Married to the Game

by Chunichi

  Two hours and three stitches later, I was all patched up and headed home. To my surprise, Snake was there when I arrived. He sat on the couch with his feet propped up on the coffee table in a wife-beater, jeans, and Tims, talking on his cell with one hand and massaging his penis with the other. He didn’t even notice my presence as he chatted away.

  “You better stop talking like that, girl, before I come over there and do something to you.”

  I walked right up behind him without saying a word and smacked the taste out his mouth. As a reaction, he reached for his gun and jumped up, ready to fire.

  “Oh, you’re gonna shoot me now, Snake?” My eyes filled with tears. I knew he wasn’t going to shoot me, but all the events of the day had taken a toll, and I couldn’t take it any longer.

  “What the fuck you smack me for, Danielle?” he asked as he placed his gun on the table and walked toward me.

  I began to yell and punch him continuously across his chest. “I hate you, Snake. I hate you. Look at me. This is all because you can’t keep your ass out of the damn strip club.”

  Snake’s eyes filled with anger as he examined my head. “What the fuck happened, Danielle? Who did this shit?”

  “One of your stripper bitches.”

  “Who? What’s her name? What she look like? Where did you see her?” He ran off question after question. Unfortunately, I didn’t have many answers.

  “Look, I don’t know the bitch’s name. I ran into her at Creative Styles this morning. She’s brown skin, about five-five, small waist, big ass, and long blonde weave. You should know. Evidently you gave her a pretty good amount of money last night. How did you do that, Snake? You were in two places at once? I thought you were pulling an all¬nighter!” I replied angrily.

  I walked up the stairs to take a shower and wash my hair. I left him standing in the living room, yelling alone. I knew Snake was spending time at the strip club. Hell, I even followed him a couple of times, but I had no idea it was this serious. I tried to convince myself that it didn’t matter as long as he came home to me. Now I saw it did matter, and I was going to have to put my foot down.

  As the days passed, Snake continued his regular routine, so again I decided to follow him. He made a few stops in Park Place then headed to the strip club, just as I figured. I prepared myself for a two-hour wait as he entered the club. This time I decided to stay until he left and see if he went home or elsewhere. Not even two minutes passed when Snake came back out. Following him was a nice-looking female with a nice body. She wore designer labels from head to toe. I knew Snake was responsible for her appearance. Hell, it was almost identical to mine!

  They got in his truck and pulled out of the parking lot. I was careful not to follow them too closely as they crept down the interstate. Snake headed toward the oceanfront. I knew there could only be one destination—Crown Grand Suites. That was Snake’s spot for every occasion. I didn’t even bother to follow any farther. If they were headed to the hotel, there was only one thing they could be doing. Besides, if I did catch him, what would I do or say? And I definitely wasn’t risking getting my ass whipped again.

  I got off the exit and returned home. I decided to call Snake on the way. “What’s up, baby girl?” he said as though he wasn’t even with a female. I wanted to cuss him out and tell him how much I hated him for cheating, but instead I played along.

  “Nothing, baby. Where are you?” I asked.

  “It’s not past my curfew yet, is it?” he said, laughing.

  I was not amused at all.

  “Whatever, Snake. Imagine that—you with a curfew. Can you answer my question, please?”

  He was intentionally stalling.

  “I think you already know,” he responded, still avoiding the question.

  “Snake! Where are you?” I said very firmly.

  “I’m on my way to this bachelor party. I had to pick up the stripper for my man. I’ll be at the oceanfront. You know my spot,” he said calmly.

  I had overreacted. I was glad I did turn around instead of making a scene.

  CHAPTER 9

  A FRIEND’S DECEIT

  BJ

  “Aaaaahhh!” I screamed as Duke forced his penis inside of me.

  Luckily, no one was home to hear my screams, but as loud as I was, I was more concerned with the neighbors hearing me at this point.

  “Please take it slow, Duke,” I begged with every pump he gave. I had no idea losing my virginity would hurt so badly.

  “Okay ... I got you. Just work with me, BJ. Let me get it all the way in first.”

