Trickin', page 10
“He do gotta wife and family here, Ra’Keeyah. And girl, he got a nice-ass crib too,” Shayna bragged.
Ra’Keeyah looked at her best friend like she was crazy. “Bitch, you done lost your mind. You been inside the man’s house?” Shayna nodded her head yes. “Well, where was his wife?”
“He said she was out of town visitin’ her sick mother,” Shayna said like it was no big deal.
“Girl, you be takin’ some hell-a-fied chances,” Ra’Kee-yah said shaking her head.
Shayna shrugged her shoulders. “Oh well. I didn’t force myself in his house. He invited me. Damn, bitch, can you scrub the bottom of my foot any harder!” Shayna looked down at the Chinese lady and snapped.
Ra’Keeyah threw her head back and started cracking up laughing. “Bitch, you a fool,” she said and continued laughing. “You gon’ make that broad karate chop you in the throat.”
Shayna frowned down at the Chinese lady who was going off in her native language. “Yeah, whatever, and Hong Kong fuey to you too,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Anyways, what was I sayin’?’” she asked, losing her train of thought.
Ra’Keeyah shook her head. “We was talkin’ about you goin’ all up in that man’s house.”
“Oh yeah. Well, like I said, he invited me in, so I went,” Shayna said.
“I don’t know what I’ma do wit’ you,” Ra’Keeyah smiled at her best friend.
Shayna laughed. “I don’t know either. So, what we gon’ do this summer?”
“I don’t know. Shit, you all boo’d up. You ain’t gon’ have time for me,” Ra’Keeyah said. “You done fell in love wit’ a white man.”
“Whatever,” Shayna protested. “Only white man I ever been in love wit’ is Benjamin Franklin,” she said. “Hefah, I always got time for you. Calvin and his wife is goin’ to Europe for a month, so I’ma have all the free time in the world.”
“Dang, a month in Europe?” Ra’Keeyah asked, astounded. “We still gon’ be dancin’ for everybody else, right?”
“Hell, yeah! Calvin already set everything up for us,” Shayna said. “He told me him and his wife go away every summer for at least a month. Hell, last year he took her to Bora Bora.”
“I wish I had a man to take me on extravagant getaways like that,” Ra’Keeyah said wishfully.
“I told him I don’t give a damn how long they gone. He better leave me some damn money!” Shayna snapped. “Shit, Brick got money! Have his black, sexy ass take you on a trip.”
“Girl, me and Brick are just friends. He got a woman, remember?” Ra’Keeyah asked, wishing it was her instead of Piper.
“Oh, girl, I knew I was gon’ tell you some—,” Shayna balked and frowned down at the Chinese lady for digging under her toe too hard. “Girl, you put some shoes on these folks and they don’t know how to act! Anyways, I called you the other day to tell you that Brick and Piper broke up!” Shayna said, excited. “But you didn’t answer your phone.”
“You lyin’?” Ra’Keeyah asked, surprised. “I haven’t talked to him in a few days, so I really don’t know.”
“Well, I do. ’Cuz my cousin Tabitha’s baby daddy, brother-in-law, or somethin’ like that, be doin’ a lot of business wit’ Brick and his boys. And I guess Bob T, Brick’s right-hand man, told somebody that Brick and Piper broke up and she moved back to New York wit’ her parents,” Shayna said.
Ra’Keeyah tried to digest the information that Shayna had just relayed, but it was kind of difficult to put it all together. “So in other words, you sayin’ Brick’s right-hand man, Bob T, told somebody that him and Piper broke up and she moved back to New York?” Ra’Keeyah asked, trying to figure it all out.
“I just said the exact same thing,” Shayna laughed. “I just made a short story long, that’s all.”
Ra’Keeyah laughed. “Wow, that’s crazy.”
“I know, right? So maybe you can get your chance to be wit’ him.”
Ra’Keeyah thought for a brief second. “Girl, please. Do you know how many bitches gon’ be lined up at his front door?”
“Yea, I can only imagine. Shit, girl, you better pitch you a tent and stand in line wit’ them hoes, and may the best bitch win!” Shayna laughed and threw up her hand, giving Ra’Keeyah a high five.
Ra’Keeyah laughed too. “I don’t know about all that. Plus, you know Elaine ain’t havin’ that!”
