RED
Nate and I stood in one of the back rooms at the strip club arguing. I had given some of his money back to him and told him to keep me out of whatever he had planned for Bones. Nate was mad as hell at me. He backed me into a corner, where he caged me in and wouldn't let me go.
“If you touch me,” I warned, “I swear I'ma have security up in here so fast, wearing yo' ass out. Now back the fuck up, Nate. You not gon' get me to change my mind, and whether you want to believe me or not, I have made little or no progress with him. He ain't biting. That's why I'm done fucking with you and your
friend
.”
“I doubt that shit, and if he ain't biting, he damn sure still sucking. You done caught some feelings for that nigga. Now you want out. It don't work like that, Red. You should already know that niggas like me don't play games where you can come and go as you please.”
I pursed my lips and pushed Nate back. He reached out and slapped the shit out of me. “Don't put yo' fucking hands on me, ho! I will kill you and paint this goddamn room with your blood! Security won't be able to save you, and neither will that nigga Bones. Now, I'ma need you to finish what you started. If you don't, you will definitely pay the price!”
I held the side of my sore face, rubbing it. My eyes stayed locked with Nate's. I didn't care if he hit me again, and I continued to stand by my words.
“Nigga, get out the paintbrush and start painting then. I will never do anything else that you demand of me, and I'm going to tell Bones everything about you. You are a goddamn animal, Nate. Bones deserves much more than a backstabbing, dirty-ass friend like you!”
I gathered spit in my mouth and sprayed it right in his face. I already suspected that I would catch a beat down from his ass tonight, and the least I could do was get in a few licks myself. But right after the spitting incident, Nate picked me up and slammed me on a table. He grabbed me by my collar, and then threw me across the room. I fell hard on my knees, and before I could get up, he backhanded me across the face.
“I bet yo' ass won't be pretty no mo',” he said.
I looked into the devil's eyes, knowing that Nate wanted to kill me. But after he punched me in my stomach and bit down hard on my lips, somebody knocked on the door.
He paused his hand in midair. “Who is it?” he yelled. “We're busy!”
“Unlock the door,” Stoney said. He was the owner of the club, and he must've heard all of the ruckus that was going on inside. “Now, Nate! Open it!”
I held my hand over my bloody mouth. Couldn't believe that nigga had bit me on my lips, and my stomach was so sore that I had to comfort it too. Nate shot me a dirty look, and then he unlocked the door. Stoney came inside with a frown washed across his face. He looked at me, then at Nate whom he was very cool with.
“Nigga, you can't be doing this kind of shit to my girls. You fucking up my money, and this right here is my main prize. Whatever beef you got with her, it needs to be squashed. I need her to get out there and do her thing tonight. Too many muthafuckas waiting on her. How in the hell am I gon' send her out there looking like that?”
Nate frowned too. He cut his eyes at Stoney, then looked at me. “Go clean yourself up, bitch. You hoes be getting real lucky. One of these days, there will be nobody around to save y'all.”
With tears in my eyes, I ran past Nate and Stoney. The last thing I felt like doing tonight was stripping, but when I stepped outside of the door, I heard a few niggas chanting my name. I went into the dressing room and looked at myself in the mirror. My face was fucked up, but it wasn't anything a bunch of makeup couldn't hide. I wiped my tears knowing that no matter what had happened, the show must go on.
BONES
I didn't feel like hanging with the fellas tonight, but when Theo called and begged me to meet him and Nate at the club, I changed my mind. I hadn't hung out with them in a minute. Kind of got tired of hanging around the house and hearing my grandmother complain about something not being right. She was knocked out when I left, and before I made my appearance at the club, I decided to go handle some unfinished business.
Mango said that it was my decision to ultimately decide how to handle Skittles. The truth was, I didn't like how things had gone down. I was sure that nigga would remember me if he saw me again, and his bitch would too.
In knowing so, I did another quick drive-by. This time, I chilled outside until I saw his girlfriend's car swerve into a parking spot. She got out of the car on crutches, and he helped her to the door. They went inside of their apartment, and after twenty minutes or so, the lights went out. I sat smoking a blunt while also kicking back a fifth of Hennessy. Once it was all gone, I picked up the 9 milli next to me and screwed on the silencer. I got out of the car, carefully watching my surroundings as I made my way to the front door. I turned the knob. It was locked. There was a patio with a sliding door on the side, so I checked to see if it provided easy access. Locked too. Still, it was easy for me to slide a card inside and wiggle the inside handle. Once it clicked, the door slid right over. Soft music hummed throughout the raggedy-ass apartment, and I could hear his girlfriend yelling out for him to “travel deep inside.” I waited before interrupting their sex session, and the second I heard Skittles talk his shit, I suspected that he had busted a nut. At least I had enough consideration to let the man get off . . . before killing him. I pushed on the doorâBoldly marched inside with no fear whatsoever. With his girlfriend's legs still poured over his shoulders, and his back facing me, I pulled the trigger, twice. The gun jerked. Sent two speeding bullets whistling through the air and into his back. A gargling sound came from his mouth, and then he fell forward. A loud scream erupted from his girlfriend's mouth. I walked slowly and casually over to the bed . . . eased the gun into her mouth, and pressed my finger against my lips. “Shhhh,” I warned.
