Money-Makin' Mamas

by Smooth Silk

  “I don’t mind either,” Simone said. “And to hell with Preston tonight. I don’t feel up to it. Tell that motherfucka I’m sick.”

  “I’m not gon’ turn down no paper,” Karrine said. “So count me in. I have two hookups on my schedule tonight, but I’ll make it quick.”

  I talked to Karrine and Simone about how Mama was feeling. Since I sometimes called the shots, I told them to chill for a while on bringing the unnecessary drama around. It was starting to fuck with Mama’s head.

  With that being said, we left that night, knowing that there was no room for error. But as soon as we got to the club, some unexpected shit popped off that was beyond our control.

  It revolved around Simone and that nigga Reno. He was on her like flies on shit in the club, and when she tried to walk away from him, he yanked on her arm and wouldn’t let go.

  “Come here, bitch,” he said. “Don’t walk the fuck away from me, especially when I’m talkin’ to you.”

  I was on the crowded dance floor and saw everything unfold. Simone pulled away from him, but he continued to be aggressive. Her face scrunched and she grabbed his dick in her hand, squeezing it. Reno’s mouth formed in a wide circle and saliva started to drip from it. He was in a whole lot of pain. I could tell by the way his eyes rolled to the back of his head that his dick was suffering.

  “Nigga, back the fuck up and take yo’ li’l-dick ass somewhere and chill before I crack these nuts and make them bleed,” Simone shouted. “I’ve been called too many bitches in one day and my limit has been reached! All of this disrespect is totally uncalled for, and you should have left that noise you bringin’ at the door.”

  Simone released Reno’s dick, and right in the middle of the floor he dropped to his knees. The colorful lights kept on spinning, the DJ kept kicking down music, but the crowd on the dance floor had spaced out. One of Reno’s boys came on the dance floor to help him. I figured that once he got his balls in order, Simone was going to catch some major heat.

  Dressed in tight-ass jeans that hung low on my perfect waistline, I walked toward the table where Simone and Karrine sat. My braids hung down my back and a pink flower that matched the pink and yellow half shirt I wore was clipped in my hair. With the shirt being cut right underneath my breasts, my abs were on display, as well as my silky chocolate skin.

  Niggas were turning their heads, whispering and trying to pull me in every direction. I paid them no mind. I was trying to find out what had happened between Reno and Simone. Four other dudes were at the table with them, and everybody was tossing back plenty of alcohol. My mood had gone downhill after seeing the incident with Simone and Reno, but she appeared to be upbeat.

  “Girl, sit down and stop being so overprotective,” Karrine said to me. “Have a drink and don’t let Reno spoil the fun. He shouldn’t have put his hands on Simone. That’s what the fuck he gets.”

  “No, Reno shouldn’t be runnin’ around here lyin’ about fuckin’ a bitch when he ain’t been in no part of me. I did that shit because his ass been yakkin’ and lyin’ on me. Ain’t no way I’ma let a short-dick nigga like that up in this pussy. Please.”

  Simone rolled her eyes and they all laughed, including the dudes who were sitting at the table spending hella money on drinks, hoping that it would buy them a piece of ass tonight. Little did they know, it wasn’t going to buy them shit but conversation and a few fake laughs.

  One of the dudes scooted over in the booth. “Sit next to me wit yo’ sexy-ass self. Stop lookin’ so mean and enjoy yourself. If that fool come over here trippin’, me and my boys got yo’ back. Meanwhile, let me buy you a drink. Then, I wanna get to know you better.”

  His conversation was weak as fuck. I ignored him and sat at the booth on high alert all night. Karrine and Simone had been up dancing and flirting with every nigga who walked by our table. I followed the direction of Simone’s eyes when she stared straight ahead then shook Karrine’s shoulder. The person we saw coming our way was Honey. He was with several of his friends. Just when I thought the night couldn’t get any worse, it did.

