Chapter Thirty-Two

 

I awoke the next morning shivering my ass off. I had to get outta here. I decided to go down and hang out with Reds. When I got there, she was washing dishes. I immediately picked up the dishtowel and started drying them. We talked for a few when Reds snapped her fingers.

“Girl, I knew there was somethin’ I meant to tell you—we got invited to a party on Saturday.” She said with excitement.

“Who’s, where and how?”

She playfully hit me with the dishrag. “Damn girl, who is you, Murder She Wrote?”

“I saw Manny and he said that one of his boys was giving a party over at the Elks lodge and he invited both of us. He said that an after party would take place at his cousin’s house out on the waterfront.”

“That’s cool. But how we gonna get there? I ain’t ‘bout to catch no bus to no club. And you know the bus stop runnin’ at ten fuckin’ o’clock anyway. So is Manny comin’ to get us?”

“No, but he left something for you.” She stopped washing dishes, rubbed her wet hands on her pants and went to her bedroom. She came back with an envelope in her hand.

“Here. He said make sure you do the right thing.”

She handed me the envelope and I tore it open and looked inside. There was a note and some money. I counted the money, three hundred dollars. I unfolded the note and read it.

Neesha,

Take this money and buy something pretty. Get your hair done. Save some for a cab to the club. I will see you and Reds there. Look like you used to.

M

I looked up at Reds.

“Did he leave you something?”

“Girl, you know Manny did. You know he do us right.” I showed her the money.

“I got the same amount you did. So we might as well go shopping and get our stuff. You can bring it down here and put it in my closet. After my mother leave for her night job, you can come on down and take a shower and get dressed here. Okay?” Reds told me.

“Yeah, girl. That’s fine wit’ me. Shit, hurry up wit’ the dishes. We got some shopping to do.”

 

****

 

Reds and I caught the bus to Annapolis Mall and shopped like we had a million dollars. My clothing size had changed from a size six in my waist to a size zero. I didn’t feel sexy having lost so much weight but I made do.

I couldn’t tell you how good it felt to shop when I haven’t in a long time. I hadn’t been to the mall in over six months. I felt like a B.A.P. - Black American Princess. When we got back to Reds’ place, we laid out our clothes and accessories on the bed. We even bought a cheap pair of shoes at Payless. I hadn’t worn high heels in ages so I had to walk around Reds’ apartment to reacquaint myself with stiletto walking.

We squealed and giggled like two high school girls going to the prom. I couldn’t wait to dress up and go out. I also made up in my mind that I was not going to get beamed. I would stick to my drink for the night. However, it was Friday and Reds and I had money left over. Needless to say our promise didn’t last long.

We each pitched in twenty-five dollar and bought a fifty-cent piece from Baggs. I hadn’t seen Baggs for a minute. Rumor was he caught a case and had been in jail. He must have made bail. It wasn’t my business to ask and honestly I didn’t care. I really didn’t have any words for Baggs. He didn’t have many for me either.

Reds and I did the package. She were tempted to spend some more money but I told her no. We need to try to have some sort of control over this shit. She didn’t agree with me and told me to stay in the house and she would be right back. About thirty minutes later, Reds came back with two guys trailing behind her. I watched them walk in. They stood talking among themselves but were looking at me hard. The look they was throwing made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up so bad, that I got up from the table and walked into the kitchen. I heard Reds telling them to have a seat in the living room. Before I could say a word, she grabbed me by the arm, led me to her bedroom and shut the door.

“Girl, I got a way for us to get high the rest of the night for free.” Reds said.

“Reds, who the hell are those boys out there?”

“They cool. I’ve seen them before. They slinging for Terrence. You’ve seen them around too, Neesha. Remember?”

“Yeah, maybe I have, but what do they want?”

“Girl, what you think they want?” Reds laughed.

“Reds, I don’t know them mutherfuckas. Shit, you know we don’t deal with bag boys or runners. They ain’t carryin’ like that. Why you bring them up in here?”

“Girl, one of them showed me his packages. He said he would give us our shit first. All they want is some head, Neesh. That’s all. A blowjob. Come on. You game?”

“Reds, I’m tellin’ you, when them two walked in, I felt eerie.”

“Kaneesha, I don’t know what’s going on wit’ you, but you need to cut it out. Now, I don’t have to spend my money tonight on my Scotty cause those two said they was willing to give up some of their rocks to us if we got their rocks off tonight. So, I’m goin’ get mine. You can stay around if you want but I need to use this bedroom. So what you goin’ do?”

We went back out to the living room and Reds told the guys that we would accept their offer. Reds was going to go first. She told me that I could use her mother’s room but I declined. She then suggested we just bring them both in the bedroom and do them at the same time.

