Creepin': A New Orleans Love Story

by Chenell Parker

  Tanya promised that she would clear her schedule for the entire week to accompany them on their trip to Miami. She made sure to ask her months in advance, before Von tried to invite Cheryl or one of his other side bitches to come along. Tre was supposed to be making everything happen, but Mia wasn’t looking forward to that since they were no longer together. Honestly, she wouldn’t even be mad if he decided not to go with them. That’s just how mad she was with him at the moment.

  “Is your birthday coming up?” Von smirked.

  “Very funny Von,” Mia replied.

  “We’ll talk about that later, but what do y’all want to eat?” Von asked.

  “Let’s eat crab cakes and shrimp pasta,” Mia suggested. Brandis was okay with the menu, but Rainey just had to be different.

  “I don’t want that. I want some barbecue shrimp with French bread,” she argued.

  “Okay,” Mia agreed. “We can do that. I’m cool either way.”

  “I’ll do both,” Von said standing to his feet. “I’ll get us some junk food for the weekend too since the weather is supposed to be bad.”

  He got his keys and wallet from his room and headed for the door, right as Tre and Duke walked in carrying a cake that Tanya sent over. Mia immediately turned her head when her eyes met with Tre’s. She didn’t speak to Duke either because it would have been too obvious and Von would have picked up on it.

  “Where are you going?” Tre asked his father.

  “I need to pick up a few things from the store so I can cook,” he replied.

  When they started talking, Mia used that as her opportunity to go into the spare bedroom where she slept. She wanted Brandis to come, but she could have done without Rainey following behind them. Mia knew that she and her God sister had to have a serious talk soon. They were drifting apart for some reason and she wanted to know why. Mia didn’t care for London, but that didn’t have anything to do with Rainey. She really didn’t care that the two of them were friends, but she didn’t want Rainey to feel like she had to choose a side. That was childish and Mia wasn’t with that.

  “Give me some gum Mia,” Brandis requested right when they walked into the room.

  “My girl is trying to make sure that breath is fresh for Duke,” Mia laughed.

  “I didn’t know that you and Duke messed around Brandis,” Rainey said trying hard not to sound as jealous as she was.

  “Who said that we mess around?” Brandis asked.

  Just then, the door to the room opened and Duke came strolling in. Brandis got butterflies in her stomach every time she saw him and she felt them fluttering right at the moment. Duke was a dark skinned cutie with neat dreads that he kept tied to the back of his head. He reminded Brandis of the rapper Young Buck, but he was a real sweetheart.

  “What’s up y’all?” Duke asked when he walked in. They all spoke back, but Rainey was a little extra as usual.

  “What’s up handsome?” she flirted just like always.

  “Nothing much, I’m just coming to check on my future wife,” he replied making Brandis blush.

  “I thought you said y’all didn’t mess around Brandis,” Rainey said trying to be messy.

  “No, I asked you who said that we mess around. Don’t try to put words in my mouth and don’t try to define what we have going on. That’s nobody’s business if we mess around or not,” Brandis corrected.

  “No need for the attitude,” Rainey frowned.

  “Okay that’s enough. Just let it go,” Duke whispered to Brandis.

  Mia wanted to laugh so badly, but she held it all in. Rainey was always trying to come for Brandis and she was finally starting to stand up to her. Usually, Mia would come to her defense, but her girl seemed to have it covered this time. Rainey wanted Duke in the worst way and it was killing her that he wanted Brandis instead. In Rainey’s mind, it would be perfect if she hooked up with Duke along with London and Tank. She knew that Tank was messing with Mia, but that was never going to work. They had to keep their relationship a secret and that had to be tiresome. Plus, she knew that Von wouldn’t approve of them being together anyway. He looked at Mia like a daughter, so he would never be all right with her being with his only son.

  “What’s up?” Tre spoke when he walked into the bedroom.

