~~~Chapter 1~~~ #2
“Nah.” I shook my head. “Not without getting your man’s number. You slipping already.”
“My man?” She tilted her head. “I thought you were my husband?”
No cap…hearing her say that made my dick hard. Instantly. “I will be,” I declared. “But first, let’s start with us chopping it up. Can I get a minute of your time?”
“Umm…” She seemingly contemplated, while folding her arms over her breasts, and shivering a bit. “I don’t know. It’s pretty cold out here and I was just about to hop in her car.” She pointed at the high yellow partner.
“I mean, I already got the heat going in my truck.” I pointed back at the Rover. “We can sit in there for a second, if your girls don’t mind.”
Her eyes traveled to her partners. Meanwhile, the partners were studying me.
“Don’t try no weird shit, nigga,” the yellow bone warned. “Cause these aint the type of problems you want. I’m telling you.”
I smirked, listening to her talk that gangsta shit, with that ultra soft outer appearance. “I hear you, Gangsta Boo.” I reached out and brazenly grabbed Big Baby’s soft hand. “Come on, wifey. Let’s talk,” I coaxed, while guiding her to my truck. With absolutely no objection from her.
Holding her hand like I’d known her forever, I took in her sweet scent. Even with those tall heels on those boots, I still towered over her, with my 6’4 stature. So, I was gazing down at her, trying to find a flaw. Amazingly, she was finer up-close and personal.
Being a gentleman, I opened the passenger’s door and allowed her to slide in, before jogging around to the driver’s side. After hopping in, I shut the door to warm up.
“Okay.” She smiled, as she glanced around my ride. “I see you got the new-new.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “So…” I reached over and grabbed her hand again. “So, tell me. What’s my wife’s name?”
“Hmm…” She hummed, causing her dimples to anchor into her cheeks. “Keisha.”
I chuckled. “Why does it sound like you bullshitting?”
“Cause,” she giggled. “My name is irrelevant tonight. So, let me be whoever.”
My eyes scanned over her. “What you gotta hide?”
“Nothing.” She bit the corner of her lip. “What’s your name?”
I licked my lips, while stroking the back of her hand with my thumb. “I’m Malice.”
Her eyes widened. “Malice? The fuck you be doing to have a name like that?”
I lightly laughed. “I can’t call it. The people around me sometimes gets nervous when shit gets sticky. They say that I be doing this or that. But I bet if they’re with me, then they’ll always make it home in one piece.”
“Damn, shooter . It’s like that?” She kidded.
I shrugged. “So they say.”
“I hear you—” She got out, before her cell lit up and rang.
I watched her lift the phone and silence the call.
I gave her the side eye. “That was your nigga?”
“How, if I’m married to you?” She hooded her eyes, letting me know that she was quick on her feet.
I lightly chuckled, as her cell rang again. “Damn, they really wanna get ahold of you, huh?”
“Yeah, you know how it is, when you’re a hot commodity.” She playfully shimmied her shoulders.
Tucking my lips into my mouth, my mind told me that she was probably a stripper. Especially since she didn’t wanna tell me her name…and was so magnetic. Had the type of energy that could sell salt to a snail. Real smooth, player type shit. A finesser.
“Something is telling me that you’s a lot to handle,” I commented.
“Maybe. They say that nothing worth having is ever that simple.”
Poking out my bottom lip, I nodded. “You might be right about that.”
“I am, Malice ,” she teasingly uttered my name.
“Don’t be saying my name like that. Fuck around and start something—”
BLOW! BLOW! BLOW! BLOW! BLOW!
Shots rang out, sounding far too close for comfort.
“Ahhhh!” Big Baby screamed, as she dropped down onto the floor of the truck.
Dipping my head low, I maintained my composure, glanced around, before putting my truck in drive, and flooring it.
Peeping that muthafuckas were shooting from different directions, I realized that we were in the middle of a shootout, which meant that no corner in that lot was safe.
So, I skirted out the lot, on two wheels.
“Oh, God,” Big Baby gasped, as she maneuvered back into the passenger’s seat.
I was navigating the Rover to a stop light, when a black Buick pulled up beside me…and opened fire on the Cadillac in the lane next to them.
“Shit!” I muttered, while mashing the gas, running the red light.
“Let’s get far the fuck away from here!” Big Baby screamed, while looking back at the scene we’d escaped.
Already on that timing, I zipped through the streets, before hopping on the freeway. Wanting to put as much space between us and that war zone as humanly possible.
“What the fuck?” Big Baby frantically commented. “What was that?”
“I don’t know. Looked like a hit. On a whole gang of niggas.”
