31. Joker
Joker
M y phone buzzed and I slipped it out my pocket.
My Harley : Where are you?
“Halo?” Dough questioned me from the driver’s seat.
“Yeah,” I replied and slipped my phone back into my pocket. My eyes went back to the dark road. I had planned on beating her back to the penthouse, but I was running behind schedule. By the time I got there, I was certain she was gon’ be knocked out.
Dough pulled into the parking lot of the warehouse and rounded to the back. Shutting the Sprinter van off, we both climbed out. We rounded to the back doors, and he took one final drag of his blunt and tossed it to the ground.
I opened the doors and grabbed the duffel off the floor. “I’ma get on home before she gets worried.”
“A’ight. What you want me to do with them?”
Muffled noises came from inside the truck. I glared at the four niggas that were tied up back there as they squirmed.
“I don’t care what you do with ’em,” I told him and trekked away from the van, hitting the fob on my truck. I had a busy night snatching up disrespectful ass niggas. I beat the dog shit out of ’em and tossed ’em in the back of the van. I made my point. Whatever the hell Dough did with ’em now had nothing to do with me.
Tossing the duffel on the back seat, I hopped into my truck and pulled off.
When I made it to the penthouse, I took the elevator up to my floor. Halo’s shoes lay inches apart from the entrance. I dropped the duffel at the door and removed my windbreaker. On my way to the bedroom, I saw the food sitting on the counter that she told me she was gon’ bring. I entered the room and saw her dress lying on the floor at the foot of the bed. She lay peacefully sleeping, hugging my pillow. I swear I never saw anything more beautiful than her. That woman tugged on my heartstrings. Laying my jacket on the chair in the corner of the room, I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it to the floor. Kicking off my shoes, I shoved my pants to the floor and climbed into bed next to her. Removing the pillow from her clutches, I replaced it with my frame. She snuggled as close as she could to me and moaned. My lips pressed the center of her forehead, and I stroked her hair back out her face with my fingertips. I’m not certain how she did it, but this woman defrosted my cold heart.
A week later
Pulling up to Baptist East Hospital, I parked the truck and grabbed the Cava bag off the passenger seat and then got out of the truck. Ma had been heavy on my mind, so I decided to bring her lunch and check in on her.
Entering the emergency side, I went through the metal detector and it beeped. The security eyed me and hit me with a head nod. Slipping my phone from my pocket, I shot Ma a text.
Me: Come up front. I got something for you.
And then eased my phone back into my pocket. I stood by the desk, waiting for her to come from behind the double doors. This pregnant girl and her boyfriend entered. They stepped to the desk, and he said, “My girl been having bad contractions. We were told to come to the hospital.”
The double doors opened and Ma stepped out. A smile graced her face when she saw me standing there. “What are you doing here?” she asked as I closed in on her with my free arm stretched out. She flew into my side and I kissed her temple.
“I can’t come see one of my favorite women?”
“I thought I was your only favorite woman.” She frowned when she looked up at me.
“That used to be true.”
“Oh, yeah, I forgot. You went out there and fell for somebody. How’s Halo anyway?”
“She’s doing good. I’ll be sure to bring her over Sunday for dinner.” It was time that Ma got to meet Brave, especially since Halo wasn’t going anywhere.
“Let me know what she likes to eat so I can make something special for her.”
“Okay. I brought you lunch,” I said, handing her the food. She took it from my clutches and peeked into the bag.
“Thank you.” She got on her tippy toes to kiss my cheek. I leaned my face down where she could reach it. “I’m going to head back to work. Thank you for checking in on me.”
I stood there ’til she disappeared back behind the double doors and then headed for the exit. My phone buzzed on my way out the door. Removing it from my pocket, I looked down at it.
My Harley : Can you go get Brave from school for me? He said that he doesn’t feel well and I’m stuck in the middle of a hair appointment.
Me: Yeah, I’m heading to him now. I’ll let you know when I get there.
I hit the fob on my truck and got inside. This was the first time that Halo trusted me to do something like this. I don’t know if it was a test or what, but I had to make certain that everything ran smoothly.
Pulling up to the school, I got out the truck and locked the doors behind me. I stepped to the main entrance and saw there was a buzzer. These days, you couldn’t enter a lot of places without getting buzzed in. It’s a good thing the school was set up like that, especially since there had been so many school shootings. It was a way to keep the children protected.
“You can pull the door,” the woman’s voice came through the speaker and the door unlocked.
I pulled the door open and entered the building, stepping inside, being met by another pair of doors. Opening that door, I stepped to the desk in front of me. The woman looked up and graced me with a smile.
