Authors: Nika Michelle
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #United States, #African American, #Urban, #Genre Fiction
“Where the fuck you been!” I yelled.
Diablo pointed at me. “Didn’t I tell you not to start!” He yelled.
“Fuck that! Where the hell you been Ablo? Don’t make me ask you again!” I had one bad ass temper, and he had one too.
“Who the fuck you think you yellin’ at?” He asked calmly.
“I’m yellin’ at you! Now you better tell me where the fuck you been! Shit! I ain’t talked to you since ten o’clock! That was four mufuckin’ hours ago! Where the fuck you been, huh? You been laid up wit’ some bitch? Huh?” I asked.
Diablo rolled his eyes toward the ceiling and proceeded toward the bedroom, ignoring me. I demanded his attention, so I followed him.
“What’s the problem Ablo? I don’t satisfy you no more?”
He continued to ignore me as he took his clothes off.
“Hello? Do you fuckin’ hear me?” I taunted him.
“Look Yanna I’m tired ai’ight,” he said and got into bed.
“Oh, you fuckin’ tired? You done fucked that bitch all night and now you fuckin’ tired. What about me Ablo? Huh? Have you thought about the fact that your girl might wanna fuck!? Have you thought about that? Okay nigga, what am I s’posed to do about my needs?” I asked.
“I ain’t been fuckin’nobody!” He yelled and turned away from me.
I became even angrier. “Fuck you!” I yelled and started sniffing him.
“What the fuck you doin’ Yanna?” he asked.
“You even smell like the bitch,” I hissed at him.
The truth was that I didn’t smell anything. I just liked to get under his skin.
Diablo grabbed me by my shoulders and pinned me down to the bed. “Look now, chill the fuck out before I put my dick in your fuckin’ mouth!” He yelled.
“Mmm, yeah. That’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout,” I laughed.
“Take your clothes off,” he ordered.
“Ohhh, you got enough energy to fuck both of us?” I asked playfully.
“I’m a show your ass who the fuckin’ boss is,” he said and pulled my panties off roughly.
“I thought you was tired,” I said tracing his ear with my tongue.
“Yeah, but if I don’t put sumthin’ in that pussy somebody else will,” he said sucking my breasts.
“Mmmm, I’m glad you know that,” I said without thinking. Diablo knew that he had taken my virginity. As a matter of fact I hadn’t fucked anybody else.
He stopped kissing on me and froze
“Baby, I didn’t mean it like that,” I reassured him. “I’ll never give your pussy away.” That was enough for him so he continued with the foreplay.
“I trust you baby. You’ll never betray me, ‘cause you know I love you,’ he said as his tongue traveled past my belly button to that special spot.
“Mmm, Ablo, ohh, yes…” I moaned as he sucked, licked, and nibbled between my thighs.
“Tell me you love me,” he whispered.
“I love you.”
“Say it again.”
“Ohhh, Diablo Perez, I love you.”
* * *
The Cue Boys were rivals with the Street Kings. This fine cat named El was the leader. El was just as ruthless as Diablo when it came to drugs, money and territory. It was kind of funny because El looked like L.L. Cool J.
Now El and Ablo hated each other with a passion. They tolerated one another as long as neither crew violated the other. The Kings were deep too and that spelled trouble. There was a war brewing between the two men, but it was a different kind than they had been used to.
All I knew was that the first time I saw El my pussy started jumping. I knew that I had to stay away from him. If I let my pussy get the best of me like Princess did, I would be a dead bitch. So I ignored my physical attraction to El.
It was a Saturday night and I decided to visit Maya. She was living in a Section 8 apartment in a Bankhead with my six month old niece Lexus. No matter how much Vernice tried to keep my influence away Maya still ended up getting knocked up. She was nineteen, and crazy over this dude named Jamel, who ended up being the father of her child.
Maya had grown up to be a very attractive young woman. She was an even five feet tall, and after having Lexus weighed about 135 lbs. She was what men considered as “thick” and the extra male attention blew her head up. I knew that Maya wanted to hang with me and the Cue Girls, but I tried to keep her away from that shit. She had a daughter to take care of.
Maya was a little bit lighter than me, and kept her curly hair cut in a short natural. Her cute round face, deep dimples, and big hazel brown eyes made her look innocent, but innocent she was not. Jamel was a fellow Cue Boy, and I knew where she was headed. Maybe Vernice’s intentions of keeping me away from Maya were good. I should’ve stayed away, but I couldn’t turn my back on my blood.
“Come in!” Maya yelled after I tapped on the door. “It’s open.” She was expecting me.
I opened the door and walked inside. The smell of fried chicken greeted my nose and my stomach started talking.
“You don’t live in the best neighborhood girl. You better start lockin’ the damn door. Damn, lil’ sis it smell good in here,” I said walking into the kitchen.
“Hey Yanna, what’s the deal?” She kissed my cheek.
“Ain’t nuthin’. Livin’ that’s all,” I said and sat down at the table. “Where Lex at?”
“Wit’ her tired ass daddy.”
“Uh huh. He tired now, but last night when I called you was breathing all hard. I heard Jamel talkin’ ‘bout, mmmm, damn Maya, damn girl, this shit good. Ya’ll had the heard board bangin’,” I laughed.
Maya laughed and sat down. “I said he was tired. I ain’t say he can’t fuck.”
“True. You know what they say ‘bout them Cue Boys.”
“Yanna, you heard from ma?” Maya asked.
“Nope, but we gotta go see daddy tomorrow,” I reminded her.