“Right, but—” She briefly paused. “Oh, shit! My people—”
Before she could fully panic, her cell was ringing.
She answered the facetime.
“Where you at? You alright?” The questions started immediately, indicating that it was one of the girls that she’d been standing with.
“Yeah.” She nodded. “He jumped on the freeway. Where did y’all go?”
“At first, we just hopped in the car. Then another round of shots started, not too far from us. So, I burnt rubber, getting out of that lot. And then we saw some niggas hop out of a van, in the middle of the street, and walk a car down. Lit it up! I aint never seen nothing like it. They had to be waiting for those niggas to come out of the club.”
I glanced over, and realized that she was talking to the high yellow broad.
“Somebody must’ve posted that location on IG or some shit,” I guessed.
“Probably so,” Big Baby agreed.
“True,” ole girl co-signed. “But I’m just glad that we all made it out.
All I was thinking about was you, hoping that you hadn’t gotten caught in the cross.
Then that nigga burnt off with you in the truck.
I thought that I was gonna have to make that call.
Then muthafuckas would be sitting outside of his mama’s house. ”
I smirked. “Say, she funnier than a muthafucka.”
“Aint nobody laughing,” ole girl responded, seriously.
Knowing how I was coming, I noted the fact that she was serious, but wasn’t pressed, because I doubted that she was prepared to dance with the devil. “I hear you talking.”
“Cousin, that nigga must not know—”
“He doesn’t,” Big Baby immediately cut her off. “And that’s how I like it. For now.” She locked eyes with me.
I hooded my eyes, wondering what the hell they was on.
“Okay, I can dig it,” ole girl responded. “Now, where y’all at?”
“On the freeway,” Big Baby reported.
“Headed where?” She pressed, just as I made a exit.
“I don’t know,” Big Baby admitted, before her eyes brightened. “Where are we going?”
Licking my lips, I briefly thought about it. “To grab some food, if that’s alright with you.”
“Some food?” Ole girl on the phone repeated. “Well, what’s the addy? We can scoop you up from a nearby gas station or something.”
“A gas station?” I frowned.
“Yeah. You can pull over somewhere, and let us catch up to you. Cause I’m sure that she didn’t intend to take a ride with you, for real. We don’t know you like that, nigga.”
“Damn, is you her bodyguard or what?” I lightly chuckled, as I pulled up to a light.
“Yeah, something like that,” ole girl rebutted.
Big Baby softly tittered. “Cuz, let me see if I wanna eat at this spot, and I’ll call you when I need you.”
“I don’t know,” ole girl hesitated. “You sure?”
“Yeah. I got my phone in hand. The minute that I’m ready to go, then I’ll call you.”
“But we was finna head in.”
“And I can drop her off. To wherever she needs to be,” I spoke up.
“Drop her off?” Ole girl regurgitated. “Niggas don’t just pull up to the spot. This aint that, nigga.”
Big Baby snickered. “Ease up, cuz. I got this.”
“I hear you, but—”
“Cuz. I got this. I got my phone. I know y’all took pictures of his plate, when I hopped in the truck.”
“And did.”
“Okay, then. I’m straight. Plus…I got something, if he gets out of line.”
“Oh, I already know, but still. Call me. Even if you think that I’m in for the night. You know that I’ll still come.”
She smiled. “I know.”
“Okay. Love you.”
“Love you too,” Big Baby replied, before the call ended.
Gripping the steering wheel, I honestly had nothing to say about the exchange. If nothing else, ole girl seemed to genuinely care, and nothing was wrong with that.
“Alright, Malice,” she exhaled. “What are we eating?”
Glancing at her, I smirked. “I know this spot. Late night. Good fried chicken. Baked mac and cheese. Greens. Cabbage. Cornbread. Whatever you want.”
“Yeah?” She smiled. “That definitely sounds good. Especially after all the shots I’ve had.”
Listening intently, I could detect some properness to her tone. Like maybe she’d grown up in the burbs…but cuz was ghetto as fuck, so I just didn’t know.
“Big Baby, where you from?” I questioned curiously.
“Big Baby?” She cut her eyes at me.
“Oh, shit,” I chuckled, after realizing that I’d slipped up and said her nickname aloud. “My bad, mama. I aint trying to offend. You just so big fine, and fucking gorgeous. Got that pretty baby face. And Big Baby just came to me, naturally.”
“Yeah, okay, nigga,” she sniggered, obviously not tripping. “All I know is this food better be good. Cause as you can see… Big Baby loves to eat.”
I nodded with a smile, as my phone was already in hand. “I got you.”