  I wrapped my arms around him tightly as he slid his hands under my butt cheeks and pushed me forward, giving one big thrush.

  “Ooohhh shimit!” I yelled out in pain.

  It felt like my insides were ripping in half. Duke began to kiss my neck softly while caressing my breasts. His gentle touch made things feel a lot better. I could feel the pain turn into pleasure. I moved my pelvis slowly in tune with his movements. My vagina became moist, making our sex even more enjoyable. I ran my fingers through Duke’s hair as he sexed me. I began to moan with pleasure instead of pain.

  “You like that?” Duke whispered in my ear as he kissed my neck.

  He made me feel so good inside. The truth was, I did like it, and now I understand why Gina wanted so much as well.

  “Yes,” I moaned softly as he continuously sexed me until he busted a nut. After sex, Duke sparked a blunt as I lay next to him in bed. I couldn’t believe I had finally lost my virginity. Too bad I couldn’t share it with Gina. I had betrayed my best friend for a guy. I broke a pact that we promised to never break. We always said we would never let a guy come between us. I felt really bad, like I had just made a huge mistake.

  “Duke. What have we done?” I asked him with a pitiful look on my face.

  “What’chu mean?” he asked.

  I tried to explain. “You’re sexing Gina, and she’s my best friend. I have totally violated. I have crossed boundaries I should have never come near.”

  “Whateva, BJ. You been coming at me ever since the day you caught me and Gina fucking.”

  Duke upset me with that comment; as if he never returned the flirt or something. In fact, we wouldn’t be together right now if he hadn’t done that shiesty shit at Gina’s house. I decided to throw that in his face.

  “If I’m not mistaken, you were the one eating my coochie in Gina’s living room while she was upstairs with Ray-Ray.”

  “You wanted it, BJ. That’s why you ratted her out. But if you feel so guilty, let’s just end it here and forget it ever happened.”

  He put out his blunt and threw on his clothes. I wished we didn’t have to end it like that, but I was happy with the decision. I would hate to lose Gina as a friend.

  I stopped him as he headed to the door. “Bye, Duke.” I looked at him with my best puppy dog eyes before kissing him on the lips.

  He hugged me tight. “I’ll see you ’round, shortie.”

  I knew I was making the right decision, but my heart was broken as I watched through the window as he left.

  Ring ... ring.

  The caller ID read: REGINA WALLACE.

  It was Gina. She must have felt me being deceitful. “What’s up, girl?” I answered in a fake, tone.

  “Nothing. I was just calling to see what’s up.

  You coming over today?”

  Normally I would be at Gina’s house at least five times a week, but since I had been dealing with Duke, I felt too guilty to come around.

  “Nah, girl. I’m home alone, so I’m going to chill. But me and Ray-Ray will come over tomorrow,” I lied.

  As the weeks passed, I didn’t sex Duke or even speak to him. Gina, on the other hand, was sexing him on the regular. In fact, she was sexing both Ray-Ray and Duke.

  Valentine’s Day was right around the corner, and I hated the thought of being alone. For once, the tables had turned, and I was now envious of Gina. Even though I was jealous of all the attention she
had been receiving from Ray-Ray and Duke, I still kept my promise and stayed away from Duke. It was hard, though. Each time I saw him, my heart would flutter, but I always kept my distance.

  Valentine’s Day rolled around sooner than I expected. Gina had all sorts of plans and needed my assistance to make sure everything went accordingly. After Duke and Ray-Ray ran into each other at Gina’s house, they were each under the impression that Gina had dropped the other. Gina patched that situation up real quick. Since then, things were lovely for her. She had all the newest shoes and clothes times two. Between the gifts from the two of them, Gina stayed laced.

  She planned to spend the first part of the day with Duke then go out later that night with Ray-Ray. It was my job to keep Ray-Ray occupied until then. She called me about noon.

  “Hey, girl. I just wanted to make sure we had the plans together.”

  I was hoping she would have been calling to tell me Duke stood her up, but I wasn’t that lucky.

