ready to make her my full course meal on site. Blaze sashayed over to me in a black leather skirt that started at her waist and stopped at her knees with a sheer black lace top that showed off the top of he
r stomach. Her perky breasts that were spilling out of her bra. A white leather jacket was draped over her shoulders, and her hair was pulled back from her face in a low ponytail. Simple but large diamond studs hung from her ears, and multiple rings sparkled from her fingers. Unconsciously, I reached up and wiped the corners of my mouth, sure that I was drooling at this point.

  “Hi,” she smiled coyly.

  I didn’t respond with words. I reached down and wrapped her up in a hug, making sure my hands made their way to the top of her backside. She smelled like cinnamon and peaches and it made me brick up instantly. I pulled back hoping that she couldn’t feel my dick being childish.

  “You look good,” I complimented her.

  “So do you.”

  I stared at her for a moment and watched as her cheeks flushed. All of a sudden dinner at a Beverly Hills restaurant sounded offensive. She deserved better than a five course meal at a four-star hotel.

  “Yo, I got an idea. I’ll be right back. Stay right here.” I smiled and dashed off before she could protest.

  A few minutes and a couple phone calls later, I returned to where Blaze stood, confused. I smiled mischievously, grabbed her hand, and led her towards the door.