URBAN: Chosen By A Kingpin (2 page)

“What’s up?” He pulled me up. “Why are you crying? Why would you let me go on even though it hurts?”

“Because you want to.”

“But do you want to?”

“I guess?”

“You guess? You either do or you don’t.”

“I do, but…”

“But what?” He held me close. “Use your words Melly, because I can’t read your mind.”

“It just wasn’t what I thought it was.”

“What did you think it was?”

I was quiet. The words started to come out of my mouth, but then it was like my throat got dry. I got so nervous that I didn’t know where to start. So I closed my eyes knowing that it would be a bit easier to say.

“I thought it would be like what I saw on the movies. You know nice and romantic. I didn’t think that it would be so rushed.”

“So, are you trying to say that I’m going too fast?” I didn’t answer him, but I slowly nodded. “Okay, I’ll take my time.”

I got back down on the bed and he went back on top of me.

“Just tell me when it get’s too rough.”

And that was it. We had sex that whole weekend and kept having sex while we were together. It was like that was all we did. So one day I went to his job to surprise him and I was the one that got shocked. There he was grabbing on one of his employees asses. And it wasn’t the fact that he grabbed it, but he took a whole chunk of it. And what killed me the most on top of that was that she was cool with it. She didn’t jump up, she didn’t act surprised, and she didn’t curse him out. She was just chill, which let me know he’d done it before. Then he put his hand on the small of her back and she gave him a sexy smile. I didn’t need to see no more.

“Ya’ll fucking?” I asked walking right up to them.

“Oh shit.” He cursed. He moved closer to me and tried to walk me to another side of the room. Basically he was trying to get me away from her but I walked right next to her.

“Excuse me, but are you two fucking?” I asked with my arms crossed.

“What’s it to you?” She crossed her arms and rolled her neck.

“Let’s be clear.” I raised my hand up. “One, I will fuck you up. There’s a reason why this nigga was dragging me away. So don’t be stupid.” She lost about 75% of her attitude then. “Two, I’m asking you a question. I’m not calling you no types of names, just asking you a fucking question. And three, be honest.”

She looked over at him.

“Uh uh.” I blocked their eye path and forced her to face me. “Do you really think that nigga can help you? Look at what type of position he put you in.” She looked me in the eyes. “So, I’m going to ask one more time and after that you’re going to force me to turn to my old self. You’re going to force me to be that bitch from East Flatbush, Brooklyn. You’re a pretty girl and I’d hate to see what I could do to that face.” I took a deep breath and stepped forward. “Are the two of you fucking each other?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.” I sighed. “How long have you been fucking each other?” She got quiet again. “No, no. Don’t do that.” I told her. “You and I were on the right path, don’t start getting quiet on me now. So what’s up? How long have you guys been fucking?”

“For about two years?”

It shocked me to hear how long that was going on. At that time I was with Michael going on three years.

“So he’s been with you almost as long as he’s been with me.” I mumbled to myself. “Do you guys use condoms?” I asked and she looked at me with attitude. “I am telling you, East Flatbush, Brooklyn, that girl from East Flatbush, you do not want to see her.”

“Sometimes we don’t.”

“I hope you’re clean.” I rolled my eyes. “He tell you that he love you?” She nodded her head. “That’s your man right?” She nodded her head again. “Thank you for being honest.” I extended out my hand and we actually shook hands.

I turned around and Michael was just leaning against the wall in the same aisle of the drug store. He had his head down to the ground. I knew he felt bad with me busting him especially since I became Barbara fucking Walters and interviewed the bitch. He didn’t raise his head at all. He didn’t move, not even when I stood inches away from him.

“My shoes ain’t that cute. These are just some clean Converses.” He was still looking at my sneakers.

“I just don’t know that to say.” He mumbled.

“You don’t?” I felt my blood boiling. I felt myself get madder and madder and I knew what was going to happen. Out of nowhere that girl in me, that ratchet bitch from East Flatbush was going to come out. I wanted to keep calm and cool because not only was I in Manhattan, but I was at his job. I didn’t want that ratchet bitch to come out and fuck shit up. So I took a deep breath while he still looked at my sneakers.