  Honey rocked a crisp white button-down shirt and baggy jeans. His locs were in a ponytail, and the shine on his chocolate skin was nothing to play with. A diamond cross hung from his neck and money breezed through the air as he walked. I had to admit that my long-lost brother was one fine-ass nigga. His hooded eyes were glued to Karrine the whole time. Hers were locked on him. At first, I couldn’t tell if I saw fear in her eyes or lust. Then, it hit me. I’d seen that look before. Her gaze showed some kind of attraction to him. She didn’t turn to look away until he approached the table with two beat-face niggas next to him.

  “Well, well,” Honey said with a smirk on his face. “My li’l sistas up in here stealin’ all the thunder. Y’all makin’ noise and spreadin’ mega love to the niggas who ain’t deserving. I thought that after what had happened today, y’all would be somewhere in hidin’.”

  Karrine ignored Honey while sucking her teeth to keep quiet. Simone folded her arms and didn’t dare hold back on him.

  “Well, well, well, sorry, but you thought wrong, brother. Ain’t no need for us to be in hidin’, so just keep it movin’ and pretend that you didn’t see or hear us up in here makin’ noise.”

  Since I’d missed the happenings from earlier, I had to let this fool know that we wouldn’t be bullied by him or by the thugs he brought to the table with him. “Honey, it’s good seein’ you again, and better with your clothes on than off this time. Let’s stop the childish games and learn how to forgive and forget. You got yo’ shit back, so please tell me why you felt a need to come over here and say somethin’ to us. From my understandin’, you didn’t want to see our faces again. I promise you that we ain’t excited about seein’ yours either.”

  He massaged the hair on his chin while nodding his head. “I see you got a lot of mouth too, Chyna, but all a big bro wanted to do was stop for a second to say what’s up to my troublemakin’-ass sistas. Since I’m not welcome in y’all’s presence, let me step so y’all can keep on givin’ these niggas up in here heart attacks. I’m surprised y’all ain’t seen no familiar faces up in here from that video porn shit y’all do, but please do be careful because ya just never know who is really watchin’ when y’all think they ain’t.”

  He shrugged and strutted away. I’d be lying my ass off if I said he didn’t just piss me off. What he didn’t know was that we didn’t accept gutter, broke-ass, club-going, thirsty niggas in our circle. A motherfucker had to prove that he had some serious paper before we accepted his membership. A few broke fools had slipped through the cracks before, but they were always weeded out when they couldn’t fork out the money. Since money had to be paid in advance, the show didn’t go on until money was paid in full.

  “I need to go to the restroom,” Karrine rushed to say. “It’s hot as hell in here, and I’m starting to sweat in this tight-ass dress.”

  Two of the dudes moved out of the booth so Karrine could go to the restroom. I kept my eyes on her until she disappeared in the restroom. Minutes later, I saw Honey walk over by the restroom and stand by the door. When he looked my way, I pretended to be in a heavy conversation with the hot-breath nigga next to me and I laughed.

  Simone was being fake too, but she seemed to show interest in a light-skinned dude next to her with low waves. He was kind of cute, but cute didn’t always cut it. I wondered if he would be the one to end her so-called virgin status. She really needed to quit with that mess. It was obvious that Reno had gotten a piece of it, and I didn’t understand why Simone thought we were foolish enough to believe her. Ain’t no way in hell he would’ve clowned on Simone like he’d done tonight if he hadn’t tapped into the pussy.

  I narrowed my eyes and peeped through the crowd of partygoers who stood in front of us. Fake smoke clouded the air and my vision was slightly blurred from the heavy weed smoking going on that was burning my eyes. I could still see though, and as soon as Karrine came out of the bathroom, Honey snatched
her arm. He pulled her to the other side of the wall where I couldn’t see a thing.

  Not knowing what the fuck was up, I rushed up from my seat and told Simone that I would be back. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but if that motherfucker Honey was still trying to bring drama our way, I was about to let his ass have it. I held a bottle of Moët in one hand and swooped up another empty bottle from a table that was close by the bar. When I felt this one nigga touch my ass, I snapped my head to the side to check him.

  “Have some motherfuckin’ respect, fool. Did I ask yo’ ass to touch me?”

