“I’ve known my connections for a long time, these are the same people Sylvia’s ex dealt with. They know me, they trust me, and they like me. They always give me the good shit and leave the crap for the assholes and the strung-out junkies,” Vinnie answered him.
He wasn’t being pompous or self-indulgent. The drug business was a hierarchy and it took a long time for a dealer, or buyer, to go up in the ranks of importance. Vinnie might have been young and lacking in life’s lessons. But he’d fallen into this business at a young age through affiliations, and stayed in it for his own personal use. The suppliers knew Vinnie wasn’t greedy, and he’d never screw anyone over, they knew that wasn’t his nature. He never considered himself a dealer, although he did sell, but to him he sold to only his friends, allowing them the opportunity of getting a good product because of his contacts. He thought he was doing them a favor by offering them what he could get for himself. He didn’t do it for the money, he didn’t need it. And he got them high more often than they bought anything for their own head. And that was fine with him. But when they started asking for some of his personal stash, that’s when he started getting a little extra so he wouldn’t be left short.
“How long have you known your people?” Michael asked.
Michael was shrewd. He’d grown up on the streets, quite literally, having spent nights sleeping on fire-escapes and in cars, and he knew the importance of trust, knowing nothing could replace it.
“Damn, let me think,” Vinnie tilted his head back and thought about it, going back in time through all that he’d seen in his own life, albeit sheltered as it may have been. “Five years.”
“No shit?!” Michael was shocked. “You’ve been buying and dealing for five years, since you were thirteen years old? Sweet, innocent looking Vinnie,” Michael laughed.
Vinnie blushed as he laughed with him. Looking innocent was part of Vinnie’s charm. With women, it seemed they were drawn to it. With men, it worked to his advantage. Vinnie’d always been a fighter, and his opponents never expected the innocent kid with the big blue eyes to be the dirty-fighting tough-guy he was. But he was more of a lover than a fighter, and that was the reputation he’d garnered over the past few years. People just liked him, all kinds of people.
“Naw,” Vinnie chuckled. “I used to hang around Sylvia’s place as a kid when the suppliers came by. I was enthralled by the whole thing. Eventually they taught the little punk how to use the scale and bag up the zips. They kept me busy so I wouldn’t be under their feet. While I did that, I listened. To everything. And kept quiet. I learned a lot, and not just about weed.”
Michael processed this insight about his friend. He knew Vinnie knew a lot of people, and was well liked. Vinnie was confident in a relaxed way. There wasn’t an intimidating bone in his body. Unless Vinnie, or any of his friends, were threatened or insulted. He was fiercely loyal, Michael knew that by the way Vinnie kept Joey close to his side, always including him in everything he did. He’d brought him into the crew as if they were a package deal. The realization dawned on him that Vinnie would be a very good partner. Vinnie had knowledge that couldn’t be bought.
“And what did you think about Steve?” Michael asked him, curious to see if Vinnie felt the same as he did.
“Honestly, I don’t trust the guy. There’s something about him, I can’t say what it is, and it’s just a feeling I have. I think he’s a scumbag. He’s only been generous with us. But,” Vinnie said retrospectively, “maybe that’s the problem. He’s been too generous very quickly. And if he could do that with what was his, just think what he would do if he didn’t like us. He’d throw our asses to the feds before we could shake our dicks. And for no reason at all, just because he was on his period.”
“I completely agree with you, brother. I don’t trust him at all. The question now is, if we choose to decline his offer, is it going to affect us in a negative way?” Michael thought out loud.
“I think so, but that’s just my opinion. Maybe not immediately, but eventually, I have no doubt that it will,” Vinnie concluded.
Michael hadn’t told Vinnie about Paul’s job at the jewelry store yet. He wasn’t sure how Vinnie would handle it. It wasn’t because he didn’t trust him, because he always had. It was because ignorance is bliss, if he told him about it, then he would also be an accessory. Now, Michael was sure beyond a doubt that Vinnie was a lot stronger than he’d originally believed him to be. He decided Vinnie needed to know, and he was going to tell him soon. Now that they were going to embark on this new venture.
