by Wahida Clark
After years of struggling, one of Big Red’s friends finally helped her get a job as a clerk at an insurance company. Julia decided to go to school at night to get her license and become a full-fledged insurance agent. They were struggling, but Julia was determined her kids would have a chance to move out of the projects. She pursued her career, and she made sure the kids went to school, did their homework and made the honor roll. Julia was determined that they would make something of themselves in spite of the tragedy they had faced.
Chapter 5
That was ten years ago. Julia and her three kids moved out of the projects into a 15-story apartment building on the west side of town. Times were not as hard because of Angel’s man, Snake. And Julia’s dream of her children succeeding was becoming a reality. Angel was working toward her law degree and Mark was working on his Associates degree in broadcasting. Carmen, following her siblings’ example, was an honor roll student. Julia let herself believe they had really accomplished something. As much as possible, she just ignored the fact that her daughter was dating a pimp.
When Angel first introduced her to Snake, Julia had practically fainted. She knew him as Lil’ Keenan when he was just a kid, and she also knew that he came from a long line of pimps. His daddy was a pimp before he got stabbed to death. Snake also had four pimp uncles.
She had slapped Angel over and over, screaming at her, wanting to know how a college girl could turn into a ho. Why couldn’t she stay away from that pimp? Angel moved out of the house, in with Kyra, and didn’t speak to her mom for several months. Julia kept calling Kyra’s mom to secretly check up on her daughter. Angel was still going to college, working, and of course, laying up with Snake, the pimp. When she couldn’t stand it anymore, Julia finally broke down and asked her daughter to come back home. Of course, Angel was glad to move back in. She missed her mom, brother, and her sister.
Julia was pleasantly surprised when Angel showed up back home. She had really underestimated her daughter’s strength. Angel was a confident and strong-willed person, who wasn’t about to be turned out by Snake, and he knew that. She could think for herself. That’s what Snake liked about her. She was someone who could balance him out. Someone to settle down with. After all the whores he’d dealt with, Snake respected a woman who wouldn’t let him beat her down physically or mentally.
As Snake put his foot on the brake of his Mercedes 500, he reminisced back to the day when he’d first laid eyes on those long, smooth, yellow legs. Those were the first things that caught Snake’s eyes. He considered himself a connoisseur of legs. His eyes roamed from those long, curvaceous beauties to that perfectly round ass to those perky, young tits. He was floored. She wore a white, sleeveless, leather-front top with deep cleavage and a tight, cream-colored, pleated skirt. Snake grabbed his dick and put it along his thigh because it had gotten hard.
Angel could feel the heat of a dog’s roaming eyes all over her body. She knew that she was a dog magnet. She had had her share of dogs, so at this point in time she was being extra careful and not giving in too soon. As Angel turned slyly around to see where the dog was, her books slipped to the floor.
Damn! she thought. That’s what I get for even thinking about giving a dog a bone.
As she bent down to pick up her books, she noticed the black, snakeskin Versace shoes quickly coming her way. She smelled the Armani cologne. Snake didn’t say a word; he just bent down, picked up the remaining books and handed them to her. This bitch is fuckin’ fine! he almost said out loud.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Oh, miss, that will be four dollars and eighty-seven cents,” the cashier announced.
“Just a minute,” Angel snapped.
Snake pulled out his wallet to pay for her meal. Angel’s eyes were glued to the iced-up Rolex on Snake’s wrist as he reached over and handed the cashier a 10-dollar bill. Before she even took her eyes off the Rolex, Snake had already turned and walked away. He was a pimp. He knew how to set his traps. The cashier yelled after him to get his change, but he just kept walking, slow, smooth, and with confidence.
As Angel eyed him from the back, she had to admit that she liked what she saw. He looked to be about 6 foot 3. He had dark, wavy hair and sideburns that were neatly cut. His stride was full of confidence and power. And watching it was all the more fun because he had the kind of butt that a woman loved to squeeze.
