I Wanna Be Bad For You Page 7
“You feeling yourself, for real these days, huh? Don’t act like I ain’t never ran shit, Baby, ‘cause I definitely ran you, so you might want to check that shit if you know what’s good for you.” Ant moved in closer, making me feel uncomfortable.
“Or, what?” I heard Rashaad’s voice say before Anthony was snatched out of my personal space and into the wall. I hadn’t seen Rashaad emerge from out of the stairwell, but I was glad that he had. Anthony put his hands up, in surrender, as Rashaad held him by the collar of his hoodie.
“Nothing, my nigga. It’s all good.” Ant smirked. “I was just strolling down memory lane with Devyn. You know how that shit go.”
“Nah, my nigga, I don’t. I don’t have time to bring up old shit when I been too busy making new memories.” Rashaad sized Ant up before releasing his grip. “Shouldn’t you be out making me some money, though? But, instead, you all in my bitch face.”
I could see the steam rolling off of Ant, and I knew that he was pissed that Rashaad had played him once again. I scrunched my face up at Rashaad also for referring to me as his bitch. I was feeling the nigga, but I was not going to be disrespected. Ant nodded his head and disappeared down the stairs after giving me a dirty look. I exhaled, not realizing that I had been holding my breath the entire time. I looked up at Rashaad, and I could tell that he was pissed by the way his jaw was twitching.
“Aye’, shorty, go grab some of your shit, and meet me downstairs.” He said. “I ain’t in the mood to play these games with this nigga no more, so you coming to stay with me.”
It was late, and I wasn’t in the mood to protest. I‘d be lying if I said that I wasn’t a little shook at the fact that Ant knew where I lived. I didn’t like the way he had demanded that I pack my shit, but even though, I wanted the comfort of my home, I wasn’t going to pass up more time with Rashaad.
I threw a few outfits and toiletries in my Victoria’s Secret overnight bag and locked up my house before heading down to the parking lot. Rashaad was sitting back in his midnight blue Audi A8, with all the windows open, puffing on a blunt, as I walked up. I climbed into the front seat, and he tried to pass me the blunt, but I declined.
“That’s a small bag, Ma.” He said, as he pulled away from the curb.
“I’m not moving in.” I replied. “So, I don’t see the need to pack my whole house.” I giggled.
“We’ll see.” Was his only response, as we headed toward the expressway.
I’d must have dosed off, because when I opened my eyes, we were pulling into an underground garage. Rashaad didn’t say a word, as he grabbed my bag and lead me to an elevator. I wasn’t used to his moods, so I wasn’t sure how to take his silence, as I exited the elevator behind him once we made it to the top floor of the downtown high rise. When we walked into his apartment, I was amazed. The floor to ceiling windows of his loft showcased all the lights of downtown Chicago. I had to admit that his place was nice. It was minimally decorated, and you could tell that it was missing a woman’s touch. He had hardwood floors throughout, and the open floor plan boasted no walls and metal stairs that lead up to what I assumed was his bedroom. Rashaad put his keys down on the stainless steel kitchen counter top and went toward the fridge.
“You hungry?” He asked. I shook my head, still in awe of the amazing view that he had. I walked over to the window, and instantly, felt like I was on top of the whole city. I felt Rashaad behind me, as he pressed his body into mine. Then, I relaxed and laid my head back on chest.
“Um, let’s not get comfortable with that bitch word, sir. I’m going to let it slide, but don’t think you going to disrespect me.” I said.
“It ain’t like that, Ma, I apologize, ‘cause that’s the last thing I was trying to do.” Rashaad responded. “I never want you to see me beast, but that nigga had me feeling some type of way just seeing him near you.” He said, as he placed a kiss on the top of my head. He led me upstairs to his bedroom area that still held the view from the windows and over looked the entire downstairs area. I hopped in his bed and snuggled in, falling asleep, as soon as my body sank into the plush mattress.
