“Nigga, you wild as fuck! You knew I was on my way. I’m probably just finna head out. You don’t gotta stop on account of me, especially when yo’ ass been knew I was on my way.”
“Hell nah, man. Give me two minutes,” Trell said and ended the call.
I fired up my blunt and stood outside the car to smoke it. The detailers had Harmoni’s car smelling like strawberries and shit, so I definitely didn’t want to smoke it out. I didn’t smoke aroundHarmoni at all anymore, and I didn’t want her smelling it either. Ten minutes later, I was finishing my blunt, and Ciara was walking out the door with Trell on her ass, literally. Being that I had just seen her naked, I couldn’t even look her in her face. I put my head down and scrolled on my phone as Trell walked her to her truck with his arms around her waist and his meat on her damn crack.
“Hey, Rowdy. You don’t have to avoid me. Yo’ ass should have knocked. You wouldn’t have had to worry about getting your eyes hurt!” Ciara joked.
“Wassup, Ciara? Yeah, you can bet your bottom dollar I’ll never go in there without knocking again. Shit, I’m really about to give this nigga his key back on some shit.” I seriously stated.
I walked into Trell’s crib while he talked to Ciara at her truck. I stood near the coffee table while I searched for a hood ass Tubi movie to put on. Trell came inside with a Kool-Aid smile on his face. I mugged that nigga ’cause I was pissed off from what I walked in on. Trell flopped down on his sofa, and I took a seat beside him.
“Nigga, it’s a whole couch over there. Why would you squeeze on this small ass couch with me?” Trell barked.
“I just walked in and caught you fucking on that couch, and you ain’t sanitized that muthafucka, so what the fuck do I look like sitting there? Yo’ ass can sit there,” I countered.
Trell moved over to the other couch like I gave a damn. A nigga ain’t wanna sit next to his ass, but I damn sure wasn’t about to be sitting on top of booty juice and who knows what else. It was only right that he moved over to the couch he had just been getting busy on. I turned the TV on a show called theDirty D.I wanted to see if the show was accurate on how these Dallas niggas really operated. Only for Trell to bust my bubble and tell me that the shit was based off Detroit not Dallas. I watched the shit anyway.
“On some real shit, my bad for you walking in on me and my girl. I was trying to get her ass out of here before you came, but you know how that shit be. I just couldn’t get out of it,” Trell stated as he rolled up.
“Yo’ girl? When did that happen? And I would appreciate it if you left me out of all the technicalities. I understand what you mean, tho. I really don’t know if you should pursue Ciara like that. She’s crazy as hell. She’s not gonna go for you playing with her or being disrespectful. I done heard some shit and don’t want to get on her bad side.”
“I’ve been needing a bitch like Ciara in my life. Her ass is hood but intelligent as hell. She’s the kind of bitch that’ll take a charge and move weight for you. The kind of bitch that you just know you can trust without her switching up on you. She different for real. If I was at war, I have no doubt that she would be right beside me, bustin’ at niggas. She almost makes a nigga wanna be faithful and shit, but you know me. Maybe not.” He laughed.
“That shouldn’t even be the shit that you would want your woman to do, my nigga! When you love a woman, you gon’ protect her at all costs, not make her risk her life and freedom. I just don’t know about yo’ ass, mane! Maybe you don’t need a woman. You probably should just keep fuckin off with them hoes. I’m telling you, Ciara gon’ be the one to break yo’ ass down,” I stated.
“Love? That’s too deep, buddy. We just vibing right now. Let me find out yo’ ass soft and shit now! Daddy on duty lookin’ ass nigga. You know we don’t love these hoes for real. Yo’ ass just done got caught up. I really fucks with Ciara, and I really like her ghetto ass. I just refuse to get whipped like you,” Trell said.
“You trippin! Moni ain’t one of these hoes. That’s the mother of my child, and yo’ mentality gon’ have you old and lonely. Who doesn’t want a wife and family? This street shit is temporary.The goal is to do this shit just long enough to set your family straight for life. The end goal is the family, crib, and cars. Nobody wants to be an old head that’s single and still risking their life and freedom. You gotta focus on the bigger picture. If you ain’t doing the shit for a purpose, then you really out here hustling backward.
Trell just nodded his head. This nigga was hard-headed and felt like nobody could tell him anything. I wanted my boy to make the most out of life because we only got one shot at this shit. Before I met Moni, I was hustling blind myself, but having a real woman was the motivation to be on my grown man shit. I didn’t want this nigga to say I didn’t warm him ’bout Ciara too. She was the woman who would go upside his head.
We talked about the business and how things were going. He mentioned hearing that Diamond had passed away, but for weeks, he had been looking for information on a funeral or something that would prove she was dead, but he couldn’t find anything. When Diamond first went into the hospital, Taylor told Trell that she thought Diamond’s baby daddy had done something to her. Trell never heard from Taylor again after that, and he honestly didn’t give a damn. He just assumed she was grieving and was thankful to be rid of her ass.
