LAUREN
T
he entire ride home from the Chanel store I could not stop thinking about the three million dollars. I figured that if Matt did have the correct bank account number and there was in fact that amount of money in that account then all I needed to do was come up with a way of how I was going to get the entire three million dollars out of that account and away from Matt and Yancy without giving them shit. I had a few ideas in mind, but I knew Matt still had that street mindset so I needed to be real careful. Even though Matt was on parole he still had street connections that ran deep enough to wipe me off the face of the earth if he wanted to, so I would have to tread lightly. His accomplice, Yancy, was just a fucking trick we picked up off the streets so she was harmless. All I had to do to her was call her pimp. I'm sure he'd love to know where she was.
As soon as I put my key in the condo door the door swung open, yanked my hand, and scared the holy shit out of me. I came face-to-face with Yancy.
“Um, Lauren.” Yancy gulped like it was a surprise that I was coming into my own place. Her face was scrawled into a disturbed expression that seemed to be a cross between anger and grief. She definitely wasn't too pleased to see me. Too bad though, because this was my fucking house and she was a guest as far as I saw it. And if it were up to me, she'd be gone a long time ago. Lucky for her, Matt kept her onboard for . . . obvious reasons.
“You scared me storming out of the door like that,” I huffed. I could immediately see in her face that she was upset. “Where are you going? Don't we have this big score to discuss?”
I wondered if Matt cursed her out and told her to get the fuck out because she looked totally out of it. Her caramel skin was blotchy and red like she'd been crying and her usual perfectly laid makeup was smudged and crazy-looking.
“Ask your man about it because I need some air,” Yancy said, sounding like she was using every fiber in her body to hold on to her composure. I had known her long enough to know when she was on the brink.
“Take your time,” I replied sarcastically. Truth be told, having her out of my hair was the best thing she could do right now. I've found it very hard to keep up a front in front of her and Matt. To see her anywhere near him made my skin crawl. I loved Matt. So to know that he was dicking Yancy down every time I turned my back felt like a dagger was constantly being thrown at me. So, I hoped she'd find a balcony to jump off while she was out there. Fucking home wrecker!
Once I was inside, Matt came walking down the hallway from the back of our house.
“What's up, bae?” he said, forcing himself to smile. His facial expression was strange-looking. Now that I think about it, it was the same look he wore the very first time I caught him in the act of cheating on me. “You tell me what's up?” I cocked my head to the side and answered him. I knew something wasn't right. I knew Matt very well. He was an open book at the time. So whatever went on between him and Yancy before I got here, I wanted to hear about it. But I wanted to hear it come from his mouth. I've learned that when you start guessing shit, you end up putting words in the next person's mouth.
“Why you looking at me like that?” he asked me. I could tell that his mind was racing. He knew I knew something but what it was, he wasn't sure.
“What's wrong with Yancy? What, y'all had a little fight or something?” I asked as casually as I could.
“Nah, she just got an attitude because I told her to keep a tight lid on spending so much money right now.”
I knew he was lying. Matt never put a cap on how much money any of us could spend. His deception made my pulse quicken and my insides immediately started boiling. I'd been having this feeling a lot lately. It's so far from the feelings I had around Matt when we first got together. I couldn't help but think back to that fateful day. . . .
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May 2005
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Matt was the biggest drug dealer in the Virginia Beach area. He was like a king in our neighborhood and everybody knew he had the entire Virginia Beach on lockdown with his premium heroin and the best weed in the South. Matt was that dude who made his reputation off having good product and a no-nonsense attitude. Matt was both the most feared and most admired dude in the entire city. Matt was that dude who drove a different car every week, never wore any of his designer clothes more than once, and lived it up every single night in the clubs and expensive restaurants. I think he was making something like two hundred thousand dollars a week off street sales alone. Matt was the boss and everything about him screamed boss. Matt wasn't the hand-to-hand dude; instead, he employed almost all of the little dope boys in the city. Matt had connections far and wide and even had the police on his payroll. Matt had a criminal enterprise worth millions. His tall, statuesque physique, smooth chocolate skin, perfectly straight white teeth, and the perfect set of waves on his head made every girl in the hood fall at his feet trying to get his attention. Chicks were literally fighting over Matt in the streets, I had witnessed it myself. Mad chicks hated me and wanted to take my position as his girl. Matt had money and charisma. Not to mention, he had the swag of Jay-Z and Rick Ross put together since his jewelry and watch game was on bling and his clothes were always of the best quality. I don't think I had ever seen him in anything that cost less than a stack each piece.
Of all the chicks in Virginia Beach, I was the chick who had snagged him and got wifed by him. There were a lot of people in the hood who couldn't understand why he had chosen me. For some reason, Matt had pursued me relentlessly after he first laid eyes on me in the club. I couldn't believe it when Matt was so hard-pressed for my number because I was nowhere near his status. Shit, I was still living in the projects with my crackhead mother and boosting food and clothes just to get by. The one good thing I always did was attend school and get good grades. Later Matt told me that part of the reason he wanted me was because he knew I was one of the few chicks in the hood who went to school every day and he also found it honorable that every other dude around the way hadn't been with me and talked about it. No, I wasn't that type of chick. I was so focused on being the opposite of my drug addict, pussy-selling, trifling-ass mother that I made sure I carried myself totally different. I wanted out of the hood so I figured the only way to do it was to stay in school; who knows maybe I'd go to college and end up with a good job or something.
I mostly stayed to myself, went to school, and never paid the dope boys any mind. Until Matt pushed up. His approach was different, yet I still played hard to get. He had been the perfect gentleman. He was always respectful, sent me flowers, and bought me loads of gifts all before I even agreed to go on the first date with him. Once I did go out with him, I was immediately in love. Matt treated me like a precious diamond and in turn, I was as loyal a woman as they come.
