When we reached his room, Hood laid me down in this big, four-poster king-sized California luxurious bed. He undressed me piece by piece until I was buck naked. He looked me over from top to bottom with approving eyes. I sat up in the bed and reached up and pulled his shirt off, and I liked what I saw. Hood looked like nothing less than a Snicker bar that I couldn’t wait to get a taste of. I reached down and started to unbuckle his pants, and when his pants dropped, the sight of his hard member made my heart thump from fear and excitement. Before I could think anything else, Hood gently laid me back on the bed and tasted every inch of me. When he seemed not to be able to take anymore, he came close to my middle and very gently began to ease inside of me. I let out a scream from the pain but letting Hood know it was the best pain I ever felt and wanted him to continue, and continue he did until we were fully connected. I was no longer a virgin, and without discussing it, Hood had taken his time with me. Without a doubt I was in love.
Chapter 28
I stayed at Hood’s all day and got some much-needed rest. By the time Hood and I made it back to the Brewster it was dark outside, but everything seemed to be quiet. No drama going on. Hood got out and walked me to my apartment. The dope boys that were hanging out came over and gave a Hood a pound as we walked over to my building. As I unlocked the door I could hear Li’l Bo yelling and cursing. So I knew there was a problem.
“What happened?” I asked when I entered the apartment.
“Ma done stole my game, Mya. I’m sick of this shit!” he screamed while grabbing his hat off the couch.
“Yo, where you going?” I asked him.
“Out of this dump before I explode.” He headed toward the door.
“No, you ain’t going out there. It’s getting late.” I stepped in front of him.
“Mya, I don’t need this right now. Now move,” Li’l Bo ordered me.
“Mya, she broke the locks off our doors. She even stole our clothes,” Monica intervened.
“What?” I slightly turned to look at Monica.
“Hell, yeah. She done took everything that she could sell for a rock,” Li’l Bo said in a muffled tone.
“How long she been gone?” I asked.
“How we supposed to know? When we got here she was gone.” Li’l Bo threw up his hands.
“What time did you get here?” I asked.
“’Bout twenty minutes ago,” Li’l Bo guessed.
“Twenty minutes? Where y’all been all day?” I really started to get pissed at him and Monica. I had given Monica instructions to have Li’l Bo bring her home right after school.
“We went to the mall,” Monica said with her head down.
“Yo, who said y’all could go hang out? Monica, I specifically texted you and said for Li’l Bo to bring you home.”
“Yeah, I know. But he wasn’t coming home though.” She quickly glanced in Li’l Bo’s direction hoping for a way out.
“Why we gotta come straight home? Yo’ ass ain’t here. Where you been all day? Looks like you been hanging out to me,” Li’l Bo yelled.
“Look, boy, you don’t tell me what to do. I’m the oldest,” I yelled back, but my voice got choked up. I went over and took a seat on the couch with everybody watching me. “I can’t keep doing this shit.” I started to cry, unable to control my emotions.
Li’l Bo thought I was crying because he yelled at me. “Look, Mya, I’m sorry.” He sounded sincere.
Hood walked over to me to comfort me.
“It’s OK, Li’l Bo. You right. I should’ve known she was going do something crazy. I left and went out to Hood’s crib today because she was trippin’. I woke up to her slamming the cabinets, and she was talkin’ craziness about us having food and new clothes. She was mad about those locks on the doors too. I didn’t want to hear her mouth no more so I just left, but you right, Li’l Bo. I’m sick of this too. We can’t keep staying here.”
“How about y’all move in with me? I got that big house with nobody but me in it,” Hood suggested.
“I’m game,” Li’l Bo quickly said.
“Thanks, but no thanks, Hood. I know you mean well, but we can’t do that.”
“Why not?” he asked.
“Yeah. Why not?” Li’l Bo sounded like Hood’s echo.
“Because I said so.” I threw Li’l Bo a “shut the fuck up” look. “I appreciate the offer, but this is my brother and sister, so I have to take care of them. Tomorrow I’ll get out and start looking for an apartment for us. You two can go with me if you want.” I looked at Li’l Bo and Monica.
“Cool, as long as I can get my own room.” Monica got off the couch. “’Cause I ain’t sharing one with no game-crazed freak.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Li’l Bo dismissed Monica with a wave of his hand.
“You two stop it. This ain’t the time for that,” I addressed them.
“Well, I’m going to bed. Hood, you sure you want to be in this family?” Monica asked with a smile on her face as she headed to our room.
“No doubt,” Hood replied.
“Humph,” Li’l Bo mumbled before heading to his room.
Finally we were alone again.
“Babe, if you won’t come stay with me, let me pay for the crib. I’ll do the down payment and hit your bills every month. That’s the least I could do,” Hood said, giving me a serious look.
“Hood, I appreciate your offers, but like I you told at first, no thanks. I can take care of us. I have some money put away from my dad. My moms don’t know anything about it. We’ll be straight for a while, plus I’m working now, and soon, I’ll have my hair license. We’re going to be all right. Don’t worry, I got this,” I assured him.