  “No, but that big ass you got was so invitin’. I couldn’t help myself.”

  Wrong time, wrong place. I had to keep it moving, but any other time it wasn’t going down like that.

  I moved in closer to Honey and Karrine and could see him standing closely in front of her. Basically, there was little to no breathing room in between them. They both had smiles on their faces as he rubbed his finger down the middle of her breasts. She moved his hand, but he put it on her hip and squeezed. He then eased his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

  In no way could I hear what they were saying, but I damn sure could see what was up. He leaned in to kiss her, and seeing them together damn near broke my heart into a thousand and one pieces when I saw my sister’s lips touch his.

  Why in the fuck was she tonguing the shit out of her own damn brother? Didn’t she hear Mama tell us who the fuck he was? What was up with them and wasn’t he the same fool in the motel room that Karrine had taken a shot at? I was confused. First Mama was playing games with this nigga Honey, now Karrine. Was he our brother for real? He sure did look like Ray, but none of this made sense to me.

  The only reason I didn’t have time to stay there and figure it out or question them was because I saw Reno and his friend rushing toward the table where Simone was. She was all by herself, meaning without me or Karrine. I suspected that none of those thirsty niggas at the table had her back like they said they would.

  In a hurry, I bumped into a bitch who was dancing next to several of her friends and wouldn’t move.

  “Excuse you, tramp,” she hissed. “You didn’t have to bump me like that.”

  “Well, move yo’ non-dancin’ self out of the way or take yo’ stiff ass to the dance floor then.”

  She and her friends called me all kinds of names, but I saved my issues with them hoes for another day. I continued to rush toward the table with both bottles tightened in my hands and lowered by my side. By the time I reached the table, Reno was up in Simone’s face, talking shit. He squeezed her cheeks with his hands and she was trying to get a grip on his neck. As expected, the other dudes had scattered. The one who was with Reno smiled at the action. With the dude’s back facing me, I snuck up from behind and smashed the Moët bottle against the back of his head. I saw a wide gash appear and blood started to ooze from it. He staggered backward and slumped on a table before falling to the floor. He grabbed the back of his bloody head, and tried to call out to Reno, but he’d already seen me. I met his gaze with a slap across his face with the other glass bottle. It shattered and the whole left side of Reno’s face split open. Blood sprayed my clothes and some got on Simone. More people around us started to break out running, as if someone had yelled fire.

  “Fuckin’ bitch,” Reno yelled and tried to come after me. He didn’t get far, because Simone jumped up from the table and kicked him right between his legs. For the second time tonight, he dropped to his knees. This time, however, he needed serious medical attention. We quickly fled the club along with everyone else. It wasn’t until we were outside when we were able to catch up with Karrine.

  “Hoochie mama, where were you?” Simone yelled at her. “Did it take you that long to use the toilet? I thought you got hurt. Shoot!”

  “Naw, I’m good. I saw Ki-Ki from the beauty shop. I stayed in there hollerin’ at her for a while. I hadn’t a clue what was going on, until I saw everyone running.”

  Lying bitch. I didn’t say one word about what I’d seen. The truth behind all of this would come to the light. Whenever that happened, I expected much hell to break loose.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Taffy

  I despised bitches who always thought they could outsmart me, especially the ones who I’d given birth to. It was my blood that ran through their veins, and every single thing that they learned, they had learned it from the head bitch in charge. There wasn’t a game that they could play that I hadn’t already played. There wasn’t a nigga they could fuck or suck who I didn’t already know about. The fact that they believed I wasn’t paying attention irritated the fuck out of me, and slight cold or not, I was always on top of mine.

  Like always, whenever I walked into the room where they were, it fell silent. Eyes shifted around. Their heads turned in the other direction. That was always a signal that somebody had something to hide, and since they’d gone clubbing the other night, I suspected there was trouble.

  I didn’t bother to ask questions, only because I had some other shit that needed my immediate attention. I had to nip this shit in the bud before it got seriously out of hand. It involved Karrine. This bitch was about to be the death of me if I didn’t hurry to get her in check.

