Crazy Summer (29 page)

“Ya’ll already know about the club, right?” 

“Yeah, we know ‘bout it. But this house cost a lot of money.”

“Let’s just say I know people with money and a lot of pull. And we gonna leave that at that.” She turned around. “Y’all follow me.”

She went downstairs with the twins right behind her. They went into the kitchen where her mother, Lil’ Danté, and Alisa were standing.

“Have y’all seen the pool yet?”

Several no’s sounded through the kitchen. Summer led the way once again, heading toward the tinted patio doors. She opened them and walked outside. The kids were with her, but Mrs. Diane stayed back. From the patio, Summer watched the kids explore their land. The in-ground pool had a diving board. It was empty, but it would soon be filled.

She went back inside and hugged her mother. “You like it?”

“I love it, baby. I jus’ want you to be careful. You know these kids need you here.”

“To the best of my ability, Mama.” That came from the heart, and she meant it.

When Bookie pulled up, he parked behind a Mayflower moving truck and noticed at least four guys unloading carefully-wrapped furniture. He got out, walked around to the trunk, and removed a nice-sized duffel bag, throwing it over his shoulder. He then closed the trunk and walked up to the front entrance of the house. Summer met him at the door.

“Hey,” she said and gave him a brief hug.

He looked over her shoulder. The twins were eyeing him from the center of the living room. It was a look he’d given to his mother’s boyfriend several times when he was that age.

“You alright?” he asked calmly. This was a question he didn’t really have to ask, but it was his way of greeting her.

As they walked toward the twins, Summer introduced them to him. “Bookie, these are my oldest boys, Jermaine and Jeremy.”

Bookie looked up at them. He was only 5’8” and the twins stood almost 6’4”. “I know y’all play basketball, right?”

Their facial expression softened. They both nodded nearly at the same time.

“What high school y’all gonna play for?” 

“What you got in the bag?” Jermaine asked, ignoring his question.

Summer eyes locked directly on him. “Only thing you need to worry about is making excellent grades in school and going pro. Is that understood?”

She never raised her voice.

Upstairs, Summer and Bookie went inside a small room where they could conduct business. Bookie sat the bag on the floor and unzipped it. Out the corner of his eye, he saw how Summer sashayed freely. He studied her body movement. He knew she was trying to get him to fall weak, and at the same time, he also knew that would be his downfall. He began removing the money from the bag. It was secured by rubber bands in ten thousand dollar stacks.

He sat on the floor to get comfortable. Summer did the same thing. She was watching him now. His dark skin was smooth, and his goatee was evenly trimmed. He worked his neck side to side as if he felt a crook trying to work its way in. His eyes met Summer’s.

“I like the twins. Them niggas got heart.”

“They get it from their mama. But, I want their heart to be in a positive way, not bullshit.”

“How old are they?”

“Fourteen, and I want the best for them. I don’t want them to see a video and figure they got to sell drugs to get some money.”

“Me personally, I’d love to see them in the NBA.”

“They need that support,” she said, while continuing to count.

An hour had passed, and they hadn’t counted more than one hundred and thirty thousand dollars. A knock came from the door, and she opened it to find Lil’ Danté standing there. He tried looking past Summer, but she stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind her. Still, he managed to catch a glimpse of the money. Summer put her arm around his shoulders, and they started walking down the hallway.

Lil’ Danté wanted some answers. She saw that her youngest son was beginning to mature; she could tell by the questions he asked. However, Summer was smart and definitely knew how to handle business. When she was in prison, she had envisioned herself being in a position similar to this. Summer had her legit business that was generating some major bread. Today, she was worth six figures easy. Tomorrow, one can never tell.

Fifteen Months Later…

She stood underneath the showerhead, the water cascading down her body. Her nipples were extremely hard. She propped her foot up on the nearby chair and slowly massaged her wet vagina. The view was perfect for the audience. Red Bone, a main attraction at the club, was performing. She removed the showerhead and held it in her hand. Music bumped from the speakers in the wall. Red Bone sat down on the chair and spread her legs for nearly seventy guys who were standing around the stage. Money was everywhere, and that’s all she needed to see.

