Falling for a Hustler: A Benton Harbor Love Story (7 page)

Lyric

As I sat at my vanity getting ready for my show, I thought about the time I spent with Brick. It seemed like he couldn’t be more perfect. He was everything I wanted, yet I couldn't see myself giving my all to him. When he asked me what it was that I did, it kind of made me feel bad. How could I possibly tell him that my profession was robbing niggas to get money? Hell, I couldn't even tell him that I was stripping. I knew that if I told him the truth, he would see me as nothing more than the common hoodrat, and I definitely couldn't have that.

“Envy!”

I looked up to see my girl Dynasty standing next to me. She was the only girl in the club that I actually got along with. She was a single mother trying to make ends meet, and didn’t have time for the drama the other girls caused. Dressed in sweats and a t-shirt, I’m guessing she had just gotten here as well.

“What’s up boo?” She sat next to me and began took off her shirt so that she could start her makeup.

“I ran into Khalil on the way back and he told me to tell you to come see him.” I rolled my eyes. “What you doing that for? I thought that was yo boo?”

“Girl bye! If Khalil was my nigga, I wouldn’t be shaking my ass in this club. He probably don’t even want shit but to try to spit his weak ass game and grab an ass cheek or something.”

I tried to keep a straight face, but when she burst out laughing, I couldn’t help but do the same.

“Bitch yo ass stay foolin’! But on some real shit, he ain’t seem too happy. You might wanna go see what that nigga on.”

“You right.” I finished applying my lipstick and looked at myself in the mirror. “A'ight girl, let me go see what this nigga wants.”

“A'ight bitch, get that money!” she called out. Whenever one of us was about to hit the floor, we always said that shit.

“You already know!”

I walked out the dressing room and started my search for Khalil. I only had about twenty minutes before I was to go on stage, so I prayed he made this shit quick. Since the incident at Applebee’s, I hadn’t really seen much of him and whenever I did, he never said anything to me. I didn’t think anything of it, and chalked it up to him still be shitty about me not going home with him.

When I made it to his door, I knocked and waited for a response.

“Come in.”

I opened the door and walked over to his desk.

“Dynasty said you wanted to see me?”

“Yeah. Have a seat.”

“No need to get comfortable, I go on in a few minutes, Khalil.”

“That’s what I need to talk to you about. Have a seat,” he said again, with a little more authority in his voice.

I sighed and did as I was told. “What’s this about, Khalil?”

“I got you working the floor tonight. Juicy is gonna fill your slot on stage.”

I stuck my fingernail in my ear as an attempt to clean it. Clearly, I had some type of earwax build up because I couldn’t have heard this nigga correctly.

“What the fuck you mean you got me working the floor? What type of shit is that? I ain’t did that shit since I started.”

He shrugged his shoulders and smirked. “Well then I guess it’s time to switch shit up.”

“All this because I wouldn’t give you no pussy? I get it now! You don’t get what you want, so you try to fuck up my money?”

“Lyric, save the dramatics. You ain’t the only bitch these muthafuckas coming to see.”

“I ain’t the only one they coming to see, but I’m the only bitch in this muthafucka that niggas are
paying big money
to see! These thots ain’t got shit on me and you know it!”

“Say what you want, but my mind is made up. Like you said, them bitches ain’t got shit on you, so I’m pretty sure you’ll still rake in a few dollars,” he said rudely.

“You right muthafucka. Yo monkey ass ain’t stoppin' shit.”

I got up from the chair and stormed out of his office, slamming the door behind me. I went to the bar and ordered a double shot of Patron to calm me down. I scanned the crowd and saw nothing but the same niggas that frequented the club, which pissed me off even more. The usuals didn’t break bread as good the ballers did, and I knew that I would have to do a hell of a lot of lap dances to go home with more than a band. I swear, I wanted to fuck Khalil up!

***

After about ten lap dances and only making $400, I was beyond ready to go home! There was no way I was gonna continue to shake my ass for this bullshit chump change. Shit, I’d rather go home and watch TV with a blunt. I went to the bar for one last shot before making my way to the dressing room. On my way, Dynasty stopped me.

