I busted up out of them gates screaming fuck the law vowing to never return. Even the air felt different once you crossed the line that separated you from being a normal human being from a convict. I don’t care if I had to murk Muggs ass, that bitch would never catch me slipping ever again.
I heard the sound of a horn honking and looked over to see a nice ass Lexus Jeep. Shit was a sight for sore eyes, and I couldn’t wait to get behind the wheel of one of my babies. I wouldn’t call myself a car fanatic, but I owned three luxury cars and traded them shits in yearly on a whim.
I heard the horn honk again and I tried to narrow my eyes to see who it was, but the tints were too dark.
“Come on silly,” I heard the familiar voice and I was surprised to see Stephany peek her head out of the window.
“Yo what are you doing here?” I asked, caught off guard. She was sitting behind her wheel smiling like she had just won the lottery.
“Well, I know now that your brother was supposed to be here, but I told him I would scoop you instead. I was already up here anyway with another client.”
I side eyed her for a moment. Stephany seemed like a cool girl, but it was clear that she was already catching feelings. I debated whether or not I should leave with her and then just said fuck it. I was ready to get far away for this shit hole. I hopped in her whip and changed the girly shit that she was playing. I hooked my phone up that I got out of the brown paper bag that ad all my belongings from when I first got locked up. I hooked it up to her radio and blasted that Lil Durk x David Ruffin.
You ever woke up out your sleep like is you gon' die in the trenches?
You ever thought it'd be your dawg when they described the witness?
I wrote a letter to authorities when they threw out the tenants
To claim that shit that bro'nem claim, you know that shit a privilege
For Pat I'll throw them tears, I remember the night they took him
I treat them hoes with a lil' respect cause that could be my sister
They had gave police them guns, when they pulled up, they booked 'em
We catch a opp, he get baptized like I was never Muslim
Like wipe yo’ nose, I love you bro, stop fucking with Ashton Kutcher
I banged that shit a hunnid times before I finally made it to my destination. I caught Stephany off beat bobbing her head a few times and it made me chuckle. Yeah, she was Italian and black, but to me she was whit. She looked white and talked white so her ass was white to me.
I got out of the car and nodded to her and thanked her for the ride and she smiled before stopping me.
“Oh, and I know that you are not driving so I can pick you up when you are done,” she said, hopefully.
“Nah, I’m good baby, one of my brothers got me.”
“Oh, if they are at work you don’t have to bother them. Just text me,” she was damn near begging now and it was not becoming of her.
“Shorty, fix your face. You want to be my chauffeur that damn badly?” I stroked my chin while she only looked on.
My own bitch didn’t know that I was out and probably didn’t care to see so why would I turn down Stephany. She could be my driver for the day.
“Aite, come back and get me in an hour. Don’t be taking all day either,” I’m sure if I asked her ass to sit outside and wait for me, she would.
“Okay,” she said, with a perky smile. I shook my head and walked off. This bitch had it bad.
“FIRST OF ALL, FUCK YA BITCH AND THE CLIQUE YOU CLAIM!” I announced my presence walking into the Smokin’ Kutz.
It was Friday and the shop was packed as hell. The weather was still pretty nice out so that was an added plus for the shop. Kids was running around; each chair was filled and as usual I had interrupted some deep ass conversation piece or something.
“My boy!” Iggy was the first to approach me and gave me a big ass bear hug. This man really thought he was my daddy. He had to get his hug in first.
“Oh, nigga so you back from that fancy ass island with Beau. I thought you was about to become a citizen or something,” I joked.
“Man, your shit talking ass starting up already. Somebody come get him.”
All the patrons were dapping me up welcoming me home and I made sure to hug each of my brothers. You know hugs were our thing. It connected us and we never ended the day without giving one another at least one hug.
“They done let Flamin Flame out. Hide your kids hide your wives,” Smoke said, causing the shop to erupt in laugher.
I could only shrug because the he was right. The beast was back.
I couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Yo, P here?” I looked at each of my brothers.
“Nah, she been out for a few days bruh bruh,” Smoke replied.
“Oh, aite,” I tried playing it off, but my brothers knew me too well.
“Trouble in paradise already?” Kiyan asked.
“Mann, let fools. I haven’t seen the her in 'bout three weeks and she supposed to be my girl Fuck her!” I went a little overboard with the time.
“Aye watch yo mouth boy!” Iggy corrected me, but shit that’s how she was acting.
“But anyway, on to greener pastures,” I shrugged nonchalantly.
“And your new boo, I mean lawyer let us know that she was picking you up. Don’t tell me you fucked that white girl.” Smoke was cracking up.
“Man nah, but she definitely on the kid. This dick will probably have her traumatized and delusional I will pass on the headache,” I waved my hand as if I was waving her off.
“But what’s new with y’all niggas. I feel like it’s been forever, and I know y’all couldn’t say much on them people’s phones,” I referred to the jail phones.
“Pretty boy, what happening?” I turned to my brother Kiyan.
“Everything is cool on my end. Faye and me good and we just waiting for lil’ baby to arrive. We decided to wait until the birth to find out what the sex is.”
“You know I’m going to spoil the hell out of whatever it is. You know Flame love the kids,” I impersonated Martin.
