Carl Weber's Kingpins (26 page)

Flamboyant woke up the next morning with a slight hangover. After taking a shower he felt slightly better. He got dressed and left to go see if he could convince Shayla to come back home. As he drove toward Rose State junior college, he hoped and prayed that he would be able to achieve his goal.

Shayla was sitting in class with a smile on her face. She was thinking about how much she enjoyed her evening with Trevor and his kids the night before. She was surprised when he came to her suite and told her that he was taking her out with his children. What touched her most was when he told her, “You might as well get used to them now, especially since you're about to become Mrs. King.” That made her feel so good that nothing else seemed to matter.

They went to Bricktown and had a nice dinner. Afterward, they went for a walk along the river walk and enjoyed the evening playing around with each other. She was shocked at how smart and obedient King's kids were. She had no problems whatsoever accepting them into her life, and from what she could tell, the kids really liked her too.

After they dropped the kids back home, Trevor took her back to her suite and rocked her world for over an hour and a half. She hadn't realized that she could have so many orgasms in one sexual encounter.
God, Trevor is much more advanced than he was when we used to be together,
she thought as she blushed at the memory of what Trevor did to her body the night before. She actually started getting wet at the mere thought of his touch. She dried up instantly when she saw Marco standing in the doorway of her classroom, motioning for her to come outside and talk to him. She sighed heavily, grabbed her books, and left the classroom in the middle of her instructor's lecture on clothing designs.

Once she was outside of the classroom she asked, “What are you doing here?”

“I'm here to apologize, babe.”

“You've already done that like a hundred times already. I check my messages,” she said in a tone so sarcastic that it shocked Flamboyant.

“Why you bein' like that? You know I love you. You don't have to be so cold toward me. I know I was wrong. I made a mistake, Shayla. It'll never happen again, I swear.”

“Oh, I know it won't, buddy. Believe me, I know.”

“Come on, Shayla, let's go somewhere and talk this out, huh?”

“What is there to talk about, Marco? You put your hands on me. No man has ever put his hand on me! It's over! Do you understand me, Marco? O-v-e-r!”

Before he realized what he had done, he slapped Shayla so hard she almost passed out. Before she was able to get herself oriented he grabbed her and pulled her out toward the parking lot. By the time they made it to his car his mind was made up: he wasn't about to let her leave him. He didn't give a damn what he had to do.

“What are you doing, Marco? Kidnapping me? You are fuckin' crazy! Let go of me!” she screamed.

“Shayla, I love you and, no matter what, I know you love me too. We have to work this out. I'm lost without you. Can't you understand that? I'm lost without you!”

He sounded so pathetic and desperate that the fear factor of how he was acting finally registered.
Oh, shit, this nigga is really on some fatal shit!
She stole a few glances around the parking lot to see if anyone could help her. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw one of the campus security guards driving their way. She yanked her arm out of Flamboyant's grip and yelled, “Over here! I need help over here!” She continued to wave her arms frantically until she got the security guard's attention.

“Come on wit' that shit, Shayla. You want to get that fool smoked? You comin' wit' me whether you like it or not,” Flamboyant said as he pulled out a chrome 9 mm from the small of his back. “Now, when that rent-a-cop comes over here you better make sure you tell him that everything is all good.”

“Or what?” she asked defiantly.

“Or there's gon' be a lot of blood in this parking lot.”

“You're bluffing.”

“Am I?”

“Why . . . why are you doing this? Why can't you let me be?”

“'Cause I love you and I'm not goin' to give up on our future. You're all I got, babe. You mean the world to me.”

Before she could say something the security guard pulled up and asked, “Were you trying to get my attention, ma'am?”

She thought about the gun Flamboyant was hiding behind his back and answered, “No, um, I was waving toward my girlfriend. She didn't see me, though.”

“Oh, okay, have a nice day,” the security guard said as he pulled away from them.

“Smart move, babe. Now, can we go somewhere and talk this out?”

With venom in her eyes as well as in the tone in her voice she said, “Do I have a choice?”

“I guess not. Get your ass in.”

* * *

Tippi was pulling into King's driveway as he was pulling out of the garage. He stopped when he was right next to her, rolled down his window, and said, “What up?”

“Where you goin' this early in the mornin'?”

“Trevor Jr. got into some trouble at school yesterday for cussin' at his teacher. You want to come?” he asked with a smile on his face.
Sometimes lies have to be told.

“Yeah, I want to cum a'ight, just not wit' you to no damn schoolhouse. Why you been shakin' me, King? What's up wit' that?”

“Let's talk 'bout that later on. I got to get to the school.”

