Authors: Kiki Swinson
Ricky turned around in the passenger seat in the blink of an eye and said anxiously, “Who was it?”
“Some young niggas from outta Norview.”
“Do I know ’em?”
“Nah. But, this chick who braids my hair said she overheard them niggas bragging about it. Saying, those D.C. cats is weak! And that one of our own had us set up! And from the way shit was going, we gon’ get hit up again.”
Hearing Brian tell him what the Norview niggas said, Ricky got really hyped and said, “Yo, who is these niggas? I mean, they coming off like they gangstas or something!”
“She said it was a nigga named June. Another nigga named Dez. And some fat nigga named Buck.”
“Well, did they tell her which nigga on my squad helped them take my shit?”
“Yeah. She said it was Remo,” Brian explained. “And come to find out, Remo’s baby mama is the nigga June’s sister.”
“Oh, so these niggas trying to play me for soft, huh?” Ricky commented with frustration. “Yeah. A’ight! We gon’ see who’s weak!”
“So, what you want me to do?” Brian wanted to know.
“I want you to two-way Mike, Shampoo and Monty. Tell them niggaz to meet me at the spot out Campostella at seven o’clock. And not a minute later.”
“A’ight.”
“Oh yeah, get back wit’ that girl and find out where them niggaz live at. And try to get all that information before we meet back up.”
“So what you gon’ do about the deliveries for later? I mean, you know niggas is waiting to go to work.”
“Well, tell ’em the shit ain’t right yet!”
“A’ight. But, you know we gon’ lose out on a lot of dough!”
“Yeah, I know. But if we don’t correct this situation right now, we gon’ lose out on a lot more.”
Brian put on a stupid expression and said, “Yeah, dog, you right.”
“A’ight. So, it’s settled.” Ricky turned back around in his seat and Brian opened the door to get out of the car. “Oh yeah,” Ricky began to speak again, “If Mike and them start asking questions about what the meeting is for, just tell ’em you don’t know.”
“A’ight,” Brian replied and then he closed the back door behind him.
Ricky instructed me to drive back to the house, so I did. When we pulled up, I was the only one who got out of the car. “Please don’t do nuttin’ stupid!” I warned him. He didn’t respond. I went on in the house and he left.
Doing Me
I wasted no time hopping my ass on the cell phone after Ricky left. I only had one objective and that was getting Mr. Shapiro on the phone.
“This is Shapiro,” he answered.
“Hey, this is Kira,” I replied.
“How you doing?”
“I’m alright.”
“So, what can I do for you?” he asked.
I went into detail about the conversation I heard between Ricky and Brian. Then I told him what I thought would happen once Ricky got with everybody at seven o’clock tonight.
“Where is this meeting supposed to take place?”
“Somewhere in the Campostella area.”
“And you don’t know exactly where?”
“Nope.”
“So, where is Ricky now?”
“He just left.”
“Well, right now, there’s really nothing we can do but wait. However, I am truly glad that you called me with this information. This would really help Nicole if something happens to that guy Remo.”
“So, what you think I should do?”
“Just sit back and let this whole thing play out.”
“Well, have you heard from the U.S. Attorney?”
“Yes. I spoke with her a few days ago.”
“What did she say?”
“Well, let’s just say she’s working very hard to get the indictments. And after that happens, then everybody will be picked up.”
“I already know that! I mean, she needs to get on the ball! Because I’m ready for this whole thing to be over wit’!”
“I know you are. And so is Nicole. But, these things take time.”
“Well, how much more time does she need? Shit, me and Ricky getting ready to leave and go to Amsterdam in the next couple of days.”
“For how long?”
“Seven days. So, if somebody is arrested while we’re gone, word is going to get back to Ricky. And trust me, when it does, he will do everything in his power not to come back.”
“Well, let me make a couple calls and see what I can do to speed the process up.”
“Please.”
“I will. Let me get back with you tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
“Alright. So, I guess I’ll be talking to you then.”
“Okay,” I said again and then we hung up.
I laid my cell phone down on the coffee table in my den and took a seat on the sofa. But before I could sit down good, I heard a couple of knocks on my front door. I had to get right back up, just to see who it was.
