A Pimp In Pumps (7 page)

              “Birthday girl, guess what came in the mail?” My Aunt Mo passed me an envelope.

              I already knew that it was from Spellman, but I was afraid to open it. When I read the envelope and confirmed my suspicions my heart skipped a beat.

              “I can’t…”

              “Open it now,” she said sternly.

              With a nervous smile I tore it open and skimmed over the letter. “Yes! I got in!”

              I jumped up and started twerking as my Aunt fell out in laughter. “Congratulations boo!” She shrieked.

              “All thanks to you.” I suddenly got serious and sat down on the bed. “I want to thank you for everything, but I’m a grown woman now. I’m eighteen and I want to move back into the condo. You already know that I ain’t tryna live on campus.”

              Aunt Mo smiled knowingly as she nodded. “I already know you and I also know that you’re used to having your own space. You’re an adult now and I knew that this was coming. Just know that I’m always here for you and my door is always open. I’m so proud of you.”

              We hugged and I didn’t want to let her go. “Thank you so much.”

              “So, what are your plans for tonight? It’s your eighteenth birthday!”

              “Me and the girls’ll probably get together and do something later. I don’t know. Honestly, I’m not really up to it.”

              “Hmm, have you talked to Kamal?”

              “No and I don’t want to talk to him. This isn’t about him…”

              “You know your dad’s going to call you.”

              I sighed. “I know, but what’s a phone call? I miss him. It’s my first birthday without him.”

              “I know you miss him, but there’s nothing we can do right now to change his circumstances. We just have to make the best of it.”

              Damn, I was tired of hearing her say that. It was like my counselor was telling her what to say to me, but I was sick of the clichés. In all actuality life wasn’t that damn easy. Honestly it fucking sucked from my point of view, but I was getting used to that. As a matter of fact, I had come to expect it.

              My phone rang and it was Kamal again. Instead of answering, I just let it ring. He was trying his best to get through to me, but I wasn’t trying to hear it. As far as I was concerned I was done. I’d lost my first love due to gun violence. The thing was, it was all because of that bitch Brielle. Her boo at the time Marquis, thought Daniel wanted her, but she was the one trying to fuck him. We’d been rivals since middle school ever since this boy she liked named Quentin asked me to the sweetheart dance. She decided to fixate on fucking with me after that and losing another man that I loved was the result of it. Kamal had survived, but it was over between us. My rivalry with Brielle lived on because her nigga was locked up for killing my boyfriend. It was really screwed up being that it was all her fault. She was trying to get with Daniel and her dude saw that shit. When he confronted her she blamed it all on Daniel. A few days later Daniel was gunned down leaving a corner store while I waited in the car for him. I saw that nigga Marquis holding the smoking gun in his hand. That shit was like déjà vu’. All I could think about was how I had lost my mother. It felt like it was happening to me all over again.

              The thing was I knew the code of the streets, so I wasn’t the one who snitched on that nigga. As a matter of fact, I was trying to get my pops to have somebody kill him for me. Before I could do that, the store owner picked Brielle’s nigga from a line up. After that they searched his home and found the murder weapon, which was a 22. He didn’t even go to trial and to avoid life in prison, he took a plea for twenty-five years. At the time he was seventeen, but he was charged as an adult.

              When I started going with Kamal I felt like things were finally getting better. He seemed to love me genuinely and there seemed to be a light at the end of that dark tunnel that had become my life. Then when everything was revealed about him and Brielle it was like that light had gone out. I wasn’t really trying to forgive him that easily. He knew what I’d been through and to think that he’d hurt me was more than I could bear. Yeah, I still loved him with all of my heart, but I wasn’t going to let him take advantage of me. What if he was still fucking that bitch? I’d be damned if she was fighting over some dick that she hadn’t had in two years. Who would do some dumb shit like that?

              “I have to go pick Jerry up. You only turn eighteen once Sasha, so go out and celebrate.” She smiled at me before leaving the room.