Reds and I had small clientele. There were only four heavy distributers and major dealers that Reds and I dealt with sexually. Manny, Benny, Dean, and Calvin. And if I had to, I’d fuck with small time drug dealer Baggs. Reds was breaking our code by bringing in bag boys. This arrangement did not sit well with me. But Reds was my girl and she was already in their doing her thing.

I couldn’t back out so I sat down in the kitchen and waited for her to get done. I snuck a peek at the remaining bag boy sitting on the couch. He was just at the six-foot mark approximately and he was a little on the heavy side. He was dark skinned and had deep-set eyes and his right one was very lazy. I heard him sniff and I adverted my attention to the door. I was thinking about how long it would take before Reds was finished when I heard him begin to speak.

“You do this thing all the time?” He asked in a deep husky voice.

“Do what?”

“Suck dick for crack.” He boldly asked.

“It depends upon whose dick I’m suckin’.”

“What that mean?”

“Just what I said.”

“What some mutherfuckas got special dick?”

“Yes.” I affirmed looking intently at him. I didn’t like this mutherfucka at all.

“So do I fit into your special category?” he asked smiling, rubbing his dick while talking to me.

“No, you don’t!” I snapped back. His smiled disappeared from his face and he stopped rubbing his dick.

“Yo, what the fuck that posta mean?” He said, giving me a disgruntled look.

“It means that you are not in my special category. Look, I don’t know you and I ain’t sure why my girl even brought y’all down here. She wanted to do this, not me.”

“Yo, what you mean you don’t wanna do this? He said a little too loudly. “I ain’t come out here for nothin’. Somebody suckin’ my dick tonight.”

I was definitely not about to suck his dick for any amount of rock or money.

“Well it ain’t gonna be me.” I said. “What’s your name anyway?”

“Crack-hoe bitches don’t get to pick. They just suck dicks. What’cha need to know my name fo’? I don’t want to know yours. All I want is for you to suck my dick like you promised.”

“I didn’t promise you shit. So we ain’t got no deal.” I said clearly.

“Fuck you then, you crack-ass hoe! Fuck you! Tell my boy when he’s done squirting his cum all over your bitch ass girlfriend’s face that I’m in the car waitin’ for him.” He shouted.

“I ain’t tellin’ him shit. When that little mutherfucka comes out here, he’ll see for himself that your ass is gone.”

“Whatever, you nasty ass bitch!” He continued to yell as he stood up.

“Leave now nigga or I’ma call Five-O!” I raised the phone so he could see me getting ready to push the magical numbers. He sucked his teeth and opened the door and was gone.

Whew… I exhaled. I ran and locked the door. I sat down at the table to collect myself. That nigga scared the shit outta me. I couldn’t wait for Reds to bring her ass out of that damn bedroom so I could lay her ass out. I looked at the kitchen clock. They had been in there now for twenty minutes. If that nigga didn’t bust a nut within the next five minutes, then I was going back there and snatch his dick out of Reds’ mouth and squeeze that nut out myself. It must have been his night to bust because exactly five minutes later, they came out of the bedroom. After Reds’ bag boy left, I laid into her.

“Reds, man, that boy was crazy. Why you break code like that?” I needed to know.

“What code?”

“We said neva to fuck wit’ the runners and bag boys. ‘Cause they don’t know how to act and to be honest, Reds, that nigga looked like he wanted to do some unethical shit to me. When I told him I didn’t want to do him, girl the look in his eyes was enough to make me wish I was packing my Defender.” I said.

“Girl, the defender is gone and you’re being paranoid. That boy didn’t want nothin’ but his dick sucked. You probably hurt his feelings when you turned him down. Come on, Neesh, let’s get beamed. Fuck him. He gone.”

“Promise me that you ain’t breakin’ the code no more Reds.” She put up her pinky finger.

“Pinky swear!” she said. I linked my pinky with hers.

She apologized for bringing them down and Reds showed me the package. It was ready rock. I hated ready rock cause sometimes it could be ivory soap or some other foreign substance that some dealers used to sell to customers to get over. This time the ready rock was legit. Although, it did have a different taste than the rocks we cooked up. Reds told me that ammonia was probably used as the agent instead of baking soda.

I don’t care what it was. We blasted all her shit. When we were done, I went back to the hole. My cold, lonely, abandoned apartment. Tomorrow was Saturday and the night of the party. I was going to look pretty. Tomorrow, I would stop getting high. I was going to find some way to get myself clean. Manny said he would help me and I was going to hold him to his word. If I kept my end of the bargain, hopefully he would his. I had a new outlook about Manny. I was beginning to like him in lovingly way. I was feeling better about my life and myself. I fell asleep thinking about the party, Manny, and a change in my life.