Chapter 5

Mace tapped my shoulder as we waited in line to order our food. “That’s the chick from last night?”

“Yeah, that’s her.”

“Man, she fine as a muthafucka. Her and her friend.”

“She’s something.”

I looked back at her. She’d just put a fry to her mouth and all I could think about were those pretty ass lips wrapped around my dick… spit dripping down her chin… cum seeping from the sides of her mouth… fuck that would be a beautiful sight.

Mace chuckled. “You got that look in your eyes.”

I turned back to him. “Nigga, what look?”

“The hunter finding his prey. You see something you want and you won’t stop until you have it.”

“Maybe, maybe not. Who knows.”

We stepped up to the window to order our food.

“What’s good, Mr. Luckey?” I asked, dapping the older man. “How’s business going?”

“Busy. You boys ain’t out here looking for trouble, are you?”

Mace grinned. “Come on now, Mr. L. You know we never go looking for trouble. It just finds us.”

“Tell me anything. What can I get for you fellas?”

I didn’t need to look at the menu to know what I wanted, and Mace’s ass ate everything.

“Let me get two of those catfish baskets with double fries and some of Ms. Edna’s sweet tea. She back there?”

“Yeah, that old hag is back here.”

Ms. Edna came to the window and smacked his arm.

“I got your old hag, you old fool.” She smiled at my brother and I. “Stanley, Maceo. How are you, my babies?”

“We’re hungry, Ms. E.” Mace rubbed his stomach. “I know you got a slice of that Red Velvet cake back there.”

She laughed. “I do. I have some sweet potato pie, too.”

I rubbed my hands together. “Go on and slide a couple of slices of that, too.”

I pulled up my wallet and retrieved four hundred-dollar bills. Every time I came here, I always tipped them extra, and every time Ms. Edna made a fuss. They were an older couple and had been in the community for a long time. A few years back, some young punks tried to rob them when they closed.

They beat Mr. Luckey badly and ended up getting away, but not before Miss Edna popped one of them in the back. Of course, the hood was going to talk. When I got word who the little niggas were, I took care of the problem and made sure that everybody knew if they fucked with them, they fucked with me, and I wasn’t a nigga to be fucked with. They hadn’t had a problem since.

Mace and I stepped off to the side while we waited. I found myself watching Salima’s every moved. She was so fucking fine… a natural beauty. Baby had the body these girls went under the knife for. I didn’t get a good look at her last night because there was so much going on but seeing her in only that sheer ass robe that barely hid anything this morning… my dick almost bricked up. Mace was right.

I wanted her… bad. And I’ll be damned if I wasn’t going to get her.

Our order came up and Mace grabbed the food. We headed to my car, passing my Salima’s table. Our eyes connected and I stopped in my tracks.

“You have something you want to say to me?” she asked.

“Actually, I do.” I walked to her and took a seat in front of her. “How about you let me get your number.”

“How about no.”

“No?”

“N. O…. No. Are you not used to that word?”

“Nah, I’m not.”

She kissed her teeth. “There’s that arrogance again.”

“What you call arrogance, I called confidence.”

“Well, I am confident that I will never give you my number. Although I’m sure you can just get it from the same person you got the rest of your information on me from.”

I smirked. “I could. I’d just prefer you give it to me.”

“Preferences are like elbows and assholes. Everybody has one. Bye, Stanley.”

I smiled and licked my lips as her smart ass mouth. I had to admit that I liked that shit.

“I’ll see you around, Ms. Navarro. Bet on that.”

Standing from the table, I made my way over to the driver’s side of my car. When I climbed in, Mace shook his head at me.

“That girl is going to give you hell.”

“You know I never back down from a challenge.”

I cranked up the car, and my engine roared. Salima looked over and rolled those pretty eyes. She could play hard to get if she wanted to. I could play much harder.

“ M ama!”

I walked into my childhood home yelling her name only because she hated that shit. She rounded the corner with a frown on her face.

“I’ve told you about that shit.”

I grinned as I pulled her in for a hug and kissed her temple.

“How you doing, beautiful?”

“I’m good, baby. Hey Maceo.”

“Hey, Ma.”

She wasn’t his mother, but he’d been calling her Ma since he was ten. Surprisingly, all of Pop’s baby mamas got along. They came together to make sure my siblings and I had strong relationships. It was nothing for all of us to pile up at one house for sleepovers. We did birthdays and holidays together. We’ve even been on a few family trips together. There could have been a shitload of drama, but there wasn’t. The four of them were equally taken care of by my father so they really had no complaints. Aside from my mama and Maddie, everybody else had gone on to get married and have other kids.

“What trouble are you two coming from?” Ma asked.

I kissed my teeth. “Ain’t nobody in trouble, woman. We’ve been coolin’ it today.”

“Mmm hmm. Y’all hungry? I just made lunch.”

“We ate on the way over here. But I’ma take a plate to go.”

“Speak for yourself,” Mace said. “Whatchu got, Ma?”

“Like it matters to you, Maceo.”

He laughed. “You right.”

“Come on in the kitchen.”

