Thug Matrimony (14 page)

“Just some family I haven’t heard from in a long time.” He
stood up. “I gotta make a run. I’ll be right back.” He kissed her on the lips, then on the cheek. He snatched up his car keys and headed out the door.

Kaylin tapped lightly on the door before going inside. Tasha looked up at him and smiled.

“Damn, nigga, you was just up here a minute ago,” she teased.

“I know you gonna let me.”

“Whatever.”

“Come here and give your brother-in-law a hug.” She stood up and they embraced. Her stomach was about the same size as Angel’s. “You all right?”

“It’s strange how we adapt. Us humans are definitely creatures of habit. Being here now seems as if it’s normal … natural. And the Creator is blessing me to stay positive. And since your boy gets such a huge kick out of taking care of me while I’m pregnant, I hope that he doesn’t think because he missed out on a few months, I’m supposed to do this again.”

Kaylin laughed. “Oh, you know how he do it. And you know that’s exactly what he’s going to be thinking. So you might as well get ready.”

She punched Kaylin in the arm. “Whatever, negro. So, tell me how does it feel to be married?
Finally.’”

“Oh, so now you got jokes?” It warmed his heart to see her smile. “For real, we were already married in spirit. We’ve been living together almost since day one, she had already accepted my son, we just wasn’t married on paper. Which to me ain’t all that important. But since it was important to her, I gave her that,” he stated matter-of-factly.

“Oooh. You know I’m telling her what you just said,” Tasha teased.

“You do that and I won’t bring you up any more plates.”

“Oh well, in that case …” She pretended to be thinking it
over. “Well, where is my plate for today?” Her hands were on her hips.

“She hasn’t cooked yet. But I got you.”

“Aiight, then I got you too.” She held out her hand and he shook it. “Deal?”

“It’s a deal,” he confirmed.

“All right, then. Let me let you holla at your boy.” She was used to Kaylin coming and talking with Trae. She also welcomed the break. “I’ll be back.”

“Cool.”

Kaylin went over and grabbed the chair, adjusting it to his usual position and spot before sitting down.

“Yo, nigga. You still playing like you asleep?” He looked Trae over. “Well, I’m beginning to understand why. Everything happens for a reason and I guess it’s meant for me to do some things solo.” He thought about what he just said and spat, “Nah, fuck that! Shit, I really could use your companionship right about now and Tasha needs you too, nigga. She’s holdin’ it down but I don’t know how long she’ll be able to hold up at this level.

“At any rate, and the reason I’m back so soon, check this out. Red was going through the wedding and bridal shower gifts and guess what? She came across these gold bars. Yeah, nigga. Gold bars. The same size and weight we jacked from that fat fuck we merked in Mexico. Yeah, nigga, you heard right. Our shit is stashed away deep and we agreed to keep it like that until the time was right. So? You guessed it. Them cats knew what was up all of these years. Yeah. The big kahunas.” Kaylin smirked. “Them same kahunas whom we had to pay to get out of the game. Don Alexjandro and Don Carlos. The cards that came with the gold bars were signed by each of them. Now, why all of a sudden they pop up? That’s the shit that got me shook. But I know why. And you do too. They want sumthin. Plain and simple. You know it’s not retaliation because we did them a huge favor, and they still eating off the fruits of our labor. You smell
me? So they want sumthin, man. How the fuck they gonna drop off them gifts at my wedding? They damn sure weren’t there.”

Kaylin leaned his head back and closed his eyes, as he tried to make sense of the whole scenario. He was so deep in thought that he didn’t even feel Tasha’s presence when she stepped back into the room.

“Everything okay?”

He looked up at her and cracked a smile. “Yeah, sis-in-law. Everything’s okay.” He stood up and stretched. “This nigga is lucky to have you. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know it.”

“Red told you that we were gonna be gone for a couple of weeks, right?”

“Yeah, she told me. She said sumthin about a tour with Papi Chulo and the white chick, Lil’E. Angel is liking her job a little too much. I’m getting jealous.” Tasha pretended to pout.

Kaylin laughed. “We mixing work with pleasure, that’s all that is. And sort of like a prehoneymoon before the honeymoon. Nah mean? But check it. You’re welcome to come. We could pack up my boy and all of this here shit.” He waved his arms around the room. “I’ll make it happen for you.”

