by Tiece
“What time did that happen because I was in a car accident tonight, too?” Yung Gunner informed her, as he drank a sip of his orange juice.
“What?! Are you okay?” she questioned out of concern.
“I’m good. Some lady ran into us. She was belligerent and drunk. However, a dude that worked at the club where we were about to find a park at vouched to act as if he was driving the car that the woman was in. Apparently, he had a thing for her or something and since none of us were seriously hurt, we allowed him to take the wrap.”
Monica shook her head. “Well, that woman better be glad because if it was me, her drunk, belligerent ass would be locked up in somebody’s jail. See, that’s why I love you. You always do the kindest of things. However, that wouldn’t have been one of them for me.”
Yung Gunner grinned. “I figured you’d say that.”
Monica smiled while irritably shaking her head. “What is wrong with these non-driving ass people in the A? You sure you okay?”
“I didn’t get a scratch,” he assured her. “I’m good, Bae,” he added with a slight smile on his face because his girl was for sure a true rider for her man, and he loved every bit of it. “I just wish I could’ve been there for you.”
“Don’t worry, you can be here for me for as long as I’m here and I’m not going anywhere as long as you’re here.”
Yung Gunner smiled. “What if I decide to move here?”
“Oh my God,” Monica said, just out the blue, and then diverted her attention back to her boyfriend. “From the looks of this house that we just pulled up to, I wouldn’t mind staying here forever.”
“Not going to happen,” Grant quickly cut in. “Don’t get too comfortable.”
Yung Gunner shook his head as he could hear Grant in the background. “Well anyway, um… just call me in the morning when you wake up. Make sure to get you some rest, though.”
“I will and you do the same. I love you.”
“I love you too, Bae,” Yung Gunner responded with a smile as they wrapped up their call.
The somber rapper glanced to his left as he stared out of the window. He released a deep breath, as thoughts of the woman from the accident entered his mind. He didn’t get a chance to apologize to the disorderly woman that seemed to have been more occupied cursing out the police and paramedics. As he sat there, the strangest thing caught his attention out the corner of his eye.
Did that woman just slap him?
***
“What the hell is wrong with you, Charlotte?” Luther questioned, as he grabbed his jaw. “You are the one that called and asked me for a ride.”
“I didn’t say bring me here!” Charlotte fussed. “I need to go to your house. I want something to drink.”
“I’m bringing you here to get something to drink.”
“What the fuck Denny’s got for me to drink? I sure as hell don’t want no tea, milk, or orange juice for that matter. I need the strong stuff.”
Luther just sat there shaking his head. He liked Charlotte, maybe a bit more than he wanted to admit, but she was getting worse by the days. He hated seeing her like that. For him to see a woman be so beautiful and still have so much potential was almost unbelievable that she’d get caught up in such a world like this. He wanted to step up and try to do right by her. At least, get her to do right by herself and her girls.
“I think you need to put some coffee in your system and sober up a bit. You’ve been going down this path for a long time and, believe it or not, it’s starting to show,” he said, having noticed the bags and wrinkles forming around her eyes. She looked tired and needed more than just rest. She needed therapy and someone she could confide in. Point blank, she needed guidance, and he was willing to help her if needed be.
“I know what I need in my system and it’s not coffee,” she spat.
“Charlotte, don’t you see that I’m trying to help you here? I don’t want to see you do this to yourself anymore. Your daughters are grown women and don’t even have a relationship with you. You barely even have a relationship with your own momma. Don’t you think it’s time for you to change?”
Charlotte frowned. “You wasn’t so worried about me changing the other night when you were pouring shots of Sapphire down my throat. But, I guess you wouldn’t have complained then, since you kept your dick in my mouth followed by each shot.”
“Don’t do that,” Luther quickly shot her way. “We always have fun like that.”
