Hustling on the Down Low

by MT Pope

  I finished my meal and then decided to give myself a tour of the house. I was an investigator by nature, so I was easily intrigued by the newness.

  I went back up the stairs and decided to look in the rooms that I hadn’t had a chance to peek into. There were several rooms. The first two I opened the door to were just bedrooms; then there was a closet type room that was for his clothes. I looked at all the impressive and expensive-looking clothes on racks and hangers. There were shoe walls from head to toe along one side of the wall and a huge mirror that let you see you from almost all angles.

  I made my way out of that room after trying on a few things and then did my best to put them back the way I found them. I then walked down to the end of the hall and the room a few doors down from the bedroom. It was his home office. It was a standard-sized office that had a fabulous touch of class to it. I went and sat down in his chair behind his desk and marveled at the posh quality of Anthony’s life once again.

  “Shit, I’m in the wrong profession,” I said, and then laughed at my own humor. It made me wonder how much he made for a living. I didn’t get to wonder much longer because something caught my eye hanging on the wall. It was a picture that I recognized very well. It was Biàn tài, or the symbol for it, that is. I stood up and then saw it again as I looked down at the rug that was on the floor. My mouth hung open in awe. And curiosity drove me to travel around the house and in each room. There was a small sample of it on something, a wall clock, pillow, or a vase.

  I ended up sitting in the living room with my mind almost spinning at full speed.

  “This can’t be. This isn’t what it looks like,” I said to myself. “Maybe this was a coincidence. Maybe he was just in love with Asian symbols or something like that.” I rubbed my now throbbing temples because I was utterly confused.

  “Who am I sleeping with?” I said, and then put my head in my hands.

  Chapter 45

  Avery

  Fire

  I spent most of my day on my compound and in my office. I was liking the way that my empire was growing. I was bringing in the numbers, and the money was giving me life. I had some casualties on the streets because Leroy was still trying his best to find me or get someone to talk. I laughed at how tenacious this man was and at his hard-on for me. He didn’t know that he was chasing an image that he built in his head. He would never find me that way. Again, straight was straight, but gay had many faces. I’m so glad that I had his son in my grasp. I was letting Corey think that he would be working for his father, but that was to get him to get all the information that I needed to swallow up Leroy and his whole business—and his son and wife with him.

  I loved a well-executed plan and one that would give me all power. I went back over my day with Monica a few days ago at the party and marveled at her gullibility and vulnerability when it came to her and her family. All of them were clueless, though. She was becoming a full-fledged junkie under my care and guidance, and I was using her loneliness as a weapon against her without her knowledge. Every time she came to a game with her son, she left with a special “treat” from me in the form of a bottle of wine. My chemist was a master at making drugs inconspicuous and in all types of forms. That cough syrup was highly addictive but almost undetectable in taste mixed with something else.

  There were so many forms of different types of drugs floating around and being sold from my camp that would make it impossible for the police to get a grip on it. I was in heaven at the mayhem that I was at the wheel of. And the power to control a city and drug empire with such ease gave me a raw and unadulterated high that no physical drug could ever come close to. Power was my raw drug of choice. I’m about to turn up the fire.

  Chapter 46

  Leroy

  Drunk in Love

  I was excited to finally have my boy on my team. I didn’t want to force him to do something that he didn’t want to do, but it was something I wanted him to do. There is nothing like your son taking a spot next to you in the family business. Even though this isn’t your “normal” father and son business, it was a business nonetheless.

  Things were falling into place rather nicely, and I was driven even more now that my son was going to be adding to the equation. I was driving through the city with my boy, Dre, in the passenger seat of the car.

  “Yo, son, this shit is about to get real in this city. Them fags are going down now. I got some young blood at the table. Corey is just like his pops; a hustler at heart. I can tell by the way he carries the ball on the court and the way his team and coach admire him. They know a born leader when they see one,” I boasted.

  “True dat.” Dre nodded his head in agreement. Dre was a man of little words. When he spoke, I listened. I didn’t want a motormouth on my team. If you got too much to say on my team, then you were at risk to run it to the wrong people. “Loose lips sink ships” was applicable in most situations, and in this one, it could cost you your life.

  “Dre, when are you going to spread a seed into the earth so you can pass on your legacy?”

  “Bro, that’s not even been on my radar right now. I want the right one to bear my seed. They haven’t come around yet, so I ain’t moving or hopping on anything at the moment. Time got the cards. I just play what I’m dealt.”

  “Dude, you are right about that. I’m glad I got the lady that I have. I couldn’t have a better wife in my life. She’s got my back no matter what, and I need it in this business. Now, my son in the mix and all is well, dude. I feel a change coming, and I believe it’s in my favor, bro.”

  “You got that, bro. Change is coming.” He nodded his head once again. I’m glad for brothers like him. I didn’t have any biological ones that I know of. He was one of the closest things to it.

  “This you, dude,” I said as I pulled up next to his car and watched him get out and hop in his joint. We almost never parked in the same place twice. That was key to staying alive in the game. I keep my circle small.

