A Sticky Situation (4 page)

“I know you don’t. And you constantly throw it in my face all the time.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Listen, I ain’t trying to get into that with you. All I want to do is get back on the grind one more time. Rake in a nice chunk of dough and be done with it.”

I refused to comment. I sat there and remained silent.

“Whether you realize it or not, I could’ve got back in the game without even telling you. But that’s not how I want shit to be between me and you. I want to be honest with you about everything, especially if we’re going to be together. Now, what do you say?”

“You promise it’s going to be a one-time thing, right?”

Seth smiled. “Yes, baby! All I need is one shot.”

Before I answered Seth, I thought about what he said and how I was treated at work today, and it became very clear that they didn’t respect my work around there. And since I was gonna be resigning soon, I smiled at him and said, “You know what? Fuck it! I don’t care! Go for what you know. But, please, be careful.”

“I will, baby! And I promise, after I make this move, I am going to take your pretty ass on a cruise,” Seth assured me as he jumped to his feet.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I said as I watched him make a call from his cellular phone. I continued to sit there while he was engaged in his conversation. I could hear the excitement in his voice. After only a few words were exchanged, he hung up.

“I just got the ball rolling,” he told me, and then turned around to leave.

“Where are you going?”

“Those niggas just told me to come and holler at ’em.”

“What are you going to do about that job?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you going to take it?”

“Yeah, ain’t shit changed about that.”

“OK,” I said.

After Seth dashed out of the kitchen, I sat there in disbelief. I mean, I couldn’t believe that I had just given him permission to go back to the streets and hustle. What in the hell was wrong with me? Was I insane? Or was I just plain fucking stupid? I did know that I loved the hell out of him. All I could do was hope I wouldn’t have to suffer the consequences for using my heart to make decisions where they concerned him.

SETH

Back To My Roots

As soon as Maxine gave me the go-ahead to get my grind back on, I hauled ass out the crib before she changed her mind. She was known for changing it at the drop of a hat, and I couldn’t afford to let her pull the plug on this one, because I had a lot at stake. Not only that, but I gave them niggas my word that I was coming into the fold, so I couldn’t turn back now. Once I revved up the engine on my money-green Dodge Magnum, I sped out of her neighborhood within a matter of seconds.

In the middle of my drive, I thought about what it was going to be like to be back on the grind. I knew that times had changed, so I wouldn’t be able to do the same shit I used to do back in the day. I also wondered what it was going to be like working for Mike and his right-hand man, Jay. I had only known these cats for a couple years. I met them both while we were all doing time at the federal camp in Petersburg, Virginia, and when we found out that we were from the same area, we started working out on the compound together. They got released about two years before I did, but Mike gave me his number and told me to look him up when I came home. I did. Now we were about to have a little reunion.

Before I would be able to catch up with them, I had to find out where they wanted to meet. I called Jay. “Ay yo, Jay,” I said the moment he answered. “Where you and Black want me to meet y’all?”

“Come out to Portsmouth.”

“Where at?”

“Meet us in Prentis Park.”

“Which side?”

“We gon’ be parked outside this white house on the corner of Lincoln and Richmond Avenue.”

“A’ight,” I said and hung up.

After twenty minutes of constant traffic, I finally made it to my destination. From the second I drove up and saw Mike posted up by his Hummer and Jay standing next to his 2008 Chrysler truck sitting on twenty-two inch rims, I knew shit was about to be on. Without hesitation, I got out of my car and joined them. I walked up and greeted Mike’s big, black, husky ass first. “What’s good, dawg?” I said, giving him the proper handshake.

“Just trying to make moves, son,” he told me, revealing a diamond bezel Chopard wristwatch.

The shit damn near blinded me, but I played it off like the shit didn’t faze me. I mean, how would I look, sweating that nigga’s shit? That’s some ol’ bitch move. After I let his hand go, I walked over to Jay and greeted him too.

“Ready to go to work?” Jay asked me.

Before I answered him, I looked at his tall, skinny, Puerto Rican-looking ass, dipped out in a three hundred-dollar pair of Red Monkey jeans with a brand spanking new white tee and a fresh pair of white Air Force Ones. The only piece of jewelry he had on was a gold rope with an iced-out cross dangling from the end of it. Jay wasn’t the flashy type of cat like Mike, but he wasn’t too far behind him.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” I finally said.

