Loyal to His Lies Page 10

  His light-skinned complexion was so sexy to me. His long hair was braided tight like Iverson’s, and his beard seemed etched into his face. Izzi kept everything crispy, just what attracts me the most. I could tell his body was choice, even with his clothes on, and the bulge I’d seen in his pants left little to the imagination. Even though I was stressed, I still was turned on by him. Stretched out with his fitted D hat, Detroit Cersus Everybody hoodie, and Mek denim jeans, everything about Izzi was gutter and hood but still so damn sexy.

  “I left my signature on their car and flattened the tires. Some real bitter-girl-type shit,” I responded. “He popped up at my house unannounced, and I gave him some. I can’t even lie. When I woke up, he was gone, and that pissed me the hell off. Retaliation was a must.”

  Izzi fell out laughing, amused by my story. “So, yo’ little ass was not scared Nardo was gonna start bustin’ at you?”

  “Fool, please. Nardo talks a lot of slick shit when it comes to me, but I’d like to see him lay me out.” I played if off, not really sure of my words.

  Thinking back on it, his threats earlier seemed colder than others. Stepping out of the shower, I stood there bold, trying to act like I had a handle on all the craziness from last night.

  Tipping the bottle back again, Izzi finally looked my way then couldn’t turn away. Not saying another word, he got up and walked toward me. “You wanna see me lay you out?”

  My body instantly got weak. “Y–yeah,” I stuttered, barely at a whisper.

  Unwrapping the fluffy white towel, Izzi left me dripping wet and naked, in all of my glory. Patting me down until I was close to dried off, he led me to the king-sized bed, laying me down.

  Grabbing the small courtesy bottle of lotion, he dumped almost the entire bottle into his hands before rubbing it into my body. I got lost in his touch as he massaged my shoulders, back, neck, thighs, and feet. It had been a long time since anyone had paid such close attention to my needs or wants. My eyes were getting heavy, and I felt myself drifting off to sleep.

  Oh, this is so wrong, but it feels so right.

  * * *

  Awakening hours later to Izzi’s masculine voice caused my mind to race with panic. I didn’t move a muscle because I didn’t want him to know that I was alert yet. My ears were open and attentive to his conversation. Damn, now my heart pumped with fear!

  “She did what?” He brilliantly acted as if this was his first time hearing the tale. “Yo, man, your baby momma is straight looney for real.”

  I couldn’t hear what the voice on the other end of the phone was saying, but I was pretty sure that I was the “looney baby momma” Izzi was referring to, and Nardo was the caller.

  Please, God, let Izzi keep our secret. Please don’t let it get out about us.

  “I know Spice was pissed when she went down and saw the ride, right! Man, if you weren’t busted before, you definitely are now. I been telling you to quit playing with these crazy bitches. Mel’s gonna be next,” he commented, throwing his two cents in.

  Izzi was not only throwing salt into Nardo’s wounds, but mine as well. I was careful to keep still. I had to. Now I knew he was talking to Nardo. I didn’t dare flinch. I most positively didn’t want Nardo to know I was here with his right hand. Not yet anyway.

  Please, please, please, was all I could think while they continued to chop it up about business.

  “A’ight, man, I’ll be on the block in a few. I’m still in the waters with a hot one from last night. You know how I do,” he boasted, making me remember Izzi was still a product of the dough boys who didn’t wife girls.

  Nardo didn’t contest or hold him up much longer, now leaving me wondering what was about to pop off now.

  “Hey, baby, you up? Come on and get up.” Izzi nudged me, kissing the back of my neck.

  Putting on my best groggy voice, even trying to sound irritated, I said, “I am now, babe. What’s up?”

  “Ya manz is mad hungry. Let’s hit a restaurant and take care of your plate situation. Can’t have you out here hot flagging bold and shit.” Smiling, Izzi seemed to be much more compassionate and caring than I’d ever given him credit for. “Time for you get to up. It’s three in the afternoon. You were snoring like a wild bull.”

  Oops, so much for that.

  “Okay, I’m up. Thanks for taking me to Secretary of State, too. I was not trying to ride top streets in Livonia bold.” I laughed, wishing I could’ve seen the look on Mel’s face when she saw her house and yard.