“At least tell me what I done, nigga, damn.”

“You ain't done shit, Tippi. It's all on me.” He checked his watch and said, “Meet me back here later on this evening and we'll holla. I'm outta here,” he said as he pulled out of the driveway.

As he turned onto the highway he grabbed his cell and called Shayla. He was running late picking her up from school. He hoped she wouldn't be too mad at him for being a little late. When he got her voice mail he left her a message informing her that he was on his way. After he closed his phone he started thinking about what he was going to tell Tippi later on when they got together.
Ain't no way in hell am I goin' to be able to tell her crazy ass the truth. She'll go straight for my ass!

 

“Where are we going, Marco?” asked Shayla.

“Home.”

“I'm hungry. Can't we go somewhere and get something to eat first?”

“When we get to the house you can cook something to eat if you want to.”

“Why are you doing this? Can't you see that you're causing more harm than good? Do you really think I'll ever feel the same way I used to feel for you?”

That stung. “Babe, I messed up but it's like you're not even tryin' to forgive a nigga. I don't understand that shit. Haven't I always treated you right? Haven't I always given you whatever you asked for? I've shown you how much I love you. Why can't you forgive me for making one mistake?”

“One mistake? Marco, you put your hands on me! Not once, but twice! On top of that you pulled a gun on me, too! And now you're taking me back to your home against my will and you want me to forgive you? Nigga, please! You can make me stay at your home as long as you want, but I will never, and I mean never, forgive you for what you've done to me!”

He sighed heavily and realized that he was digging a deeper hole for himself. “Where do you want to go eat?”

“It really doesn't matter. I just want to put something in my stomach.”

“A'ight,” he said as he pulled off the highway and turned into a Waffle House parking lot. “Is this cool?”

“It's fine,” she said as she got out of the car and walked inside of the restaurant.

After they were seated she told Flamboyant, “Order me a patty melt and some scrambled eggs, please. I'm going to the bathroom.” Before he could say a word she was out of her seat and headed toward the bathroom. As soon as she was inside the bathroom she pulled her cell out of her back pocket and quickly called King. She really didn't want to involve him in this but she had no other choice. She was afraid Flamboyant was going to hurt her. Before that happened, she would let King hurt his ass!

“What's up, baby? Don't go left on my ass; I'm almost at the school now,” King said when he answered the phone.

“Listen, Trevor, and please try to remain calm, okay?”

“What's wrong, Shay?” he asked, sounding worried.

“Marco came to my class and made me leave with him.”

“What?”

“He hit me again, Trevor. He even pulled a gun when I tried to call for security to help me. He's lost his fucking mind and I think he's going to hurt me. Please come and get me.”

“Where y'all at?”

“I asked him to take me to get something to eat. We're at Waffle House right off of the Forty.”

“I just passed that spot a few minutes ago. I'll be there in less than five.”

“Okay. Be careful, Trevor, he has a gun on him.”

“I do too,” he said as he closed his phone. As he got off of the highway and changed directions he picked up his phone and called Keko. “Where you at, nigga?”

“I'm on my way to Del City, what's up?”

“I need you to meet me at that Waffle House off of the Forty. You know the one I'm talkin' 'bout?”

“Yeah, right before you get to Rose State. What's poppin'?”

“Just get there and you'll see for yourself. You strapped?”

“Always,” Keko replied.

“Good,” King said as he closed his phone.

King saw Shayla sitting across from Flamboyant inside of the restaurant as he pulled into the parking lot of the Waffle House. He parked his Lexus right next to Flamboyan's S600. He inhaled deeply as he grabbed his .40-caliber Glock and racked a live round inside of its chamber. He picked up his phone again and pressed redial. When Keko answered King asked him, “Where you at?”

“I'll be there in about three minutes or less.”

“When you pull into the parking lot stop right in front of the door and get out of the car wit' yo' strap ready.”

“Where you gon' be, nigga?”

“Inside of Waffle House, takin' what's mines,” King said as he ended the call and got out of his car.

When Shayla saw King pull into the parking lot she tried her best to remain calm, but she was a nervous wreck. She knew that both of these men were dangerous and she hoped and prayed that no one died today, especially her. She followed King with her eyes as he came inside of the restaurant. As he walked toward where they were seated, she told Flamboyant, “Look, Marco, I'm leaving now. Please don't try to stop me. I don't want anyone to get hurt in here.”

“What? What are you talkin' 'bout, babe?” Flamboyant asked, confused. When he saw her looking over his shoulder he turned around and saw King. “Ain't that a bitch!” he screamed as he jumped out of his seat and faced King.