  Mia turned her head and played on her phone while everybody else spoke to him. She still wasn’t answering his calls and they hadn’t talked since he came to her house the weekend before. He tried calling from other numbers a few times, but she always hung up on him. She was afraid of giving in too easily, so staying away was the best thing for her to do. If Von wouldn’t have called her to come over, she probably wouldn’t be over there at all. She sat in the bed with her back up against the wall trying hard not to make eye contact with him. When Tre walked over to the bed and grabbed her phone, Mia was on her feet in a matter of seconds.

  “Give me my phone Tre,” she yelled as she tried to snatch it out of his hand. He held her back with his free hand while he scrolled through the messages between her and Ricky with his other. Mia seemed to be feeling her new friend and he didn’t like that at all.

  “So you ignore all of my calls and texts, but you run it on the phone with this nigga all day,” Tre said angrily.

  “Don’t worry about me. You’re with Paige now right?” Mia yelled.

  “You know I’m not with that damn girl. I don’t know why you would even say some shit like that,” Tre fumed.

  “I’m saying it because you were just fucking her a few weeks ago. Maybe you’re fucking London now. I don’t put anything past you,” Mia implied as she continued to reach for her phone.

  “London!” Tre shouted. “Thanks to you I don’t even speak to the damn girl no more.”

  “We’re not together anymore, so you’re free to speak to anybody you want to.”

  “I’m going in the living room Mia,” Brandis said. She was trying to give them some privacy even though they didn’t ask for it.

  “You don’t have to leave Brandis. It ain’t even like that between us no more,” Mia noted.

  “Don’t do this to me Mia. I swear I haven’t been doing nothing but sitting in this house for the past few weeks. Duke can vouch for me because he’s been here most of the time with me. And Rainey can tell you that I haven’t said one word to London the entire time she’s been coming over here. Tell her Rainey,” he said turning to face his other God sister.

  “He’s telling the truth Mia,” Rainey said even though she wanted to stay out of it.

  She could have killed him for putting her in the middle of their mess. In her opinion, Tre was stupid for begging Mia to be with him. He had plenty of women begging for his attention, including London. If Mia wanted to be stubborn then he needed to leave her alone and move on.

  “I really don’t care one way or the other,” Mia said as she attempted to walk away. Tre grabbed her arm and dropped down to his knees right in front of her. He didn’t care that his best friend and hers were right there looking. He knew that Rainey was probably looking at him crazy too, but he didn’t care about that either. He was really in love with Mia and he couldn’t let her go without giving it his all.

  “This nigga is going crazy,” Duke mumbled to himself. He wasn’t against going after what you wanted, but he wasn’t as bold as his boy was. Begging behind closed doors was one thing, but he didn’t think he could do it in front of anybody.

  “Tre get up, this is not funny,” Mia said embarrassed by his over-the-top display of affection.

  “I’m not trying to be funny Mia. I need you to know how serious I am about us being together. Baby I’m sorry. I swear I won’t do anything to make you leave me again. Just give me a chance to prove myself. I don’t even care about us telling Von anymore,” Tre pleaded. Mia wanted to keep playing hard to get, but he was making it almost impossible. Brandis and Duke looked like they felt sorry for him and Rainey almost looked like she was mad.

  “Tre just get up. This is not the time for you to be doi
ng this while we have a room full of people.”

  “I don’t care about any of that. Everybody in here knows how I feel about you. Just one more chance, Mia, and I promise I’ll get it right this time,” Tre continued to beg. Mia wanted to smile at him, but she kept her hard girl act going. She had to let him know that she wasn’t playing. He needed to know that he could and would be replaced if he didn’t do right by her.

  “Get up so we can talk face to face like adults,” Mia said making him smile.

  “My nigga was on his Keith Sweat begging shit,” Duke said causing everybody to laugh. He, Brandis and Rainey left out of the room and allowed Tre and Mia to talk.

  “Before you start with a bunch of apologies, let me run a few things by you first,” Mia stated as soon as she was alone with Tre.