“Who is it?” I asked abruptly, because I didn’t want to be bothered.
“It’s me, Russ,” I heard the familiar voice say. Without even thinking, I opened the door.
“What are you doing here?” I asked as my heartbeats began to pick up speed.
“I came to see you,” he boldly told me.
“Russ, you must be crazy!”
He smiled at me and said, “Nah, I ain’t crazy by a long shot. But I am infatuated.”
“Look,” I said to him to try and get his attention, “do you know that if Ricky catches you here, shit gon’ hit the fan?”
“I just got off the phone wit’ Ricky. And he’s not gon’ be home for at least another hour or two.”
“Well, if you just talked to him, then where did he say he was going?”
“He didn’t say where he was going. But he did say he had to be somewhere by seven.”
I looked Russ up and down after he convinced me that he’d talked to Ricky. I knew that I couldn’t let my guard down, even though my heart was telling me different.
“So, what you just gon’ let me stand here?”
Before I answered Russ, I looked across the street at my neighbor’s house. I had to make sure he wasn’t peeping out of any of his windows. When I realized that he wasn’t, I stepped back out of the doorway just enough for Russ to step inside. He closed the door behind him.
“So, why ain’t you been returning my calls?” Russ asked me the moment the door was shut.
“Was I supposed to?” I replied, sarcastically.
Instead of responding to my sarcasm, Russ leaned over and tongue-kissed me. Even though I was caught off guard, I couldn’t make myself stop him. I honestly enjoyed every bit of it. I mean, Russ’s kiss was like magic. It seemed like every time we rotated our lips, feelings crept into motion. So I pulled back and said, “Wait. What are we doing?”
“Why did you stop?”
“Because, this ain’t right! And especially here.”
“So, when?”
“What do you mean, when?”
“Stop fighting it. You know I can make you happy.”
“Maybe you can. But, I am a married woman.”
“Yeah, I know. But, does your husband know that?” Russ replied sarcastically.
After hearing Russ’s comments, I couldn’t say anything. He was right, Ricky didn’t care. And everybody knew it. They’ve been knowing it for a long time now. This, of course, made me look like the biggest fool walking. I just stood there in front of Russ as my eyes began to water.
“Damn! I’m sorry,” he said, and then he took me into his arms. As he cradled me in his arms, it was obvious that I had let my guard down. I felt really weak as I began to replay every incident Ricky had crushed my heart with. And then, to just find out that Ricky was sleeping with Sunshine really broke me down. Tears started falling everywhere. Having Russ there to hold me was what I truly needed.
“Go ‘head. Let it out,” he told me. That’s when I held him tighter.
“Come on, so you can sit down.”
He led me into the den and after I sat down on the sofa, I looked Russ in the eye and said, “Did you know about Ricky messing around wit’ my old stylist, Sunshine?”
Russ looked at me for a second or two as he held my hands. Then he said, “Yeah.”
I snatched my hands away from him and said, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because, it wasn’t my place.”
“Is that why she was staring you down when you walked into the shop?” I asked as I began to wipe away my tears.
“Yeah.”
“How did you find out about her?”
“My first time seeing her was the day me and Ricky went to D.C. She called him on his cell and said she wanted to see him before he left. So, he told her to meet him in the parking lot of the Jamaican restaurant on Park Ave. When we pulled up she was already there, waiting for him. So, when she seen us pull up, she got out of her car and walked over to the driver’s side and they started talking.”
“What did they say?”
“Nothing but how much she’s gonna miss him. And that she can’t wait until he gets back.”
“Did they kiss?”
“She leaned over and kissed him. And then after that, he told her we had to go.”
“Did he leave her any money?”
“Yeah. He did.”
“Well, at least I knew that much!” I yelled.
“What you mean?”
“Sunshine is a greedy bitch! And all she does is prey on niggas who got money. She’s a hoe to her heart!”
Russ saw the pain I was going through. He pulled me back into his arms and held me even tighter than before. “It’s gonna get better. Don’t even worry about it,” he whispered in my ear.
“But when?” I asked.
“When you’re ready to let it go.”
