Chapter Two
Aries’ past flashed before her eyes in a matter of seconds, and when she came back to her present reality, she panicked. Afraid for her life, and more importantly the life of her son, she tried to slam the door, only for it to be stopped by Case’s expensive Mauri gator shoe as he placed it in the threshold.
“Agh, agh, agh,” he said as he put his hand on the door forcefully. “You not going to invite me in, Murder Mama?” he asked mockingly.
Aries hadn’t thought she would ever see him again. She had put the distance of an entire ocean between them, and still he had found her. Her heart beat rapidly as the intensity from her fear instilled a helpless feeling in her gut. She knew the man in front of her well—too well—and was surprised that he hadn’t shot her on sight.
“Please, my son is upstairs,” she whispered, desperately hoping that he would show her more mercy than she had ever shown any of her victims.
“I have no interest in your son ... and you have the power to keep it that way if you act right,” he said seriously.
Aries stepped outside of her home and closed the front door so that she was standing on the porch. Her body was the only barrier between Case and her home. Silently she wished that she were strapped. She would not have hesitated to blow his brains out, but she was unarmed and more vulnerable than she had ever been in her life.
Before, she was a reckless soul who didn’t care if she lived or died, but she was no longer the young hothead she used to be. Now she was accountable to others besides herself; responsible for the lives of others besides her own. She couldn’t pop first and ask questions later.
“Are you here to kill me? If you are, I just ask that you not do it in front of my son, and leave my family out of this,” she said as her chest rose and fell to an anxious, irregular beat.
Her eyes scanned the street as she searched for the goons who she knew Case had come with. A man of his stature kept protection around him. His hired guns were never far behind.
Case smirked as he noticed how perceptive Aries was. She had been out of the business for quite some time, but just like riding a bike, she would never forget how to do it. Her instincts were sharp, and he could see her mental wheels spinning.
Case decided to ease her mind and help her figure things out. “The roof across the street. The mail truck three houses down. The young man cutting your neighbor’s grass next door,” Case said.
“They’re all yours?” Aries asked uncomfortably as she fidgeted nervously while attempting to eye all of her enemies at once.
Case nodded. “I don’t leave home without ’em, love,” he replied.
“All of that muscle for little old me?” she asked.
“I’m not a fool, Aries. You may have everyone else charmed with this Susie Homemaker role, but I remember what you used to be. My goon squad ain’t afraid of the legend,” he stated as he looked her up and down, respecting her gangster and admiring her physique all at once.
“Give me a pistol and it’ll make it a fair fight,” she shot back.
“I give you a pistol, you’ll put two between my eyes,” he replied with a charming smile as he stepped closer to her, invading her intimate space.
“Why are you here?” she asked.
“The way I see it, you owe me a million dollars. I’m here to collect,” he stated bluntly. He nudged her to the side with his shoulder and reached for the doorknob. “Let’s finish this conversation inside,” he said with authority as he walked inside of her home, uninvited.
Aries scoffed at his arrogance and quickly followed him inside, locking the door so that they would not be interrupted. “I don’t have the money, Case. It’s gone,” she said honestly. There was no way that she could repay the debt. She and Robyn had split the money and Aries had spent hers long ago. It had helped her to build a new life.
“Well, that’s neither here nor there, Aries,” Case replied as he sat down on her leather couch and leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees as he looked at her seriously. “You see, I paid you and your girl good money to do a job that you botched.” Case sneered as he remembered how the island beauty before him had gotten over on him. “I expect to be paid back,” he said.
“I can give you a hundred thousand, maybe one-fifty. My husband is an—”
Case cut Aries off and continued her sentence for her. “Accountant. Prince Q. Coleman graduated from Berkeley. Born to Gwenadette and Henry Coleman in 1979. Broke his right leg when he was ten years old. Has one child, your son, and right now he is sitting at a traffic light, bobbing his head to Bob Marley as he makes his way to the office. A man riding a red Kawasaki is conveniently sitting behind him, waiting for a phone call from me,” Case stated, letting her know that he was well informed on her situation. Case had done his homework, and if Aries weren’t so deathly afraid, she would have been impressed.
“You’ve said a lot, but still you haven’t said shit. What do you want?” Aries asked, growing impatient. She knew that Case had an angle because he had waited too long to come after her. Although she had changed a lot of things about herself, her ability to read people had remained the same. This wasn’t about the money.
