Married to the Game

by Chunichi

  “Ceazia ... Ceazia.” I repeated the name aloud.

  That name seemed familiar to me, but I just couldn’t put my finger on it. For the moment, I put that in the back of my mind as I continued to investigate. I went to his closet and began to look around. Snake and I had separate closets, so other than hanging his clothes from the dry cleaners, I never explored his closet. But one thing I did know was he kept his personal weed stash in there and he also kept a box where he threw dollar bills and coins. So, those were the two places I checked. I started with the weed stash and I found nothing. Then I came across the money box. I searched there. That’s when I came across a nude photo. It was actually set up as a model’s comp card. There was a large photo on one side in black and white, and several smaller photos on the other side in color. It had a name and contact numbers listed underneath. The name read Cinnamon. The bitch was obviously a stripper.

  I examined the card thoroughly, looking at each picture. As I looked at the photos, the chick began to seem familiar to me. Again, I couldn’t really put my finger on it. I didn’t know if the sleeping pills were starting to kick in or what, but for some reason, I just couldn’t think. I figured I was just too anxious.

  The few things I found were enough to prove Snake was up to something, but I just needed time to bring it all together. I grabbed the photo and paper with the information on it and headed to my office in the house to make a quick copy and return the originals to their secret spots. As I made the copies things began to come together. The girl on the photo was that bitch from the hospital. I knew she was a stripper from the time I met her.

  So Cinnamon is her name, huh?

  Then I went on to make a copy of the paper with the name Ceazia and phone numbers. That’s when I noticed the number on that paper matched the number on the photo.

  “Well, I’ll be damned!” I said out loud.

  Shit had finally come together. The bitch from the hospital was Ceazia, Vegas’ ex-girlfriend. No wonder when she was beginning to explain to me who she was, Snake stopped her. I’d heard the stories about Ceazia, but I never saw her. So she was a stripper! I couldn’t believe Snake would stoop so low as to fuck with his deceased brother’s girlfriend. That muthafucker! And to think I had all of that little bitch’s life in the palms of my hand—literally. Revenge is a bitch, and all I have to say is Ceazia, Duke, and Snake all had better watch out!

  CHAPTER 25

  SMILING DECEIT

  SNAKE

  That sneaky bitch had no idea what she had coming to her. I knew the day would come, and it was finally here.

  Look at her dancing and flaunting as though she’s got every nigga hypnotized. One thang fo’ sho’ is I am one nigga that’s broken from her trance. Those days are long gone.

  Too bad that li’l nigga Duke was all caught up. It was a damn shame. He was lined up at the stage just like the rest of them cats, blind to that bitch’s wicked ways. But just like the Wicked Witch of the West, that evil bitch had to go. And I was going to be the one to make sure that happened.

  “What up, sexy boy?” Ceazia said as she hopped off the stage.

  This was exactly what I needed. She was making shit easier than I expected. “What up, sexy girl?” I responded while looking her up and down.

  Ceazia came to an abrupt halt.

  “Excuse me? You’re actually responding to me?” she stated, surprised by my pleasant demeanor.

  “Yeah, is something wrong with that?” I continued, trying to completely play my part.

  “Lately you’ve been giving me a serious cold shoulder, so I thought we were on some beef shit.”

  “Nah, I just been having some problems at home, and a lot of shit going on in the streets, so I’ve been on some ill shit lately. Nothing directed toward you personally, though,” I lied.

  And just like that, C began her flirt routine. As she chatted with me and rubbed her hands across my face and through my hair, I noticed Duke staring from across the club. I began to tune Ceazia out as I read Duke’s actions. He was obviously upset about the conversation that C and I were having. Knowing Duke, he was thinking I told him to stop hollering at her so I could holla. I bet that li’l ignorant nigga wasn’t even thinking about what I told him the other day about knocking C off. After a few more minutes of talking, Duke had finally either gotten angry enough or gotten the balls to confront me about C.

