Chapter 13 #2
Glow always had products. I didn’t know how much she could fit in that damn bag, but when she pulled out her sweet-smelling-ass perfume and nearly sprayed me in the fucking eye with it, I knew then that shit had to have been laced with magic.
Giving herself another two glances in the visor mirror, she flipped it back up and turned to me with a content expression on her face.
She was legit about to do this with a nigga.
“Okay,” she said, rubbing her lips together, smearing the gloss all over her lips evenly.
She’s too fucking fine, yo’.
My dick was now at full attention, so I grabbed the papers and tucked them in my back pocket. I hopped out of the car before I gave in to temptation and pulled her glossy-ass lips in my mouth and leaned the seat back so that she could ride my dick.
Checking my surroundings, I opened the passenger door and helped her pretty ass out. Hand in hand, I led her scary ass through the double doors, shutting the outside out and welcoming all the bullshit that went on inside.
Glow paused, eyes roaming the entryway, confused about the whole ordeal.
“Welcome to the Haunted House.”
She drew her head back. “Like… Halloween?”
Grabbing her hand again, I led her out of the entryway and down the left hallway.
“Nah. This place used to be a church. Well, it’s still a church, but it doesn’t operate as one anymore.
Just think of it as a one-stop shop for the hood.
” I pointed to an open door that we walked past. There were slot machines in about six rows with ten machines on each row. “This is the gambling room.”
It wasn’t like Don’s Dungeon. They didn’t have crap tables or anything like that—just slot machines for the grannies of the hood to spend their fixed income. Even though it was late at night, nearly every seat was taken as machines sounded off.
Pulling her along, I pointed to the next door. “This is sum’n like a convenience store except… if you ain’t got no bread, you can get shit on a pay-later type shit with a lil’ bit of interest.”
The next room was run by an Arab, who was behind the counter, serving a young girl in a bonnet and flip-flops with a baby on her hip.
His shelves were stocked with everything you could need, from clothing and diapers to household products and car parts.
He even had liquor in the fridges lining the room.
“Oh, wow!” Glow gasped as I pulled her along.
There were two more rooms on this side of the hall, and then there were double doors at the end of it. The next room’s door was closed, but the moans could be heard, so there was no explanation needed. Her cheeks grew red, and her palm sweated in my hand, but we kept it moving.
The last room had three desks in it with women behind them, typing on the computers and shuffling through paperwork. There were people in front of each desk in a line.
“This is the business room. You can get all types of paperwork filed, renew ya license, pay tickets, get ya passport, pay ya light bill, rent, get loans, and damn near any other legal thing you need handled can be done here. There’s always at least two different attorneys here.
They’ve been getting niggas off child support for years. ”
“Is this where you had the paperwork done?” Her eyes went from the busy room to me.
I grinned. “Hell yeah. You had muhfuckas laughing at a nigga too. Attorney asked me ten times if I wanted to marry yo’ lil’ bossy ass.”
A grin broke through the nervousness on her face, followed by the rolling of her eyes. “Whatever. I can’t believe a place like this even exists. In a church of all buildings too… I have so many questions.”
“Dey gone have to wait, my baby.”
I continued pulling her behind me as we moved toward the end of the hall.
I was ready to get this shit over with so I could get back to my people and smoke.
Bad enough, Glow had my dick harder than arithmetic.
Around my folks, I could at least relax and no longer be turned on.
I was surprised they had even taken a nap.
They took up her energy with someone always being in her face, so she and I wouldn’t be paying each other much attention once we got back.
Taking one last look at Glow as we reached the double door, I tapped the back of her hand with my thumb as she swallowed hard.
Pushing the right door open, she jumped as bass flowed from the soundproof room.
We were entering the worship hall, or what used to be the worship hall.
Though no praise-worthy sermons or catching the holy spirit went on in here anymore, there were still rows of pews that were empty and a choir stand at the head of the room.
“What the Hell! What the Hell! What the Helly! What the Helliyuntaaae!”