              When my phone rang that time it was Jordan.

              “Please tell me you ain’t still all depressed over Kamal and that bitch. It’s your birthday and we’re goin’ out, so you might as well get dressed.”

              “I want something new to wear. How about you meet me at the mall.”

              “You ain’t gotta tell me twice bitch. I’ll call Cherie.”

              I smiled deviously. “A’ight.”

*  *  *

              Me, Jordan and Cherie were in the VIP with fake IDs and the whole nine yards, because although I wasn’t a drinker, I was throwing back shots of Patron. Bells and Nadia were both out of town for the summer, but they’d called to wish me a happy birthday. It was the second club we’d hit that night and I was so fucked up that I couldn’t even remember the name of it. Some nigga and his boys were popping bottles at the bar and although we had got a bottle with VIP, we didn’t mind a little extra booze. They had some blunts in rotation too. I wasn’t one to be smoking with random niggas, so I had to call them out on it when the blunt came to me.

              “First of all, I ain’t smokin’ shit that ya’ll already rolled up. I’on trust nah nigga. Fuck that. Ya’ll might be tryna get us all fucked up so ya’ll can fuck,” I spat with an attitude as I put my hands on my hips.

              “I ain’t gotta do no shit like that to get pussy shawty.” He pursed his lips together as he poured some Ace of Spade in my glass.

              “I bet you don’t,” I said sarcastically.

              He was good looking though with his caramel skin, and dark, mysterious eyes. He licked his thick lips and flashed deep dimples at me.

              “You need a nigga to tame you.”

              “I got a daddy and I don’t need another one,” I threw over my shoulder as I dismissed him.

              That nigga was tripping. The drinks and weed he was supplying weren’t worth my time. I could get that shit on my own. It wasn’t like we needed him. There were plenty of ballers in the club and I was legal. As I looked around I spotted a familiar face coming my way.

              “Oh, damn, is that Trav?” I asked wondering what he was doing there.

              Then I saw Kamal.

              “Shit, is that…?”

              I cut Cherie off. “Jordan must’ve dropped a dime.”

              “I did not,” she spoke up. “This is a coincidence.”

              I didn’t believe her. She couldn’t do shit without letting Travis know. At least Cherie was down with keeping her nigga in the dark about our plans.

              “You’re supposed to be my best friend and you knew that I didn’t want to see him!”

              Jordan looked at me and shook her head, still denying that she was the one to let Kamal know where we were.

              “I didn’t tell him or Travis shit. I swear.”

              Kamal’s eyes met mine as he walked over to where we were. There was nothing keeping them from us other than a velvet rope that he stepped over.

              “Happy birthday baby.” He grabbed me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “I miss you.”

              I moved out of his grasp and gave him a look like he’d lost every ounce of sense that he was born with.

              “Get your hands off me!” I spat angrily.

              Dude who was being all generous at first, but had turned rude, was all up in my business.

              “What’s the problem yo’?” He asked Kamal. “She just told you to get your hands off her nigga.”

              Kamal looked at him like he was crazy. “Nigga, if you don’t step the fuck back. This my girl and…”

              “I ain’t your girl!” I snapped back at Kamal. “And I don’t need you to stand up for me,” I told the stranger whose name I never got.

              He put his hands up in defeat. “Handle yo’ own shit then shawty. I ain’t got time for this bullshit. It ain’t like you givin’ me the pussy.”

              “And I won’t be,” I clarified.

              “Shit,” dude hissed. “You will be if I pay yo’ ass!

              Kamal stood up with his face all balled up and the Patron bottle in his hand. “Don’t you talk to my woman like that!”

              “That bitch ain’t even clamin’ yo’ wack ass and you all up in a real nigga’s face with a bottle in yo’ hand like you got some balls. I’ll fuck you up lil’ nigga. You better act like you mufuckin’ know.”

