Thug with Tendencies 10

Chapter 10

On my block you make it there on time. Where? Wherever the fuck you are supposed to be. It becomes a matter of life or death. You are where you are supposed to be and you're there when you're supposed to be there. Colored people time is a myth on my block. The dope boys always arrived on time. The shooters always arrived on time. Because being late meant that you were either missing out on money...

Or you were already dead.

"You're just on time..."

I turn at that moment. I walk into the house to the smell of food. I'm not expecting it. As I walk into the dining room I see plates set out on the dining room table. I'm shocked actually. I haven't cooked in this house since I inherited it after my parents died. When I walk in though I see none other than Sterling welcoming me in.

"What's going on here?"

"Decided I would cook for you and your sister. She's on her way here. I know you guys have been through a lot. I just want to be there for you," Sterling explains.

I look down at my phone. I keep getting back to back calls from Yusef. He wants me to run some stupid errands with him. He had "pickups" he had to do. I had no doubt that it was drug money. Usually I would run at the chance to make a couple extra dollars but a memory of Yusef is coming into my mind. Lopez told me not to trust Yusef.

Yusef swore to me that Boozie and Red were the ones who did the shooting. He swears to me that Ty wasn't involved. He tells me that somehow Red convinced Boozie to switch sides. It made sense. Still. Why the hell did Meech still think Ty had something to do with it?

Would Yusef lie like that?

"I have a lot on my mind," I explain to Sterling, "Now is probably not a good time."

"Because you have a lot on your mind. It's the best time. Come on."

I pause.

Sterling is cute for no goddam reason. He's standing there with his apron on looking like Ken doll. He has oven mitts on. The whole 9. He's gives me that Hollywood smile of his. You would think we were in Pasadena instead of Southside Chicago. For some reason it makes me laugh. What makes me laugh even more is a distinct smell from the kitchen.

"I think you're burning something..." I tell him.

His eyes get wide as though he's remembering something, "OH SHIT!"

Sterling runs in the kitchen. I chase close behind him. He's struggling using his kitchen towel to buff out a fire. I push him out of the way grab the fire extinguisher and take out the fire that is flaring up in the kitchen. We cough a little bit until I manage to open the window to let some of the smoke out. At the end he's standing there with the most innocent look on his face.

"I tried my best," he tells me.

I can't stop laughing, "What the hell Sterling? What you watching Paula Dean on television or something? Trying to cook Soul food and you almost burnt down my house..."

"I saw it on Youtube."

Really? Youtube?

"Hand me the apron. I'm taking over," I respond.

He smiles a little bit and hands it over.

"I guess that means you're staying?" he asks.

I look down the phone at Yusef. I silence my phone. Fuck Yusef right now. I had a lot I needed to get off my chest with the guy and things weren't working.

It's an hour later before my sister shows up. The food is pretty much done and she walks in on Sterling and I sitting at the table sipping on some wine. I don't know why I'm smiling so hard with Sterling. I don't know why I've completely forgotten about all my troubles right now. Talking to Sterling makes me feel like I'm somewhere else besides Chicago. Pasadena. Yes. That's it. I'm joking around with Sterling in the dining room and there is no worries in the world.

"I used to be a DJ at a Hip hop club back in the day," he's telling me.

"You?"

"Hell yeah. Boy. They used to call me DJ White Zinfandel," he replies.

I bust out laughing at the thought of it. He's been telling me stupid shit like this all day. I don't notice the time go by. He's sillier than I could have ever really imagined and honestly it's refreshing not to be having a conversation about getting money or getting revenge. It's kind of nice just to exist in a way. It's kind of nice just to be here.

"Am I interrupting something?" Kenyatta asks walking in.

I haven't even noticed how close I'm sitting to Sterling until Kenyatta walks in and gives us an awkward stare. Maybe that's why I realize how hard I'm smiling or the fact that we are sitting right next to each other we are touching on a huge dining table with enough room for us to space out.

"Kenyatta we were just cooking and talking shit," I tell my sister.

She forces a smile, "I see."

There is an awkward silence that goes on after a few minutes. It's clear that the situation is uncomfortable. After a few minutes Sterling gets up from the table. He puts his hand on my shoulder when he does. He rubs it for a quick second.

