“WAIT! Let him go!” I heard LaReina shriek, pleading with the security, but all they did was carry us outside. I was pissed. This girl was bad for business.
“Vasiah! Vasiah!” I had walked down the street, completely over the day. Her sandals slapped on the ground as she stomped towards me, a look of contention all over her face.
“What the fuck was that about? Why are you leaving?” I responded with silence, just pulled up my rideshare app so I could be in my home and away from her. She snatched my phone out of my hand, forcing me to bore into her.
“Vasiah!” she hissed.
I gritted my teeth. “LaReina. Give me my fuckin’ phone, man.”
“No. Not until you tell me what’s wrong.”
I paused, the intrusive thoughts ready to spill over. I didn’t want to project onto her, but if I didn’t get away from her, then surely I’d say something I regret.
“VASIAH.”
“AIGHT, MAN. YOU ARE BAD FOR BUSINESS. EVERY NIGGA IN THIS CITY KNOWS YOU, MAN, AND WHAT I’M SUPPOSED TO DO? GRIN AND BEAR IT?”
She recoiled. “What the fuck does that even mean, Vasiah?”
I laughed mirthlessly. “First, the NBA player at the day party. Next, you friendly as hell and got nicknames and shit with the bouncer. Then, you bring us to the hookah spot one of yo old hoes owns, thinking that he wouldn’t be on bullshit when he saw you? Fuck out of my face, LaReina. I will not be doing this right now… not ever, to be honest.”
Her eyes stretched. “So what are you implying? You think I’m some kinda hoe?”
I shrugged. “I don’t care what you is. You just won’t have all that going on around me.” A look of hurt crossed her face and then rage, as she chucked the phone at me.
“Fuck you, Vasiah!” She spun around, then paused, running up on me to slap the mess outta me, rightfully so. The sting of my cheek didn’t stop me from retrieving my phone from the ground or calling my Uber, though. I wasn’t sure if I meant it, but LaReina seemed bad for business, accustomed to a certain caliber of life that I didn’t have access to. As of now, I felt justified, but I knew later I’d regret what I said.
Damn, man…what have I done?
24
REINA
“Reina… you can’t kill yo nigga bro.” Chewy gently pulled my gun away from me, disassembled it, and set it on the table. He came to see me at home, long overdue for our monthly hangs. After that disaster of a Sunday Funday, I stormed back to the hookah lounge and cursed Enrico the fuck out. He ordered security to put us all out after that, and Chewy and Reign almost upped on his ass. I told that bitch to stay the fuck away from me, or I’d make him swallow a bullet. Instead of going to the yacht party, I went home and cried. Which blew me even more, because I don’t cry! I couldn’t believe Vasiah! So now, I wanted to kill him, but Chewy wouldn’t let me.
What a party pooper.
“Chauncey, get the fuck outta my house with your negativity,” I sulked. Through my emotional haze, I knew that I didn’t actually wanna kill my man. He just hurt my feelings. I can’t control people knowing me! Hell, I told Antwan that I was married. Julio was a harmless man with a wife and kids at home. And Enrico… well, he was a thorn in my side, but I hadn’t seenor heard from him in months! So what did Vasiah’s four-eyed ass mean that I was bad for business?
Chewy scowled. “LaReina. I know you sad right now. But Imma keep it a buck with you.” I prepared myself to hear something absurd come out of his mouth. “To be honest, Rei, even though you wild as hell, way too trigger-happy, and ain’t got the good sense God gave a goose — any nigga would be happy to have you. Lucky even. Don’t ever wonder if you too much for a nigga. If that nigga is who you think he is, he gone know off bat how to handle you. Nerd Boy didn’t mean it… Ion think…But I wouldn’t change who you are. Youisdead ass wrong for bringing him to that man’s place of business, though.”
“Wrong?! How the fuck was I supposed to know that he would be there?”
Chewy narrowed his eyes. “I know you, Rei. If there’s ever an opportunity to stunt on a nigga, you gone take it. You brought that nigga there because you wanted him to see you and Nerd Boy. What you didn’t bank on was him coming up to you. And I ain’t even know nerdy niggas could hit that hardgahdamn! –”
“Chewy, focus!”
“Anyway. No, you can’t control who you know or who comes to speak to you, but you can control not keeping yo nigga in the dark. At the same time, he was wrong as fuck for what he said. I would offer to knock that nigga out for you, but his lanky ass can fight. You’d hate me forever if I shot yo nigga.”
I scowled at the thought. “This is all so fuckin’ stupid.”
“I know, man. Yo ass around here looking like yo dog died,” and he was right. I had no wig on, lashes off, and I was in sweats and one of Vasiah’s oversized tees. My wig braids were fuzzy, and I didn’t even bother to go through my skincare routine, so my makeup was still caked on since I slept in it.
“You think I should apologize to him?”
“Nah.”
“Nah???”
