Authors: Kiki Swinson
“Who would you get to do the shopping for you?” Papi wanted to know.
“My wife, Kira.”
“Well, have her call me.”
“She’s on the phone with us right now. I got her to call you on three-way.”
“Hola, mi amor.”
“How are you doing, Mr. Papi?” I said in a respectful tone.
“Well, I’m not doing too great. Seeing my son in trouble like this really upsets me.”
“I’ll be a’ight, Pop,” Ricky interjected. “Just as long as I can get shit popping.”
“Well, Kira, call me because Sosa and my nephew Miguel are back in Costa Rica, working. But, they’ll be back within two weeks. So, I will prepare something really nice for the both of you when they return.”
“Okay. That sounds good. But when is the last time you talked to Russ?” Ricky added.
“He came by here yesterday with his fiancée, Jessica. You know, they just had a little girl?”
“Nah. I didn’t know that she was pregnant.”
“Yeah, she was. The baby is hermosa , so beautiful. And they made me the padrino, the godfather,” Papi continued as his accent got thicker.
“That’s wassup! Well, when you see him again, tell him I said to get at me. ‘Cause I’m gon’ need a favor from him, too.”
“Okay. I’ll let him know.”
“Well, a’ight, Pop. I’m gon’ bounce right now, so I can holler at my wife before the time on my call runs out. But I’ll be getting back witcha before she comes up there to see you.”
“Okay. Yeah. Call me.”
“A’ight. Thanks.”
“No problem. And I’ll talk to you soon,” Papi replied and then hung up.
***
Immediately after I clicked Papi’s line off, Ricky wasted little or no time to say,
“Did you hear that Kira? We got less than two weeks to get shit popping! I’m gon’ get Burgess to call you back so y’all can set up a day when you can go out and meet with them other people.”
“What other people?”
“Stop playing stupid! You know who I’m talking ’bout.”
“Oh, them,” I said with no interest at all.
He continued by saying, “Oh yeah, and so you know, Papi is always at his store in Northwest on M Street. Not the one on New Jersey Avenue. A’ight?”
“A’ight.”
“Oh and I’m gon’ let you know up front that them people is gon’ want you to cop a brick or two. And they gon’ probably want you to wear a wire, too.”
“A wire!” I snapped at him. “I ain’t wearing no damn wire on my body to go and see Papi. Are you crazy?”
“You wore one on me!”
“No the fuck I didn’t! That’s a damn lie.”
“Look, Kira, I ain’t trying to argue with you. ’Cause I know for a fact that the shit ain’t gon’ work if they don’t get him on tape.”
“Well, we’re going to have a problem then because you and I both know how Papi and his people are. I would come up missing behind doing some shit like that. I mean, it’s bad enough that I’m helping to set him up.”
“But you ain’t got a choice.”
“What the hell you mean by that? I have a choice!”
“Listen to me, bitch!” Ricky screamed at me. “As of right now, your freedom to make choices just got revoked. Now I don’t wanna hear nothing else about what you ain’t gon’ do, ‘cause, you gon’ do it. And if you don’t, I swear on every one of my seeds that you and your cousin Nikki gon’ come up missing. Y’all will get hunted down like dogs. And shit ain’t gon’ be nice. So you better think long and hard about whatcha saying because there ain’t gon’ be no turning back.”
Now, before I could retaliate on this bastard, the time on his phone call expired. So I hung my phone up and lay my head back against the headrest of the office chair because I was pissed. And to have this piece of shit tell me that me and my cousin Nikki going to come up missing if I don’t help him get Papi busted, bugged me the fuck out. He honestly just scared the hell out of me because I know for a fact, that there’s people out here who owe him favors. So if and when any one of them are summoned, they will carry out his wishes without any questions asked.
What I got to do now is try to figure out a way to get out of this whole thing because either way it goes, I can get axed by Ricky’s people or Papi’s. I’m fucked all the way around the board. But, I do have one thing working for me and that is the fact that I have exactly one week to come up with a plan. So, I’m going to have to be very creative. And since I know I ain’t gon’ be able to do this alone, I’m forbidding myself from telling Nikki that her life is in danger. She would not know how to handle it. Somebody else is gonna have to come into play. And it’s gon’ have to be very, very soon.
