The Legend of Johnny Hustle: Crown Me King

by Zach Tate

“So what about us?” I said, feeling dumb once the words left my mouth.

  “We had sex, it was good, and the next time will be better. Roxy knows how I feel about you, and we’re a different breed of women. We can share a man without feeling insecure. We know he’s there to satisfy our needs, and satisfying a grounded man’s needs is easy to do. So since you’re grounded, we’ll do the satisfying,” she said, ending it with a kiss.

  Red was a different kind of lover than Roxy. One wanted to give, and the other wanted to give, and then receive. Red had just started giving more. So well, that my eyes were closed until I heard a sound. I looked up and saw Roxy standing in the doorway holding her swollen face. I jumped up thinking I was busted. When Red came from under the covers, we both looked at Roxy’s face, and asked simultaneously, “What happened?”

  She sat between us. While Red held her, she looked at me. “Baby, this pimp named Lucifer in front of the Holland Hotel tried to gorilla me. He was dissing me, and we got into a beef. He tried to force me to hustle for him.”

  “Go get her some ice,” I said to Red while rushing to get dressed.

  “Baby, wait!” Roxy said with a smile on her face. “We jumped him.”

  “We?” I asked in shock.

  “We who?” Red asked.

  “I got a surprise for you,” Roxy said while skipping out of the room

  A few seconds later, a big boned, triple-D-top-heavy, blonde haired White girl stepped into the room smiling. She looked like she weighed two hundred and twenty pounds. Roxy walked up to me, kissed me on the lips, and said, “This my new partner.”

  I looked at the rambunctious girl to see if she was serious. Scanning the room she extended her plump hand. “Howdy, my name is Joy.” She looked down at the bed. “Wow! This is where you guys live? I’d be willing to sleep on the floor if Lucifer would have put me up in a place like this.”

  Red looked at my face and saw that I was annoyed. She looked at Joy and asked nicely, “How can we help you. Is there something you want?”

  In what sounded like a public protest, Joy’s velvet voice asked, “What I want? What do I want?” She pointed at me and said, “It’s what he wants.” She fumbled through her patent-leather purse. She pulled out a wad of money, reached in her bra, and removed another small roll of bills. She pushed the crumpled stack to me. “I reckon you ought to be my manager. Whatever you got going on for Roxy, I want in. You can help me that way. I won’t cause no harm. I ain’t gone start no trouble either, I just…”

  “All right stop, stop. Wait outside and I’ll be right there,” I said

  Joy and Roxy talked while walking out of the room. I pulled Red to the side. “Please get this girl out of here.”

  In a whisper and in slight protest, she asked, “Why me? You’re the one that let her come in.” She smirked and left me in the room alone.

  I closed my eyes and evaluated where my life had turned, and where I wanted to go. I thought of the three women talking in the living room. The conclusion I reached was that everyone needed someone. All of us in that suite had no one that we considered family. All we had was each other.

  Roxy walked back into the quiet room, kissed me and said, “You are so good to me. Thank you for having my back.” She placed $2,753 on the bed and said, “That’s from me and Joy. She say’s she want’s to stay.”

  I got up from the bed, determined to put an end to the catastrophe before it started. I walked into the living room with the intentions of telling Joy that she was leaving, but Red sat across from her, holding her hand while Joy spoke. “All right, she’s staying,” announced Red as I looked at her like she was crazy.

  Joy picked up on my mood and started her campaign. “Mr. Hustle, just give me a few minutes to explain. I'm from Missouri…Kansas City? I grew up dirt poor and I never liked it, not one bit. I got a deep hatred for the poor way we lived out in a trailer with nothing, so I ran away from home when I was knee high to a grasshopper.” She held her palm up to stop me from interrupting and got down on her knees. While moving the strands of dirty blonde hair out of her face, she started her proposal again, sounding like she was losing her breath.