  She’d been thinking about what she wanted to say to him for the past few weeks, and she was happy to finally get a chance to say it. There was no way that they could continue being together if he wasn’t willing to be faithful. She could have been doing the same thing, but she chose not to. In Mia’s mind, it was simple. Either they do things the right way or they didn’t do anything at all.

  Chapter 11

  “Man, Tae, don’t have me coming over there for nothing. Your people better be ready to spend some damn money,” Tre fussed on the phone with his cousin. They had one week left before their trip to Miami and he was trying to unload all of his product before he left. His first cousin, Talen, begged him to let her and her girls take it off of his hands, and he agreed. Tae and her girls were born to hustle and were just as hard as Tre and his boys.

  “Cuz I got you,” Tae swore to him. “Everybody got their money. We’re just sitting around waiting on you to show up.”

  Tae lived in the same apartment complex as Tre’s mother, Terri. He didn’t go over that way too often because he really didn’t like running into her. He and Terri really didn’t have a relationship and he preferred to keep it that way. The only time he made it his business to visit is when his brother and sister were there. When Von went to jail years ago, Terri got with a man named Darren and had two kids with him. Tre actually liked Darren because he treated him better than his own mother did. Even when Terri had his kids, Darren was still good to him. Terri was a street runner just like Moonie, but she was even worse. She didn’t care if there was food in the house or clean clothes on their backs. As long as she was able to do whatever she wanted to do, that was all that mattered. Darren came home from work many nights to a dirty house and empty freezer. He hung in there as long as he could until he finally got tired and left. He took his kids and moved out one day, leaving Tre at home all alone with Terri. Thankfully, Von was released a few months later and Terri packed Tre up and sent him to live with his father. Von wasn’t home for a good twenty-four hours and Terri was handing Tre over to him. She didn’t even know if Von had a place to stay or not, and she really didn’t care. She was free of kids and that was all she ever wanted.

  “Tank,” Tae yelled causing Tre to abandon his thoughts temporarily. He’d completely zoned out and forgot that he was on the phone.

  “I’m here,” Tre replied. “I’m handling something right now, but I’ll be there as soon as I get done.” He hung up the phone and looked over at Mia. He was bracing himself for her mouth because he knew that he was about to hear it.

  “I thought you said you were done after you got rid of that last stash,” Mia said staring at him.

  “I was Mia, but I’m spending a lot of money on your birthday gift and this trip to Miami. Then you go back to school in three weeks and that’s more money that I have to spend.”

  “I thought this trip to Miami was my birthday gift. That was all that I asked you for. And you know that Moonie got me for school, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

  “No, I got you for school. You’re not sleeping with Moonie, you’re sleeping with me. And you know I’m getting you something else for your birthday. The trip to Miami is just something extra,” he clarified.

  “I appreciate that Tre, but don’t use me as an excuse to keep doing what you’re doing. I’m good and I don’t ask you for anything,” Mia replied.

  “You don’t have to ask me for anything. I know what you need and I make sure I provide it for you.”

  “Yeah, but you know how Von feels about that. You have money Tre. I just don’t get you sometimes,” Mia complained.

  “I’m really done after this. If Tae comes through and takes this load off of my hands, I’ll be straight. With that money and what I already have saved, your gift and this trip will be paid for.”

  “Don’t lie to me just to shut me up.”

  “I’m not lying to you. I’m done with it after this, I promise.”

  “Okay,” Mia replied even though she didn’t believe him.

  “Man, what’s taking them so damn long? I’m ready to go. We’ve been sitting here for over an hour and it’s not even crowded in here,” Tre complained. They were at the clinic waiting to be seen and his patience was wearing thin.

  “That’s because we walked in without an appointment. They have to see their appointments first. We can leave if you want to, but you know what the deal is,” Mia threatened.