“You owe me, Aries, and it’s time that you paid up. I’ve got a job for you, and it would have paid a million dollars, but seeing as how I have a credit with you, you’re going to do it without protesting.”
“I’m out of the life. I don’t do that anymore,” Aries replied.
At that moment, her son came into the room, interrupting their conversation. Aries looked at Case nervously and went to pick up her son. She rubbed his face and head then brought him close to her chest, never taking her eyes off of Case.
“I can’t do what you’re asking me to do. I will pay you back the money... every dime. But I cannot go back to that life. I have a child to think about,” she defended, her voice stern but her eyes pleading.
“Exactly,” Case stated. “Think of him, Aries. It is in his best interest if you cooperate.”
Aries heard the subtle threat and tears of pure rage filled her eyes. “Is that a threat?” she asked.
“It’s a fact,” he said. “Now, put your son in his room and let’s discuss this business. Don’t come back out here with no surprises, either ... unless you want your husband to put you in the dirt before the week is out,” Case replied.
Although he didn’t feel threatened by Aries, he was well aware of what she was capable of. He respected her and had seen firsthand what she could do. He would never allow her pretty face to distract him. Sleeping on a woman like Aries could lead to his demise. What Leonardo did for art, Aries did for killing. She was a seasoned professional, and Case would never underestimate her. He placed his hand in his lap so that he had quick access to his pistol and waited patiently for her to reenter the room.
Aries rushed into the master bedroom and into her walk-in closet where the safe room was located. The room had never been used. She had never needed to rely on its security before, but for times like this, she was grateful that she had talked Prince into installing it in their home. She grabbed one of her child’s toys off of her bed and hurriedly carried him into the room.
“You stay in here, baby. We are going to play a game. You stay in here and hide until Mommy comes back.”
She placed him on the floor and exited the room, closing it and sealing him inside. Only she and Prince knew the code to open the door, so she was confident that her son would be safe in the event that things got ugly with Case.
She returned to the living room, and now that her greatest weakness had been concealed, her attitude had changed. Aries knew that her back was against the wall. She would have to comply with Case’s proposition in order to clear the debt she had with him.
“What do you want me to do?” she asked as she sat down directly across from him.
She crossed her legs, and Case admired the contour of her smooth, thick legs. She was so exotic ... so feminine. If he didn’t know how she got down, he would have never believed it. He reminded himself to stay focused as he thought of the task he needed Aries to complete.
“I need you to murk a mayoral candidate,” Case stated.
She shook her head in dismay, knowing that once she reopened this door, it wouldn’t be as easy to close this time around. She had been lucky to get out of the game when she did; now he was thrusting her back into it against her will.
“What city?” Aries asked.
“Los Angeles,” Case answered.
“What?” Aries gasped as her eyes widened in surprise. Aries wasn’t a rookie and didn’t have overzealous ideas of the things that she could pull off. She knew that this would have been hard to accomplish. She had thought he was going to put her onto something simple, but a political figure was an entirely different ball game. In the past she had relied on an entire crew. Her girls had been her eyes and ears. Things would not play out the same without her friends and the odds would not be in her favor.
“Do you know how hard it is to put a play down like that?” she asked. “It sounds like a suicide mission.”
“For anyone else it would be,” he complimented.
Aries absorbed the information and knew that she was about to get in over her head.
“I cannot do this. I worked in a team, Case. I can’t pull this off. The job’s too big,” she protested.
“You’re the only one who can do this,” Case said. “I know how you get down, so stop playing with me, ma. Do what you do and put a toe tag on the nigga.”
“And if I refuse?” Aries asked, feeling overwhelmed.
“Then you’ll be a grieving widow sometime very soon,” Case threatened without holding back. “It’s not personal. It’s business. You do this and your debt will be void. You already know the flip side,” Case said calmly.
As much as Aries wanted to walk away from the proposition, she could not. A future that had been so clear to her the day before now held no direction. Case was mapping out the path that he wanted her to take, and to her dismay, it was a dangerous, slippery slope. If she wasn’t careful, she could jeopardize her entire world. A deep sigh escaped her lips, signifying her submission to his request.
“What’s his name?” she asked.
“Macy Sigel. He is a high favorite in the upcoming election. I don’t want the nigga to make it to his inauguration,” Case seethed, revealing his animosity toward the future mayor.