  “At first I was a floater, meaning I would run away only to go back. Then my dang cuzin and her huzzband used to take off my clothes and do things. Really evil things to my body. I hated myself, so to find some adventure, I became a splitter and traveled all around for months. I was only four—teen when I sold my body for money. That’s when I hit the hard road and came to the Big Apple. I ain’t got nothing. I haven’t got anybody. And you gots to care ‘bout Roxy to take care of her like this. I just want somebody to care ‘bout me like that, and I’ll give you every red cent I make. Please be my pimp, Mr. Hustle?”

  “Girl, I ain’t no damn pimp.” I almost choked

  “I’m sorry, daddy; it’s just that life ain’t no fun no more. I’m out here in these filthy streets and I’m still poe. But if you like—had my back, then I could save, get me a big ‘ole bank account, and do somethun with my life.”

  I walked away shaking my head. I went back in the bedroom and lay back down on the bed. Red walked in. “Why you walk out on that girl like that? People been walking out on her, her whole life.”

  I thought of Yoda. “Red, this ain’t the department of social services, and I ain’t no pimp. It’s bad enough Roxy out there, and look what happened? Now you want me to have to worry about somebody else? My mama was turning tricks, Red; I had enough of that shit.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “Well, if your mama was turning tricks, then you have the common decency to make a change in this girl’s life like you did for Roxy. You shouldn’t want them out there alone with no man, because with or without you, they gonna turn tricks. And you and I are going to rob people, so you are not any better than them,” she slammed the door with her departure.

  My endurance was shot and I had enough. I took off my clothes, wanting to soak peacefully in the Jacuzzi, but that didn’t work out. Roxy walked into the bathroom with Joy behind her.

  The big woman said, “Daddy, let me take care of that for you.”

  I was in shock. My eyes popped out of my head. Joy was almost bigger than I was. Her massive hands grabbed the bar of soap and washed my entire body. Roxy laughed at the way Joy pushed me around.

  “That whore, Antoinette, one day she’s gonna get hers,” Joy said while scrubbing my back.

  “Who’s Antoinette?” I asked.

  “Oh, that’s the chick that tried to help her pimp when we jumped him,” Roxy said, while cleaning her face. Red was leaning against the doorframe with a smirk on her face.

  When it was time for me to dry off, Joy wouldn’t let anyone near me. She used two towels all over my body, rubbed lotion on me, and tucked me under the covers. Thereafter, Red went into the shower, and Roxy went to the streets to ‘pick up some things.’

  Roxy returned and found Red hugged up on me in the bed. Joy was at the foot of the bed while we watched In Living Color together. Roxy came into our room and handed Joy a bag with a sweat suit and a pair of gym shoes. She dropped a small cosmetic kit and a raw steak on the nightstand next to me. I didn’t know if she had issues about Red and me. When she came out of the bathroom naked, my question was answered. Roxy got under the covers and put the steak over her face. She eased her rear on my crotch, and the two bodies made a sandwich out of me.

  $$$

  “Johnny, I need to talk to you,” Red said with seriousness the following day. The suite was empty with the exception of us two. The other women went out to work. I was sitting in the living room. “I want to thank you for everything you did for me, but I have a few problems that I can’t believe myself. I think my time has come.”

  She pulled the ottoman closer. “I don’t believe in freeloading or being a liability. I think I got over that Crack thing. Lord knows I never want to go backwards like that again. Getting high took away my confidence, but it also allowed me to pick up a new habit. After smoking through a hun
dred thousand-dollar stash, I’m now down to zero. I have a job that once guaranteed a nest egg, but it’s very dangerous, and the information I have is a year old. It’s a in-and-out, but I need you to front me fifteen grand."

  How in the world could someone blow that much money getting high was beyond belief. I didn’t know if Red was setting me up for a con, or if she was running game to get high.

  “What’s the job? What’s the new habit, and when do you expect it to go down?”

  Red smirked like she was embarrassed to ask for help. “I can’t tell you the job. I don’t work like that, because I don’t jinx myself. It goes down tomorrow night. Since this is Thanksgiving week, it’s what sparked me to want to do the job. The opportunity only comes around once a year.”