  Dressed in my all-white pantsuit, I was ready to go handle some business with Honey. Most of my braids were in a tight bun on my head, but a few braids dangled along the sides of my face. My jewelry was always sparkling, and whoever that bitch Ashley Stewart was, she damn sure knew how to hook up a sister with curves.

  I put the strap to my silver Coach purse on my shoulder and looked directly at Karrine. The girls were watching a reality TV show in the family room. With it almost being 7:00 p.m., I figured they’d be getting ready for their gigs soon.

  “Get up, Karrine, get your jacket and go with me. No need to change into anything else. Your pajamas will do just fine.”

  She stood up and looked down at herself. “I can’t go nowhere like this. Give me a minute to put on some clothes.”

  See, this was starting to be too much for me. Nobody didn’t listen to shit I said. It was like they wasn’t even trying to hear me. “Let me repeat myself. No need to change into anything else. Your pajamas will do just fine.”

  She stood with her lips pursed, displaying too much attitude. “Okay, but where are we goin’? I hope not too far.”

  “Far enough. Now do like I told you to. I don’t have much time.”

  Karrine sighed and left the room. She was lucky that I didn’t punch her in her face. I was steaming inside and the frown on my face showed every bit of my anger. Chyna and Simone questioned me about where we were going. I wouldn’t say.

  “Don’t worry about it. When that bullshit y’all watching come off, be sure to clean up the kitchen. Those clothes in the laundry room need washing; and who left the empty carton of ice cream in the freezer?”

  Simone pointed to Chyna and Chyna pointed to her. They both laughed, but as mad as I was, I didn’t see shit funny. “Somebody go get it and throw it away. It don’t make sense to leave it in there; and don’t forget to take out the trash, too.”

  They got into a serious argument about who left the empty ice cream container in the fridge. I was in disbelief as I stood in the kitchen with a banging headache while drinking a Diet Coke. I didn’t know what was taking Karrine’s ass so long. If she comes back in here with clothes on, God help us.

  As Chyna and Simone argued about who was going to remove the empty ice cream container and take out the trash, I slammed my Coke can on the counter. I walked over to the freezer and snatched the container out of it. I hurled it across the room, and unfortunately for me, it could only hit one of them. Chyna just happened to be the one.

  “Tag, bitch, you’re it,” I shouted. “Pick up the goddamn container and take the fucking trash outside. You moth-erfuckas are starting to work my nerves! Must everything around here turn into a battle? Damn!”

  Chyna picked up the empty conta
iner and threw it in the trash. She took the trash outside. That was all she had to do in the first place.

  If that incident weren’t enough to work my nerves, when I heard heels clacking on the hardwood floors, I swung around. Karrine’s ass was dressed like she was going to prom. I guessed she’d figured that since I was dressed up, she needed to be dressed up too. That shit didn’t work for me. She saw me charging her way and started running to get away from me. I couldn’t believe that I had to chase that heifer up the stairs, but when I caught her by the ankle, you best believe that she was tumbling down fast. Her ass bumped down each step. I yanked on her leg and pulled her toward me. I could barely catch my breath. Dirt from the bottom of her shoe got on my white pantsuit, leaving me pissed. So pissed that I twisted the fuck out of her ankle.

  “Oooo, okay, Mama,” she whined. “Let it go, please. I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to go nowhere lookin’ tacky.”

  “Tacky or not, get yo’ ass upstairs, change back into your pajamas and put on those damn bunny slippers you always wearing around here. Meet me in the car in ten minutes or else I will pack up every piece of your shit and make you my first homeless child.”

  I let go of Karrine’s ankle. Even though she pouted, she limped back up the stairs and did what she was told. I refused to go any-damn-where with this dirt stain on my white pantsuit, so I went into my closet and put on a red pantsuit, brought to you by my girl, Ashley Stewart.

  I returned to the kitchen and saw Chyna and Simone doing what they were told about washing the clothes. Saying nothing else, I waited in the car for Karrine. Almost nine minutes later, she came outside with her head hanging low. Her light pink pajamas were suitable for the occasion and so were her bunny slippers.