“Rasheed!”
“Damn, baby, you act like the boogieman got chu or som’n. You wouldn’t scare so easy if you weren’t so bad all the time. Come take a bath wit’ me.”
We hadn’t shared a bath together since before Trey was born. I ain’t had a taste for Remy or champagne since the night at the mansion, so I’d made margaritas and set ’em beside the tub. Chelle let her hair hang loose the way I liked it, and walked naked into the bathroom. I admired her as she got in the tub. She was kinda like a tall milk-chocolate Amazonian version of Leilani. I was definitely one lucky mufucka. We were lyin’ back in the tub, soakin’ in the fragrant water. Chelle was sittin’ between my legs with her back against my chest, head under my chin, eyes closed. Her hand was under the water, drawing lazy patterns on my skin that stretched sensually from my calf up to my thigh, when suddenly she stopped.
“Rah, I been meanin’ to ask you som’n ’bout the other night, but wanted to wait ’til you were better.”
My mind started racin’ and my heart sped up, but on the outside I showed no signs of worry. I kissed the top of her head and took a sip from my margarita. “Wassup, baby, ask me?” Chelle took a deep breath. I already knew this was gonna be an earful.
“Well, the night you got jumped, you said they were tryin’a rob you. But when I undressed you, your phone and wallet were in your pocket. None of your credit cards were missin’. It didn’t look like you’d even lost any money.”
My guilty subconscious wanted to whisper the truth, but my mind was screaming, Think, nigga, think.
“I don’t understand how you were assaulted an’ knocked unconscious, but they didn’t take shit off you. An’ you had a number written on a napkin. No name, jus’ a number wit’ the word ‘Hedonism’ written underneath.”
I know she had to feel my heart beatin’. Leilani left me her number! She musta snuck out and put it in my shorts before they left the mansion. Damn, I needed that number.
“It’s still fuzzy, Chelle. I think I’d found a bar an’ had a drink. The bartender told me the name of a club in the area. I wanted to see how the competition out here looked. Maybe send Big Baby back to open up another spot. It’s real vague. I remember walkin’ down the beach an’ passin’ some kids. I remember the same kids were still there when I was makin’ my way back home. I passed ’em an’ the only other thing I remember is I felt my head explode in pain. Maybe someone spooked ’em before they could take my shit. There was a party a few houses down.” I relaxed. I am the world’s greatest nigga! I could sell sand in a desert! Hell, I could sell pork to a Muslim if I wanted to! Chelle seemed to accept my answer and leaned back.
“Well, I’m glad you’re okay, baby. Thank God for angels.”
I smiled to myself. I was thankin’ Him too, for li’l exotic coconut-vanilla-smellin’ angels with pouty dick-suckin’ lips.
“I still wanna check out that club. Did you throw away the napkin?” I held my breath.
“Of course I did. I didn’t know if you were into some shit. I didn’t think we needed anything in the house to link you back to any trouble.” I slowly exhaled. Oh, well, so much for that. Short of diggin’ through the trash there was no way for me to reconnect with Leilani. I made a mental note to start askin’ some of my more connected clients about the kind of parties Leilani and her husband catered to. There had to be an easy way to find that woman again.
Three’s A Crowd
21
We had a peaceful flight back to the states, first class of course. A nigga was feelin’ ready to take on the world. I hadn’t heard much from my boy D while we were gone. I had Big Baby give ereone explicit instructions on keepin’ contact to a minimum with me. He did send me a text lettin’ me know the prod’ was almost completely sold out. They were ’bout to process the last two cases from the shipment and it was time to order more. Other than that, erething was peaceful. Honey even hit me sayin’ she undastood and was cool with me takin’ my baby momma into hidin’ while shit cooled off. She ain’t had her “crack” in a minute. I needed to see her soon or it would only be a matter of time before she started trippin’.
We stopped and picked Trey up on our way home from the airport. My li’l boy was getting big, and lookin’ more and more like me by the day. His hair was even goin’ from that straight, white-boy-lookin’ shit and it was finally gettin’ a li’l curl to it like mine. Yeah, we got that good shit! It was midafternoon and Chelle had been desperate to get back to the office e’er since we landed.
“Go ’head, girl. I’ll chill wit’ Trey an’ unpack. It’s cool.” I wasn’t ready to get back to my street life jus’ yet anyway.
