URBAN: In Love with A Boss Nigga

by Shantel Johnson

  “Fuck!” Lionel screamed. He started throwing his clothes together. “Don’t do nothing stupid Ant. Not right now, not today.” He began dialing Ant’s phone number but he wasn’t picking up. “Yo, Ant. Don’t do nothing stupid man. Don’t you fucking do it. We were supposed to do it together. If you do it on your own, you’ll get yourself killed.” He left the voicemail but he knew Antwon wasn’t going to check it, especially after Antwon turned off his phone. He didn’t want Lionel to intervene.

  Lionel got ready to leave but then he thought about Giselle. This was deja-vu all over again. The last time he left her quickly, it was back at the downtown Brooklyn Marriott. He didn’t want her to feel used, but he couldn’t leave his friend out there doing something stupid. At least this time, he was thinking with a clearer head. He took out his phone and sent Giselle a text message. After he finished, he kissed her forehead, and then left the room.

  Chapter 10

  Antwon took out the cigarette out of the box. He put it between his lips as he stood outside of the place. When he lit it, he took one long drag. He blew out the smoke and threw the cigarette down to the ground. He walked slow and methodically. He knew what he wanted to do. He looked down at his phone and remembered why he turned it off. He didn’t want a chance that Lionel could talk him out of what he was going to do.

  As he got closer to the place, he spotted the green car coming down the block. He ducked into the laundromat. He saw the same bottle service girl from before. He never forgot her body. The image and curves were burned into his mind. He just needed to see it. He just needed to see the driver. He just had to see if it was the guy that held the gun to his head. The driver got out of the car to Janine. Antwon squinted harder and as soon as his vision focused, he ran across the street.

  “I got your ass now.” His footsteps were loud and Martin whipped around. Before he could do anything, Antwon punched him the face.

  “What the fuck?” Martin stumbled. “What’s wrong with you?” He asked Antwon.

  “You don’t recognize me?” Antwon rushed him to the ground before he could answer. He started punching and kicking him.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Janine screamed at him and started pushing Antwon.

  “Look at me.” Antwon grabbed Janine. “You know me.”

  “What?” She was still confused.

  “You know me.” He emphasized.

  Janine’s eyes opened wide. Suddenly she remembered him.

  “I’m so sorry.” She started to apologize to him. Tears ran down her face and she started heaving. “I didn’t want to. I didn’t want-”

  “I don’t give fuck.” He pulled out a gun and pointed it to her face. She was staring at him, not knowing what to do. He locked eyes with her and started to think of his next move, when he noticed that she looked away. He spun around just in time to move out of Martin’s way. Martin bumped into Janine, knocking her to the ground. Antwon brought his gun up and and pressed it to the back of his head.

  “Now, do you remember me motherfucker?”

  >> CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE TABLE OF CONTENTS <<

  LOVE IN THE PROJECTS 3

  Shantel Johnson

  © 2016 Sensual Ink Publishing

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Epilogue

  Chapter One

  Lionel was outside waiting for a cab. He paced back and forth off the street. He was losing his mind. His friend Antwon called him with a crazy voicemail and he was imagining all sorts of scenarios. He looked at his phone and saw that the closest cab was going to be there in ten minutes. He couldn't wait that long.

  He walked up the block from his building. When he saw that the car rental place was still open he was glad. He was friendly with most of the staff, so he didn’t feel nervous going in.

  “Hey Leo.” Tasha, a friend from his old high school greeted him. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m about to ask you for a crazy favor.”

  “Oh boy.” She sighed. “What is it?”

  “I’ve been waiting for a cab, but they are not coming fast enough. I need a car like right now.”

  “Are you serious?” Tasha looked at him like he was crazy. She closed her eyes. Her mind was racing.

  “This is an emergency. I can’t wait for the bus or train, and I’m still seeing that the next cab is coming in ten minutes. All this talking is not helping me.”

  “Leo, I can’t let you borrow a car.” She informed him. “You would have to fill out paperwork and-”

  “Can’t I do that and then come back?”

  “I’m sorry, you can’t.” She shook her head. Lionel looked defeated but then she added. “You’d have to borrow my car.”

  Lionel had to really contain his shock. He knew Tasha from high school, but even he can admit that they weren’t really friends. She was just a classmate that let him cheat off her exams. When the teachers started getting wise to that, she started to tutor him. After high school ended, they parted ways. He would have never saw her again if it wasn’t for the fact that she became the manager of the car rental place in his neighborhood. One day he walked by the place and heard his name. When he saw a beautiful, full figured, dark chocolate beauty, he didn’t recognize her. It was only when he glimpsed at her nametag that he remembered who she was. She was no longer that chubby geek. She now had a shape and was gorgeous.

  “Really?” He kept holding back his shock, but bits and pieces of it slipped out.