“How can I help you?”
“I’m here to check out Brave Carter.”
“Your ID?”
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my wallet. I grabbed my ID and handed it over to her. “I don’t think I’m on his paperwork.”
“I’ll just have to call the mother and make sure you have permission to get him. One second.” I stood there, gazing at the children’s artwork on the walls as I waited for her to make that phone call. “Hey, Ms. Carter, I have a Knox Hudson standing here in front of me. He’s asking to check out your son Brave.” My eyes drifted back to hers, and she nodded. “Yes. Thank you,” she replied and ended the call. “Here you go, Mr. Hudson. It looks like he’s in gym right now. I’m about to radio him down.”
“No need. I’ll just go out there and grab him. Thanks.”
I had never been inside this school before and didn’t know where the gym was located. Stepping away from the desk, I turned to the right, and she said, “It’s to the left. Make another left and straight down that hallway.”
“Thanks,” I tossed over my shoulder.
The closer I got to the gym doors, I could hear basketball dribbling. I pulled one of the doors open and stepped inside. My eyes scanned the gym for Brave ’til they finally landed on him sitting in the corner alone.
I trotted in his direction and called out his name so that I wouldn’t scare him when I finally approached. “Brave?” His head lifted in my direction. Soon as his eyes landed on me, he jumped up from the floor and ran in my direction.
“What are you doing here?”
“Your mama asked me if I can come pick you up. You don’t look like you’re sick to me.” His head lowered and I asked, “What’s really going on?”
He kicked the air and stared down at his feet. “They be joking on me. I don’t want to be in here anymore. I just want to go home.”
“Who?” Brave looked up and pointed in the direction of two boys out on the court playing basketball. They were dressed in Nike t-shirts and basketball shorts with fresh Retros on their feet. I turned and looked at Brave’s shoes. They were a simple pair of red Nikes. Looks like he had ’em since school started. I was digging in Halo’s ass when I saw her.
“Are they always bothering you?”
He nodded. “Most of the time. They either talking about my clothes or my glasses.” He pushed his glasses up on his face with his index finger.
“Bet.”
Spinning on my heels, I strolled in their direction and yelled out, “Aye!” Both the boys looked in my direction and went back to passing the ball back and forth. Soon as I reached ’em, I slapped that mufucka midair and it bounced to the other side of the gym.
“Come on, man,” one of ’em said and frowned.
“I heard y’all been fucking with my son.”
He looked at the other kid and they erupted in laughter. My blood boiled. “Bet. I got some for both y’all asses.” I snatched his lil ass up and took him over to the basketball goal and sat his goofy ass up there. The other one took off running toward the exit. One of the little girls stuck her foot out, and he tripped over it. She winked her eye at me and placed her hand to her ear in the form of a phone. I jacked his lil ass up off the floor and placed him on the other goal.
“Now tell y’all bitch ass daddy to meet me outside tomorrow after school at three. Let’s go, Brave.” Brave jogged over to where I was, and we exited the gym.
As we got out to the parking lot, he looked up at me and said, “Thanks, Coach Knox.”
“You’re welcome.”
We got into the truck, and I pulled out the parking lot. I dialed Halo’s number and she answered on the second ring. “Why the fuck you sending lil dude to school with shoes like that? You got a whole black card to go get him some new clothes and shoes. These lil bitches up here picking on him,” I immediately began to go in on her ass. She knew better.
“I-I?—”
“I my ass. I’m finna take him to get him a few things. I’ll see you at the house,” I told her and ended the call.
2:15 the next afternoon
I sat there in the parking lot of the school, waiting for the kids to get out. I told Halo I was gon’ pick Brave up today to bond with him. Of course, I was lying. I just didn’t want her to know what I was up to. If she knew I was coming up here to start shit at the school, she would’ve talked me out of it. Once I was done handling business, I’d take whatever consequences that came my way.
The kids started to come out of the school. I climbed out my truck and posted against it, waiting for Brave and the other kids to show their faces. Brave exited the school along with the other children that were fucking with him the day before. Their eyes locked with mine and they both froze in place. Brave ran out to me in the parking lot in his brand-new red and white Retros I bought him the day before. I had spent so much money on him at the mall.
“Hey, Coach Knox.”
“Just call me Knox. Where those other lil kids go?” I asked him, noticing they were no longer by the door. By that time, one of ’em was trotting across the parking lot behind some guy who I assumed was his big brother. Dude was like half of me.
They stopped in front of me, and he stood there with a mug resting on his face. “You the one that was picking with my son yesterday?”