“Thank you, Rah. The trip was beautiful, baby, thank you so much.” She kissed me and hopped into her car.
“I’ll be home as soon as I get all the details on the contract squared away.” I worried ’bout her lyin’ and leavin’ me to see Derrick, so I texted Big and asked him to get up wit’ the nigga and go over plans or somethin’ to see if he declined or accepted. I texted Honey too.
Daddy’s Home! I wanna see you tonite.
I took Trey inside and brought in the luggage. It really felt good to be back home. I sat him down, ordered a pizza, and turned on his favorite SpongeBob DVD so I could start unpackin’ our clothes. Three hours and too many damn bags that weren’t even mine later, I was done. I was too tired to give Trey a bath so I jus’ stood him in the shower with me and washed him up. We were pj’d up, and before I knew it, dozin’ on the couch.
Nightfall crept up on my ass. It seemed like I’d only closed my eyes for a second. I felt panic when I realized Trey wasn’t lyin’ on my chest. I jumped up and ran down the hall to check his bedroom. He was all tucked in and sound asleep. Michelle must have come home and laid him down, but why didn’t she wake me up? My phone was buzzin’ somewhere in the livin’ room, but I couldn’t’ remember where I’d laid it and didn’t see it in any of its usual places. I followed the sound and located it on the floor beside the couch. Musta fell when I was asleep. I unlocked it.
Honey had replied.
I’ll be at the hotel daddy. Meet me after my shift.
It was only eleven. I still had an hour before she got off. I went into the bedroom to tell Michelle I was leavin’, but she was knocked out and snorin’ softly into her pillow, so I jus’ changed into some jeans, threw on a T-shirt, and headed out the door.
I got to room 145 as usual and decided to rub one out before Honey got there. I needed to wear her ass the fuck out, remind her exactly who her nigga was. I ain’t had the patience for all the questionin’ and textin’ me all the time. Yeah, one good dick-down would solve all that shit. I flipped through the hotel’s On Demand menu, passin’ skinny white girls with huge balloon titties and Botox lips before finally deciding on one of the only ones they were showin’ that featured black folk. Before I could even get started, my phone went off. It was Big Baby. The only reason I even answered was because I was certain he might have some info on D.
“B, talk to me.” I held my breath.
“Whatup, Rah, bad news. Mufuckin’ fiends OD’n all ova the fuckin’ place. The news is lit the fuck up talkin’ ’bout mufuckas in the ER.” I let out a sigh of relief and disappointment, still unsure on how I felt about my boy Derrick and all the shadiness. Big continued, but I was only half listening to him.
“More than a few of ’em had Inferno packs when they got picked up.”
“Well, damn. It’s a good thang that shit’s new new. It’ll take ’em a minute to figure out who distributin’ since we switched up our packagin’. Glad I thought of that shit! I jus’ don’t need no mufuckas rattin’ out they sources an’ gettin’ my boys locked up tho’, fuck!”
“Yo, Rah, it’s funny we always get our shipments offa Derrick’s connect. I’m thinkin’ the nigga might be tryin’a set you up.” This nigga read my mufuckin’ mind.
“B, I’m thinkin’ the same thing an’ it might be time we handled this seriously.” There was a knock on th
e door; it had to be Honey.
“Yo, I’ma hit you in the a.m. an’ we gon’ finish this convo.”
I opened the door and took in the vision standin’ in the hallway. Gotdamn she was thick. Honey didn’t even bother changin’ after her show. She threw a trench coat on and drove her ass over here like that jus’ for me. A nigga was feelin’ good again.
“Hey, daddy, you gon’ let me in or you gon’ stand there an’ let ya pussy get cold?”
Damn I loved that li’l ghetto baby voice.
“I missed you, girl. Get ya thick ass in here.” I pulled Honey in the room, yankin’ the trench coat down off her body. Either she’d gotten thicker or a nigga memory was gettin’ lax. I got down on my knees, and said a silent thank you—she had on crotchless panties.
“Baby, Wha’chu doin’?” She looked down at me, curiosity written all over her face.
“You’ll see.”