  Getting up, still keeping it secret that I’d heard his conversation, I prepared to start my first day with Izzi. We talked shit about any and everything while we got ourselves together. It felt good to have the company of a man who was so particular to my needs. We decided to keep the room for a few nights so more time together could be spent. Dang, I was really feeling him.

  Unexpectedly, he was different than Nardo in so many ways. What I liked most in Izzi was how the thug in him was left on the doorstep when he came in. Nardo’s mood was always tough-skin. He had seven different personalities, and all of them were fucked up.

  After sharing a meal, we dipped back to the room and chilled out, watching movies before we had to part ways. The whole day was speeding past, and I had to pick up Cidney from my mom’s. And of course, Izzi had business in the hood to deal with. It was agreed that whatever happened in the room stayed in the room because we weren’t ready to face the world with our secret friendship. Hell, I was feeling Izzi something terrible.

  On my way from the Comfort Inn, I stopped by my girl Kimmie’s to keep her posted on what had went down. And no doubt, I wanted to tell her to keep her ear to the hood so I could know Nardo’s every move.

  “Ohhh, hey, Z-gurl.” Kimmie got loud. “What’s up wit’ you?” She greeted me as I walked into the crowded nail shop. The spot was undeniably going to make money today while trying to make these hood hoes look a little bit better.

  “Kimmie, if you only knew what I’ve been through since I left here. You know Nardo had the nerve to claim old girl that I beat down the other day,” I said, putting my hand to my chest, imitating sheer shock.

  “Oh, no. Shut yo’ head, black girl. You lie to Kimmie. You lie.” She dramatically waved her ever-present nail file. Damn, her Korean accent was so funny to me. She always had to mix it up with her best black homegirl voice.

  “Yeah, since then he’s abandoned me and Cidney to be with that tramp. Can you believe that?”

  “Me not believe that bullshit, home gurl. You know niggas ain’t shit. He come back home. You see. You two be on that back-forth shit all the time. Nardo change tune and come back,” Kimmie promised like she knew for sure and had a special fortune cookie that was backing her words up. “I see him at club other night. Him big fool.”

  I had to give Kimmie a pass this time to dog Nardo out, because she was right. He was being a fool if he thought that whore was a substitute for me.

  “Yeah, I know. Hey, has Melanie been in here lately?” I probed, trying to find out if she’d heard anything about me busting out her windows.

  “Oh, no. Her nails must look raggedy. She ain’t been in my shop for seven to eight weeks now. Probably need fill-in bad, unless all the acrylic has grown off them ugly fingers of hers.” She started looking strange as she bobbed her head. “Why you ask? You see her at club too? Dancing?”

  “Yeah, Kimmie, stop frontin’. I saw her and Renard at the bar, and she was all on his dick.” I checked her quick, fast, and in a hurry. “You know me. I had to go tear something out the wall after peeping that mess.”

  “Awww, Z gurl, stop let Nardo get you to do stupid silly shit. You fuck round and pay big, big price for that.”

  “I ain’t even worried, Kimmie.”

  I finished putting her up on all the miscellaneous drama that had occurred since I’d last seen her. But intentionally, I left out the part about Izzi. That was a top notch secret. “Keep your ear to the streets,” I demanded, walking out the door as my cell be
gan to ring.

  “You not worry. Kimmie call you, Z gurl.” She waved her hand, still bobbing her head. “Kimmie call youuuu.”

  My cell kept ringing. My mother was calling. I had to pick up Cidney. After all I’d been going through, I was neglecting my baby girl, who didn’t deserve to be set out in the wind to dry.

  Picking her up from my mom’s house was more argument than I intended. After she got on my head about leaving my one and only child on her while I was chasing behind some street punk, as she always called Nardo, and going down her long, drawn-out list of her rules I’d broken, I was finally able to get back home. I laid Cid down for a nap and cleaned the house from top to bottom. When she woke up, I gave her a long bath and greased her skin. Even though she was only a few months old, I always kept her in cute clothes and dolled up. I read her a few books and played with her rattles and other loud, annoying toys with her. She was just into the stage of smiling when you did something goofy, and she was melting my heart. I held Cidney closely and sang lullabies to her until she fell back to sleep. It was good to feel as if I was connecting to my daughter. She deserved a good mother.