Aries’ eyes closed into slits of suspicion as she watched his reaction to the mention of Macy Sigel. “Sounds personal,” she commented.
“Nigga just forgot where he came from,” Case shot back as he restored his facial expression to his normal collected visage. He caught himself revealing too much emotion and knew that he had slipped up. A bitch like Aries will turn that shit on a nigga quick and use it to catch me slipping, he thought.
“We came up together in Long Beach and went our separate ways after high school. I hit the block; he hit the books. He’s bankrolled his entire career off of my street endorsements. I contributed heavily to his campaign, and he was supposed to turn a blind eye to the li’l paper I’m collecting from the streets. Now that he’s gained some notoriety and he’s in the forefront to win the election, his entire platform has changed. Now he’s on some ‘clean up the streets’ shit, and it’s interfering with my money. He has LAPD coming down hard and it’s become a problem. That’s where you come in. You’re my problem solver.”
Aries frowned, sensing that he was leaving something out of his story. She didn’t believe that Case was revealing the entire story. Her intuition told her that he was leaving out vital pieces to the puzzle. “Look, Case. I need to know your history with this man. This isn’t new to me, and I can hear it in your tone that this isn’t just about the money. I have to know everything,” she urged.
Case cleared his throat uncomfortably and leaned forward in his seat. He rubbed his goatee as he peered at Aries sharply. “He took something from me once before and I let it slide. I’m not taking no shorts this time around.” Case sat back comfortably in the chair as he prepared to share the story of where the deceit and treachery first began....
Case had stood outside of the club, shining like new money as he leaned on the hood of the all-red 1993 Beamer with BBS gold rims. His head rolled slowly to the right as he watched the fleet of ladies who walked past his car, begging to be seen in their skin-tight dresses and thick gold rope chains with matching bamboo earrings. He felt a hand turn his face away.
“Don’t play yourself, Case. While you watching them, every other nigga in the spot is watching me,” Fatima said arrogantly as she leaned in and kissed her man on the lips, leaving her cherry red gloss on his lips.
He put his hand on her behind and pulled her near, loving her flirtatious nature. She knew her status and wasn’t intimidated by other chickens that chased after her man. “Let’s just blow this spot. I’ve got a party for you back at my place,” he whispered in her ear.
She slowly pushed him off as she ran a red-painted fingernail down the side of his face. “That party isn’t going anywhere,” she replied. “Besides, we can’t leave. Macy is supposed to be meeting us here.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, a white Saab pulled up beside them. Macy Sigel climbed out with his latest flavor of the month on his arm. Case and Macy greeted one another warmly as they slapped hands, embracing each other briefly.
“What up, baby?” Case greeted. “You looking good, family ... Look at you. I see you shining with your jewels and your little ride. Somebody’s getting money.”
“Everybody’s getting money,” Macy replied as he smiled charmingly. He saw Fatima standing behind Case and moved him to the side to greet his girl.
“Hey, Macy,” Fatima said as she kissed his cheek.
“Hey, baby girl,” he replied as he kissed her cheek.
“Who’s your friend?” she asked as she looked at the girl who was sitting in Macy’s passenger seat.
“Nobody special, just a little entertainment for the night,” Macy said conceitedly.
“You need to find some entertainment for life, fam, and quit messing with these skeezers,” Fatima said playfully.
“Not everybody could be as lucky as my man here. They don’t make ’em like you no more,” Macy said as he turned and patted Case on the chest.
“I’m a lucky man,” Case stated as he draped an arm around Fatima.
Macy’s date emerged from the car, and the foursome entered the club, prepared to ball out for the night.
Popping bottles and grandstanding for the hood was all a part of the life of young Case and Macy. Coming up in Long Beach, California the pair had made quite a name for themselves. When the ’80s ushered in the crack era, Case and Macy quickly entered the game and rose to the top. With their Mexico connection, they supplied a large portion of L.A. with pure white, while still running smaller trap spots on various blocks as well. They wanted all the money and they didn’t discriminate against anyone. Whether it was a smoker copping small amounts or a hustler copping ki’s, they served everyone and treated everyone the same. They respected money and anyone who spent it with them.
As they partied and celebrated their success, they watched as Fatima danced with a drink in her hand, commanding the dance floor. The jewels that she sported were compliments of Macy, and her hips hypnotized as she wound them to the slow beat. She noticed Case watching her and she gave him a sexy smile.
“This is the life, man. The beautiful women, the money, the cars,” Case said.