  It took me about twenty minutes to get to my house doing high speeds getting home. I had an urge to be with my wife in a special way. And the way that she has been treating me the other day, I will welcome the services that she does so well.

  I pulled up to the house, and I noticed that her car was gone. I hoped that it was Corey who had it and not her because my libido was on blast right now.

  I exited my car rather quickly, but I looked around to make sure I wasn’t being followed or anything. You can’t be too sure. I had someone watching my house for a bit, and then let it go for a few days. I wanted to appear off guard, but I had something in the wings. I had something better than people watching. Technology was on point, and I used it to guard my house better than any person could.

  Anyway, I entered my home with a pep in my step. I was glad to be home. My dick was already semihard at the thought of the looming ecstasy. My wife had the best pussy in the world.

  I heard some jazz playing as soon as I entered the house. It meant she was in a good mood.

  “Baby!” I hollered out. I almost started to undress on my way to her, but I didn’t want to seem overly eager to get it. I wanted her to work for it. I knew that she would want it that way. She was a please-your-man type of lady, and I was a fitting king if I do say so myself.

  After I didn’t get an answer, I decided to look for her myself. My voice was a commanding voice, but the music was playing somewhat loudly.

  I found her in the living room and what I saw was something I didn’t like at all.

  “Monica,” I yelled, but she didn’t hear me. She was slumped over on the chair like an addict with a wineglass and bottle in front of her.

  “Monica!” I yelled again as I walked over to where the music was playing and cut it off. I yelled her name again. Still no response.

  I got up close to her and kneeled in front of her. She was slumped over like a man trying to suck his own dick. I was immediately pissed. I knew what this look was, and I thought the worst.

  I lightly began
to tap her face to awaken her, and when that didn’t happen, I did a full-fledged slap to the face.

  She popped up in shock.

  “Why you hit me like that?” she asked as she slowly rubbed her face. She looked angrier than I was now.

  “Because your ass was bent the fuck over like a crackhead,” I scolded her. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?” she came back at me with the same attitude I was giving her. We almost never talked like this to each other. I only did it when I was pissed with her or at something on the street. Most of the time it was out of frustration.

  “Monica, you doing too much drinking. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that you were high.”

  “High?” She looked at me like I had two heads. “I drink wine. That’s it. I may have had too much today, but that’s the fuck it is. Don’t insult me like that. You know better.”

  I had to admit that she was right. But I wasn’t about to let her off that easy.

  “Monica, you need to slow down on that shit before you think about trying something else. I didn’t marry a crackhead, and I’m not going to start this late in the game with you.” I had to be straight with her. I loved her to death, but I had boundaries.

  “You don’t ever have to worry about that. That shit doesn’t look good on me. I’m only addicted to you.”

  I had to admit that she made me smile on the inside. She knew what to say to make a man feel good. I’m just going to move on with my agenda. She was drunk in love. The way that I loved for her to be.

  It didn’t take long for my sex drive to return and to get her to do for me what I originally wanted her to do when I first came in the house.

  We made out on that sofa like it was going out of style. She damn near sucked my tongue right out of my mouth with the passion that she had going on. She a straight beast, and I had to admit that she was giving me everything that she had. She got up and damn near ripped the pants right off me. Took my dick in her mouth and engulfed it like she was a magician and she was trying to make it disappear. She was doing a fabulous job of it. I prayed that Corey didn’t come in because I wouldn’t have stopped her finishing what she was doing for no one. I wouldn’t have explained it to him anyway. I’m sure he is out there in the world knocking women off left and right. He’s my boy, and the apple that fell from this tree didn’t roll at all.

  Before I knew it, I exploded in her mouth, and she took it all in stride. She wasn’t finished, but it felt like I was. That nut took some energy from me. But that didn’t stop her from demanding more.

  “Let’s go upstairs. I want to finish you off,” she said seductively as she got up and pulled at my arm so that I would get up off the couch.

  I did as she requested and unexpectedly picked her up as if she were a newborn baby and carried her up the stairs and to our bedroom. I laid her on the bed, and she quickly undressed and spread her legs for me like a butterfly’s wings. She beckoned with a seductive flicker of her tongue across her top lip. I undressed and crawled across the bed and intensively went to work on her pussy as if there was no tomorrow. She grabbed my head and pushed me in deeper as she moaned uncontrollably.

  “I’m coming,” she moaned. I pulled back and watched her twitch as she exploded in an orgasm. It made me rock hard again.

  “Now fuck the shit out of me. I want that dick in me. I want to feel you in me. Fuck me now.” She rolled over on her stomach and arched her midsection into the air and waited for me to mount her and take her for a ride. I did what came natural and slid into her wet canal. She was tight and pulsating around my dick. It drove me crazy as I slowly pumped in and out of her. The connection that I was feeling with her took me back to when we were younger, and I loved it. We both climaxed again before collapsing beside each other. I was spent. I thought that she was, but I was mistaken. Before I could even speak again, Monica rolled over and began to suck on my dick again. She was blowing my mind. It took her a minute to get it hard once more, but when she did, she straddled me and rode me until I came again. I don’t know what point she was trying to prove, but she was going for Wife of the Year. My wife was the winner and the only woman for me. She had no competition, and no other woman could even come close to her. My wife is my only chick, and I was very content with her.