“I’m sure you will. It would be some
Weekend at
Bernie’s-type shit, huh? Rolling him around on beaches and to clubs.” They both started laughing. “Trae would kick our asses when he woke up and found that we did some shit like that. Hell to the nah.” Tasha laughed

“Our asses? I’d blame that shit all on you!” Kaylin teased.

“Whatever, nigga, and I’m sure you would. Thanks, but no, thanks. We’ll wait here until y’all get back.”

“Aiight, then. But if you change your mind, let a brotha know.” He went over to Trae, balled up his fist for him, and gave him a pound. Then he gave Tasha a hug and was gone.

The crew of Game Over Records were amped and ready for their fifteen-day working vacation. Everyone was excited about the newcomers Papi Chulo and the white chick who was a lyrical genius, Lil’E. They were anxious to rock the crowd and Kaylin and Angel were looking forward to their working vacation and prehoneymoon. Bobbi, Dashae, and Courtney put the tour together in two months. They worked night and day.

The first and most important stop was Ibiza, a hedonistic island off the coast of Spain and the epicenter of the European party circuit. All you do is party around the clock. And when you finally decide to get some sleep, it’s during the day and you do that on the beach. Talkin’ about a hot spot? Ibiza can’t get any hotter with its nonstop partying and sitting right there, literally … on the equator line. Sizzle … sizzle … sizzling! People clambor there from all over the planet, making it a very cosmopolitan hot spot.

The music scene had hooked Kaylin with its many new artists, and the DJs coming there were doing groundbreaking things. Ibiza is so on fire that many of the hottest DJs come all the way over just to showcase one song. So Kaylin definitely wanted to make a lot of noise and showcase for Game Over. And he planned on doing just that, with the four shows he had lined up at Privilege, the largest club in the world.

This was night number four as Kaylin stood in the back of the club next to Peter Gatin, the former nightclub King of New York. He had reigned over the Limelight and the Palladium, but Kaylin remembered him from his old Tunnel days. Now Peter was over here looking to open a new club. He wanted to be king again.

They both stood there in awe as Lil’E had them and the crowd going bananas. Her raw energy was unbelievable … unreal. Even the people who didn’t speak English were going nuts. Peter and Kaylin looked at each other and Kaylin knew right then and there that it was official … he had a star on his hands. He owed his wife big time for this one.

His spirits rose even higher as Papi Chulo received the same love. Papi showed him that Reggaeton was here to stay. Kaylin was amped. The crowd was already up on New Day. When they did their two singles, “Lovemakin’ Music” and “What’s Happenin’ Streets,” they sang along word for word.

“My man.” Peter passed Kaylin his business card.

“Call me. Promise me that your crew can do the same thing they did here tonight at my grand opening?”

“You got that,” Kaylin assured him and took the card. They gave each other a pound and Peter slipped off among the crowd.

All four nights were performed in front of a packed house. They then spent the next four nights performing at the smaller clubs: Space, Pacha, Eden, and DC10. Then it was off to Greece to cruise to Mykonos, where Kaylin looked forward to a much lighter schedule and some rest and relaxation, not only for him but the two pregnant women as well. Kaylin left Ibiza on a natural high.

They were now reveling in their downtime and the last two days of their working vacation and prehoneymoon. The expectation and goal were to make a lot of noise for Lil’E and Papi Chulo. They did both.

“Damn, I’m mad that we couldn’t get Lupe Black on this here ticket.” Kaylin was kicking himself.

“We’ll get him on the next one,” Angel assured Kaylin as they lay cuddled up.

Angel was half asleep as Kaylin spooned her. He was wide awake since he had slept most of the day; plus, he was still hyped up. His head rested on one hand as he leaned on his elbow. His other hand was rubbing Angel’s belly. “Ma, you fallin’ asleep on me or what?”

“I’m listening, baby, what’s up?” she whispered sleepily.

He stopped rubbing her belly as he reached back onto the nightstand and snatched up a brochure. “Yo, Ma, listen to this.
Does this sum this joint up to the letter or what?” Kaylin began to read the brochure out loud. “Mykonos is now the most cosmopolitan island in the world, more famous than Capri, more fashionable than Hawaii. Picture in your mind’s eye a deep blue sea, covered with white waves, and set in it a bare island bathed in sunlight. Add to—”

“Baby, please.” She cut him off. “Why are you reading that to me? I see it, I see the island, it’s lovely.” Her eyes were still closed. “Mykonos is lovely, it’s heavenly. Don’t read anything else to me. Why are you still so excited? This is only the beginning.”

