Trife Life To Lavish (A King Production Presents...) (5 page)

"Tierra, don't you think I want to go on this
date bad as hell? I'm so tired of being broke. Ant
barely wanna buy Pampers, but he still be sniffing
around the pussy like he got it on lock. Being
pregnant and then trying my hardest to lose this
baby weight has had me out of commission for
a minute. Ain't but so far some food stamps and
a welfare check can get you every month. I need
a nigga to start bringing some money up in this
crib... immediately!"

"Shit, you preaching to the choir," Tierra said,
determined to make this group date happen. See, Tierra knew that if Simone clicked with Renny,
that meant more group dates would follow. And
the more she stayed up in Radric's face, the more
chances she would have to get him to lace her
pockets. In her mind, this set-up would be beneficial
to all parties involved. The niggas would have easy
access to pussy, and she and Simone would have
easy access to their wallets.

"Hold up! I know exactly who to call. She
always comes through for me," Tierra said, picking
up her cell phone.

"What's up, girl," Nichelle said, quickly
answering her best friend's call.

"What you doing?"

"About to go get something to eat with
Carmelo. Why what's up?"

"I need for you to do me a huge favor."

"Sure, you know I got you."

"I need you to come over Simone's crib and
watch Lil' Anthony."

"Okay, when?"

"Now."

"Now? But Carmelo just picked me up."

"Girl, you know I wouldn't be stressing you
if it wasn't important."

Nichelle let out a deep sigh, knowing she
could never say no to Tierra. "Okay, I'll have
Carmelo drop me off."

"Thanks, lil' sis. I knew you wouldn't let me down. I'll see you shortly."

"What was that about?" Carmelo questioned,
seeing the distress on Nichelle's face after she
finished her call.

"I'm sorry, baby, but I need you to drop me
off at Simone's so I can baby-sit."

"Why the fuck you gotta baby-sit for
Simone?"

"Tierra asked me to, and you know I can't
tell her no."

"I don't see why not. Ever since I met you,
you bend over backwards for that chick. I know
that's your girl, but damn!"

"She's more than my girl. . .she family."

"Okay, I get that, but she got you babysitting
her girl's kid! Come on now! It seems like she taking
advantage of y'all's friendship."

"Nah, I'm mad cool wit' Simone too.
Regardless, Tierra has done so much for me I
could never feel like she's taking advantage of our
friendship."

"You say that now, but everybody got a limit, and
believe me, one day Tierra will push you to yours."

Nichelle heard what Carmelo was saying, but
it didn't ring true to her. She had no limit when it
came to her friendship with Tierra. When Nichelle
and her mother finally got out of the homeless
shelter and got housing in one of the projects in
Queens, Tierra was the first person to befriend her in the complex. With Tierra being four years older
than Nichelle, she became like the big sister she
never had.

When her mom would have to work long
hours, it would be Tierra who stayed with her.
When girls in the neighborhood would try and
bully her, it was Tierra who would step to them
with balled fists and let them know it wasn't going
down. And as Nichelle began blossoming into a
young lady, it was Tierra who taught her how to
style her hair, put on makeup, and even bought
her clothes that Nichelle could never afford. Tierra
could do no wrong in Nichelle's eyes.

She admired how Tierra seemed to have all
the men chasing after her and would hustle them
for their paper, something Nichelle never had
the confidence to do. By the lustful stares dudes
would constantly give her, Nichelle knew she
wasn't a busted chick, but no matter how attractive
she appeared on the outside, there was always
that underlying feeling of insecurity she harbored
inside. And that was what she admired most about
Tierra-her confidence and generosity.

It was Tierra who used some of her trickin'
money to get Nichelle the braces she desperately
needed, but her mother couldn't afford. Kids would
tease her so badly about her stacked teeth, that she
would sometimes come home in tears. Tierra wasn't
having none of that. At the time, she was messing around with some balling, out of control cat in
Brooklyn, and she made him pay for everything.
That was just the type of person Tierra was, and
because of that, Nichelle would forever be loyal.

"You sure Nichelle is coming?" Simone asked,
Tierra as they stood at the top of the stairs in front
of her apartment building.

"Girl, yeah. You know Nichelle always got
my back."

"Well, what's taking her so long?"

"It ain't been that long, and who knows where
they were coming from. They could be stuck in
traffic or anything. But trust me, if Nichelle said she
will be here, then it's as good as done."

"Oh shit, here come Radric and Renny now!"
Simone said, first noticing the Range coming down
the street."

Tierra walked down the stairs as Radric pulled
his Range Rover to the curb. "Hey, fellas, we'll be
ready to roll in a minute," she said, leaning her
head inside the passenger side window.

"What we waiting on?" Radric questioned, in
his typical inpatient voice.

"Nichelle."

"What, Nichelle coming too? We having some sort of orgy or something?" Radric joked.