“Oh and you want that fun to be over now? Is that what you saying?” she pondered, while touching in between her legs and then licking her tongue out at him. It definitely looked enticing to Luther, being that he wasn’t the best looking man walking around town, but he had money. However, Charlotte was once the finest woman hanging out in the streets of the city. Now, the alcohol was starting to take its toll. His long time crush was starting to feel like a bad dream. “Just take me back to your house. I promise you’ll forget about this conversation.”
Luther sat quietly for a moment as he thought about it. Without saying another word, he disappointedly shook his head while pressing the unlock button on the driver’s door of his Chrysler 300. “Get out. You’ll be fine. You’ve taken care of yourself this long without any help.”
“So, you’re putting me out?”
Luther shook his head.
“Fine,” she said, as she got out of the car and stood in the doorway. “I don’t need your no good ass anyway. Plus, your dick lil. I faked every orgasm I ever had with you! Ol’ boring ass sex! If it wasn’t for your liquor and your money, I would’ve been kicked your ass to the curb!” she yelled out, as she slammed his car door shut.
***
Yung Gunner shook his head with a light chuckle. Damn, she let his ass have it, he thought. There was something oddly strange about the woman that had Yung Gunner feeling like they’d encountered one another before. Her boisterous personality took him back a couple of hours prior. Wait a minute, he thought as he stood up and pulled money out of his front left pocket. He watched as the lady nearly staggered across the street. “That’s her,” he said aloud. He acted off pure instinct when he threw the money on the table and dashed out of Denny’s, as if he’d just spotted a long lost relative.
“Hey!” Yung Gunner waved both his arms in the air and attempted to cross the street, in hopes of gaining the woman’s attention.
Charlotte’s eyebrows furrowed as Yung Gunner swaggered across the street. He literally stopped traffic while he bopped his way over to her and didn’t seem to care about the cars that came to a screeching halt to avoid him.
Charlotte had stopped, only because she needed a minute to catch her breath. Her mouth was dry and her tongue stuck to her bottom lip as she exhaled. She was still furious from her brief encounter with her children’s father. The slaps Charlotte gave him were just a preview of the ass whooping she’d have in store for Grant, if he decided to reach out to the twins.
Yung Gunner stepped onto the sidewalk and took a few steps towards Charlotte before she realized who he was. He could tell that she was uneasy and apparently upset about something. Her nostrils were flaring and her arms shook at her sides.
“Excuse me ma’am, I go by Yung Gunner. I didn’t get to formally introduce myself to you after the accident. Most importantly, I was unable to apologize for what happened. I don’t even know how it happened because I was in the back of the limo. My driver told me that you hit us though.”
“Well,” she said, knowing that they’d already agreed that she wasn’t driving. “I don’t wanna talk without a lawyer present.”
Yung Gunner grinned as she attempted to walk off. “Hold up,” he said, as he gently grabbed her by the arm. “I don’t want anything from you. As matter of fact, I’d like to pay for your hospital bill and get your car repaired, if possible. It’s the least I could do, if you’ll let me.”
“You wanna do what now?” Charlotte questioned. She was damn near stunned silent as she stood there looking at him.
Her guard was up at first and she almost thought Yung Gunner was out to get her or confront her about the accident. She would admit to no one but herself that it was indeed her fault.
She shouldn’t have drove Rayne’s car in her intoxicated state, but she was a stubborn woman. Plus, she’d fooled herself into thinking that it wouldn’t be right if she left her daughter’s car parked at a janky spot. Even though calling a cab or catching a ride would’ve been the right thing to do.
Instantly, her shoulder’s relaxed and with her right hand, she fingered through her hair. “So, you would do that for me?”
“Yes ma’am. I hate that happened tonight. Let me make it right?”
Charlotte was actually taken back. No one had been that nice to her in a long time. For some reason, something about the handsome young man had caught her attention, causing her to like him. Plus, his bright smile was very charming. That was surprising because she didn’t like nobody. She half liked herself.
“Well, actually the car belongs to my daughter,” she confessed. “She’s already going to kill me.”
