ADDICTED TO HIM

by Linette King

  “This football player at UMA. He tried to talk to me yesterday before my track meet. Well, afterwards too, but I told him to fuck off,” she said while laughing.

  Now I’m looking at this bitch with the, I just ate shit face, you know the face Kevin Hart was talking about. She has got to be the dumbest chick on the planet to pass all that chocolate goodness up! She probably thinks she’s better than him. “What’s funny?” I ask because I missed the joke. Hell, I wanted him and here her simple ass is giving him a hard time because like I said before; she never has to work for anything.

  “Nothing really. Just that when I ran into him today, I told him to fuck off again,” she said.

  “You’re so lame, Mia,” I stated dryly, before getting up to throw my plate away. I didn’t even wait for her to follow suit before I headed out the door to my truck.

  Rashard

  After I left Dead Man’s Zone, I drove to one of my condos to shit, shave, and shower. I jumped fresh and headed down to the mall. I forgot to call and make sure Michelle would fit me in to get my dreads retwisted tomorrow, so I grab my cell phone to call her. It went straight to voicemail, so I just sat my phone in the cup holder.

  Ding. My phone chimed, indicating I had a text message.

  “Who texted me?” I asked my car. See, whenever I got in my car, I would connect my phone to it, so I wouldn’t have to text and drive or hold the phone to talk. It’s completely hands free.

  “Chardae,” the animated voice replied.

  “What did she say?” I asked.

  “Are you coming over?” the animated voice replied.

  “Reply no, I’m good,” I said to my car. Once I heard a bell, I knew my message had been sent.

  See, Chardae would be a good catch for someone who had the patience to get her ass right, that guy just ain’t me. How can I get her right when I’m not right my damn self? I mean, I do have a lot going on but I need my woman to have vision, so she can help get me on the right path. See, I’m in school and playing ball, but that’s not what I want to do. What I really want to do is make it so when I have kids, they won’t have to work. I don’t want my career to be something I could get hurt in, which is why I’m not trying to go pro, but I’m not trying to stay in the drug game. In three months, I’ll be graduating with my Bachelors in Business Management. My only problem is I have no interest, as far as what type of business to start.

  So anyway, speaking of drug game, it's some cat from out of town going around trying to get put on. I’ve had several runners come up to me this last week telling me how hungry dude is. To avoid him being an enemy, I’m going to have to come up with a spot for him on my team. I have to meet with him first, so I can fill him out.

  Thirty minutes later, I pull up to the mall and circle the entire parking lot three times. I always do this to see if I recognize any cars, to see if anything stands out like someone just sitting idle or whatever. I always have to watch my back because you never know who’s lurking.

  I park and get out with no destination in mind, just kind of window shopping I guess you can say. All of a sudden, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I have that feeling that someone’s watching me. I take my time scanning the crowd in front of me before I turn around and make eye contact with this light skinned beauty! I mean, this chick got it! Big titties, big ass, and her hair stands out to me because of the bright red tips. Something about her gives me this eerie feeling though, so I turn around and keep walking.

  Now, I’m just randomly walking, so imagine my surprise when I get that feeling again! Instead of turning around, I look at the glass surrounding each store, so I can see her reflection. The bitch is without a doubt bad ass fuck, but why is she following me? My thoughts go back to what Smurf said about it being a bad bitch that robbed them and I’m thinking it could have been her.

  I slowly and inconspicuously remove my .45 and attach my silencer before looking back. I noticed every time I would turn my head slightly; she would act like something caught her attention in the store. She was slick but I’m slicker.

  Now I’m looking in each store trying to see who has the least amount of people in it. Children’s Place is damn near empty! Perfect! The only person in there is the store clerk, and I can just shoot them both and walk out like nothing happened. I turn into the store and start going through the nearest clothing rack as I watch her simultaneously. She frowns before turning to walk away.

  I don’t know if I’m just being paranoid and she just wanted to holla or not, but you can never be too careful. I walk right back out of the store and follow her to Ardene’s, and watch as she browsed around and buys a damn scarf! Why yall bitches be buying scarves? It ain’t that fucking cold. Then that little thin ass scarf she bought wouldn’t help her here anyway. Once I realize she was a thirsty bitch and not an actual threat, I walk right back out the store to continue my stroll.

  Ding. My text message tone goes off.

  Chardae: come by

  Rashard: No!

  Chardae: we need to talk

  Rashard: about?

  Chardae: I'm pregnant

  My heart skipped a beat and I became frozen in place. All of a sudden, I was damn near knocked over. I got so pissed off, I almost hit her but I saw who it was. It was the beauty from the track meet, Tamia. Man, this chick is gorgeous and she doesn’t even try to be. I don’t think she knows how good she looks.

  “I’m sorry, beautiful. Excuse me. I wasn’t watching where I was going,” I said to her, even though I knew I wasn’t moving when she ran into me. She looked into my eyes and for a quick second, nothing and nobody else mattered.