“Really, Tunan?” Glow’s eyes were on the choir in front of us, even though her question was directed at me.
About ten singers were in black robes as their director stood in front of them, dressed the same except his dragged the floor. “Sopranos! Take it!” He pointed at a section of robed singers.
“What the Helly-on! What the Helly-Berry! What the Helly-’Burton! What the Helly Bron James!” they sang in perfect high-pitched voices.
Pulling Glow along, who was still fascinated by the choir rehearsal, I cleared my throat once we got to the stage.
The director turned, and when his eyes landed on Glow, a sinful smile appeared, showing open-faced gold teeth.
Pinky from Friday had to have been this nigga’s brother because he looked exactly like him, down to the wet-ass Jheri curl.
His voice was even all screechy, matching the look of his sketchy ass.
“Choir, hum it out,” he instructed, and the choir began to hum and rock side to side.
This wasn’t a traditional choir, just as it wasn’t a traditional church.
Concerts of local artists and open mic nights were held here from time to time, and sometimes, neighboring hoods brought their choirs and had a sing-off.
It was a whole-ass thing. When my mama first brought Tulsaire here, the little nigga was laughing for a week straight.
Her loving the Haunted House was one of the reasons why her ass was always wanting to be out here in the hood instead of being put up like we intended.
Not feeling the way he was eyeing Glow, I stepped up. “Aye, nigga! This ain’t that. Go grab one of them hoes you got in the back room.”
He held his arms up, robe flapping, while his grin never wavered. “Just admiring the beauty, young blood. I’m Pastor Lucifer.”
Glow frowned. “Lucifer? As in… the devil?”
“Yeah, some say I’m worse, though, pretty lady.” His evil grin broadened.
Pastor Lucifer was a motherfucker who never hid his true nature.
The nigga used to own this church back when I was a kid, and it used to be a decent place.
He got caught fucking on the neighborhood women, shaming his wife and making the whole congregation leave his ass.
His wife and a few of the church’s board members ended up dead, and while he was fighting the case, the city shut the church down.
The nigga beat the case, and a year later, he reopened the church as the Haunted House.
He was the worst kind of fucked up, but I couldn’t lie as if this place hadn’t been helpful to the community.
Even his ghetto choir got paid to compete.
Hell, if women needed a quick come up, they could try their luck at the slot machines or sell that pussy in the back room where Pastor Lucifer would get a small fee.
He was a motherfucker, but he was fair to an extent, so people fucked with him.
Everybody knew the nigga killed them folks, but the hood kept that shit concealed.
Wasn’t shit much that could be done anyway; he’d beat the charges.
“What you need, Payne?” He shifted his attention to Glow to me.
“I need you to marry us.”
“Wait! Him? The devil about to marry us?” Glow’s eyes widened as she pulled her hand from mine.
“This nigga ain’t no fucking devil, my baby. He’s an officiant, so he can get us right,” I assured her.
Pulling the papers from my back pocket, I handed them to Pastor Lucifer. He took them, eyes scanning over the various pages, and the way his smile fell toward the end, I chuckled.
“Well, damn. The pussy must be immaculate. What the fuck you gaining from this shit, Payne?”
Glow’s face reddened, so I snatched the papers back. “None of ya fucking business, Luci. Now, let’s get this shit poppin’ so we can be on our way and y’all can keep singing Rob49.”
“Fuck you, Payne. Y’all come on. I got another wedding in ten minutes, so we gotta make this shit snappy.”
Hesitantly, Glow let me lead her onto the stage. Once we faced each other, I placed the papers on the podium and straightened my shoulders. She wiped her palms down the front of her skirt as the choir's hum became louder.
“Wait. Can they sing “Young and Beautiful” by Lana Del Ray?”
Pastor Lucifer nodded and lifted his hands. “You heard the lady. From the top!”
The choir began to harmonize a tune that was familiar to me, but I couldn’t pin it. It was probably some shit I heard on TV.
“Aite. Y’all got some vows?”
