Big and Aimee: Beautiful Chaos (2 page)

“What’re you laughing at?”

“You. Your ass is all out of breath and shit. You’re tired, Big, ain't you?” she teased him.

“Shut the hell up. When I get myself together, just make sure that ass is in the air ‘cause I want some more.”

Chapter Three

Tara walked into work ready to tackle her day. She was a makeup artist at a salon owned by one of her associates named Riley. When Riley first opened her salon, she asked Tara to be the lead makeup artist, and Tara reluctantly obliged. Tara and Riley had known each other for years since their exes were brothers. Their relationship wasn’t the best because Tara thought that Riley was too stuck up. When she was with her ex, Keece, Riley thought that she was above everybody, and Tara hated it. So for years, Tara avoided hanging out with her, but opted to be cordial.

When Tara and Big were together, he used to push her to hang out with Riley since she didn’t have many friends. Tara had tried to hang out with Riley one night, but it resulted in Tara being thrown out of a club with a disorderly conduct charge. That night, Riley had tried to stunt on Tara in front her friends at the club, and Tara went off. After that incident, Tara vowed to never fuck with Riley again. But when she approached her with an offer to work at her salon, she took it because she wanted to expand her clientele.

“Hey, everybody,” Tara greeted and walked over to her station.

“You know your client has been waiting, right?” Riley asked with a raised brow.

Tara continued to set up her station while making Riley wait for a reply. After a while she finally responded, “I didn’t know she was here. She’s actually early for her appointment.”

“Well, I told Tiny to call you, and she said she left a voicemail,” Riley said, referring to her receptionist.

“Well, I didn’t check it. Now what do you want me to do? Shit!” Tara snapped.

Riley cocked her head to the side. “You need to chill. All I’m saying is if you see a voicemail from the salon, please check it right away.”

“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind,” Tara said curtly.

Tara walked off and went to greet her client. Riley always tried to clown her in front of the entire salon staff, and Tara didn’t appreciate it. If it was anyone else, Riley would've pulled them to the back, but because it was Tara she chose to embarrass her.

Tara walked her client back to her station and began to prep her face. While applying the makeup, Tara listened in on the conversation between Riley and the other stylists.

“So, Riley, how was your date the other night?” a stylist named Candace asked.

Riley blushed. “It was really nice. We went to dinner and then afterwards, we checked out a movie.”

Tara twisted her lips and toyed with the idea to throw some shade. Since Riley had just played her in front of everyone, she decided to go for it.

“I’m happy you're trying to move on. I was tired of seeing you chase Keece for the last two years,” Tara said with a smirk on her face.

Riley cut her eyes over at Tara, obviously pissed that she had put her business out there. “It’s funny that you say that because you're still chasing your baby daddy after what, three four years now? Tell me, Tara where has that gotten you?” Riley fired back at her.

Tara swallowed hard because she hated for anyone to bring up her situation with Big. It was a touchy subject for her. “Bitch, you better leave Big out of this,” she snapped, pointing her makeup brush at Riley.

“Listen, everybody! Tara has busted out windows, slashed tires, and even tried to keep her daughter from her father. But she still hasn’t gotten him back,” Riley announced to the entire salon.

Tara dropped the brush on the floor and charged toward Riley. Candace stepped in front of her, trying to keep her from getting to Riley. “Bitch, you’re lucky she’s holding me back or I would mop the floor with your hoe ass!” Tara screamed, trying to get close to Riley.

Riley stood amused, still combing her client’s hair. “Yeah, yeah, shut up! Don’t get mad because I told the truth.”

“Nah, hoe, tell
your
truth! Tell how your ass got ran through by some random nigga and hid Kya from your baby daddy because you didn’t know who her father was! That’s why he was whooping your ass that day he barged into the shop! Oh, and tell how it hurts to see him building a life with a woman who looks ten times better than you with your fake ass!” Tara yelled.

Riley plastered a mean scowl on her face and threw her comb down. “That’s it! Bitch, you're fired! I don’t need your negative ass in my shop! Get the fuck out!” she shouted.

“Bitch, bye! I don’t need this fucking job!
You
do. My baby daddy pays enough child support for me to live on. How much does Keece pay you? Oh, I forgot. Your unfit ass don’t even have custody!” Tara laughed which made Riley more upset.

Riley glared at her after that remark. She couldn’t believe Tara was airing her dirty laundry out like that. It was true that she didn’t have custody of her daughter, but she was making a better effort to spend more time with her. Riley wanted to pull her pocket knife out and ram it in Tara’s throat, but she knew she had more to lose if she did so.

“Just go, Tara,” Candace pleaded with her.

“I’m leaving. Just let me get my shit.”

