Prologue

Present Day - April 1995

Spinx

Nalyse

 

“I remember how we used to chill back then... smokin' a blunt and sippin’ some Heineken,” my baby Spinx was singing his song in falsetto. We were riding around our hood bumpin’ that new Above the Rim soundtrack.

The heat was blazing as we rolled on the set in his new, baby blue Mercedes SL500. The Daytons on the wheels were glistening in the sun as we drifted down the street. All the skeezers were salty. They were all standing on the sidewalk in awe. My baby had his Gucci shades on, with a Lacoste polo, jean shorts, and Jordans. He was working his gansta’ lean, boppin’ his head to the music.

You know I was fly, too. I had on my fourteen karat gold name earrings with the onyx in the back that we just copped from Philly. My hair was laid… a French roll with a deep waved pump. I sported a white tennis skirt with a baby blue Ralph Lauren Polo shirt.

We pulled into the middle of the circle, and the spectators crowded around us. Everybody was trippin’ over the car.

“Yo, nigga, this is off the hook,” someone said.

“Spinx, can I ride in ya car?” said a female.

That got my attention! I broke my neck trying to figure out who the voice belonged to. It didn't take me long to find that Meekie had her raunchy ass all up in my man’s grill.

“Spinxy, baby, I know you gonna let me ride,” she said in a sexy voice.

Spinx looked up at her and showed all of his pearly whites. Before he had a chance to answer I immediately shut it down.

“No baby darling.” I winked. “No female besides me and Ms. Nett is riding in this car.” I rolled my eyes and scooted closer to my man.

For a second the block was quiet. Until she laughed at me and said, “Little girl I ain't stuntin’ you. You need to have your ass at school or riding bikes somewhere.” Then she addressed my man, “Spinx, I’ll see you later. After your little Barbie doll goes to bed.” She switched her hips and walked off with the rest of her Get Fresh Crew.

She really knew how to get under my skin. I sulked and sat back in my seat. Meekie, aka Carmela Daniels, was the neighborhood ho and proud of it. All the hustlers out here usually went to her crib late at night to play cards, sleep, and screw. They thought it was a buck up because they didn't have to give her loot for any bills. She was on Section 8, got food stamps and utility checks. All they had to do was make sure her hair and gear stayed tight, and occasionally they would have the boosters hook her kids up with fresh clothes.

She used to be hot shit back in her day, but after her man got locked up in the Feds she kind of went downhill. Don't get me wrong, body wise she was still on top of her game to be thirty-two. She was brown skin, wore a Halle Berry cut, and she was small at the top and ridiculously thick from the hips down. She had a lot of these fools open.

I would hear stories when I went down the Hill to chill. They talked about how she would gargle cum and shoot that shit back out. They also talked about how she shot golf balls out her pussy and could suck a forty once bottle halfway down with no hands. Nasty, but they were fascinated. Her whole crew was like that, and me and my girls and couldn't stand them. Spinx called it jealousy, but that wasn’t the case.

Meekie really gave me a hard time because I was only seventeen years old and I had snagged Spinx, aka Braxton Hayes.  She had her eyes on him ever since he became the H.N.I.C. Her and every other broad out here tried hard to get with him. They tried every trick in the book, but it just didn’t happen. If they did get his attention they ended up being fly by nights, nothing serious.

I had to admit, I could see why these chicks were losing it over him.  He was most definitely a good catch. He had a deep dark chocolate complexion with well defined facial features. One look made you melt. He stood six feet tall and had a banging body. Milk definitely did his body good, and he was all mines. I heard that Meekie almost snagged him once. Of course that was before he laid eyes on me.

 

I remember when I first met him. I was twelve and had just moved to the neighborhood, and he was home from Del State for the weekend. I was watching the guys play basketball when I saw him checking me out, but I just ignored him. I mean, I was only twelve so what was a grown man hawking me for?

My new friend Keyosha, aka Kee, was like, “Oh my God! Lyse, you see that? He’s looking at you!”

I tried to play it off. “Girl what are you talking about, who?”

“Spinx! He is checking you out!” Kee said.

“What is a Spinx?” I replied.

Kee sucked her teeth. “Girl you don't know nothing. Spinx is from down the Hill. He’s Spade’s older brother.”

Now that got my attention, I knew who Spade was. He was in the ninth grade and he was real cute. All the girls were on him. I never saw a dark skin nigga so sharp. Until I saw Spinx, that is. I darted my eyes in his direction and he waved for me to come to him. I quickly turned away but Kee didn't miss a beat, she was on it.

“Oh my God! Lyse, he wants you! Go over there! Get up and go now!”

She started grabbing on my arm and tried to pull me from the bench. I didn't want everyone to be on me so I got up and went over there.

He was surrounded by all the guys that hung on the set. My mom told me to stay away from them because they sold dope and they were no good, so I was little hesitant. Then I thought about it. My sister Kat’s boyfriend was into a bunch of mess and she never said anything about him. I took a deep breath then proceeded in his direction.

“Light skin!” Spinx shouted, “Come mere, I don't bite baby.”

I got a little closer.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Nalyse,” I said sheepishly. I had my head down, kicking the dirt.

“Nalyse what?” he said.

“Nyse, Nalyse Nyse.” I smiled.

“Are you serious?” he asked with doubt.

“Yeah, what's wrong with that?”

“Nothing, it's cute. It has a nice sound to it, Nalyse Nyse. Like you a star or something,” he joked.

That's when I noticed how nice his teeth were. Nice smile, I thought to myself as I laughed with him.

“So how old are you Nyse, like... fifteen... sixteen?”

I was impressed. I didn’t think I looked like a teenager yet. “I'm twelve. I’ll be thirteen in August,” I said smiling.

His eyes widened. “Damn... you got me ready to catch a charge. Yo, Gizz.” He turned around and looked at his boy. “Don't shorty look like she about sixteen? I mean, look at her bubble.”

I didn’t move to show him. I knew he could see it where I stood.

His boy Gizz hopped off the back of the bench and nodded. “Yeah, shorty’s body is bangin’! But check it, all these young girls be lookin’ like that now. It must be something in the water. Give her a few years and she’ll be ready,” Gizz said before he went back to counting his loot.

Spinx looked me up and down while rubbing his chin. “Well look here sweetheart… I’ma look out for you. When you get sixteen you gonna be my joint and I’ma take you to my crib down the Hill. So you keep it tight, aight?”

I had no idea what that meant but I nodded my head. He reached in his pocket and handed me a wad of cash. I took it hesitantly, but all the same.

“In case you need some lunch money or school supplies,” he told me.

He reached in the car and grabbed a pen and paper. I saw him writing down his pager number and smiled. He wanted me to keep in touch with him while he was in college. I wanted to remain in contact with him as well.

Over the years Spinx continued to look out for me. When I reached my sixteenth birthday Spinx finally took me down the Hill. That's when my eyes were opened to a whole new world.