“It’s temporary. If we stay in this for too long, we will eventually fall off,” Macy replied.
“You sure you want to give all of this up? We just started seeing real paper, and you’re ready to retire already,” Case commented while shaking his head. He couldn’t understand how he could give up a lifestyle that was so lavish.
“I start school this fall,” Macy replied. “I’ve stacked a hundred thousand. That’s enough to pay for four years of tuition plus some.”
“Here you go with that bullshit,” Case answered. “If you invest four years in the street, you’ll have enough to retire. Why would you waste your time at a fucking college to end up making fifty thousand dollars a year? We get that in a couple weeks, fam.”
Macy knew that Case didn’t understand. While it was true that street money was fast money, it equaled instability. At any moment his infamy could be taken away from him. His education would be his forever and could elevate him to levels of power that he could never attain pushing coke. Macy saw the full picture and looked at the long-term perspective. The allure of the streets wasn’t strong enough to trap him there. He had used it for what it was; now he was elevating.
“You don’t get it, but in due time you will,” Macy replied as he raised his glass to his mouth and downed the cognac in his glass.
Fatima came off of the dance floor laughing jovially, obviously lifted off of the liquor she had consumed. “Dance with me?” she said to Case as she pulled his hand.
“You know better,” he said as he licked his lips and pulled her into his space.
The alcohol had her feeling extremely sexual, and she bit his earlobe gently as she whispered, “You’re no fun.”
Macy’s date came over and pulled him onto the dance floor. “Come on, girl, he can handle both of us,” she said as she snapped her fingers in the air.
Macy was reluctantly dragged onto the floor, where he was the envy of the crowd as he was sandwiched between two beautiful ladies. They did more actual dancing than he did; he just swayed back and forth in the same two-step as the women worked him over. Fatima worked him over, grinding in front of him but making sure to keep a respectable distance as his date danced behind him.
Case stood on the sidelines, cheering them on and laughing as he watched the love that his city showed them. A part of him felt a genuine sadness that his boy was leaving the game. They had always been a pair. Since the day they had made acquaintances in grade school, they had rocked with one another. Macy was the only nigga in the streets who Case truly trusted with his life. Things would be different once Case was left to tend to things alone. He would never tell Macy, but he would miss doing their dirt together. Case could do the math, however, and quitting the game wasn’t something that added up in his mind. He was going to get it until the day that he couldn’t get it anymore. Nothing could knock his hustle.
Macy is chasing the white man’s dream. That degree shit ain’t for us. He gon’ get that shit and still be waiting on a white mu’fucka to give him something. I’ma make my own ends. I’m a boss, he thought arrogantly as he heard the DJ make the announcement for last call.
At that moment, one of their goons came up to him, appearing flustered and completely underdressed for the club.
“Case, we’ve been beeping you all night,” the young man said nervously, appearing worried.
“My beeper’s in the car. What’s good?” Case asked, giving his worker his full attention.
“The spot over in Inglewood got robbed. They took us for thirty thousand dollars,” the guy said, leaning close to Case’s ear so that he could be heard over the music.
Case saw red as he thought about how he had just taken a loss. Case wouldn’t have cared what the amount had been. Big or small, he wanted every dime of what he was owed. I’m going to have to make a believer out of a nigga, he thought angrily as he thought of how he was going to make an example out of whoever had tried to test him.
He walked over to Macy and calmly put his hand on his shoulder. “Somebody hit the spot. We’ve got to go,” Case stated.
Macy’s mood instantly transformed and his trigger finger began to itch as he followed Case out of the club. Although Fatima didn’t know what was going on, she could tell from the look on Case’s face that playtime was over. She was a hustler’s wife and was well aware of the ups and down that came with being on the arms of men like Case and Macy. She followed their lead and walked out of the club without asking questions. Macy’s lady didn’t go so easily however.
“Why are we leaving? What’s going on?” she asked annoyingly.
“It’s better not to ask questions,” Fatima whispered as she looped her arm inside of the girl’s and they walked side by side behind their men.
Tension was thick as Case hit the top of his roof. “How the fuck anybody even know where that spot at?” he hissed.
“How much they take us for?” Macy asked, trying to remain rational, although his temper was flaring more and more by the second.
“Thirty,” Case replied.
Macy paced back and forth as he grilled the young hustler who had delivered the news. With a lawyer’s flair, Macy did everything to catch the kid up, but his story was consistent, and Macy finally concluded that he had nothing to do with the robbery.
