My Shawty: An Original Love Story

by Twyla T

  “Maannn… it’s a long story, but what you been up to big cuz? I asked Big Mama about you, but she ignored me,” Babyface said while looking at Big Mama out of the corner of his eye.

  “I love Skeet, but y’all ain’t bout to be hanging with him. I told Nicole I would keep y’all outta trouble and I intend to do just that,” Big Mama bickered while side-eyeing Babyface and Vice.

  “Big Mama, you know I ain’t gon’ get them in no trouble,” Skeet said while laughing. He placed the gifts down, then ushered for Babyface and Vice to come outside and talk to him, and they both happily and eagerly obliged by hauling ass outside.

  “Now, what in the fuck y’all lil niggas doing down here in the Sip?” Skeet eagerly asked his cousins.

  “Man cuz, moms was on that bullshit about us getting killed in the streets of Chicago,” Babyface retorted. “But you the one we been tryna see since we been here. Put us on man. You know we down,” Babyface continued.

  “You must really want Big Mama to kill my ass?” Skeet sneered while laughing.

  “Big Mama ain’t gotta know what we doing,” Vice chimed in. Hooking up with Skeet was right up his alley.

  “Damn, y’all lil niggas gon’ get my ass in trouble, but save my number and holla at me later,” Skeet said before calling his cellphone number out to them. He was the one with all of the connections they needed to be put on. They knew that from all of their visits to Mississippi over the past years for holidays and in the summertime. “Let me get my ass back in there and eat some of that good food I know Big Mama got in the kitchen.” Skeet grinned after they chopped it up for a few more minutes.

  Later that night, Babyface and Vice were getting ready to hit Freelon’s. Since being in the south, they had been learning their way around. It wasn’t hard for them to maneuver around at all. Big Mama let them drive her car freely, and they took full advantage of it. Babyface and Vice had been lying low, trying their best to stay on the straight and narrow, but that shit was for the birds. “I gotta find me some pussy to dive up in soon,” Babyface verbalized while brushing his hair.

  “Mu’fuckin right my nigga! I’m tired of beating my dick,” Vice retorted.

  It was thirty minutes after ten by the time they finished getting ready, and Big Mama was already in bed asleep, so they dipped out with ease. While buying some liquor a week ago, Babyface asked the cashier what the hot spots were in town and where the women went. He remembered Freelon’s being the first thing the guy said, so he stored it in his phone and looked it up. He also remembered him saying there were a few strip clubs, and Black Diamond’s was the best one. Babyface wasn’t trying to throw money at strippers just yet, so he decided that they would see what Club Freelon’s was hitting on.

  As soon as Babyface turned onto Mill Street, traffic came to a complete stop, and both him and Vice knew from experience that the club was about to be lit with traffic being that thick. They couldn’t wait to get inside and scope out the southern hoes. After parking, finishing off their blunt, and taking a couple shots of Patron, they were ready to go inside and have a good ass time. Once they paid and stepped inside, both guys scanned the crowd and headed to the bar to grab some Coronas. A female bumped into Babyface, and he looked back and checked her out. She was a dark skin chick with a weave hanging down to her fat ass. She eyed him seductively and he smirked. “What’s good ma?” he asked her.

  “You tell me playa. Where you from? I can tell you ain’t from round here,” the girl spoke and said. Before he could answer, the girl started bending over and twerking, and Babyface’s dick got hard instantly. “Twerk twerk twerk twerk that ass!” the girl sang as she continued to twerk on Babyface. He nor Vice were ever the dancers in their crew; it was always Nic who stayed on the dance floor. However, Babyface didn’t want the girl to stop, so he found himself doing exactly what he visualized Nic would have done and found himself having a good time. When the song ended, he walked off towards the bar, and the girl followed him. Although he knew his money was limited at the moment, he paid for his drink and the girl who put on a show for him because he wanted to bend her ass over again but with no clothes on the next time.

