Chapter 16
Tammy pulled up in front of Chris's mom's house in an all-white 2009 Chrysler 300 with tinted windows. It looked just like a dope boy's car, equipped with chrome twenty-inch rims and a touch-screen TV in the dashboard. The car was nice, and it looked pretty much brand new.
Ms. Elaine walked out onto the porch, shocked to see Tammy behind the wheel. “Whose car are you drivin'?” she asked as she came down to help Tammy unload the kids' things from the vehicle.
“It's a friend's car,” Tammy responded. “I'll be back to pick them up tomorrow, and here's a few dollars, 'cause I know they're going to want something out of the vending machines when y'all get to the jail.” Tammy had stuck by her word and made sure that Chris was still able to see his kids. She just wasn't going to be the one bringing them up there to see him. That job now belonged to Chris's family.
“Tammy, are you all right?” Ms. Elaine asked with a curious look on her face. “I hope you're not still madâ”
“You know what, Ms. Elaine? I'm actually good right now,” Tammy said as she passed her the last of the overnight bags.
“Is there anything you want me to tell Chris while I'm up there?”
Tammy just shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. She didn't have anything else to say to him. She was at the stage where she was trying to move on with her life. She didn't want to continue to dwell on the past. She forgave Chris for having another baby on her, but she would never forget it. How could she forget? The little girl was going to be around for a very long time, and that was a reminder for Tammy in itself.
* * *
Lamar focused his eyes over at Kim, who was lying next to him with a big smile on her face. They had been having sex every day for the past week, sometimes two times a day.
Kim was really taking advantage of the “friends with benefits” deal. She hadn't had this much dick in her life, or at least since she was a teenager. It was starting to become addictive, just like her rabbit or the bullet she couldn't stop using. In fact, ever since Lamar had been handling his business in the bedroom, she hadn't even been using her toys, except for the one time she brought the bullet to a sex session.
“What're you lookin' at, Kim?” Lamar asked, turning onto his side to face her.
“I still can't believe that you're a male dancer. I mean, I never pictured you being a stripper.” She laughed.
Lamar smiled. “Yeah, well, I never thought yo' ass would be a paralegal, either. I always thought you would be a doctor, or maybe even working for NASA or some shit. But here you are, wasting ya time looking up case law all day.”
“Shut up, boy! I like my job,” Kim shot back, along with a jab to his arm. “I was thinking about taking the bar exam, maybe becoming a lawyer at my firm.”
“A lawyer? Yeah, I can see that, 'cause you sure know how to lie ya ass off!” he joked.
Kim reached behind her and grabbed one of the pillows, and then hit Lamar in the head with it. He playfully retaliated, jumping up and hitting her back with the pillow that he was lying on. The both laughed and giggled.
Kim tried to wrestle with him, but Lamar was too strong. He pinned her down to the bed, then climbed on top of her. She struggled for a minute, then stopped once he leaned down and softly kissed her lips. He pulled back, and looked down at her as she looked back up at him. He leaned in and kissed her again, this time adding a little tongue to it. Although she was enjoying it, she caught on to what was going on. She pulled back and turned her head to stop him.
Lamar immediately saw that something was wrong. “What's the matter?” he asked, releasing her hand that was still pressed to the bed.
“Nothing. I'm cool,” Kim answered, rolling from under him then grabbing her shorts and tank top off the floor. “I gotta go.”
Lamar didn't dig it at first, but after watching her get dressed and storm out of the room, it hit him and became clear what was going on. The boundaries that were put in place in the beginning of this sexcapade were starting to get crossed.
Kim didn't want her feelings getting involved, and the way Lamar was treating her was starting to trigger something. It was like they were already in a full-fledged relationship, something that she was trying to avoid. Before it had could go any further, she was going to put an end to it, or at least slow things down a bit.
* * *
“I hope you put some gas in my car,” Darious joked when he saw Tammy enter the customer service area.