“We’ve got to handle this tonight,” Macy stated.
“I’ll take care of it,” Case stated.
“What?” Macy shouted.
“Take the girls home. I’ve got it,” Case replied. He knew that his boy was ready to go legit, and he didn’t want to complicate things by pulling him further and further in the game. The more you played, the harder it was to quit, and Case was trying to be supportive of Macy’s decision.
Macy approached Case and stood face to face with him. “We’re in this shit together, bro. What if you need my trigger?” he asked.
“I won’t. I’m not going to put any major plays down without you. I’m just going to find out what the fuck is going on. Make sure the girls get in safe and wait for my call. I’ll fill you in so that you don’t miss a beat,” Case stated. They slapped hands and Macy patted Case’s back.
“You be careful, fam,” Macy said.
Case nodded, kissed Fatima, and then hopped into his car, speeding out of the lot.
Macy ushered the ladies to his car and sped off, riding in silence as his anger boiled inside of him. He gritted his teeth and checked his pager anxiously to make sure that Case hadn’t called him.
Fatima sat in the backseat, her mind spinning as tension ate away at the atmosphere inside the car. She knew that Macy would never speak about business in front of his new friend, but she desperately wanted to know what was going on. She had been around since before Macy or Case ever even knew what crack cocaine looked like, so she knew that he would put her up on game as soon as his girl was out of the car.
“I’m going to my mother’s place out in Pasadena, so you might as well drop me off last,” Fatima stated.
Macy looked at her curiously in the rearview mirror. He knew that her mother was deceased,m but didn’t object as he dropped off his date first.
“I’ll call you later,” Macy said as he pulled up to her house.
Slightly vexed that she was being dropped off before Fatima, the girl smacked her lips and slammed the door as she got out of the car. Macy didn’t even wait until the girl was safely inside before he pulled off.
“Nice girl,” Fatima said sarcastically. She had been waiting all night to get on Macy for his choice in women.
He laughed slightly, knowing that Fatima was bourgeoisie. Case had created a monster when he had spoiled her. She was high maintenance and didn’t like to fraternize with other women who weren’t on her level. “You’re a trip, ma,” he replied.
“I’m just saying,” she said as she smirked and shrugged her shoulders. “Now you gonna tell me what’s going on or what?”
“Some niggas ran into one of the trap houses,” Macy replied.
“Well, you know I’m going home with you. I’m not sitting by the phone at my place waiting for Case to call me. I want to be there when he contacts you. I have to know that he’s all right,” she said.
He could tell from the determined look on Fatima’s face that it wasn’t up for debate. He had known her long enough to know that he had no wins in an argument with her, so he gave in and headed to his place.
As Macy pulled up to his Hollywood condo, Fatima was impressed. Although Case was getting it, he had yet to let go of the hood, living in the heart of Long Beach. Macy, on the other hand, had stepped into the major leagues and was living well in the condo he was renting.
“I’m surprised you’re even bringing me here,” Fatima stated, knowing that no one even knew where Macy resided.
“What, you gonna rob me?” he asked, only half joking as he unlocked his door and welcomed her inside.
She stepped inside and was taken aback at how well his place was decorated. It was a far cry from the bachelor pad that Case lived in.
“Wow,” she whispered.
“Don’t let me find out you’re materialistic,” he stated, giving her a hard time.
She hit his shoulder with her clutch and then walked over to his leather sectional and took a seat.
“Can I get a drink or something?” she asked.
He pointed to the mini-bar in the kitchen and said, “Help yourself and use the phone in the kitchen to page Case. I’m going to go clean up a little bit.”
Fatima paged Case and then fixed herself a drink as she waited patiently for the phone to ring. She nosily looked around for a woman’s touch, but surprisingly found none.
She couldn’t understand how a good catch like Macy was not spoken for. He and Case were the most sought-after young hustlers in Long Beach. While most were into the gang set, Case and Macy weren’t into any color besides green. Every girl in the hood wanted a piece of them.
When Macy reentered the room, he was dressed in baggy gray sweat pants and a white V-neck T-shirt. Although he looked relaxed, she could see the stress in his frowned brow line.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’m good, ma. I’m just feeling kind of fucked up. It’s nights like this that make me feel guilty about leaving Case to hold things down by himself,” he said.
