Thugs And The Women Who Love Them (16 page)

The Feds, from what I've seen, are much different than the county. The food is better, it's a little cleaner, and they even gave me a physical exam, which included a pregnancy test. And guess what? I'm pregnant. Five and a half weeks. When it rains, it pours. I thought that I was utterly depressed locked down in that cell all weekend, but when they tell me I'm pregnant, that's really depressing. I'm pregnant by a nigga who won't even talk to me. I'm in jail. I'm not finished with college yet. What else could go wrong?

Okay, for starters, it's now Tuesday, and I haven't been called to go to court. I'm feeling nauseous. I miss Faheem, but I refuse to call him. I don't want to talk to him over the phone. We gotta talk face-to-face. So I call Kyra again and she says that I will be out Wednesday.

Noon on Wednesday, they come and get me for my bail hearing and to read me my charges. Angel, Kyra, and Roz are sitting in the courtroom. I'm charged with “manufacturing meth with intent to distribute.” Faheem gave my lawyer a $50,000 retainer, so of course he's very nice to me. When they release me, he tells me to be in his office first thing in the morning. He also says that I'm facing up to fifty years, and that Brett is already trying to negotiate a deal with the government.

When I get out front, my three friends are waiting for me. I burst out crying. Kyra is glowing, sporting her round belly. On the way home, I finally tell them I'm pregnant and that it don't look like me and Faheem will get things back the way they were. I tell them that a jail term is gonna put off me finishing school. They tell me that Marvin's birthday party is in two days. They think I should go, 'cause it would lighten me up. Plus, Faheem will be there. I tell them I'll be there, even though I'm scared shitless to face Faheem.

W
hen they pulled up in front of Jaz's house, the Escalade was parked out front. They dropped Jaz off and left. It was almost 6:00, and she was ecstatic to be home. She couldn't get over how good it felt to sit on her own toilet, to soak in a bathtub, and then lie in her own king-size bed, with clean sheets and a soft down comforter.

She was mentally drained and physically exhausted, so as soon as she finished eating, she went straight to bed, even though it was only 9:30. In the hours that she'd been home, she kept hoping Faheem would call. The only call she got was from her girls, checking up on her. By the time she went to bed, she knew Faheem wasn't gonna call and she decided that it was over between them.

She was at the lawyer's office the next morning by 9:00. Talking to him only made her hurt more. She took on this attitude:
Fuck it! You do the crime, be ready to do the time.
There was nothing she could do now to take back the mistakes she had made. She could only move forward.

After she left the lawyer's office, she went to the college to reschedule a couple of exams that she'd missed. Then she decided the rest of the day was all about her. First, she went to the Hyatt and ate a big lunch. Then she got a full body massage and mud wrap. She got a facial and got her feet and nails done. She went shopping and bought a black halter dress by Versace and some shoes to match. She picked up a silk Armani shirt for Marvin to thank him for helping her out. When she got home, she ate again, soaked in the tub and went to bed. She put the dead bolt on the door just in case Faheem decided to stop by.

The next morning Jaz stayed in the bed until 11:00. She took her time getting up and dressed, and didn't leave the house until it was time for her hair appointment at 4:00. Paul, her hairdresser, hooked her up, and that made her feel a little better. Afterward, she went home and ate again. The baby was giving her an appetite that she was not used to. She took a warm bath and soaked for almost an hour. Then she moisturized her skin and started getting dressed for Marvin's party. She didn't even know why she was going. If it wasn't for Kyra calling and leaving message after message on her machine, she probably would've stayed home. She didn't want Faheem to think that she was coming just to be begging and pleading with him.

Still, she did want to talk to Faheem. She knew she owed him an explanation for getting involved with this shit, especially after she was the one who made him stop selling when they first got together. Plus, she wanted to thank him for posting her bond and retaining a lawyer for her. She knew that only a nigga who got your back would do some shit like that. Faheem didn't hesitate coming to her aid, not even knowing what she had done. Faheem was definitely of a rare breed.

She put on her black Versace dress with the long split coming up the thigh. The dress showed plenty of cleavage, and she wore no bra. She checked herself in the mirror and could see that she had started to put on a few pounds. Even her breasts were getting rounder. She put on a beaded choker, with iced-up earrings to match. She slipped on her black Versace slingbacks, sprayed on some perfume, fingered her hair, grabbed her purse and Marvin's gift, and out the door she went.

“Kyra lives in the fuckin' boondocks!” Jaz cursed out loud in the car. She got lost and had to call Kyra for directions. By the time she got there, it was ten minutes to ten. Marvin had just finished cutting his cake.