“A’ight, baby girl.” Hood reached over and kissed me. I instantly got horny.
“Look, don’t start nothin’ we can’t finish,” I warned him.
“A’ight,” he said as he caressed my right cheek. “Well, I need to make some stops and make a drop. Bricks can’t wait. You know how it is. So I’ma hit ya later.” He headed toward the door.
“OK.”
“Oh, what time do you want me to take you looking for this new crib? I could come through whatever time you need me to.”
“Uh, we might catch the bus, but I’ll call you if we need a ride.”
“Mya, you ain’t got to ride no damn bus.” Hood gave that serious look again.
“Hood, we’ll be OK. We’ve been doing this for a long time. Trust me.” I gave him my normal, independent speech.
“A’ight.” He gave up. “But you need anything, and I mean anything, you hit me on my cell.”
He finally headed out the door after one last kiss. I know he wants to help, but he’ll have to get used to not helping me. Like my dad said, ain’t shit a nigga can do for me that I can’t do for myself. Oh, except for one thing. I smiled as I thought about the day Hood and I had spent together. I turned and headed to my room to grab something to put on for bed. I had taken a shower at Hood’s house so all I had to do was put on pajamas and jump in bed. I had a long day ahead of me tomorrow, looking for apartments.
Chapter 29
Looking for an apartment turned out to be more like a job than an adventure. We quickly learned it wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Monica, Li’l Bo, and I had been out looking for three days. So far, we’d run up on every rat-infested apartment that Detroit had to offer. Our original plan was to try to stay as close to Mom as possible without staying in the Brewster so that we could check on her from time to time but so far the apartments we had seen were worse than the Brewster. I had finally come to the conclusion that the only way to find something decent was to go out of this area. So today, that’s exactly what I set out to do. It was only Monica and me though. Li’l Bo said he was tired of looking so he stayed home. Monica and I boarded an early bus headed for the Detroit downtown area, and although it was early, the bus was already overcrowded. So we got off at the first downtown stop and started walking.
“Dang, Mya, you think we gon�
� find something that we can afford down here?” Monica said as she attempted to look up at the tall building we were standing in front of. I had attempted to look up also, but the building was just too high in the air.
“I hope so.” I had an unsure mug on my face. “This building looks like a palace or something,” I said and started back walking.
“Maybe we should just go back to the Brewster area. We can for sure afford something there. Or maybe you should just take Hood up on his offer. Let him pay the bills.” Monica sounded defeated.
I stopped in my tracks. “Look, Monica, we don’t need Hood to pay our way. I got this. Have we had Hood to get us through this far?” I sort of yelled in her face and started walking faster.
“No.” Monica tried to take big steps to catch up with me.
“Right! So we don’t need him now,” I said feeling bad for how I had just yelled at her. I stopped walking and turned to face her. We almost bumped directly into each other because of my sudden turn. “We are going to be OK. I have that job making pretty decent money. Pepper pays me really well to wash heads. Plus, we still got that money put aside so that’ll take care of us for a while, if we spend it carefully, and soon I’ll have my hair license. So things are looking up. I just need for you and Li’l Bo to believe in me.”
“And I do. You really stepped up when Dad left. I believe in you.” Monica reached out and hugged me.
At that moment I looked up and really noticed the building we were standing in front of and instantly I knew this is the one. This is what I had been looking for.
“This is it. Let’s go inside.” I grabbed Monica’s hand, and we headed in.
Once inside the building, we looked around for a moment and were impressed. A representative told us they had apartments available and took us up to the 4th floor. When she opened the door to the condo I knew we had to get this apartment. I just hoped my pockets could afford to pay the rent. The apartment had three bedrooms with two full bathrooms. The master bedroom had a full bathroom. The living room area was huge with a built-in bar with bar stools. The kitchen was complete with granite countertops and all stainless steel appliances. I fell in love immediately and to my surprise the rent would be only $1,200 a month with a two-year contract. The representative took us downstairs to do the paperwork. I had brought along references and proof of my job, but most important, I had brought along the money which seemed to be all they cared about. I had to pay the first and last month’s rent up front, which was no problem since I brought along $5,000 with me. The representative gave me the keys, and I was officially a tenant at River Place Luxury Condos, downtown Detroit.
***
Since we were already downtown we went to the furniture store and picked out beds, dressers, mattresses, and all those big items that we would need. We then headed over to Pier One where we picked up some wall art and other designs that we were having delivered to the condo. After that, we decided we wanted to go by Target to pick up some things. So instead of catching another crowded bus, we decided to call Hood who picked us up right away. We shopped until about 8:00 p.m. that night. Once we were finished, we decided to take the few things that we had to the condo because everything else was being delivered the next day.
Back at the condo I unlocked the door to the apartment with complete enthusiasm. Hood stepped in and looked around, nodding his head with approval. “You did good. I knew you had taste,” he said with a huge grin on his face.
