Some Things Never Change: An African American BWBM Urban Fiction Romance (7 page)

Say anything you want
about Wayne but he was smart drug dealer. Don’t get caught
selling the goods, was his firm belief. Wayne believed in equal
opportunity employment and encouraged the recruitment of underlings
for distribution of the drugs. He left it up to Sizzla to do the
recruiting and train their followers while he handled the accounting
side of the business.

He noticed that
Sizzla was dipping into the company’s profit more and more it
was only a matter of time before Sizzla would get greedy and try to
cut out the middle man. He was probably over thinking it, he and
Sizzla went way back. They lived in the same neighborhood and went to
school together. The frequented the same places and been through
thick and thin. No way would Sizzla ever betray him like that. The
business was getting to him, he saw shadows that lurked when there
were none.

Hookah Daze got
started when Wayne took out all the money he saved growing up. His
total life savings and invested it into the business. He and Sizzla
were new to the market and they got taken for a ride by everyone. The
first party tanked, everyone made promises and no once came out to
support the event. Wayne learned an important rule that day; you
can’t run a business on promises. They were overcharged from
the venue to the liquor. Wayne learned that lesson when all his life
savings disappeared. When Sizzla told him about how his cousin Crazy
T made his money, Wayne jokingly said they would have been better off
selling drugs. Sizzla took the idea an ran with it, how would they do
that?

Wayne replied by
keeping the parties going and selling the drugs. Sizzla took it
seriously and arranged it all. Here they were, four years later,
still wheeling and dealing but he was getting tired of the game and
the guys sensed it. Wayne was the reason the guys hadn’t gotten
caught by the police as yet. Unlike the other guys, he dressed simple
and never flossed. The only thing expensive he owned that could be
seen by the public was his car. He still lived at home with his
mother. He knew what he did was illegal and if caught it could mean
serious jail time and a clamp down on his assets. So he mixed the
proceeds from the drug trade with that of the monies from the party.

He wasn’t about
to go down empty handed. He knew that Sizzla was a selfish soul and
would want to do his own thing eventually. So he secretly set up an
off shore account in the Cayman Islands where his salary that he
never had to touch went.

Now that Hookah
Promotions was self-sufficient he felt that they should end their
ties with the drug trade both Sizzla and Crazy T shot that advice
down. There was no way he was going to prison, his mama didn’t
raise know fool. So he started to plot his way out of that
predicament with this being his last year.

They had a big deal
coming up, a new party drug was on the market. The Dutty Bloodz and
their competition were openly involved in bidding wars to see who
would get a monopoly on that drug. That would be the icing on his
early retirement cake.

He invited Lou on a
movie date, since outside of work they were both busy. She attended
classes and he threw his parties. It was by mutual agreement that
after the movie they would go for a drink at a more upscale bar.

Wayne felt like he
had known Lou for years not months. However, he dreaded the talk that
was to come. He knew that at some point Lou would want him to cut off
any associations he had with the Dirty Bloodz. Over the past few
weeks Wayne had stalled, claimed he was swamped with work, anything
to postpone this pending argument. He felt that the less she knew
about this aspect of his life the safer she would be.

“Wayne thanks
for spending time with me. I really appreciate it.” Lou said.

“We’ve
both been busy it felt like a good idea for us to de-stress.”
Replied Wayne. “So what’s on your mind? You’ve been
silent for most of the night.”

Lou looked Wayne in
the eyes. “It’s about that ring you wear. It’s been
troubling me.”

Wayne glanced at his
ring. “What about it?”

“Are you a
member of the Dutty Bloods?”

“Yes I am. As a
matter of fact, I am one of the leaders for the group. We are a
promising promotions company, nothing to panic about despite the
rumors. I can’t believe that’s what’s been
bothering you this whole time. I can honestly say we run a legit
business, don’t believe all the hype on the streets, people
will say anything to bring a man down. Just can’t get out of
that crab in the barrel mentality. They don’t want to see us
make money and get out of the hood, bad mind is always active.”

