Page 3

I looked over the clock on my nightstand to see the time.

It was the same fucking time every night.

My nights of sleeping were over. It always ended with me waking up in cold sweats.

My mama thought coming over here with all her bless oil and shit was going to work but it hadn’t.

The best sleep I had got was after I slept with that fine ass girl the other night.

Shit messed my head up because I didn’t even know her name.

The way we had sex that night, I thought her ass was going to be clingy and be there when I woke up.

The shit surprised me when I woke up and shawty was gone.

She had to be a solid one because she didn’t touch none of my shit.

I know most hoes would’ve taken them a few hundred, maybe even one of my chains too.

Usually, I wasn’t that careless but the sleep that took over me was needed.

I had to make sure that shit never happened again.

My eyes shot back at the clock, and it read the same time as it did yesterday.

I got up and sat on the side of the bed.

Pulling the drawer out on the side of my bed, I grabbed my bag of weed and the tray so I could roll one up.

It was three in the morning, and I had to be up early to meet the realtor at a new apartment complex I was trying to buy.

When I didn’t rest, it fucked my whole day up.

My thinking was off and I lost shit. Last week I lost a whole rack and still don’t know where I put it.

My mama thought it was time for me to find a woman and settle down.

That was always her answer for me and my brother.

She could run that nigga life but I had my shit in control.

I was raised right on The Bluff. As soon as I was able to get away, I got the fuck on.

By then I was so deep into the streets that my mama was afraid to even let me come home.

Her house got shot up so many times because of me.

That was before I made a name for myself.

Now you couldn’t get anyone to get wrong with me.

Not only did my name carry weight, but my brother was starting to take over and he was crazier than me. Nobody fucked with me or him.

Lighting the tip of my blunt, I laid back on my bed and watched the ceiling fan go around in a circle for a few minutes until I grabbed my phone and scrolled through to see who I wanted to call to keep me company.

I sent out two text messages, whichever one hit me back first was going to be the one to get it.

My phone lit up with the one that I thought was going to hit me back first. She wanted her rent paid so she was going to deliver.

After an hour of waiting, I wasn’t in the mood to be fucked up with her anymore.

As soon as she hit the doorbell, I sent her ass a text and told her to go back home.

My dick was soft now and I was starting to get tired.

I had a few hours to sleep before I had to get up and make my drive to the city.

She sent me a nasty ass text back, but I didn’t give a fuck.

The only reason she was mad, was because she thought she was going to get that rent money out of me.

I felt bad for getting her hopes up high.

Maybe this would teach her a lesson about moving faster when I called.

I closed my eyes and waited for sleep to take over on its own.

I threw my glass up with my business partners as soon as my name was signed on the contract. I was trying to own as much property as I could.

“Make sure you don’t let your brother fuck this property up,” my partner stated as I swallowed down my liquor.

“You worry ‘bout the money and let me worry ‘bout my brother. I got this shit under control. You keep them people off my brother ass, and you’ll keep getting paid. It won’t be like this always but while it is, do your fucking job.” I slammed my cup down, causing him to jump.

I put fear in a lot of people. When I spoke, I meant every word.

It was something in my eyes and my tone when I met business.

I didn’t have to pull a trigger to prove my point.

When it came to my family, I protected them with everything in me.

There were times I felt like my brother couldn’t be protected because of his recklessness.

He would tell me all the time to stop having people look out for him because he could handle himself.

I believed him, but I did so much shit in my younger days that I knew karma was waiting on the perfect time to come knocking at my door.

I sat in my car and pulled out my phone to call my brother to give him the news.

“Yooo.” He answered.

“What's up bruh?”

“Shit, wassup witcha?”

“I made the deal go through. We good on that property. I don’t need you and your people over there once we get it up and running. I’m trying to keep that shit clean for once.”

“Nigga, you stoppin’ my money.”

“Listen, I’m trying to keep this one clean. I don’t want them attaching shit to my name. If I let you come over and take over, it’s going to alert a few muthafuckas that we don’t want on us. Keep it clean.”

“That white boy got to you, huh.” He chuckled.

“Nigga don’t nobody run me. I’m my own fuckin boss but I’m thinking ahead unlike your ass.”

“Yea, aight. I’ll meet you at mama house in a few hours.”

“I’m about to run in this barbershop that’s up the road from where I’m at.”

“Oh, yea? Where you at?”

“Why you acting like you don’t know where I’m at. I told you I was going to be in College Park today. That’s where the complex at dumb ass boy.”

“Oh okay. I’ll see you at mama house.”

I hung up and made the quick drive a few blocks up to the barbershop that I passed on the way to my meeting.