I shook my head. “Nah.”
“Aite, I’ll use mine then. Hold hands.”
Accessing Glow’s face, I could tell she was feeling insecure about her appearance. One of the hairs from her bun kept falling into her face. I tucked it back in place and lifted her chin. “You look beautiful, Glow.”
Taking her hands in mine again, I locked eyes with her. In a fucking tennis skirt and sneakers, Glow was the baddest fucking thing this side of Memphis. She could be in a paper bag and still kill everything within a fifty-mile radius.
“Payne, you first. Repeat after me.”
“Hot summer nights, mid-July… When you and I were forever wild,” the choir sang their asses off.
“I, Tunan, take thee, Glow, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part… Say it nigga,” Pastor Lucifer spat when I hesitated.
Clearing my throat, I repeated his words.
“I, Tunan, take thee Glow, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in… in… health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”
I’d loved a bitch through sickness already, and the thought of doing that shit again had my own fucking palms sweating.
I couldn’t do that shit again. I wouldn’t do that shit again.
If a woman had any type of medical shit going on, I was out of there.
Stella was the last hoe I’d bring back from the dead.
Glow had her own money and looked healthy enough, so I wasn’t too worried about the sickness part.
But still, I wasn’t repeating that shit, even if this was a cursed-ass church.
“Will you still love me when I'm no longer young and beautiful! Will you still love me when I got nothing buuut my aching soul! I know you will.”
No cap, if the choir didn’t win their next competition, I knew something was up. They were singing like the rent was due.
“You next, pretty lady,” Pastor Lucifer said, low-key fucking Glow with his eyes. If I weren’t trying to give Glow some decency through this ceremony, I’d bust him in his shit.
“I, Glow, take thee, Tunan, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part,” she rushed out in one breath.
“At least somebody got the shit right. You got the band?”
Pulling the other portion of the ring out of my pocket, I slid it on her finger. It was crazy how perfect it fit—shit was almost as spooky as the souls of the pastor’s wife that I knew roamed these damn halls.
“By the authority vested in me, I now pronounce you… husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”
Swiping my thumb over her hand again, I pulled her into my chest and lifted her chin.
Her eyes watered, but she didn’t let anything fall.
Leaning down, I pecked her lips before swiping my thumb over them.
I could feel her heart drumming against my chest as she stared at me.
I was ignoring my own heart as the choir serenaded us and Lucifer’s creepy ass looked on.
Glow was the perfect fucking wife, but this was a job—a duty.
So instead of tonguing her down, I let her go.
I had to remember what the fuck this was and what the fuck my ultimate goal was.
“Yeah, nigga, you a damn fool for real. Come sign these papers and give me my bread so I can get the fuck on with the next wedding.”
Ignoring what looked like disappointment on Glow’s face, I went to the podium to sign and then motioned for her to come and sign the documents too.
I pulled out a two bands and pushed it into the pastor’s chest so he could take his eyes off my wife.
While I had no plans to treat Glow as my wife, I, for damn sure, expected everyone to treat her as such.
“Don’t forget to file my shit, Luci. I’ll come back for a copy later this month.”
Pastor Lucifer waved me off while beckoning for the choir to stop singing. “Take five, y’all, and not a minute longer. It’s gonna be a long night.”
We made our way back to my sister’s car in a comfortable silence.
Glow didn’t look nervous or anxious anymore, so I left her to her own thoughts while I succumbed to mine.
I’d done what Don needed for me to become an official member of the mob.
Now I had to make sure Glow stayed my wife on paper and didn’t become my wife in real life because I didn’t have time for the relationship shit.
Glow wasn’t Stella, and Stella damn sure wasn’t Glow, but one bad apple had spoiled it for the whole bunch.
That love shit was a no-go for me. Glow had come up with all these boundaries any fucking way, and I fully intended to abide by them.
Pussy was cool, but money was so much fucking better.
Now, I had to figure out a way to tell my brother that I’d married his bitch.