“Do I look like
a fool to you?” Lou raised not only her eyebrow but her voice
as well.

“No Lou, never
that but it is easy for people to exaggerate the truth. You wouldn’t
be able to fathom the ridiculous things people have said about our
crew, calling us names, looking down on us, the struggle is always
real baby girl.”

“How did you
get mixed up with them?”

“Well Sizzla is
my best friend, he took an idea that I had and ran with it and his
cousin Crazy T sponsored us with the necessary capital to keep the
business afloat. Like I said, don’t believe all the gossip you
hear. We are pretty much harmless as individuals.”

“I saw with my
own two eyes Crazy T slash a guy’s face the other day, narrowly
missing his right eye with that knife he always carries, just for
looking at him wrong. How can you condone that kind of behavior?”

“Crazy T is a
law unto himself, in no form is he a reflection of the rest of the
crew. He is not my friend and we don’t hang out together. We
don’t even like or respect each other and if it wasn’t
for him being Sizzla’s cousin and a part of the business. We
wouldn’t have any dealings with each other.”

“Tell me more
about this meeting.”

Wayne let out a loud
sigh, “What exactly do you want to know?” He was trying
to be as vague as possible but Lou wasn’t having that.

“What exactly
do you do?”

“I’m
basically the front man or the face of “Hookah Promotions.”
You’ve been to one of our parties, you have seen how we roll.
We offer a wide range of tobacco flavor and machines for your
disposal. I negotiate all the business deals, handle all the public
relations as well as the accounting side of the business. It was hard
to get financial backing at first but now that we got more contracts,
people like what we offer, our popularity has grown and we get more
offers on a daily basis. I expect big things over the course of the
year as our company has started to expand.”

“Bullshit.”

“Is it so hard
for you to trust me and accept that what I say is true?” Asked
Wayne.

“It’s a
known fact that if you’re looking to score at parties the Dutty
Bloodz got the hook up.”

“As long as
there are people wanting to have fun, get high and experience the
ultimate in pleasure. There will be people pushing drugs, as long as
there is market for it. I’m not saying that I’m involved
but that’s just life. I deal with the legitimate aspect of the
business. I don’t openly solicit illegal drugs. At the parties
we try to provide patrons with a safe environment. Somethings you
can’t control Lou, it’s not that you’re making an
allowance but it happens and you deal with it or ignore it.”

“You are
prospering from crime and the death of your own people. How can you
think any of that is ethical?”

“It’s not
about what I think but about what sells. We stay away from the heavy
stuff like crack/cocaine. What we sell is the light stuff like hookah
and weed anything that makes the party experience worth it. Who am I
to deny a customer that pleasure? If we stopped doing it today
somebody else would just take up right where we left off. Some get
addicted, others don’t, that too is a part of life. What we are
doing isn’t any different from that of the alcohol or tobacco
company. These corporations get the law behind them and set the
police on us to erase the competition when we dip into their market.
I don’t see you storming into their office and giving any of
the managers there the third degree with questioning.”

“Oh is that how
you feel about my caring about you?” Lou looked like she was
about to cry.

“Shit!”
Wayne swore. “I’m sorry Lou I didn’t mean to make
light of your feelings or take you for granted.”

“Honestly
Wayne, I don’t know what to think, about all you’ve told
me right now.”

“What do you
mean?”

“I can’t
possibly be in a relationship with a guy that condones the sale of
narcotics no matter how harmless the drugs appear, it’s
deceptive and unscrupulous the way you take advantage of people and
try to paint a pretty picture of it all. When you know without a
doubt that in the long term it does more harm than good to our
people.”

Wayne didn’t
like where this conversation was going, was she about to deny the
obvious bond between them. He was pretty sure it wasn’t his
imagination and she felt the connection they shared of a man very
much in tune with his woman.