Shayla jumped out of her seat and quickly got between the two men before any blows could be thrown. “I don't want any problems here, Marco. I just want to leave.”

“Leave? Wit' who, this nigga?” he asked, completely shocked.

“Yeah, nigga, wit' me. Now, if you'd excuse us, we have shit to do,” King said as he stared Flamboyant down. Flamboyant was about to say something slick until he saw Keko pull in front of the entrance of the restaurant and jump out of his car with a pistol in his hand. King smiled and said, “See ya later.”

Flamboyant stared at King and Shayla for a few seconds and said, “You better fuckin' believe the war is back on, bitch nigga. Oh, and ain't nobody gon' be able to save yo' ass this time.” King ignored him and grabbed Shayla's hand and led her toward the exit. That infuriated Flamboyant. “And as for you, you triflin' bitch, you're just as dead as that nigga!”

Shayla shook her head sadly and gave him the finger as she walked out of the restaurant with her hand firmly inside of her man's hand.
Ooooh, weeee! Shit! Thank God no one got hurt!

As they left the Waffle House followed by Keko, King grabbed his phone and called Charlie. “We need to meet, like right now.”

“What's wrong?” asked Charlie.

King sighed and stared at Shayla and said, “I got the beef back crackin' wit' that nigga Flamboyant.”

“What? Charleston's in twenty,” Charlie said and hung up the phone.

“Who was that?” Shayla asked as she watched King close his phone.

“That was my peoples. We're 'bout to have a meetin' and discuss this problem.”

“Why can't you just leave it alone? I don't want this to turn into something crazy, Trevor.”

He smiled at her and said, “That, baby, is unavoidable. You heard what that nigga said. Hopefully Charlie will be able to take care of this. If not, then somebody got to die. It's as simple as that, Shay.”

“Oh my God.”

“Exactly.”

* * *

Charlie was already seated when King and Shayla arrived at Charleston's. After they were seated King made the introductions. “Shayla, this is Charlie. Charlie, this is Shayla, Flamboyant's ex-girlfriend. My current fiancée.”

“Shit,” Charlie groaned.

“Exactly.” King then went on and explained everything to Charlie. He started from the beginning back when he and Shayla had first met, and ended with what had just happened at the Waffle House.

Charlie attentively listened without saying a word, staring at him as if he'd lost his mind. After a few more seconds of staring at King, Charlie picked up the cell phone and called Toni. When Toni answered the phone, Charlie said, “You won't fuckin' believe what's happened.”

“Why wouldn't I? I just got off of the phone with Flamboyant. I'm meeting him at the Red Lobster on the south side in thirty to discuss why he's in such a murderous rage. What the fuck is your man thinking about, Charlie?” Toni asked seriously. “This shit can fuck up everything.”

“I know.” Charlie stared at the couple sitting on the other side of the table and said, “They're in love, Toni. I can see it in both of their eyes.”

King grinned slyly and told Shayla, “I should have taken you back to your suite.”

“Why, are you ashamed of being in love with me?”

“Never that.” King grabbed her hand.

“Call me when you've finished calming your man down. Don't worry, we'll work something out, Toni,” said Charlie.

“I doubt it, but I sure hope you're right,” Toni said and hung up the phone.

After setting the cell phone back onto the table Charlie said, “Okay, you two, what the hell are we going to do about this fucking mess y'all created?”

King shrugged. “What can we do, Charlie? It is what it is.”

Shayla remained silent.

Charlie stared at the couple again and asked, “If this were the other way around, King, how would you feel? Would it be ‘it is what it is' then?”

“On the real, I'd probably be on some murda shit.”

“Exactly. So you can pretty much see where Flamboyant's state of mind is at this point in time. Especially with what's transpired with you two recently.”

“Yeah, but—”

Charlie held up a hand to stop him and continued. “No buts, King. This shit is serious. I'm beginning to feel as if you're trying to fuck with my money. Is that what you're trying to do?”

“It ain't even like that, Charlie. You know you trippin'. I love this woman, always have.” He smiled lovingly toward Shayla and continued. “We were born to be together.”

Charlie watched as Shayla put her hands on top of King's and returned his loving smile, and he said, “Shit!”

* * *

On the south side of Oklahoma City, Toni was sitting at a table inside of Red Lobster, waiting for Flamboyant to arrive. The wait wasn't long. Before Toni could order a drink, Flamboyant came strolling into the restaurant with a murderous look on his handsome face. “Shit,” muttered Toni.

With no preamble, Flamboyant sat down and said, “Fuck this money, this dope, this game; that nigga got to die, Toni. I mean that shit right there.”

