Deception's Playground (8 page)

***

Back at my house, I was wondering who I
could get to move my dope. It had to be someone trustworthy, preferably a
woman. Niggas went on too many ego trips for me. I considered Sonya initially,
but decided against it. Sometimes she could be too smart for her own good.
Plus, all my moves were in the mornings, and she worked the mornings.

Me and Casey just
started talking again. I didn’t know if I could trust her yet. I even
considered Nicole’s hot ass. I was tripping. I couldn’t believe I was in this
position. I had to figure out something fast.

As I was sitting there pondering,
my phone went off. I picked up.

“I’m sorry for makin’
you mad earlier,” Tamika said.

“Look, man, I got some
shit I’m dealin’ wit’ right now. Let me—”

“Hold on, baby. Before you
finish, let me say somethin’. I swear to God this yo baby. I wouldn’t lie to
you, Spade.”

I barely knew the bitch
and she was talking about she wouldn’t lie to me. She was crazy.

“I strapped up.” I
laughed a little. “I know it ain’t mines.”

“What? I’m not good
enough to have a baby with?”

“I didn’t say that. I
said I strapped up,” I retorted.

“Spade, I like you. And
I know you like me. We can make this work, baby. We can get married and be a
happy family.”

“I’m gone, man,” I
said, and hung up.

I’d gotten myself in
some bullshit by fucking with that chick. After I got a drink of Remy, I went
and popped in a Kevin Hart DVD, tried to lighten my mood. Tamika called my
phone about ten times after I hung up on her but I didn’t answer. Still, she
kept calling. I came to the realization that she would be the last young bitch
I would ever fuck.

She eventually figured
out I wasn’t going to answer my phone, so she sent me a text and I read it.

Tamika:
Ok Spade. U wanna play wit me. I’ll see you around pussy. Watch yo back. Love
yo baby momma.

I was leaving OG Casa’s spot in North
Kansas City. I had to fill him in on the latest. I was on the highway headed to
Sonya’s, when my hotline went off.

It was Casey. “Look, I
ain’t tryna be in yo business or nothin’, but I seen yo boy Duece pickin’ up yo
lil’ bitch from work. And they was lookin’ mighty friendly.” She sounded
pleased to be the one to tell me.

“Yeah?” I said.

“Just thought you
should know. I knew that hoe couldn’t be trusted.”

I thought maybe she was
overreacting. I didn’t give a fuck about Duece picking up Sonya. They were
friends before she was my bitch. I doubted he was trying to push up on her.

As soon as Casey hung
up, Maria sent me a text telling me to come pick my money up from her house. I put
my foot to the gas and got there.

***

“Spade, I love you,”
Maria said as I was putting the duffle bag in my trunk.

“I love you, too, lil’
mama.” I gave her a hug and a kiss. She told me she was scared for me and that once
she convinced her father to accept our relationship she would call.

“I promise I’ll make
this work,” she said seriously.

“Just hit me,” I said.

***

I walked in Sonya’s
house and she was cooking a meal.

“What you makin’?” I
asked, walking up behind her, kissing her neck. She smelled good.

“Grilled fish, green
beans, and Rice-A-Roni.” She shook the pot, loosening the greens.

“So how was work?” I
wanted to see if it was some truth behind Casey’s claim.

“Same ol’, same ol’.”

“That’s what’s up.
Nicole came and got you?”

“Yeah, she was late as
usual, but she came,” Sonya lied. “She went to her auntie’s house after she
dropped me off.”

I knew her like the
back of my hand. I knew when she was being deceptive. But why lie about Duece
coming to get her?

“That’s what’s up,” I
said.

She brought my plate to
the table and we ate. We was shooting-the-shit for a minute, but I could tell
she was uneasy about something. I acted like I didn’t notice.

We drank, headed to the
bedroom and sucked and fucked like normal. After we showered, we went down to
the living room to watch some television—and Nicole came in. She greeted us
both, then her and Sonya started talking like they hadn’t seen each other all
day.

I left out the house
shortly after that and was about to head back to my spot. I had been by there
to drop the money off I got from Maria’s. Ace was gone then. I hoped he was
there when I arrived.

When I approached my
truck, I saw the word “pussy” keyed in my paint. I looked around for any signs
of the culprit. I was pissed. It had to be that bitch Tamika. But how the fuck
did she know where Sonya stayed?

“Who you think did it,
cuzz?” Ace asked. We were chilling in the living room.

“I think it was that
bitch Tamika,” I said, fuming. “But I ain’t sure.”

“You need to get yo
women in line, bro.” He smiled.

“Yeah, that hoe was out
of pocket.”

Ace changed the subject
to an even serious matter. He said Duece had been acting funny. He said he
called Duece and said he was gon’ stop by and holler at him, but Duece said he
was too busy. Duece was never too busy for Ace.

I started thinking
about how strange Duece was acting also. Little things I normally would
overlook were things I was focusing on. My thoughts were interrupted by my
horn.

“Yeah?” I answered.

“Yeah, nothing, pussy,”
Tamika replied. “Did you get my message?”

“Bitch, what message?”

“On yo truck.” She
laughed and hung up the phone.

I looked at Ace. “It
was
Tamika,” I told him.

“You need to slap that
bitch up,” he said.

Without a doubt, she
was getting too far ahead of herself. She was fucking with the wrong one.
I
knew I shouldn’t have fucked her young ass,
I thought. Not that other
chicks didn’t do dumb shit too; it’s just younger females are quicker on the
trigger.