Yung Gunner frowned. “She doesn’t know that you’ve been in an accident?”
Charlotte shook her head from side to side. “Nope, and I don’t care to tell her either.”
“You gotta tell her. Trust me, she’s going to find out sooner than later,” he told her.
“I’d rather have a drink first. I don’t wanna face the heat unless I’m so fucked up that I won’t even remember it.” She grinned while trying to crack a joke, but she was dead serious.
“I don’t think you need anything else to drink tonight, but if you insist,” he said, as if more was to follow. “I have some Bombay in the car. You can have some if you let me take you home. You don’t need to be out in these streets this time of night. It’s not safe out here.”
Charlotte smiled. “Wow, you’re heaven sent, you know that? Where are you parked?” she questioned just as quickly.
Yung Gunner grinned. “It’s the white BMW parked over there in front of the entrance doors at Denny’s.”
“Oh okay,” Charlotte said and off she went straight across the street, leaving Yung Gunner standing there looking. He shook his head with a light chuckle. Something about the woman was funny, but her character was so real. She was also too pretty to be such a heavy drinker, but that was none of his business.
Chapter 7
Rayne paced back and forth while in her feelings. It was now two o’ clock in the morning and she had yet to hear from Chase since he’d messaged her about a couple of hours prior, telling her that he was still at Brooke’s house. She understood that something serious must’ve been going on for him to even want to go over there that late at night to talk. He didn’t tell her what it was about, but she knew that he’d mentioned getting custody of Mason if things went left.
Damn, what did the bitch do this time? she thought, while rolling her eyes. Without further hesitation, she called Chase’s cellphone. “And he better answer,” she said with a serious look. The phone rang and rang until it went to voicemail. “Oh, hell nawl. I don’t know what kind of games he’s playing, but I’m not with this shit.” She called his phone again. And again, it rang and rang, and…
“Hello,” Brooke answered with hesitance in her voice.
Rayne took the phone from her ear to check the caller I.D. Sure enough, she saw My Boo, indicating that she’d called the right phone. It just wasn’t her Boo on the receiving end of the call.
“Why are you answering Chase’s phone?” she questioned with a clear attitude.
“Well, he’s not exactly going to answer it. Just so you don’t stay up all night worrying, I want you to know that he’s fine. He’s just sleeping right now.”
“Sleeping? What the fuck you mean, he’s sleeping? He didn’t tell me that y’all were having a sleep over. So, pardon me if I sound a bit amused, or shall I say not even in the mood for this shit tonight.”
“I mean what I said. He did come over to talk. And we talked. However, he drank one too many glasses of wine,” she admitted, but she was half telling the truth as always.
“Wine?” Rayne frowned.
“Well, that’s all I offered him since I’m trying to stay away from the strong stuff. You know, plus I’m pregnant. However, the doctor said that it’s nothing wrong with drinking a glass of red wine from time to-”
“Listen Bitch, I don’t care about you drinking no red wine or what have you.” Rayne bluntly cut in. “As a matter of fact, I really don’t care if you never have another drink in your life, including water. All I care about is my man. Where the fuck is he? Put him on the phone.”
Brooke stood there as she stared at Chase sleeping peacefully on her sofa. She hadn’t thought her plan through to this stage. Damn, she thought.
“Put him on the phone!” Rayne demanded.
“Hold on,” she said to Rayne’s surprise as she shook Chase by the arm. “Chase!” she called out.
“Yeah,” he slurred.
“Phone,” Brooke said, as she put the phone up to his ear.
“Babe!” Rayne called out.
“Hm,” Chase responded with half cracked eyes, like they were hard to keep open.
“You okay, Bae? Why the hell is Brooke answering your phone?”
“A’ight Bae. We’ll talk when I get up,” he said, causing Brooke to put the phone back to her ear.
“I told you,” she said, like she hadn’t done a thing in the world. “He must’ve been drinking before he got here because I’ve never seen a drink knock him out, especially a couple glasses of wine,” she lied as quickly as it came to her mind.