“Boy, shut up!” She smiled and passed him his keys.
Over the past couple of weeks, Darious and Tammy had gotten cool. They talked on the phone just about every night, mainly about life and the goals they wanted to accomplish in the near future. Darious had become somewhat of a friend, somebody Tammy could go to for advice and even, on one occasion, a loan.
“Oh, did you think about what I asked you the other day? You know the weekend is right around the corner and I kinda wanna get an idea if you wanna go with me,” he said.
“I don't know. I'm not sure if that's aâ”
“Look, no strings attached,” Darious said, throwing both of his hands in the air. “It's only two friends going out to the casino to do a little gambling,” he continued.
One thing Tammy didn't have to worry about was Darious having any ulterior motives behind taking her out. He wasn't like most guys who always looked for something in return after they had taken a girl somewhere or bought her something. He was a gentleman, which was something that was rare in Charlotte. If he said they were going out as friends, then that's what it would be. “I'm not spending the night out there,” Tammy said with a big smile on her face.
“Don't worry. I'll have you home by one, maybe two. Now, if I get on a hot streak, that's another story!” He chuckled.
They both shared a few laughs before having to get back to work.
Tammy wasn't slow by a long shot, though. She knew that this was a date, and Darious was going at it under the friendship card to ease any pressure. It was cute and innocent, and she didn't mind entertaining it for just one night.
* * *
Ralphy walked into the house, went straight upstairs, and got into the shower without saying a single word to Lisa, who was sitting on the couch. This had been his routine for the past week, and the only reason why Lisa didn't question it was because she didn't feel like she was in a position to. In her mind, she thought that he was sleeping with another woman, but even if he was, who was she to say anything? It was her fault that things were the way they were.
“Are you coming back?” she hurried up and asked as Ralphy came running back down the stairs toward the door.
“Naw. I'll see you tomorrow. I got some shit to take care of,” he said, throwing the black hood over his head. “Is ya mom still watching Naomi this weekend?” he asked, stopping at the door.
Lisa took a closer look at him and noticed the unusual attire he was wearing. He had on all black from head to toe, and the look he had in his eyes was different. It was a look that she had never seen before, and it made her concerned. “Ralphy, what's wrong with you?” she asked, getting up from the couch and walking over to the door.
He gave her an empty look and shook his head. “I'm good. I just gotta take care of something,” he answered.
Lisa had known Ralphy long enough to know when something wasn't right with him. It was one thing to come into the house, take a shower, and go straight to bed, but it was another thing to be dressed in all black and leaving the house with a deranged look on his face. “Ralphy, is this about us? 'Cause if it is, I can fix it, babe. Just give me a chance; I promise!” she pleaded, not wanting him to do anything stupid.
“I gotta go,” Ralphy said, reaching for the doorknob.
Lisa stood in front of the door, blocking it. She was still very much in love with him and didn't want anything to happen to him. If she could take back everything she did, she would in a heartbeat just to have things back to normal. “Please, babe, can we work this out?” she pleaded while wiping the tears that fell from her eyes.
The crying wasn't going to help. Ralphy didn't have a place in his heart for sympathy when it came to her anymore. This whole ordeal forced him to dig into his past and be somebody he used to be. There weren't too many people who knew how vicious he once was in the streets of the Queen City. He used to go hard, and he was part of the reason why Charlotte's murder rate was so high back in 2002, 2003, and 2004. It was as if Lisa had woken a sleeping giant. “Look, man, I gotta go,” he said before moving her to the side, opening the door, and walking out of the house.
Lisa just stood at the threshold and watched him get into his car and pull off. She was sick. She didn't know what he was going to do. But, whatever it was, she could only pray that it didn't get him killed or thrown in jail.
* * *
“Do you have to go straight home?” Darious asked Tammy as they approached his car.
Stopping at the passenger side door, she asked with a curious look on her face, “Why? Where are you tryin' to take me?”