There was a big crowd at the party. Jon B was squealing, “Alright Wit Me.” The atmosphere was nice and Jaz smelled food. She was no longer nervous, because she hadn't seen Faheem's car out front. On the ride over she'd decided she didn't feel up to explaining anything to him tonight. She was glad he'd decided not to come.

She looked around and checked out all the fine brothers who was in the house. Obviously, from what was parked out front and all the Armani, Versace and ice flashing, they were some ballers. As she eased through the crowd looking for a familiar face, she noticed that Kyra had hired caterers and servers.

Jaz stopped at the beautifully laid buffet. At first she didn't know what to choose. She settled on cheese and crackers, strawberries and grapes. As she piled the food on her plate, she noticed a bunch of brothers in the room to her right. Most of them were smoking blunts, talking and laughing. Jaz scanned their faces and saw Marvin, a brother named Khalil, and then did a double take when she saw Faheem.

“Aw, damn!” she cursed under her breath. Faheem was puffing on a blunt and talking to two other brothers. She couldn't deny that the brother looked good. Her nipples got hard just from the sight of him. He wore a black Armani turtleneck sweater. That thing was defining all of his muscles. He had on the black leather pants that she had bought him.

Faheem glanced up and saw Jaz checking him out. She watched his eyes roam all over her body as he kept on talking. For a second she thought his eyes rested on her belly, which had started to swell a tiny bit. Then some female with a long weave and a sequined mini-dress tapped on the door and called his name. Jaz turned away and went to find Kyra.

She found Kyra and Angel upstairs. Angel was wrapping Marvin's gift.

“Always at the last minute, huh, Angel?”

Angel and Kyra looked up at her and started laughing.

“Shut up!” Angel joked.

“How long have you been here?” Kyra asked, giving her a hug.

“About a half hour. The place looks real nice. Y'all got it goin' on!”

“Thanks. I'll be glad when it's over. I'm beat. How are you?”

“I was fine until I saw Faheem.”

“I'm sure you was. I know you noticed that he didn't come alone,” Angel said.

“Yeah, I saw her. The bitch do look good. I have to give her that.”

“What'chu gonna do?” Kyra asked.

“I'm not sure yet.”

“Shit. You better go get your man!” Angel yelped.

“You didn't even tell him you was pregnant, did you?”

“No, Kyra. I didn't.”

“Like I said. Go get your man. Don't be stupid, Jaz. That nigga is good to you. Or would you rather have a scrub-ass, lying, can't-fuck ho?”

“Fuck you, Angel.”

“I rest my case. Go get your man, Jaz. You the one started all this shit in the first place.”

They didn't have to tell her twice. Jaz left the room and headed downstairs. She stopped on the stairs and scanned the room in search of Faheem. When she spotted him, he was talking with the female with the long weave and sequined mini-dress.

“Fuck it!” Jaz said as she approached Faheem. She had nothing to lose, so she was going for what she knew.

Just as she got a few feet away from Faheem, her ex, Sabu, grabbed her. Sabu was a tall, dark and very handsome baller.

“Come here, Jaz!” He hugged her and kissed her neck. “What's up, baby?”

“How you doing, Sabu?” she asked him, looking to Faheem out the corner of her eye. He was staring at them.

“Damn, you smell good, baby.” Sabu inhaled her perfume. “Why'd you leave me for that nigga Faheem?”

“Sabu, don't even try it.”

“I'm serious, Jaz. You never said shit.” He kissed her on the cheek, then slid his hand down on her ass. “Didn't I used to make you climb the walls?” He kissed her cheek again. “Damn. I miss that shit!”

“Yeah, you used to. But Faheem makes me climb the walls, the ceiling and the roof.”

“Jaz, you know I'm still crazy about you. Let me take you out tonight.”

“Sabu, I got a man to take me out.”

“I can't tell, baby. I ain't no hater, but your man didn't come here alone tonight. He left you to come here all by yourself? I would never leave your fine ass by yourself.”

“I know my memory is right, and I remember that you had
no problems
leaving me by myself. You used to leave your garden unattended. That's why Faheem came home and took over.”

“Yeah. I have to admit I was wrong for that shit. Like I said, though, the nigga ain't over here.”

“If you don't get your hand off my ass and your lips off my neck, he will be over here.”

“Well, I'll tell you what. If he don't come over here in the next three minutes, you going home with me. If he do, well, I'll give the nigga his space.”

That shit sounded good to Jaz. She was thinking about how she hadn't been fucked in almost two months. At least she knew Sabu. He wasn't shit, and he definitely couldn't lay it down like Faheem. But he'd do for one night. Then she remembered how he could never get it right when he was giving head and decided not to waste her time. Besides, Sabu was a lying ho. That's why she left him in the first place. Just as she was about to tell him forget it and slap his hand off her ass, Faheem yelled.