Getting My Swagger On
All last night Nikki begged me to ride with her, her friend Syncere, and some other guy out to Pentagon City for a little shopping trip. So this morning, I finally said I would go. And like a flash of lighting, she and her little entourage was parked outside of my apartment waiting patiently for me to come out.
Now Nikki had already given me the heads up on how good this other cat looked, and she had also told me that he looked like he had dough, too. So I was all for that. But what I liked most about her description of him is the part where she said he was tall, chocolate and handsome with a six-pack. And even though I ain’t in the market for another man, ain’t nothing wrong with going out with a cat when the tab is on him.
Before I walked out the house, I took one last look in the mirror that sat on the back of my bedroom door to make sure that the Christian Dior tank top and wrap-around skirt I was wearing looked spectacular around my curves. And once I realized that they were, I threw on my Christian Dior sunshades and made my exit.
When I got outside, I noticed all eyes were on me. And I loved it! It sent my confidence level about thirty feet in the air. I know I must’ve been working it.
Now once I stepped foot in Syncere’s Range, Nikki immediately introduced me to him and his friend whom I sat next to in the back seat.
“Syncere and Mark, this is my favorite cousin Kira. Kira, this is my boo, Syncere, and his friend, Mark,” she said.
We all spoke to each other in unison. And once Syncere got us on the highway, conversation time for Mark and I started up, even though Nikki and Syncere couldn’t hear us. They were too busy up front talking over the blazing sounds of a Funkmaster Flex mix tape.
“You look real nice,” Mark complimented.
“Thanks. And you don’t look bad yourself,” I replied as I began to admire his white-ass teeth. I mean, damn! Has he ever missed a dental appointment?
“And thank you,” he said. “So, whatcha trying to cop at Pentagon City today?”
I smiled and said, “I don’t know. But I could stand to get another Charles David handbag or a new pair of Bottega Veneta boots for the fall.”
“You got cheese like that?”
“Nope. But I’ve got plastic,” I told him.
“Well, maybe you won’t have to use it.”
“And what are my chances?”
“I can’t say.”
“And why not?”
“Because it all depends on what happens from now until we get there.”
“So what, I’ve got to be on my best behavior?”
“No. I just want you to be yourself. Now, will that be hard?”
“Well, that won’t be hard at all because I’m always being myself. I can’t see it any other way.”
“So, where’s your man?”
“I don’t have one. But, I am on the verge of getting a divorce.”
“Do you have any kids?” Mark wanted to know.
“No,” I replied, refusing to let on that I was six weeks pregnant. “Do you?” I switched the question around to get the spotlight off me.
“No, I sho’ don’t.”
“How old are you?”
“Thirty-one.”
“Thirty-one! And you don’t have any kids,” I responded like I was surprised.
“Not that I know of.”
“But you do have a woman, right?”
“Yeah, I got one.”
“So, where is she now?”
“Probably at work.”
“What does she do?”
“She goes to college.”
“Which one?”
“Rutgers.”
“Oh, so you live in New Jersey?”
“Sometimes.”
“And where are you when you’re not in Jersey?”
“I’m here with my peoples.”
“Who, Syncere?”
“Yep.”
“So, how long have you and your girl been together?”
“For about two years.”
“Is y’all relationship serious?”
“It’s what it is.”
“And what does that mean?”
“It just means that we’re together today. Who knows what tomorrow brings?”
“Oh, so you’re on it like that?”
“I’m just living life, sweetheart. That’s all,” Mark told me in a sexy but roughneck kind of way, which turned me the fuck on. I mean, here I am, sitting next to this fly-ass nigga who appears to have a little bit of dough, and he just told me that he has a girl back home in New Jersey. Now, how gangsta is that? Because he could’ve lied. But he didn’t. So I guess what they say is true: Women are always attracted to cats who already got wives or girlfriends at home. And I didn’t get that from the Hustler’s Manual, either.
So tell me, who wants to be with someone that nobody else wants? Which is why I’m just now realizing why I couldn’t beat all of Ricky’s hoes off with a stick. So if this cat right here got all the ingredients I like, then we can probably get into something. Shit! Who says he’s got to be my man? I don’t.
