Falling for a Hustler: A Benton Harbor Love Story (9 page)

Journee

It had been days since I last saw my son. The saying out of sight out of mind definitely wasn’t true at all. All I could think about was the little time we got to spend together. There was no way I would be able to keep my promise to my mother. I had to be in my child’s life.

“Nee, you gotta get up,” Bird said as he sat on the bed beside me.

“I’m good Bird. I’m just tired, I’ll be up in a minute.”

“Nah, you gon’ get up now. You been laying in that spot since you came back from yo’ mom’s house and I’m sick of it. You acting like this shit is the end of the world when we got bigger problems.”

I sat up in the bed and looked at him. “What you mean we got bigger problems? What the fuck could possibly be bigger than our son?”

“We need money! You whining and complaining about getting Justin back, but yo dumb ass fail to realize we can’t even take care of the lil nigga!”

Bird’s words stung the fuck out of me, and that only meant that they were true. The bank had called and sent letters saying that the mortgage was due, and I ignored them every time. It wouldn’t be long before they came and put me on my ass. Thoughts of selling my Camaro had come to mind often, but I always brushed it off. My car was the only thing that I flat-out owned. I could get a nice amount of change for it being that it was a 2014, but I wasn’t trying to let go of my baby just yet.

“That just means we need to get jobs then, Bird! I want my damn baby back! Fuck what you talking about.”

“A job?” he snorted.

“Yes, a muthafuckin’ job! I told yo ass before that I’m done with all that other shit.”

“All that
‘other shit’
is all you good at, Journee. Get off that fucking high horse you on and get with the damn program. I already got some shit lined up for you.”

“You heard what I said, nigga.”

He smiled and stood from the bed. “We gon’ see how long you be on that tough girl shit.” He walked out the room, and I followed right behind him. Something about the way he looked at me and said that didn’t sound right to me.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

He gave me a sheet of paper. I skimmed over it and saw that I had 14 days to come up with five thousand, or the bank would be seizing my property.
Fuck!
There was no way I could get that much money in such a short amount of time. I looked at Bird, and instantly got disgusted. Had he not have blown through his money and flipped that shit, we would have been good.

“What do you have in mind, Bird?”

“Sparkle City.”

“Are you crazy? We’re supposed to be laying low! Why the fuck would I go there?”

“Laying low for what? I keep telling yo ass that nigga ain’t worried about you! He probably wrote you off as a bitch that couldn’t hold him down during his bid. You gon’ let that nigga stop you from getting this paper?”

“And while I’m doing this shit, what the fuck you gon’ be doing?” I didn't think it was right for me to be out degrading myself while this hoe ass nigga sat back and reaped the benefits.

“I got about a rack saved. I’m meeting with that nigga Flex in a few hours to cop kush. I figure I can flip that or something.”

I rolled my eyes and went back to the room, making sure I slammed the door as hard as I could. This nigga really just stood in my face and told me that he managed to save a thousand measly ass dollars when he knew damned well there were bills that needed to be paid!
Calm down girl, quit trippin’,
I thought to myself. As soon as I got enough to get ahead on my bills and got a few dollars out of him, I was kicking Bird’s sorry ass to the curb. Ever since I had gotten with him, my life had gone downhill. I loved him more than anything, but I could no longer take care of myself and a grown ass man!

***

“God damn! If I would’ve known you had an ass like that, I would have pulled yo ass on in here a long time ago!” Khalil said as he spun me around.

We were in his office for his “interview,” and I was already sick to my stomach. I didn’t see how women could get naked in front of a room full of men. Sure, I had tricked with a few nigga’s before, but it was always one on one, and most of the times the niggas I dealt with were so impatient that I didn’t even take all my clothes off.

When he was done eye fucking me, he motioned for me to have a seat. He gave me the rundown on the do’s and don’ts of his club, and I was thankful that it only lasted ten minutes. Just as I was about to walk out the door, he called out to me.

“You can start tonight.”

“Tonight? I didn’t come prepared.” I had no idea that he would be putting me to work so soon, and I began to get nervous. Shit, I didn’t even have time to practice any sexy dance moves or nothing.