  After a brief pause she smiled. “Ohhh yeah, my new habit is—you. Boy, you do know how to put on some loving. I like when you last longer, but that’s another story. The other thing is this; when we made love, you told me about having a family. I took a real good look at Roxy, where you are in life and your objective, and I want to know if you will let me in?”

  “Let you in what, Red?” I asked confused.

  “Your family. You, Roxy, and me? Same objective, different people. Coming together as one. We could never go wrong.”

  My memory banks were going over the seven elements of a con, and Red went through at least six of them with her proposal. If it was up to me, she could have kept herself right in that suite with me all year long. But that would be against the hustler’s code.

  “Okay, I want in, and you show your appreciation with the cut. Since I’m paying the nut, let me pay for all the things you need. If you want to stay with Roxy and me, talk to her when she comes in. It’s cool with me as long you remember who makes the decisions.”

  “Thank you,” she said after kissing me. “Listen, Johnny, it’s a simple sting. But, if we get caught, we’ll be in C.I.A territory, and sleeping in the Feds. Thanks for letting me in, but do you want to jeopardize everything just for one job?”

  There was no way I was going to allow her to have my money without me being involved. “I’m in and that’s final.”

  Red sighed. When she stood, she clapped her hands. “Okay, have it your way, mister. As soon as you have the cash we can go.”

  “Wait right there.”

  I went into the hall closet and reached into my coat pocket. I walked into the bedroom and returned with a few bundles of cash. After counting, I was $500 short, and then the light bulb blinked in my head.

  I sent for Gloria. I didn’t like the way she was running her side of the business. When she walked through the door I went out on a limb. I told her to report to me every morning, and to have a break down of where the money and hustles were going. She handed me $1,700.

  After putting the cash into the plastic bag that Roxy had brought with her cosmetics, I folded the bundles into my mink coat, and Red took it from there.

  $$$

  I watched Red grab the phone and place a call. “Concord Limousine? I need Jerry to meet Red at the Marriott Marquise. Ten minutes? Fine.”

  Red put the phone down and grabbed my hand while we headed out the suite. We walked hand-in-hand looking like a happy couple until we were out in front of the hotel.

  “I need ten bucks,” she said. “Since you’re doing all the spending, you might as well put a roll of fifteen hundred in your pocket now, and another roll of five.” I handed her the sawbuck. “Look for an extra long white Lincoln limo with a Dominican driver. When he pulls up, tell him you’re here with me.”

  Red ran off. The thought crossed my mind that she was going to get high. I watched as she ran across the traffic of Broadway and went into the Ace Hardware Store.

  A long limo pulled around the corner from where I stood. The driver fit the profile that Red gave me. I jumped into the back seat and did what Red told me to do. A few minutes later, Red was back, sitting next to me while rubbing her hands together in an effort to get warm.

  “Larry, take us to Lord & Taylor’s,” she said, hugging up against me. “Give me the five roll,” she asked, so I handed her the roll of bills. She then duck walked her way to the driver, handed him the roll and said, “Two nights from now at eight. Five now, and five after I’m done.” She moved her way back to me. Red acted like she took limousines every day.

  When the limo pulled up on 39th and Fifth Avenue, Red tapped me. “Turn your coat inside out and fold it over your arm.”

  I followed her instructions. I didn’t want to seem like a novice, so I didn’t ask any questions. When we walked into the store, all eyes were on us. The limo had such an affect that salespeople were approaching us and offering help right at the entrance.

  Red stayed on the first floor. She picked up two business suits, a purse, blouses, and a pair of shoes—all by Chanel. She placed all of the items into the hands of a saleswoman, and then headed over to the Gucci section. A silver gray evening gown was on display; Red pointed it out to the sales person. She then picked out a pair of matching shoes, all the accessories, and a matching Gucci purse.

  While walking up to the men’s section, the saleswoman walked behind us protesting that the items had to be paid for in the section they came from. Red looked at the woman with disdain. “I will give you all of the items when I am done. You will receive payment, and you can pay the separate shops. I’m under one roof. If you do not like what I propose, please inform me at once and I can take my business to Bergdorf.” She tapped her head in a dramatic display and added, “Now I have to refocus, my time is money, woman.”