              Kamal wasn’t backing down. “Nah nigga. Watch who you callin’ a bitch muthafucka! You better get the fuck up outta my girl’s face before I show you a real nigga.”

              I grabbed Kamal’s arm. “Chill out Mal. Let’s go.”

              “Nah, I ain’t goin’ nowhere ‘till after I whoop this nigga’s ass!” Kamal kept his eyes on dude as he talked to me.

              Damn, I really didn’t want to watch my man get his ass whooped, or worse. Honestly, I’d never even seen him fight for real. He was so laid back in school that nobody really fucked with him. He just usually got along with everybody. Which was the exact opposite of how I was. I could tell from looking at dude and his boys that they were used to getting into shit. Something also told me that they weren’t used to fighting fair. I didn’t want Kamal to get killed, although I didn’t want to be with him anymore.

              “Somebody better tell this lil’ punk ass mufucka somethin’ ‘fore I kill his ass!”

              I think I spotted the gun that he pulled from the waist of his jeans first. All I could think about was a repeat of what I’d seen happen plenty of times before. There was no way I could take watching someone else that I loved get killed in front of me. It would be no coming back from that.

              “Look,” I stood in front of Kamal hoping that dude would calm down. “It don’t have to come to that. We’re leavin’.” My eyes pleaded for him to put the gun away.

              One of dude’s boys squinted his eyes as he looked at me. “Ain’t you A’s daughter?”

              How the fuck did he know my pops? I wanted to ask, but I hoped it would work in my favor.

              “Yeah, that’s my pops,” I confirmed. Damn, but what if they had beef with my old man?

              Dude and his boys backed down immediately and that gave me a sense of pride in who my father was.

              “A’s cool as fuck, but you better get outta here if you want yo’ nigga to keep breathin’.” Dude put his gun back in the waist of his jeans as he nodded at me. “Tell yo’ pops Ray said hold it down in there.”

              I nodded as I grabbed Kamal’s hand and led him out of the club with the rest of our crew in tow. It was a task being that he was still mad, but all I could see was that damn gun in my mind and how easy it would’ve been for that nigga Ray to end his life right then and there. If they didn’t know my pops it could’ve gone left really quick.

              “Fuck man,” Travis said once we were outside. “You tryna get us killed? You know those niggas were Cues and shit. You can’t fuck wit’ them like that. You might sell a lil’ weed my nigga, but you ain’t no gangsta mufucka.”

              It was clear that Travis was heated and Jordan tried to calm him down. “Chill out babe, it’s over.”

              She just didn’t know that I was still mad at her. No matter what she said I still felt in my heart that she was the one who had let Kamal know where we were. They were too damn chummy for me too and if he wanted to continue a relationship with me, that shit was going to have to stop. I was cool with Trav, but I didn’t call him, or defend him when they had issues. It was like she was his best friend instead of mine. No, I didn’t think anything was going on between them, but I was going to make sure it didn’t happen. It didn’t matter if I wanted to be with him or not.

              Once I was at my car, Kamal thought he could drop his game down and shit. It was kind of working being that his life had just been in jeopardy. What if he’d been killed? Maybe it was a sign that I should give him a second chance, but then again something told me not to give in to him so easily.

              “It’s your birthday ma and I wanna spend some time wit’ you alone. What just happened was stupid and I apologize for that. You know how I am about you. I don’t give a fuck what set them niggas belong to. I might not be no street nigga, but I ain’t no soft ass nigga either. I ain’t gon’ let no nigga disrespect what’s mine.” Kamal’s nostrils flared as he spoke.

              He sure didn’t sound like he was a valedictorian, but that was what I liked about him. Although he was smart, he still had that edge that made him not come off as too weak.  That nigga was the perfect balance of street and book smarts.  As I looked at his handsome features I wanted to give in and just go ahead and be with him. What did I have to lose? It wasn’t like he’d fought for Brielle and was hounding her. He was after me like a fox on a rabbit.