“Sabu!”

“Oh, shit!” Jaz mumbled.

Sabu looked up and started backing away from Jaz.

“What up, Faheem?” he asked as he crossed his hands in front of himself to hide his already hard dick.

“What's the matter with you, man? Why the fuck you all up on mines, son?” Faheem was talking loud.

Sabu raised his hands up in the air. “No disrespect, man. I thought wasn't nothing up, man.”

They both stood there, staring each other down. Faheem grabbed Jaz's hand and pulled her to him.

“So what's up?” he asked her.

“That depends on you, Faheem.” She looked him in the eye. He leaned over and kissed her. His tongue roamed around her mouth and his hands wandered all over her ass. Jaz could hardly breathe, but it felt so good. She knew this was where she wanted to be forever.

Faheem went to kiss her neck, but stopped to glare at Sabu.

“You smell like this nigga. Go wash that shit off and meet me in that office back there, next to the kitchen. We gotta straighten some shit out.”

When she came into the office, he was leaning up against one of the desks with his arms folded.

“Close the door,” he told her. She closed it and sat down in a recliner. “Tell me about this shit that you got locked up for.”

Jaz told him everything. From the first day two years ago when she hooked up with Brett to how much she was getting paid. From her lying to him that Mondays and Thursdays she had late classes, to the raid, to her incident in jail. When she finished, she was crying.

“Those are some big-ass skeletons, Jaz. You didn't trust me enough to tell me this? You been sneaking around for two fucking years.”

“I'm sorry, Faheem. I figured it would be better that way.” She kept crying.

“Better for who, Jaz?” She didn't answer. “Damn!” He handed her some tissue. “I can't get over this shit. You sure had me fuckin' fooled. So, tell me this. Did you fuck that nigga you had up in my crib?”

“Fuck you, Faheem! You know I didn't.” She stared at him as she wiped her tears. “You've been treating me like I'm guilty of fuckin' somebody, and I'm not. I'm tired of you treating me like this. I made a mistake. It was a big fuckin' mistake, Faheem. So fuck you. I'm tired. You've been fuckin' draining my energy. I love you, Faheem, and I would never dog you like that, but I'm tired. I can't put up with this bullshit no more.”

Somebody knocked on the door. Neither of them moved. They knocked again. Jaz got up and opened it.

“Is Faheem in here?” It was the female who Faheem brought to the party.

“What the fuck do you want?” Jaz screamed.

“'Scuze me?”

Jaz turned to Faheem. “Faheem, tell this bitch that you got a woman, that she's pregnant, and she's living in your house. Then tell this bitch she's only been a fuck for the past, however long you been fuckin' her.”

“You just told her, loud and clear.” Faheem laughed. Jaz slammed the door in her face and locked it.

“Faheem, you got me so fuckin' riled up I could kill you.”

“So, you're pregnant?”

Jaz stopped ranting and nodded her head slowly.

“Come here.” He held out his arms. She went to him, and he wrapped them around her. She started crying. “I'm sorry, baby,” he kept whispering as he rocked her back and forth.

“I've been so stressed, and you've been the main cause of it.”

“I'm sorry, baby. I didn't know. You keep shit from me, Jaz. That ain't right. You know I got your back, regardless. We can't keep shit from each other.”

“How long you been fuckin' that girl?”

“I didn't.”

“You lie.”

“I swear on my grandfather. I was thinking about it, though.”

“You full of it, Faheem.”

“Can't I have a kiss?”

“Nope.”

“How come?”

“Now I'm mad.”

“You let that nigga Sabu kiss you.”

“He kissed me on my neck. I didn't kiss him.”

“How far are we?”

“We?”

“Yeah, we.”

“Six weeks.”

“That's why your ass feel rounder. And look at your tits. They're rounder, too.” He started massaging them. “Can we start over?”

“If you want to.”

“Forgive each other, no lying and hidin' shit?”

She wiped her tears and nodded.

“Can I have a kiss now?” he asked.

She kissed him softly on his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“I've missed you a lot,” he whispered in her ear.

“I bet I've missed you more,” she told him. They kissed passionately and didn't let go for almost ten minutes. She kept her arms around his neck and he slid his hands up under her dress, grabbed her ass and started grinding nice and slow. She could feel him getting a hard-on.

“Faheem, baby, let's go home.”

He ignored her and slid her halter top to the side. He licked and sucked her nipples.

“Come on, Faheem. Let's go.”

“Okay, we'll go in a minute.” He lifted her up, set her on top of the desk and slid his hand between her legs. He maneuvered her thong off and put two fingers deep inside her. He massaged her clit with his thumb.