Tears poured down her face. She shook her head, implying no. I stared into her fearful eyes and nodded. “Yes,” I said in a whisper. “Don't take it personal.”
I pulled the trigger and quickly turned away. As I walked to my car, I couldn't help but to think about the kind of man I was becoming.
* * *
For whatever reason, the club seemed more thick than usual. Several birthday celebrations were going on, and the table we normally sat at was packed with more niggas. Theo waved for me to come have a seat. I spotted Nate at the bar getting some drinks.
“You are always late,” Theo said. “Man, we hit the jackpot last night. Got into this banker's 6.7 million-dollar crib and racked up! You need to stop by Nate's crib tomorrow to see all the shit we got. Some of that jewelry may cost a fortune, but you know we gots to be careful about how we unload that shit.”
“Real careful. I'll definitely stop by tomorrow to check out things.”
Theo gave me dap. I chilled next to him to holla about what had been going down with my supposedly-new-gig at the church. When Nate came to the table, his face was scrunched. I could tell he was on edge about something. I looked at his knuckles; saw bruises and a few scratches. I figured that he and Alexis must've been at it again. In an effort not to make him more miserable, I brought up the past. Started talking shit about elementary and high school that made him laugh.
“You were the one who had a crush on that ugly-ass teacher,” Nate said, referring to our English teacher, Mrs. Bell. “She had a fat ass, though. And you know yo' ass lied when you said you fucked her. You got in trouble for that shit.”
I pointed to Theo. “Uh . . . wasn't me. Theo was the one who started that rumor, but I was the one who got suspended. I did have a crush on her, though. But have y'all seen that bitch lately? Man, I saw her ass at the grocery store. Damn near wanted to cry! She looked like an alien.”
We all laughed. Nate continued to stress how ugly she was from the get-go. I disagreed. We debated another issue that had happened in junior high school, and as several strippers stopped by to direct our attention elsewhere, we dropped a few dollars and continued to talk about the good old times. But when Red came by, she kind of kept her distance. Nate cut his eyes at her a few times, and I saw him wince too. Red never did come my way, but as I looked at her face, I could tell something was wrong. Her lips looked swollen and for her to never wear a lot of makeup, tonight, she had on plenty. As I stared at her, I could see Nate staring at me. I shifted my eyes in his direction. He turned his head and started a conversation with Jerry who sat next to him, but his actions were too late. I assumed that Nate had beat Red's ass. Question is ... why?
After nearly everyone was gone, including my boys, I waited in my car for Red. This time, she walked out with two other strippers, and while they laughed, Red had a sad look on her face. That was rare. I got out of my car and called her name. She slowly walked my way.
“What's up?” she said, shooting me a fake smile. “I thought you had left.”
“Nah.” I nudged my head toward my car. “Get inside. Let's talk.”
She got inside, crossing one blemish-free leg over the other. “What's on your mind, or should I be asking, what kind of position would you rather see me in tonight? The only time you ever come around is when you're hungry for some pussy. I take it that day and time has arrived.”
I ignored her comment and didn't beat around the bush. “What happened to your face?”
Her brows rose. “My face? What do you mean by that?”
“You know what the fuck I mean, so stop playing games. Who hit you?”
She sat silent for a few seconds, then crossed her arms. “Why, Bones? It's not like you care anyway. You've made that quite obvious, so why does it matter?”
“Because it does. Tell me who hit you.”
“I'll tell you, if you let me do one thing.”
I shook my head, displaying my frustrations with her. “Here we go with this shit again. Believe it or not, I'm not here toâ”
Red leaned closer, trying to kiss me. I backed away and put my hand in front of her swollen lips. She remained very close while searching my eyes. “A kiss, Bones. All I want is one simple kiss, and you won't even give me that. I'll tell you who did this to me, if you give me a kiss.”
“No deal. And for the record, this is the last time I'm gon' ask you about who did this to you. Now is your chance to tell me the truth. If you don't, I never want to see you again.”
Red backed away from me and remained silent for a while. She fidgeted with her hands, and then took a hard swallow. “Stoney did it. You know he owns this place, and he was mad at me for not showing up for two days last week. He lost money, and when I tried to tell him why I was absent, he still hit me. I spit on his ass, and he went crazy. He later apologized, but between us, I'll be looking for another place to work real soon.”