It took Tara fifteen minutes to pack up her station. She grabbed her suitcase that was filled with makeup and made her way out of the shop without saying a word. It gave her a sense of satisfaction knowing that she had won that round with Riley. If she wanted to air her business out, then Tara had no problem airing hers out.

Tara walked past Riley's car and then back tracked. She discreetly took out her blade and stabbed her front and back tires. She smirked at her handiwork and then tucked the blade away.

“I wish I could see that bitch’s face when she realizes that her shit is flat.”

****

Dillon sat inside of his car puffing on a Black and Mild. He was on his lunch break waiting to start his shift again. He worked part-time at the Bradley Center as his day job. Dillon hated his job, but he needed something to cover up his real occupation. He had many job titles, and one was a stick-up kid. Even though he had been a robber for years, he didn’t limit himself to just that. If the price was right, Dillon would even
kill
. He knew that the life he was living was a risky one, but he had to get it how he lived.

Dillon had been on his own since he was fifteen years old. It wasn’t because he had a crack-head mother or a drug-dealing father. In fact, his father was a God-fearing man who worked at Harley Davidson, and his mother was a homemaker. Dillon was a rebellious kid who didn’t like to follow the rules, and his father wasn’t pleased with his behavior. So Dillon's father had given him an ultimatum. He had a choice to live in his father’s house and follow the rules or get out. Dillon chose to leave and never come back. From time to time he would call his parents to check in with them, but he never went to visit.

His ringing cell phone broke him from his reverie. “Hello?” he answered.

“Hey, Dillon. What have you been up to?” Aimee asked.

Dillon and Aimee had been friends since high school. Their relationship had been strictly platonic for the last ten years. Aimee considered him as the brother she never had.

“Damn, so you do remember my number?” Dillon joked.

Aimee smacked her lips. “Negro please. You know it’s a two-way street. Your ass hasn’t called me either.”

“I didn’t know if I could. Ever since you started fucking with one of them DeMao niggas you’ve been MIA.”

“Whatever. His name is
Big
. Get my man’s name right.”

“My bad. What's up with you? What have you been up to?” he asked, playing with his radio.

“Nothing much. I’ve been working. I was calling to see if you wanted to hang out with Asia and me this weekend? We haven’t hung out in a while.”

“Yeah, we can do that. I kinda miss Asia’s crazy ass.”

“Cool. I’ll call you later this week with a time and a place.”

“Cool,” he said and then hung up.

Dillon got out the car and headed back to his job. Before he walked in, he got a text from a potential client stating that they had his money. Dillon smiled because the job that he was about to perform would be a big payday for him. He responded to the text and walked into work with his mind on his money.

Chapter Four

Aimee parked in front of her parents’ house and got out. It had been almost a week since she’d last seen them. Aimee approached the door and inserted her key in the lock. She entered the house and was greeted by the aroma of food. Aimee went to the kitchen and found her mother at the stove cooking.

“Hey Mom.”

Her mother, Jovelyn, looked back and smiled at her. Jovelyn was short, standing at five-foot one. She had shoulder-length hair with skin the shade of shea butter. Jovelyn possessed the same eyes as Asia and Aimee with a button nose and heart-shaped lips.

“Hi, Asia,” she said, jokingly

Aimee rolled her eyes. “Mom, stop playing. You know it’s me,” she said, walking toward her.

“Oh, shut up. You don’t think I know my baby girl? How’ve you been?” Jovelyn asked, giving Aimee a hug.

“I've been good. What are you making?”

“Oh, just some Sinigang. You want some? I know it’s your favorite.”

“Yes please,” Aimee replied, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

Aimee loved whenever her mother cooked Filipino food. Sinigang was a hot and sour soup that originated in the Philippines with okra, eggplant and yardlong beans. Jovelyn was born in the Philippines and moved to the States in her late twenties. Aimee’s father had served in the United States Air Force, which is how he met Jovelyn on a short tour in the Philippines. They married soon after they met, and he brought her back to the States with him.

Jovelyn made Aimee a bowl of soup and sat down with her at the table. She fingered her daughter’s hair like she always did when she was in her presence. This particular day Aimee was wearing her hair wild and curly.

“You need your ends clipped, honey,” Jovelyn told her.

“I know. Do you think you could do it for me?”

Jovelyn smiled. “Sure. How has work been?”

“It’s been a little busy, but we’ll be getting back to our regular schedule soon. Where’s Dad?” she asked, noticing that it was quiet around the house.

“He's in the garage working on his car. You didn’t see him when you came in?”

Aimee shook her head. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

As if on cue, Russell walked in wearing a dingy shirt and greasy jeans. He was dark skinned with average height and a medium build. He had a small afro with a salt-and-pepper beard.

“Mee-Mee, you finally came and checked on your folks,” he said loudly, calling her by her nickname.

“Daddy, I was just here last week.”