“Tell yo’ moms to loosen up. Shit, you can’t help who you like, drug dealer or not!”
“I wish it was that easy wit’ her,” Ra’Keeyah sighed. “Ever since my dad overdosed, my mom has hated all drug dealers. She holds them all responsible for that bag of bad smack.”
“Wow, that’s crazy,” Shayna said, getting out of the chair.
“Who you tellin’?” Ra’Keeyah agreed, and done the same.
The two friends walked up to the register to pay for their services.
“You wanna leave a tip?” the Chinese guy behind the register asked.
Shayna looked at him like he’d just called her out her name. “I gotta tip for you, all right. Tell that broad over there,” she said pointing, “to go back to school and learn how to do pedicures,” she snapped.
“Huh? I don’t understand?” the guy replied.
“You need to go back too,” Shayna said, taking her change from the man’s hand.
“Oh my gosh, you are so rude,” Ra’Keeyah mumbled as she handed the man her money.
“Shit, it’s the truth,” Shayna said while she waited for the man to hand Ra’Keeyah her change.
“Let’s get outta here before we get beat up,” Ra’Keeyah joked.
“Girl, I ain’t thinkin’ about these fools,” Shayna laughed as they walked out the door.
*** “What you doin’?” Jaylen walked into his sister’s room and asked.
“Tryin’a take a nap. What it look like?” she asked jokingly.
Jaylen climbed up on Ra’Keeyah’s bed and lay next to her. “Mommy said I have to go to Aunt Nancy’s the whole summer since you gotta work and can’t babysit me.”
“Ahhh, well, you’ll have fun over there, playin’ with Darius, Dayvonn, and the rest of the clan, won’t you?” Ra’Keeyah said, feeling kind of bad for her brother.
“I guess. But sometimes Day-Day be mean to me and won’t let me play his game,” Jaylen said.
“I’ll tell you what. Next time Day-Day don’t let you play his game, I’ma come over Aunt Nancy’s house and kick his ass, okay?” Ra’Keeyah smiled.
Jaylen smiled back. “Okay,” he squealed laughing.
“Jaylen, come on,” their mother yelled out. She stuck her head in Ra’Keeyah’s room and smiled. “What y’all two characters in here doin’?”
“Nothin’, just talkin’,” Ra’Keeyah answered.
“Come on, Jaylen, it’s time to go. Go get your bag.”
Jaylen climbed out of Ra’Keeyah’s bed. She sat up and grabbed him by the arm. “Don’t forget what I said, okay?”
“Okay.” Ra’Keeyah pulled her brother close and gave him a big, sloppy kiss on the cheek. “Uhhhh, you nasty,” he laughed, wiped the kiss away, and ran out of her room.
Their mother laughed too. “Y’all silly. Okay, well, I will see you in the mornin’, and you already know.”
“Don’t be havin’ nobody in my house,” Ra’Keeyah said, finishing her mother’s sentence. Her mother shook her head and walked away. When Ra’Keeyah heard the front door close, she lay back across her bed and thought about calling Brick to see if he was okay after his breakup with Piper. She wanted him to know that she was there if he needed to talk, but was too scared to. She’d rather wait until he called her first, like he always did.
Ra’Keeyah was bored out of her mind. She tried calling Shayna several times, only for it to go straight to her voice mail. She even called Quiana to see what was on her agenda for the night, but no luck; she didn’t answer either. Ra’Keeyah picked up the remote, turned on the television, and began channel surfing.
“Awww, man, this my movie,” she said tossing down the remote and stopping at the old cowboy movie with the black actors. “Thomasine and Bushrod,” Ra’Keeyah said aloud and began watching the movie. Halfway through the movie, Ra’Keeyah had drifted off to sleep, only to be awakened by her ringing cell phone. She rolled over, grabbed her phone, and checked the number. A huge smile crept across her face. “Hello?” she answered, her voice sounding as if she’d just woke up.
“Hey, li’l mama, did I wake you?” Brick asked.
Ra’Keeyah sat straight up. “Naw, I was just lyin’ here,” she lied. “What’s up?”
“Nothin’ really. I just went and rented these movies and wanted to see if you wanted to come over and check ’em out wit’ me,” Brick said.
“You want me to come over to your house?” Ra’Keeyah acted surprised because she didn’t want Brick to know that she already knew about his breakup.