"Hey I'm going to bring the food out. Be right back."

With that he leaves and goes into the kitchen leaving Kenyatta at the dining room table with me. Kenyatta sits across from me. Her eyes are glaring at me. My sister can't help but to be messy sometimes. I know she is going to say something before she even says it.

"You like white chocolate now too huh?"

"Relax. We're just friends."

She shrugs.

"It's not like our sister is alive to be mad about it. I don't care. I'm just saying I don't want you distracted from the goal here. Save dessert for later. There is something I want you to do with me."

"What?"

"I need you to help me steal some guns from the Barrio."

I look over at her.

Was she crazy?

"The Barrio gang? The Mexicans on the Westside. You want to steal from them."

"Listen. The Bakersfield boys need to go to war with Ty. They don't have the weapons."

"Then why don't they go steal it."

"These gangs have...lines. They can't cross these lines. They don't want to start a war with the Barrio gang. If you and me go in there and steal the guns then they won't have any excuse."

I'm hesitating. Kenyatta was putting a lot of her trust in the Bakersfield gang. I know the old saying. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Still, it shouldn't be your last resort. I know how upset she is but I don't know if this is a good idea.

"How the hell do we steal all those guns?" I ask.

"Easy. One of the guys in charge over there watching the guns is gay."

"How do you know?"

"Cause I tried to hit on him and didn't work," she replies, "That's why I need you. I need you to distract him so I can get the guns."

"You want me to prostitute myself?"

"I didn't say that. I said distract him."

I let out a deep sigh. She is making it sound so easy. How the hell did she even know for sure the guy was gay? Even if he was gay that didn't mean he'd necessarily be attracted to me. Maybe I wasn't his type or something. I don't know. I don't get a chance to even think about it because Sterling walks into the dining room. He has a huge pan in his hand and he slams it on the table.

It's clear he's trying to prove a point. The look on his face is devastating. He is pissed and that's pretty much clear.

"That's not going to happen," Sterling tells my sister.

"Excuse me?" Kenyatta stated.

"I heard what you just told Meech to do and that's not happening," Sterling steps in.

"You were spying on us?" Kenyatta asks, rolling her eyes and raising her finger, "Hold up. HOLD UP! Why the fuck are you even here?"

"I told Cheyenne I'd watch out for her little brother."

"How you watching out for him, Sterling? What can you possibly do for Meech? Tell jokes? Well I got one. What do you call a lost white boy sticking his nose in people's business in the ghetto? A victim."

"Is that a threat?"

"Ya'll both need to chill out," I interrupt.

Cheyenne looks annoyed as she pulls up from the table, "You know what? I lost my appetite. Little brother. Call me when you're ready. It's family. Over everything."

She gives me a nod.

Sterling is staring at her the entire time she leaves out the house. God knows where my sister is going. I want her to stay home at least once. That's not Kenyatta though. It never has been. She's out running the streets right now being grown and getting herself into trouble.

But the thing about Kenyatta was that this time she has a point. Sterling can make me laugh all he wanted but what could he really do to help me get revenge? The person who could help me was Lopez and Lopez wasn't talking to me.

"You really aren't going to follow through with her stupid ass plan right?" he asks me.

"I might."

"Why?"

"Because Lopez believes that Ty had something to do with the murder."

"And what do you believe?"

I shrug, "I don't know. Boozie admitted to it. Yusef says that he was working with Red. At the same time Ty could be behind this. I don't know who to trust."

"Trust me."

He's sitting next to me again. He's close. He's real close. He's pulled me into him. Sterling presses my legs into his inner crotch. He's breathing on me. It's warm and comforting. He touches the side of my face slowly. I inhale deeply taking it all in. He rubs on the side of my arm slowly. He's softer than Lopez. I don't like it any more or less. It's just...different.

"You come from a whole different world then me," I explain to Sterling.

"But I'm here. I'm here in this world with you right now, aren't I? I've run with these gang bangers. Hell Ty is reaching out to hang out with me. I can play that role just as well as you can. What I'm saying is that you aren't stuck in that role."

"They killed my family."

"Would your family want you out here going to war and being in danger because of them?"

"No. But why do you care?"

"You can't tell me you don't know."