“So what do we do now?” Michael asked looking over at him, waiting to see if he was thinking the same way he was.
“I think we need to find a new club,” Vinnie answered as a smile slowly spread across his face. “And I know the perfect one, you’ll love it. It’s called Havanna’s, it’s in Poughkeepsie which is across the bridge. It’s beautiful and the chicks are so hot.”
“Let’s go, my man!” Michael chuckled in that wicked way he had. It sounded like the perfect place to start.
“Alright,” Vinnie smiled. “You should come with me the next time I go to pick up, they’d like you.”
Vinnie was trusting Michael to meet his suppliers, and this was something that should never be taken lightly. If the suppliers didn’t like the person they’ve been exposed to, the person who brought them in could suffer very bad repercussions. It spoke volumes about what Vinnie thought of Michael.
“I’d love to, thanks,” Michael smiled, as genuine fondness for the young man next to him warmed him.
“But not Paul,” Vinnie said hesitantly. “It’s not that I don’t like him, ‘cause I do. He’s just a fucking drama queen, always having to be on stage. That’s not a place for that,” he added defensively.
“Are you shitting me? I would never take him to a place like that. He’s an eighteen year old kid. Cute as hell, but he doesn’t know how to act sometimes. He’s my brother, but I’m not stupid,” Michael laughed.
Vinnie’s shoulders relaxed a little as relief showed on his face. “Good,”
“So, Havanna’s, here we come!” Michael said with renewed enthusiasm.
It was time for him to start making his own money.
Shit was about to get real.
***
Havanna’s was everything Vinnie had said it was and more. The crew was in their element there. It was classy, the music was fantastic, and the people that filled the mirror-walled rooms adorned with illuminated fake palm trees were the upper echelon of the area. The women dressed in fuck-me high heels and peel off dresses, and the men strutted in polyester pleated pants and dress shirts unbuttoned to their navels. This was the ‘80’s, where everything goes and nothing was forbidden.
Everyone that lived on that side of the bridge seemed to be in their own little clique, if you were allowed entrance into it, you passed their test. They were snobs, and they didn’t hide the fact they looked down on anyone who wasn’t from Poughkeepsie. The crew was not only accepted, they’d set a new standard, a league of their own.
Sylvia and Natalie went with the guys the first time. Sylvia was going to make her presence known and leave her own mark. She could hustle, she often used to with her ex. And she danced her ass off with Michael that night. Michael could dance. The hustle was a very sexual dance, and Michael was naturally a very sexual being, it was as much a part of him as his deep, dark eyes, and his lusciously full lips. He wasn’t into all the intricate maneuvers Johnny loved to do. Michael loved the act of it, the joining of a man and a woman, flowing perfectly and fluidly together. When he danced with Sylvia, he was smooth. Sylvia was dramatic. She looked good, and he gave her what she needed in order for her to.
Paul was an attention-whore. He loved the spotlight, and there wasn’t an inch of his tall frame that he didn’t prostitute for that purpose. Especially his cock. Sylvia was gorgeous in a backless white halter dress that night. He wanted to look as good as she did, so he decided to use his best asset. Since he c
ouldn’t hang the foot-long appendage out of his pants, he’d decided to forego underwear and tuck the monster down his leg. He’d made sure to pick a pair of pants that were slightly see-through with a very light fabric. If you looked close enough, you could see the slit at the tip of its head, not to mention the ridge and all the veins.
“What the hell is that?” Michael choked out when Paul walked out of the bedroom before they’d left the house.
“What?” Paul asked, playing stupid.
“You’re fucking cock!” Michael choked out.
“Oh, you can see it?” Paul said, grabbing hold of it and giving it a stroke.
“Don’t make the thing hard, Paul! You’ll get arrested for public indecency,” Michael laughed.
“Damn boy, that thing needs its own car,” Vinnie laughed.