Rashaad
I woke up with the smell of bacon filling my nose. I climbed out of the bed and walked over to the railing in my room that overlooked the kitchen and watched Devyn as she whipped some eggs up while talking on the phone. I cracked a smile just watching her, because that was a sight that I could get used to. Laying up under her all day will have to wait, I thought, as I scrolled though the messages on my phone.
My phone started to vibrate, as I walked out of the bathroom from handling my hygiene.
“Yooo!” I answered, as I walked down the stairs and took a seat on the couch, as I listened to Meek tell me that we had a short count from one of our spots. A loss was something neither one of us were keen on accepting.
“A’ight, I’m on my way.” I said, trying not to sound as angry as I was. Devyn brought a plate of food over to the couch and stared at me with a concerned look.
“What’s the matter with you?” She asked.
“I gotta go handle something.” I kept it simple, as I dug into the breakfast she had prepared.
“Okay, so… Am I going with you, or are you taking me home?”
“You can stay here until I come back.” I said, putting my fork down.
“Nope!” She responded, quickly. “Listen, I’m not being restricted to the house while niggas wanna go play in the streets anymore. You brought me here, and you think you can just leave me here? Uh, uh, believe me, I’ve lived in the city my whole life, so I have no problem getting my ass on the bus and going home. It won’t take long, because I can see my neighborhood from here.” She motioned for the window.
I had to smile at her, because her little outburst was cute. I already knew that she wasn’t a confrontational type of check, so her version of going off on me only made me want to burst out in laughter. I stood up from the couch towering over her.
“Look, I ain’t going to be gone long, but the keys to my cars are right by the door. I ain’t trying to hold you hostage, Ma. You can leave whenever you want, but do me a favor and don’t group me and that lame ass nigga you was used to, ‘cause he ain’t me, and I ain’t him.” I told her, matter of factly. Devyn sucked her teeth before standing up and heading up the stairs. A few minutes later, I heard the shower running and the scent of her sweet body wash filling the air.
As much as I wanted to stay and join her, I threw on a Nike sweat suit and headed out the door. I’d left Devyn the keys to my Porsche and a few bands, just in case, she wanted to find something to do. I made sure that I took her house keys, though, just in case, she wanted to make good on her threat of going home. I know that I said that I wouldn’t force her, but what could I say? I’m a selfish person, at heart.
~~~
I pulled up to the trap house and noticed Meek, Lamar, and Drama standing on the front porch. I could tell that my brother was heated, as I walked up the steps. The trap house looked like any other house on the block, and there was hardly any traffic in that area, so we’d mainly used it for stashing money and storage in between crews re-upping.
“What the fuck happened here?” I asked, dapping everyone up.
“Niggas obviously thinking shit sweet.” Meek started in. “I noticed the lil’ homie, Jerel, moving funny the last time he came through. Nothing major, ‘cause we expected a lil’ flex, so me and Lamar hit up the Pink Kitty last night, and that nigga was in there throwing bands. Kind of odd, right? Come through this morning to get the count together for tonight with Drama, and we sitting on, at least, fifteen g’s in counterfeit cash.”
Counterfeit money was something any dope boy knew how to spot. Shit, if you was in the business, you could point the shit out quicker than the ladies in Target with them color pens at the register. So, for there to be that high of an amount of fake money of the fold, had to be intentional. One thing I wasn’t about to do was hand over fake bills to the Columbian cats that we dealt with.
“So, you figure it was Jerel?” I asked, taking the blunt from Meek.
“Yo’, shorty has def been out there grinding, cause his blocks been jumping lately , but they ain’t jumping like that for him to be ballin out in the club like he some type of boss.” Meek said, matter of factly. I looked over at Drama and Lamar, and they both nodded their heads in agreement. “Plus, that money came from the duffel bag that he dropped off. I ain’t no dumb nigga. I know what it is.” He continued.
I knew that my brother was an observer and would sit back and watch how people moved before he jumped to conclusions, so I trusted his word, and as always, we had each other’s back when it came down to handling shit.
“So, who got a line on this nigga? Where he at?” I asked.