I didn’t need any extra
problems on my plate. Ace had gotten shot, Maria was off the team, and her dad
supposedly wanted me knocked. And my right-hand man was slipping off that
“Tony.” It seemed like shit was falling apart. Fuck that, shit
was
falling apart. I needed to make some adjustments, and fast. I got another phone
call. But I didn’t recognize the number.

I picked up.

A woman said, “Spade,
this is Jamie.”

“Who?” I was confused.

“Jamie. You don’t
remember me?” She sounded disappointed. “From Macy’s.”

The girl Duece been
playing house wit’,
I remembered.

“Yeah, yeah what’s up?”

“I’m worried about
Duece,” she pleaded.

“Why is that?”

“He’s been getting
high, gambling all his money away. He’s not the same, Spade. I know I shouldn’t
be telling you this, but sometimes he talks down on you and Ace. He—”

“Where’s he at?” I
heard enough from her ass.

“He’s at the house
sleep. I ran to the store real quick,” she said.

He had to be off that
shit. Duece was never sleep at this hour.

“Just tell him to call
me when he gets up.”

I filled Ace in on the
details and he just shook his head disgusted at the thought of Duece on some
sucka shit. I knew Jamie wasn’t lying about Duece either. He loved to gamble
since we were teenagers. But he never fell off behind it. The Tony had him off schedule.

Whatever the case, he
was slipping. And pillow talking with a bitch was a no-no. Last time I tried to
holler at Duece it didn’t go so well. So I had been falling back on him. But
that was my nigga and I loved him so I had to figure something out. Just not at
this moment.

I needed to get my mind
off of all the bullshit so I called Lisa and asked her to meet me for dinner.

***

Me and Lisa met at The
Cheesecake Factory around seven-thirty.

“So what do you do,
Spade?” she asked across the table.

She wore a white knit
shirt and slacks, with strappy sandals. I had on a plain gray button-up,
comfortable denims—fitted, not baggy—and a pair of gray Air Jordans. I wasn’t
dressed like a lowdown thug. I was casual.

“I’m tryna get my
entertainment company off the ground,” I answered, leaving my underworld
dealings out.

“That’s fine boo. But
how are you bringing income in?”

“A few investments.”

“Not to be in your
business, baby, but I know you playin’ wit’ a nice amount of money. I can tell,
but I know it’s not legitimate.”

“And how do you know
that?” I countered.

“I checked on you.” She
smiled. “And I like you. I can help you get your entertainment company off the
ground. And I can help you clean some of that money up.”

“Is that right?” I was
all ears.

“That’s right, baby.”
She exposed that beautiful smile again. “I’m tryna open another beauty salon
next year. I’m lookin’ at locations right now. I would love to bring you
aboard.”

“Sounds interesting and
lucrative.”

“I’m interesting and
lucrative,” she said back.

Over the course of the
dinner, I found Lisa really intriguing. She was independent, sexy, educated,
and a good conversationalist. Making some legitimate moves only made sense. The
short time I spent with her made me realize we had chemistry. It reminded me of
the chemistry me and Maria had. I had to see where it led me.

***

I told Lisa I would call her soon. I was
on my way to the club. I needed to be around some fresh energy. It was going on
eleven-thirty and I was still in my truck with the keyed-in message on it. I
thought about pulling out my old school I barely drove. But I was cool.

My hotline went off as
I was pulling up to the club.

“Yeah,” I said after I
turned my music down.

“Touchdown, bro,” Army Tank
said. He was letting me know they got the niggas that shot Ace.

“Everything
everything?” I asked.

“You too ugly, cuzz,
you know how we do,” he said.

“Ok, lil’ bro. I’ma hit
you first thing.”

I felt good after that
call. Them suckas were eradicated, so that’s one problem solved.

***

“Remy on the rocks,” I
told the sexy bartender.

“Ok, boo,” she replied
with a smile.

The club was packed. I
didn’t notice any threats in the building so I was straight. It was a few
niggas in the building that I knew was going to push if shit got fonky.

“So yo bitches is
keying yo shit up, Spade?” a voice asked from behind me. I turned around and it
was Casey. She looked good.

“I’ma handle that. Who
you here wit’?”

“My cousins. You?”

“Solo.”

“You comin’ over
tonight?” She put her hand on her hip.

“I’ll see,” I said.

“Let me know.” She
sashayed off.

I was enjoying myself,
talking to a few females that caught my eye, just chilling. Then I saw Selena
from a distance, walking my way. She was looking sexy as hell in a black mesh
dress, the neckline exposed to reveal a black brassiere and a gold-glittered
chest. She strutted over with leggings underneath—can’t go wrong with leggings,
especially with taut thighs like hers—topped off with a pair of open-toe heels.

But even more than how
she was dressed, I knew she “went” too. I thought about that ménage-a-morning
with Maria.

“Hi, Spade,” she said.

“How you doin’, baby?”
I looked her up and down.

“Just enjoying the
night.”

“You want a drink?” I
asked.

“Sure,” she said. She
got a little closer to me and I smelled Chanel perfume.

“Bartender.” I put my
hand up to get her attention. “One shot of Patron.”

“Did I ask for Patron?”
she joked, close enough to my face to kiss me.

“I offered,” I said to
her, putting the money on the bar. I handed her the drink and we spent the next
few minutes flirting and touching on each other. Casey walked by rolling her
eyes, but she kept it moving.

“Let’s go outside and
talk.” Selena grabbed my hand and led me out of the club.