  “It’s clear that it’s an emergency. I just ask that you be careful with it.”

  “I will, I will.” He assured her. She tossed the keys at him. “Thank you. You don’t even know how much I appreciate it.”

  “You’re welcome. It’s the black Camry out front. The last numbers on the license plate is 1984.”

  Lionel rushed out and quickly spotted the Camry. It was only a year old and very nice. Once he got inside he was hit with the smell of lilacs. He smiled and honked the horn. When Tasha came to the entrance, he waved and then drove off. When he hit the first stop sign, his phone started to vibrate. He parked the car to the side and picked up the phone.

  “Yo!” He answered quickly.

  “Yeah man, it’s me.” Antwon answered in a calm tone.

  “What the fuck? Yo, I’ve been calling you, why haven’t you been picking up the phone? I was trying to see what’s going on with you?”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “What do I mean? You’re the one that left that voicemail talking about you were going to do something.”

  “Yeah?”

  “So…”

  “So, what?”

  “So, what the fuck happened?” Lionel found himself yelling on the phone.

  “Look, just come pick me up. I’m in the Bronx. I’m a block away from Co-op City.”

  “Co-op City? What the fuck are you doing all the way out there?”

  “Just come and pick me up.”

  Antwon ended the call. Lionel slammed his hands against the steering wheel. His friend could piss him off sometimes, but he just had to swallow all of this anger. He began to call Antwon again to get specific directions, but Antwon beat him to it. He sent him a text message with exact directions.

  “I can’t with this nigga.” He muttered under his breath. He turned on the GPS and put in the directions. When it had a lock on the location, he switched on the radio station and drove off.

  Racing through the streets of Brooklyn, Lionel’s mind was going just as fast as the car. He didn’t want to know what Antwon did. He kept trying to put out positive thoughts, but he knew how his hothead friend was. He knew that if Antwon went to the club, he was just going to confront Martin. Ever since finding out that Martin may have been the person to shoot him, Antwon’s been itching to get back at him. Even though Li
onel knew it would be best to wait it out and sneak on them. If Antwon simply waited, he would have came up with a good plan. Maybe set them up and get all the answers to their questions, but now that Lionel thought of it, it was a foolish plan. It was foolish to ever think that Antwon would have been patient.

  When he arrived at his destination, he had to look hard. He was sure that was Antwon in front of him, but something about him looked different.

  “Whose car is this?” Antwon remarked the second he sat inside. “This car is nice.” He added. “I think it’s only a year old. Damn, where’d you get this?” He was smiling from ear to ear. Lionel didn’t answer him. Lionel was still staring at Antwon..or at least he thought it was.

  “Excuse me, but what the fuck is going on?” Lionel cut to the chase. “Why the fuck do you look like that?”

  “Look like what?” Antwon leaned back.

  “Your hair. What have you done to your hair?”

  “I dyed it a lighter shade of brown.”

  “A lighter shade of brown?” Lionel repeated back to him. “Ever since when did you care about that hair color shit. You always kept with your black hair low cut Caesar.”

  “I can’t change?” He shrugged his shoulders.

  “Yeah, but you even dyed your eyebrows.” He pointed out. Antwon shrugged his shoulders. “And what about your clothes?” He asked him.

  “Now you got something to say about my clothes?” He scoffed. “Go ahead and tell me Lionel.”

  “Why does your clothes look like it’s from 1990?”

  “I always wear baggy clothes.”

  “Stop fucking lying.” Lionel said. “You wear your clothes to fit you, just like me. You hate baggy clothes. This whole shit is weird. I find you in the Bronx, with different color hair, and old ass clothes. What the fuck happened?”

  Antwon shook his head. He really didn’t want to speak, he just wanted to get home.

  “Can we just drop it?”

  “Drop it?” Lionel almost found himself laughing. “What happened?”

  “I went to the club looking for them.”

  “I figured as much.”

  “I didn’t see them. I bumped into a old girl I use to fuck with back in the day. She lives in The Bronx. I smashed, got some shit spilled on my clothes, and just grabbed whatever she had there.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Pretty much it.”

  “And what about your hair?”

  “She’s a beautician. She convinced me to do this shit.” He told his friend. Lionel squinted his eyes at him, but he didn’t acknowledge it. “Now, can you take me home? I’m fucking exhausted.”

  “You’re tired from just having sex?”

  “If you fuck the way I fuck, you’d be tired too.” Antwon gave half a laugh but Lionel didn’t join along. “Let’s just go.”

  “Son, are you telling me the truth?”

  “Can we fucking go?”

  Lionel decided not to push any further. He pulled away and started to head back to Brooklyn. The car was awkwardly silent so he decided to turn the radio back on. The sounds of music filled the car but then it was cut short.