  Vice was chilling in the cut with a little red bone, and Babyface decided to head over his way when ‘ol girl went to the bathroom. After talking for a little while with the mystery girl, he learned that her name was Kierra, but she went by Ki. He could tell that she was a hood chick and, for some reason, those were the type he always wound up with. “Chyna, why did you suggest we even come here? This place is just… I can’t even think of a word to describe it,” Babyface heard a girl say while he was walking by a table.

  “Will you relax Ashley, please,” another girl replied. Babyface froze when he heard the second voice, and he directed his attention to her.

  “Well… I’ll be damn!” he said to himself when he laid eyes on her. “Excuse me, Chyna. How are you?” Babyface asked when he walked closer to the table, hoping that he heard her name correctly. Chyna opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. “Cat got your tongue today ma?” Babyface challenged.

  “Chyna, how do you know this thug?” her friend Ashley asked, not caring what she said or how it sounded.

  “What are you doing here?” Chyna asked after she finally found her voice, ignoring her friend. She didn’t think that she would ever lay eyes on that fine ass man again, but there he was standing right before her. He was looking better than she remembered.

  “You thought you wasn’t gon’ ever see me again, didn’t you? I knew I was gon’ find yo ass though,” Babyface said while smirking. Chyna blushed and was at a loss for words once again. “Cat got ya tongue again, ma?”

  “You wanna buy our drinks since you standing there looking all bold and crazy?” one of Chyna’s other friends asked. Babyface had been waiting on this opportunity since the day Chyna threw that twenty-dollar bill on the counter in the airport. He reached into his wallet and pulled out a hundred-dollar bill and placed it in front of her. Just as he was turning to walk off, he heard Ki’s voice.

  “I know you ain’t tryna play me for these stuck up bitches!” she said while grabbing his arm and yanking him backwards.

  “Who the fuck you calling a stuck up bitch? You ghetto looking slut!” Chyna argued back. As soon as all of the words left her mouth, all of her friends turned and stared at her, shocked by her outburst.

  “Chyna, don’t you dare act a fool over either one of those peasants!” Ashley chided and Leah agreed with her, by nodding her head and staring at Ki with disgust. Babyface turned towards Ki and looked at her like she had lost her damn mind. He knew they had been conversing or whatever and, true enough, he wanted to fuck, but he wanted to get to know Chyna and he didn’t need her to fuck it up.

  “Chill out ma! Damn… we just met… shit,” Babyface said to Ki after facing her. His original intent was to drop the money and leave, like Chyna had done him, but he didn’t know how well that plan was going to work since Ki had put on a show. “I’ll see you around Chyna,” Babyface smiled at her and said before walking towards Vice, who had peeped the whole scene. He didn’t miss much at all, if anything.

  “Nigga, what the fuck you got going on? You always got bitches acting a damn fool over yo ass,” Vice declared after Babyface copped a seat across from him. Right when he opened his mouth to respond, Ki plopped down right beside him. This bitch is bold, but I’m tryna see what that mouth can do, so I’ma let her ass make it, Babyface thought to himself.

  “Heeyyy Candy Cane! What the hell you doing in here on a Thursday night? I thought you was working tonight!” Ki said to the girl who had been chilling with Vice in the corner.

  “Nah, not tonight! Why yo ass ain’t working?” Candy countered.

  “I’ll be breaking them niggas pockets tomorrow through Sunday, so I’m good tonight,” Ki answered while smiling and thinking about the tips she always made from work.

  “Y’all some prostitutes?” Vice promptly asked.

  “Hell naw! W
e dancers nigga!” Ki told him proudly.

  “Oh shit! Can we get a private show then?” Babyface chimed in. He never even asked Ki if she had a job or anything. They basically sat there talking about bullshit while drinking.

  “We might can work a lil sumn sumn out for y’all!” Candy replied seductively, while discreetly grabbing Vice’s dick under the table.

  They all sat there drinking and talking shit to each other, while Babyface kept his eyes on Chyna. He was trying to figure out how he was going to get her number without messing up the pussy he had lined up for the night already. It was clear that Chyna was a classy chick with a secret bad bitch side and all she needed was the right man by her side. Ki was a straight up gutter chick who was down for whatever, but Babyface knew she was all about her money, so he only wanted her around to fuck.

