Playing With Fire: Loyalty Demolished

by Charlee Renea

  Ashley was shocked at his words. She knew this could be a good time to take advantage and get back on his good side, the side of him she’d met when they’d first met each other. He’d been crazy over her. She was desperate to get that side of him back.

  “We still can, baby. It doesn’t have to be like this,” she said, looking in the mirror at his eyes. “You know Nikki’s just after your money!”

  “You really think we can? I mean, I wanted you the first day I saw you.”

  She turned around to face him. “Yes, baby. We’ve had our ups and downs, but we can get over it.” She started rubbing his face, feeling comfortable enough to touch him without him hitting her back. “You stayed around. I believe you love me and I do, too.”

  He remembered hearing similar words when they first met and she’d acted like she wanted him.

  ~ ~

  They sat on the living room couch listening to the rain pour down. Ashley’s legs were wrapped around his midsection and the candles he’d lit were around them. He thought he could get use to this type of loving. His ex-fiancée was a cop and she barely had time for him. The time they did spend together, they argued. It was the opposite with Ashley. She catered to his needs and supported his wants. He really believed she was feeling him.

  “Baby, I want a family! Having a family can motivate you to work harder because you have something to work for! Wouldn’t I make the perfect wife?” Ashley faced him and asked.

  Chris thought for a second. ‘She’s giving me the inside scoop on how to boost my career!’

  “So, you see me as a good husband?”

  She grabbed his hand. “Yes, baby! We can have that good hood-love we missed out on. I’m your Bonnie, sticking by your side. If you take Bella down, I’m sure you’ll get a promotion! I want to be the woman by your side supporting you!”

  Ashley had told him a story of how she’d been mistreated by her ex-boyfriend that wasn't true so he could feel sorry for her. Which he did! He was a sucka for light-skinned women, and Ashley reeled him in with her lies. After he found out she was dating Ray, he felt stupid and ashamed. He’d let a whore come between him and his fiancée. A real man wouldn’t have let an outside fling come between him and his woman! He felt less of a man and wanted Ashley to pay for his mistakes.

  ~ ~

  He snapped back to the present, realizing she played a good game. He became angry that another man was raising his daughter, that he’d put his career on the line for her, and most importantly, he’d allowed her to take control. He should be married to a good woman who had his back through everything, but he’d let her go for a thot. He smacked her hand away.

  “Bitch, you don’t love me! Love? You don’t know what the fuck that is! Put your heels on so we can go!”

  She did just that without saying a word. He called a cab to pick them up from the Motel Six to take them to the pool party at The Palms.

  ~ ~

  The party was live. Beautiful women were walking around in swimsuits and men were showing off their chests trying to impress the ladies. Actor Idris Elba and radio personality Lala Anthony were the hosts. The line was long, but because of Jacob’s status, he and Bella were let in through VIP. They headed towards their table where a bottle of Ciroc was waiting in an ice bucket.

  “How do you like?” Jacob asked, smiling. He wanted her to enjoy herself and see how much she was missing by not being with a man who cherished her.

  “Very impressed. Are you swimming?”

  “I might. Whatever you want. I want you to enjoy yourself.”

  ~ ~

  Chris and Ashley got into the swim party after waiting for about five minutes in the VIP line. Chris was looking at the women, spotting out who he wanted to have some fun with later. He also was looking for the baller men who wouldn’t mind spending some money for fun. He spotted Jacob sitting at the top in VIP. Just who he needed to find!

  “Aye, go buy us a drink and meet me by VIP. I’m about to go holla at my bro.”

  He gave her some money and she headed to the long line. Chris headed toward VIP, and saw her sexy, classy, and smart self standing by Jacob. ‘Um, what’s she doing here?’ He walked towards them and shouted Jacob’s name.

  Jacob looked around to see who was calling his name and saw Chris standing by the entrance. “Come on, baby. My partner’s here,” Jacob said, grabbing Bella’s hand.

  As they walked up to Chris, his eyes was dead on her. She turned away to avoid eye contact. Chris sensed she was uncomfortable. He looked around for Ray but didn’t see him. He knew something wasn’t right with this picture!

  “Wassup!” Chris said, reaching his hand out. “Who’s this beautiful woman?”

  “Wassup! My lady friend, Bella. This is her first time coming to the States, so I want to show her a good time. Thanks for inviting us out here.”

  “No problem! Hello, Bella; nice to meet you. I’m Chris.” He reached his hand out so she could shake it.

  “Nice to meet you as well.” She took his hand and shook it.

  “Where’s your lady?” Jacob asked.

  “Ashley? Oh, she’s at the bar getting us drinks,” Chris said, looking directly at Bella.

  Bella caught his hint. He wanted Bella to whup Ashley’s butt for all the deceit she’d done and the problems she’d caused. Bella knew this would be the perfect time to exchange words and get off her chest how she’d been feeling. She’d been waiting to finally see Ashley in person. Only God knew what she was capable of doing to her.

  “Hey, I’m going go to the ladies’ room and leave you two to talk,” Bella said, excusing herself.

  “Okay,” Jacob said.