  “Yeah, I got you. Keep Ray-Ray busy until you call, right? If you don’t call, just let him come around seven,” I said in an unconcerned voice.

  We had gone over the plan a thousand times. I didn’t see the need of her calling and giving me the run-down for the thousandth-and-one time.

  “Come on, girl. What you doing in there?” I could hear Duke banging on the door, yelling in the background.

  “Where are you?” I asked, eager to know what Duke had planned for her.

  “I’m at the oceanfront at the Crown Grand Suites. The room is beautiful, and the sight is gorgeous. We’ve been here all day. We plan to watch the sunset on the ocean and everything, girl. My day has been great so far. But I got to go. He’s rushing me. Just listen out for my call.”

  I hung up the phone without saying a word. I cried myself to sleep as I could only dream about being in her shoes.

  I woke to the annoying buzz of my alarm clock later that day. It was six-thirty and time for me to call Ray-Ray.

  “Yo? What’s up, WI cuz?” he asked.

  “Come on, it’s time to meet up with Gina,” I said sleepily.

  “I’m on my way,” he said before hanging up.

  Ten minutes later he was at my house. I ran downstairs and jumped in the car. We flew down Martin Luther King Boulevard toward Curry Village, where Gina lived. We pulled up near her house and headed for the door. I knocked on the door as Ray-Ray stood beside me with a teddy, flowers, balloons, and all sorts of bags in his hands. He didn’t want Gina to see what he had for her, so he hid so she couldn’t see him through the peephole.

  “Hey, girl,” she said as she opened the door.

  I didn’t respond. I just smiled and stepped aside so Ray-Ray could appear with his surprise. Ray-Ray walked in and hugged her.

  “Happy Val—” He stopped in the middle of his sentence and dropped everything.

  I stood at the door behind him, wondering what was going on. All of a sudden I saw him rush forward and Gina screamed. I walked in the room and Ray-Ray and Duke were locked up together, tousling. Gina and I tried our hardest to pull them apart.

  “Please stop it. Please!” I begged Ray-Ray. Eventually, we were able to pull them apart.

  “Get my shit from that bitch, BJ,” Ray-Ray said as he headed to his car.

  I grabbed the bags, leaving the torn flowers, balloons, and teddy behind. I didn’t know what to do, so I just did what he asked and decided to call Gina later. I ran out the door and jumped in the car. Three minutes didn’t pass before Gina was calling Ray-Ray’s phone. He didn’t even bother to answer. He was heated, and didn’t have anything to say to her. She eventually stopped calling, but she did leave a message. He checked his voice mail as we rode around. Ray-Ray decided to ride and smoke to clear his mind. He handed me the phone after listening to the message.

  “Call your girl. She trippin’, yo.”

  I wondered what she said on the voice mail. I called her right away. The phone rang one time and she picked up.

  “You shiesty, bitch! When I see you I’m going to fuck yo’ ass up,” she yelled into the phone.

  I had no idea what she was talking about. I figured she was upset that I took the things, so I tried to explain. “What are you talking about, Gina? Ray-Ray asked me to get the gifts. I only grabbed them because there was enough tension already. I didn’t want to make things worse. Girl, you know I would have brought them back over there later.” I tried to make things a little smoother.

  “Bitch, I don’t give a fuck about no clothes. I’m talking about how you set me up. I specifically told you not to bring him if I call. I called a thousand times and you didn’t answer. I even left five messages on your voice mail. We went through this a thousand times. I knew you were going to do some shit because you’re jealous of me. You hate the fact that I’m on top for once and I have all the attention, and not BJ. I’ve been noticing little shit for the past month. I see how you look at Duke and wear little clothes around him, and say slick shit out your mouth. I just chose to trust you because you were my girl. I thought we would never let a guy come between us, but I guess that was bullshit too.”

  I couldn’t believe Gina. She actually thought I had set her up. I was angry, but more hurt than anything. I had no idea she thought such bad things of me. I decided to make one last desperate attempt to repair our friendship.