“Don’t worry about that shit, ma. Dynasty will get you right; she’ll meet you at the bar in five.”

Without saying anything else, I nodded my head and left his office. I went to the bar like he instructed. When the bartender came over to me, I ordered a double shot of Ciroc to calm my nerves. I still couldn’t believe I was actually doing this shit. A few seconds later, my drink was in front of me and I wasted no time guzzling it down. Shit, I might as well get fucked up. I welcomed the burning sensation after the tangy liquor went down, and quickly ordered another one as I looked around the club.

There was ass and titties everywhere, and these girls had no shame in their game. They were poppin’ pussy like their lives depended on it, and I needed to get like them ASAP! I only had two weeks to get this money, and either I had to sell pussy or take my clothes off. When I saw a nigga slide three crispy ass hundreds in a girl’s thong, I downed my shot and stood up. Fuck it! It wasn’t like I would have to do this shit forever.

Destiny

After calling Dominic for the twentieth time, I became annoyed. I knew he was mad, but damn! How long did he plan on drawing this shit out? He acted like I wasn’t supposed to be worried. I was ten when I lost my mother. She was supposed to have been here helping me through this. I didn’t know the first fucking thing about a baby, and the moment I opened my mouth to him about it, he got mad and shut me out! What the fuck type of bullshit was that?

I sat on my bed staring at my phone, hoping that he would call back.

“Straight the fuck up?” I said to no one in particular.

An hour had slowly went by, and I still hadn’t heard from him. I hopped out my bed and threw on a pair of joggers, a hoodie and my shoes, and hit the door. I hated being ignored, and this nigga was going too far. As soon as I opened the front door, Yandy came strolling in. Her hair was all over the place, and she reeked of liquor. Ever since her and Lyric came into that money, it was the same shit every night.

I used to look up to Yandy. Maybe it was because I lost mother and she was the closest thing I had to one besides Lyric. I looked at her again, and she was slumped over the couch moaning. I shook my head at her and walked out the door. I couldn’t believe how shit had changed. I took my pregnancy as a blessing, and was all of a sudden thankful. Knowing that I would have someone looking up to me would ensure that I never turned into Yandy’s ass.

When I hit the front porch, I noticed a black car parked across the street about two houses down. I squinted my eyes to see if someone was in it. I had to go in that direction, and the last thing I needed was any scares. After I didn’t see anyone, I left the porch and began the short walk to Dom’s house. The entire time I walked, I kept my eyes on the car. We had been staying in this neighborhood for almost ten years, and I had never seen this car a day in my life. Finally making it to Dom’s, I picked up a rock and threw it at his bedroom window. A few seconds later, the light came on and he stuck his head out.

“What you doing, Des?” he sighed.

“Can you open the damn door?”

Without saying anything, he closed the window. I walked onto the oversized porch and waited for him to open the door. Once it was open, I stepped in and made my way to the stairs. He had snuck me in so many times in the past that I knew exactly which stairs to avoid so that there was no creaking noise. Though we were grown now, I was still careful of which stairs I touched because I didn’t want to wake his mother up. When we both got in the room, he shut the door and sat on his bed.

“How long you gon’ keep doing this, Dom? It’s been almost a week, and this shit is driving me crazy. I don’t want to go through this alone.”

“Chill out, Des. Ain’t nobody gon’ make you go through this shit by ya’self. You just pissed me off with that shit acting like I ain’t have no say so about my baby. You keeping it?”

“Yes. This baby was given to us for a reason.”

He came over to where I was seated and kissed my lips. When he pulled away, he lifted my shirt and kissed my stomach. I smiled down at him as he began talking to my belly. I had no doubt in my mind that he would be a great daddy.

“I got some good news, Des.” His head was still on my stomach, so I looked down at him.

“What’s up bae?”

“You know how I been slaving over at Chassix?” I nodded my head. “I finally saved up enough money for a down payment on a house.” He got up and walked over to his dresser, pulling out a folder. He walked back over to the bed and handed it to me. “Part of the reason I’ve been staying away is because I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. I wanna do shit right. It’s time we grow up; we got a baby on the way and shit, so us being in two different houses is out the question.”

