Chapter 1
Mickea
Damn! There’s never any parking. I blew in frustration as I drove around the crowded parking area of my apartments. Something told me to buy that reserved covered parking spot when I first signed my lease. Shid, the way my pockets were set up though, I couldn’t afford to buy anything extra. My attitude was steady increasing as I made my way around the complex for the tenth time.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” Finally, I saw an open spot right in front of the apartment office. Pulling my ugly, beat down, discolored ’99 Toyota Camry into the newly open parking space, I sunk in my seat from relief. I really wasn’t feeling like risking getting my car towed by parking next door in the other apartment complex. They always had parking spots available, but you had to have either a visitors pass or a parking sticker. Future’s song Drug Money started to play from inside my purse telling me that my lil baby was calling.
“Talk to me, babe” I sang into the phone to John, my boo for the night.
“You made it home yet, beautiful?” John’s sultry voice spoke through my ears and straight into my panties.
“Yeah, I made it and I almost thought I wasn’t going to find a parking spot”. John’s ugly laugh caused me to giggle as I stepped out of the car, being sure to lock my door and grab all the valuable shit out with me. This area of Arlington had it bad for break ins and I wasn’t about to be the victim to that again, especially with the fact that I’m barely making it as it is working minimum wage in stupid ass fast food. John’s stupid, goofy laugh brings me back to the conversation that I didn’t even realize that I tuned out.
“You didn’t hear shit I said huh?” Even though he tried to sound like he was joking, I knew that he was serious by his voice alone. Lately he had been sounding like a real female dog, but I figured it was just his way of trying to make me feel like he cared more than he really did. Not even giving me a second to answer, “Of course you didn’t. You always zoning me out”. Scrunching my face up, I had to pull the phone away from my ear with how whiny he sounded.
“You know you sounding like a real mitch right now, John. I’ma need you to turn ya gangsta up”. My thumb shot in the air like he could really see it.
“Oh, I’ll turn my gangsta up aight. Just wait till I see ya”.
Shuffling into my apartment from the cold weather and turning the light switch on, I cautiously stalked around my small, but cozy hardly furnished studio. And when I said hardly furnished I meant that I had a bathroom set, with an air mattress blown up in the center of the living room/bedroom. Tonight marked the first week of me being in my own apartment and although I’m excited, I’m still scared as hell. There’s way too many tv shows that I’d seen about how predators be hiding all in the corners of people houses. So with John on the phone just in case I needed him, I tiptoed through the entire apartment turning every light that I could while looking into every hiding spot that I could think of. Shid, I even looked in the kitchen cabinets and refrigerator… which was empty but I didn’t give a damn because ya girl was on her own! My apartment may not have been fully decked out yet, but it was way better than living on my cousins couch any day
“Mickea!” John growled into my ear.
“What John? Damn!” I was getting real tired of his bitchassness.
“You know what? Fuck that, I’m coming over. Send me your address”. Something stirred deep in my soul when I heard how dark and almost taunting his voice became. “I’ma fuck that attitude right up out yo throat”.
Feeling the heat of a blush redden my cheeks, I couldn’t help but smirk at the sudden authority in his voice and my cootch couldn’t help but throb at the thought of John coming to see about us. Quickly getting in control of my hormones, I cleared my throat.
“I’ve been saying for a week now that I wasn’t going to have any company over until I got some more furniture, huh?” Well that’s what I told him, but honestly I could care less about having furniture or not. That was all just a part of the game that I was playing. After making the decision that I was going to use what I had to get what I wanted, this game had become my life.
“And you know I said I’ma see about that tomorrow when I take you out”. Hearing the seriousness in John’s voice made a sense of satisfaction wash over me like a strong orgasm from my head to my feet, giving me a natural high. Money made me cum fareal fareal and that alone was enough to hold me over for the night. Purposefully yawning directly into the phone, I ignored him sighing in irritation.
“Yeah yeah. I hear ya”. I spoke in a tone to get him to think that I didn’t believe a word he said when really I knew he was going to come through for me. Hell, he better if he wanted to continue to get this PAM. If you don’t know what that is then I advise you to check out that Lil Phat and Mista Cain song.
“I got work in the morning though, and I already be wanting to slap the taste out of my coworkers mouths for being so damn chipper at 5:30 in the damn morning”. My pressure started to raise just thinking about those little hyper ass teenage white girls who act like they lived for their jobs. Even the little wack proper acting black females in there just trying to fit in. I am who I am on a 24/8 basis and either you get with it or you get lost. Walking to the bathroom, I started to run my bath water in hopes of drowning out whatever conversation that John thought he was about to start up. Putting the phone up to my ear, I didn’t hear him saying anything so I just hang up. I wasn’t even able to get my clothes completely off before my phone buzzed, almost falling into the tub.
John: You ain’t have to hang up in my face like that lol
Grabbing my face towel, dry towel, and Ivory bar soap, I got into the tub choosing to ignore his ass. My aching muscles started to release as I cleaned myself all over being sure to wash the dirts of the day off.
“Ughhh”. My phone buzzing just completely disturbed my rare moment of peace. It was probably only John’s ass because this is a new number and the only other person who would text me is probably out on the streets and busy right now. I started to rub my towel over my chest, teasing my breast just thinking about Max’s sexy ass.