  Chapter 47

  Monica

  Different

  I woke up this morning feeling like a piece of shit warmed over. I was hungover and didn’t like it. I was in bed, and I didn’t remember even getting there. My husband was still asleep beside me, which was rare, because the clock on my nightstand read 7:30 in the morning. Lately, he’s been absent from the house by that time. He was snoring loud too.

  I shifted in bed a few more minutes before I rolled on to my feet. As soon as I lifted myself from the bed, I became light-headed. I quickly reached for the nightstand while whispering the name of Jesus. After a few more seconds, I slowly walked to the bathroom to slap some water on my face and to relieve my bladder.

  When I got to the bathroom and I flipped on the light switch, what stood before me in the mirror was someone that I didn’t recognize. I looked tattered and worn. My eyes were red, and my hair needed to be combed.

  I did my ritual as I usually did in the morning, but this time, I showered a little longer than I normally did. I felt dirty, and I didn’t know why. When I finally stepped out of the shower, my husband greeted me with a towel and a smile. It was unusual for him to do that. Not that he wasn’t caring, it was just something that he hasn’t done in a long time.

  “Good morning, bae,” he said as he wrapped the towel around me, and then kissed me on the cheek.

  I looked at him strangely as he did that, because, again, it wasn’t the norm.

  “Are you okay?” I asked him.

  “Monica, I’m great. Why you ask me that?”

  “Because this isn’t normal for you. It’s been a minute since you brought me a towel. It caught me off guard,” I said as I took control of the towel and continued to dry myself off. I looked at him in the eyes while doing this. He looked innocent, to be truthful. But my mind instantly went back to the pictures and the bitch he had on the side, and I tightened my grip on the towel as I dried myself.

  “Neither was last night. You put the pussy on a brother like when we were first dating. I mean, you knocked me out cold. I haven’t slept that good in a long time.” He was smiling from ear to ear. I was oblivious to the night before. I didn’t remember the sex at all. I hope he wasn’t expecting an encore performance because I didn’t have it right now. Nor did I want to. I still felt like shit.

  “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” I put on a fake smile to hide the contempt I was feeling for him and myself. I pushed past him with newfound energy and made my way downstairs and toward the kitchen. I needed some coffee and to put something in my stomach. I’m sure that the rest of the house would be hungry as well.

  I was a mother, wife, and daughter. But more than anything, I was a woman. A woman who pushed past how she felt and did what she needed to do to keep her family together, and that meant doing it despite what it looked like or how I felt.

  “Ma, you okay?” Corey asked as he sat down at the table and I brought him his breakfast.

  “Yes, why do you ask?” I mainly asked to see if he could read past my present façade.

  “You just look different. I don’t know.”

  “Well, I did overdo it yesterday, and now, I’m feeling the effects of it. I’m just a bit tired. As soon as I get some food and coffee in me, I’ll be just fine.” I smiled afterward to give him the impression that I believed in what I just stated. But, truthfully, I didn’t know what was going to make me feel any better. I felt like shit. I felt different. It didn’t help that my husband looked at me with lust in his eyes as he ate. I don’t know what the hell I did to him last night, but he must have loved it. A piece of me hoped that he enjoyed it enough to leave his side piece alone. I felt like I was
losing my grip on me and him. I felt different.

  Chapter 48

  Corey

  Give and Take

  They say that a relationship is about give and take, and I think that Dre and I had it down to a science. Sexually and mentally, we were doing the damn thing. Like right now, we were out touring all the trap houses my father had set up around the city and meeting with all my father’s lieutenants. My father put me under Dre’s care and guidance for a great deal of my training. My father still put in his time, but with him doing what he needed to do to take over the rest of the city, he still needed to get me groomed to help at the table. I had to admit that I was in awe at how much it took to run a growing empire. This shit is work. I can see why my father was out all the time. He had tons of shit going on. Buyers, dealers, distributors, hit men, casers, and tons of other positions, and he had to keep all of that shit together.

  After a full day of running around in the streets, of which he had me paying attention to hand gestures, crackhead tendencies, and all types of stuff that a normal person would miss daily, we headed to a drive-thru restaurant and grabbed a quick bite to eat. I had to say that I was growing quite comfortable with Dre’s presence in my life. He was a great teacher and very patient. I guess that came with age, which we never talked about.

  “Do you have a problem fucking someone under the legal age limit?”

  “No” was the only word that came out of his mouth. I still getting used to questions being answered in the manner that they were supposed to be answered. Many people want to explain themselves in a simple question, which, for the most part, isn’t necessary.