Page 11 of ‘Til I Say When

I didn’t even flinch as loud popping sounds echoed through the quiet neighborhood.

Pierre shot two of the tires, the driver’s side window, and he riddled the frame with bullets.

He jumped back in the car, and I pulled off with tires screeching.

Bonne’s BM was a stripper and would be leaving for work in the next hour or so.

We decided against shooting up the house because we didn’t want her or her daughter getting hit.

If we didn’t find him in the next week or so, his mother would be paid a visit next.

Pierre and I weren’t going to get tired. I could bet the bank on that.

When we were safely away from the neighborhood, Pierre spoke. “You and Wonder looked real cozy yesterday.”

I glanced over at him. “Fuck that mean, nigga?”

“It means that you look like you’re having fun with her and not just because it’s pissing Drew off.”

My left shoulder hiked into a passive shrug. “I’m having fun ‘cus it’s pissing her off, too. Sometimes, shorty acts like she hates me,” I chuckled. “You know I like making people mad. It’s a talent of mine.”

“The trait of a certified asshole,” he laughed. “Shorty bad, though. I’d try to get that for real. Her friend is bad, too. I almost asked for her number, but Nina’s nosey ass cousin was out there.”

Before I could respond to Pierre, my phone rang, making me look down at it. “Lonna’s ass is about to get put on the block list,” I mumbled.

Since she found out Misha was pregnant, she’d been overly clingy, and I hated that shit.

I was still pissed that Misha hadn’t reached out to me, asking for abortion money.

She probably didn’t even want a kid. I could see her having a baby just to spite me or to keep me around, and those were two dumb ass reasons to bring a child into the world.

I ignored the call and responded to Pierre.

“Yeah, she bad. But shorty doesn’t like me, and I don’t even feel like putting in the effort. I came at her on some blackmail shit, so I don’t expect her to give up the pussy.”

“You still got the gun?”

I looked over at him like he was crazy. “Hell yeah, I still have it. But I don’t plan on turning that shit over.

I don’t think she’ll talk. And if she does, I might just kill her,” I replied coolly.

I wasn’t interested in seeing Wonder in jail.

As long as she kept her mouth shut, shit would be all good.

I dropped Pierre off and made my way to the grocery store before it closed.

I had a credit card that I’d just got in someone else’s name, and I was about to stock my pantry, cabinets, fridge, and freezer with food.

I walked into the store knowing I wouldn’t spend less than $400.

The majority of my clothes, shoes, gas for my car, etc.

came from credit cards. I did the check thing every now and again, but that was riskier than credit cards.

I would get someone to deposit a check into their account and once it cleared, I would give them half.

A month ago, I got a check for $64,000 and after a three day hold, it actually went through.

I gave $32,000 to my aunt for doing it for me, and I got the other $32,000.

I liked getting cards and checks for large amounts, so I could go longer in between scams. It would be another two or three months before I got another fake check.

Being overly thirsty was how people got jammed.

I mostly used credit cards and the money I got from the cough syrup to live, so the $32,000 would last me for a minute.

Feeling eyes on me, I looked up and saw a shorty sizing me up while biting her bottom lip.

When I caught her looking, she looked away, but even from her side profile, I could see the lil’ smirk on her face.

I took a few moments to study her, and she was cute enough. She stood about 5’4 and had dark skin and a short pixie cut. She had a natural body with love handles and a round booty. I pushed my cart in her direction and slowed down once I neared her.

“Oh, now you gon’ act like you wasn’t eye fucking a nigga?”

She tossed me a bashful look. “I was not eye fucking you. I was just admiring your hair.” Her eyes remained glued to the array of juices that were in front of her.

“Word? What’s your name?”

She finally looked at me. “Jessica. Yours?”

“I’m Wilde. You single?”

“Wilde?” her brows hiked. “Your mama named you that?”

“She did. You gon’ stand here and insult my mama and my name?”

“What?” she laughed. “I wasn’t insulting either one. Yes, I’m single. And I’m twenty-three. You?”

I stared at her. Twenty-three was young. I was seven years older than her and while they say women matured faster than men, I typically didn’t like to deal with anyone under the age of twenty-five. It was rare that their asses were mature, so I damn sure wasn’t trying to go too young.

“What? That too young?” she sensed my hesitation.

“I usually like them twenty-five and up. I don’t like that immature bullshit.”

“There isn’t anything immature about me. I’ve had my own place since I was seventeen, I work full-time at a bank, and I’m in college. I don’t have time to be immature.”

I knew nurses, teachers, etc. with kids, and side hustles that still found the time to be immature.

When dealing with women, it was just the luck of the draw.

Almost everyone I ran into talked that big girl shit about not catching feelings and understanding a man not wanting a relationship but once you sexed them good a handful of times, they forgot all about it.

Perfect example was Misha trying to bring a baby into what was supposed to just be some freak shit.

I took shorty’s number and told her I’d call, but I still wasn’t sure.

In the car, I thought about what Pierre said about Wonder.

I had to chuckle at the way I got on her nerves.

I couldn’t care less if she liked being involved in the game I was playing or not.

I was gon’ taunt Drew’s hoe ass for as long as I wanted to.

I could tell by the way he glared at me and Wonder at the park that he was angry.