  “Fuck off!” she said and kept going. I couldn’t help but to chuckle a little bit because shawty is going to be a handful. That’s why I have two, so I can handle her. I don’t usually go for bitches with attitudes but it's something about Tamia that got ya boy gone! I don’t know what it is because the only thing I know about her is she runs track. I watch her until I can’t see her anymore and from the corner of my eye, I can see the chick that was following me earlier, crouched down behind a clothing rack.

  I don’t think anyone else has seen her but I need to figure out who she is. I exited out of Chardae’s dumb ass text message and switched to camera mode, so I can take her picture. I’m going to figure out who this chick is if it's the last thing I do. I also noticed a couple inside the store arguing and ole girl hung around watching them, so I can only assume that they having some type of lover’s quarrel as I walk away.

  Since I don’t have anything to do, I head to Carte Blanche to see if Michelle is at work and holla at my boy Raphael. Nobody knows but Raphael isn’t the sole owner of Carte Blanche. I own 70% of the club, which is why it's decked out the way it is. I have everything placed the way I need things to be, in case things ever go south. Let’s say the Feds come in and I’m in one of the VIP booths, well there are two secret elevators. One of them, only certain dancers, Raphael, and I know about. The other is located on a secret sub floor that only Raphael and I know about.

  One thing about me you will figure out if you haven’t already is I stay prepared for anything. Any time you think someone has one up on me, remember, I’m always two steps ahead, even when it doesn’t seem like it.

  Anyway, I pulled around back to my designated parking spot and entered my code into the digital pad that appears only when my car is parked in this specific spot. I got my man, Dave, to come install some type of electronic equipment, so the pad would somehow be able to tell it's my car and knows when to extend the digital pad. Dave told me something about my tire tread, length and width of the car is what makes this work. This is why I have custom tires.

  Once I enter my code, my tires are locked into place and the parking spot lowers, going underground and within minutes, my tires are unlocked, so I can drive off. I always look in my rearview mirror to make sure my parking spot goes back up securely before driving off. See, the club has an underground parking lot where I keep all of my veh
icles. I only drive my Honda around town, my luxury whips are for traveling. I have six different parking spots that lower into the ground for underground parking, so that’s six different exits if the Feds come in.

  I hop out of my car, walking to the elevator that only I know about. This is the only elevator that you can’t tell is an elevator with the naked eye. The other two secret elevators have a small ignition that's barely noticeable on the right side, and only Raphael, Candy, and I can get you on and off. This particular elevator doesn’t have one. I walk to it and place both hands against the wall that is actually the elevator door. A small slot that’s eye level opens, scanning both eyes in less than ten seconds before the full elevator door opens.

  This elevator goes directly to my office, which sits in the middle of the ceiling, so I can see everyone and everything. I have cameras installed for the things I miss and I view them every single day, most days from home. No one knows how to get to my office or even where exactly in the building it is because I can see through it, but looking up from the floor, it simply looks like a ceiling. It’s also bulletproof, in case someone decides to come in the club shooting up the place.

  I sit down behind my huge black, cherry oak wood desk and decided to watch the monitors. I can see on the very first monitor that something isn’t right. There is a guy posted in each corner. I can see that one of them has his eyes trained on the VIP booths, another one is following Candy with his eyes, the third one is watching Raphael talk to Brittany, the bartender, and the fourth is watching the door.

  I sat there watching them for ten minutes before I noticed the resemblance between Brittany and the guy watching Candy. I immediately grabbed my pager and sent 911 to Raphael. I watch him silence it without checking to see what it said, even though I specifically told this man that we will only use these pagers in case of an emergency like this one! His ass in the middle of a war zone and don’t know he’s being played! Brittany and Michelle have both been trying hard to get promotions, but neither of them fit my qualifications for the jobs they wanted. Therefore, whenever Raphael came to me with it, I always told him it was a no go.

  Anyway, since Raphael didn’t check the pager, I hit him on his cell.

  “What’s up Casper?” Raphael answered his phone. I immediately got pissed because this dude seriously ignored the pager because he was talking to Brittany! I have told him time and time again not to fraternize with his employees, but he always throws Michelle in my face. I know you’re thinking he’s right, but Michelle has no clue I’m her boss.

  “Cut the bull nigga and peep your surroundings!” I scream at him, trying not to say too much over the phone. I’m watching him look around all suspicious and shit, and he gone let them fools know he’s on to them. I quickly page Candy 911, and watch as she discreetly pulls her pager out and walk swiftly to Raphael’s office. When I see the light outside his office turn green, I know the lines are now secure.

  “Man, ion see nothing,” Raphael groans.

  “Hold on a sec, bruh,” I say, clicking Candy on the line with us.

  “What’s going on boss?” Candy asks, as soon as she hears the click. See, Candy is the only person other than Raphael that knows who owns the greatest percentage of this club. She also knows not to say anything to anyone.

  “Peep this, don’t interrupt me. If you have any questions, wait until I’m done talking,” I tell them.

  “Cool,” they reply in unison.