The only reason it caught my attention was the number of cars that was parked in front of the building.

It ain’t like I had shit else to do today so I had time to waste.

The best haircuts came from the hood barbershops.

I found an empty spot across the streets, so I parked and made my way in the barbershop.

“You can have a seat. My other barber just went to grab something to eat, and he’ll be back,” a female said with her back turned to me.

She was getting a nigga tape line right with a razor. The way she handled the sharp razor across his skin was impressive.

“It looks like you know what you doin’, how long I gotta wait on you?” I asked her.

She turned around and she looked like she seen a ghost. I don’t know why the fuck she was looking at me like that for. I wasn’t hard up for her, a nigga just needed a cut.

“I got…” she looked around but everyone else was being serviced. “I’ll get you next.”

It was something about her voice that rang a bell.

I looked her over and still couldn’t my finger on it.

She took her time with the hot towel on his face before focusing on his beard and mustache.

I needed all that shit she was doing to him.

When the nigga got out the chair, he gave her hug and peeled off three blue hundred.

She stuffed it in her bra and cleaned the chair out for me.

I could tell she was nervous around me, but I didn’t understand why.

“What you trying to get?” She rolled me around to the mirror and looked at through the glass. The two small hearts on her throat stood out to me. I stared at her for a moment before she asked me again.

“Just take some off the top and clean me up. I want that shit you just did to him did to my face too.”

She leaned over to get her clippers, and I got a whiff of her perfume.

It was the scent the woman wore that I was with a few nights ago.

She looked different. That night she must have had a wig on because now she was a complete blonde with pretty curly hair.

She looked even better than the night I was with her.

Now that I could see the natural beauty she didn't need any makeup.

“Do I know you?” I asked her with my eyes squinted, still staring at each other in the mirror.

“I doubt it.”

“Nah, trust me I know you a little better than you would like to admit.” She looked around to make sure no one heard me. “You left a nigga in the bed like my dick was trash.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she cleaned her clippers.

“You got a nice ass tattoo right above your kitty of a butterfly. I know that because I stared at it for a while.

She cut the clippers off and placed them back on the counter. “I can’t do this. I need to get some air.” She took off to the back of the barbershop, leaving me in the chair with the cape on.

“Does she have an office or some shit back there?” I asked one of the guys that was cutting hair a few chairs down.

“Yea, but you can’t go back there,” he told me.

“Says who? You? Nigga please,” I laughed.

I got up and walked to the back and found my way around until I came to a locked door.

“Aye, nigga. I don’t know what the fuck you trying to do but we don’t be with the bullshit ‘round here. Fuck you want with her?” A nigga stopped me in my tracks.

“Nigga, who are you? Are you her nigga?” I looked his ass up and down.

She must have heard us getting loud because she opened the door and was shocked to see us.

“It’s cool, cuz.”

“You sho?” He asked for confirmation.

“I’m good.”

“Aight.”

“You better get some better niggas to protect you. I could’ve broke that nigga down right here in the hallway.”

“What do you want? It was a one-night stand. Nothing too serious.”

“What's your name?” I pushed my way in and closed the door behind me.

“Blessyn.”

“I’m Larry but everyone knows me as Lucky.” I held my hand out for her to shake it. “I never had a woman run out on me. It’s good to know the woman that didn’t rob me blind.”

“I don’t have a reason to take from you. I got my own,” she stared at me as she shook my hand.

She was so fly. Her mouth was smart which had my dick getting semi-hard.

“So, this your shop?” I walked around admiring her office.

“All mine.”

“That’s some boss shit. What the fuck you doing having one-night stands. I know a nigga ‘bout ready to wife your ass up ‘round here. You don’t give me the type to just be giving pussy out.”

“I have a few that tried but I ain’t into the street nigga anymore. Been there, done that already. I rather have a mature man. Unfortunately, there are none left.”

“You still ain’t answer my question. Why you out here having one-night stands and shit?”

“It was my first time which is why I ran out on you. I was embarrassed and I’m still embarrassed about it. That’s not something I do. Hell, I don’t even go to the club, but my sister forced me out that night. My bad for leaving the way I did.”

“It’s cool. Now that we got that shit outta the way can you finish my cut? I got shit I need to do.”

“Yea, my bad. It’s just embarrassing.”

“No need to be embarrassed. Your shit was A1. I’ll hit that shit again but you gotta be sober this time. I don’t need you not knowing what the fuck going on.”

“Won’t be a next time, sorry.”

“Yea, aight.”

As we walked out of her office, I couldn’t help but watch her ass wobble from side to side. This hair cut was about to be interesting.