It’s crazy how we met because my first night in the apartments, my damn car got broken into. At the time I kept my wallet in my console like a dummy. My wallet was stolen along with my new radio that came with the ugly car. My heart was do damn broken because that was the only thing that got my ass jumping during the day. The next morning I had to wait almost an hour just for the police to come out and file my report. While I was waiting, this sexy ass hood ninja swaggered up on me asking me what my name was. After getting to know a little about each other, he asked me what was I up to causing me to vent about how I was new in the area and already having my car broken into. He told me to hold tight and that he would be right back. Not really knowing what he was about to do, I got confused when he brought a young curly haired Spanish looking boy to where I was still standing waiting on the police. Which they never ended up coming.
To fast forward, I got my shit back because Max told me he was a jack boy and that ol’ dude was his lil homie. He told me that he had been trying to get him to leave that petty burglary shit alone, but “the lil nigga hard headed”. So we exchanged numbers, and the rest was history.
After drying myself off my stomach started growling, and for a second I contemplated calling John over only to tell him to come with Jack In The Crack. Checking my phone, I finally saw that it was him texting me like I knew it was.
John: Damn, they had you closing and then turning around to open?
John: You sleep that fast? Lol
Feeling myself get annoyed from his bugging, I decided to just go to sleep hungry. I wasn’t that hungry to where I felt like I could deal with him tonight. When me and John first started creeping around behind my cousin Jakeya’s back, I didn’t have to deal with this clingy side of him. We was only seeing each other on a friends with benefits level. Friends with benefits, meaning exchanging my friendship for his benefits. It’s like ever since I moved on my own, John been calling me everyday “just to talk”. Like bitch… I don’t want to talk. I want them dollas. Laying on my airbed, I smiled to myself as I pictured splurging through Rooms To Go on John’s tab.
He wasn’t exactly the flashy type dope boy or, now, jack boy that I’m used to but I knew that John had to be slanging some work or something to be bringing in the money that he was bringing in without having to punch a clock. So the mystery of him being smart and secretive with his shit is what interested me into back dooring my cousin in the first place. Now that I think of it, I never liked that hoe anyways. Grimacing just thinking about her sloppy body ass, I had to practically blackmail her ass just to let me stay with her since staying with my parents was out of the question. Just thinking about my family full of stupid bitches had my blood boiling. I stood out from them because I dared to be different.
As always, my mind began to drift back to when I was just sixteen years old.
Slowly feeling myself sink into a spot of pure disgust and anger, I remembered how I went through hell just to push my mama to the point of putting me out. It seemed like the whole family was against me anyways, and I didn’t care because I didn’t like none of them anyways. In my eyes, my mother was a weak bitch and I couldn’t see myself associating with one of those. What woman throws years of her life down the drain going to school and receiving her degree only to find a job and support a no good snake of a man? And what bummy of a grown man lays on his ass all day long doing nothing but watching the woman he supposedly loved struggle to support the household where his own seed would suffer? That dumb and dumber duo was better known as my parents. Good thing I hopped off the porch sooner than later.
“Hello”. I answered my ringing phone trying to sound like I just woke up, even though I was annoyed wondering what the hell John wanted.
“Awww. You sound so cute. I didn’t know you was sleep”. He chuckled, irking my soul. “I thought you was just ignoring a nigga”.
“I know you lying, I-“ I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Why are you calling me?! You already know how hard it is for me to fall asleep. I told you that I was getting ready for bed to go to work tomorrow, didn’t I?” I started taking short, shallow breaths to calm my attitude that really had nothing to do with John. Thinking about my family always put me in a bad mood, and I always found comfort in taking it out on the nearest thing to me.
“I just was calling to tell you goodnight”. He had the nerve to try and sound sweet causing me to scoff in disbelief.
“Are you serious? You could’ve texted me and told me goodnight”. Venom spitting through every word I spoke.
“Yeah, I know”. John paused and sighed. “It’s just that I wanted to hea-“
“Bye John”. My finger pressed to end the call right in his stupid face. Of course he just wanted to hear my voice. He always just wanted to hear my voice, but I was far from dumb to fall for the games that he was trying to play. No matter how hard I tried, I could not find it in me to go soft on him. As I tossed and turned, the noises of my air mattress annoyed me every time I moved.
“Oh my gahhhhhhh!” My legs flailed in the air when my phone buzzed again. Feeling my blood boil to the level of eruption, I decided to give up trying to find a comfortable position.
“Well, here goes another sleepless night”. I reached over to check my phone.
John: You gon’ stop treating a nigga like he a lame or something when he only trying to get to know yo stubborn ass
That message alone was enough to send me over the top. Sitting up straight, I wondered just how I could get under this niggas skin. Someone once told me that if you really wanted to know someone… get them mad.
Me: Well my stubborn ass would stop treating a nigga like a lame if he stopped acting like one
Biting my lip, I anxiously waited for his response while I thought of something better to say.
John: How am I acting like a lame tho Kea?
Thinking about the perfect response, I felt myself growing warm at the thought of knowing exactly what button to push.
Me: Because you acting like you the bitch and I’m the nigga
Immediately after sending the message my phone began to ring, causing me to jump in excitement knowing damn well he was calling to curse my ass slap out. That’s exactly the rile that I wanted. That’s exactly the rile that I lived for.. to get on these niggas nerves like they got on mine. Quickly ignoring the call as he called me back to back, a laugh crept up my throat. Laying back down, I was delighted by how my eyes started to become heavy in exhaustion. Holding my phone in my hand, I watched in amusement as I read John’s messages steady coming in.
John: Answer the fucking phone now Mickea! I’m not playin with you
John: I got yo bitch
John: I never once called you out your name did I? Or cursed at you so you better put some respek on that shit
John: I bet if I did tho you’d be ready to fight huh?
John: You just don’t know how drove you got me right now
Even though my phone was constantly buzzing, I finally drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