“You really like it?” I smiled.
“Yeah, plus it’s safe. So I won’t have to be worried about you, but I’ll still get you a Glock. You never know.”
“Hood, I don’t need a Glock. You see all the security in this building?” I replied knowing that I didn’t need his gun because I was already packing.
“A’ight but everyone around here needs to know I will blast a nigga and never ask a fucking question, a’ight?”
“A’ight,” I mocked him and smiled.
“Let me grab all the stuff out of the car.” Hood headed back outside to bring in all the bags.
“I’ma help, because I’m ready to go eat,” Monica volunteered.
After everything was safely secured at the condo we headed out to grab something to eat. Then we drove back to the Brewster. I had had a long day and was beat, so after hugging Hood good night, I went inside, jumped in the shower, and hit the bed. Monica told Li’l Bo all about the condo, and I would tell Momma in the morning that we were moving out. I had decided not to make a big deal about her stealing our clothes, but I knew she wouldn’t take us moving so well. She may even try to say I couldn’t take Monica and Li’l Bo. I wasn’t going to worry about that tonight. I would face it in the morning.
When I woke up the next morning she still hadn’t come home. So I told Li’l Bo and Monica to get dressed because we had to meet the people delivering the furniture today. Hood was going to pick us by 10:00. First, I had to call Rochelle and tell her the big news. I called her cell but got no answer. As soon as I hung up the phone it started to vibrate.
“Hello,” I said into the phone.
“What’s up?” Rochelle said still sounding asleep.
“Are you still in bed?”
“Yep.”
“Well, you need to get up, ’cause I know Tiny ain’t still asleep.”
“Girl, she’s in there with Wynita,” Rochelle yawned.
“Oh. Anyhow, I called to tell you I rented a condo yesterday.” I sounded excited.
“What? Oh snap. That’s what’s up.” I heard Rochelle trying to sit up her bed. “Where at?”
“River Place, downtown.”
“Oh snap. Mya, those condos are nice. When you moving in?”
“Today. I get all my furniture delivered today. That’s why I’m up so early. Hood’s about to pick me up and take me over there.”
“A’ight, well, I’ma come through later today. You need me to help put together anything?”
“Heck, yeah,” I quickly replied.
“Bet it up. Once I get up, I’ll hit your cell.”
“Later.” I ended the call.
By the time I got off the phone with Rochelle and got dressed, Hood was knocking on the door. Li’l Bo answered and let him in.
“Yo, what’s up?” I heard him greet Hood.
“Ain’t nothin’,” Hood replied.
“Hood, why don’t you hook your brother-in-law up with them bricks? I’m ready to slice. Know wha’d I mean?” Li’l Bo tried to speak low.
“Hook you up with what?” I busted him. “Li’l Bo, don’t make me get wit’ you.”
“Girl, what you talkin’ ’bout,” Li’l Bo said, giving me a huge grin.
“Yeah, whatever.” I gave him a threatening look. “Monica, let’s go,” I yelled before we headed out the door.
When we made it to the first floor in our building and the elevator door opened my heart skipped a beat. There in the middle of the hallway stood Luscious and Squeeze. My feet froze for like ten seconds. I couldn’t move, and my stomach started to twist and turn. Paranoid, I thought I saw both of them mugging me. From somewhere deep within I found the courage to put one foot in front of the other. Hood, who was holding my hand, must have felt me tense up because he looked at me as if to see if I was OK. I gave him a fake reassuring smile.
Then my heart completely stopped when Squeeze started walking toward us. A second later, it was beating so loud and hard. I looked at Hood to see if he could hear it beating. If he heard it he didn’t acknowledge so I kept my focus on Squeeze. My grip on Hood’s hand got stronger, and my armpits were sweating. I was sure I felt sweat drip down my arm. As Squeeze got closer he approached Li’l Bo.
“Yo, what’s up, my man?” Squeeze reached out and did a handshake with Li’l Bo.
“Shit,” Li’l Bo responded giving Squeeze’s hand pound for pound.
“A’ight,” was Squeeze only reply. Then he looked at Hood. “Hood?” he said and nodded his head.
“Squeeze,” Hood nodded
back. This was the way leaders of crews addressed each other in their presence if there was no beef.
After that, Squeeze turned and walked back over to Luscious who had got on his cell phone giving somebody the serious business. Whoever was on the other end of the phone was in jeopardy of getting killed. I was just glad it wasn’t me. We stepped outside the building, and I was finally able to breathe. Without making it noticeable to everyone around me, I took in a huge gulp of air. That was the first time since the robbery I had laid eyes on Luscious or Squeeze. The sight of both of them scared me to death, but now I had something else on my mind. Like why in the hell was Squeeze approaching my brother like they hanging out or something? I would address that soon, but now just wasn’t the time.
Her Sweetest Revenge (Delphine Publications Presents) Page 13