  “We have some breaking news coming out of Brooklyn New York. There has been a double shooting in front of the strip club Allure…”

  Hearing the club’s name Lionel’s attention went to the radio. He turned the volume up, but Antwon turned the radio off.

  “Why did you do that?” Lionel went to turn it back on but Antwon stopped him.

  “I told you that I was tired. Can’t I just get some sleep for a little bit?”

  “But-”

  “Please! Just for a little bit.”

  Lionel shrugged his shoulders and let it go. He has been friends with Antwon for a long time. He knew when to push an issue and when to let it go. As Antwon started to close his eyes, it was clear this wasn’t the right time. So he just shrugged it off and drove his friend to his apartment building.

  “Yo we here.” He nudged his friend awake. Antwon didn’t bother to thank him.. He just got out of the car and went upstairs to his place. Normally, Lionel would have went up after him, but he had to return the car. When he got to the rental place he saw Tasha was closing it up. She turned around after he honked the horn. She ran to the car and got inside the passenger seat.

  “Hey.” He looked confused. “I thought you’d want to have the car back.”

  “I do.” She pointed out. “I’m just so tired, that I don’t think I should be behind the wheel.” She explained. “I’m thinking that since I did you the favor of giving you the car, the least you could do was drop me off at home.”

  “Actually, the least I could do is nothing.” Lionel laughed.

  “Come on, I’m too tired to drive.” She pushed him playfully. “Do you really want to risk me out there sleeping behind the wheel.” She gave him a half smile. “No, I don’t think so. You owe me.”

  “All this for one favor.”

  “And for all the times I let you cheat off of me in high school. Now please chauffeur, to my home. I’ll input it into the GPS.” She faked a yawn. “Now, mush.”

  They both laughed. Lionel felt at ease around Tasha. Just laughing with her, was taking away the stress of whatever Antwon was doing. He just laughed and joked with Tasha. They talked about their high school Spanish teacher.

  “Do you remember Ms. Vida?” She asked him already laughing. “You could barely understand what she said.”

  “How can you say that when you would always have really high grades? I used to always cheat on you and it used to suck when she would ask me for some answers and I would look like an idiot.”

  “I told you before we did all that, that we should do tutoring and cheat, but you were so lazy.”

  “I wasn’t lazy.”

  “You know what? You are right. You weren’t lazy, you just didn’t want to do it at all. That’s why I told you that I should tutor you.”

  “Well that was a good look, because my grades went up.”

  “Do you remember when she thought you were cheating so she made you take a pop quiz?” She grabbed his arm laughing.

  “Yeah!” He laughed out loud with her. “And I passed! She was so confused. You were smart to start tutoring me.”

  “I might know a thing or two.” She smiled and he smiled back.

  He finally got to her building. He looked up the tall building and saw that it had a doorman in the front.

  “Damn, this is how you living?” He asked looking at the luxurious building.

  “It’s not that bad.”

  “Not that bad?” He laughed. “The way that you’re talking you would think that you’re living in the projects.”

  “I just don’t make a big deal about it.”

  “You’re 22 living in a condo. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but that’s not only a big deal..that’s a blessing.” He told her.

  “I remember my ex said-”

  “No offense, but I’m tired of insecure dudes making ladies feel like they got to put their goals down because he’s not doing the best that he can.”

  “It’s not that, he just had it bad.”

  “That’s understandable, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t be proud of this either. Never let someone make you feel like that.”

  She gave him a half smile. She was used to people either being in awe of her place or bringing it down. She never had someone telling her that she should be proud of what she had. After her ex boyfriend made her feel like her accomplishments were somehow failures, she thought that’s how every guy felt, but Lionel was different. It felt nice to not only laugh but have someone make her feel good.

  “Thank you.” She finally said. “You can actually park the car in the parking garage that we have.” She pressed a button on her keys and they heard a garage door open up. He drove into the parking lot and parked in her space. He walked her to the door and she brought him to the front entrance.

  “Before I go, I need to thank you a
gain.” He told her right by the entrance. “You don’t know how bad I really needed that car. You’re a lifesaver.”

  “It’s no problem.”

  There was this weird tension between them. They knew that they said all they had to say, but they both stayed and lingered. It was like they didn’t want to leave each other. Although they didn’t know each other that well, it felt like they were more than just friends.

  “Do you want to come up?” She offered gesturing to her apartment.

  “Yeah, sure.” He started to walk towards her but then he remembered that he left Giselle. He hadn’t even checked his phone but he knew that she must have called. “You know what, I got to get back. I left my girlfriend because of this emergency. I need to get my head together and get back to business.”

  “I understand.” She walked to the elevator. She turned her head to wave bye and he nodded his head.

  “I need to get back to Giselle.”

  Chapter 2

  “So he called you to pick him up?” Giselle asked Lionel as they went to a restaurant. He wanted to take her out to make up for the fact he left her...again.