“Exactly, Ma. And oh, what a start! Papi Chulo and Lil’E are gonna break platinum right out the gate, watch. I gotta get Scott Storch and Rick Rubin to hook up a coupla tracks on their albums. And there’s a new chick, Mayra Veronica, Reggaeton all the way, we gotta get her on a track with both of them,” he rattled off. “But check it, she’ll be showing soon, we can’t just let her disappear.”

“She won’t disappear. We release a single, run that, remix it, run that. She can still do interviews and print ads, getting herself and the fans ready for the album. And if we move fast, we can get back to Ibiza and do a quick video.”

Kaylin mulled over what she had just said, and was feeling where she was coming from. Brilliant. His wife was fucking brilliant. A video shoot was a must because Ibiza had some blazin’ natural beauty. His thoughts went back to the long-standing bar called Café del Mar, which was legendary for everyone to stand around and watch the sunset. It was the first one he and Angel experienced together and it blew both of them away.

Snapping out of his reverie, Kaylin said, “Yo, what endorsements do you have in mind for Lil’E?”

“Baby,” she whined. “Can’t we have this meeting in the morning? Aren’t you tired?”

He bent his head and gently kissed her shoulder. “Nope. You can sleep all day,
again,
if you want to.”

“Don’t get smart, nigga, because that’s exactly what I plan to do. Sleep all day.”

They were staying at the Andronikos Hotel and if you looked up the word
tranquil
in the dictionary, a picture of the hotel would be next to it.

The drapes were pulled back and they had the bomb view of the sea, lying right there in the bed. One of the windows was open and the smell of the water was intoxicating. Angel really didn’t want to leave the island of Mykonos.

Her eyes fluttered open as she tossed the brochure off the bed and lifted his hand off her stomach. He scooted over so that she could turn onto her back. He had this lazy grin on his face. “I’m not tired, baby. Talk to Daddy for just a few more minutes.” He reached up and began to stroke her nipple with his thumb.

“You know I’ma get you back for this, don’t you?”

“What? I ain’t doing nothing. I just said talk to Daddy for a few more minutes, with your beautiful self.” He loved that sultry look she had on her face when she was tired. “Now what’s up with Lily? How is she coming along? How soon will we have to make sure that she chills out?”

“I think that this trip has given her a whole new outlook on who she is and where she wants to be. You know, I introduced her to that Reggaeton chick, Ivy Queen?”

“Word?”

“Yeah, and they clicked. She gave her a little heads-up on the industry. Kept it gully with her. Let her know that even though it’s a man’s industry, she can still do her. She can still prosper. She told her no matter what, don’t let them take her rawness away and told her to make sure that she stays true to herself.”

“Aww, man. That was all love right there. Real talk,” Kaylin complimented Ivy Queen.

“It was and it blew Lily away. She couldn’t stop talking about her.”

“What else?”

“We’re gonna have to let her continue to evolve into her own
unique style. Let her be her. She’s very versatile. I don’t want her to be typecast, I want her to continue to do her.”

“I hear you.” Kaylin was in agreement. “She don’t have to prove herself and be all hard, because the way she spits, her lyrics speak for themselves. And we peeped her work ethic.”

“We did. Two mornings in a row she had morning sickness. Throwing up, tired, the whole nine. But come showtime, she stepped up to the plate. No crying, complaining, no excuses. She just got on her grind. Now to answer your last question. We need to arrange the video shoot and get that out of the way. That’s going to be the most strenuous. She said being in the studio working on a single and the album is lightweight. So after that we need to make sure she takes it easy. Just interviews and stuff like that.”

“Aiight, then. Sounds like a plan.” Kaylin smiled at her.

“You got Papi straight?”

“Oh yeah. That nigga is hungry. He’s ready to grind nonstop. And marketing is already talking to iTunes.”

“Good. Now is this meeting adjourned?” she wanted to know.

“Endorsements,” he reminded her.

“I pitched a couple of companies on her being a spokesperson for the Twix white chocolate bar, Reese’s white chocolate cups, and Dove Bar ice cream. Oh, and I’m waiting on Vanilla Coke to get back with me. I got marketing working on putting sumthin together for Motorola ring tones and MAC cosmetics. I’m getting ready to get this little white chick paid. America is getting ready to fall in love with her,” Angel stated with confidence. “So I’m excited just like you. How does it feel to be legal, nigga?”