No Justice No Peace (15 page)

TROUBLE IS ON THE WAY

Chapter Ten

Rufus and me were at my crib getting fucked up.  He had some weed that was the bomb and we stayed up for hours talking about old times while smoking blunts.  Before his departure on Monday, I asked if he wanted to kick it with me tonight at Club Classic.  He agreed to go.  I wasn’t tripping off Ginger working there, but I damn sure was tired of living the sheltered life I lived. 

            Rufus couldn’t stop pouncing on me moving back to LA.  And, from all of the good things he’d told me was going on it sounded all good.  For now, though, it was about Desmon.  I wanted to make sure everything was cool with him, and by at least offering him a decent place to stay, that was a start. 

            What Marissa told me had been heavy on my mind.  Again, there was no denying Desmon, but sometimes, you just can’t be too sure.  I guess I needed validation for myself that he was truly my son, so it was in my best interest to seek further for the truth.  It really didn’t matter to me because whether he was or wasn’t, I still loved him no matter what. 

Rufus and me parlayed around the house all damn day.  I was slumped over on the living room couch and he was leaned over in a chair snoring his butt off.  I kept flipping through the channels on the television, trying to find something to watch.  There wasn’t much on, so I stood up and went to my nasty girl collection.  I slid in a porn movie and sat back down to watch.  My dick was lonely.  It hadn’t been sucked on, stroked, or played with in quite some time.  The movie had me rock hard and there was no doubt somebody was going to get a piece of me tonight. 

            I gazed lustfully at the scenes on the TV, and trying to make Rufus snoring stop, I raised the volume to wake him.  He slowly opened his eyes, turning his head to look at the TV.

            “Damn, man, it’s too early for that shit, ain’t it?” he griped.  He stretched his arms and continued to look at the TV.

            “It’s almost four-thirty in the afternoon.  You have been knocked the fuck out.”

            “Four-thirty!  You kiddin’, right?”

            “Look at the clock, fool.”

            Rufus looked up at the silver and glass clock I had above the entertainment center. “Shit, you ain’t bullshitting, is you?  My ass ain’t slept that good in ages.  See what a lil herb will do for ya?”  He reached for an already smoked blunt in the ashtray in front of him.  He lit it and took a few more hits.  After that, he passed it to me.  I reached for it and placed it into my mouth.

            “Kiley, this is my last and final offer.  St. Louis is cool, but I hate to see you here all by yourself.  Mo than anything, it’s not you.  You’re bored all the fuckin’ time, you ain’t got no every day pussy around the house, and as for the drama, now, you gotta have some drama in your life.”

            I inhaled the smoke and swallowed. “Nigga, I got enough drama already.  I wouldn’t mind going back with you, but I gotta see about Desmon, Killer.”

            “Then, bring him with you.  Desmon needs a new change, trust me.”

            “Yeah, change is what I’m afraid of.  He would instantly turn into what I used to be and I ain’t trying to let that happen.  I know your kids are in the game and shit, and no offense, but I don’t want Desmon to go out like that.”

            “Hey, whateva. My kids enjoy being in the game.  We’re living how we should be living and I’m leaving a legacy like Papa Abrams left for y’all.”

            I looked Rufus straight in the eyes, trying to be serious considering the buzz I already had from the weed. “That legacy died years ago, Killer.  It was short lived and I thought it would last forever.  When Kareem was killed, it was coming to an end then.  After Quincy, it was all over with.  There’s no more money, no nothing.  Now, you tell me what kind of legacy is that.”

            “But, you got to carry it on, Bro.  Don’t you know what you’re capable of putting together around here?  Man, you could blow St. Louis off the map.  Desmon, you, or anybody else you’d trust to roll with you.  And, if you came back to LA., I can only envision what things would be like.  The brothas there want you back bad.  All they talk about is when Kiley was here and Papa Abrams was alive.  Papa Abrams’ legacy is back in L.A.  It still lingers in all of us.  It ain’t no good if you ain’t there to share it with us.”

            I sat there and didn’t say another word.  Maybe Rufus was right.  Things weren’t really looking up for me in St. Louis, and Desmon would surely love to move to LA.  Either way, I told Rufus I’d think hard about it.  If anything, I knew what kind of man I’d become if I moved back, and being that kind of man again, I knew my life would be short lived. 

            After conversing with Rufus a lil while longer, still a bit sleepy, I leaned back on the couch and faded. 

Rufus woke me up and told me he’d be back around ten so we could get ready to go out. When he left, I lay my head back and continued to get some rest.

            I woke up around 8:30 p.m.  Awfully hungry, I went into the kitchen and put together a quick sandwich.  While eating it, I went into my bedroom to find something to wear for tonight.  I opened my closet and looked at the expensive clothes I had neatly hung up.  At first, I pulled out my casual attire, which were a pair of jeans, a button down shirt, and another one of my tan linen outfits.  Quickly changing my mind, I pulled out a black on black, silk shirt, tie, and
Gucci
suit that still had the price tag on it.  I put the suit on to see how it looked.  The tie was cool, but it wasn’t needed for the occasion. I took it off and unbuttoned the black silk shirt, exposing part of my chest.  Looking damn good, I was impressed how the suit clung to the muscles in my arms and my shoulders. It looked as if it were tailored to fit, but not quite.

            By the time Rufus got back, I was in the bathroom trimming my goatee and putting a shine to my baldhead.  He stood in the doorway, watching me rub my handsome face with aftershave.

            “Are you wearing that suit you got laid out on yo bed?” he asked.

            “Fasho. Why?”

            “Well, damn!  I thought we were gonna throw on some jeans or something, not get our swag on.  I ain’t going nowhere with you lookin’ like this.” He referred to the jeans and t-shirt he had on.