  A smile appeared on Chris’ face. If she went to jail for beating the brakes off Ashley, he’d have her out in no time. Ashley needed someone to teach her a lesson about being loyal to the ones who were there for her. Instead, she showed a salty attitude like she didn’t care.

  Bella rushed through the crowd trying to spot Ashley. She’d been waiting to catch her in public, and hopefully, she’d get lucky.

  Chris and Jacob watched the women doing the wet T‑shirt contest. The women had nice shapes and breasts.

  “So how did y’all meet?” Chris asked him.

  “Oh, in L.A. at a bank where I was doing a drop. She was looking good in her sundress. She approached me asking for directions to get to Hollywood. She said she was new in town and I offered to show her around."

  “Yeah, she is sexy. I would have offered, too.”

  “She’s hella cool, too. I don’t know, man; if we talk long enough, I might consider.”

  “Shit, why not?”

  He told Jacob how happy he was for him, but really, he couldn’t care less. Bella might be on the same mission and he wasn’t trying to take any losses, so Chris was curious. Why was Bella hanging around him? He wanted to get to the bottom of things.

  When Bella spotted Ashley walking from the bar holding two drinks, she was on fire, feeling like the Energizer bunny. Flashes of sitting behind bars popped in her head. She reached for her piece she was use to being on her side and instantly got angry because it wasn’t there. She walked up on her, catching her off-guard, grabbed the drinks out of her hand, and threw them in her face.

  “What the fuck?!” Ashley said, wiping the liquor off her face with the back of her hand. When she realized who was standing in front of her, she was in disbelief. She wasn’t expecting to see Bella in Vegas.

  “Yeah, bitch, pick your bottom lip up ’cause it’s me! What? You thought we wouldn’t cross paths eventually? I’ve been waiting for the day to see your rat-looking face!” People started to gather around. “Nine years, I’ve been thinking about how to pay you back for the bitch-ass move you pulled. By the way, how did you like paying my mortgage and helping out on my lawyer fees? Remember this, bitch, you’ll never have a man like Ray!”

  Bella turned to walk away, but Ashley grabbed her arm without thinking first.

  “YOU AIN’
T SHIT!” Ashley screamed.

  She tried punching Bella in the face but she missed. Chris and Jacob saw what happened and rushed over to them. Bella hit her with a left hook then a right. She put her in the head lock and started punching her in the face. Everybody stood around like they were watching a Mayweather fight. She kneed her in the face and blood started dripping from Ashley’s lip. Ashley fell to the ground, and Bella got on top of her, punching her repeatedly in the face. Ashley covered her face to try to block the punches, but she couldn’t block all of them. Bella had her face looking like it was painted in red lipstick.

  The police officer scooped Bella up and held her. Ashley started kicking, thinking she was about to get jumped. When she saw the police had Bella, she got up and charged towards her trying to hit her, but another officer grabbed her.

  “Chill, lady! We got her off you!”

  “Yeah, but she jumped on me for no reason. I don’t even know her!”

  “We have the situation under control, but if you get out of hand, you’ll join her in jail, too!”

  The other officer holding Bella handcuffed her. Chris and Jacob walked up, but the officer wouldn’t let Jacob talk to her.

  “That’s my girl,” Jacob told the police.

  “She’s being arrested. You can meet us at the police station.”

  “Okay. Bella don’t worry; I’ll be there!”

  They escorted her out the party and put her into the police car. The satisfaction of finally beating the brakes off Ashley’s ass had cost Bella her freedom. She was in the cell for twenty minutes before she was able to use the phone. She was relieved when the guard called her name. She headed to the phones and dialed his number. It rang until his voicemail picked up. She tried again but still no answer. She called her father.

  “Hello.”

  “Daddy, it’s me, Bella, and I’m in jail.”

  “Jail? For what princess?”

  “Whupping Ashley’s ass!”

  “I’ll make some calls. Are you with Jacob?”

  “Yes, but I haven’t heard from him. I don’t know his number.”

  “Okay; I’m about to make some calls.”

  ~ ~

  Bella was out in no time. She was thankful to have a solid family, but she was curious to why Ray hadn’t answered. Jacob was waiting on her like he’d promised. Once they got back to the hotel, she took a long, hot shower. She called Ray again in the bathroom, but still no answer.

  . . . 7

  Junior was sound asleep in the queen-size bed. Ray sat in the chair watching him sleep peacefully. He’d arrived in St. Thomas that night. Everyone was happy to see him and he was happy to see them. Chyna walked into the room over to Ray and started massaging his shoulders.

  “That feels good, baby, but lie down.”

  He pulled her towards the bed. He took his shirt off then emptied his shorts’ pockets, placing his phone on the chair. He took his shorts off and climbed into bed with them. He started rubbing her stomach.

  “My day one. No matter what, through ups and downs, you’ve stayed by a nigga’s side. I appreciate your loyalty.”

  “We’re in this together! You helped me out when I was down, and that’s why I couldn’t leave.”

  “I know you’ve been preparing yourself for her birth, and baby, if I’m not here to see her born, understand I’m hustling for us! I have a lot weighing on my shoulders.”