  “I’ll be right back,” Babyface said, excusing himself and got up from the table while holding his dick like he had to take a leak. He headed towards the table Chyna and her friends were occupying. When he was almost there, a guy approached the table and stopped to talk. “Who the fuck is this lame ass nigga?” Babyface asked himself. Before he got to the table, the guy grabbed Chyna’s hand, and she was gone before he could approach her. “Fuck!!” he cursed. He briefly thought about approaching her friends, but he knew they wouldn’t be any help. So, he walked on to the bathroom and decided he would just make the best of the night with Ki.

  Chapter 4

  “Chyna, I know you hear me talking to you! Why did you even want to go to a club?” Pete debated. “Ashley said it was your idea.”

  “Pete, you’ve been acting more like my daddy lately, instead of my boyfriend, and you’re working my fucking nerves. Hell, my dad don’t even keep tabs on me like you’ve been,” Chyna said while rolling her eyes.

  “Oh, so you got a potty mouth now too. What’s going on with you?” Pete quizzed. Chyna sat there at the kitchen table eating a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, ignoring Pete and thinking about the fine ass man she had run into twice. She didn’t even know his name, but he was consuming all of her thoughts.

  “You haven’t even started school yet and you’re already changing. I still can’t believe you’re not going to Mississippi College,” Pete said.

  “You can’t believe it or you mad because you can’t figure out a way to watch me twenty-four seven now? Which one is it?” Chyna asked while staring at Pete. He became quiet because he knew that she hit the nail on the head with her comment. Pete was about to be a senior at Mississippi College, graduating with a double major in Engineering and Accounting. His family was well off just as Chyna’s, and it made perfect sense for them to be together. But, Chyna was having doubts. They had been together for the past two years, and it was all good with Chyna because she was dating a man in college while she was in high school. However, it wasn’t until recently that she learned a lot about Pete’s controlling and manipulative ways. Chyna also knew that he wanted to get married as soon as he graduated college, but she wasn’t going that route right now. If she agreed to marry him, Chyna would only have one full year of experiencing college life, which meant she wouldn’t have been able to experience much. No, she needed to get the full four-year experience, just like he had done.

  “Pete. I think maybe we should-” Chyna began saying, but Pete cut her off.

  “Baby, look what I got for you!” he said while holding up a Cartier Love Bracelet that was breathtakingly beautiful.

  “That’s beautiful Pete,” Chyna grunted. “You don’t have to keep buying me gifts, but I do love them,” she said while giggling as he put it on her arm. Chyna was use to her parents showering her with gifts, and Pete did the exact same thing, which was one of the reasons her mom loved him so.

  “Let’s go and have dinner at Crechale’s tonight. You love their seafood, and I think it’ll be a great idea for us to get out. I know I’ve been busy with work, but I’m all yours today,” Pete told her.

  “That’s fine,” Chyna said, totally dismissing the idea that she was about to dump him only moments earlier. “I’m going to run home, and I’ll be back later. Mom is expecting me,” Chyna added while getting up before Pete could object.

  Riding down Interstate 55 South towards Byram, Chyna was listening to some old school jams by Jasmine Sullivan and thinking about her life. Something was missing in her life, but she couldn’t figure out what it was for anything. Her friends told her she would be a fool to dump Pete. Ashley actually called her a crazy fool to even be considering it. “Maybe I am just being foolish. Pete loves me and I love him, so I’m just going to continue going with the flow,” Chyna said as she pulled into the Silver Creek subdivision.

  Chyna sat in the car and, once again, the mystery man popped into her mind. “Why the fuck do I keep thinking about him?” she asked herself before getting out of her car and shaking her head. “Get it together Chyna. That shit was just a coincidence,” she said while unlocking the door and walking inside of the house.

  “Hi sweetheart,” her mom greeted as soon as she walked into the living room.

  “Hi mom,” Chyna said, then walked over and kissed her mom on the left cheek. “Where’s dad?” Chyna inquired.