The tailor-made Armani suit, silk shirt, snakeskin shoes, iced-up Rolex and Armani cologne announced that ole boy got it goin’ on, but Angel knew from hard-knock experience that you can’t judge a thug by his cover. She had to check things out thoroughly. She grabbed her container of teriyaki steak and rice and quickly headed for the exit. When she got outside, she looked right and didn’t see him. She turned left and still he was nowhere in sight. She sighed and put her hand on her hip. Snake was sitting in his Benz watching her every move. He knew that she would come looking for him.
“Works every time,” he said.
Snake beeped that smooth Mercedes horn and rolled down the passenger window. Angel checked out the “500” with the chrome rims. This nigga thinks he’s smooth, she thought. She went over and peeked into the car. His Armani cologne smacked her in the face. She dropped a 10-dollar bill on the passenger seat.
“I can pay for my own meals. But thanks anyway.” She quickly glanced at the manicured hand resting on the steering wheel.
Snake looked at her beautiful, pouted lips and said, “No problem. I assume you’re one of them independent women.”
“You damned right.” She turned to walk away.
“So it’s like that?”
Angel acted like she didn’t hear him and kept on walking. Now it was her turn to set a trap. As she headed to her Honda Civic, she knew he wouldn’t be far behind. She fumbled for her keys, opened the door, set her books on the backseat and the container of teriyaki steak and rice on the front seat. Once she turned the key in the ignition, the shiny black 500 pulled up in front of her, just as she’d expected. Snake got out of his car and walked toward her.
“What are you, stalking me now?”
“No. Just give me your phone number and I’m out.”
Angel looked him up and down. Damn! This nigga is fine, she thought as she tried to suppress a smile.
“I don’t give my number away to strangers.”
“I’m not a stranger. I picked up your books from the floor, I tried to pay for your meal and I made sure you got to your car safely. Strangers don’t do that.”
Angel looked into his eyes. They were dark and cold, but everything else about him said he was all that. Angel liked the whole package.
“Give me your number.” She tried to flip the script.
“I don’t give my number to strangers,” Snake answered, looking into her eyes.
“Oh, well. We’re just deadlocked, then, aren’t we?” She didn’t look away from his stare.
“Deadlocked, huh? So, you must be a law student.”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
He had already seen the Rutgers parking sticker on her windshield.
“So, what’s your name?”
“So, what’s yours?” she teased.
Needless to say, Snake was enjoying this little game. “My friends call me Snake, but it’s Keenan Hightower.”
“My friends call me Angel, and it’s Angel Smith. Now, may I go?”
“After I get your number.”
“I’m listed,” she snapped as she rolled up the window.
Snake smiled and turned back toward his car. He slid into his Benz, pushed number four on the CD player and pumped “Ascension” by Maxwell. Angel sat and watched the Benz ease around the corner.
“I think that went quite well,” she spoke out loud to herself. “If he’s all that, he’ll find me.”
Chapter 6
Little did she know that Snake was already on it. He picked up his cellular phone and dialed his boy, who ran the Black Studies Department at Rutgers.
“Ru
tgers University. How may I direct your call?”
“Buck Davis, please.”
Snake leaned back in the driver’s seat. While he waited, on hold, he cruised the hood to see what his whores were doing. He spotted Jade, his Asian ho. He swerved around the corner and beeped the horn. Jade spotted her daddy’s car and ran toward it.
“Hey, Daddy!” she said in her Asian accent. “Here’s $320.00.”
She handed Snake the balled up cash and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. When Jade puckered her lips, he hit her in the mouth with his cell phone. He bashed her once, and then again. The blood gushed from her mouth. She let out a groan. Tears welled up in her eyes. She knew not to say a word, because Snake was treacherous. Her trembling fingers reached into her purse and pulled out a handkerchief.
Snake screamed, “Bitch! What the fuck am I supposed to do with $320.00?” He threw the money back at her.
