The Deed to a Gangsta’s Heart

Chapter 11

11

R emedy

This evening was a good example of why I didn’t subscribe to the narrative that you had to be friends with your friends’ friends. I considered Armor my brother, and Germany was my best friend. Outside of his cousins Dynasty and Dali, I didn’t fuck with anyone attached to Germany.

One of his closest friends, Vincent, slept with his ex-fiancée and got her pregnant, and I couldn’t stand his other friend Everett. Dali didn’t care for him either, which was why Everett hardly came around. When he did, I usually limited my time with them. I was used to being alone anyway and couldn’t stand fake people and conversations.

I also didn’t like to be around men who tried to act hard but weren’t really about that life. If a man hadn’t done time or was afraid to do time, I usually kept my distance from him. I wasn’t proud of the things I’d done in the past, but they strengthened my character, gave me integrity, and hardened me. They shaped me into someone everyone in my life could trust and feel safe with, but they also made me unfuckwithable. Then there were people like Everett who thought he could joke and play with me like he knew me and there not be any consequences.

We’d met up for happy hour and I already didn’t want to come. I wanted to go straight home and lay up under Callie. She hadn’t been in my bed since that night she was tipsy, and I’d been craving her closeness. I decided today to come up with some kind of excuse to get her in my bed, so the last thing I wanted to be doing right now was being around a lot of niggas. When I told Germany I was about to head out to get home to my girl, Everett asked if she was single.

“Yeah, but she off limits,” was what I said as I pulled a hundred dollar bill out of my wallet to pay for my drinks and leave Mona a nice tip. She worked the bar with Dali’s fiancée Kassadee, and between the two of them, you had to be careful, because they would easily get you fucked up.

“You want her?” Everett asked me with a crooked smile.

“I’m not sure why you feel comfortable asking me that. We ain’t close.”

“Yeah, but we are,” Germany said. “And I wanna know too.”

I chuckled, but it was cut short when Everett said, “I mean… I’m just trying to find out if I can go for the pussy or not. She pretty as hell and she got a fat ass. If you ain’t on that—”

Me setting my Glock on the table silenced him. Germany cursed under his breath as Dali grinned and Dynasty muttered, “Aw hell. ”

“My fault, bruh. I was just playing,” Everett said.

“That’s my best friend. Don’t ever let me hear you say no shit like that about her again.”

“Let’s just go,” Germany said grabbing my arm, but I calmly pulled it away.

“Nah. Since he think shit is a game, I need to make sure he understands I’m the biggest player.”

“He got it, bruh,” Dynasty said, standing next to me. “Let’s go.”

“Y’all need to get from around him,” Armor said, looking from Germany to Dynasty. “Give him some space.”

If there was one thing we hated, it was people in our personal space or when they walked up behind us with no warning. I had to tell Callie to stop walking so damn light and announce herself when she entered a room. It was a natural reflex to be on guard, and though I was comfortable having her in my home, sometimes I would be caught off guard by her presence. The last thing I wanted to do was physically react and scare her or make her feel unsafe.

Germany and Dynasty stepped back as I stood.

“You good?” I confirmed with a smile now that I’d silenced the comedian. Everett nodded as he watched me put my Glock away. “Y’all be easy.”

I tossed the hundred dollar bill onto the table and headed out. Now I really couldn’t wait to get home.

After taking a long shower, I headed to the living room where Callie was lounging and watching The Equalizer . I sniffed the air as I sat next to her.

“It smells good as hell in here. What you cooking?”

“Your favorite. Ribs, sweet potatoes, and spinach. ”

“You love me huh?” Callie giggled as I put my head on her lap. I loved to grill and was particular about whose barbecue I ate. Callie made a sticky barbecue sauce for her oven baked ribs that I’d give a solid nine point two out of ten, and that was the highest rating I’d ever given anyone’s ribs outside of my own.

“Just a little,” she teased, pulling my hat off. As soon as her nails started to scratch my scalp, I relaxed against her.

“I could get used to this.”

“Used to what?” she asked.

“You feeding me and touching me.”

She chuckled. “I did that all the time.”

“Nah, it’s different since you’ve been living here.”

“A good different, right?”

“A great different.”

So great I ended up falling asleep.

She woke me up when the food was ready. As we ate, we watched TV, and I enjoyed the simplicity of our time together. It was perfect until Germany came over talking shit about what happened at the bar.

“I know you did not threaten to shoot that man over me,” Callie said, covering her face with her palms.

Sucking my teeth, I took a swig of my beer. “That was disrespectful. You know I don’t play about you.”

“Lord. I’m never going to have a boyfriend here. All of them will be scared of you.”

“That’s cool with me. You don’t need a boyfriend anyway. You got me.”

Her eyes rolled and she threw a pillow at Germany as he laughed at our exchange.

“Yeah, but I can’t fuck you, marry you, or have babies with you.” She stood. “I’m not saying I would do any of that with Ev because he creeps me out, but you can’t threaten every man that flirts or wants to be with me, Remedy.”

All I did was chuckle as she headed out of the living room.

“It’s like you forgot who I am.”

She groaned but didn’t reply, and as soon as Germany believed she was a safe distance away he said, “Aight, bruh. What’s really going on?”

I decided to finally come clean to someone about how I was feeling, so I told him the truth. The whole truth. How I’d fallen in love with my best friend and made sure she couldn’t get an apartment so she could stay with me. He had the same response Armor had—I was crazy. Only difference was, I hadn’t told Armor I wanted to be with her.

“What’s so crazy about wanting her close?” I asked, honestly not seeing the wrong in my doing.

“It’s not a problem to want her close. Why won’t you just tell her how you feel?”

“I’m testing her temperature. That’s not something I can just blurt. We’ve been friends since we were five and we’ve never expressed interest in a romantic relationship. I value our friendship and I’m not trying to mess it up.”

Germany sighed with a bob of his head. “I feel you. Just don’t take too long. A lot of men are excited that her and Luci are back. You know Jasper Lane is small and everybody has been with or turned down everybody. They are fresh meat and it’s a lot of sharks in the water.”

“Maybe, but I’m an orca. Ain’t shit none of them niggas can do with me when it comes to her.”