I Ain't No 50/50 Type Of Chick

26. Jayceon

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

JAYCEON

I woke up slowly, stretching my arms above my head as the sunlight shined through the sheer curtains, making me realize it was already morning. My heart raced a little as I grabbed my phone from the nightstand, eager to see the time.

“Oh, shit!” I cursed as I quickly sat up in bed.

It was hitting on noon, and my screen was filled with missed calls, two being from Cali. As I was trying to gather my thoughts and clothes, the door swung open, and Monae entered the room with a bright smile, balancing a tray of breakfast foods.

Monae was one of the bitches I fucked with. I was chilling with her at the club the night before, and I went to her crib afterward. Although I went there on some fucking shit, I didn’t plan to stay the night.

“Good morning, baby,” Monae sang cheerfully, but as she caught sight of me hurriedly putting on my clothes, her expression shifted to one of disappointment. “Wait! Where are you going? I made you breakfast!” She pouted.

“Monae, why you didn’t wake a nigga up?! Better yet, why you let me fall asleep and stay asleep?! This fuckin’ long anyway!” I fussed as I pulled up my jeans.

Monae set the tray on the bed.

“Well, you were pretty drunk last night, Jayceon! So, the only other option I saw was me taking you home, and I’m sure you didn’t want that!”

“It’s not if I would’ve wanted it, but you damn sure wouldn’t have wanted those problems from my girl.”

Monae rolled her eyes and then took a seat on the bed. Although Monae never openly admitted it, she wanted Cali’s spot real bad, but she knew I wasn’t giving that to no outside bitch. I was going to eventually get my shit together and give up my hoeish ways, and whenever I did, Cali would be the one I married. That wasn’t even up for discussion.

“So, when will I see you again?” Monae asked with her lips pursed.

“Shid, it damn sure won’t be tonight or tomorrow… maybe next weekend, but I’ll hit you later.”

“Well, at least take the food that I slaved over the stove cooking for you, something I’m sure you’re not used to at home.”

I chuckled, then picked up the plate and said, “My woman takes damn good care of me. Hence, why I haven’t left her crazy ass. Play your role, Monae, ’cause this type of shit you’re doing is wifey type of shit, a category I’ll never place you in. I appreciate you looking out for a nigga, though.”

With that, I grabbed my phone and headed toward the front.

Monae appeared to be seething with anger when I left. I didn’t give a fuck, though. I honestly couldn’t have been a female who dealt with a nigga like me; I definitely would’ve killed his ass.

Heading to my whip, I tried calling Cali, but she didn’t pick up. I assumed maybe she was pissed because I didn’t come home the night before. Then again, it was Cali I was talking about. Her ass didn’t care too much about a nigga those days.

Once I was inside my whip, a text from Maleek came through.

Big Bro : Boss wants to meet with you in the next thirty minutes… same place. I advise you to be on time.

“Damn, on a Sunday?! I thought this was the day for rest. Obviously, this nigga doesn’t know the meaning of that,” I mumbled as I stared at Leek’s text.

Since Leek texted instead of calling me, it was clear that he was still in his feelings about our lil’ argument from that week before, if one could’ve called it that. In truth, I hadn’t spoken to him since that day, and based on his text, I assumed he wasn’t going to ride with me or meet me there. I really needed to go to the crib and show my face; I also needed to shower. However, given my current location, I realized time was not on my side. Squeezing in a quick stop to freshen up at home before going there was an impossible task. So, I made the decision to head straight to the house where we last met.

“So, you can tell time after all,” Boss spoke, a low chuckle escaping from behind the fabric of his ski mask as I stepped into the dimly lit room. He stood and scanned the room. “Where is your brother?” he inquired as he searched for Maleek.

“He didn’t come today. It’s just me.”

“Did you think it was a wise choice to come here without him?” he pressed, taking a step toward me, his presence both intimidating and commanding.

I squinted, trying to read his expression through the fabric of the mask, but it was like looking into a void.

I shrugged, attempting to keep my composure. “Unless you know some shit I don’t, then no. I figured I was here on a business tip.”

Boss placed a hand on my shoulder. “You are,” he affirmed, then gestured toward one of the soldiers and said, “Bring the product.”

The soldier went over and retrieved a sturdy suitcase from the corner of the room.

“What’s with the ski masks?” I had to ask.

“It’s for our identity protection, mainly mine. You’re not officially part of the team, so until you can prove your worth, this is how you’ll come to know, well, see all of us.”

I nodded.

“Appreciate it,” he said, nodding toward the figure who had just delivered the suitcase. The moment it landed on the table, Boss added, “Inside this case is six kilos of cocaine. If you can move all of it by next Friday, you’ll have a position waiting for you that same day.”

Next Friday! I almost blurted. I knew it was an almost impossible task for a nigga like me, someone who had never dealt with such a large quantity before at once. Still, I didn’t want him to doubt my ability to rise to the challenge.

“Do you think you can handle that?” he questioned.

“Six kilos?” I scoffed, trying to sound nonchalant as if it were nothing more than selling Girl Scout cookies. “I’ll be back here with your money by Thursday morning.” The moment the words left my mouth, I instantly regretted saying that shit.

“Is that a guarantee?” he pressed.

“Y-Yeah, man! I got this!” I replied, my voice sounding more confident than I felt.

He seemed hesitant to hand it over, but he did.

“Next Thursday it is, then, but remember you said it, not me.”

“I got you,” I assured him, though a knot of anxiety twisted in my stomach as I accepted the weighty case.

I turned to walk away, but his words stopped me.

“Jayceon, before you leave, there’s one last thing I need you to know.”

When I turned around, the sudden impact of a clenched fist collided with my eye, jolting me back in shock.

“Yo, man! What the fuck?!” I shouted as I brought my hand to the throbbing spot that had just been struck.

Boss approached me with an unhurried walk and warned with a calm menace, “That’s just a taste of what’s going to happen if you haven’t sold all my product by next Thursday. Actually, it will be a lot worse than what just happened. I just wanted to give you a little forewarning. Oh, and don’t try to skip town with my shit. I’ll have you know that from the moment you leave here, you’ll be under surveillance, so tread lightly with my shit, nigga. Now, you’re free to go.”

Tension radiated through my body as I huffed in anger, but I forced myself to leave.

As soon as I exited the house, I pulled out my phone and called Leek.

“Yeah?” he answered, his tone suggesting I was interrupting something more important.

“Aye, bro! Why the hell didn’t you tell me that almost getting knocked the fuck out was part of the deal?!”

He let out a chuckle that only fueled my frustration.

“You’re Mr. Know-It-All, right? So, I wanted to let you find out on your own.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could get a word out, I realized he had hung up on me.

“Ol’ bitch ass nigga,” I muttered, then hopped in my whip.

As soon as I was in the car, I took a look in the rearview mirror to assess the damage to my eye. My lighter complexion always caused any bruise or mark to be visible against my skin. The sharp pain was felt in my eye, a reminder of the blow I had just taken. I winced slightly as I touched it. Thankfully, there wasn't any swelling yet, but I could already imagine how it might look by morning—swollen and discolored.