“A’ight. Well, follow us.”

I hit the alarm button on my key chain and followed Mike and Jay into the white house. From the outside, the shit looked run-down with the chipped paint and all. But on the inside, they had it kind of hooked up.

“Whose spot is this?” I asked.

“This is my girl Trina’s crib,” Mike said. “She don’t be here that much anymore since I got her a bigger spot out on Churchland.”

“Must be nice.”

“For her, it is. But you know I just brought my wife, Lacy, a crib out on Virginia Beach.”

“Yeah, I remember you telling me a while back. How is she?”

“She’s a’ight. Can’t wait till she drop that load. Shit, it feels like she’s been pregnant forever.”

“How many months is she?”

“Eight.”

“So, what y’all having?”

“As big as she is, she looks like she’s carrying two big-headed boys,” Jay interjected and laughed.

“Yeah, he ain’t lying. But she ain’t carrying nothing but one. When she had the ultrasound, they told her she was having a girl.”

I smiled. “That’s what’s up!”

“So, whatchu trying to get into?” Mike changed the subject while Jay disappeared into the room down the hallway.

“I was hoping you could hook me up with a couple pounds of weed.”

“Nigga, I ain’t got no weed! Shit, it’s been a drought for about four months now.”

“So, whatchu got?”

“I got whatever you can move.”

“Well, a’ight. Hit me off with a couple ounces of hard white.”

Mike laughed. “Ain’t nobody getting high off crack anymore. The fiends around here either use dope or powder.”

“Well, give me a couple ounces of powder.”

“Who do you know get high off powder?”

“Come on, man. You know I’ve been out of the loop for a while.”

“I know. That’s why I’m gon’ hit you off with a couple grams of dope. My shit is a missile, and all the fiends call it Black Label.”

“Man, you know I don’t know shit about heroin.”

“Don’t worry about all of that. Jay is in the back putting some shit together for you right now. As soon as he’s done, I want you to take it and go set up shop at my spot in Dales Homes. A chick named Melody is going to be waiting for you.”

“Who is she?”

“She’s just a Section 8 chick I fuck every now and again. I kick her a few dollars here and there, for letting me use her crib as one of my spots.”

“She got kids?”

“Yeah, she’s got a little boy, but he ain’t never there.”

“Good, ’cause I don’t like to do business around kids.” I noticed Jay walking back down the hallway. “Damn, nigga, I thought you got lost!” I commented and smiled.

He smiled back and said, “Nah, son, I was just trying to get you straight.”

“How many grams did you give him?” Mike asked.

“I broke off three from the egg,” Jay replied. He handed me a small, quart-sized Ziploc bag filled with a brown powder substance.

“What am I going to do with this? I don’t know how to bag this shit up!” I blurted out.

“Don’t worry about it. That’s Melody’s job. She’s going to put the shit in caps. When she’s done, she’s going to introduce you to my street team so they can start bringing the money to you. Believe me, when those niggas get the word out that you’ve set up shop with my dope, the fiends gon’ go crazy.”

“So, what’s my take on this?”

“Just put it like this: I’m giving you this shit wholesale. So that means you gon’ make five dollars off every pill of dope you sell. So if you sell five hundred of them, I’m gonna hit you off with twenty-five hundred. It’s that simple.”

Smiling at the thought of instant success, I sighed and said, “Yo, son, give me the address to homegirl’s crib, because I’m ready to get this paper.”

Both Jay and Mike smiled back at me.

“I want you to call Jay if you happen to run out before he comes out there to check up on you,” Mike instructed me as he walked to the front door.

“A’ight,” I said as I followed him. Outside we exchanged a few more words and then parted ways.

After I pulled off, I got Maxine on the phone. “Hey baby, whatchu doing?”

“I just got out of the shower. What are you doing?”

“I’m on my way to go and take care of some business.”

Sounding a little worried, she said, “Please be careful.”

“Baby, I got this, so don’t worry about me. I’m going to be fine.”

“What time are you coming back this way?”