Don’t ask me why, but tears started falling from my eyes. I never in a million years would have thought that we would be here.

“What you saying, Dom?” I knew it was a dumb ass choice of words, but I didn’t know what else to say. He got down on one knee and grabbed my hand.

“I’m saying that I want to marry you, Destiny. I put my all into that house, so I don’t have a ring right now, but I swear that you will have one soon. I just need you to say you’ll marry me.” I grabbed his ears and pulled his face closer to mine. I pecked his lips repeatedly, while crying and nodding my head. “Will you? I need to hear you say it, Des.”

“Yes, Dominic. I’d marry you right now if I could.”

He kissed my lips, and I sat smiling stupidly at him. I couldn’t wait to call Lyric and tell her the good news!
Mr. and Mrs. Dominic Travis.
It definitely had a nice ring to it.

Lyric

Despite the money I had tucked away, I still decided to head to Sparkle City. It was the first of the month, and I wasn’t trying to miss out on all of the money that was sure to come through the doors. Brick and I had talked a few times since the last time I was over, but that was it. He had been neck deep in business matters, and I understood completely. He had been gone for a year and needed to get back right in the world. Though I was happy he was getting his shit together, it left me wondering if he’d ever have time for me again. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss him, because I did.

Pulling my hair out of the ponytail it was in, I ran my fingers through it until I was content with how it looked. I didn’t have time to get another sew in but luckily for me, my parents had blessed me with a good grade of hair. I applied a small amount of makeup to my face, and lotioned my body with a little bit of Baby Magic. Since I would be going on stage later on, I slid a white negligee over my pasty-covered breasts and my white thong. I looked myself over in the mirror and smiled. There was no denying; I was the baddest bitch in Sparkle City.

I was so used to scheming that the moment I stepped out the dressing room, I scanned the club for Destiny. When I didn’t see her, I began to panic, then it hit me...I was officially done with that shit! I went over to the bar, where I saw my girl Asia.

“What’s up with you working the floor now?” she asked as she handed me a shot of Henny.

I looked at her crazily as I threw back my drink. After the burning sensation resided I began talking. “What you talkin' bout? I only worked the floor the other night because of some bullshit Khalil was on.”

“Well he obviously still on it.” She slid the roster in my direction before walking off to tend to her actual customers. After reading the lineup, I flipped the page over, hoping that my name was on the back or something. There was no way possible he could have still been on this shit! I left a few dollars on the counter for Asia and walked off in search for Khalil. When I finally found him, he had Juicy pinned against the wall whispering in her ear. She began blushing, and I quickly caught on to why I had been replaced. Juicy was giving up the pussy, and I wasn’t. When Juicy saw me standing behind Khalil with my arms folded, her eyes got big and she tried to push him off her.

“Why you tripping, Juice?” I cleared my throat, and he turned around. “What’s up Lyric?”

“We need to talk.”

“I’m listening.” The fucking nerve of this nigga!

I looked at Juicy and then back at him. “Alone.”

He whispered in Juicy’s ear once more, and smacked her on the ass as she walked away. I rolled my eyes at his antics. I didn’t give a fuck about who he gave the dick to; all I wanted to know was why my ass wasn’t on that damn stage. We were silent as we walked to his office, but the moment his door shut I lit into his petty ass.

“Why the fuck am I still on the floor, Khalil?”

“I don’t have to explain my reasoning to you, Lyric. This is my shit; you should know that by now.”

“All I know is that you’re acting like a petty ass bitch because you can’t get your way! You giving these off brand ass bitches my time slot and shit.”

He stood up from his desk and got in my face. I ain’t gon’ lie and say I wasn’t scared because I was, but I wasn’t gon’ let that shit show. Niggas loved thinking they had some type of power over females.

Obviously ignoring my tantrum, he slid his hand under my negligee. “How bad you want that slot?” I moved his hand off my body and pushed him back a little.

“Nigga you think I’m gon’ fuck you to hit the fucking stage? You’ve clearly lost your mind!”

“Have I? You and dude must be real serious, because before captain-save-a-hoe came into the picture, you ain’t have a problem with suckin’ or hoppin’ on my dick; especially when you wanted boots and shit.”

