Kiandra’s eyes widened. If the police did get him, it would be because she cooperated, but she really didn’t even see much. She caught a quick glimpse of his face, but she couldn’t recall many details like the kind of car he was in. Of course, I wasn’t going to say shit. I didn’t cooperate with police. I’d rather be the judge and jury especially when it came to hoe ass Rich. I finished my food and stood up to place the plate in the dishwasher.
“Thank you for breakfast. I’m about to go on the strip. You want to come?”
“Nah,” Kiandra scrunched her nose up. “My sister is coming by later, and we’re going to go to Walmart and order her cake for her birthday coming up.”
“Aight. I get it family is more important than me.”
Kiandra rolled her eyes. “I did not say that.”
“Nah, it’s cool though.” I pulled her into my arms and gave her a forehead kiss. Not because it was sensual. I didn’t do romantic and soft with Kiandra out of emotion. It was more out of feeling that was what I was supposed to do. She could take D but of course, she wanted way more than that. She wanted to cupcake and be all up in my personal space. There were times that I believed she would crawl in my skin if I let her. Kiandra didn’t have a problem being affectionate. She just wasn’t spontaneous or freaky when it came to sex. We could cuddle all day but the moment I was ready to stick dick to her, she was lazy and not worried enough about pleasing me. There were way more important things than sex but damn, was I really supposed to go without love and nasty sex?
“I’ll see you later on tonight.”
“Okay, babe. Be careful please.”
“Always.”
Kissing her forehead once more, I walked out of the house. My first thought was that I was getting in too deep with Kiandra, but I’d been in deep a minute ago. I damn near thought about cheating and letting her catch me. Kiandra deserved happiness and even if that happiness wasn’t with me, she deserved it from someone. The fucked up part about it was the fact that she was happy. If Kiandra knew my true feelings it would crush her but for the moment, she was in love with me, and she thought the feeling was mutual.
I was meeting Maino on the strip and when I started thinking that maybe The Hellcat Barbies were there, I actually smiled at the possibility of seeing Breezy. That blew the hell out of me. I wasn’t even sure why I thought of her so much. The fact that she was my tutor didn’t help. It was hard to concentrate with a rock hard dick. There was no flirting or anything sexual going on. I got turned on simply from her smiling and being herself. Shorty was turnt up I could tell. But not in a did too much, wanting to be seen, thotty ass way. I could tell she was a good time.
The entire time I drove toward the strip, I thought about how it would be if I came home from a long day and Kiandra met me at the door naked. What if she went to the strip club with me one night then came home and fucked me like a porn star? Just fun spontaneous shit. Wishful fucking thinking. Shorty could barely suck dick. It was never my intentions to change her, but I wanted to at least have fun in the relationship that I was in. I would choose loyalty over love but got damn couldn’t I get fucked good in the process?
I arrived on the strip at the perfect time because I was tired of thinking about my relationship issues. Kiandra wasn’t leaving me. I was sure of it, and I couldn’t leave her. So, it would just be whatever it was until one of us changed. Maino told me where he was posted up with his brother Los, and Los’ girl, Chasity, and I headed in their direction. The people were out in abundance. Car clubs, motorcycle clubs, niggas looking for the women, women looking for the niggas. I walked past a female hopping out of a car that sat idle at a red light. She began twerking in the street, and I couldn’t stop the frown that formed on my face. She wasn’t attractive at all, and the term bad built described shorty perfectly. However, I was sure somebody would fuck her. Truth be told, even if she was gorgeous and stacked like pancakes, I would have still scoffed at her performance. I’d take a freaky chick, but that ratchet shit was out of the question.
I had to walk too damn far to link with Maino and Los, but I finally made it. I bumped fists with each of them and nodded at Chasity. I’d known Maino for ten years. Los was four years younger than him, but he was cool. Mature for his age, and he pretty much kept to himself. He was the type that when you saw him you saw his girl. Maino was single and said me and Los made him want to stay single forever. Whatever the fuck that meant.
“It’s hotter than a bitch out here,” I mumbled. A bottle of water would have to do because I couldn’t drink alcohol and stand out in the heat. Plus, I wanted to be sober when I ran up in Rich’s shit.
As I was walking out of the gift shop where I purchased the water, I heard the roar of motorcycles. Looking up, I saw three of them sitting in the street, and one of them had his helmet off talking to someone on the other side of the street. My jaw muscles flexed as Breezy walked over to the bike with a smile on her face. She talked to him for a few seconds before hopping on the back of his motorcycle. The short denim shorts she wore exposed her thighs. My nostrils flared as he pulled off, and she squealed while clenching his waist. Fuck was I jealous of? Shorty was nowhere near mine and more than likely never would be.