  I then opted to call my gynecologist, setting up an appointment. It was time for my checkup, and plus, the need for birth control was critical. Seeing that Nardo was not going to be in my life meant that there was a strong possibility that I’d have multiple sexual partners.

  The rest of the evening was not as eventful as the previous days. I just chilled around the house, trying to come up with my next moves. I didn’t even have my cell phone turned on because I didn’t feel like anyone calling me with some he-say/she-say garbage to set me off. It was good to not have the world on my shoulders for once. I was supposed to meet up with Izzi at the room, but I didn’t know what time, so fuck it. I was going to catch up on some much-needed rest.

  Nardo

  “You a straight punk nigga for even letting Zaria come and fuck your shit up like that,” Izzi affirmed, fearlessly walking around my car, taking a good look at my baby momma’s work.

  “Izzi, believe me, man. That’s been the only thing on my mind is how she wild out.” I shook my head. “Spice is ready to damn near call up the Jamaican Mafia and run up in Z’s house, but I already confirmed that was a definite no go.”

  “What you mean, a no go? If a bitch spray-painted my ride, I would run up in her house first, with my people behind me for reinforcement,” Izzi instigated, jumping shotgun to head to our Connect, E.

  Izzi had been talking way out of pocket about Zaria, and I was not feeling that at all. Not wanting to beef out with my manz over a female was a must, especially since Zaria had damaged my ride.

  Spice was still on the nut about that night, and quiet as it was kept, I couldn’t even blame her. She hit my pockets like crazy this morning, even making me commit to going on a trip with her and little man. I had been sucked into being stepdaddy to her son, and the funny part about it was it didn’t even bother me.

  I wanted a good relationship with Cidney, but her moms made that damn near impossible. Spice’s point of view was to leave the situation alone, because she didn’t want to deal with my baby momma on any level, and no doubt, all things considered, I could feel her. Yet, a part of me still loved Zaria, and it was not questionable if she was the best in bed. Hands down, or should I say ass up, she was good with it. But her evil ways and attitude were unappealing. The few good qualities buried deep weren’t worth the headache she brought to the table.

  Zaria was my past, and Spice was my future. I had a new family—just like that.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Zaria

  Life had been chaotic and stressful for me over the last few months. With all the drama I’d been dealing with and starting behind Nardo’s bullshit, my body had become drained and exhausted. I was naked in my bed, cuddled up to my pillow, and sleeping sound as hell. I’m talking about snoring-and-having-drool-falling-from-my-mouth sound asleep. That was, until my eyes popped open to some bullshit.

  I laid there still and sound for a few seconds, thinking that the intrusion was a dream, but it was not. My reality was grim. The female’s voice got louder, and her knocks turned into pounds. I threw the covers off my body and woke all the way up. Ol’ girl, whoever she was, was about to catch a beatdown. I don’t like getting lied to, cheated on, or stirred up out of my sleep.

  “Bring ya filthy-cunt-having ass outside and catch this fade, Zaria,” the girl shouted then started pounding up and down my door even harder.

  Grabbing my phone and my pistol from my nightstand, I was moving so fast to put on a pair of panties that I stumbled over my feet and almost fell to the floor.

  “Don’t make me come through this muthafucka, because I will.” She called herself threatening me, but I was about to hit her with the ultimate surprise.

  As soon as my foot hit the first step to come down the staircase, I loaded a bullet into the chamber of my nine. I was itching to send a hot one through the door, watch her body fall through the peephole, and then carry my tired ass back to bed.

  “Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?” the operator answered my call.

  I cringed at the sound of her voice. I hated that I was about to converse with the cops, but I had to play the responsible role as a parent and protect Cidney. If the worst happened, I needed my ass to be covered.

  “Do you, but make it at your own risk. If you come through that door, though, you will catch what I have for intruders.” I used key words I knew the 911 operator would hone in on, then gave her my address.

  “And what is that? Some free pussy?” I caught onto ol’ girl’s voice and dropped my phone, wishing I hadn’t called the police in the first place. It was Melanie.