            “Nigga, wear what you want to. Ain’t no big damn deal, is it?”

            “I didn’t bring no suits with me.  If I had known, I would have.”

            “Stop griping and pick something out in my closet.”

            “Fool, that’s a bitch move. I ain’t wearin’ another nigga’s clothes.  What time do the malls close around here?”

             I looked at my watch. “I think you’re out of luck.”

            “Shit, I think I might have a lil somethin-somethin in my trunk. I’ma go out there to check in a few minutes.”

            Rufus followed me back into the room and he picked my suit up to look at it.

            “This is a cold ass suit.  If I can’t find me nothing decent to wear, yo ass is going alone.”

            “Again, just wear what you got.  Don’t trip off me.”

            “Yeah, whatever,” he said, and then walked off.  He left to look for something in his trunk.

            Shortly after, Rufus came back in with a casual two-piece solid colored outfit.  It was brown and had a button down elbow length shirt and flimsy loose-legged pants to match.  It wasn’t nearly clowning like the suit I had, but you could tell Rufus paid a pretty penny for it.

            “This cool,” I said, holding it in my hands.

            “You think?” he said in doubt.

            “Yes.  Besides, I don’t think a suit will do you any good with that big ass fro you sportin’.”

            “Nigga, don’t talk about my fro.  That’s liable to get you hurt.  Besides, I like my damn fro,” he said while patting it. 

            “Then, pat that shit down a little, shower, change clothes and let’s go.”

            By eleven, Rufus and me were dressed at our best.  He’d trimmed his fro down a tad bit, and the outfit he had on, made him look much better.  Me, on the other hand, I knew my shit was off the chain.  Before leaving, I got one last glance at the mirror, and it certainly didn’t lie.  I straightened my goatee with the tips of my finger and headed for the door.

            I drove my black Caddy, since Rufus didn’t know his way around town.  And when we got to the club, there was roughly no place to park.  Not wanting to have my car parked where some thugs could get a hold to it, I handed the keys over to the valets. 

            As soon as we made our way inside, niggas had hate in their eyes.  Completely forgetting to leave my gun in the car, the metal detectors went off as I went through.

            Before the bouncer felt for it, I reached for it and pulled it out of my pants.

            “Damn, I forgot.  I’ll got put it back in the ride.”

            “No need,” a voice said from behind. “He with me.”

            I turned as Dominique and a few of his partners had walked in behind us.

            The bouncer moved aside to let me in, and I waited to thank Dominique after he’d made his way in.

            “I appreciate that,” I said, shaking his hand. 

            “Anytime,” he said, and then looked at Rufus.

            “Dominique, this my man, Killer.”

            Rufus hesitated, but held his hand out to shake Dominique’s. 

            “Sup,” Rufus said. “I didn’t know my partna had friends in St. Louis.”

            “Good friends,” Dominique responded.  “Friends that, if needed, got his back like he had mine.”

            Rufus looked at me and shook his head. “Na, uh, uh.  Don’t nobody got his back but me.  He know that…right Kiley?”

            “I ain’t met nobody else yet, so, uh, again, thanks Dominique.  I’ll holla at you before I check out of here.”

            We slammed fist together and Dominique and his partnas walked off. Rufus looked at me with a disgruntled frown.

            “Who the fuck was that ole poot-butt ass nigga?”

            “I’ll tell you about it later.  Until then, let’s get this show on the road.”

            He smiled and we walked over to the bar. 

            There wasn’t no place to sit so we stood and waited for the bartender to take our order.  I noticed Marissa and several of her friends sitting at a table in the VIP section, so I told Rufus I’d be right back. 

            From what I could see, Marissa looked pretty nice for a thick gal.  She had on a pair of gray fitted pants and a knee length jacket to match it.  Her hair was slicked back into a neat shiny ponytail, showing the prettiness of her round shaped face.  By the time I made it over to her, she already saw me coming.  She held out her arms to give me a hug.

            “Thank you for coming,” she said, hugging me tightly.

            I kissed her cheek, “I told you I’d think about it.  So, uh, Happy Birthday.  So far, I hope you’re having a good one.”

            “Oh, you just don’t know,” she said taking her arms from around me.  “Trust me when I say that it just got so much better. You look fabulous.”

            “Preciate the compliment.  You look nice too.”

            All of her friends at the table were tuned in to our conversation.  Marissa placed her hand on my back and rubbed it. “Everyone, this is Kiley.  He’s a good friend of mine.”

            “What’s up,” I said.  They spoke back and continued to be nosy. 

            “I am so excited you’re here,” Marissa said.  “Come on, let’s dance.”

            “In a minute, okay?  I got my boy with me and he’s from out of town.  I want to make sure he’s cool.”

            “So, it was a male you were waiting on, huh?”

            I smiled at Marissa, and after giving her another hug and kiss on the cheek, I went back over to the bar.

            Rufus had just gotten our drinks.  Still not having any place to sit, we stood by the bar and checked out the scenery.  Of course, I’d already seen Ginger walking around doing her thing.  I didn’t know if she’d seen me already, and frankly, didn’t give a damn.  When I pointed her out to Rufus, he was shocked.

            “Damn. So, that’s Ginger, huh?”

            “Yep, that’s her ass.”

            “That bitch is fine.  Why you ain’t tell me she had an ass like that?”

            “Trust me, it ain’t at all what it seems.  That’s all she got is a body.  The rest of her is airless.”

            We both laughed and Rufus quickly asked me about Marissa. I told him I barely knew her, but hopefully soon, I’d know her much better.

            As soon as the DJ kicked up another song, Marissa couldn’t wait to make her way over to me.  Rufus and me were in the midst of conversing with these other two females who stood by the bar with us, and Marissa interrupted.