Rayne sat silently on the phone as she continued to pace back and forth. A part of her wanted to go over there, but she knew if she did that, it was going to be some smoke in the city. She was on 100 right about now.
“If you want me to try to wake him up again, I will. I just think he’s had some long hours at work. You haven’t been making sure that he gets rest because if you don’t, he’ll tire himself like this to a point where he just falls out and sleeps like a baby?”
He’d never done that before with Rayne, so she didn’t know what to think. However, it was all very strange and weird to her as she sat there contemplating what she’d say next.
“I promise you. He’s on the sofa downstairs. He’s not even in a bed here. I can even take a picture and send it to you.”
“You ain’t gotta take nothing,” Rayne finally said. “I’ll deal with Chase when he gets home.”
“Home,” Brooke mocked just a little. She couldn’t help herself. But before she could say anything else, Rayne had hung up in her face.
***
“UUurrrgh!!” she hissed with a loud agitated groan. “This bitch gon’ make me hurt her,” she said aloud. Something was off and she didn’t like it. However, she could already picture herself in jail if she went that way. Plus, Charlotte was in her car, leaving her stranded for the night.
“Fuck that,” she snapped, as she dialed Charlotte’s number. The phone rang and rang, until it went to voicemail. “Are you fucking kidding me?” She continued to pace. She stopped all of a sudden and took in a deep breath as she coached herself. “Calm down, Rayne. It’s just not meant for you to go over there. Calm down.” Just as she was about to sit down on the couch to hopefully clear her thoughts, the doorbell rang. Quickly, she jumped up. “He better hope this ain’t Charlotte with my car or it’s on and poppin’,” she said while heading to the door with a mean frown on her face.
“What the hell?” she said, the minute she opened the door.
“Let me in. I gotta pee,” Charlotte said, as she pushed passed her daughter. Rayne turned up her nose. Her mom smelled like a liquor still. She was so thrown off that she didn’t even see Yung Gunner standing there, since her eyes were too busy following Charlotte right on inside the house.
“I know you haven’t been drinking and driving!” she yelled at Charlotte. “Where the hell is my car?” she
asked her.
“Rayne, chill out,” Charlotte slurred, as she headed straight to the bathroom. “Let me pee first.” At that moment, she really didn’t give a fuck about Rayne or her car.
“Don’t tell me to chill out! Where is my car?” she questioned, knowing good and well that Charlotte wasn’t driving her shit in that condition.
“She wrecked it,” Yung Gunner stated from behind as Rayne jumped. She turned to face him with an embarrassed look on her face, until she realized what he’d said. He was blown away by the sight of Rayne standing in front of him. He tried to stay planted on her face, but his peripherals were admiring how good she looked in a pair of booty shorts and a spaghetti strap camisole. She didn’t have a speck of make-up on her face while standing there barefoot. Her natural beauty was truly radiant and Yung Gunner was stuck with no words for a few seconds. “Wow,” he said to finally ease the awkward moment. “We meet again.”
His Colgate smile had Rayne in a trance. She was stunned to be face to face with the handsome debonair once again.
“I see that you’ve met my mother,” she said with a clueless shake of the head. “This can’t be happening right now,” She let out with a shake of the head. Never in a million years did she expect to see Yung Gunner at her house. His presence did something to her that she couldn’t explain.
“I wish I could say the same, but I’m actually glad it is happening right now.”
Rayne shook her head. What were the odds? “You say she did what? She wrecked my car?” Rayne questioned, while trying to stay focused.
“Yeah, but I think you should calm down. I don’t think it was entirely her fault.”
Rayne frowned. “What do you mean? I mean, how do you even know about this? How did she even get with you?” she questioned all at once.
“Well, she actually hit the limo that I was in. That’s how I know. And then after, we were discharged from the hospital.”
“Hold up… discharged from the hospital?”