“I really don’t know what to say Melly.”

“You can at least be a man and look me in the fucking eye.”

He looked at me and I saw him be endearing and nice. He looked at me and I saw the same dude that I met outside the nightclub. He looked at me and I saw the same guy that told me time and time again that he loved me. He looked at me and I saw the guy that I thought I would have spent the rest of my life with. He looked at and I wasn’t so mad. How could I be when it was Michael right in front of me. But then something happened. I blinked and I felt that mad bitch from East Flatbush take over.

He could sense the change take over me. His face changed in a split second, but my knee moved faster. I kneed him in the groin and watched him fall over. He was grabbing himself moaning. The people around us stared and usually that would be my clue to leave. Usually people looking at me like I was crazy would tell me to stop and just fucking go, but we were no longer dealing with a rational Melissa, we are now dealing with a crazy fucking Melissa. Ratchet Melissa didn’t give a fuck and the second I felt that I was too angry, I knew that it wasn’t going to just be a knee groin. I kicked him in the stomach, stomped on leg, and then spit on him. Finally all the anger in me was gone and I got out of there.

That was about four months ago. I am now single and not ready to mingle. I like being single. I’m gorgeous, I have a pretty good job, and I finally got my own place. It took me a while,but I wasn’t going to move out of the apartment I shared with my mother just to move anywhere. I didn’t move until I could afford my own co-op. It was a two bedroom, huge, in a great neighborhood, and it was all mine. What’s funny was that I originally planned to live there with Michael, but God had my back because I found out he was cheating on the day I was going to tell him my plans. Isn’t it funny how life works?

“Ms. Richards?” My boss peeked into my small office. “What are you still doing here?” He asked looking at the time.

“I’m just finishing all the legal briefs, paperworks, torts…” I went on barely picking my head up from my computer.

“So, you’re just finishing all your work before you go off and party the next few days away?” He smiled.

“Yeah that’s right.” I smiled back. I was always cool with my boss. He reminded me of George Feeny from that show “Boy Meets World.” He was older, wiser, but so cool at the same time. I knew he was my boss but at times he felt like my friend.

“Well then wrap it up and get out of here.”

“So what are your plans? What are you and the boo doing?”

“You know the usual.” He shrugged. “We’re going to stay home, watch the ball drop, and then go to sleep.”

“Ugh.” I sighed. “That’s it? No parties? No nothing?”

“We leave the partying up to the young folks like you.” He walked back to his office.

“You’re 62, not dead!” I yelled and I heard him laugh.

My phone started buzzing. I saw Janet’s phone number light up across my phone’s screen.

“Yo!” I answered.

“I swear you are so ghetto.” She laughed.

“And you are so bourgie.” I snapped back. “What’s up?”

“Just waiting to hear from you. I am so ready to party for the next few days. I got my dress for the New Year’s party.”

“Let me guess, gold?” I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be so typical.”

“And let me guess for you, black?” She laughed and I joined in.

“I’m still in mourning. I have to acknowledge the death of my relationship.”

“Yeah but you’re wearing that everywhere, how about you wear something new?”

“How about something else?”

“What? Isn’t that what I just said?”

“No, I’m trying to say that I have an idea.”

“Why am I just a little bit afraid?”

“How about we switch outfits? We got the same body type. We both got small waists, round asses, and big titties. I say we switch dresses.”

“And what about our shoes?”

“We switch that too!”

“I don’t know, I spent so much time on my outfit.”

“And I did too, but we keep doing the same shit. We need to do new shit for the New Year. Why not this?”

It was quiet on the line, which actually worked to my advantage because I began to finish typing up all my work. I was finishing up and shutting down the computer when I finally heard her say something.

“What was that? I was doing something and I really didn’t hear you.”

“I said, you’re right and let’s do it.” She agreed. “We might as well go into 2014 in a big huge way. I saw the dress you have and it’s super sexy.”

“It really was. It had my girls looking nice.” I looked down at my big boobs. “I hope your dress is the same.”