“Hear me out
Lou, I’ve come a long way with the crew, to the point where I
feel like I’ve finally outgrown them. I ain’t about to
leave this game empty handed. I can’t just abandon them, they
have treated me like family and I feel loyal to them. We have taken a
lot of flak and disrespect from people trying to con us and make us
lose our lives but we triumphed despite the haters. Where were those
haters when we needed guidance and support, that’s right,
nowhere to be found. We had to make it on our own by any means
necessary to put food on our families' tables. Can you honestly fault
me for that, don’t stand there and judge me when you have no
idea what I’ve been through.”

His blood boiled when
she told him the people in her neighborhood had warned her about
Wayne. They knew he had an absentee father and an alcoholic mother.
They gossiped about how she had allowed him to run wild in the
streets with those other hoodlum boys. He was a disgrace and would
never amount to much. Those thugs he called friends terrorized the
neighborhood on a daily basis and were responsible for the increased
crime rate. Police had them under suspicion and anyone caught
sporting their tattoo or insignia were immediately brutally searched
without a reason in a bid to catch them with contraband.

“I’m not
judging you Wayne, and honey I appreciate you opening up and sharing
with me. How long are you planning to stay in that line of business,
weeks? Months? Years? The longer you stay in the game the harder it
will be for you to get out, can’t you see that.”

“You’re
right Lou. This business is tiring and I’ve come to the end of
my limits. It’s hard to constantly be looking over your
shoulder wondering who is gonna betray me next because they want to
take my place. Just let me handle my business and cut all ties on my
own. I need you to trust me and I don’t want you to get
involved, just let me do it my way. Now that I have a steady income
coming in from this television series I will definitely be getting
out.”

“Wayne I care
for you and you have my full support, I’m glad that you’re
gonna take my advice and come out, for the sake of us, promise me
that you will.”

She tried her best to
ignore those offhand comments that circulated about Wayne. She had to
admit it bothered her because Wayne was such a sweetheart around her.
It was hard for her to see him doing any of the actions people
accused him of. She let him know thoroughly that she did not support
or approve of his chosen lifestyle. If he wanted to continue their
friendship he would have to give it up. They hadn’t known each
other long and what she asked of him was a big step for him to take
on the road to recovery. She had faith that he could do it, the
little she knew of his character showed that he was intelligent, of
strong mind and inner strength.

“Lou, tomorrow
is promised to no man, I could walk out of the bar at this exact
moment and get knocked by a car, left for dead on the street. I don’t
make promises I can’t keep, and some things are just beyond our
control.”

“You are right,
I can’t force you to make that decision. I just have to trust
you and believe that you will. Everyone has an appointment with death
but that doesn’t mean you have to hasten the process.”

Wayne looked at his
watch, speaking of appointments he had one to keep. He needed to wrap
this conversation up fast. He was to link up with Dutty Bloodz in the
next hour by the pound.

“I’m so
glad we had this talk Lou. With you by my side I can leave it all
behind.” He basked in the affection coming from Lou. Even
though she had yet to say it, her eyes radiated with love for him. It
pleased and unnerved him at the same time. “Don’t worry
about me Lou, I will be fine.”

Lou stared backed at
him with tears of love and admiration in her eyes. “I think
it’s wonderful that you’re finally doing this.”

Wayne pulled her into
a hug to reassure her then lightly kissed her forehead. He knew he
felt more for her than she did for him. He knew that what he was
about to do next would only break her heart. Would she be able to
forgive him? He was intelligent, he could stay too steps ahead of her
and let her be none the wiser. Just be smart about what he told her,
going forward, the less she knew the better, until he finally cut all
ties with the business. He had seen many of his friends spurned by
women when they got pissed at them. He wasn’t about to be
another statistic. Lou wasn’t the mean type but he didn’t
want to put that to the test.

He felt selfish for
wanting all her love and affection and not having anything to give of
himself in return. Deep down he knew he lied to her about quitting
the Dutty Bloodz so that she wouldn’t withhold sex or leave
him. He was the man, the provider, and her champion when in need. She
should respect his decisions even if she didn’t agree with
them. In a battle of wills between them he wanted to always come out
the victor but at what cost. He would have to weigh the risks and see
if it was truly worthy it. He floored the brakes and the car came to
a screeching halt in the middle of the road.