  She was disappointed, but she looked at everything. She wasn’t hustling and Ray was taking care of his family, her mother, their kids, and her.

  “I understand, baby. I just know my mom won’t.”

  “There’s no convincing her. I’m going to talk to her tomorrow.”

  “Is this the last job with Boss? Then you’ll be done with Bella for good?”

  How could he answer her question and be truthful? The bills had to be paid and his brother was still in prison. He was making trips back and forth, and he didn’t have Ashley there giving him money like she use to. He wanted to be honest with her, but the game said differently.

  “Let’s get us a stable home and our families stable first before cutting strings. After this job, I want to see how much I can really make.”

  That wasn’t the response Chyna wanted to hear.

  “Stable, we need that!” His phone started ringing and he grabbed it off the chair. Pebbles’ name scrolled across the screen.

  “Hold on, baby; this is important.” He answered it.

  “What you doing?” she asked.

  “Lying down. What’s up?”

  “You didn’t call when you touched down in L.A. What’s up with that?”

  Ray had told Pebbles he was going to L.A. to re-up on his cocaine. She had given him the money like she usually did.

  “My bad. As soon as I got off the plane, I went to dude to handle business.”

  “Um hmm; don’t be fucking with no other bitches either! You both will get fucked up! So how much was dude charging?”

  “I don’t want to get into that over the phone. We’ll talk when I touch back down.”

  “Yeah, okay, baby. Call me when you wake up or I’ll call you. I love you.”

  “Okay, will do, and you, too.”

  “What? What the fuck is that? I want to hear the shit come out your mouth!”

  “Pebbles, why you tripping?” Ray slipped up and Chyna looked at him crazy. “I’ma talk to you tomorrow.”

  “Don’t hang up this muthafuckin phone without telling me you love me!”

  “Love you. Talk to you tomorrow.”

  “That’s right! Bye, baby.”

  He hung up before she started tripping again and looked over at Chyna. She had that look. He never told her who Pebbles was.

  ~ ~

  Back in New Jersey . . .

  Pebbles flicked the ashes from her Newport and took another puff after she hung up with Ray. She was stretched out on the sofa listening to slow jams on the radio. She went through her call log and hit send. It rang four times before he answered.

  “Hey, baby. What’re you doing?”

  “Waiting on the plug.”

  “Where?” she demanded. She kept her niggas in check except for Ray. He was a challenge and she knew she had to think of a new plan for him.

  “At his house. The nigga’s got me sitting out here on some hot shit. I’m not even from around this way!”

  “After you leave there, where’re you going?”

  “I wanted to dump some, then to you.”

  “Okay, Tae. I’ll be waiting.”

  “A’ight. Dude’s coming out now. I’ll be there.” Tae hung up without waiting to hear her say bye.

  The man came up to Tae’s car and got in.

  “Wassup!” Tae greeted him.

  “I can’t call it. Watching my back though! The Feds are shutting down shops left and right.”

  “Word? I’m new out here and still feeling my way in.”

  The man handed him the work and Tae look at it. Satisfied with his product, Tae handed him the money.

  “Be careful. There’s a rat on the loose.”

  “Word. I’ll make sure to be. A’ight then, be safe.”

  “You, too.”

  The man got out and Tae drove off, headed home. It was late and his woman was missing him. Hustling could pick back up tomorrow.

  Tae felt like a lucky man! After he was shot by Vin, he’d played dead until Vin and Chyna left. The bulletproof vest had saved his life. A couple of days later, he’d met Pebbles in Kansas City at a gas station. They were getting along great and she was taking care of him. She offered to buy his plane ticket so they could fly out to Brooklyn where she stayed and he didn’t turn down the offer.

  Tae had learned her father was a wealthy man who owned his own business in New York City. She was beyond spoiled and spoiled him, too. She gave him money, but he couldn’t turn down the hustle. It would have made him feel less of a man if she took care of them. He was honest by letting her know he was still hustl
ing. She didn’t have a problem with it. Plus, he needed his own money in case she started acting funny.

  He was still on the hunt for Chyna, Ray, and the coward called Vin. They’d taken his product and left him for dead. His plan was to stack up as much money as he could then head back to Kansas City to kill them. In case he got caught, he want to make sure he had money put up. He could leave the situation alone and take it as a loss, but his pride wouldn’t let him! He couldn’t walk around town knowing the niggas and the salty bitch were roaming around freely making money off his product.

  He headed to Pebbles’ apartment thinking about how he’d lost his woman who lived in Omaha where he was originally from. She didn’t believe he’d been shot and figured he’d moved on with another female because he’d never been faithful to her and had lied about everything. She was the only woman he’d truly loved and his boys had told him to do right by her, but he hadn’t listened.

  He pulled up to her apartment and shut the car off. Pebbles was helpful when it came to money, but he couldn’t see himself being with her long term. She seemed desperate to him. He told himself he was just going use her then go back home and get his woman back. He grabbed the work, placed it in his pocket, and grabbed his liquor. He got out and locked the doors.