I knew. I guess inside I always knew that there was something between Sterling and I. It made me uncomfortable because of his history with Cheyenne. Right now I can't hold back though. The touching and soft words are getting to me. I lean over and I kiss him. Sterling tongue smashes into mine. As soon as I make the first move he abandons his chair and hops on mine. His pink lips separate my own lips. He opens up my lips with a deep kiss.

The wetness is between our mouths. There are smacks of passion. He leans over the chair I'm sitting in and grinds his crotch into mine. I can't believe this is finally happening. I run my fingers through his hair a few times and down the back of his neck.

The phone in my pocket vibrates as we kiss. I try to pull it out of my pocket to but I see a text message pop up when I do. It's from Yusef.

The text message reads: I'm out front.

"Dammit."

"Don't go," Sterling says.

I look down at the phone, "It's not my sister. It's just Yusef."

"Is that supposed to make me feel any better?" Sterling asks me.

"I should go."

I start walking to the door. Sterling stops me though. He pulls me back. He gives me one last kiss. His kisses are so sensual. There is so much behind them.

"Listen," he tells me, "You don't have to stay here. There are other people who will take care of these things. Your sister. Yusef. They will get revenge. You can leave. You can leave with me..."

I don't answer. I just nod and walk away. A part of me wants to hope that I can just leave things in my sister's hands. A part of me wants to believe that Yusef already got justice for me by making sure Ty killed Red. Truth is though I didn't believe that.

Lopez's words were stuck in my head.

Could I trust Yusef?

I leave to meet Yusef and we drive around for hours. We've done this a million times. Every time he calls I'm there. Right on time. Always.

"You seem like you're in a bad mood," Yusef says.

I'm tired of sitting in the car being Yusef's lookout. I turn to my right to see my cousin sitting there. He's had us running around doing errands. My cousin is my best friend and he knows me more than anyone. He knows that I'm in a bad mood even though I'm trying not to show it.

After leaving Lopez's place earlier I've been in a bad mood. I don't know how to look at things. Lopez was pissed at me. He wasn't talking to me. No matter how many times I called him. One of the last things he told me was about Yusef.

"You doing these errands for Ty?" I ask Yusef.

"Of course," Ty says staring at the wheel like it's not a big deal but turning my way, "You know that though. Don't you?"

"Just seems convenient, that's all," I respond, "I get you guys are in a relationship but you definitely seemed to be benefitting. That must be some good dick."

"What? Ty is looking out for BOTH of us. He's taking care of me and I'm taking care of you."

"Is he really taking care of me? There were two people who shot up my family. Boozie admitted to being one of them."

"Red was the other. You know that."

"Red and Boozie? That's a weird duo. Don't you think?"

Yusef sighs a little bit. He's annoyed with me at that moment. He's really annoyed with me. Just as much as my cousin knew me I knew him as well.

"Does any of this have a point?"

I hesitate.

I'm emotional right now. Everything that happened with Lopez is making me emotional. The guy I was having feelings for didn't care about me. So yes. I was emotional right now.

"Yusef did Ty kill my family?"

Yusef pulls the car over. He's shocked by my question. He wanted me to get to the point well this was the point.

"Hell no..." Yusef responds.

"You sound really sure about that."

"I know Ty."

"And you love him?"

Yusef stops for a minute, "No. It's not love. This is business. We fool around every once in a while but don't ever think this isn't business. If I knew that he did something to your family you think I wouldn't hurt him."

I nod at my cousin, "Yusef. I know if you're lying. Look at me. Look me in my eyes. Swear to me that Ty wasn't involved in the shooting."

My cousin grabs me. He looks me dead in my eyes. Our eyes lock on one another.

"On my life. Ty's innocent."

"Ok."

"You believe me?"

"Yes."

My cousin reaches over and hugs me. I hug him too. It's emotional. He leans me in and whispers to me softly, "It's just me and you Meech. Family is all we got. Didn't Sterling tell you that you should leave? Have you thought about it? Have you thought about leaving with him?"

"I did..."

"You should," he nods and smiles.

Family is all we got.

I end up getting dropped off. My cousin nods to me. He gives me a smile. I wave back. I look over at the house. Yusef leaves in a rush and speeds off. I look back at the house. The lights are still on. Sterling is still up. He's probably waiting on me. He's probably waiting on me to get back.