“By himself? You’re getting out?” she asked in shock.
He nodded his head and sat down across from her. “Entering school in the fall.”
“School? Really?” she commented. She would have never suspected a hood nigga like Macy to have any ambition outside of the streets. “Interesting.”
“You sound surprised,” he replied.
“No, I just think that’s good. Not a lot of brothers from Long Beach would be willing to give up all of this to put their head in a textbook,” she said.
“You sound like your man. You think I’m stupid,” Macy said.
“I think that it’s attractive,” Fatima replied honestly.
“The type of power I want transcends Long Beach. I know what it feels like to run a block. Now I want to know what it feels like to run boardrooms. I’ve conquered the streets. Now I’m trying to take on the world.”
Fatima was impressed by Macy’s intelligence, and she realized that there were many layers to the young hustler before her. Case had a one-track mind, but Macy was multi-faceted and he was showing her a side to him that made her look at him in a new light.
The phone finally rang, and Macy went to answer it. Knowing that very few people had the number, he expected it to be Case.
“Fuck took you so long to call me, fam? Your girl is over here worried sick about you,” Macy stated.
“I thought you were gonna drop her home for me,” Case stated.
“Wasn’t no shaking loose from your broad, fam. You know how Tima is. Until she heard that you were safe, she wasn’t budging out of my car,” Macy replied.
Case chuckled slightly at his girlfriend’s stubborn nature then replied, “Tell her everything’s good. It’s a thousand mu’fuckas over here with a thousand different stories. Don’t worry about it though. You know we ain’t taking no L’s. We got eyes everywhere. Anybody spend a little bit of dough the next few weeks and we’ll know who is behind it. Niggas is signing their own death certificates for sneaker money,” Case said angrily.
“Don’t make no moves tonight. Play it smart, Case,” he replied.
“No doubt, baby. I’ll fill you in more tomorrow,” Case answered. “Tell Tima she can take her ass home now. As a matter of fact, take her to my crib and tell her I’ll be home in the morning.”
Macy hung up the phone and turned to an eager Fatima. “What did he say?” she asked.
“Everything’s good. He’s good. I’ma drop you at his place. He’ll be there in the morning,” Macy responded.
“The morning?” she shot back. “I don’t want to be at his house in the middle of the hood by myself until morning! Can I stay here for a few hours? I hate being there without him. Somebody might try and steal me or something.”
Macy couldn’t help but laugh at her arrogance. “Girl, don’t nobody want you,” he stated as he poured a drink of his own. He brought the entire bottle over to his sitting area and then refilled Fatima’s glass.
“Everybody want this in one way or another,” she said as she sipped the alcohol and smiled sexily. “Bitches want to be me, and niggas want to be with me.”
Macy couldn’t argue with her because they both knew that what she was saying was true. She was queen bee around their way. From her beautiful exterior to her confident interior, she was envied by most.
“You’re a pretty girl,” Macy complimented, causing Fatima to smile. “But your arrogance is a turn-off.”
“Excuse me?” she asked, her smile fading into an embarrassing frown.
“You’re not humble. Humility is sexy. All that grandstanding you do is too flashy. Everybody already knows your name. You don’t have to be so loud in order for people to see you and respect your position,” Macy schooled.
Slightly embarrassed that Macy had called her out, she quickly looked away from him. No man had ever made her feel so insecure. She sat in front of him searching for something to say. Usually she prided herself on being confident, but Macy was the first person in her life to make her see how shallow she could be.
“I didn’t know I came across like that,” she whispered. “So tell me, Macy Sigel. What type of girl do you like? Since you claim I’m overconfident, you probably like them insecure and dependent on you, huh?” she asked. “When’s the last time you even had a for-real girlfriend anyway? I’ve never seen you be serious about any girl. All of these chicks that be chasing after you and you haven’t chosen one yet? What’s the deal with that?” she asked nosily.
Macy sat back on his couch, throwing one hand on the back as he kicked his leg out in front of him. He sipped his drink. “You ask a lot of questions,” Macy said playfully. “Come on, let me drop you off before it gets too late.”
“You dodge a lot of questions,” Fatima replied with a smile. “You can get on me, but when it’s my turn, you’re ready to wrap up the conversation and send me packing.”
He chuckled softly. “It ain’t like that, ma.”
“Hmm, hmm,” she said doubtfully. Suddenly she stood to her feet and walked past him as she headed toward the mini-bar.
