URBAN: In Love with A Boss Nigga
Page 4
Tiffany can’t face Sienna knowing that they are seeing the same guy. She needs more time to get her poker face together. In business, it is easy to manipulate and deceive but this was her best friend. In a normal situation, Tiffany wouldn’t care that the guy she was sleeping with was seeing other woman because usually she was dating as well. This situation was totally different. She saw that Sienna had texted her while she was at work. She told her that she would be at work all evening working with her team on a project. The truth was that Capone was coming to pick her up from work to take her out to dinner and thank her for her support. She agreed to go because she was trying to be really cautious when it came to Capone. After all this time, she still wasn’t sure what he was capable of and she didn’t want to find out.
Capone arrived at Tiffany’s office building and rode up in the elevator to the 12th floor where her office was located. He had picked up a dozen roses for her at the florist down the street. He didn’t want to show up at her office empty handed especially since he hadn’t seen her coworkers since the day they met in Fells Point. When he got there Tiffany was just about ready to leave. It was 5:30 and traffic downtown would be backed up. So they choose a restaurant that was within walking distance of her office building.
They got into the elevator and preceded to walk through the lobby. They were talking and laughing. Capone was in mid-sentence when he stopped dead in his tracks and looked ahead. Tiffany was confused until she looked at what he was looking at. Her eyes filled with tears when she saw Sienna standing in the lobby with a gift bag in her hand.
Sienna says with tears in her eyes, “Oh so this is why you can’t return my calls. Apparently you knew something that I didn’t know.”
Derrick says, “You don’t understand. I tried to break it off with you yo, but you pushed yourself on me. I’m a man. What did you expect me to do?”
“Tell me that you were fucking my best friend and that everything you said to me was a lie. How could you do this Derrick? Tiffany?”
***
Tiffany, Sienna and Derrick just stood there in the lobby of the building staring at each other. Tiffany and Sienna with tears in their eyes and Derrick/Capone standing there drenched with an I-don’t-give-a-damn attitude, even though he did care that he had hurt these two beautiful women. Tiffany could not speak. She did not know what to say. She had wanted to tell her friend everything but she felt that her hands were tied. When she tried to speak, she just blew puffs of air with no words or sounds. Sienna breaks the awkward silence and says, “I guess we need a new motto. “If you like fucking Sienna, then you will love fucking Tiffany.” Sienna shook her head, turned and walked away, drowning out the sound of Capone/Derrick’s voice as he was shouting out something behind her back.
Sienna felt a pain in her chest that she could not explain. She wasn’t sure if it was hurt from the shattered vision of the life she had imagined with Derrick or was it hurt from the betrayal that she felt from her best friend. How could they move past this moment? Could they move past this? Sienna went home turned off her cell phone and laid down on her sofa crying. She slowly drifted off to sleep but was awaken by a knock at her door. She got up and opened the door it was Tiffany. “Can we talk?” Tiffany asked with a smile on her face and a large bottle of Grey Goose in her hand.
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HOOD LOVE
A Thug’s Destiny
Shantel Johnson
© 2015 Sensual Ink Publishing
“Mommy, who’s that nappy headed boy across the street?” I asked, staring out the gated window of the one bedroom apartment I shared with my mother. She was too busy in the kitchen and talking on the phone to pay any attention to me. The smell of chicken filled the stuffy apartment and made my mouth water, but I was still too focused on the boy next door. It had been awhile since anyone new came to the block. Most everyone knew each other through gossip and grapevine rumors, and the kids all played together at the park. Someone new was kind of…exciting. My hair was standing on end as i gripped the gate tightly, trying to get my face closer to see the boy more clearly.
All I saw was an untamed afro, some cheap basketball shorts and a sweat covered wifebeater. He wasn’t much to look at but curiosity got the best of me. Looking it back on it now, I can say that this was probably my first crush. I was nothing but a little girl trying to act like a grown woman with a kid I knew nothing about.
It was summer when he first moved in. School had just let out and I needed something to keep me occupied and out of momma’s hair. She didn’t like me around when she was doing her client’s hair at home. Said I fussed too much. But that was only because there was nothing to do in the projects ‘cept go to the corner store, watch the older boys play Basketball, and wait until someone busted open a fire hydrant so we could play in it. Seeing this new boy could mean something else for me to do. So i watched closely as he struggled to pull boxes out from the back of a nice van. Another man came out the driver’s side looking scary as all hell. I remember his muscles and the way his Jordan’s seemed to gleam in the afternoon sun. The gold chain around his neck served as a beam of light, calling out all the mothers around the block to go talk to him. It was almost as if they smelled money, and it wasn’t everyday that a father would be taking care of his son. They were dying to get their claws in him. I wondered if momma would want to do the same. She always said she didn’t have time for men but I would hear them come in and out the house late at night. it wasn’t often but it did happen. She was probably just as lonely as the other mothers out there. I don’t blame her because deep down I was the same way.