By 2003 and within a year of our first date, Matt had changed my life, but of course, I found out real fast that the good life with Matt came at a high price. I had literally lost my sense of self. I wasn't interested in attending college anymore because Matt had convinced me that we would always have money. I had everything a girl could ask for, except friends and my family. I became the envy of every girl in my neighborhood. I had never really experienced blatant jealousy on that level before. It was a real lonely-ass life. Girls would throw rocks at my windows. Throw shade on my name in the streets. Anything to get Matt for themselves. It was crazy. Matt was busy with his business and slowly but surely he was making less and less time for me. Everybody wanted Matt and in the beginning he made me feel like he didn't want anybody but me. He used to always tell me not to even think about other chicks because I was his number one. He referred to me as the first lady all of the time. During those early months, Matt and I spent lots of time together going out to eat, shopping, fucking, and just being a solid couple. Then it happened, for the first time after we had been together two years, drama and bullshit came into our relationship and it was all because of the hoes.
Another Saturday had come and I was sitting on the edge of the bed watching Matt get his shit together to go out while he was expecting me to stay in the house doing absolutely nothing.
“Why you always get to go to the parties, but you want me to stay home all of a sudden?” I had asked Matt as he got dressed in his finest threads to leave the house. “I mean you used to take me everywhere. Now we hardly do shit together and it's like you want me to stay hidden in the house or something,” I griped. “What? You don't like my hair? Did I gain weight? I'm not pretty enough to be out with you no more? What is it, Matt?” I pressed. I could see a look of disgust darken his face.
“Lauren, not this shit again. You already know the deal. The life ain't new to you. So why you actin' brand-new all of a sudden? When you the first lady of a street nigga of my caliber you gotta abide by street rules. I go to these bullshit parties to hustle, to make major deals that will benefit the both of us later, not to be out and about. It ain't about partying, it's about elevating shit for us. I got to keep my endgame in mind. Feel me?” Matt said with a hint of irritation lacing his words. I rolled my eyes and sucked my teeth.
“Yeah right,” I huffed. “You can't be conducting business every Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and sometimes during the week, too, Matt. We don't do shit together anymore. And I'm tired of being in this fucking house,” I snapped.
“Word to my unborns, Lauren. I can't even believe you trippin' like this right now. You act like I don't try to protect you. This game ain't no place for that pretty-ass face. Sometimes I'm meeting niggas from out of town and I don't know what their real intentions are. A nigga could be setting me up for the downfall and I don't want you in harm's way if that's the case. Niggas who ain't in my circle don't need to know who my girl is. Period. If shit jump off and they can't find me, they gon' come looking for you. I don't need that kind of stress just because you wanted to prove a point about having your ass in the streets. The people who matter know you my first lady so why you trippin' about hanging on my arm in a fuckin' hood ratâass club? Stop the madness, Lauren. I need you to play your position and act like a queen. Be easy and life will always be good for us,” Matt preached.
I rolled my eyes and twisted my lips. I wasn't trying to listen to that fucking sermon he was spewing. I guess all that talking was supposed to ease the tense tightening I was feeling in my stomach but it didn't. I was battling with that gut feeling that women get that tells them something ain't right with their man. Something was up and I felt it, regardless if he wanted to admit it or not. I knew what time it was.
Matt walked over and pulled me up from our specially made California King bed. He pulled me into his chest and the scent of his cologne already had my pussy thumping. I hated that this nigga made me so weak in the knees all of the time.
“Just stay home with me,” I whined all babylike.
“Stop being like that, Lauren. You know I would have you with me, but shit is a little sketchy tonight. I'm meeting a new connect from out of town about some business and I don't know the nigga from a can of paint. I need to be on my P's and Q's and if you're there I will be distracted,” Matt said as he softly stroked my long hair. “I can't have that, baby girl. I really need this deal to be official with no worrying and no bullshit.” Matt was laying it on thick and I was playing right along too. The whole time I was thinking,
This nigga thinks I'm stupid.
“I hate all of this being alone lately, Matt. Seems like I'm always in the house. You don't take me shopping now, you just send me with a stack of cash. You don't take me to dinner, you just send a chef. I mean, it is not the same anymore. You ain't even giving me the dick like you used to,” I whined some more. Matt pulled me away from his chest and looked into my eyes. He started laughing like I had just told the funniest joke. I looked at him and crinkled my face in confusion as to what was so damn funny.
“So that's what this is all about? You want some of this long dick?” he joked. I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't keep the silly smile from forming on my lips. Matt had that good-good. I couldn't stay mad at his ass for nothing once he threw that dick on me. I never turned down a chance to get some.
“Oh, I can give you the dick right now,” Matt joked, grabbing a handful of his crotch. I blushed so hard I could feel my cheeks turning red. Matt quickly shrugged out of his jacket and had his pants coming down within seconds.
“No, go to your party. . . .” I started, trying to play hard to get. “I don't even want none if you just gon' dick me down and leave me here.”
My words went tumbling back down my throat when Matt roughly put his mouth on top of mine.
“Get off that bullshit and get on this dick,” he huffed. I shivered as the heat of his breath sent a ripple of chills down my back. He extended his tongue into my mouth and I accepted by sucking on it gently. Within seconds I was so wet I could feel my own juices soaking the seat of my lace panties.
“Your friends . . .” I whispered. I knew Matt had his crew waiting outside for him.
“Nobody comes before you,” Matt huffed. His words made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Damn, I loved him so much I could feel it in the deepest part of me.