“I’m not sure. But I’ll let you know.”

“OK. But if I don’t hear from you soon, I’m gonna call you, all right?”

“That’s fine.”

“OK. Give me a kiss.”

She made kissing sounds into the phone. “I love you,” she told me.

“I love you too,” I replied.

I didn’t take me long to make the trip out to Dales Homes. It was only a hop, skip, and a jump from Prentis Park. When I drove past the sign that said,
WELCOME TO DALES HOMES REDEVELOPING HOUSING AUTHORITY
, I knew I was in ghetto heaven so I was going to have to go into street mode. Time to become the nigga I used to be before I caught my fed beef a while back. It was a known fact that you couldn’t be soft out there. You had to let those motherfucker’s know you meant business because if you didn’t, the fiends, the bitches, and the snitches would swallow your ass right on up. And I couldn’t have that. I had shit I had to do and a goal to make, so I was going to stay focused.

As I drove by the long row of one-floor apartment buildings made out of cream-colored stucco, with air conditioners posted up in one window of every house and surrounded by nothing but dirt and cement, I couldn’t imagine why those people wanted to live like that. The kids were playing outside in the dirt—I assumed they were making mud pies—while the cats made their trades a couple of feet away. The kids’ mothers were nowhere in sight. The whole scene was crazy. And I knew right then that I wasn’t going to be able to take much of it. The sooner I could get my dough up, the sooner I could kiss this place goodbye.

The moment I turned my car ignition off, I noticed the front door of this chick Melody’s crib was open, which wasn’t a good look since I had to be in there with all this work. Anybody could bum-rush that crib at the drop of a dime . . . and what the hell would I be able to do about it? Nothing but stand there and look stupid as a motherfucker. When I got right up to the screen door I yelled out her name. “Ay yo, Melody!”

“Yeah, who is it?” she said.

“Come open up the door,” I replied instead of yelling my name out loud.

In less than three seconds, I heard shorty walking toward the front door. When she appeared on the other side of the screen door, she smiled, showing me every last one of her pearly white teeth and the dimples in her cheeks. I mean, the chick was drop-dead gorgeous with her light brown eyes and soft caramel skin tone.

“So, you ain’t gon’ tell me your name?” she asked sarcastically.

“I didn’t say it because I didn’t want them niggas over there to hear me,” I told her, referring to a couple of young cats I saw a few feet away. They were huddled around by a tree, making wisecracks at each other.

“That ain’t nobody but my brother and his friends.”

“Oh, so that’s why you got your door wide open?”

“Yeah, that’s one of the reasons.”

“Well, I’m Seth, and if you don’t mind, I would prefer if you kept it closed, especially while I’m here.”

“Mike told me to look out for you, so I will,” Melody commented, giving me a cute little smirk.

“I’m glad to hear that,” I replied as I walked into her place.

I stepped away from the door, giving her enough room to close and lock it. Then Melody said, “Come on, let’s go into the kitchen.”

I followed her, and believe me, I got the chance to get a complete mental picture of her entire frame, which got me to wondering how she got all that ass into them little-ass shorts. My dick was getting hard just watching her cheeks hang from the bottom of them joints, so you know I was fighting myself to keep from grabbing her around her waist and pulling her back to me, so my dick could rest up against her. I wanted to feel how soft her ass was so bad; but I knew I couldn’t.

When I took my eyes off her ass and look backed at her again, I got weak just thinking about what I could do to her. And what was really crazy was that homegirl looked just like Melyssa Ford. She was a shorter version, but she had the same big titties, small waist, and fat ass. I was really trying to figure out why Mike only fucked with this chick to use her crib as a spot. She was a keeper, if you asked me. If I were in his shoes, I would take shorty’s pretty ass out of this hellhole and set her up somewhere where her kid could go outside and play without worrying about getting shot. But hey, I guessed Mike had his reasons.

“Where the shit at?” Melody asked once we were in the kitchen.

“It’s right here.” I handed it to her.

“A’ight. Well, take a seat right there.” She pointed to a set of chairs placed at the kitchen table. “I’m gon’ get started over here.” She grabbed a facemask, a coffee grinder, a clear bottle of empty capsules, and a plastic bag of white powder.