And I was going to keep adding fuel to the fire. Fuck Drew and fuck Boone.

I let Wonder breathe for two days, and then I decided to pop up at her shop.

When I walked in the garage, she was wrapping a Lexus.

As she squatted on the side of the car, smoothing out the vinyl, I found myself wondering who taught her how to wrap cars.

I couldn’t front; she was nice with it. From what I could see, she had decent clientele, but I felt she should have been wrapping cars back-to-back.

Cars should have been lined up around the block waiting to be wrapped by her.

Wonder looked over and saw me. I laughed when she rolled her eyes, and that made her suck her teeth.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“I just came to check you out. See what you got going on. You heard from Drew?”

Wonder once again rolled her eyes as she stood up. “He’s blocked. I don’t even know why you think he cares about the situation. He was with his baby mama at the park. That’s who he should be focused on.”

“You can tell yourself that BS if you want to, but you saw the way he was looking at you like he wanted to come where we were and slap the taste out of your mouth. It got up under his skin for sure. He was so jealous hearted and bitter that he started lying, telling people my cousin was on his paperwork. He could never show any proof, and that same cousin died at the hands of his friend, Boone. I’m going to make that pussy hate me ten times more than he hated my cousin. ” Just speaking on Drew had me heated.

“Using me to make him mad is crazy work. Who said I wanted to be in the middle of your games?”

“You don’t have a choice.” I meant every word of what I said. She didn’t have a choice. I had already told Wonder what it was, and I wasn’t going to keep repeating myself.

“Do I have a choice with you being here right now?” she snapped and brushed past me.

I watched Wonder as she walked around to the other side of the car and started working on it.

I had to ask myself if I really liked getting underneath her skin because I was an asshole or if it was because when her brows were furrowed, that bottom lip poked out, and her face slightly crumpled from frowning, she was sexy as hell.

The plan wasn’t to be attracted to Wonder, but I was.

“Friday night. We’re going to the racetrack.”

“Of course we are,” she grumbled.

“Bring your friend, KoKo.”

Wonder’s eyes snapped in my direction. “No. Don’t involve me in no bird shit. You introduced me to Nina, and I like her. I am not letting my best friend talk to Pierre’s baby mama,” her nose scrunched.

I had to appreciate the fact that she seemed big on loyalty.

She’d only met Nina once and most females wouldn’t give a damn about one interaction in the club.

They’d still try to fuck Pierre themselves, or at the least, turn one of their homegirls on.

I couldn’t even be mad that she didn’t want to turn her people on to Nina’s man because at the wrong place and the wrong time, Nina would definitely run up on KoKo and do her dirty.

“Who said you had to be bringing her for Pierre?” I shrugged passively. “But you don’t have to invite her if you don’t want to. I’ll pick you up around eight.”

Wonder ignored me. I stood back and watched her work. “I’m going to see if some of my homeboys want to get their whips wrapped. I could have you at least five or six cars lined up to be wrapped in the next day or two.”

Wonder cut her eye at me. “Am I supposed to say thank you?”

“That would be the polite thing to do.”

She drew back and turned to face me with her hands on her hips. “I know you aren’t talking about the polite thing to do. Aside from you opening car doors for me, I’ve never seen you exhibit any form of manners. In fact, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were raised by wolves.”

I grinned. “Bring a bag with you Friday. I think I want you to spend the night at my crib again. My granny raised me, and she is something like a wolf indeed,” I winked at her.

“I hate you,” she glared at me.

I blew her a kiss and walked out of the shop. In the car, I checked my missed calls and Lonna was among them. I called her back, and she answered on the first ring.

“Have you been with Misha?” she asked, making me frown.

“Since when do you call me asking me questions?”

“I’m just saying. She’s mad at me because I told you she’s pregnant, and she won’t talk to me. Now, you aren’t answering the phone for me, and I was thinking maybe the two of you have been together.”

“That’s why you don’t get paid to think.

You damn sure don’t get paid to keep up with me and what I’ve been doing.

Shorty is trying to have a baby that I don’t want, and you’re overstepping your boundaries.

I’m not going to answer the phone for you again until I feel like you might have come back to your senses.

I don’t give a damn if I’m with Michelle Obama. It’s none of your business, G.”

I was met with silence, and I knew that Lonna was more than likely fuming.

I really didn’t give a damn. Since she didn’t have anything to say, I ended the call and returned the missed calls that were actually about money.

I had three guys that wanted to buy cough syrup.

I had been getting it off slowly since Mazi died, but I was getting it off.

I didn’t like to make it known that I had it for sale.

A lot of people wanted it, but they couldn’t afford the price.

I refused to low ball myself, and I wasn’t fronting anybody anything.

They were either going to pay what I was charging, or they just wouldn’t be sipping syrup. It was that simple.

Wonder seemed to have a thing for lean, but I wasn’t going to try and sell her any.

If she wanted to buy some, she could ask me for it.

She didn’t strike me as the type to let Mazi’s big ass hit, so I could only assume that she was paying him full price for the lean.

She could afford it. But maybe he was tricking and that was the reason why he couldn’t pay me.

Whatever the reason was that he didn’t pay me didn’t matter because he was dead. I would just have to move the cough syrup myself until I found someone else to take his place.