"Nigga, shut up. She's coming over to watch
the baby for Simone." Just then Tierra noticed the
familiar Benz turning the corner. "Oh good, here
she come now," she said, walking off.

Carmelo pulled up right behind Radric and
parked his car.

"Hey, girl, I don't know what I would do
without you," Tierra greeted Nichelle before she
even stepped out of the car.

"You don't ever have to worry about that. I'm
always here for you," Nichelle said, stepping out of
the car and giving Tierra a hug.

"Hey, Carmelo," Tierra waved."

"Hi, Tierra," Carmelo responded dryly.

Tierra knew he wasn't a big fan of hers,
but she honestly didn't care. She was happy that
Nichelle found someone that genuinely seemed to
care about her and had her back. But as far as Tierra
was concerned, in her game book, men came and
went, but real friendships withstood all the bullshit,
and that's what she shared with Nichelle.

Nichelle and Tierra started walking towards
the apartment, and Simone practically tossed the
baby to Nichelle before they even made it to the
stairs. "Girl, thank you! He's almost sleep, and I left
some bottles in the refrigerator, and his Pampers
and everything else you need is right on the table,"
Simone explained, as Nichelle patted the babies back while he lay on her shoulder.

Radric and Renny sat in the car watching the
three ladies interacting, but Renny had his eyes on
one lady in particular. "Yo, who's that chick?"

"Oh, that's jail bait."

"She don't look like jail bait to me," Renny
commented, sizing up Nichelle's ample ass that he
was visualizing seeing out of her jeans. Then when
he caught a full glimpse of her face as she turned
towards Tierra while cradling Simone's baby, he
became even more drawn to her. She seemed so at
ease and affectionate holding a child that wasn't even
hers. It was as if she had a natural motherly instinct
and innocence that Renny found utterly sexy.

"She ain't that young, but nobody you should
waste your time with."

"Why is that?" Renny wanted to know.

"For one, she got a man, and from what I
understand, they both in it strong."

"What that got to dowit' me?" he asked, glancing
over at Carmelo, who was leaning against his Benz.

"You still the same selfish motherfucker you
always been," Radric chuckled. "But seriously,
there's a ton of pussy out here, and a rich, pretty
boy like you can have any piece you want. Let
them two lovebirds have each other."

"I got you, man. I'll leave that alone." That's
what Renny said with his mouth, but his mind had
another agenda. He had seen a lot, and done a lot handling his business in these streets. And besides
pushing dope and making money, too many things
didn't catch his attention. But when something
did, he became completely fixated on owning it,
whether that was cars, clothes, jewelry, homes or a
woman, and his new fixation was Nichelle. Renny
didn't know when or how, but he was determined
to add her to his collection.

When you play the game that many refer to as `street
life', you're always given choices. For a lucky few,
those choices lead to the `hood riches they crave,
and for the rest, either a jail cell with their name
written on it, or even worse, an early death sentence.
Although the risks are clearly laid out, the seduction
of the game always lures them in.

"Simone, you ready for tonight?" Tierra
asked, as they sat in the pizza joint, waiting for
their order.

"Where ya going?" Nichelle inquired, sipping
on her Coke.

"Nowhere exciting, just hooking up with
Radric and Renny... again," Simone huffed, not
sounding the least bit enthused.

"Why you say it like that? I thought you were
feeling Renny," Tierra smacked.

'Was=when I thought he was feeling me too."

"What makes you think he's not?" Tierra
pried, not letting up.

"Come on now, Tierra. We have all been out
a few times together, and that nigga hasn't so much
as whispered shit in my direction."

"Maybe he's the private type and don't like to
show no affection in front of people."

"Then why the fuck he ain't ask me to go on
a date alone, without you and Radric?"

"Maybe he waiting for you to ask first."

"Bitch, please!" Simone rolled her eyes,
knowing Tierra was reaching. "That nigga ain't
feeling me. It's time for me to move on and try to
scam another rich motherfucker."

"Don't give up yet, Simone. You a bad bitch.
That nigga will come around. Just give it a little
more time."

"Nah, it's time for me to hang it up. Have
Nichelle go wit' you," Simone said, flinging her
hand up in the air.

Nichelle had been so quiet as the ladies went back
and forth, Tierra had almost forgotten she was there.

"Don't even go there, Tierra," Nichelle quickly
said, seeing her friend eyeing her direction.

"Why not? It'll be fun. We haven't done
our thing together in a minute. It will be like old
times."

"Tierra, have you forgotten that I have a man? A man who will flip the fuck out if he finds out I'm
going on a date with another dude?"

"You don't have to tell him shit. It ain't like
you his wife."

"Maybe not yet, but we're getting very close
to it."

Both ladies practically broke their necks
making sure they heard Nichelle correctly.

"Umm, sweetie, I don't see no ring on your
finger," Simone popped.