“What I do with him ain’t none of your business,” I stared at him angrily, wanting to slap the shit out of his trifling ass! I had never felt so degraded in my life.

“You right, it ain’t my business. Shit can’t be too serious if you still working here anyway.”

Before I could catch myself, I hauled off and slapped fire from his ass. “Fuck you and this bullshit ass job!” I spat, walking over to the door.

The sudden pulling of my hair brought me to a halt.

“Where the fuck you think you goin’, bitch?” I turned around, trying to untwist his hand from my hair when his eyes met mine. His eyes were glazed over, and the area around his nose looked red and raw. I wasn’t a damn rocket scientist or nothing, but I knew this nigga was high as fuck and it wasn’t off no damn weed.

“Khalil, you tripping! Let me go!” He roughly banged my head on the desk as he pushed everything off and bent me over. “Khalil stop! Please don’t do this!”

My pleas fell on deaf ears as I felt the thin fabric of my thong being ripped away from my body. I tried fighting him off me, but that only resulted in him punching me repeatedly all over my body. I screamed out in pain when his dick entered my ass. He showed no mercy as he roughly held my neck against the desk and stroked me. When `he was done, he nutted in my hair and the back of my neck. He went into the bathroom of his office and washed up. When he came out, he threw a towel in my direction and left the room. I stayed perfectly still until I heard the door close behind him; then I broke down. I couldn’t believe he had actually raped me and walked away as if it was nothing.

I stumbled as I stood to my feet. Once I had gotten my composure, I cleaned myself to the best of my ability and made my way to the dressing room. When I made it, I saw Dynasty and went over to her.

“Oh my God, Lyric! You look like shit! What the fuck happened to you?”

Just as I opened my mouth to speak, the room started spinning and I fell into her. The last thing I remember before the room went black was her calling out for someone to come and help.

***

When I woke up the next day, Destiny was sitting next to me with tears in her eyes. It took me a moment to adjust to the brightness of the room and when I finally did, I saw that I was in the hospital. I was hoping that I had just had a nightmare, but the burning sensation in my ass told me differently.

“Oh my God, Lyric! Thank goodness you’re awake!” she hugged me, and I winced in pain. “I’m sorry! I’ve just been so worried about you. Dynasty called me screaming last night saying she didn’t know what happened to you.”

I wanted to tell her what happened, but I was too embarrassed. How was I supposed to be looking out for her if I couldn’t even protect myself? She handed me the cup of ice water that sat on the table and shot me a knowing look.

“Uh Lyric. Don’t you sit there and doubt or blame yourself for this shit. None of this was your fault. I hope they find whoever did this shit to you and make his ass suck a sick dick, before they cut his off.”

I frowned and looked at her. She only smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

“I’m keeping the baby.”

“Really?” I smiled.

“Yeah. Me and Dom talked about it and…we’re getting married.”

I choked on my water. “Married? Des, don’t you think you’re too young?”

“No. Me and Dom have been together for three years, and I know I don’t want anyone but him. He even got us a house and everything.”

I didn’t like what Destiny was saying, but who was I to stop her happiness? As long as her and the baby were good, I would be happy.

“Please say that I have your blessing, Lyric.” She gave me the puppy dog eyes, and I wanted to punch her. She knew I could never say no to that shit.

“Yes Des, you have my blessing, but if he fucks up that’s his ass! I’m not playing.” She squealed in excitement as she reached over and hugged me again. “Bitch if you squeeze me like that again, I’m gon’ beat the shit out of you!”

Just as she got ready to say some slick shit back, my phone rang. Despite the pain I was in, I still managed to smile at the sight of Brick’s name.

“Well hello stranger,” I cooed into the phone.

“Ah don’t play me like that ma! I know I’ve been MIA, I just been trying to get shit together.”

“It’s cool, I understand.” I watched as Destiny walked out the room to give me some privacy.

“I know a place where they serve the best breakfast, and I was hoping that you would join me?”

“Of course I will, Brick.”

“A'ight, well be ready at 9 and I’ll come scoop you.”