“Glad you asked, baby brother.” Meek said, with a devious grin before turning and going inside the house. I followed close behind, and to my surprise, Meek already had Jerel tied up to a chair in the living room. I had to laugh a bit, because my brother already knew I would be down for the action.
Jerel whimpered, a bit, as Meek walked around him like a lion stalking his prey. His left eye was already swollen shut, and blood stained his clothes from the ass whipping Meek, Drama, and Lamar had already delivered to him. Jerel’s eyes darted around the room, and I was sure that, if his mouth wasn’t gagged, he’d probably try screaming like the bitch that he was. I could never understand how niggas could find the balls to take something that wasn’t theirs but be ready to cry when they got caught.
“Man, shut yo’ bitch ass up.” Meek mushed Jerel’s head. I swear, I saw tears forming in the man’s eyes. I crouched down in front of him and just looked at him for a minute. I always became intrigued watching the fear in people’s eyes.
“Now, we gonna have a talk lil’ dude.” I said, calmly. “You gonna be a man about this, or do we need to take other measures?” I asked him.
Jerel nodded his head, too eagerly, so I knew he understood where I was coming from with my question. I motioned for Meek to remove the gag from his mouth and stood up.
“So, you thought you could run through here with fake ass money like we was some dumb niggas, huh?”
“I swear, Shaad. I ain’t know that shit was no play money. I promise I wouldn’t step to y’all like that.” Jerel cried.
“But, you did, nigga. What, you thought this shit was?” Meek yelled. I could tell he was ready to pounce.
“I’m listening, Jerel.” I continued, in my calm tone.
“This bitch came through a few days ago and was looking to get in on some weight. I figured I’d sell her what I had left from up north and cash out on some shit I had as personal. I had no idea the bitch would pull the okey doke and throw fake money my way.” Jerel started.
“Nigga, you got rolled on by a bitch!” Meek said, in disbelief.
“So, you just down to do business with some random ass bitch? Now, you sitting looking stupid.” I stated, sarcastically.
“Nah, I knew about her from back in the day. She used to do major shit when she was messing with this Spanish nigga, and my man vouched for her, so I thought the shit was good. I thought I could get ya’ll your money before hand and be straight. I wasn’t trying to fuck ya’ll over, ‘cause I been eating good since I been down with y’all. For real, come on, man.” Jerel continued to cry.
“Who’s ya man that cosigned the shit?” I asked.
“My man, Ant. I mean, I know y’all had beef, or whatever, but I been knowing that nigga since we was shorty’s, so I would never think he would get me in the mix of some shit. I was putting the nigga on.”
My blood was boiling. I knew the nigga Ant was going to try to pull a stunt, eventually, but I didn’t think he was dumb enough to fuck with my money. A part of me wished I had put a hot one in his ass last night, but I’d held back off the strength that Devyn was there. That nigga was mixing his personal feelings in with business; my business, and it just wasn’t going to go down like that.
Jerel continued to run down where we could find the bitch that got off with our product and with giving us fake money, but going after her would have been too easy. That nigga had me hot, and after that, I felt an example needed to be made out of everyone who thought that that shit was a game.
“A’ight, I hear you, lil’ dude.” I said, patting Jerel on the top of the head. He was so busy crying that he didn’t notice Meek screwing the silencer on to his 9 millimeter. I turned and headed for the door only to hear the low PHEW of Meek’s gun before his footsteps behind me.
“We need to ride down on this nigga, Ant. That cat and mouse shit dead with his ass. This is bigger than him being in his feeling over a bitch. Now, he fucking with this money, and that can’t slide.” Meek said, as we walked over to my car.
“I feel you, but my shorty ain’t no bitch, bruh.” I said, correcting him.
“Oh shit, let me find out your ass catching feelings!” Meek, playfully, pushed me.
“Shorty is cool as fuck. I ain’t gonna lie, but we def gotta get this work in. Have Drama put eyes on that nigga, Ant. I don’t want to waste too much time getting shit popping with him.” I said, before dapping my brother up and heading back to my crib. The little couple thousand Jerel came up short on was nothing major for us to replace, but it was indeed a slap in the face, ‘cause these cats thought it was a game. I wasn’t going to allow none of these small timers to mess what we were building up and step on our toes. For a female to try to pull this stunt and run game was simply insult to injury.