“What you doing?” he asked.
“I’m looking foooorrr ...” She searched the bar until she located the bottle of tequila. “This!” she finished as she turned toward him while holding up the bottle and two shot glasses with a devilish grin.
“What you gon’ do with that? You don’t know nothing about that,” he answered.
“I tell you what, Macy. Let’s play a game. I make a statement about you, and if it’s true, you take a shot of tequila. If it’s false, I take a shot,” she proposed.
“I’m not into games,” Macy shot back as he shook his head and enjoyed the mature cognac he was drinking. “Besides, I don’t mix my alcohol. I’m already off this,” he said, holding up his glass.
Completely ignoring him, Fatima carried the bottle back to the couch and sat directly next to him. She set up two shots and then sat back, tucking one foot beneath her bottom as she faced her body toward him.
“You like ghetto girls. That’s why you brought little miss hot-ass mess to the club with you tonight,” Fatima said. She held up one shot, and he nodded his head.
“You might as well kill that because that’s false, baby girl,” he answered.
She closed her eyes and poured the liquid down her throat. She cringed as she felt it warm her as it traveled down her throat. “Ooh,” she whispered before bursting into laughter. “You want to ask a question, or you want me to keep going?” she asked.
He smiled at her, finding the game quite amusing. “Go ahead.”
“Okay,” she said, tapping her temple as if she were in deep thought. “You’re not as cold-hearted as the streets think you are.”
Macy had an intimidating reputation in the streets and because of his high body count at the young age of twenty, many people feared him. Fatima wasn’t buying it though. She could tell from the look in his eyes that there was more to him; he just didn’t share it with everyone. “In fact, I’ma go as far as to say that you don’t love the game at all. It’s just a means to an end for you.”
Her line of questioning was much deeper than he had anticipated, and he looked her in the eyes for a long time before he finally reached for the shot glass and emptied it in his mouth. She had struck a nerve with him.
“Okay, my turn,” he said. He poured two new shots and then continued. “If Case was a broke nigga, you wouldn’t be with him.”
His question caught her completely off guard, and her chin dropped to her chest. “So you think I’m a gold digger?” she asked, her feelings hurt. “After all these years I’ve known you ...”
“I’m curious,” he said. “You tell me what the answer is.”
Fatima picked up the shot and then leaned over and squeezed the sides of Macy’s face with one hand, opening his mouth. She slowly poured it inside, laughing as she watched some of it drip down the sides of his mouth. “Sorry to tell you, Macy, but you’re wrong about me.”
“I was wrong about that one statement. I have a hundred more,” he replied.
The two went back and forth asking question after question, getting lit as they each consumed their fair share of alcohol. They were surprised at the revelations they uncovered about each other by playing such a trivial game, and they learned a lot about one another, sharing things with each other that they had never told anyone else.
Before they knew it, it was four o’clock in the morning and they were both toasted and laughing hysterically.
“I never knew you were so cool,” Fatima admitted. “You’re so serious most of the time. I like this part of you.”
“I like this part of you, ma, the down-to-earth Tima. You’re like my nigga right now,” he answered.
She arched an eyebrow and said, “Oh, your nigga, huh?” She lifted the bottle of tequila that was mostly empty and then poured the last shot. “Okay, we have enough for one more round. Do you want to answer the question, or do you want me to?”
“Go ahead,” he answered as his head fell back onto the couch, his body completely loose.
“I’ll bet,” she started as she closed the gap between them and climbed into his lap, “you have a big”—she planted a kiss on his neck—“long”—she wrapped her arms around his neck—“juicy dick,” she finished as her lips found his and her tongue eased into his mouth. His dick instantly bricked and confirmed her statement.
“What are you doing, Tima?” he asked as he tried to pry her hands from around his neck. “You know this ain’t right.”
She reached down and put her hand inside his sweatpants and massaged his hard penis. “Ooh, but I wasn’t lying, was I, Macy?” she asked. She retrieved the shot and fed him the tequila, moaning as she pressed her pussy against the bulge in his pants and began to hump him slowly.
“Oh shit, ma,” he whispered. Her thick body felt so good pressed against his, but he knew that they were both intoxicated. This lusty encounter was nothing but the result of two attractive people having too much to drink.
“Stop, stop, ma,” he whispered aloud, while silently cursing knowing that he wanted nothing more than to get things popping with his best friend’s girl.