“Son? Nigga, you look like you should be going to school here too.”
“You think it’s funny to be picking on children?”
“I ain’t pick on nobody. I told him to go get yo’ ass.”
“I’m here now, so what the fuck you gon’ do?”
“You got some big balls on you,” I said and peeled away from the truck, straightening my posture. His eyes shot up toward my face, and it was in that moment, I knew he cowered. “Now what’s that shit you was talking?” I asked, tugging my t-shirt over my head. “Hold this for me, Brave.” I tossed him my shirt and lifted my pants up.
“You sure it was him, Lucas?”
“Yeah, Daddy. Gone and mess him up,” Lucas replied.
“Son, sometimes you can’t fight every battle. What you been doing?”
Before Lucas could answer him, my fist went across his face. He stumbled back, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
“He been bullying Brave. I can’t whup his lil ass, but I damn sure can whup yours. Maybe next time he’ll think twice before fucking with somebody.”
Wham!
I punched his ass again.
“This him?” another masculine voice asked. It was the other lil nigga’s daddy.
“Yeah, it’s me, nigga. Come on and get yo’ ass whupped too,” I told him. He was about average height and big in size. A bit on the chubby side, but I was ’bout to take his ass too. “Y’all gon’ learn to teach ya fucking kids to stop bullying people.”
A crowd began to form around us.
Wham!
I swung on big boy, and he dropped to the ground like a tree. The other dude punched me in the back. Turning around, I smacked his ass to the ground.
“The police are on their way!” a woman yelled, and everyone began to disperse.
“Come on, let’s go,” I told Brave and grabbed my shirt from him.
We hopped into my truck, and I pulled out the parking lot. “That was so cool,” Brave finally spoke once we had put distance between us and the school.
By the time we made it to the house, Halo was standing on the porch with her arms folded over her chest. Her right foot tapped against the porch. The scowl on her face made me want to put Brave out and keep going.
“I think yo’ mama mad.”
I powered off the truck and climbed out. Brave got out on the other side, and she said, “You… get in the house,” pointing over her shoulder with her thumb at the front door.
Shoving my hands in my pockets, I strolled up to the porch, ready to hear whatever she had to say. Once the door shut behind Brave, she went in on my ass.
“Have you lost yo’ fucking mind? You up there fighting at the school in front of Brave. If I knew you were about to do some bullshit like that, I wouldn’t have let you go up there to get him.”
“I know you’re angry, but I did what I had to do. If I didn’t whup they ass, them kids would still be picking on Brave. I know you know they’ve been messing with him.”
“I had a conference with the teacher, and she mentioned it. I know they broke his glasses a while back.”
“Well, they still fucking with him. I couldn’t beat those lil fuckers’ asses, so I beat their daddies. You can be—” Halo gripped me by the collar of my shirt and brought my face down to hers. Her lips covered mine.
“You could’ve told me what you were doing. I would’ve beat their mamas’ asses too.”
“I promise you not gon’ have anything to worry ’bout after today.”
“I love you so much. You make my pussy wet.”
Pulling her closer to me by the loop of her jeans, I slipped my hand down the front and gently stroked her clit. Her eyes closed, and a moan seeped from her lips. Her juices streamed between my fingers.
“Damn, you wet.”
“I know,” she whispered.
Pulling my hand out her pants, I slipped my middle and index finger into her mouth, and she sucked every drop of her nectar off it. My dick jumped.
Gripping her by the throat, I brought my mouth down to hers and asked, “You gon’ give me some pussy?”
“I thought you’d never ask.” Gripping me by the hand, she led me back out to the truck. I pulled the back door open and slid into the seat with her right behind me. She probably didn’t want to have sex in the house since Brave was still up and could hear her.
Shoving her pants and panties to the floor. I whipped my dick out, and she straddled me with her back facing me and lowered herself onto my dick. My right hand slid from her stomach, gripping her left breast and up to her throat. Her head tilted back against my shoulder. I ground inside her from underneath. Her pussy was biting too. Her moans were like music to my ears.
Halo massaged her clit, and her moans grew louder. “Cum with me,” she said, panting.
“Fuck, I’m ’bout to cum.”
“Yes, yes, yes!”
She released on my dick and I filled her insides. She eased off me and faced me. I palmed her face, stroking her cheek with my thumb until my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and sighed when I saw the number.
“Everything okay?”
My eyes locked with hers and I swiped to answer, placing the phone at my ear. “Yeah?”
“I’m ready to cash in on that favor, baby boy.”