  I already knew Melanie was probably on my porch with revenge on her mind behind me busting out a few of her windows, but I didn’t give a fuck about her reasons, and I was not about to give her a pass. It was gonna be an eye for an eye with us until one of us died, as far as I was concerned. Snatching the door open, I damn near yanked my own knob out of the socket.

  “You’d suck on my pussy too if I got down like that, ho. Play with it.” I said some shit that I knew would get underneath her skin, then waved my pistol in the air. “Now, why in the fuck are you on my porch?” She seriously didn’t want it with me.

  “Girl, bye. Are you supposed to be some type of a threat to me now? A bully? You better guess again,” she bossed up, adding fuel to the already scalding situation. “Your ass better give me the money for this fucking eviction notice ’cause of those windows, or it’s about to be on!” She was waving paperwork around that was unfamiliar to me, never having a Thirty-sixth District landlord/ tenant issue.

  This chickenhead didn’t know I was about my business since I’d dropped my load. Things were real now, and that ho was fake and lightweight to me. The fact that she was on my doorstep had me fuming even more. “Mel, you’re one lonely, jealous bitch, and that’s so pathetic,” I said, moving closer in her direction. “That’s why you had to call me the other night, letting me know you were getting some of that dry dick. I pity you! You wanna be me so bad, but you can’t. You just can’t, so stop playing yourself!”

  Momentary silence filled the front porch.

  “Me, lonely? Please get your facts straight, you gutter rat tramp. Nardo only wanted yo’ ass for some hard back, but you fucked around and trapped him with Cidney. So, don’t get all celebrity. He’s still just on yo’ team for the baby, but trust, bitch, you been fouled out a long time ago,” Melanie finally rebutted.

  “Oh, yeah, ho. I’ll put my hands on you and we’ll see who gets fouled out first. Game time. Now what? I know you didn’t come over here for idle chit-chat.”

  Her nappy, four-month-old weave was about to get snatched out. What Mel said about me being fouled out after Cidney’s birth cut like a knife because I secretly knew it was true, just like Kimmie’s words from the other day, but I had to keep my front up. That was another one of my mother’s famo
us rules: Never, ever show a chick what hand I was holding.

  “Come on now, Z. In your dreams you couldn’t bang bows with me, so don’t get ignorant. We both know if you didn’t have that gun—”

  “If I didn’t have this gun what?” I challenged, leaning backward, placing my burner on the table in the entrance.

  “Then I’d tap that ass.”

  “Run up, ho. Please run the fuck up,” I begged, wishing that she would. “I don’t have any more words for you, just these hands, and you’re still just flapping your lips. Quit prolonging this ass-whooping.”

  Melanie did a surprise move by pulling out a box cutter, rushing up on me, quick like lightning. “I see you not talking your run-up shit now, are you?” she taunted as she knocked me up against one of my concrete pillars. Her voice sounded like a madwoman.

  I didn’t expect her to have a blade or even yoke me up like that. Why’d I put my fucking gun down? I’d underestimated Melanie.

  It was then I realized she was just as bitter and scorned as I was because Nardo had left her too—but for me. I was her Spice. He’d played a game with her heart and was still playing it. In her mind, I was her life’s fuck-up, because since him officially dumping her, Mel’s status level around the way had dropped drastically. No more VIP, no more Las Vegas trips, no more car notes getting paid, and no more spur of the moment shopping sprees: the same terrible, depressing fate that probably awaited me if I didn’t play my cards right.

  But I couldn’t let her know that I now knew how she felt, that I sympathized with her anger. Fuck her! She was still beneath me, so to hell with her feelings. Ms. Thang had some nerve stepping to where me and my child laid our heads and then pulling a blade! When I got a chance, she would soon have to pay, right or wrong, reason or not.

  I know I took Nardo from her, so technically I was wrong as two left shoes. And I also knew I was the one who started it, going to her house first, but so fucking what? This stank whore lived directly in the center of the hood! Her rowdy, forty-ounce-taking-it-to-the-head, unemployed neighbors were used to that type of bullshit jumping off. Everybody on my quiet block had jobs—nine-to-five, salary-paying jobs at that. They weren’t the type of neighbors that would hesitate to call the law. They would have the cops at your front door for having the volume turned up too loud while 50 Cent’s drama Power was on.