The problem is that I'm not going home. I pull out my phone.

"Kenyatta? Yeah. It's me. Yusef is a fucking liar. I spoke to him and I could tell a mile away. Ty was the one who shot up the family. I know it. I'm not leaving with Sterling. I want to help you. Yeah...ok...just let me know what I have to do..."

"You want to get revenge for our family or not?" Kenyatta asks me.

We are sitting outside of a house on the Westside of the city. They called this area the Barrio. A lot of the Mexicans lived in this area. Kenyatta drops me off in front of the house but I'm hesitating. I stick out in this neighborhood. I get out of the car though. I stand there for a few seconds.

"How will this work again?" I ask her.

"I told you the plan like three times. You go in there and distract him. I'm going to sneak around back and steal the guns. After a while I'm going to text you and let you know I'm outside. Just come out."

"OK..."

I hesitate but make my way to the house. I've been to this house before with Meech. I've seen the guy once or twice doing turf deals with Ty. As I walk up to the house I knock on the door. I feel anxious. Sweat is rolling down my back and my eyebrows. It burns my eyes. I can't see but I continue to knock twice and then three times.

Finally someone comes to the door. It's a guy I don't recognize. He's a tall Mexican with tattoos all over his face. He gives me this devious look.

"Jose here?"

"Right through here. Meech right?" the guy asks.

"Yeah."

Jose was supposed to be here alone. Who the hell was this guy! I panic a little bit. I look back to see if Kenyatta is still there. A part of me wants to pull back. I want to go the hell home. Kenyatta isn't parked across the street anymore. She might be hiding waiting for me to get in or something.

"You coming in or not? What the fuck?" the guy asks, "You letting the air conditioning out Chico."

"My bad."

I step into the house. It smells like weed in the house. As I walk into the house I see it is more like a loft kind of setting. It looks like it may have been a factory at some point or some sort of factory but they were turned to apartments. It's the perfect place to store some sneaky shit. I look towards the back towards all the dark hallways wondering where they lead. That must be where Kenyatta is going to sneak to. As long as I keep them in this front area I should be fine.

I see Jose get up. He's a good looking guy which is why I didn't have much of a problem doing this. He's younger though, probably just 19. He is covered in tattoos as well and has a wife beater on. His pants sag to the middle of his crotch area. He's wearing dark blue underwear. He is slim not muscular but his body is very tight. When he sees me he smiles. I notice his teeth are all gold plated. He's definitely a thug if I've ever seen one.

"Wassup shorty," he says, "Long time man! How you been?"

He walks over to me and gives me a hug. He seems very friendly. Rumor on the street is that's how Jose is. On the outside he is very nice and welcoming until you cross him then you get to see the guy the streets called the Mexican Maniac.

"I'm good. I'm good," I force a smile, "I'm sorry I arranged this meeting so late man."

"No problem. Sit you want anything to drink? Manuel. Get my homeboy a drink."

Manuel is the other guy in the room. The tall quiet one. He sits in a sofa. He's seems like he was playing a video game. Right now he's just watching me though. His eyes are solemn and still. I notice a bulge in his pocket. Either he has a gun or he is just really happy to see me. I don't know which one makes me more nervous honestly.

"I'm good," I respond, "I just came to talk business."

"Really? Just business?" he asks.

Jose smiles at me. The young thug has a wide smile. He flashes his gold teeth. It's crazy because this loft is so worn and torn down but his mouth looks like he has a couple of thousands at least in it alone. As he smiles at me he leans back in his seat and pulls at his crotch a little bit. He licks his lips suggestively.

"Yeah. Just need some work," I shake off the flirtation.

"I got work for you alright," he says and laughs.

His homeboy laughs with him. The two of them stare me down. I'm not new to the game especially with DL boys. Jose was known to be a ladies' man. He even had two kids on the way by two different women at the tender age of 19. You would never suspect someone like him got into anything gay but you'd be surprised.

"Let's keep this professional," I reply, "If you need help I just want you to know that I'm available."

"Aren't you working with Ty?"

"My cousin works with Ty. Not me," I respond, "I help my cousin out every once in a while. But I'm a free agent."