I didn’t miss the way Maino looked at me when I told him she was off limits, but he didn’t question me. Maino was like a brother to me, and I wasn’t a hater by far, but he couldn’t have Breezy. Not with my blessing. He didn’t know that I wasn’t in love with Kiandra. He did know that I didn’t cheat on her. So, despite him being confused by my response when he asked who Breezy was, he let it go, and that was why he was my homie. He was down for me with little to no questions asked. The technicalities were never necessary with us. If we said some shit, that’s what it was.
Even though I didn’t care to see Breezy on the back of another man’s motorcycle, I watched her until they were out of sight. When I found myself thinking about the fact that she didn’t have a helmet on and her safety, I knew I was tweaking. Pulling a blunt from behind my ear, I needed to clear my thoughts. No Breezy, no Kiandra, just muhfuckin’ birds chirping. A few of Chasity’s friends came over and while I wasn’t rude, I wasn’t too friendly. There were times even I got mad at myself for never once giving in to temptation and allowing myself to receive the satisfaction from someone else that I was missing at home. But if I wanted loyalty from Kiandra, I had to give it. She was solid, and she deserved the same in return. I couldn’t stop niggas from shooting at me and hitting her, but I could control how I made her look out in these streets and how I made her feel.
Tyler approached with that ever-present grin on his face. All I could do was shake my head at him. I used to tease him about being too happy, but lowkey, I loved that about him. I’d never admit it though. I didn’t smile much, but he smiled enough for the both of us. He gave me a fist bump, and I passed him the blunt. Ignoring the thirsty glares of Chasity’s friends, my eyes darted up and down the street. There were too many heads for one blunt. Once I got high, I’d roll another, and they could smoke. The sounds of motorcycles caught my attention. The same bike that pulled off with Breezy in tow stopped in the exact same spot, and she hopped off the back of the motorcycle with one hand flat on her chest. She was smiling and talking to him making my lip twitch from disdain. Choosing to look away, I watched Maino take the blunt that Tyler passed him.
“Breezy hopping off the back of bikes and shit. Lauren better not be with her,” he took a step forward and scanned the crowd.
Chuckling, I flicked the tip of my nose. “That’s your girl? Because if you haven’t cuffed her, you know that makes her fair game.”
“Nah, we’re still in the dating stage. We decided to take it slow, but that doesn’t mean she can be out here riding on the back of bikes and shit.” Tyler pulled his phone from his pocket and began texting.
With a shake of my head, I kissed my teeth. “I know you aren’t about to text that girl and try to figure out her whereabouts. She got you pressed like that?” I teased.
“Man, I’m not thinking about what you’re talking about. Lauren knows what time it is. I don’t have to be her nigga to put my foot down. She’s gonna fall in line or get the fuck on.”
That comment made me laugh because he sounded so serious, but I knew for a fact that if Tyler really liked her, he’d be soft as cotton behind Lauren. By the time the blunt made it to me from Los, Tyler was looking up from his phone screen smiling. “She’s at work. She’s not even out here on that bullshit. She might be wifey material after all.”
Glancing back across the street, I spotted Breezy getting inside her car. All the Hellcats were lined up in a parking lot across the street. There was her infamous blue one, gold, turquoise with pink stripes, green, red and black, purple, pink camo, yellow, and black. Engines revved, and the cars pulled out of their parking spaces one by one. Breezy led the way, and music blasted from the cars as the women made their way down the strip. I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get to speak to her, but I quickly brushed it off. Despite being high, I could still think rationally. And my rational side said whatever infatuation that I had with Breezy should be deaded because Kiandra wasn’t going anywhere, and I’d bet my last dollar on that.
My eyes narrowed as I crept into Rich’s bedroom. The television was playing casting just enough light into the room for me to be able to make out two men sleeping in the bed. One of them was indeed Rich. I had no idea who the other person was, and I didn’t care. Just like I didn’t care about Rich being gay. He could do what he wanted with his dick, and I hoped for his sake he’d had a good time because he’d never plug another shit chute. Not only would Rich be my first body, but I’d get two in one night because there was no way I was leaving a witness behind. I hated it for ole boy, but he would have to be a casualty of war the same way Kiandra was.
“Wake up, bitch,” I snarled lightly as I slapped Rich in the face with my gloved hand. In my other hand I gripped a Beretta.
Rich’s lids slowly peeled apart. When his eyes were completely open, they were red as apples, and I could tell he was under the influence of something. His partner hadn’t stirred, and I doubted he was faking because he was snoring loud enough to wake the dead. He was on his stomach with his head turned toward the wall away from me. If he was lucky enough to sleep through Rich’s murder, I would let him live. Rich struggled to sit up in bed. His movements were clumsy. “W-what the fuck?” he slurred.
My eyes darted toward the nightstand where a baggie of coke lay along with a small plastic bag containing three pills. I assumed Rich and his man had to get super high in order to engage in butt play. Or maybe they just liked getting high.
