Читать книгу The Coming of Age - Vincent Montgomery - Страница 9

Chapter 3

The next morning, as I walked up to the bus stop, I could already see that Sabrina was waiting for me. The scowl on her face left no doubt in my mind that she was pissed off. I could already bet as to why, but I’d mastered the art of not showing facial expressions. My face was as blank as a sheet of paper. As she stormed over, I couldn’t help but admire her shape and how her pants hugged her hips.

I greeted her with a half smile, trying to maintain my cool but also trying to show her that I was happy to see her.

“What’s up, ma? What’s goo—”

She cut me off, cursing at me in Spanish. “Y quien carajo crees que tú ere’ pendejo?”

Pendejo. The funny thing was, I knew exactly what she was saying to me. I continued to listen and acted like I didn’t know a thing about the language.

As she approached me, I snapped back to reality to put together what she was trying to say.

“So I give you my number, only for you not to call?”

I told her I was busy and to not take it personally. “I know I had promised that I was going to call, but I had things to attend to.” That answer did not satisfy her. In fact, it seemed to rile her up even more, so I had to snap a little to nip this situation in the bud. “Yo! I said I was going to call, but I got busy. I’m not going to argue with you over this right here. Relax!”

She immediately stopped talking and looked at me almost submissively with her big brown eyes.

Ah, she liked that shit. It was almost as if she was looking for that exact reaction from me. Well, if she liked it, there was more where that came from! I wasn’t done yet. I felt like I needed to smooth the situation over. Run some nice words by her ears so she would feel better. I wanted to have full control over the situation. She wasn’t my girl but I knew she would be sooner than later. So I jumped out the window and did the unthinkable. I leaned in and gave her a kiss. I wanted to give her something to think about all day in school. Her heart began to melt and I could tell from her facial expression that she was head over heels already.

Sternly but softly I said, “Now relax.”

She did just that and grabbed my arm and started holding me. I could tell I had her in the palm of my hand. I told her I would take her anywhere she wanted to go this weekend. I wanted to further smooth over how I snapped at her earlier. She held me tighter and responded with a smile.

The bus pulled up across the street from the school, and we get off together. It was early, and class didn’t start for like another half hour. I saw my crew posted up on the block, already waiting for me. Risk had already filled them in on everything. They were just waiting for my for approval to commence business.

“Yooooooooo, we need to talk,” Rock said as I strolled up.

I looked at him, then at Sabrina, without her noticing, and then back at Rock. “Nah, it can wait. Give me a few minutes. Let me walk shorty to class, and I’ll get with y’all.”

They knew I didn’t talk business in front of unfamiliar ears and I liked to keep my shit low. As I walked past them, Rock couldn’t pass on the chance to be sarcastic.

“Hi, Sabrina,” he said with a sarcastic laugh. He followed up with “This motherfucker” as he dapped me up.

“That’s the second time today I’ve been hit with that line,” I respond, laughing.

He laughed, and Sabrina looked at me, shocked.

“You knew what I said to you, and you acted like you didn’t understand at all?”

I told her I understood Spanish very well, and I just wanted to hear what she was saying. She looked slightly confused, as if she didn’t know what to think.

“Wow. Okay, I guess I can’t talk bad about you to my friends then, huh?”

I laughed and told her, “It’s okay. I’m smarter than you think.”

We got to her classroom, and I gave her a hug and kiss once more to fuck up her head.

“I’ll call you tonight. I promise.”

She hit me in the shoulder and told me I better, and then she leaned in to get another kiss. I had her open, but then again, she had me in her web a little too.

I then turned around and walked back toward the exit, where my homies were. Surprisingly, they were in the same spot, waiting for me to come back. I walked up to them with my regular “Yooooooooooooo.” Now we could formally talk about business.

Risk explained to them how we were going to break down the brick already. If all went well, we wouldn’t have to chop any more bricks down to get money. We would have enough for everyone to cop their own bricks after this. It was all risky business, but we were the right crew with the right mind-set.

I could see the excitement on everyone’s faces, and I wanted them to get it in, but smartly and wisely. I reminded the guys about the rules I set in stone for them and how if they started using, our brotherhood/friendship would be over. We all agreed on the terms, and I told Risk to give them the work and then we’d see how it went. We dapped each other up and went to class.

The day went by quick as usual, and all I could think about was how fast the coke would sell. I got home that afternoon, and the first thing I did was call Sabrina like I promised. The phone rang once before it was picked up. I started to ask if I could speak to Sabrina, but I couldn’t get the words out.

Before I could utter one word, she replied, “I thought you’d never call.”

I laughed and told her, “I promised, didn’t I? I don’t like to break promises.”

She responded, “I like that.”

We talked for hours on the phone as I asked her question after question, trying to get to know her better. I asked her where she wanted to go Saturday night.

“To the movies.”

All I could think was That’s it? Really? The movies?

I told we’d go to see the movie and I’d take her somewhere else too. She then started telling me I had to get rid of all the bitches I had. I let out a slight chuckle, and I asked her how she figured I had all these bitches. Her reply was a confidence booster.