“I’m just playing. Come give Daddy a hug,” he requested with his arms opened wide.

Aimee twisted her face as she looked at his dirty attire. “Nah, Daddy, let me blow you a kiss. I don’t want those grease stains to get on me.”

“Oh, shit, I forgot about that. Well whatever. What's been up, though? When are you going to let me meet the guy who’s been keeping you away?” he asked.

Aimee rolled her eyes because she knew where the conversation was going. Her father had been asking for months to meet Big, and for some strange reason, Aimee wasn’t ready. Her father was known to be harsh and scare people away sometimes. She didn’t want that to happen to Big. Aimee knew Big could hold his own, but she didn’t know if her father would be on his best behavior. She looked at her mother who had a silly grin on her face.

“I don’t know, Daddy. He’s a very busy man.”

Russell smacked his lips. “He ain't that damn busy that he can’t come and meet your parents. I don’t want to hear that shit.”

“Daddy, why are you making such a big deal about it?” she asked.

“Because I need to know who’s hanging around my girls. You never know. The man could be a serial killer and it’s up to
me
to find out.”

Aimee and her mother busted out laughing while Russell tried to hold in his grin. He was over protective, and Aimee hated it but loved it at the same time.

“Are you having sex with him?” he asked.

“Russell!” Jovelyn shouted.

Aimee nearly choked on her food before catching her breath. “Daddy, I’ma need you to get out of my personal business please.”

“What? I’m just asking,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Aimee rolled her eyes. “Well, I’m not gonna answer your question.”

“Alright. Well, I’m going back to the garage since you wanna be secretive,” Russell said and left the kitchen.

Aimee and her mother continued chatting while she ate her soup. She ended up staying for an hour before she left to get ready for the night. Big’s bar was reopening, and she wanted to be there to show her support. Plus, she couldn’t wait to see her baby.

****

Big walked through the crowd at his bar greeting the patrons. His bar had officially reopened with a packed house. Being closed for almost three weeks hadn’t been an ideal situation, but it’d been necessary in order for him to expand and remodel his space. He could tell from all of the compliments he was receiving that he had made the right move.

After making sure everything was flowing, Big made his way to the back of the bar where he spotted his brothers at a table. He and his brothers were extremely close because their father had raised them that way. Dom had always told them to move just like a pack of wolves because they were stronger together, and they swore by that.

Big walked up to the table and shook up with Keece first. Then afterwards, he shook up with Kiyan, Dinero, and Case. He took a seat with a glass of Hennessey in his hand.

“You got this bitch packed,” Keece said with a glossy look in his eyes.

“Y’all sparked up without me?” Big questioned as he looked into all of their glossy eyes.

Dinero chuckled. “Man, your ass was taking too long.”

“Y’all ain't shit,” Big spat.

“Bro, it’s some bad bitches in here tonight. They better be lucky I'm trying to be a good nigga,” Kiyan spoke, looking at a girl with a fat ass.

“Shit, I’m trying to be good too,” Keece agreed.

Big smacked his lips at Keece. “Nigga, we all know your ass ain't gon’ ever cheat on Paris. You whipped, my nigga.”

“Hell yeah. She got you wrapped around her finger,” Case added.

Keece sat in silence for a moment. “I ain't gon’ even lie. That shit is true as fuck.”

He laughed. All the brothers joined him in laughter. Big looked over and spotted Aimee and Asia coming through the door looking like they had just left a photo shoot. Aimee’s hair was in wild curls and her makeup had been applied flawlessly. She was sporting an olive mini dress with black and gold open toed sandals. Most of the men in the bar stopped what they were doing to watch her stroll through. Big instantly became jealous. He couldn’t stand for other men to drool over what he considered his.

“Aye, Aimee got a fucking twin?” Dinero asked immediately.

Big nodded. “Yep.”

Dinero smacked his lips. “Why the fuck you ain't tell me? I'm all over her sexy ass,” he declared as he watched Asia walk up to the table with Aimee.

“Hey, y’all,” Aimee greeted them before she gave Big a sweet kiss on the lips.

“Aimee, introduce us to your sister,” Dinero said as he eyed Asia up and down.

Aimee smirked at him before speaking. “Asia, these are Big’s brothers. This is Keece, Kiyan, Case, and
that’s
Dinero. You guys, this is my twin, Asia.”

All of the brothers greeted Asia, and she returned the gesture.

There was an empty seat next to Dinero, so he offered her a seat. “Aye baby, why don’t you come sit next to me?”

Asia smirked at Dinero’s flirtatious move before she sat down next to him. She had been eyeing him and he was definitely her type. She loved dread heads, and the fact that his teeth were perfectly straight was a bonus for her. Asia was attracted to men with nice teeth and Dinero definitely fit into that category.