I didn’t have many friends. The girls around here were rude ass little bitches who stuck with their clique and teased you about any and everything. I hated them. I hated their jelly shoes, and their nice Barbies, and their big jewelry that they got from quarter machines. They were tailing just behind their mothers, looking for their own little man to claim. I rolled my eyes and sighed just as I heard my mother scream my name.
“Tamina!! Get in here!”
I pulled away from the window and retreated to the kitchen where a dinner plate was already waiting for me.
“What the hell you spending so much time looking out the window fo’? Go outside or something!”
I sipped at my Iced tea before taking the steaming piece of fried chicken. “There’s a new boy across the street. He and his daddy movin’ in or something. All the other ladies from around the block are there already.”
My mother looked out the window and down at the situation below. I heard her suck her teeth as she patted her rolled up curls under her hair wrap. “Bunch of hoes is what they are. Can’t wait to get the next piece of dick. Don’t go over to the boy’s house. You ain’t got no business over there.” She said as she sat down next to me.
That was the first warning she gave me, and the first warning I soon ignored. I knew I was going to go talk to that boy it was just figuring out when.
***
I got my chance when Momma sent me down to the beauty supply place. She had needed some more relaxer and sent me to go get it. It wasn’t that far from our apartment building but it felt like forever in this heat. The sun was beaming down on my head making my thick curls frizz out. If I had enough change left over I was gonna buy a big icee all for myself and eat it before I got home. When I got into the store a gust of wind from the stationary fans hit me much to my relief. I went towards the back where the weaves and wigs were and began looking for Momma’s favorite relaxer. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him, down the aisle picking up a tub of rubber-bands. I could feel my cheeks turning pink against my honey colored skin and all kinds of butterflies in my stomach. I wanted to talk to him even if Momma said I couldn’t. I pulled out my roll on fruit lipgloss and reapplied making sure my lips were shiny and plump. With a deep breath I sashayed over to him, trying to be all cute.
“Hey,” I said, giving as much attitude an 8 year old could give.
“‘Sup, ma.” He said as his eyes raked over me.
“What you doing in a beauty supply place? Yo’ momma asked you to get stuff for her too?”
He shook his head. “Nah, i don’t live with my ma no more. I just live with my Pops. I had to come get these so I can get some braids done. Ma used to braid my hair all the time and Pops doesn’t know how to do it. He said if I don’t keep it braided he gon’ buzz it all off. I don’t want that.”
I smiled, realizing that this was my perfect chance. “My Momma does hair all the time. If you want I can see if she’ll do it for you. Yo’ Daddy just gotta pay up.”
“That ain’t a problem. My Pops got lots of money. Where you live?”
“Across the street from you. I saw ya’ll movin’ in the other day. All the ladies on the block came to see you.” I replied walking towards the counter once I had gotten Momma’s relaxer.
“Oh yeah. They all wanted to talk to my Pops or something. They were so annoying. We just wanted to move all our stuff in. Was your Ma there?” he asked.
I gave the cashier the money Momma had given me. “No, she was too busy cooking dinner for us. She didn’t have no time to go stare all wide eyed at yo’ daddy. What’s you’re name tho’?”
“Markus. What about you?”
“I’m Tamina. You wanna get an icee with me?”
Markus smiled at me, giving me the cutest pretty boy smile I ever saw. His teeth were better than most of the boys around here. “Yeah, let’s go. I’ll race you there!”
“Nah-uh! It’s too hot for that!! I ain’t messing up my hair running after you!” I giggled, and ran after him after he raced out the store. I didn’t want to chase after him, he should’ve been the one chasing after me but I would soon find out that I would do a lot of things I didn’t want to for this boy.
***
We grew up together, Markus and I. From the time we finished elementary school all the way up until the first years of high school. Everyone would tease us and ask us if we were dating. I never knew what to say. We never said anything about dating, we just hung out a lot. We would walk home from school together, play basketball together, sometimes if Momma was feeling generous she would let Markus over for dinner—but only Markus.
Momma wasn’t really a fan of Markus’ daddy. Said that he was too much of a gangbanger. She would go on a rant forever about how my daddy was the same way and she had already learned her lesson.
“That boy is gon’ end up just like him. Probably in jail before he even finish high school. That’s how all these lil’ hood rats end up. Damn shame.” She would say.
I would try and tell her that Markus was different. In the few years that we had known each other he had stayed away from most of the dealing and stuff. His daddy’s crew would follow him around from time to time as a precaution but he wasn’t wrapped up in it, at least that’s what he told me. I chose to believe him because of course I was in love with him. I would do anything for Markus and I would defend him ‘till the day I died. I wanted to be his ride or die chick but I knew Momma wouldn’t let me.
“He’s not like that, Momma. He’s fine. We always play basketball and stuff. He’s not like his daddy. He don’t got a crew, he don’t sell, he just go to school with me and come home.” I protested.