Mace’s fat ass didn’t waste any time following behind her. He was the typical skinny nigga with a high metabolism. He could eat whatever he wanted and never gain a pound. He was lucky because if it were for that, he’d never be able to unbig his back.

I sat at the island while my mama fixed him a plate.

“You handicapped?” I asked. “My mama ain’t yo’ servant.”

“Stop it, Stanley,” Mama chastised. “Mace is my baby, and I don’t mind fixing his plate.” She set a plate of birria tacos, rice, and beans in front of him and kissed his cheek. “Here you go, sweetheart.”

“Thank you, Ma.”

He smirked as he looked down at his plate. Being the asshole I am, I kicked the stool out from under him as we went to sit. Lucky for him, he was able to catch himself.

“Nigga!”

“Stanley!” my mama snapped at me. “Apologize!”

It was my turn to smirk. “My bad, my foot slipped.”

“Don’t make me beat your ass in front of your mama.”

“Nobody is beating anybody’s ass. Maceo, eat your food. Stanley, leave him alone. I swear, sometimes it’s like you two are still children.”

I waved her off. “It’s all love, Mama.”

She rolled her eyes and went back to fixing her own plate.

“So…. This bust last night. Was that y’all?”

I frowned. “I thought you didn’t like discussing work with me?”

“I don’t. That was just a sad case. Those poor babies. I can’t imagine what them and their parents went through.”

“Yeah, it was sad.”

I didn’t say anything else. Whenever she decided to talk about work with me, it always ended with her asking how long I planned to do this shit. She’d love nothing more than for me to settle down and give her some grandchildren. I kept telling her I didn’t have to get married for her to be a grandma.

That always earned me a slap to the back of the head. She didn’t want me out here making babies with multiple women like my father. I always felt like she regretted the time she wasted on him. They were never married, and she never got married after him.

Sure, she dated, but Pops made it a habit of vetting every nigga that came her way. When I was old enough, that was my job. Did I want her to be happy? Yes. Did she date anybody worthy of her? Hell naw. Not to mention there were plenty of people that would love to get at me through her. Before I let a nigga hurt her, I’d fill his chest with bullets and send the body to his own damn mama.

“What’s on your mind, Stanley?” she asked, noticing how quiet I’d gotten.

Mace snickered. “Probably ol’ girl that wouldn’t give him her number.”

My mother smiled. “So, you met a woman that doesn’t fall at your feet?”

“It ain’t even like that.”

Maceo shook his head. “Ma, he lying.”

I punched him in the arm. “When grandma said you give a nigga a rib and they will tell everything, she was talking about yo’ ass.”

He laughed and so did my mama.

“So, who is she?” she asked.

“Nobody you need to fret over, Ma. Ain’t nothing going on there. You know I don’t sweat these females. There’s always a yes to take the place of a no.”

“Ugh! That sounds like your father talking. Listen to me, baby. All pussy ain’t good pussy. All pussy isn’t gonna hold you down when shit gets real. Yeah, you may have a little power and money because of your last name, but you are not untouchable or invincible. You could lose everything today and those women you stick your dick in would be gone tomorrow. Ain’t no loyalty in these hos, Deuce. As soon as you are down bad, they get gone.”

“All the more reason I do what I do. I ain’t loyal to these women and I don’t take none of them seriously. I might trick off of them from time to time because I got it like that. But at the end of the day, I’m going home by myself, just the way I like it.”

My mother raised her palms. “Okay, Stanley.”

That was the end of that conversation. I looked over at Mace who’d gone quiet. I could box him in his shit for getting her started. I knew she only wanted what was best for me, but I wasn’t the type of nigga that went around falling in love and shit. These hos didn’t want love from me, and I didn’t want or need it from them. I was good. The sooner Ma Dukes understood that, the better.

I stuck around long enough for Mace to finish feeding his face and my mama to wrap his fat ass a plate to go. She walked us to the door and pulled us both in for hugs and forehead kisses, like always. Mace headed to the car, and I reached into my pocket for my money clip.

“I don’t need anything, Deuce,” Mama protested like I didn’t leave her with money every time I came over here.

“I didn’t ask you that.”

“Baby… you take care of me. My bills are paid. My house and car are paid for. I don’t need you to keep my pockets laced.”

“You got a man that I don’t know about keeping them laced then?”

She playfully shoved me. “I’m just saying… I’m good.”

“You know, Ma…” I said, pausing to peel off a couple stacks for her. “The quicker you realize I’m the hardheaded nigga you raised, the better off we’ll be.”

Folding the money, I placed it in the dish with her keys and kissed her cheek.

“I love you, woman.”

“I love you, too. Be safe and stop being mean to your brother.”

“Man, fu-, forget him. I should make his ass walk home. He needs to work off all that food he just ate. I bet you that plate won’t make it back to the compound.”

She giggled. “I know it won’t.”

“Take care, Mama. I’ll be back by in a couple days.”

“Okay.”

I turned and headed down the front steps and to my car. When I climbed in, sure enough this man was balancing the plate on his knees and munching on another taco. I shook my head.

“What?”

“Not a damn thing. You waste that shit on my floor and you’ll be cleaning my car. Buckle up, muthafucka.”