“So why haven’t I seen you before? Why are you just now coming around?” Dinero asked Asia as he licked his lips.

Asia shrugged. “I honestly don’t have an answer for you.”

Dinero nodded his head. He already thought Aimee was beautiful, and to know that she had an identical twin made his dick hard. “Well, I’m gon’ have to make sure you keep your sexy ass around then.”

Asia bit her lip. “We’ll see.”

“Why you got this tight-ass dress on?” Big asked Aimee who was still wrapped in his arms.

She rolled her eyes. “Babe, this dress is not tight. I can’t help it if I have body.”

“Yeah whatever. Just make sure your ass stay seated tonight. I don’t wanna have to fuck one of these niggas up,” he spat.

Aimee smiled and then positioned herself on Big’s lap. She always found Big’s jealous demeanor to be cute.

Aimee turned to Keece and Kiyan and asked, “Where are my girls?”

“Camara’s ass is on punishment tonight,” Kiyan joked.

Aimee laughed. “You play too much.”

“Nah, but for real, Milan is sick, so she stayed home with her,” Kiyan said.

“Paris is on Mommy duties tonight,” Keece informed her.

Aimee nodded her head and then took a sip of Big’s drink. She shook her head as the liquor burned her throat. Big laughed because Aimee was always trying to drink his liquor when she knew she couldn’t handle it.

“Girl, you know you can’t handle that Henny,” Big said, causing Keece to laugh.

Aimee coughed a little bit before saying, “I can handle it. I just don’t need to drink it so fast.”

“Yeah okay,” Big said sarcastically.

In the midst of their conversation, one of Big’s security guards came over and whispered something in his ear. His face immediately transformed into a mean mug as he tapped Aimee to lift off of his lap. Aimee got up and wondered what had gotten his attention, but before she could ask him, he was walking off. So she took a seat and waited for him to return. Kiyan could sense that something wasn’t right, so he got up and followed Big who was heading to the front door.

Big walked outside and was met by Tara and her cousin, Meka. He instantly huffed as he looked at Tara who stood with her hands on her hips. He didn’t understand why she was at his bar when she knew she wasn’t allowed to visit. Kiyan stood next to him and sucked his teeth. He too was irritated with Tara’s presence.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Big barked.

Tara smacked her lips. “I’m here to get a drink. What the fuck do you think?” she asked, matching his attitude.

Big instantly gave her a screw face. “You know you ain't allowed here. Get the fuck on.”

Tara swiped her bang from her face. Unbeknown to Big, one of Tara’s clients had texted her to inform her that he was hugged up with some woman. Tara hurried and got dressed and made her way up to the bar to see the woman in person.

“Why I can’t go in there? Is it because you have some bitch in there?” she snapped, ready to go off.

“I’m not about to have this conversation with you. Get the fuck from ‘round here,” Big said and started to turn around.

“You owe her an explanation,” her cousin Meka said.

Kiyan smacked his lips. “Man, if you don’t gone somewhere with that thick-ass mustache. Your shit is thicker than mine.”

“Fuck you, you ugly fucker!” Meka shot back.

Kiyan twisted his face. “
Ugly
? Bitch, you look like something off The Wiz,” he said, laughing.

“Big, where’s the bitch that was sitting on your lap? Tell her to bring her ass out here,” Tara spat, getting in Big’s face.

“On my life, you better get the fuck out of my face,” Big warned.

Tara got closer and said, “What the fuck you gonna do, huh?” she muffed his face with her hand.

Big grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back. Tara yelled out in pain as Big continued to bend her arm backwards. Meka started to walk over, but Kiyan stopped her.

“Aye, you better not touch my brother or I’ma lay your ugly ass out,” he threatened.

“He’s about to break her fuckin’ arm!” Meka yelled at Kiyan.

“So! She shouldn’t have brought her ignorant ass up here. Aye, Big, break that shit,” Kiyan egged him on.

Meanwhile, Tara was trying to free herself from Big’s strong grasp but found it impossible to. “Let go of my fuckin’ arm!” she yelled.

“Nah, bitch, this is how you wanted me to treat you. Now don’t bring your ass to my bar no more,” Big spat as he pushed Tara on the ground. Meka went to help her up while Big and Kiyan walked back inside of the bar.

“Why do you continue to deal with him? Look at how he just did you,” Meka said to Tara who had tears in her eyes.

“Look, you wouldn’t understand, so drop it,” Tara snapped as she snatched her arm away from Meka.

Meanwhile, Big and Kiyan returned to the table. Aimee saw the angry expression on his face and asked, “What's wrong?”

Big shook his head. “Nothing. I’m good,” he said as he returned to his seat.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“I’m positive.” He pulled Aimee back onto his lap. “Now tell me why I shouldn’t punish you tonight for wearing this little-ass dress.”