That’s when I realized he was right. It was up to me. I had complete control of my life and the decisions I made. I looked into Russ’ eyes and thanked him for being by my side. And after I thanked him, I leaned over to him and we started kissing once more. This time, it was better because my feelings for him started growing stronger and stronger. And it felt like he was experiencing the same thing because he wouldn’t stop kissing me. One thing leads to another and before I realized it, me and Russ were upstairs in me and Ricky’s bed, screwing each other’s brains out.
“Yes. Keep doing it just like that,” I instructed Russ as he searched with his tongue for the spot on my pussy. “Hmmm, that feels so good,” I moaned and groaned with every stroke of his tongue. When that part of our lovemaking was over, Russ flipped me over on all fours, then slid all eight-and-a-half inches of his dick inside of me.
“Wait! I can’t take it! I can’t take it!” I screamed with passion. I mean, this nigga was fucking the hell out of me. I ain’t been fucked like that in a very long time. That alone was scaring me.
Now after Russ finished sucking, turning, and massaging me all over, I was convinced that my days with Ricky were officially over. And not only that, but screwing another man in the bed me and Ricky shared, was nothing but a taste of sweet revenge.
I just wished I would’ve thought about using our video recorder. Seeing his boy Russ, fucking the hell out of his wife would have done some permanent damage. And that’s just what his ass needed.
“Let me get on outta here before your husband gets back,” Russ commented, as he slipped his shoes back on.
I didn’t respond to his comment. I was too caught up in the moment to say anything. All I wanted to do was lay back and watch him get dressed. When he was done, Russ leaned over and kissed me right on my forehead.
“Are you gon’ call me later?” he wanted to know.
“That’s if you want me to.”
“You know I want you to. So, why you playing?” He smiled.
I smiled back and said, “I ain’t playing. You know I’m gon’ call you.”
“Do that,” he said before he left.
***
Ricky walked in the house a little after ten o’clock, so I had enough time to take a shower and sneak a nap in before he came. Now, when he came in our bedroom, I could sense he wasn’t in the mood to talk about nothing. It was probably because of that problem he had with that nigga Remo. I pretended to be asleep; that way, nobody’s feelings would get hurt. I’m guessing Ricky felt the same way, because after he stripped down to his boxers he headed back downstairs to the den, this was where he slept the rest of the night. But before he walked out of the room, he sniffed the air around the bed a couple of times. I knew he smelled my juices lingering in the air, but since he wasn’t the one that helped to bring them out of me, he must’ve assumed his mind was playing tricks on him. He never uttered a word about it.
The next morning, I got up and got dressed so I could get to work for my nine-thirty appointment. Ricky found a way to stop me on my way out.
“Did you pick up our passports yet?” he asked as I was walking toward the front door.
“No, I haven’t,” I said shortly and sweetly.
“So, when you gonna do it?” His tone was very aggravated.
I sucked my teeth and said, “Either today or tomorrow!”
“Look, do it today. ‘Cause, I don’t want no last-minute mix-ups!”
“Well, why don’t you do it?” I snapped back at him before I walked out of the house.
I heard Ricky call me a couple of stupid bitches, but it didn’t bother me. Because while he was cussing me out, I was driving down the street, laughing my ass off about what I had in store for him.
Da’ Housing Projects
I was curling the hair of one of my clients and watching TV at the same time, when a special news bulletin popped on about three people getting killed execution style, inside an apartment of a housing project in the Norview section of Norfolk.
“Oh shit, turn that up!” I instructed Rhonda. Everybody in the whole shop got quiet. And come to find out, the three people who were found dead around seven o’clock this morning were a twenty-year-old Remone Thomas; his twenty-three-year-old sister Pamela Thomas; and her boyfriend, Julius Grimes, also known to others as June.
They were found tied up to chairs by Pamela Thomas’ son, who had spent the night at the next-door neighbor’s house. All three of them had been tortured before they died.
The news lady said that whoever was responsible for the killings wanted them to suffer and die a slow death, because of the many stab wounds they had that were filled with salt and the smell of alcohol. She also said that it appeared that the victims were also forced to sniff gunpowder through their noses, which was an apparent sign of a drug deal gone bad. The police said they didn’t have any suspects.