  The woman surrendered. I saw firsthand that Red had real acting skills.

  I tried on an Yves Saint Laurent tuxedo in the men’s section while Red searched for the perfect pair of Bruno Magli patent leather shoes for me. I had never worn a tux before that day; I felt like a new man. When Red came back with a black, wool and cashmere, Polo turtleneck to wear with the tux, my taste for clothes went to another level.

  “Please take this down to the main floor and give me a total. I would like to browse and will bring any additional items with me. Shoo…shoo.” Red fanned the woman away. Then she turned to me. “Dear, you must be tired of wearing that heavy coat, let me carry that for you.”

  She led me to the women’s fur section. When the salesperson came over to assist us, Red told the man that she hadn’t made up her mind and was only looking. The man walked away and told us to give him a call if we needed any help. She kept her eye on the man like a cheetah looking at its first meal of the day. Since the store was empty, the man read his open newspaper at the counter.

  “Go over there, and ask him why the men’s furs are not in the same section as the women’s. Then explain to him why they should be. Don’t walk back over here unless I’m scratching my head.”

  Once again, I was on a mission with no return. I was ready to stop walking when the thought crossed my mind that all of the cash I had was in my coat. The man made eye contact with me so I was committed. I hoped that Red wasn’t playing a con on me.

  With my back turned to Red, I engaged the man into conversation for five minutes. He had to be lonely; he didn’t want to stop talking. When I looked over to Red, she was standing on the opposite side of where I left her. She scratched her head vigorously. With great difficulty, I brought the conversation to an end and headed back to her.

  On the way down to the entrance of the store, Red handed me the bag of money. “Pay the lady whatever the bill comes to and make sure you give them an even number so they can keep the change.”

  $6,738.00 was what the bill came to. I was about to protest until I thought of her instructions. I dropped seven large on the counter and told the salesperson that the change was for her and her staff. While I headed out the door with all of the bags, Red disappeared with my coat.

  I looked at the limo, but I couldn’t see any indication that she was in there. She moved so fast, I didn’t think she could make it to the car without me noticing, but
I opened the back door and she was sitting behind the driver.

  The car pulled off and she tapped the driver and said, “Take me to the United Nations.”

  She closed the partition and duck walked her way up to me. “Thank you. For everything.”

  “Why’d you fly out of the store so fast?”

  Without answering, she eased her way back to where my coat was folded on the seat across from me. When she unfolded my coat, there was a full length Dominic Bellissimo matching mink coat.

  She threw a pair of wire cutters and a screwdriver on the car floor. I looked over at her, and with a devilish grin she kicked off her Nikes. She then pulled one leg out of her sweat suit and panties, and seductively crawled over to me. My manhood was out and into her mouth as the car sped down Fifth Avenue. She ran her tongue down both sides of my stiffness, tasting my tip before swallowing me again. When she was sure I was at my full length she mounted me and whispered, “Breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth. Whatever you do keep your eyes open.”

  I penetrated her tightness with keen concentration. It was hard not to cum. When I felt like I was about to explode, I gave her a deep thrust and she lifted off of me. She then squeezed the tip of my love muscle and said, “Concentrate on your breathing. Baby, I’m gonna teach you to master my body.”

  She rode up and down on me, perfecting the art of stimulating her clitoris. When her sugar walls caved in and her juices flowed, I erupted. While panting she said, “I’m gonna teach you, you wait and see.”

  By the time our quickie was over, we were at our destination.

  $$$

  Red asked me for the $1,500 roll. She picked up the screwdriver and led me out of the limo. Together, we walked into the diplomats’ entrance of the United Nations building. Security was lax, but when we reached the inner sanctum of the building, a man with the body structure of a soldier stopped us. When he saw Red, his eyes lit up, and they embraced like old pals.

  She placed the roll of money into his palm and said, “Send the invites to the Marquise under Johnny Hustle. They all know him there.”