“I’ll bring it over later.”

“Well try to make your way over now. I say we hit the salon and then come back to my place.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

The wind was cold and brutal but that was typical for the end of December and plus this was North Philly. It was almost always a breeze in the air. You’d think after living here for about 16 years that I would be used to the winter air by now, but I wasn’t. I thought the transition from New York City to here wouldn’t be that hard either, but it wasn’t easy. Everything happens in its own time.

“Yo Jamal.” Hearing my name called made me turn around. There stood my homey Black. He was this tall, football player looking, toothy nigga. His large figure had niggas afraid of him back in high school, but people that really knew him, knew he was cool. He wasn’t no pussy though, he’d beat niggas asses on a drop of a dime if they were disrespectful. I guess that’s why him and I always got along, because in a lot of ways were alike. I was tall and athletic too. wasn’t as wide as Black, but I wasn’t skinny either. People tell me that sometimes I resemble Idris Elba, but I just laugh it off. I take it as a compliment but I don’t let it get to my head.

“Ay what up?” We exchanged hands greeting each other. “How’s life out here?” I asked him.

“It’s good my nigga.” He pulled out a cigarette. He offered me one but I politely shook my head to decline it. “I forget that you been off of these joints.” He put the cigarette to his mouth. “How long has it been now?”

“Shit.” I closed my eyes trying to think back. “I started smoking when I was 16 and stopped ten years later when I was 26. So I guess it’s been three years.”

“Oh you about to be 30?”

“In a few months.”

“That’s right. You becoming an old man.”

“My nigga ain’t you like 31.” I hit him playfully and we both started laughing. “So, let's talk.”

The mood immediately changed because he knew what I was talking about. As much as it was fun to kick it with Black we both knew that I was here for business.

“Heard about a lick.” He told me lighting up a cigarette. I listened closely once he told me that he heard about a place that we could rob.

“Speak on it.”

“Have a cousin that works at this check cashing place.”

“Ok.”

“Said that she know they getting a lot of money because the store next to it has to move the money through there.”

“Why?”

“Some logistic shit going down at the store and the bank was giving them problems. She really didn’t explain but she just knows that there are going to have a lot of money there.”

“What type of store?”

“One of those racetrack betting places.”

“Oh shit.” I nodded my head. “A lot of niggas like to put money on horses.”

“You know that.”

“So what it look like? She sound sure.”

“My cousin is so sure.”

“For real?”

“You ain’t gotta worry about her Jamal. She always got her head on her shoulders. You know her.”

“I know her.”

“Yeah, you do.” He inhaled hard on the cigarette.

I tried to think about what he was talking about. Black has been around a lot of females. The numbers of the females he has around him is astronomical but I can’t think of any of them that he called his cousin. But then it hit me. He used to be around this beautiful, thick, dark skin beauty all the time. I remember the first time I saw her I couldn't get my eyes off that ass. She was built like a stripper but the minute she opened her mouth, you knew you were in the presence of a genius.

“Oh yeah, now I remember who you talking about.” I nodded. “Yeah, your cousin is real smart. Since she’s the one that said that, I definitely feel more at ease with it.” I thought about it some more. “But your cousin is not even on that hood shit, why she put you on?”

“Because her boss been cutting her hours and harassing her. You know how they be dickheads sometimes. She was complaining about it and she just brought it up. I think she’s trying to get that payback.”

“You know what they say about a woman scorned.” I shook my head. “That shit is no joke.”

Black and I laughed while he finished his cigarette.

“You know what else I heard…” He started.

“I swear nigga, you are like CNN. I come to you and I catch up with all my news.”

“That’s right nigga.” He smiled. “Niggas are so cool with me that they give up all of their business.”

“But I never hear nothing about you.”

“Because I know when to keep my mouth shut.”

“And I never hear my business out in the street.”

“Cuz you my brother and there’s nothing but love between us.”

“Same here.” I shivered a bit more in the cold. “Tell me what you was going to say so I can get the fuck on. It’s colder than a motherfucker out in this bitch.”

“Okay. I heard about this party man….”