Brick laughed. “Yeah, girl.”
“What you rent?” Ra’Keeyah inquired.
“I rented some classics,” Brick replied. “I got Above the Rim, Menace II Society, and Love Jones.”
“Love Jones?”
“Yea, nigga, Love Jones,” Brick answered. “That’s one of my favorite movies,” he admitted.
“Ahhh, Brick gotta soft side to him,” Ra’Keeyah teased.
“Ain’t nothin’ soft about me but my lips,” Brick said. “So are you comin’ or what?”
Ra’Keeyah glanced at the clock. She had exactly fourteen hours, three minutes, and twenty-two seconds to spend with Brick before her mother got off work. “Yeah, I’m comin’. You gon’ come get me?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there in about thirty minutes,” Brick said.
Ra’Keeyah jumped out of bed. “Okay, I’ll be ready.”
“One,” he said before hanging up the phone.
Ra’Keeyah ran around her room like a crazed lunatic, looking for something to wear. Since it was hot as hell outside, she decided to put on a denim, strapless, Rocawear romper, with the words Rocawear written in glitter across the front and a pair of silver flat sandals. Thankfully, she’d just gotten a pedicure or else she would have had to settle for tennis shoes. She laid out her silver Rocawear earrings, necklace, and purse before going to take a quick shower. Once out of the shower, she rubbed Johnson’s baby lotion all over her body before getting dressed. Ra’Keeyah then slicked her hair back into a ponytail, grabbed her purse, and went downstairs to wait for Brick to arrive.
Ra’Keeyah was anxious. She acted like this was the first time she’d ever spent time with Brick. Actually, it was the first time he’d ever invited her over to his place. She paced back and forth, looking out the window every time a car rode by. Ra’Keeyah stuck a piece of Doublemint in her mouth because she had read somewhere that chewing gum calms the nerves. It wasn’t working because she was still a nervous wreck. Five minutes later, Brick pulled up and started getting out of his car. Ra’Keeyah turned out the lights and hurried out the door, meeting him on the walkway.
“Y’all females don’t want a nigga to be a gentleman no more, do y’all? If it ain’t rough it ain’t right, huh, man?” he laughed.
Ra’Keeyah laughed too. “I mean, I seen you comin’ so I just saved you a trip to the door.”
“Whateva’,” Brick said playfully. “I bet if I woulda’ pulled up and just blew the horn, you woulda’ flipped out on me.”
“You right,” Ra’Keeyah smiled as they made their way to the car. “Damn, how many cars do you own?” she asked as Brick opened the door to a brand-new inferno-orange Camaro Coupe, with the black Rally stripes going up the hood.
Brick smiled. “Not enough.” He closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side.
Ra’Keeyah was amazed to see the orange interior trim kit. She ran her hand across the dashboard before sitting back. “This bitch is nice,” she said, buckling up her seat belt.
“You think so?” Brick smiled.
“Hell, yeah,” Ra’Keeyah replied, ecstatic.
Brick buckled his seat belt as well before pulling off. “It’s all right. I’ve seen better.” Ra’Keeyah had never seen a car like it, let alone been inside of one. “I just ordered a pizza. I ordered half meat lovers and half veggie ’cuz I don’t know what you like and don’t like,” he said, heading to pick up his order.
“That’s cool,” she responded.
Brick reached over and hit PLAY on the CD player. George Howard’s “No No” came blaring out of the speakers. Brick was jamming to the music. Ra’Keeyah looked over at him. The way he moved to the music turned her on big time. He looked over at her and smiled and continued grooving to the music.
Ra’Keeyah smiled back. Damn, this nigga is fine, she thought. I can really get used to this. If I play my cards right, I’ll be the bitch that replaces Piper. Ra’Keeyah got comfortable in her seat and bobbed her head to the music for the rest of the ride.
Chapter Fourteen
Brick pulled up in the driveway of his single-family home and parked right next to his black Lexus. He shut the engine off, grabbed the pizza box off of Ra’Keeyah’s lap, and got out. Ra’Keeyah opened up the car door and got out as well. She looked around at the well manicured houses as they made their way up the walkway and thought how nice the neighborhood was. Brick put the key in the lock and opened up the door. He held the screen door open for Ra’Keeyah to walk in first.