  “What up, Snake?” Duke said, calling me by my name instead of the usual “Unc.”

  “What up, Li’l Soldier.” I responded as a reminder that he was still training to be where I was.

  “I’m surprised to see you talking to C. From our last conversation, I thought you weren’t feeling her at all,” Duke said, attempting to call me out in front of Ceazia.

  “Me and C already had that convo. Right, baby girl?” I stated while stroking the small of Ceazia’s back.

  “Yep!” she quickly responded, full of smiles.

  It was so simple to get her where I wanted her. Not happy with the way things were going, Duke grabbed C by the arm and pulled her away, yelling, “I need to talk to you.”

  Like a rag doll, he jerked her around while yelling profanity. That whole scene was pretty comical to me. It was amazing the power a cat could have over a chick, just because he was feeding her a few dollars every now and then. After Duke finished scolding Ceazia as though she was a young child, it was my turn. I walked up to him and said the same.

  “Yo, we need to talk,” I whispered in his ear. Amazingly, he didn’t put up a fight. Duke followed as I walked out of the club and headed to the truck. Before I could say anything, he began to speak.

  “What up with you and C, man?”

  “Ain’t shit, Duke. Like I told you, once it was confirmed she killed Vegas, I was taking her out.” I tried explaining things to Duke.

  “Man, I wish you would get off that shit. If homicide investigators can’t pin her to the murder, what makes you think you can?”

  “Look, Duke, I have all the evidence I need. You either down with me or you’re not.” I couldn’t tell Duke how I’d gotten the evidence because I didn’t want to put nobody, including myself, in the hotseat.

  “Whateva, man. Like I said before, do you and I’m gon’ do me. Enough talking,” Duke said before hopping out of the truck.

  I knew this wasn’t gonna go easy, but I just couldn’t tell Duke all the details. I wasn’t trying to incriminate his li’l shortie, BJ. Nor was I trying to self-incriminate. Hell, on the real, I don’t even think BJ realized she was the leak. It all happened by chance. All I could say was old Vegas must have been looking down on me.

  Earlier that day, I called BJ to make sure she was straight with the little change I’d given her to handle some things. I assumed that when I called, she was in the middle of a serious conversation with Ceazia, so she attempted to send me to voice mail. Instead, she mistakenly pressed the speaker button, allowing me to hear the entire conversation, which ended up turning into a detailed confession of Ceazia killing Vegas. I had a ton of mixed emotions as I listened to them talk. At times I felt angry, then sad, then responsible. My stomach ached as each word Ceazia spoke pierced my heart.

  After hearing that confession, I was ready to kill her at first sight, but I knew I had to remain calm to execute the perfect plan. So after a few shots of Hennessey and a blunt filled with purple haze, I was relaxed enough to devise the perfect plan.

  I’d already taken the first steps at the club. Now I just needed to secure my position. An unexpected phone call would do the trick.

  Ring ... ring ... ring.

  I called Ceazia from my truck parked outside the club.

  “Hey, sexy,” Ceazia sang into the phone.

  “What up. I need some companionship. I can’t think of anyone I’d rather be with right now, other than you. What you gon’ do about that?”

  “Whatever you want, baby. You already know how I feel. I’m always down for being with a real one like you. What, your girl not turning the tr
icks I turn?” she asked seductively.

  “Nah, she holding shit down, but I just want something different,” I lied. “If you think you can fit the bill, then I need you to come roll with me.”

  “Fit the bill? I can be all you need and then some. I just feel sorry for your girl ’cause after tonight, I’ll be all the woman you can ever think of,” Ceazia said convincingly.

  Shit, she actually began to turn me on. The truth is, I hadn’t had sex with Danielle in over a week. Before she refused to touch me because she was certain I was cheating. Now, the tables had turned, and I wouldn’t want Danielle to touch me with a ten-foot pole. If she got any closer than that, I was liable to smack her back in time. I needed a bitch to turn some tricks—not necessarily Ceazia, though. At this point, any bitch would do. But since I had a scheme going, trying to work on some shit with C, I figured I may as well take advantage of the situation. I continued to listen and rapped noise to her.