They could smell Sylvia before she came through the bedroom door, the heady scent of her Opium perfume filled the air.
“Don’t encourage him, he’s in love with the thing. If he could take it out and put it on a pedestal, he would,” she said dryly.
“But you love it too, baby,” Paul cooed, as he pulled her close.
Natalie cringed when Paul said that. She couldn’t stand his narcissistic, self-absorbed attitude, thinking that the only thing women wanted was a big dick. If the man attached to it was an asshole, like Paul often was, a vibrator or your hand was much better company.
That first night was the only night Natalie went with them to Havanna’s.
The only time Michael left Natalie’s side was when he danced with Sylvia, and as Natalie watched them, she wished it was her in his arms. She wanted to be the one who he made move like that. She was jealous, she couldn’t stop it, and she hated it. But later when he pulled her to the floor, their bodies moved together to a slow, sensuous rhythm. This he gave to only Natalie. Here, in this tiny world they’d created under the low lights and the cocoon of music, was where he showed her that she was the one he wanted, that she was the one that belonged in his arms. She was the one that belonged to him.
They found a quiet corner later down a hallway.
“I need to be alone with you Natalie,” he whispered roughly in her ear.
Michael was tight with hunger, consumed with needing to touch her, taste her, feel her against him.
Natalie’s body was burning from the fire that was raging between them. She wanted him to make love to her again, the way he had the first time.
He pressed her back against the wall, covering her with his body, so if anyone were to walk up on them, the only thing visible would be his back.
His mouth lowered to hers, and she grabbed him and devoured him. Natalie kissed him with such hunger, so much fury, he ground his body into her and moaned. She moved herself against him, rubbing her hunger against what she wanted. She needed him inside her, thick, hard, and pounding. She was shocked at herself, but couldn’t stop. She wanted him.
“Michael…,” the plea was guttural and wanton.
“Ssshh, baby, I’ll take care of you,” Michael whispered huskily.
A quiet voice seeped through Michael’s erotic heat, piercing his thoughts.
“She loves you, leave her alone…,” it whispered loud and clear.
Michael’s heart swelled. But guilt threatened to pull him away from her, forcing him to do exactly what he knew he should. He pushed it aside with a silent resounding, “She’s mine.”
“You’re going to break her heart. You’re not the kind of man she needs,” it whispered back.
What a fucking time for his conscience to make an appearance.
“I’m the man she needs right now,” he grit out silently.
“…at what cost?”
Shaking himself, he pushed her legs apart and pressed his thigh against her throbbing mound. The ache was so intense, it pulsated through every part of her. He slid his hands under her shirt and over her heated skin, then slowly moved them to clasp her breasts. A low groan slipped from her mouth. Everything was screaming inside her for release. He took both in his large hands and palmed them. They ached with pleasure, wanting more. It felt so deliciously good.
A deep rumble escaped him as he plunged his tongue into her mouth, fucking her with it. His leg began to move against her, giving her swollen clit the friction it craved, sending her into a drunken bliss. Her pussy clasped with its emptiness, hungry to have him inside her. Natalie’s body pressed itself against the wall, taking everything he was giving her, right here in the club, hidden from everyone and everything, as the party went on without them. They were in their own world. The thrill of being caught, of being in public, skyrocketed the heat even more.
His fingers took her nipples between them, as his leg rocked her body, and pinched. She screamed into his mouth with the shot of desire that exploded through her. He swallowed it hungrily as he sent her crashing. He teased and tweaked them, twisted and pulled them, while she throbbed and pulsed on his thigh, as she crumbled in his hands and on his leg.
Natalie shattered with her orgasm, riding Michael’s thigh as his fingers expertly worked her nipples.
“Watching you cum like that, Natalie, seeing the passion in your face, is fucking incredible.”