“Play the game, Macy. It’s just a game. It’s your turn,” Fatima whispered as her tongue ran up and down his neck. She could feel Macy’s dick growing and pulsating from her seduction. She was wet, and her pussy dripped in anticipation.
“Game’s over, ma. We all out of liquor,” Macy replied weakly, his tone husky and his eyes low from the effect of the liquor. He felt himself getting ready to cross the line. His dick was too hard and his head was too cloudy to talk himself off the edge.
Fatima stopped kissing him, stood to her feet, and then unzipped the side of her dress, stepping out of it. She stood in front of him wearing only her black panties and bra. “Then I guess we have to play for something else,” she responded.
Macy sat back and watched as she unclasped her bra, freeing her D-cup breasts. Her brown nipples were large and erect, making his mouth water. Her breasts sat up so nicely that they bounced beautifully as she shimmied out of her tiny panties. He tried to think with his brain, but all of the blood in his body was rushing elsewhere. He had been with a lot of women, but Fatima by far was the most stunning chick he had ever seen. Her body was beautiful; even the minor stretch marks on the sides of her wide hips were flawless.
“It’s your turn, Macy,” she said.
He cleared his throat and stood, walking up on her and pinning her to the wall as he kissed her, their tongues performing a slow dance.
“You like to get this pussy licked. Your man don’t do that right,” he whispered as he picked her up and placed his hands beneath her backside while trapping her body between himself and the wall.
“Oooh, Macy,” she moaned as they kissed feverishly.
He lowered his body until his knees were on the floor and her legs were wide open as she sat on his face. He licked her swollen clit, causing her body to tremble. She moved her hips in small circles, riding his face slowly.
“Oh my,” she whispered. She couldn’t even get the praises out of her mouth; it felt so good and she melted into him like butter as he raped her with his tongue.
They both knew that what they were doing was wrong, but they were too far gone to turn back, and the rapture that they were caught up in was too magnificent to deny. They would rather deal with the consequences than stop the bliss that they were experiencing at the moment.
He stopped right before she climaxed, and her breasts heaved as she begged him for more. “No, don’t stop, Macy. Please,” she whispered.
“I’m not stopping,” he said as he scooped her up and carried her down the long hall that led to his master bedroom. He threw her onto the plush mattress and he stepped out of his pants, finally freeing his thickness and making her squirt.
She spread her legs and dipped her fingers inside her honey pot as she masturbated in front of him, closing her eyes and working herself over. He watched as he stood in front of her, stroking his shaft gently, tugging on his tool while preparing to enter her.
He reached to grab a condom that sat in clear view on his nightstand, but she grabbed his hand and pulled him on top of her.
“I want to feel you inside of me. We don’t need that,” she whispered.
“You trying to have my baby, ma,” he responded jokingly.
“Yes, daddy. Put a baby in me, Macy,” she answered, not caring if he planted a millions seeds in her, as long as he stroked her right.
At that moment, Case was the furthest thought from either of their minds, and when Macy entered her for the first time, he promised himself that no other man would ever enter her again, including Case. Her pussy was like heaven, and he wanted to be her only god.
She brought her hips up to match him stroke for stroke as he dug deep into her, knocking on her G-spot. Their bodies merged so well that it felt like they were meant for one another. Fatima didn’t know if it was the fact that she was sexing a man that was forbidden to her or if Macy was just that good, but it was undoubtedly the best dick that she had ever had.
“This my pussy?” Macy asked her while putting his thing down. He was hitting her so good that her fingernails dug into his back, leaving her mark.
“Yes, Macy, it’s yours,” she moaned.
“You gonna give my shit away?” he whispered.
“No, baby. Ooh, it’s yours. I swear I’m never giving it away,” she promised. “I love you, Macy.”
They both stopped and stared at each other; Macy still filled her as her legs trapped him inside. They both breathed heavily and she rubbed the side of his face gently with her hand as she looked him in the eyes.
“What?” he asked, thinking he had heard her wrong.
“I don’t want to be anybody’s girl but yours, Macy. I love everything about you.”
Macy stole the words from her tongue as he kissed her deeply and took her to ecstasy as he continued to sex her until indeed his seed spilled into her.
He never said he loved her back that night, but in the months to come, they grew closer with each passing day. Their secret affair alienated Case, until eventually he was no longer a part of the picture.
It was a summer of change for all of them—one that they would never forget.