“Girl, please. Don’t try to tell me I’m wrong. I’m right and I know it. Now get your little behind in the shower and go to bed. You got school tomorrow.”
Night time was the worse. I could never wait until school the next morning. I didn’t like school because I was learning and shit, I liked school because I could see Markus. I would always hang out with him and his boys during recess, which is probably why they thought we were dating. Girls didn’t usually hang with the guys unless they were dating. They would get teased for being annoying or some dumb shit like that. I always stepped to his friends anyway so they knew not to mess with me. Markus would always defend me anyway especially if I told him to. He knew if he didn’t that I would get mad at him and he never wanted to be on my bad side.
That night when I was laying in bed I heard someone out my window. It woke me up instantly and I was ready to scream for Momma to get her gun but I saw that smug smile against the gate and I knew who it was. Quietly, I got out of bed so Momma wouldn’t hear me moving and crept towards my window.
“What you doin’ here? Momma will kill you if she finds out you at my window this late.” I whispered.
Markus laughed. “Then you gotta keep that big mouth of yours shut. I just wanted to chill with you. I couldn’t sleep.” He sat back on the fire escape as i sat on my window sill so we could face each other.
“So you walked across the street and climbed up the fire escape just to bother me, hmm?”
“You know I ain’t bothering you. Besides I wanted to ask you something…”
“Ask me something? Like what? It better not be to borrow any money!” I said jokingly.
Markus shook his head. “Nah, it ain’t that. I was wondering…like you know how my boys always be saying that we together and shit like that?”
“Yeah, what about it?” I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, hoping and praying that I knew what was about to come out of his mouth next.
“You wanna like…be my girl, fo’ real? They always talking about it so i figured we could just make it official or something.” His deep brown eyes turned away. It was so cute how shy he was being. Dudes always had to be all hard when they were out in the streets but get them around a girl and they would become nothing but jello.
I reached through the window gate and took his hand in mine. “You so stupid, you know that? I’ve pretty much been yo’ girl since we were eight. You better recognize, homie. Step yo’ game up.”
He smiled at me and laughed. “Man, shut up. I can leave yo’ ass right here. I don’t gotta be yo’ man.”
“But I want you to be.”
Ohhhh, I was so damn smooth. I knew he couldn’t resist that shit. And i was finally gonna get what I had been wanting all these years. Markus moved closer to the gate puckering his lips just a little bit. When my lips met his it was like heaven. Soft, sensual, light, and still a little nerve wracking. This was my first kiss, my best friend and I were kissing, becoming one. Markus was mine and no one could take him away from me. Well that was what I thought. But I was wrong. So, so wrong.
***
It seemed like the very next day that Markus disappeared. But I knew where he was going. There was no doubt about that. He hadn’t been in school that day, which made me worry. Something was up. Markus would usually tell me if he was going to miss school or something. But I hadn’t heard anything from him. When I walked home from school that day I saw what seemed like the whole block gathered around Markus’ apartment building. Police were there, i could see the flashing lights shine across everyone’s confused faces. I pushed my way through the crowd trying to see what was going on. I prayed the Lord would forgive me for thinking it, but I hoped that they were taking away Markus’ daddy and not him.
“Tamina! Get over here!” I whirled my head around to see my mother on the stoop, waiting for me. Her face said that she knew something I didn’t know and my fears became a reality.
Two cops came out of the building with Markus between them. My world seemed to stop right then. I could barely hear what was going on around me. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. When Markus looked at me, my heart broke. It couldn’t be true. Markus wasn’t like the other guys. He knew better. At least I thought he knew better. I couldn’t bare to see them shove him into the squad car and instead I turned away and ran into the house. Momma tried stopping me but I ignored her, not caring if she would make me regret it later. I ran into my room and slammed the door shut before throwing myself on my bed. Outs
ide I could hear Momma yelling about slamming door in her house but I didn’t care. I would take a beating over the feeling of losing Markus.
I tried to make sense of what was going on but I didn’t know what the hell was happening. I was with Markus all the time! How could he even find time to do illegal shit? I guess…I guess he wasn’t no different than every other dude on the block. The police sirens started again signaling that they were taking him away. It was done and over with. Who knew when I would see Markus again—if I would see Markus again.
Momma didn’t bother to knock on my door before coming in. “C’mon girl. You don’t got time to be sulking over that boy. I told you this was going to happen. Momma is always right.”
I kept my mouth shut, knowing that if I said anything I would be disrespectful. I would be in lockdown myself if that happened. A few moments of silence passed between us before I felt my bed sink down with Momma’s weight.
“Look, I ain’t raise no fool now. I know you cared about him and it’s hard for you to see him go but that’s the life these boys live nowadays. He may be a friend to your face but he could be a whole different person when he’s with his boys. It’s gonna be hard but you gotta keep goin’ with your life, understand?” I felt her hand pet my hair back and she kissed my head. “I love you baby girl. I know I’m tough on you sometimes but it’s only because I want the best for you.”