  “Raph, I want you to lean against the bar. Use the Bluetooth, so no one knows you’re still on the phone. Candy, look under Raph’s desk and get the .45 and its silencer out, and place in your garter belt. Look in his closet and grab the black tennis skirt to hide it.” I give them directions quickly and watch the monitors. I can see them doing as they’re told. I zoom in on the guys, noticing they are now exchanging glances. Some shit is about to pop off and I have no idea what. I can’t find Brittany on any of the monitors, so I know she done got her ass out of dodge.

  “Raph, there is a guy in every corner of the club. One of them is watching the VIP booths, the second is waiting on you to come out of the office, Candy, so stay put until I say go. The third one is watching you Raph and the fourth in the far right corner is watching the door. Raph, look at the second one without him noticing and tell me who he looks like to you,” I tell my people as I look through my arsenal closet.

  It’s times like these that make me glad I put these cameras all over the place. I quickly check my surveillance cameras that are outside. “BINGO!” I say out loud to myself because I found Brittany. She’s standing outside next to an all-black Tahoe truck. After looking around the club parking lot, I see there are four other all black Tahoe trucks scattered all over the parking lot. I can’t tell how many are occupying each vehicle because the windows are tinted darkly.

  I grab my phone and call Dre. He picks up on the third ring. “What’s good Shard?” he says, answering his phone.

  “Not shit right now, bruh. Check this, I need you and Twan to grab your whole team and get down to Carte Blanche like yesterday,” I say into the phone.

  “Iight bet” he says, disconnecting the call. See, that's why he’s my dude, my right hand!

  Next, I call my boy, Tre, and tell him the same thing followed by Deuce, Big B and Trinity.

  “Ah, fuck man!” Raphael says into his Bluetooth, once he figures out what I was trying to tell him.

  “What?” Candy asks, still in Raphael’s office.

  “That bitch, Brittany, set us up man. Fuck!” he says.

  “Calm down, my nigga,” I tell him, once I see the guy that’s watching him start paying more attention to his movements than he was a moment ago.

  “Don’t worry, help is on the way,” I tell Raphael and Candy.

  “I’m fucking Brittany up when I see her!” Candy said, clearly pissed off. I can’t even say shit because I was thinking the same damn thing.

  I check the outside monitors again and I can see Dre, Tre, Deuce, Big B, and Trinity, along with their whole team, pull into the parking lot. I breathed a sigh of release. “Let’s get this party started,” I say to myself.

  Tamia

  I cannot believe the nerve of this bitch Lisa or her nigga, Amere, to come at me that way in the mall. Lisa definitely has some nerve, approaching me to begin with on the bullshit! Yes, she was his side chick while we were together, but she did not take him from me. Don’t ever get it twisted, baby. Let the record show, I left his dog ass after I found about her pregnancy. Our whole relationship, I knew he was doing his thing. Fact of the matter is I loved him and I didn’t care. My main focus was finishing school, so I can better myself. I’ve never had time to compete with the next bitch because truth of the matter is, the only person I’m trying to be better than is the person I was yesterday.

  Anyway, I never said anything to him because he was home every night, he never stayed out late, and most importantly, he never brought home any STDs. We didn’t have sex much because I didn’t like it. I hardly ever came, so any chance I could play sleep, you better believe I did. That’s how I knew he was in the streets doing his own thing. Let me take the lie back about never cumming because I did, every once in a while but if I didn’t get mine before he got his, then I just wouldn’t get it.

  Armani kept telling me to leave him alone but I never would listen to her. She didn’t understand because she never had a love like ours. I was the perfect girlfriend! Well, nobody’s perfect but minus our damn near nonexistent sex life, everything was perfect. I cooked breakfast and dinner every single day. I washed and ironed all of our clothes and kept our apartment clean. We had been living together from the time I was sixteen until I was eighteen. I’ve been emancipated since I was thirteen though, and I already had that apartment, so he moved in with me.

  It wasn’t until Armani showed me Lisa’s sonogram on Facebook that I had had finally seen Amere for the dog ass nigga he was! I was so pissed; I moved out of my own damn apartment! After Armani and I killed
Steve, her mom turned to drugs to cope, so she was never home and I basically moved in with her. I packed my stuff up and moved without saying anything to him. Well, except the simple, short and sweet note I left him taped on the front door.

  Armani called me everything under the sun for not confronting them both but that ain’t never been me. You will never be able to fix your mouth to say Tamia was fighting over anybody. I don’t care enough about anyone to go start some shit to keep him. No, fuck that! Its way easier to say fuck him and keep it moving. I’m not on Facebook or anything else, so it's not like I would have to see them together. Now, these bitches want to move where I ran off to, to get away from them! I’m not running this time! I have three months left before I graduate and Detroit is home now, so I’m here to stay.

  The way she approached me was like she knew something I didn’t. She had this stupid looking smirk on her face the whole time we were talking. Well, until Amere’s sexy, light skin ass walked up with all those yummy tattoos! The level of disrespect was at an all-time high when this nigga started apologizing for his child! I kept glancing at Lisa and that smirk was long gone! Ha! That’s what her ass get for cornering me.