When Ra’Keeyah walked in her eyes went directly to the sixty-inch Samsung TV that hung neatly over the fireplace. She had seen some big televisions, but not quite this big.
“Make yourself at home,” Brick said, handing Ra’Kee-yah the pizza box. “I’m about to go get us somethin’ to drink.”
Ra’Keeyah took the pizza and walked over toward the big white leather sectional. She removed her shoes, not wanting to step on the white shaggy rug that lay in front of the sofa. She moved the white, teal, and silver throw pillows to the side before sitting back. She was amazed at how beautifully decorated the area was. The color scheme went so well together. The whites, silvers, and teals splashed throughout the entire room in artwork, pictures, statues, and even the stone surrounding the fireplace. She held the box on her lap, not wanting to set it on top of the coffee table because everything on the table looked too expensive to touch.
“What type of wine you drink?” Brick yelled out from the kitchen. “White or red?”
“White,” Ra’Keeyah replied, not really liking either, but needing something to calm the butterflies she had in her stomach.
“Sweet or dry?” he yelled out again.
“Sweet,” Ra’Keeyah replied, still checking out the well-put-together décor.
Brick walked back into the living room carrying two wineglasses, two plates, a bottle of wine, and some napkins. “Why you still holdin’ that pizza on your lap?” he laughed, setting the plates, glasses, wine, and napkins on the coffee table.
“I was scared to move the stuff on the table. Everything looks so expensive,” Ra’Keeyah admitted.
“Girl, you can’t hurt none of this stuff,” Brick said, rearranging the contents on the table, making room for the pizza box. He then sat next to Ra’Keeyah, grabbed the remote, and turned the television on. He opened the wine, filled both of their glasses, and opened the pizza box. “This looks good as hell,” he said, reaching in, throwing two pieces on his plate.
Ra’Keeyah was shy at first and watched as Brick devoured his pizza.
“You ain’t gon’ eat?” he asked, picking up his glass and drinking the wine straight down before reaching back into the box for two more slices of pizza.
Ra’Keeyah shook her head. “You greedy,” she said, picking up her plate and carefully putting a piece of pizza on it, not wanting to drop anything on the white rug.
“What you wanna watch first?” Brick asked, finishing off his plate of food.
“I don’t care,” Ra’Keeyah replied.
Brick stood from the sofa and walked into a small office that adjoined the living room. “We’ll watch Menace II Society first,” he said while putting the movie in.
Ra’Keeyah set her plate back down on the coffee table, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and then sat back. “That’s fine,” she said, before finishing off her glass of wine.
Brick walked out of the room with a smile on his face and took a seat next to her. Within seconds the movie started to play. The loud music coming from the surround sound made Ra’Keeyah jump.
“You all right?” Brick laughed.
“Damn, it sounds like we in a movie theater,” she stated.
“My bad. Me and my niggas was watchin’ the game with the volume up loud.” Brick walked back into the adjoining office and adjusted the volume on the surround sound. “Is that better?” he asked, walking back over and taking a seat on the sofa.
Ra’Keeyah nodded her head yes before filling up her glass again and taking a sip. After twenty minutes of watching the movie and sipping on wine in complete silence, she needed to use the bathroom. “Can you show me where the bathroom is, please?” she looked over at Brick and asked.
“You would have to pee durin’ the best part of the movie,” he joked, while standing up.
Ra’Keeyah stood up from the sofa and her head started spinning. “Sorry, my bladder has poor timin’,” she said following Brick down a short hallway, hoping she didn’t stumble.
“First door on your left,” he said, pointing. “That’s my half bath. If you wanna get a little more comfortable, I got a full bath upstairs, with a TV in it,” he smiled.
Ra’Keeyah laughed. “The half bath will do. All I have to do is pee.”
“I was jus’ makin’ sure. Wash yo’ hands,” Brick joked before walking back into the living room and taking a seat.
After Ra’Keeyah used the bathroom she walked back in the living room and took a seat on the sofa. Brick looked over at her and smiled. “You are so pretty.”
“Thanks,” Ra’Keeyah blushed and poured herself another glass of wine. After about her fourth glass of wine, Ra’Keeyah had started feeling a little tipsy. “Who decorated your place?” she asked, feeling a little more at ease now that she’d almost finished off the entire bottle of wine by herself.