I kissed her just above her belly button, and then let my lips slide down her stomach. I kissed all the way down until I reached the area where the panties gapped open and there was nothin’ but wet pussy. Honey had her fingers in my hair and had closed her eyes. I leaned her back against the door and placed her leg over my shoulder. I used my tongue to separate her moist, hot center and massaged soft circles ’round her clit. I didn’t get a chance to pre-game so I needed to get her off quick. I increased the pressure and knew I was doin’ it right when Honey’s fingers tightened almost painfully in my hair as she moaned my name, lost in what I was doin’ to her. She tasted good. I’d never eaten her pussy before and was surprised that she was so sweet. It was like strawberries and chicken. I was trippin’.
“I can’t, baby. Oh, fuck. Please stop,” Honey half moaned and half whined, but I knew what she meant. She didn’t think she could cum standin’ up. I concentrated and put even more pressure on her clit while reachin’ up to play with her nipple through the thin fabric of her lingerie. She was ’bout to let go and I was ready. In one smooth motion I picked her up, walked over, and laid her on the bed. I got on my knees beside the bed, put one of her legs on each shoulder, and went back to work while undoin’ my pants. Honey tasted jus’ like honey as I felt her legs tense and start to shake on my shoulders. I quickly got up and positioned myself. I slid in hard and deep just as she climaxed. Honey screamed my name and I started countin’ basketballs in my head.
There was no comparin’ Honey’s pussy to any otha bitch’s pussy—eva. She was so confident in her skin, I could get off jus’ from watchin’ her. She had her head thrown back and her fingers were busy playin’ with her nipples one minute, and then she’d be lookin’ me in the eye tellin’ me how much she loved this dick the next. I couldn’t take it. Too many nights of pullin’ out and finishin’ myself off made me crave this shit. I laid my body down on hers and cupped her ass so I could go deeper. I decided to try somethin’ new and slid one of my fingers into Honey’s ass jus’ to see if she’d like it.
“Oh. My. Damn. Nigga!” She came again and that was it, her pussy was pullin’ me in and I couldn’t fight back.
“Fuck, baby, I’m ’bout to . . .” Before I could get the words out I felt myself explode.
* * *
Somewhere in the room a bee was buzzin’ or a . . . I looked up. My phone had fallen out of my pants and was vibratin’ on the floor. I looked at the clock and my heart jumped in my chest. Fuck! It was six a.m. Honey was underneath me, still asleep. I already knew it was Michelle and she was most likely pissed. My plan was to come here, dick Honey down, then shower and leave. I didn’t know what the fuck happened. I hopped up and started gettin’ dressed like my ass was on fire.
“You goin’ to get us breakfast, daddy?” Honey was half asleep. She rolled onto her side, turning her back to me.
“Nah, baby, I’m s’posed to pick my son up from his grandma house and take him to daycare. I gotta go, but I’ll come back, okay?” I looked to see if she was upset or about to fuss, but Honey was almost asleep.
“Okay, baby, call me when you on the way.”
I drove like a madman, mind shootin’ over a hundred and one things I could tell Chelle, but none of ’em were gonna work. Not this time. I was angry at myself, but I was more angry at Michelle. If she would jus’ try with a nigga sometimes, maybe I wouldn’t have to get pussy elsewhere. Honey did my ass right and the shit put me out cold for the night. Maybe if Chelle woulda jus’ tried to be down for whateva, be a li’l creative, or experiment, our shit wouldn’t be so fucked up. I pulled up at six twenty-eight and immediately felt my stomach sink in disappointment. Once again I’d spent the night away from home, and Michelle had already left for work, so there was no downplayin’ my absence.
Lights Out
22
I called Michelle’s cell and went straight to voice mail. I’d fucked up. I wasn’t even in the mood to go back to the hotel so I decided to go count the safe at the club and make sure the place was still standin’. I needed to figure out how to deal wit’ D and this whole bad-product situation, too. I wasn’t sure what I’d do with Danita’s son, but I’d have to find him another place to stay. My mind was heavy with questions, decisions, and doubt. I didn’t expect anyone to be at the club at this hour, but Big Baby’s car was parked outside. I found him sleepin’ in my office on the couch.
“Nigga.” I tapped his leg. “What the hell you doin’ in here?” Big Baby was almost two times larger than the couch, so his neck was bent at a crazy angle and his feet were hanging over the end. There was no way he could’ve been comfortable.