“I know this little spot where we can grab something to eat. I know you're hungry as hell, working in there all day,” he said with a smile.
The truth of the matter was that she was starving. The only problem was that she didn't have any money to be eating take-out food. Rent was right around the corner, along with the electric bill, gas bill, and her cell phone bill. Money was tight right now. Plus, she already had a refrigerator full of food and her cabinets were stocked to the max. It wasn't take-out, but it was free courtesy of welfare. “Boy, I ain't got any money for take-out.” She chuckled before opening the car door and getting inside.
Darious got into the car too. He looked over at Tammy and shook his head. “How about dinner on me tonight? You need to stop worrying about money all the time.” He smiled. He grabbed the remote control off the center console and began changing the CDs in the changer.
Tammy couldn't help but to find him attractive. The more time they spent together, the more things she began to notice about him, small things, like the way he walked with a slight ditty bop, the way he always talked in a calm manner, and how confident he was in himself, not to mention the fact that he had his own car, his own apartment, and he was financially stable. Plus, he was single. He was a good catch, but she wasn't at that stage in her life right now.
“What you know about this?” Darious said, pushing play on the remote control.
Dru Hill's song “Beauty” flooded the car. This was something else that she noticed about him. He was somewhat of a hopeless romantic. Tammy was feeling that too, and if she didn't get some control over the situation immediately, it would be possible for her to fall into temptation.
* * *
Falisha sat on her steps, sipping on a bottle of Moscoto and enjoying the quiet night, as she did one or two nights out of the week. Things had been a little quieter since she broke up with Big Fox. She expected Lamar to stand by all the promises he made to her, but as of right now he wasn't showing up. Falisha barely saw him during the day because he was always ripping and running around, and by the time she did catch up to him in the evening, he was too tired to do anything. That's part of the reason why she was sitting out on the steps tonight. She was hoping that she could catch him before he went to work. And like clockwork, at about 9:45 p.m., he was stepping outside with his duffel bag slung over his shoulder.
She got up off the steps and walked over to his car while he was putting his bag in the trunk. “Damn, Lamar! You don't know me anymore?” she said while leaning against the vehicle.
Lamar looked at her then chuckled. “Shouldn't you be out somewhere with Big Fox?” he asked, digging into his bag to get his identification.
“What's that supposed to mean?” she shot back.
“Just what I said, Falisha. I know any minute now he's gonna be bending the corner in his truck, and you're gonna go running to him. To be honest with you, that shit is getting old,” he said, and slammed the trunk.
“I broke up with him,” Falisha told him.
“Yeah, right! You love that nigga,” he said. He was so caught up with sexing Kim that he didn't even notice Fox not coming around for a couple of weeks now. He didn't know if he even cared at this point. His brain was somewhere else, but Falisha snapped him right back to reality. She walked up to him, wrapped her arms around him, and looked him right in the eyes.
“I swear, it's over between me and him. I realize who I wanna be with now, and that's you,” she said with a sincere look in her eyes. She got up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips up against his. This was the first time that she had ever purposely shown him public affection.
It caught Lamar by surprise, but it didn't stop him from returning the kiss. “Oh, shit, you're serious!” he said after pulling away from her.
Falisha nodded her head with a big smile on her face. He pulled her back in to hug her. This was some of the best news he had in weeks.
But while he was standing in the middle of the street and holding on to the woman of his dreams, his happy moment was ruined in an instant when he looked up at his building and saw Kim looking out the window at them. He could see the sad look on her face before she closed the shades, leaving him wondering if he had done something wrong.
* * *
Ralphy and Scoop sat in Scoop's car with their seats leaned back and the car turned off. Ralphy had done his homework on Dre, and found out that he was back in his old neighborhood, doin' his thing again. It took him about a week, but he eventually narrowed it down to a two-block radius where Dre was hustling. It was all about the waiting game right now, because Ralphy was sitting there in the passenger seat, waiting for him to show his face.