"Well I'll keep you in mind. Is that all?"

Shit. I didn't get a text from Kenyatta yet. He seemed to be pulling back. Maybe he's thinking that I'm not into him or something. I cross across the sofa and take a seat next to Jose. I smile.

"Maybe it's not all just business. Maybe I got to talk to you about something else..." I state.

Jose's smile gets wide again. His enthusiasm goes up, "Is that right?"

"Yeah. In private," I state.

"Manuel knows. He's cool..." Jose says, but quickly adds, "But if you want I can send him back to the storage rooms for a minute...while we talk."

"NO! No...I mean," I state, "I don't mind..."

I get up at that moment and sit on Jose's lap. I straddle him a little bit. I can feel Jose's dick at the seat of my pants almost immediately. Within seconds he's hard as a brick. These young guys have the sex drive of porn stars. Maybe that's why there are so many kids out here. Jose grabs on my ass cheeks. He laughs a little bit.

"Dam I've been seeing you around...I always suspected you got down but I never knew for sure," he tells me and licks his lips, "You are sexy...for sure."

I look over at Manuel. He's staring at me hard too. He's watching Jose's hands grip on my ass as I sit on his lap. Manuel's eyes are glued. Good. As long as Jose was distracted and Manuel was watching then Kenyatta would have enough time to do her thing.

Jose gropes me for a minute. I lean in and kiss him slowly. He kisses me back. As our tongues collide he starts to really feel me up. His fingers touch around my ass. Soon he starts getting really excited and attempts to put his finger into my pants. He slides his finger down my ass cheek. He goes lower and deeper and deeper.

He makes it to my asshole and I jump away.

"Whoa. Slow down."

"Oh I get it," he says, "You're shy. Manny. Go back to the storage yo. You freaking him out just standing there watching like some horn dog."

Manuel shakes his head, "I wasn't fuckin' watching."

He's lying straight to both of our faces. Jose doesn't fall for it, "Manuel. Go to the fucking storage and wait. I'll hit you up after I do my thing."

Do his thing?

I stop Manuel, "Wait. I don't mind him staying."

Manuel smiles as he gets up. The tall Spanish dude stops right over me. He looks down on me. A part of me thinks he wants to join in. I don't mind kissing as long as it didn't go too far. Manuel just needed to stay away from the storage.

"He wants me to stay."

Jose doesn't like that. He points at Manuel, "Yo. I'm not going to fucking tell you again. GET THE FUCK OUT! HE'S MINE!"

It's kind of scary how intense Jose gets. He's the smaller of the two Mexicans but that's not taking away from how fierce he is. I think about trying to stop Manuel again but just as I am about to open my mouth I hear a crash. It's loud. It's in the storage.

Jose and Manuel look at each other.

"You must have some rats or something," I say.

"I'll check it out," Manuel says.

Manuel walks off. I try to stop him, "Wait. Wait."

"Shh...it's just me and you now," Jose says.

Jose kisses me shutting me up before I can stop Manuel. We are kissing hard. He climbs over me and pins me down. Before I know it his pants are coming down and a hard, long uncut dick comes out. He presses his dick up against my shirt. I can see the precum drizzling down my shirt. He's kissing me harder and harder. I'm trying to stop him.

"Wait..."

"Yo shut the fuck up..."

"Get the hell off me!"

"Oh you were just trying to tease me or something?" Jose asks, "You are GOING to give me some ass motherfucker."

Jose gets aggressive. He is literally pinning me down. The nice guy I just met is gone. The maniac comes out. All of a sudden I hear some gunshots! I hear the screeching of a car at that moment as though someone is pulling off. Jose hears them too! He jumps off of me. His dick flopping from side to side as he runs to the hallway to see what happens.

A few seconds later I hear Manuel running back. I grab my phone and look at it.

A text message.

"Someone robbed us. Someone took all the guns and got away! I shot at them...I don't think I got them," Manny says.

Oh fuck.

The Mexicans look at me. They start making their way towards me. I don't have anywhere to run. I don't have any way to get away. The look on Jose's face is scary as hell. He's lost it right now and I have no idea what he's going to do to me. I look down at my phone.

It's Kenyatta. Chapter 10