Jakari had his people reach out after the incident and ask for Diamond’s car. Since they acted like it was so valuable to them, I taxed their ass again. Now I knew why the car was so important. Somehow, someway, they were trying to cover their tracks. I just made sure that hoe was completely cleaned and nothing tracing back to me was on or inside that car. Anyway, I saw that I could take money from that hoe ass nigga, and that’s exactly what I was doing. It was definitely personal but also business. I didn’t like that nigga, and knowing his past history with my girl, he was lucky I let him continue to breathe.
I was feeling kind of bad about what happened to Diamond, and that shit haunted me after I heard she was dead. Had she not been at that cabin, she would still be alive to raise her son. I kept replaying what my pops used to tell me in my head, and I knew it was right. Every action in life comes with a consequence, and sometimes that consequence would cause you to lose your life. That’s what happened. Diamond used me to get at Harmoni, not knowing that I was using her to get at Jakari. Her being obsessed and wanting to hurt Moni was what cost her life. That shit was crazy.
After chilling at Trell’s crib for a couple of hours, I called and ordered Moni some food then headed to pick her up from the shop. Whenever I took her to work, I always made sure I was at least thirty minutes early to pick her up. Once I made it to the shop, I saw that Carmen was about to lock the doors, so I got out of the car and ran to the door before she could walk away. She greeted me, and I walked over to Moni’s booth with my hands behind my back. Moni had her back to me with her AirPods in as she cleaned her station. I walked up and kissed her neck from behind, and she jumped from being startled.
“Baby, you scared me! I didn’t even call you yet, and what’s behind your back?” she said as she took her AirPods out.
“When do you ever have to call me? You know I’m gon’ always be here early! Guess what I got for you? It’s something that you love more than you love me,” I joked.
“Boy, please! I don’t love nothing more than I love your black ass. You and this little baby got my whole heart. Now, if you got me some won-ton tacos from Applebee’s, it’s a close third!” she said.
I pulled the Applebee’s bag from behind my back, and she gave me a mischievous side-eye. I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. She was like a bad ass kid. I handed her the bag and watched her face light up. I told her to go into her office, eat herfood, and handle her business to wrap things up. I was going to handle the front for her. Then, I told Carmen that we would lock up and that we would catch her later. Once I locked up behind Carmen, I cut on some Mo3 and had it blasting through the shop’s speakers. His music had been top on my playlist for the past few years.
I swept the floors, cleaned all the stations, mopped, emptied all the trash, and placed the bags by the door, so I could grab them on the way out. Once the shop was spotless, I sat down in the waiting area and waited for my baby.
When Moni was done, I rushed to her and grabbed all the bags she had, then I turned all the lights off and waited for her to set the alarm. Once we had locked up the place and I had taken the trash out, I rushed to open her car door and then ran around to the driver’s seat.
The entire ride home, she thanked me for how good her car looked. She was so appreciative and affectionate; I could do nothing but thank the big man for sending her to me. She was exactly what I didn’t know I needed. Once we made it home, we showered together, then lay in bed and watched the new season ofBMF. I massaged her feet, and she ate her favorite snacks. Now that this was my reality, I couldn't imagine life any other way.
The next morning, I told Harmoni to get ready for brunch. She was beyond excited, not knowing that I had something up my sleeve. Once she was dressed and ready, we were out the door. After a twenty-minute drive, we arrived at Black Walnut Cafe. I was a great listener when it came to my girl and remembering things that were important to her. She had expressed several times that this was one of her favorite spots to have brunch, and I felt it was only right to bring her there, so I could make amends. Once we were seated, I shot my cousina text, letting her know where we were in the restaurant. A few moments later, Dimeo walked in, looking nervous as ever.
I flagged her down, waving her in our direction. Once Moni saw her coming our way, she gave me an evil scowl. I didn’t mean for my bullshit to come between the two of them, and if it wasn’t for my cousin, I wouldn’t even know or be with my girl right now. It was time to fix my mistakes like a man because I was really the only person who was wrong in this situation. I moved to the other side of the booth and sat next to Moni, so Dimeo could sit across from us. I also didn’t want Moni on the end of the booth because her little ass was quick and would jump on somebody’s ass in a second. I needed her stuck on the inside of the booth.
“I brought both of y’all here because y’all are two of the most important people in my life. Dimeo, you’ve always been a baby sister to me, and I moved here solely to be closer to you. That was before I met Moni, though. I was hoping that since y’all were already cool, things would be smooth, but I fucked that up. Dimeo, I was wrong as fuck for asking you to lie for me, and I didn’t think that the shit would escalate. Moni, I’m sorry for asking her to lie. I just didn’t need you getting the wrong idea about me buying shit for another female. I was dead wrong, and I’m sorry to both of y’all, but this other shit ends today. Y’all can be mad at me, but y’all not gon’ hold a grudge against each other. Dimeo will definitely be a part of our son’s life, and there was no question about that. Whatever y’all got to do or say, make it happen now. After this shit, we’re going back to normal, and Harmoni, you will be doing Dimeo’s hair this weekend!” I explained.