“Oh, and I wanted to let y’all in on something to. I saw Hector the other day at his little sot and he kind of slipped up and said that he saw Sandy creeping out of the hospital right around the time when Pops passed. It just seemed crazy to me that no one knew that she was even there.”
“Word, so you think she may have had something to do with Pop’s death?” I asked trying to piece together what he was saying.
“If the shoe fits,” Kiyan shrugged.
We all kind of stood there in deep thought. We all knew that Muggs was shady, but never did we think that she would sink that low.
“Man, I thought that that girl would be gotten some help by now,” Iggy shook his head. Hopefully she didn’t do that shit.
We all nodded knowing even if she did, we would never be able to prove it.
I noticed that Smoke was looking a little odd.
“Smoke, you linked up with runaway love yet?” I couldn’t help but laugh at his situation. The girl had left him, and he was shown up at her people’s house trying to track her down. He was pathetic.
“Man, I’m not even on that,” was all he replied. In his feelings was a bad place to be fucking with my joking ass and I could tell that there was something that he wasn’t saying. I was free, happy and was ready to joke all their asses under the table.
“And I guess I don’t have to ask about you father time. But Beau good though?” I asked, being concerned. I knew that Beau was battling stomach cancer and my brother was happy with her, so I was genuinely concerned.
“Yeah, she is doing great actually. She has her good and her bad days but being able to lay on the beach everyday soaking under the sun was really healing for her. After almost a month she still dint want to leave, but my pockets were saying otherwise.”
Father time paused for a moment and looked at each of us before he resumed talking. Even in a packed ass shop we had tuned everyone out and talked amongst each other. Iggy and Smoke never stopped cutting through and as focused as we were on this conversation, they were more focused on their craft.
“So, I been thinking. I don’t know whether I’m ready to talk to Beau about dancing. I know I can’t go forever keeping this from her, I just don’t how she would take the shit.”
“Glad my wife dances too,” Kiyan said, with a sigh of relief.
It was true, Kiyan had trained Faye’s ass and now she was as deadly as him and she had her daddy on her side being district attorney. If there was any movement in the streets, she knew so that meant we knew.
Our alternate lifestyle is what we referred to as “dancing.” When we were in the company of others. It was another source of income, a street sweep and most of all killing with a cause.
Up until now I hadn’t even thought about relaying my entire past to Pia. I had told her about the Baptists, but that wasn’t nearly everything. As far as she knew, I was just a nigga who owned a barbershop, gave good dick and a had thug mentality. She didn’t know that the two-step was my specialty.
“I say, fake it till you make it. Leave that shit alone and don’t tell her anything,” I offered.
“Man, you don’t think any of our girls gone start to get suspicious by the way we move. We can’t go forever hiding it,” Smoke chimed in.
“Nigga, ain’t no we. Yo’ as is single as a pringle. You don’t have to worry about telling anybody anything and neither do I. Dot nobody belong to us,” I reminded him. His ex-girl was probably in Guatemala by now.
“Okay, so hypothetically speaking, if you were still with Pia and Smoke, if you were still with Elle. Y’all wouldn’t say anything ever?” Kiyan asked.
I didn’t even know why he was mentioning me and that girl’s name in the same sentence. Fuck the hypotheticals.
“I would tell her eventually and it would be her decision to stay or go.” Smoke shrugged.
“So, you would risk your freedom, all because you in strong like with her?” I asked, not getting where his allegiance to Elle came from. Clearly, she had some sneakiness to her the way she just up and left.
“Bottom lined, Flame whether you agree or not. You can’t expect to build some shit with a person having so many lies and secrets going on. Eventually, that shit get tiring having to lie about what you were doing or who you are with. If she solid, she gone be down for you regardless.” Father time offered and I listened. He was usually the one who could talk some sense into me, but pia had definitely proved that she couldn’t be trusted with anymore of my secrets.
“Now, how you should tell is a whole other story,” Smoke looked over at Iggy.
“No doubt, but I’ma figure this shit out.”
Tired of waiting I went over to Iggy’s chair. “Yo, get up,” I said to the person who was about to be serviced. Dude, who didn’t know got up and I sat down in the chair.
“Iggy don’t fuck my shit up,” I barked, while the man just stood there waiting. For what I didn’t know.
“Father time tell your customer to carry his happy ass and have a seat. He’s next.”
Iggy tried to hide his laughter and told the man that his hair cut would be next, and it would be on the house.
“Man, jail isn’t do you no good. Still rude and egregious,” he commented
“You love me though. I got to get up out of here thou. A nigga needs a shower, blunt and y’all. know the rest.”
About thirty minutes later Iggy had hooked me up and I said my goodbyes to my brothers because I had to get cleaned up so that I could go and see my babies. Ai missed them like crazy even though neither one of their moms answered the phone when I was locked up. As if I wanted to talk to their stinking asses. They were going to get a mouthful.
“Aye boy! Make sure you lay low. And BE CARFUL!” Iggy said as I was walking at the door and I nodded assuring him that I knew what time it was.
When I got outside, Stephany was waiting for me. I got in the car brushing my hair and she looked me up and down with a hungry look in her eyes. It was something about a nigga and a fresh cut that made women want to shoot yo’ your mama crib over you. I wasn’t on that type of time though. Shorty was giving off mad clingy vibes and I didn’t like Pussy that came with expectations. Her ass still was going to drive me around though.