  They’d been back together for two months and she still refused to have sex with him until he got tested again. She made him do it a while ago before he took her virginity, and he swore that he was never doing it again. He kept refusing thinking that she was going to give in, but she wasn’t budging. They were going to Miami in a week, so he needed to get it done. The results would be back in three days and that was perfect for him. As bad as he wanted to leave, he knew that he couldn’t.

  “You must be crazy if you think I’m going to Miami for a whole week and don’t get no pussy. I already got blue balls from you making me go without for two whole months,” he fussed.

  “That’s all on you. If you would have done it when I first told you to we wouldn’t even be here right now. You were the one who did wrong, not me,” she reminded him.

  “How do I know that? You and ole boy might have done something that you’re not telling me about.”

  “Unlike you, I know how to say no. I’ve known you all my life and you still had to wait for months before you got it. What makes you think that I would give it up to a nigga that I’ve only known for a few weeks? Two of my friends caught STDs from their boyfriends, but I promise you that I won’t be number three. And just to ease your mind, I’ll be happy to get tested right along with you. I don’t have anything to hide,” Mia replied.

  “You don’t have to do that. I believe you,” Tre clarified.

  “No, we’re doing it together. I don’t want there to be any doubts from either of us,” Mia said.

  Tre nodded his head, but it really didn’t matter to him. He trusted her and he knew that she didn’t sleep around. Mia was the only person that he’d never used protection with and he didn’t want to start now. Although he used protection both times that he slept with Paige, he couldn’t blame Mia for not believing him.

  “Trevon Harris,” the nurse called after they waited for about another thirty minutes.

  Both Tre and Mia got up and followed her to the back. Mia inquired about being seen as well and was given the green light. They both gave blood, followed by a urine sample and cheek swab. The HIV results came back in a matter of minutes, but everything else would be in the mail a few days later. After a few minutes, they were done and ready to go.

  “I told you that I was good,” Tre said once they were back in the car.

  “You’re good on the big test, but we’ll see about everything else,” Mia replied.

  “That’s the most important one. You can be cured of everything else.”

  “And?” Mia spat. “Just because it’s curable doesn’t mean that I want it. You sound stupid.”

  “Why are you so mean, Mia?” he asked leaning over the seat to give her a kiss.

  “Where are we going?” she asked him.r />
  “I need to drop something off to Tae and pick up some money up from Ro. Are you coming with me?”

  “Yeah, but you’re still letting me use the car later right?” she asked.

  She and Brandis made plans to hit up the mall before their trip to Miami. Von practically had to beg Brandis’ mama to let her go. Sometimes Shelia could be a sweetheart and other times she acted like a bitter bitch. It was almost as if she hated to see Brandis have fun. Once Von assured her that Brandis was in good hands, she finally gave in and agreed to let her go.

  “I might, all depends on what you give me for it,” Tre teased.

  “Forget it; I’ll get a ride on my own. Don’t get mad when another nigga be bringing me.”

  “Don’t play with me Mia. You know I’m just messing with you. I told you that you could use it once I finish doing what I have to do,” Tre promised. “Have you thought about what I asked you?”

  “Yeah, I’ve been looking at some stuff online. I guess I never really thought about college until you mentioned it a few weeks ago. You know Moonie don’t care about stuff like that, but I saw a few things that I might be interested in. Since math is my favorite subject, I’ve been leaning more towards accounting.”

  “That’s what’s up,” Tre smiled making her smile in return. “We’ll talk about it some more when we come back from Miami.”

  They talked for a while before stopping to get something to eat. Once they were full, Tre headed in the opposite direction to his cousin Tae’s house. Mia decided to stay in the car while he went inside. Tae was cool, but her and her girlfriend kept a house full of people and somebody was always fighting. The police were bound to run up in there at any time and Mia was surprised that it hadn’t happened yet. She watched the door intently for five whole minutes, until it opened up and Tre came back out. He was almost to the car when he was stopped by someone yelling his name. Mia looked up right as Terri approached her son. He kept walking and got in the car like he didn’t even see her.

  “Don’t do that Tre. At least speak to her,” Mia said.