The ravenous beast was clawing inside Michael, pushing him to fuck her, take her, and give him what he wanted. He broke out in a sweat, holding on to the only tiny, delicate thread of self-control he could find. It took all of his strength and willpower to push him back, to fight the blazing need burning inside him. He would not do that to Natalie, use her like a cheap whore and fuck her like that. She deserved so much more. He would, though, satisfy her need, and watch the rapture explode within her. That was more than enough for him.
His eyes were dark as he stared into her face. A new wave of heat seeped through her knowing it was her that made him look like that.
“You do that to me, Michael…,” Natalie said, her voice raspy from my lust.
“And I can’t believe you’re mine,” he mumbled against her neck.
She didn’t hear the hint of agony in his voice, because her mind was still foggy from the orgasm that still rocked her.
Natalie had no idea what was happening in the background that night. How they were making the first of their impressions in Havanna’s. Vinnie was mingling and rekindling friendships, and making new ones as he was introduced to other people. The circle was growing rapidly. Occasionally he introduced Michael to people, those Vinnie thought were important. Vinnie left a calling card, a joint, here and there in select palms.
Their first night was a success.
***
Natalie was seeing Michael less and less, and their quiet moments came fewer and farther between. When they did manage to steal a few minutes together, she could sense a sort of urgency in him, as if he were desperately trying to hold on to something. There was a disquiet that was building within him, and it was pulling him apart. Natalie could tell he was trying to fight it. She didn’t know he was fighting for the peace he’d first felt from being there, being with her, as it was slipping away from him. The reality of his life, all his baggage, was trying to claim him. He couldn’t hide from who he had been and where he had come from, and mostly where he was going. And at times like this, Natalie felt like she was scurrying around on land getting the rest of her stuff together, or in real terms, waiting until she got older, as they all floated away on the ship that was leaving the harbor. Her ship was leaving without her, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
The boys were going to Havanna’s every weekend, imprinting themselves deeper and deeper into the web of its aristocracy, rapidly moving to the top. They didn’t know it at the time, but they were building an empire.
Tonight both Sylvia and Natalie were staying home, Sylvia had to work tomorrow, and without her, there was no way Natalie could go.
Michael, Paul, Vinnie, Joey, Alex and Johnny waited in line at the club, Tony had stayed back in New Paltz with Elise. The line was long but the view was excellent, because
most of the people waiting were ladies. Alex hadn’t been coming up as much as he used to since Michael moved upstate. Michael called him and asked him to come this weekend. He did this for two reasons: #1 he wanted to share good times with his other friends and show them how they were living, #2 Michael wanted to keep the ties with his neighborhood brothers fresh. He never knew when he would need them.
“This place looks crazy, Mike,” Alex said.
Paul was staring at a pretty young thing further up in line. “Wait ‘til you get inside,” he said, grinning.
There were two bouncers taking turns at the door.
“Paul, Michael,” the big man boomed from in front of the door.
Paul was a beacon in the night. It wasn’t just his height, but his extravagantness as well. Tonight he wore a fedora that only added to his 6’ plus frame.
“Kevin, my man, how are you?” Michael waved to him from where they were standing.
“Get your asses up here, why are you waiting in line?” the bouncer named Kevin shouted at him, waving his hand to motion them up.
“Let’s go boys,” Michael commented under his breath.
The six men moved forward with a confident swagger.
“Hi Mike,” purred a woman’s voice as he passed her.
Michael turned to look and immediately recognized her face.
“Gina, good to see you, you look beautiful,” Michael greeted her, bending to kiss her on the cheek.
They had danced together a few times, and she had rubbed her voluptuous body all over him.
“You too,” she mewed, her eyes taking him in from head to toe.
Michael was the only man that could make a T-shirt look sexy as hell. It added to his raw primal magnetism, hugging the sexual body that contained the beast inside. Tonight he was rocking a skin tight black one with ‘Brooklyn’ across the front of it, his hardened nipples poking through the fabric, with a pair of camel colored slacks.
“Dance with me tonight?” he asked her in that way that made any woman melt.
“Hopefully more,” she whispered, smiling provocatively at him.
The Rooster Club Page 10