  “Gina, I swear on everything I have, I didn’t set you up. I was sleeping all day. When my alarm went off I jumped up and called Ray-Ray. I didn’t even check my voice mail.”

  “Yeah, I figured that’s what you would say. But don’t worry about it. I owe you, bitch.” Those were the last words she spoke before hanging up in my ear.

  Weeks passed and I didn’t hear from or see Gina. I really missed her, but my pride wouldn’t let me bow down. I constantly reminded myself I did my part. I tried to resolve the issue, but she wasn’t trying to hear it. Each day at school, I was reminded of the situation. There was steady gossip about me setting Gina up. There were even a few times the word out was I was supposed to get jumped by Gina and her crew from out the way. Nevertheless, I still remained me. I still went to school each day, I still sat in the same spot at lunch and I still walked the same halls. Gina knew me better than anyone, and she knew it would definitely take an army to beat me. I would pick up a weapon, fight dirty, or even avoid a fight if I was outnumbered, but I would never lose. No one would ever have the honor of saying they beat my ass.

  I thought the day would never come, but Gina and I finally met face-to-face. After school one Friday, I was leaving the building. As I walked to the bus, I noticed Duke. I figured since Gina and I were no longer friends and now she was all about Ray-Ray, I may as well rekindle my relations with Duke.

  “Can I roll with you?” I asked in my most seductive tone.

  Duke paused and examined me from head to toe. Luckily, I had on stretch jeans and a baby tee, so he could see my figure perfectly. He hugged me with a pleasing look on his face.

  “You been keeping my shit tight?” he asked as he squeezed my bottom.

  “Sure have,” I gladly boasted.

  “Well, that’s all I need to hear. Come on, I’m parked over here.” Duke pointed to a black Lexus GS 400. He always kept nice cars, but I was really impressed with this one. I got in the car with no hesitation. Just as Duke began to pull off, a hoop-ride steered in front of us, cutting him off.

  “Damn. What the fuck does this bitch want?” Duke mumbled under his breath.

  I looked up and it was Gina. She jumped out of the car and headed to my side. Before I could register what was going on, she reached in the window and stole me right in the face. As a reaction, I grabbed her shirt, pulling her toward the inside of the car. I reached in my pocket with my free hand and pulled out my shank. I always kept it near for situations such as this. Within seconds, my shank was out and Gina had been stabbed three times in the chest area. Afraid that his car would get damaged, Duke quickly ran over and broke things up. I looked in the mirror to exa
mine my face as Gina returned to her hoop-ride. I wiped the trickle of blood that dripped from my right nostril. Duke looked at me, examining my face as well.

  “You a’ight?” he asked sincerely.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Where we headed?” I quickly changed the subject, eager to put the whole thing behind me.

  “Wherever you want to go, sweetheart. You missed me?” Duke asked while rubbing my inner thigh. I smiled and nodded. He looked so damn good driving his Lex with the Clipse banging in the background.

  “Those niggas couldn’t have said it any better. Virginia’s for hustlers.” He quoted the infamous words of the Clipse.

  I wondered how the fuck would he know. He’d been living off his uncle since I’d known him. I questioned him to see if things had changed.

  “How would you know, Duke? You ain’t never sold shit.”

  “Yeah, that’s what you and the rest of these niggas out here think. But that’s cool. I like it like that. It keeps my name clear. I ain’t gotta prove shit to nobody, ma.”

  I could tell he was getting offended, so I switched things up to turn the conversation around.

  “You got something to prove to me,” I said while untying his du-rag so that I could play in his cornrows.

  “Oh yeah? And what’s that?”

  “That you can’t be whipped.”

  He thought that statement was very funny. “You got a long way to go, young buck. You can’t even say the word whipped until you start fucking for real.”

  He was right. I couldn’t get him whipped just yet, because I just got started, but little did he know it wouldn’t be long. I felt like I was a natural. My body moved without hesitation. Once I got to the point that I could stand the pain, I was going to be a beast in bed, and Duke would be the first to know.