“Damn, Rah, I ain’t expect to see you. What up, boy?” He sat up and dapped me up. “Yo, word got back to my ol’ lady that I was fuckin’ ’roun’ wit’ Shiree. She flipped da fuck out. Put me out an’ then hit Shiree an’ put a nigga on blast.” Big Baby looked down at the floor like a lost puppy. “I ain’t have nowhere else to go.”
I wasn’t surprised. Big Baby could neva do dirt and not get caught, but as always, once the groceries got low or the light bill needed payin’, his ol’ lady would take him back and they’d be fine.
“It’s cool, B. Stay as long as you need. Jus’ don’t clog up my fuckin’ toilet. I’ma go run a count on the safes.”
I could see him breathe a visible sigh of relief as he shuffled himself back down into that ungodly uncomfortable position. I cleared all the safes and was pleased with the money they’d been pullin’ in while I was away. I was a li’l surprised when I got to Honey’s and there was no cash inside. We were definitely gonna have words. I went back into my office to lock everything up in my safe. I’d count it later. I entered the code and opened the door. The ATM card reminded me of the day I took Honey to the bank. I’d never watched the surveillance from that day. Big was snorin’ loudly on the couch, dead to the world. I needed to catch up on what’d been goin’ on. I slid into my desk and logged on to my computer to pull up the camera footage.
Everything looked normal. It was 3:00 p.m. Derrick came in and checked the bar and register. He was walkin’ aroun’ makin’ sure the stage was clear and the lights worked. I was ’bout to fast forward it, and reached for the mouse. Big Baby started talkin’ and I looked away from the video to see if he was gonna come over, but he was jus’ talkin’ in his sleep. I chuckled. A nigga who talks in his sleep is a nigga who’ll tell on himself. I looked back at the video, intent on fast forwarding to something worth watching, when my hand paused mid-motion. Derrick was on the phone by the bar. He had started pacin’ back and forth, slashin’ his hand through the air. It was obvious he wasn’t too pleased about something. I would have paid anything for sound. He slammed down the phone and sat at the bar, looking defeated. Was that his connect he was talking to? Maybe it was Michelle. I didn’t have long to wonder. As if on cue Michelle walked into the frame on the surveillance.
I remembered this day. The outfit she had on was what she wore to work the day that I came home and told her we were goin’ out to dinner. She walked up to Derrick and put her arms around his should
ers. Without sound I had no idea what was being said. She looked happy to see him and my heart pounded in my ears as if it were shouting the word “betrayal” over and over. She was talkin’ into his ear, too close for my comfort. Derrick stood and shook his head yes and they hugged again before walking out.
I started breathin’ again. I watched that scene ten times. They seemed too casual, too familiar with each other. I imagined a hundred and one scenarios and not one made me feel any better. They must have had plans that night, and she called to tell him she couldn’t go and he was upset so she showed up to smooth it over in person. Maybe she was tryin’ to break it off wit’ him. It was one thing thinkin’ of them together, but seein’ them made me feel a new type of anger. Not only had Michelle spoken the words outta her fuckin’ mouth, but now I had physical evidence of them together.
“Big, get the fuck up!” I stopped the video and went into my safe, pullin’ out fifty grand.
“Wh . . . what, ni . . . nigga?” Big was sittin’ up in a confused daze.
I shoved the cash into his hand. “Take care of our problem for good, nigga.” I looked him in the eye and he mouthed Derrick’s name. I was goin’ back to the hotel. I needed to lie down. I needed to be calm again before I saw Michelle. I had forgiven her, but seein’ that shit drove a nigga damn near insane. I wasn’t sure how she’d take it wheneva she got the news that the nigga was ghost, but her li’l love triangle was dead. Literally.
* * *
I took the long way to the hotel; I needed to calm the fuck down. I would just surprise Honey so I didn’t bother textin’ to let her know I was on my way. As I neared the turn to pull into the hotel parkin’ lot I could see all the lights before I could see the commotion. There were cop cars all ova the fuckin’ place. I passed the turn and looked as best as I could without seemin’ suspicious. I almost crashed into a truck stopped at the light on the corner when I saw Honey bein’ led out, head down and hands behind her back. They at least had the decency to let her wear her coat out. She looked so small and pitiful as she climbed into the back of a car. I was determined to get to the safest place I could think of: my safe house.
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