“You’re a handsome guy. You dress nice, and you always smell good. You’re smart, charismatic, have a good personality, and speak with a presence I’ve only seen few ever do. So I know bitches are attracted to you.”

I was smiling from ear to ear after that. Who knew she was keeping track of all this? How did she read me so well when we barely spoke?

I asked her where she got that notion from and how long she’d been keeping tabs on me. She told me she’d always had a crush on me but never moved on it. She didn’t want to be one of my hoes. I didn’t even deny the statement she made.

“Okay, boo, you got it,” I politely replied.

She then started talking fast as fuck, telling me not play with her and she didn’t have time for the bullshit. I couldn’t front at all. I liked the fact that she just put me in my place with ease. I knew she was going to be ill. I started laughing again.

“Babe, I’m serious!”

There was a hint of exasperation in her tone but also a note of humor.

“Oh shit. We must go together if you just hit me with the babe line. Things just got serious,” I said, chuckling into the phone.

She started laughing and told me that it did just get serious and that she knew she wanted me. Damn, now how was I going to let all these other chicks go? I was seventeen with nothing but pussy and money on the brain. I wasn’t going to press her on having sex because that was not my style. My game wasn’t a slam dunk. It was more like a Gervin finger roll. There was no flash to it, just finesse.

At this point, I needed to see her and just take a stroll around the neighborhood. She didn’t live far from me, so I told her get ready and that I was going to meet her by the corner store. I put on my sneakers and my fitted and left the house to meet her at the corner store. I asked her if she wanted something from the store or the Mr. Softee ice cream truck that was passing by.

“Let’s get some ice cream, babe!” she replied.

We get our ice cream and started walking slowly, with no destination in mind.

She started licking the ice cream, and I started daydreaming about what else she could be doing with her mouth. She caught me off guard, staring at her. She reacted a little self-consciously.

“Stop watching me eat my ice cream!” she yelled as she halfway turned to hide her face and ice cream cone from my vision.

“I would if you’d stop licking it like that,” I muttered almost unintentionally without realizing that she could hear me.

She laughed and playfully hit me on the shoulder. She turned to face me and told me she really liked me a lot, and from the look in her eyes, I could tell that she wasn’t lying.

Suddenly, she blurted out, “So how many chicks have you had sex with?”

I didn’t want to lie, nor did I want to tell the truth. “Why? You’ve made it clear I can’t talk to no one else but you, so why should that even matter?”

She looked at me, surprised that my rebuttal was so fast and on point.

“I’m not sexing you, so let the drought begin.”

She looked at me again, staring directly into my eyes. “It doesn’t have to be a drought at all,” she said while licking her ice cream more seductively.

Although I couldn’t see my own face, I knew it had a look of shock written all across it. She must have seen it as well. She almost immediately told me she was a virgin and she’d been waiting for the right guy to give herself to.

“But it isn’t easy. I’m not just going to fuck anybody.”

I agreed that it didn’t look easy. She had way too much class and sass for it to be easy. But I wasn’t going to press her about it. I was going to stay on my cool shit, and eventually, she’d let this nigga in. I could see from the way the conversation was going that it was enticing her more and more.

“I heard you’re a freak and you know how to put it down.”

I smirked and asked who told her that. She told me she had her sources. We talked a little more before I dropped her off at her doorstep. I kissed her and squeezed her ass all in the same motion. She playfully smacked at my hand and told me to stop before she came home with me. Her tone was serious but playful. It was at that moment that I knew I was in. I decided I would wait until the right time to make my move. I gave her another kiss and ass squeeze before I turned around to go home.

A few days went by, and Saturday morning hit. I wake up to a phone call from Risk saying that everything was taken care of. I was a little shocked. I didn’t expect them to move so fast, but nevertheless, I was happy. The faster we moved, the faster we made money. I didn’t even ask how much a brick cost. I was going out on a limb, especially based on the fact that Jose gave it to me for free. Even so, I knew enough to know they went for a lot more than wholesale prices on the street.

I told Risk to gather the team up and to meet up in Queens somewhere. I wanted to discuss the next plan of action before the re-up. I had a busy day ahead of me because of my date and this re-up shit. It was time to get the show on the road! We met out in Ravenswood on one of my old blocks I used to chill on. Everyone was there except Rock.

I couldn’t front. I was a little agitated. “Where the fuck is Rock at?”

John and Rah both answered at the same time. “Basketball practice.”

Fuck, I forgot about that. I’m sure he’ll be here any minute, I thought to myself I looked around once more and guess who I see running up? Rock’s bum ass!

Jokingly, I said to him, “Nice of you to make our meetings on time, boss.”

He replied, “This basketball shit.”

I went in right off the bat, wanting to know how they got all that shit off so quickly.

John spoke first. “Fiends are biting hard for that shit, son, and we cut it down. Whoever you’re fuckin’ with has that good shit. No lie. Keep fuckin’ with him, son.”