No, this nigga didn’t, she thought to herself. When she bent down to pick it up, he opened the door and banged her in the head, knocking her to the ground. He glanced at the cell phone and saw that he had disconnected himself from Rutgers. This made him even madder.
“Get your little ass back out there!” he yelled as he sped off. “Damn bitches!”
As he stopped for a red light, the phone rang. Snake hit the answer button.
“What up, dawg!” It was Buck.
“How’d you know I called you?”
“I got fucking ESP, man. What you want?”
Buck and Snake had grown up together. They had been friends for almost twenty years, and though they had chosen separate paths, they always looked out for each other.
“I need a favor,” Snake said. “I need you to get me a number.”
“Don’t you be recruiting our good, old-fashioned college girls for your stable,” Buck joked.
“Man, I ain’t recruiting nobody. This is some other business.”
“Yeah, right. Then why you ain’t got the number?” They both started laughing.
“Look, man, her name is Angel Smith.”
“We got a lot of Smiths. Do you know how common that name is?”
“C’mon, man. You only got one Angel Smith who is a law student and drives a Honda Civic. I need a phone number and address.”
“All right, calm down. I’ll see what I can do.” Buck hung up the phone.
Snake pulled over when he got to the Quality Inn. This was one of the joints where his whores were always working. The establishment gave Snake and his crew no problems. He parked the car and went into the lobby.
“Good evening, Mr. Hightower,” the clerk greeted him.
Snake ignored him and headed for the double doors that led to the bar. Before he opened the glass doors, he stood and watched his hardest-working ho, Big Nell, talking to a john. While she talked and laughed with the john she was going through all of his pockets. The drunk fool didn’t even notice. Snake watched as she lifted a big wad of cash from the pocket inside his jacket. Impressed by Nell’s work, Snake opened the door and went to the back table, near the bathrooms.
Big Nell looked to be about thirty-two years old, but was only twenty-six. She was dark as a Hershey bar, looked Cuban, and the white johns loved every inch of her. She was their chocolate fantasy.
When Big Nell spotted Snake in the back she told the john she’d get back with him later. The john was feeling all over Big Nell’s tits and ass.
“I’ll catch you later, baby,” she said as she squeezed his little prick.
“I can’t wait, my chocolate sunflower,” said the little white man. “I’ll give you an extra fifty dollars if you do me right now.”
Big Nell looked over at Snake sitting in the corner. She couldn’t tell what mood he was in. She grabbed the man by the hand and pulled him toward the back corner, opposite Snake. The white john could hardly contain himself. He hurriedly pulled down his pants and briefs in one quick movement. His little pecker was already hard, and he was breathing even harder. Nell got down on her knees, put a rubber on him and sucked it for less than a minute before it went limp. When she stood up, she had his wallet in her hand. She gave it to him and he handed her $150.00.
“I’ll catch you next time, my big white stallion,” she said to the satisfied customer. She left him standing there with his butt showing.
“Hey, Daddy.” She grinned as she slid next to Snake in the booth. “I’ve been trying to call you all afternoon.”
As she was talking, she was pulling money rolls out of her panties, her bra, and her purse.
Snake counted the rolls of money. It came out to $1,100.00.
“I know you got more than this.”
“That’s it for now, Daddy. I’ll have more later on.”
Snake punched her in the face.
“Get the fuck up!” He grabbed her by the hair.
“I’ma get more, Daddy,” she pleaded. “I swear.”
Snake dragged her into the bathroom. He thought she must’ve kept the roll of money that he saw her lift from that john. But she didn’t. Big Nell had given him every dollar she had on her. Snake started banging her head against the toilet. Big Nell was trying to loosen his grip off her hair. That was hurting more than the head banging. She started digging her nails into his hands. “Bitch, you must be crazy!” He let her hair go and started to kick her. His foot was landing blows against her stomach, her tits, her head and face. When she stopped screaming, he stopped kicking her. As Big Nell lay on the floor crying, he washed his hands, fixed his clothes and left the bathroom.