“Have a drink, Flamboyant, and try to calm your nerves. There's no need for you to get so crazy.”

“Toni, you got to be out of your fuckin' mind! That nigga had the nerve to come into the Waffle House while I was with Wifey tryin' to work out our problems, and he took her outta there as if she belonged to him! He's crossed the line and ain't no deadin' this shit! He's got my woman, Toni! And it's fuckin' killin' me!”

Damn, if I would have known this nigga would fall this weak behind a bitch I wouldn't have ever fucked with his ass,
thought Toni. “Let's look at this from another perspective. Obviously your wifey wants to be with King. After all, she did leave with him, right?”

Shaking his head violently, Flamboyant said, “Hell nah, she's still trippin' the fuck out right now 'cause I put hands on her a couple of times. She's hot and shit so she's tryin' to fuck wit' a nigga's head.”

“It looks as if she's doing a pretty good job of it. Why don't you let things cool down a little then give her a call and see if y'all can work this out?”

“That's exactly what I plan on doin'. While I'm lettin' her calm the fuck down I'm also gon' be huntin' for that bitch-ass nigga King! Like I said, he has to die and I don't give a fuck what you have to say 'cause ain't nothin' gon' make me change my mind. I don't know why in the hell I let that nigga make it after he done Gunna and Prince any-fuckin'-way. Real talk, Toni, he's outta here.”

“So, you're going to put everything we've put together in jeopardy because of your anger toward a man who your woman seems to have chosen? That's some bullshit and you know it. Shake that shit off and move forward and don't look back. There's millions to be made in this fucking town and you know it. I know you're hurting right now because you feel as if you'll never get over losing your girl. Her choosing King adds insult to injury, but that's still some small shit to stress. You have to look at the bigger picture. Keep your eyes on the prize. When it's all said and done you'll be on top and she'll be the one regretting the decisions she made. Think, Flamboyant. Don't let your emotions get you into something that you won't be able to get out of.”

“What's that supposed to mean, Toni? You threatening me now?”

Toni sighed and said, “No, I'm not threatening you. I'm giving you my word that if you don't let this shit die then you lose. Period. And you're going to lose way more than you think. So sit your ass back and let this pass. Everything will be all good and you'll be the one shining in the end.”

Flamboyant smiled at Toni and said menacingly, “King will die by my hand, Toni. Whatever happens after that I ain't even trippin'.”

Toni stared at him for a minute before saying, “If King dies by your hand you will die a slow death by mine. I give you my word on that, Flamboyant.”

He shrugged his shoulders, got up from his seat, and left the restaurant without saying another word.

Toni watched him leave and said, “Shit!”

* * *

King had just dropped Shayla off back at the hotel when Tippi called him on his cell. “Where you at, nigga?”

“Downtown, what's up?” he asked as he pulled into traffic.

“We need to talk.”

“Yeah, I know. Meet me on the block in about thirty.”

“Nah, let's meet at your pad. I'm not tryin' to have any of 'em niggas in our business. I'm on my way out there now,” Tippi said as she hung up on him.

As King drove toward his house he wondered if he was going to have to kill Tippi. “God, I hope not,” he said out loud as he turned his car onto the highway.

Tippi was already inside of King's house when he pulled into the driveway. “I got to make sure to get my fuckin' keys from her crazy ass after this shit is over wit',” he mumbled as he climbed out of his car and went inside of the house. When he stepped into the living room he couldn't help but smile at the sight before him. Tippi was sitting down on his leather sofa with her legs crossed at her ankles looking sexy in a matching panty and bra set. She smiled at him as she took her bra and thong off. “I thought we had somethin' to talk 'bout?” he asked, staring at her firm body.

“We do. I don't want to talk 'bout it 'til after you've made me feel special. I want, no, I need you to make me feel special, King. I know you don't love me the way I love you. I've always known what we've been sharing these past few months was only some temp time. I hoped and prayed for more but since you've been shakin' me I've realized that my time has run out. So, take off 'em clothes, baby, and come over here and make me feel special.” She stared at him innocently and added, “Please.”

Her tone touched him deeper than he ever imagined. Where was the hardcore Tippi he was accustomed to? Confused, yet aroused, he slowly started to undress. “Let's take it to the bedroom.”

Shaking her head no, she said, “Uh-uh, I want it right here.” She slapped the sofa and continued, “Your bedroom is for whomever you're fuckin' wit'. This couch is where I want—”

King cut her short and finished, “Me to make you feel special.” He then stepped to her and dipped his head between her legs and started licking her sweetness.

Tippi moaned and said, “Umm, exactly.”