Rah jumped right in next. “We need to re-up, like, right now. I could have a brick gone by the time night hits.”

I looked at him, like, What the fuck? How?

He continued telling me that he knew a few good people that could get it off without any problems. Then I asked Risk how many times he stepped on the work.

“Not a lot. That shit was just that good.”

I nodded slowly. “I see. Shit! Well, how much did y’all make off it?”

They started blurting numbers out, and I was shocked because these numbers were high. much higher than I anticipated. I didn’t know much about selling coke or any of the inner workings, so I asked them what they wanted to do.

All at once they said, “Get more!”

That was all I needed to hear. “Say no more!” I said, looking around and dapping everyone up. “Give me the bread, and I’ll take Risk with me to meet the connect. He’ll get y’all right with the work. I have a date with Sabrina later this evening, and I still need to get an outfit and all.”

They all started laughing and clowning me.

“This nigga going on dates and shit!”

“He about to fall in love with her.”

I laughed along with them. The thought of a girl cuffing me up to that point was pretty laughable, so I understood why they found the notion so funny.

“So? Maybe,” I said, slightly laughing to hide my annoyance at the fact that they found my situation humorous. “She’s tryna make me stop talking to all my chicks. It was, like, a demand.” I made sure to make it clear that I wasn’t mad though and I thought that she was ill.

They laughed once more. They knew this was way out of character for me, but they were sure I was serious about her. Business was still business, and they knew I wouldn’t slack on that. I knew they were wondering why I picked Risk to come with me and meet the connect.

I knew Risk the longest, and he came from a long family of hustlers. His pops used to run the streets with Rich Porter and Alpo in the eighties, but he got out clean. Risk was a direct reflection of me. I always felt like we were separated at birth because of the similarities that we saw in each other.

I didn’t want any static between the crew. So I told them that on the next re-up, I’d take everyone to meet the connect and we would go from there. I fed them the line that Risk chopped it down and did all the leg work so he’d gets to meet him first. They agreed with a look of relief on their faces. Risk knew why I was taking him; it was unspoken between us. We all shook hands, and I told them I’d get with them later.

Risk and I hopped in a cab to the spot. On our way, I give Risk the rundown on how we were going to play it. I still didn’t know how much these bricks cost from Jose, but we were about to find out.

As we entered the spot, Jose looked at me and greeted me as usual. “Loco, how’d it go?” he asked. The smile on his face said he knew it went just as he said it would.

I smiled back and said, “Very well.” Then I introduced Risk. “Oh, this is my man Risk. Jose, meet Risk. Risk, meet Jose. This is one of my right-hand men you’ll be meeting and doing business with—if that’s cool with you.”

Jose nodded and replied, “Of course, man in. I know you run a tight ship. I trust you. I know you wouldn’t bring anyone to me that you didn’t trust.”

I nodded in agreement. I started to tell Jose it went really well and I needed more. I continued telling him how the coke moved much faster than I had expected. Risk dumped the money on the table.

Jose responded excitedly. “Now you’re talking my language!” He moved closer to inspect the cash.

This can’t all be from one brick, I thought. It was like Risk was reading my mind. He nodded toward the pile of money.

“Everyone pulled money out of the stash and decided to get more. That totals up to $220K. The question I want to know is how much this shit is per ki?”

Jose looked up and answered, “For you, manin, if you say it’s selling that quick, for you and your friends, I’ll give it to you wholesale—$28,000 a ki. So right now, we are looking at eight Kis, if my math is right.”

Risk leaned over to my ear and says, “Yo, that’s a good-ass price. Them joints are going for like 40 a ki at the minimum anywhere else.”

Jose laughed because Risk didn’t realize that he was talking loudly. “You’re right, Mr. Risk. And this is the best product in town.”

I was convinced. “We’ll take it.”

I could see the big opportunity in this shit now, but I was still a few grand short. Jose told me it was okay to pay the outstanding amount the next go-around. He gave me the eight Kis, and I look over at Risk. The little smirk on his face let me know he was happy. I felt like there was more to it, but I wanted to wait until we left the spot to find out.

As we were walking out, I asked Risk why he was so happy. He looked at me with the same grin on his face—only this time, it seemed to be a little bigger.

“Son, we’re about to be rich, like, no lie!”

I looked at him, slightly curious. “What you mean?” I asked.

He continued, “Yo, on the streets, that shit goes for like $95 a gram. You can cut that one brick and make two or three if you do it right. And that’s a thousand grams in each. So do the math on that, son.” His excitement slowly started to catch on as I realized what he was saying.

“Oh, shit, son!” I stopped to look at him. “That’s a come-up for real! Who knew?”

He looked back at me surprised that I was just barely catching on. “That’s what I’m telling you, son!”

I chuckled to myself and asked him, “Since when did you become a cocaine expert?” It was a rhetorical question because I already knew the answer to that. The look he gave me said exactly the same. I said, “Well, let’s get it.”

He acknowledged my statement and agreed. We dapped each other up and hopped in separate cabs and went our separate ways.