  “Yeah, sexy, you sounding just like the something different I’ve been waiting on,” I flirted.

  “Well, yeah, I’m that something different, but I have to be totally honest. I need some motivation for being your everythang.”

  “What type of motivation you looking for? Monetary?” I asked, knowing the gold-digging type of style Ceazia put out.

  “Money talks and bullshit walks,” she quickly responded. “But since you’re a real bailer, I got every confidence you gon’ pay what my shit weighs. And just so you’ll know, my shit is heavier than a muthafucka.”

  “Oh yeah? Well, my money is long since we’re talking American dollars here. And you’re right about one thing, C.”

  “What’s that, baby?” she purred.

  “I am a real one, and don’t you forget it.”

  “I won’t. So, tell me how we gon’ do this,” Ceazia inquired.

  “Well, how about this: you give me the 411 on my brother’s murder, and I’ll pay you tremendously for it.”

  “What makes you think I’ve got information?” Ceazia asked, playing her game well.

  “C’mon, C. You know I must’ve figured the cops were hot on you for something. Even though you didn’t kill Vegas an’ nem, I know you got some word on who did it, right?”

  Ceazia paused. “Well, I got some idea, but like I said, I ain’t blabbing for free. Telling you the least little thing puts my life at risk.”

  “Nah, sexy. See, that’s where you’re wrong. Just let me cover you. You don’t have to worry about trouble following you, and that’s my word.”

  Considering I was about to blast Ceazia from this world made my word to her the truth. I ain’t ever been dead before, but from what I believe, niggas are worry-free on the other side. My brother made a lot of mistakes, but he didn’t deserve to die at the hands of Ceazia the way he did. Now this money-hungry bitch was too stupid to know that her life was in my hands. I listened to her game a little while longer.

  “That’s a deal. But that’s going to cost you at least a hundred grand. Even though you say you-will cover me, I need to get the fuck out of here. I need some lead-way in covering my own head after letting out that type of information.”

  “Not a problem. Any amount of money is worth it when it comes to my brother.” I readily agreed, knowing that she would never live to get the loot anyway.

  “Okay, baby, just let me know when and where,” Ceazia said, agreeing to my proposition.

  That was all I needed. I was glad Ceazia never stopped her gold-digging ways, because she was making things way too easy for me. I didn’t know what terrific lie her shiesty ass had in her mind, but I was curious to hear it. She said she believed I was a true gamer, but her dumb ass never figured I might consider her info to be fake. Why would a hustler like me just give Ceazia a hundred grand going just on her word? Stupidity was about to lead her into an early grave, but not soon enough for me.

  I smiled as my adrenaline began to flow at the thought of carrying out my mission. I knew within a matter of minutes, my penis would be wet and my plan complete. It was a beautiful thought.

  CHAPTER 26

  CAN’T TURN A HO INTO A HOUSEWIFE

  UNKNOWN MAN

  Many niggas have said you can’t turn a ho into a housewife, but no matter what, that is a statement I refused to believe when it came to Ceazia. I was doing all I could to turn her into that top-notch, untouchable housewife chick she used to be. And believe it or not, at times she even had me thinking she was almost there. Just earlier today we had lunch, and she was coming at me like she was ready to give up on this lifestyle as long as I was willing to hold her down. Of course I agreed to that.

  Although she told me everything I wanted to hear, I still had to be on my shit. I told her I wasn’t for no games, and if I saw any shit I didn’t like, I was gon’ fuck her up. I would hate to do it, but she had pushed me to that point. And she knew it, too. She could see the fire in my eyes when I warned her.