***
Our trip to Pentagon City didn’t last long at all. All of a sudden, Syncere gets a fucking phone call while we were in Macy’s, so we had to cut everything short. Nikki and I did manage to leave with two hot-ass handbags. Syncere copped her one by Salvatore Ferragamo and my new friend Mark copped me one by Charles David. He even let me throw in a belt because I agreed to go out with him tonight. I thought it was a fair exchange. And he did, too.
Now after we pulled up to my apartment, I got out of the truck and Mark got out right behind me so he could hand me my bags. The way he stood over me gave me the chills. And I mean in a good way, too. It reminded me of how Ricky used to stand next to me when he wanted to grab me up and fuck the hell outta me. So I was loving it. And the fact that he was beginning to make me feel like he was my protector, got me open. But nevertheless, I will still be on high alert with my heart. He won’t get me off guard like Russ did. And that’s a promise.
“What time you want to go out?” Mark asked me.
“Ummm,” I began thinking to myself as I watched Nikki standing at the driver side door giving Syncere a goodbye kiss, “What about eight?” I finally said.
“Okay. I’ll be back here at eight. So be ready,” he commanded. Then he reached over and hugged me. I was about to fucking melt because this nigga’s body felt good. And he smelled good on top of that. So there’s no doubt in my mind that he’s going to get this pussy.
Truly it is going to be a priority that I see what he’s working with because, if the dick is good, then me and his other chick is going to have to share him. Shit! All the other scandalous hoes do it. And since I’m tired of being the nice one, it might be time for me to join their club.
“I’ll be ready,” I told him.
“A’ight,” he said and then he hopped into the passenger seat of the truck and left.
Back in my apartment, Nikki took a seat on my couch, smiling from ear to ear. She couldn’t stop talking about Syncere and the handbag he bought her.
“So, whatcha think?” she asked me.
“About what?” I played dumb.
“About Syncere.”
“He’s okay, I guess.”
“His truck is hot, huh?”
“Yeah. It’s nice,” I agreed. But it wasn’t all that, for real. I mean, anybody can add a navigational system and a couple of TVs to their whip. So, what’s the big fucking deal?
“Can you see me and him together?” Nikki pressed on.
And even though I did not want to touch that subject, I got up the guts to answer her anyway, “Yes, but only if he doesn’t start playing them stupid-ass games niggas be playing.”
“Well, I think he’s a pretty straight-up guy. So we’ll probably be all right.”
“I hope you’re right. But just in case he does start flipping the script, have a backup plan. ’Cause nigga’s like him, with money, always got some shit up their sleeves. So keep your eyes open.”
“I will. But it probably won’t be necessary. I mean, look at this,” she instructed me, as she pointed to her new handbag. “I haven’t ever had a guy buy me expensive shit like this, so there’s got to be an interest somewhere.”
“Look, I’m not saying that there isn’t. All I’m saying is that you need to watch out for this guy because he got plenty of dough and trust me, them hoes out there in the street knows it. So come rain or shine, you’re going to have some competition. And if you feel like he’s worth fighting for, then you’d better get geared up ’cause them chickenheads out there don’t care. They will get on their knees and suck your man’s dick right in front of you, if they have to. So be prepared, is all I’m saying.”
Nikki laughed at me as if I was telling her a joke. So I said to her, “You think it’s a joke, huh?”
“No.”
“Well, I hope not, ’cause this shit is for real. And clearly I would hate to fuck a bitch up behind you. But I will.”
“Ahhhh...” she began to say as she got up from the couch to rush over to where I was standing. “I love you so much!”
“I love your crazy ass, too,” I assured her as we both embraced one another.
“But you’re going to stop falling in love so fast with these niggas out here, ‘cause all of them ain’t good for you.”
“I know that.”
“Well, you better act like it.”
“I will. But let’s get off of me for a second, ‘cause I ain’t the only one ’round with an expensive pocketbook.”
“Whatcha talking ’bout?”
“You know what I’m talking about. I noticed how you were looking at Mark.”
“And how was that?”
“Like you were falling in love or something.”
“No, I wasn’t,” I said, and then I burst into laughter.
“Yes, you were. But it’s okay, because Mark looks good as hell. As of matter of fact, he looks just like a taller version of Taye Diggs.”
“I thought the same thing, too. And you know I love me some Taye Diggs.”
“Yes. I know. So are you going to go out with him?”