“That's your story, and you're sticking to it?”
Red looked me straight in the eyes and nodded. “Believe it or not, that's the truth. Now, getting back to the kiss you owe me.”
“You'll get it one day, just not today. Now, gon' and get out of here. Take your sweet self home and doctor up that pretty face of yours.” I cracked a tiny smile that almost knocked Red out of her seat. She looked shocked.
“Oh my God,” she said. “You have teeth. They are actually there, and I barely get to see them because you never smile.”
“You may not have seen them, but you have definitely felt them biting on your nipples, haven't you?”
“Of course. And if you have any desire to bite on them tonight, Mr. Vampire, all you have to do is say the word.”
“What's the word?”
“Open, please.”
“That's two words.”
“And?”
“And if you open, I wouldn't mind driving right in.”
Red reached for the handle and opened the door. “Yeah, that's what I thought. You may have some people fooled, Mr. Bones, but not me. Follow me. And this time when I wake up in the morning, yo' ass better still be there.”
She got out of the car, and I followed her home. For the majority of the night, we stayed up talking and playing cards. She seemed to be . . . sweet. I couldn't deny that I was starting to like her a little bit more. I sat her on my lap, and we didn't indulge ourselves into a heated sex session until four o'clock in the morning.
As soon as she fell asleep, I put my clothes on and jetted.
* * *
I stood outside talking to Mango as he walked around with his German shepherd, Prince. He praised me for what I'd done to Skittles, but was mad as hell because Skittles had a healthy stash of his money somewhere and nobody knew where it was. Three of Mango's partners were sent to trash Skittles's apartment to look for the money. They came up empty, but told Mango how pretty the scene was after I'd done my damage. Mango was so satisfied with what I'd done that he lined my pockets with more paper. He asked me to check around about his money and let him know if I hear anything. His dog stopped to take a dump, and that's when Mango reached into his pocket and handed me another three-by-five picture.
“That's yo' next mission,” he said. “I don't have to tell you who that nigga is.”
I looked at the picture. My face fell flat. It was a picture of Theo with sneaky eyes and looking nerdy as fuck with his glasses on. I quickly gave the picture back to Mango.
“That's one mission I can't accomplish. Sorry, man. You'll have to get somebody else to do your dirty work on that one. And being truthful, I will warn him that you're looking for him.”
Mango sucked his teeth and swallowed hard. He called for one of his boys. “Take Prince inside,” he said. “Bones and me need to have a serious talk.”
The man grabbed Prince's leash and went inside. Mango started to slow walk with his hands in his pockets. I walked beside him.
“You're too smart to be a fool, Bones. I know Theo is yo' boy, but all he really is, is a flunky for Nate. Theo will turn his back on you in a heartbeat. Don't you ever thank that if he was in the same position as you, and I had given him yo' picture, that he would have given it back and refused to follow through.”
“I know Theo well. He's good people. Following behind Nate or not, he would never betray me. Nate, however, is a different story. Something has been up with him, but I haven't rested my finger on it yet.”
“One day you will. Until then, here's the truth. You can't trust nobody. Not even me. And the day you realize about what I'm saying to you, is the day I will help to make you one powerful man. You the kind of nigga who will one day go down in history around here. But the first thing you must do is wise up and recognize when fake muthafuckas are staring you right in the face.”
“I hear what you saying, but tell me what it is that you know about Theo that I don't.”
“Theo has been dodging me. He hasn't paid me any of my money in months. Normally, I give niggas thirty to sixty days to pay up. After that, I start looking for them. I question his loyalty to you because, when I inquired about yo' assistance before, he said you were a soft punk who hadn't grown up yet. Referred to you as a granny's boy and said you weren't man enough to handle thangs on yo' own. He also called you a wacko. Claimed you've been fucked up in the head ever since you watched yo' mama die in front of you. I could go on and on, but you know I ain't lying about the shit 'cause I never knew yo' mama was killed by her boyfriend.”
I remained silent. Didn't know how to respond yet. The first thing I wanted to do was holla at Theo. While I assumed he probably said some of those things, I figured he didn't mean any harm. Maybe he was trying to make himself look good in Mango's eyes. Regardless, I stuck with my original decision.
“Out of all due respect, I won't reply to what you just said. But what I said before still stands. I hope this doesn't damage our business relationship, but that's for you to decide.”
Mango stopped walking and reached for a handkerchief in his pocket. “You too good to them niggas, Bones. They don't deserve yo' friendship, but like many of us, you'll have to learn the hard way. Meanwhile, you and I will continue to do great things, and our business will, indeed, carry on.”
He handed me another picture. I looked at it, then cracked my knuckles. “Now
this
one, I can handle.”
Mango smiled. I didn't.