“Girl, what the fuck you doing goin’ in there? We got money in the building!”

“I’m tired and I just wanna go home.”

“I don’t think you heard me right, bitch. Brick muthafuckin Donovan is here! That nigga was known for dropping racks in this bitch before he got locked up. You betta get on that!”

Just hearing Brick’s name gave me butterflies. I wanted to approach him, but I couldn’t let him see me like this; it would surely run him away.

“Gone head and make that money, Dynasty. I’m not feeling too good.”

“A'ight boo. I’ll call you when I leave here. Make sure you get some rest.”

I nodded my head and continued my journey to the dressing room. Now all I had to do was avoid Brick, and I was good to go. Just as I made it to the door, I felt someone grab my arm. I was prepared to go off, but the sight of the hand sliding ten hundreds in my garter belt kept me silent.

“How much to get you to leave with me?” His hot breath on my ear caused my clit to jump. Even though we hadn’t spent much time together, I knew Brick’s voice anywhere.

“Give me twenty minutes.” He patted my ass, and I blushed before I walked off.

I hated that there was no showers here! I didn’t want to be in Brick’s presence while I smelled like smoke, sweat, and pussy. Grabbing a few baby wipes from my bag, I wiped between my legs and my ass. I’d just have to take a shower when we got to wherever we were going. I changed into a pair of skinny jeans and threw on a shirt and a baseball cap, throwing my thong and heels into my tote. On my way to the bar, I spotted Khalil and prayed like hell he didn’t see me. My prayer must have gone straight to hell, because he started in my direction.

“Last time I checked, you had about two more hours.”

“Nah, I hit my quota for the night baby boy,” I said with a smirk.

He grabbed me and pulled me close to him. I tried to yank away from him, but he only tightened his grip.

“Bitch act like you got some fucking sense! You in my shit! I tell you when you done or not.”

Before I had the chance to respond to him, Brick approached with a tall, dark-skinned nigga following close behind him.

He stared at Khalil intently. “What’s the hold up, Lyric?” he asked without looking my way.

“I was looking for my sister so I could give her my keys.”

Khalil still hadn’t let me go, and from the look in Brick’s eyes, I knew there would be problems.

“You’re not finished dancing.”

“I think she is, bruh.”

Khalil mugged Brick, trying to save face in his establishment, but everyone knew he wasn’t foolish enough to go against Brick. He leaned into my ear so that Brick and his homeboy couldn’t hear him. “That nigga ain’t gon’ always be around to save you.” He dropped my hand roughly and walked away.

“We definitely have to do something about your choice in men, shorty,” Brick joked.

“Whatever! That nigga just mad ‘cause I ain’t checking for his ass no more. He’ll get over it eventually. Give me a few minutes to find my sister and I’ll be right out.”

“You sure you don’t need me to go with you?” he asked as he eyed Khalil on the opposite side of the room.

“I’m good. Just wait for me ok?”

“A'ight pretty lady, don’t have me waiting too long.”

“I won’t, love.”

I watched as he turned to his friend, and together they left the club. I continued my search for my sister. When I found her, she was at the bar nursing a bottle of water. I thought it was weird that she wasn’t drinking, but I didn’t have time to dwell on that shit.

“Des.”

“What’s up sis?”

“I need you to take my car to the house.”

“Why you can’t do it?”

“Brick came through, I’m leaving with him.” I tried my best not to smile at his name, but it was no use.

“Ok.”

“And don’t tell Yandy who I’m with. I don’t want her getting any ideas.”

“A'ight, bitch! Don’t have too much fun.”

We hugged for a moment, and then I went outside to find Brick. He was posted up against a clean ass old school blue Cutty sitting pretty on 26-inch rims, talking to his friend. When he noticed me walking up, he smiled.

“Yo Riq, Imma get at you later, bro. Tell Mariah I’ll be by there tomorrow.”

Jealousy washed over me as he mentioned another female’s name. I stood closer to him, and he draped his arm around me. Riq’s phone rang. He looked at the screen and swiped it, ignoring the call.

“Man, you think I’m playing! I ain’t fucking with yo sister, man. That chick got issues.”