We talked a little bit more, and then he had to go. I was a little upset that we had such a short conversation, but I didn’t dwell on it long since I would be seeing him in the morning. When the nurse came back in my room, I asked her when I could check out. I had only been up for about an hour, and the room was already becoming depressing. I was glad when she told me I could leave tonight. I slowly got up from the bed and changed from the gown into the clothes that Destiny brought. When she came in the room with a tray of chicken strips and a cheeseburger, I fell out laughing. This baby was gonna blow her little ass up!

***

I was so excited about seeing Brick again that I woke up at the ass crack of dawn to start getting ready. It was unusually warm for it to be fall, so I decided to take advantage of the weather by throwing on a red short-sleeved top and a pair of black skinny jeans. I pulled my black and red Jordans from the closet and slid those on. I wanted to be a little cuter, but the pain in my body wouldn’t allow it. I still hadn’t gotten around to getting my hair done, so I rubbed a little olive oil through my curls and let them hang freely down my back.

By the time I finished getting ready, it was 8:45 and I knew that Brick would be on time. I went to Destiny’s room to peek in on her, and she was knocked out with Dominic right beside her. They were so cute together! I crept back out the room and walked right into Yandy.

“My bad, Yand.”

She smirked and kept walking. Rude bitch! I didn’t know what was up with her, but lately she’d been actin’ real shady. Anyways, I shrugged that shit off and went downstairs to wait for Brick outside. While I sat on the porch, I noticed a black Kia Optima across the street. There was someone sitting outside, and if I didn’t know any better I would swear up and down that he was watching the house. An eerie feeling washed over me, but it didn’t last long because only a few short moments later, I heard Brick’s music from down the street. When he got a little closer, I noticed that he was driving yet another car; this time it was a gunmetal-colored Audi. I stood up from the step and wiped my ass off as I walked to the curb. When he pulled over, I slowly got into the car, hoping he didn’t notice the pain I was in.

He ran his fingers through my hair and played in it. “This all you?” he said when he felt no tracks.

“Yes sir it is.”

He let go and shook his head as he pulled off. “I don’t get y’all females man! Some of y’all hair be longer than the damn weave y’all put in it.”

“They’re easier to maintain though. My shit is so thick in the summertime that I would rather not even deal with it or put the extra heat on it.”

“Yeah whatever. I like your natural hair, ma; that shit is sexy for a woman to have all that hair.” I ran my hand through my hair and smiled. Maybe I’d settle for a silk press or something.

“So are you gon’ tell me where we’re going?”

“I thought about it, but you ain’t never heard of it anyway, so it’s pointless. Just sit back and ride.”

“How you gon’ tell me what I heard of?” I asked laughing.

“Because I know for a fact you ain’t heard of this joint. It’s only for exclusive muthafuckas like myself,” he joked.

“If you don’t quit it!”

We rode for about ten minutes before we pulled up to this big ass house in St. Joe. I looked over at Brick, who had a sneaky ass smile on his face.

“I thought you said we were going to a restaurant.”

“I think you need to clean your ears out, shorty. I said I know a place that makes the best breakfast,” he winked at me, and I playfully rolled my eyes back at him. When I climbed out of the car, a surge of pain shot through my lower back, and this time he didn't miss it. “You good ma?” he asked with a frown on his face.

“Uh yeah, I must have tried to get up too quick or something.” He grabbed my hand and helped me step out of the car. “So for real Bryce, where are we?”

He ignored my question, and practically dragged me to the door. As soon as we hit the porch, the smell of French toast and bacon greeted my nose, causing my stomach to growl. I watched as Bryce rang the doorbell and not even a few seconds later, the door swung open. I was surprised when a woman that could have passed for Jennifer Lopez stood in front of us with her hand on her hip.

“Well it’s about damn time you found time to come see your mama, boy!”

“Ma, I just saw you last week.” I watched as she smacked him in the head. He playfully pushed her and then kissed her cheek. She then moved aside and let us come in.

“And who is this pretty little thing you got with you?” she asked as she smiled at me.

“Ma, this is Lyric. Lyric, this is my mother Pamela.”

I gave a bashful smile. “Hello, Mrs. Donovan.”