  It was times like these when reality pistol-whipped me in the face. Ceazia didn’t even know I’d been sitting in the cut watching her every move tonight. I made it a point to follow C and constantly check up on her every move, to see where her head was really at. And tonight I saw that bitch was back to basics. It looked like she was trying to fuck Snake again. And from the looks of things, she had him and his WI soldier on some beef shit. I tell you, that bitch’s pussy was deadly. It was like crack, and she had all us niggas running behind her like she held the last dime-piece in the city.

  But I’d gotten hip to her game. Although when it came to her I could often be labeled as a “vick,” I wasn’t no damn fool. I knew when a bitch was down and doing bad, she’d tell a nigga whatever he wanted to hear, just so that she could get a few bucks out of him. And that had been Ceazia’s scheme since Vegas’s death. But I was using that to my advantage. I was trying to show her that I was that nigga that would put her back on that level she wanted to be on. Right now she was just so fucked up, she couldn’t even see it. She thought that nigga, Snake, and his WI soldier, Duke, was the best she could get next to Vegas. If it wasn’t for them, Ceazia would be mine, and would be that housewife I knew she could be. So, what does that mean? Only one muthafucking thing: Those niggas had to go!

  CHAPTER 27

  JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED

  CEAZIA

  That hundred grand was going to put me right back on top. Thank goodness for the gold between my legs and the hustle I got along with it. I knew Snake could only holdout so long, anyway. I mean, who else was going to put it on him like me? Who else was going to fulfill his every fantasy? Who else was going to deep-throat his big black dick, take it in the ass, and then allow him to drench her in a golden shower? Yes, I’d let him do whatever he wanted to me. That nigga had it like that.

  That’s right, no one but me, Ceazia Devereaux could handle Snake like he needed to be handled in the bedroom. And that’s exactly why he decided to come back to me. This time I promised not to let him go.

  But first things first. I had to get my ex-boyfriend off my back. I’d been popping a whole lot of bullshit to him lately, just so I could get a little change out of him every now and then. But this nigga was starting to act like he was losing his mind.

  It had been a while since we had a tight relationship, but he just wouldn’t let go. I’ll admit, I would hit him up with some sex for some loot every now and then, but now, I couldn’t get his ass off my back. He thought he fucking owned me. He should have known better than to think he could keep up with me day to day, because I was too fast for that. I kept a close watch on my surroundings.

  I’d seen my ex following me and shit. Now he was even threatening to kill my ass if I fucked him over. As if I had his ring on my finger or something. Even if he put a ring on my finger, it wouldn’t mean anything. I loved living in and all around the game, but my ex just wasn’t who I had in mind to keep me laced.

  Now that I had Snake in the palm of my hand, I didn’t need this nigga running up on the scene, fucking shit
up. I called him to keep things in order.

  “What up, C?” My ex answered on the first ring.

  “Nothing, baby. Just checking in. I thought you might want to know that I’m going out tonight,” I lied, so he wouldn’t be checking up on me while I was out with Snake.

  “Out where? With who, Ceazia? Don’t be giving me half of the fucking story. You know I wanna know where you going,” he stated, asking question after question.

  I had to straighten my shit up quick and make things sound convincing. “I got a money scheme. I’m planning to hit Snake up for some money—like a hundred grand,” I blabbed out.

  That was pretty good thinking. I had to pat myself on the back for putting things to him that way. I knew talk of money would keep me in the clear, just in case my ex found out I was with Snake without me having told him. My statement got his attention.

  “Oh, yeah? And just how do you plan to do that? Snake ain’t as dumb as he looks, Ceazia. Don’t forget he’s been in the game for a while, training li’l soldiers how to be street-smart just like him. What makes you think you can pull a fast scheme on him?” he asked.

  “It’s simple. I told him I have some info on his brother’s death, and he’s willing to pay me for it. Once he does, I’m going to give him some bullshit story and then buck,” I said in a conniving tone.

  “I don’t know about all that, C. Sounds kinda dangerous if you ask me,” he replied.

  “No, it’s cool. Snake really thinks I got some info that will help him find his brother’s killer. You don’t know Snake like I do. He wants this information bad, and he’s going to pay up.”