  “He’s down at his office working,” her mom replied.

  “On a Saturday? When is he going to take a break?” Chyna asked while shaking her head.

  “You know how he is. Besides, since you turned down that scholarship, someone is going to have to pay your tuition,” Mrs. Patterson said, cutting her eyes at her daughter. Chyna’s body stiffened. “You did know I was going to find out, right?” her mom more so said than asked.

  “I’ve done everything your way all of my life, mom. I want to do this for myself. I have always wanted to go to a historically black college. And you know tuition won’t be a problem. I applied for scholarships there too,” Chyna said confidently.

  “You’re not going to Jackson State Chyna-” her mom started saying, but Chyna cut her off.

  “You didn’t even go to college, so I don’t understand why you’re making such a big deal out of it,” Chyna smartly replied.

  “Chyna Patterson!! You better watch yourself young lady. I want you to make better choices than I made,” Victoria refuted.

  “At some point, you’re going to have to trust me to make my own decisions and mistakes, mom!” Chyna said as nicely as she could. Victoria stood up and just stared at her daughter. She couldn’t understand why Chyna had been challenging her so much lately. People tend to say that most girls look just like their dads, but Chyna was the splitting image of her mom. From her smooth, perfect caramel skin to her naturally curly hair, beautiful brown eyes, and slim body, Victoria and Chyna could pass for sisters instead of mother and daughter. Victoria straightened her hair more than her daughter, and that made her look even younger.

  “I’m not about to argue with you today Chyna,” her mom said and walked out of the living room.

  Chyna got up and walked to her room. The thought of asking for an apartment seemed too risky at the moment, so she decided she would wait. Being a person who always loved her own space, staying on campus was out of the question. “I’ll just stay back and forth between home and Pete’s place until I can get my own apartment… I might have to start staying with Corey some. He loves his little sister,” Chyna told herself while looking through her walk-in closet for something to wear for the night.

  Chapter 5

  One Month Later

  “What the fuck you mean you on your way to the fucking library? Yo ass ain’t no college material. I thought you was joking about that shit. Let me find out you tryna get some nerdy ass bitch to replace me,” Sasha said into the phone.

  “Chill out ma,” Babyface said while laughing and thinking about what had been going on the past few weeks. When cousin Skeet went to Big Mama’s house on the Fourth of July, he had the information that Babyface and Vice had been waiting on. Skeet put them on to a Kush and Drank hustle that he was a part of himself. They stra
tegized and came up with plans that would work best for them. The plan was for both of them to work at McDonald’s, so that Big Mama wouldn’t suspect anything. That was working well for Vice, but Babyface walked out when he got yelled at for putting onions on a quarter pounder that didn’t want onions. He told the manager to make the fucking sandwich himself and dipped. Vice tried to stop him, but there was no use.

  After quitting, Big Mama sat him down for a long talk and Babyface promised he would go to college. After researching college choices, he decided to attend Jackson State University. With it being a historically black college, he knew it was also a party school. He applied and got accepted and now was headed to the library to print off his schedule and syllabus for each class. Things in the streets were running smoothly. School for Babyface and work for Vice had to be the cover up, so they were working hard to stick to the plan. After he got his school ID last week and saw the smile on Big Mama’s face, Babyface knew he had to give it an honest try to keep from disappointing her.

  “So, you really serious about school? I can’t believe this shit for real for real,” Sasha said, snapping Babyface out of his thoughts.

  “Yeah Sasha, damn! I’m going to fucking college. You can’t hear or can’t comprehend? Shit!” Babyface snapped into the phone. He briefly thought about bringing up what his boy told him about Sasha being spotted with a nigga he used to hang with, but he dismissed it since he was at the library and about to go in. “I’ll holla at you later. I got some business to handle,” Babyface said and hung up.

  Babyface walked into the library and found an empty computer and sat down. After logging in, he was having a hard time pulling up the link to print his schedule off. “Fuck! This shit prolly just ain’t for me,” he said to himself. He plopped back into the chair out of frustration and closed his eyes.

  “You need some help with something?” a female voice said.