As he walked past the patrons, one drunk dude yelled, “Handle your business, gorilla pimp!” Snake left the lobby as quietly and smoothly as he came in. He jumped into his Benz and pulled off.
Chapter 7
As Snake got comfortable in the leather seat of his Benz, he felt like he needed a drink. He decided to relax himself by reminiscing about his early days with Angel. Thoughts of Angel always put him at ease.
After he got her number and address from his boy Buck, he started closing in. In his opinion, all women were bitches and whores, made to pimp. Angel, though, appeared to be a little different. He had to check himself for thinking like that, because he knew he couldn’t get soft. You can’t play the game and win, being soft. Still, he knew he had to have this woman.
Once he had her address, Snake had sent Angel a dozen red roses and a box of Godiva chocolates. On the card he had written, “You knew I would find you. Will pick you up at 8:00.” Angel had told him about what happened when she got the roses and chocolates, and the story still made him smile. She’d kept asking the delivery guy, “Are you sure you have the right Angel Smith?” After he convinced her, “Yes, ma’am. I’m sure,” she couldn’t stop blushing. She breathed deeply to inhale the scent of the fresh roses. This nigga thinks he is real smooth, she thought. As she stood there daydreaming and smelling the roses, she forgot her three homegirls were in the room.
Smack! Smack! Roz clapped her hands.
“Earth to Angel! Earth to Angel!” Her friends laughed.
Angel turned around and smiled at her homies. Kyra jumped up and snatched the card out of Angel’s hand and Jaz grabbed the chocolates. Angel’s nose was still buried in the roses.
“You knew I would find you,” said Kyra in her best imitation of a man’s voice.
“What’s the dilio, ho?” asked Jaz.
Angel kept grinning as she looked around the living room at the girls. They had already opened her box of chocolates and ate half the box.
“Y’all are so greedy!”
“Sorry. I’m PMS-ing.” Kyra groaned.
“Forget that. What’s his name, where does he work, and what kind of whip he got?” asked Roz in one breath.
“Why didn’t you tell us about this one?” Jaz asked.
“You tryin’ to keep him all for yourself?” asked Roz.
They all laughed. Angel told them about how she met Snake at the Steak Pub a few days ago. She told them how he picked up her books, pa
id for her meal, the Armani suit, the snakeskin shoes, and the Armani cologne. She saved the Rolex, Benz, and how he blocked her in the parking lot for last.
“Daaang!” said Kyra.
“What does he do?” asked Jaz.
“I’m not sure,” Angel answered.
“What do he want with your skinny ass?” Roz asked.
“Shut up and don’t be hatin’ on a sister!” Angel joked.
“Well, we’re just gonna have to wait here until he comes,” Jaz and Roz said at the same time.
“I don’t think so,” said Angel. “I am escorting y’all to the door right now.”
Angel started waving both arms toward the door. They all got the hint and stood up reluctantly, grumbling. Angel tried not to laugh at them. As they walked toward the front door, the girls said ’bye to Ms. Smith and hugged Angel.
“Have a good time. And be careful,” Kyra said.
“I will. Love y’all.” Angel blew them a kiss and closed the front door.
She headed toward her bedroom to get ready for a shower. It was almost 6:45. She turned on the hot water to steam up the bathroom. She wiped the steam off the bathroom mirror and started plucking her eyebrows, pondering what to wear. Her thoughts were running wild about how this evening would go. As she stepped into the hot, steamy shower she imagined him asking for some. If he did, she would try her best to decline, even though she was horny as hell. She had kept her legs closed for almost seven and a half months. Before she turned off the hot steam, she put moisturizer all over her body. She turned off the water, grabbed her towel and headed into her bedroom.
When she opened the door, her sister Carmen and her best friend Lakiyah were sitting on her bed. They both looked young and innocent.
“Where are you going?” they asked in a chorus.
“Why you want to know?”
“Because we want to go,” said Carmen.