When I pulled back into the underground parking of my building, I was happy to see that my Porsche was still in the same spot. I was kind of looking forward to laying up under Devyn. Especially since I’d been light weight stressing about this money situation. Not because I couldn’t handle it, but more so, because I should have never let a spiteful nigga get close to my business. And I hated when niggas tried to test me like I was some type of sucker. I walked into my apartment, and immediately, noticed the money and keys were in the same place on the breakfast bar where I’d left them.
“Aye, yo’, Shorty. Where you at?” I called out only to get no response. I walked up the stairs to my bedroom to find that my bed had been made. If her mango body wash didn’t still linger in the air, you would have never even known that she had been there.
I see she wants to play tough, I said to myself, before pulling my phone out and shooting her a text. I’d let her play this little game for right now, but she needed to know that, in the end, she was going to be mine, and I handled challenges well.
Devyn
If there was one thing that I learned coming out of my relationship with Anthony, it was that I wasn’t going to be sitting around waiting on a nigga. Shortly after Rashaad walked out of the door, I packed my bag and bounced. Although I enjoyed his company, I wasn’t going to be one these broads that waits around on man to throw me a little attention. I was learning to love myself more than that.
I hopped in a cab and headed for my place. I made sure that I put Rashaad’s number on the block list, before I hit Rina up to see what she was getting into. If he was serious about pursuing something with me, he’d be willing to sweat it out a little bit. He talked a good game while I was with him, so I was going to look at this as a little test.
“What’s good, Mama!” Rina answered.
“I need a night out!” I started in. “Between Ant’s drama and Rashaad thinking I’m one of these birds that’s going to wait around on him, I’m starting to get stressed out. Hell, maybe, I should be like you and get me a girlfriend.” I laughed.
“Girl, bye! Ain’t nothing wrong with switching it up some. Don’t nobody know a woman’s body better than another woman. I’m just saying, cuz.” Rina cosigned. “But, on the real, that nigga Rashaad is fine as fuck. I would have rather you waited around for him than Ant’s scrawny ass, any day. If I was in the market for something stiff, I’d be hanging all around that niggas balls. He’d be fighting my ass off.” She laughed.
I knew that Rina was open about her bi-sexual lifestyle, but I can’t lie and say I didn’t feel kind of slighted that she would be willing to go at Rashaad. Then again, who wouldn’t? Last night, we hadn’t had sex, but just being hugged up with him, had my pussy doing back flips. Those eyes and even the scent of his skin did things to me. It was hard, as hell, not acting on impulse and jumping all over him. I knew that I wasn’t as experienced as some of the women that I was sure that he’d been with, but he had me ready to damn sure act like it.
“Bump all that. Let’s go out, tonight.” I said, attempting to change the subject before I got deeper into my feelings.
“Now, you speaking my language, honey, yassss!” Rina cheered. “But, I’m choosing the place.”
“You are so silly, but that’s fine with me. I’m going to go home and get dressed.” I told her. We chatted a bit more before I ended the call just as the cab pulled up to my building.
~~~
I don’t’ know what I had gotten myself into coming to a gay bar with Rina’s crazy ass, but I had to admit, I was having a blast. Just watching everyone be free, had me easing all the way out of my comfort zone. I even accepted a few drinks from some pretty good looking women. I left Rina and Jess on the dance floor and headed to the bar for another drink, when I felt someone tap my shoulder.
“What the hell you doing up in here, study buddy!” I turned around to find my project partner, D. Maybe, it was the liquor, or maybe, I just hadn’t noticed, but she was looking pretty good. D had a tomboy swag about her. She had her long hair pulled back with the sleeves of her Armani V-neck t-shirt cuffed, exposing all of the tattoos on her arms and neck. Oh My God, what the hell is going on with me? I thought to myself. I’m sure that she had noticed my stare, because I couldn’t help but lick my lips.