“Yeah, yeah,” she said and got up to turn the chicken over.
“Maya, he needs us. He’s gonna die soon.” Our father had been diagnosed with heart disease about seven years prior, and his health was deteriorating.
“I know,” she sighed. “But what about us? Shit, we needed him.”
“I know Maya, but he’s still our father. Sometimes payback ain’t the answer,” I said.
“When isn’t payback the answer Miss Cue Girl,” Maya smirked, knowing that “payback’s a bitch”, was my motto.
“When it involves family,” I said.
“Well anyway, did you hear about what happened to Ju?” Maya asked.
Ju, also known as Julian McNeil, was Maya’s ex-boyfriend. He was a professional car thief that ran with a crew from College Park.
“Yeah, you told me that he popped up over here when Mel was here, and they got into in,” I recalled.
“Yeah, but yesterday Mel was on the block with Ace when Ju and his boys pulled up. That was violation number one. Then Ju ran up on Mel talking shit. That’s when the Cue Boys ran up deep as hell and beat Ju and his boys down. I heard that they stumped the hell outta them. When Mel came to get Lex I asked him about it. I was kinda scared to let him take Lex, but he told me that he was taking her with him to Decatur to see his Auntie Roseanne. You know, his auntie that raised him?”
I nodded my head and she continued.
“Well that eased my mind a lil’ bit, ‘cause you know Ju and his boys goin’ retaliate sooner or later. I don’t want him to have my baby when some shit goes down.”
“Ju and Mel always beefin’. That ain’t nothing new. You can’t blame Ju though Maya. You did cheat on him wit’ Mel. Then two months later you dumped Ju and a month later you said you was pregnant. Ju was hurt, and and you know it,” I reminded her.
“Yeah, but Ju cheated on me with Peaches ugly ass. After that I just didn’t feel the same about him. That shit wit’ Ju was just puppy love anyway. I fell outta love wit’ him and Mel came along and rocked my fuckin’ world,” she sighed and stared off into space.
“Uh huh, you dick whipped, not in love,” I laughed.
Maya playfully mushed me in the face.
“You hungry?” She asked.
“Nol, Ablo fried some fish. I want a plate to go though. I can save it for later.”
“I envy you,” Maya sighed.
“Why?” I asked.
“ ‘Cause you got Ablo wrapped around your little finger. How the hell you get a nigga as hard as him to do whatever the hell you want? You snap your fingers and that nigga run.”
“Believe me sweetie, it takes time. I been wit’ Ablo for almost seven years. That nigga loves me and that’s why he’ll do anything for me. You and Mel only been together for a year and a half. It takes time to train a man. Still don’t stop him from cheatin’ though. They’ll do that regardless of how much they love you.” I schooled her.
“Yeah, but Ablo looks at you like you’re all that he see. That nigga could be in a room wit’ his boys talkin’ shit, but when you walk in his whole tone change. He respect you so much and you wouldn’t expect for somebody like Ablo to be like that. Mel wanna have control over every part of our relationship.”
Although Maya had been a witness to crime and drugs, she went on to graduate from high school with honors. I was so proud of her, so I decided to get my GED. She was always very smart and well spoken. I often wondered if she’d gone on to college if I hadn’t been in her life. I tried to steer her in the right direction, but who was I to advise her on life. She looked up to me and I didn’t know how to show her anything else.
“Maya, you gotta put your foot down and let him know that you’re strong. You can’t let him control you. Just ‘cause you got his seed don’t mean he own you,” I said.
“I know, but I ain’t never been as strong as you, or as brave.”
“But you always been smarter.”“And you’re so pretty. You look like mommy…used to,” she choked up.
Our mother had spent years in and out of rehabs. Three years ago Diablo gave me the money to put her in a halfway house for women with mental and drug problems. She’d been clean for the past year and a half. However, her health wasn’t all that great.
“And you’re prettier. You look like daddy’s mom with her high cheekbones and big pretty eyes. God I miss Nana,” I smiled and patted my sister’s hand.
“Thanks Yanna. I love you,” Maya said with tears in her eyes. I hated when she got all mushy on me. She’d always been the sensitive one. She got up to check on the chicken before we both broke into a pool of tears. Life was different when Nana was living.
“How’s Princess hot ass?” Maya asked attempting to lighten the mood.
“A’ight I guess. She went to Charlotte wit’ Rahkmon yesterday. She should be back tonight.”
“Rahkmon? Oh my God! She fuckin’ him too? Man, Princess ass be playin’ wit’ fire. Ain’t he still with Reshonda?” Maya asked.
“Uh huh, but you know how Princess is. As long as I got her back she goin’ do her thang.”
“Mmmm, as far as I’m concerned you need to stop having her back. Maybe then she’ll learn.” She drained the chicken wings on paper towels that she’d placed inside a huge bowl.
“That’s our cousin Maya. Regardless of what she do I ain’t goin’ let nobody fuck wit’ her,” I said matter of factly.
Maya shrugged her shoulders. “Well, that’s just how you are Yanna. You look out for your peeps and that’s real. Yeah, and what’s up wit’ that Prada dress you s’posed to be gettin’ me huh? That was weeks ago.”
“Girl, I got the damn dress. You didn’t see the bag that I had wit’ me? I put it on the floor, right there,” I pointed.
Maya’s eyes widened as she opened the bag and pulled out the rust orange Prada dress that she’d begged me to get for her. I’d stopped stealing because with my man by my side I could buy anything that I wanted.