She played with her left breast, raising it high enough to suck her own nipple while inserting two fingers inside her vagina. She looked into the eyes of several customers, scanning the crowd seductively. Then she noticed one standing to the rear of everyone else, posted near the wall. She saw him from the waist up as he sipped Patron straight from the bottle. They made eye contact, and he raised the bottle. She took her eyes away from him and continued with her act. Ten minutes later, she finished and another female took the stage.

  Red Bone went into Summer’s private office where Summer was sitting behind her desk. Another female was across from her, and it seemed like they were in the middle of a heated discussion.

Red Bone paused at the door and looked at Summer. “He’s here,” was all she said.

Summer looked at the girl across from her. “We’ll talk later.”

The girl stood up and left without question. Red Bone sat down and moved a few strands of hair from her face. Her eyes waited patiently for Summer to respond. Summer sat up straight and looked directly at Red Bone.

“You sure it’s him?”

Red Bone nodded. “I know it’s him, Summa’, and I don’t wanna miss him this time.” 

A small digital clock sat on the desk. The green illuminated numbers read 1:14 a.m. Summer glanced at it briefly and then looked at her Cartier wristwatch. It was fifteen minutes fast. Her eyes went back to Red Bone.

“If he came this late, he’s tryna trick.”

“Damn right, and I’m tryin’ to trick him.”

Summer thought briefly. She knew Red Bone was thorough in this field. However, she didn’t want any unnecessary heat brought to them, so she knew she had to make careful decisions under circumstances such as this.

She finally took a deep breath and said, “Listen, this nigga may not be who he says he is. For all I know, he may be the police. Probably the damn feds or something.”

“Well, let me at least get under him first,” Red Bone said and added, “And if he is, he got to be beneficial to us.”

Summer shook her head slowly in disgust. In a tiresome tone, she replied, “See if he’ll take you to his crib. Don’t do no hotel or motel room, Red.”

“I may have to bait him first.”

“If he’s thirsty enough, he’ll take you home. No home, no go.”

Red Bone paused briefly. She stared past Summer and then nodded her head slowly. “Okay,” she said while standing up. “Make sure you keep your phone on so I can contact you just in case.”

Summer stood, also. She walked around her desk and nearly met Red Bone at the door. Their eyes met. “Anything under a quarter million isn’t worth it.”

Red Bone looked back at Summer before leaving the office. Her nod was insurance, almost like a word of honor.

Summer took her cell phone from her pocket and punched a number on speed dial. A deep voice picked up on the other end.

“Hello.”

“You sound good, my friend. Is everything alright?”

“Excellent. How can I help you?”

*****

Red Bone returned downstairs. The club was dimly lit with specks of light flashing and crawling. She saw the guy she wanted sitting in a booth, still sipping from the bottle of Patron.

When she got to the booth, he cut his eyes up at her. “Can I help you?” he asked, seeming uninterested.

“Can I have a seat?”

A short, petite, chocolate female passed by. His eyes followed her briefly, and then he looked up at Red Bone. “Yeah, it’s all good.”

She sat down and scooted around until she was directly across from him. She met his eyes, and her tongue exited her mouth briefly to lick her lips. “I’m assuming you lost my number from the last time I saw you.”

The guy balled his hand up in front of his mouth. He cleared his throat and then covered his mouth with his hand while he spoke. “I was here three days ago lookin’ for you.”

“Why you covering your mouth?” she asked, looking around questioningly.

The guy was nearly antisocial, but his hardened face and red veined eyes said something else. “The two cats over there in the corner don’t look too good to me. I believe they’re the feds.”

Red Bone was just about to turn her head when he reached over and grabbed her chin.

“Don’t look,” he whispered. “I know you’re smarter than that.”

And she was, but she had to play the role. Red Bone had top game, and she knew how to appear calm in the presence of a stranger. But, tonight, she allowed her acting skills to come out. She gave him a very cunning look.

“You never told me where you’re from.”

His eyes cut to the corner again. He saw one of the guys looking his way. He smiled just to let him know he was aware of the company.

“Who owns this club?” he asked her.

“Some guy named Antwan. He’s more like the manager, though.”

“Let him know I got two grand if he can have security escort them guys out of here.”

Without hesitating, she stood up and took off upstairs. She knocked on Summer’s door before entering.

“Come in,” a voice sounded from inside the office.

Red Bone opened the door and walked in, closing the door behind her. Summer was still sitting at her desk tapping the keys on a laptop.

She glanced up at Red Bone. “What’s up, girl?”