“Who the fuck got issues, Tyriq? And where the fuck you at? You left here an hour ago for my damn pineapples! On my mama, don’t get fucked up!”

We fell out laughing as Tyriq put his head down. Apparently, he had answered the call instead of ignoring it. He chucked the deuces up at Brick and walked off, yelling into the phone the entire time.

“You ready to get out of here?” Brick asked with a smile on his face.

“Yeah.”

Brick

Instead of taking Lyric to my house, I took her to my condo. I was feeling her, but I didn’t know her well enough to show her where I laid my head just yet; plus, my condo was closer; it was only five minutes away from Sparkle City. When we made it, I opened her door and led the way to the elevators. We hopped on and waited as it took us to the fifth floor. When the doors opened, I stepped off and grabbed her hand once again, leading the way. Once I opened the door, she stepped in and her face dropped as she looked around.

“You live here?”

“Most of the time. My house is too big for just me so it gets a little lonely, so I rarely go there.”

“This is beautiful, Bryce.” She quickly began taking off her shoes. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“What you doin’, ma?”

“Nigga you don’t walk on this type of carpet with yo’ shoes on!”

I shook my head at her. “It’s just carpet baby. You want something to drink?”

“No. I need a shower. I don’t want to sit around you smelling like the club,” she looked everywhere but at me, like she was obviously embarrassed of her occupation.

“That’s cool, let me walk you to it.”

***

Two hours, a pint of Henny, and three blunts later, we were sitting on the couch watching
Straight Outta Compton
on bootleg. Her feet were in my lap, so I grabbed one and began to rub it. She pulled her eyes away from the TV and looked at me. I prodded her skin deeper, and she let out a low moan.

“When was the last time you had a man cater to you, Lyric?”

“Never.”

Her feet were small and pretty, so I thought what the fuck as I lifted her foot and covered her big toe with my mouth.

“Shit…” she hissed as I kissed all over her foot and sucked on each toe one by one.

I had been so focused on getting my money back right that since I had been out, I hadn’t even had a whiff of pussy. The way she squirmed and grinded was doing something to me. I stopped rubbing her feet, and went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I came back, I saw Lyric on the couch staring at me. I said nothing as I walked over to her and slid my tongue in her mouth. She hungrily accepted it and began to moan. My hands went around her waist and grabbed her plump ass. Her shit felt so fucking soft. She reached around to my zipper and released my dick. Still kissing me, she stroked me lightly, and I was trying my hardest not to just bend her over and pound the shit out of her. She started to get on her knees, but I stopped her.

“You sure this what you want to do, Lyric?”

Instead of answering, she smiled and pushed me down onto the couch. She slid between my legs and placed my dick between her pouty lips. I swear, her mouth felt like heaven. When she twirled her tongue on my head and deep throated my shit in the same motion, I knew that I had met my match. If I didn’t stop this girl now, my kids would surely be down her throat soon.

I picked her up, and she locked her legs around me as I carried her to my bedroom. After gently laying her on the bed, I stripped down to my boxers. She got up and stood in front of me.

“Let me dance for you, Bryce.”

I walked over to my speaker and turned on Pandora. Jhene Aiko’s ‘Wading’ was on, and Lyric was standing in front of me swaying to the slow, tempting beat. She slowly pulled her shirt over her head, never taking her eyes off me. I sat down on a nearby chair and continued to watch her show. She slid out of her pants, and now had nothing but a red thong on. When she climbed in my lap and popped her pussy in my face, I moved her thong to the side and stuck my tongue out. She shuddered, but it didn’t stop the performance she was giving me.

I looked down at my dick, and my shit was at attention. Without warning, she pulled down her thong and slid down on it.

“Damn Brick, you feel so good,” she moaned as she bounced on top of me, slowly finding her rhythm.

I said nothing as I tried to focus on not coming prematurely. The shit was proving to be hard as fuck, cause lil mama was definitely doing her thing. Her pussy had a death grip on my dick, and the shit almost made me moan out like a fuckin’ bitch. Fuck that! I wasn’t about to let her fuck me. I lifted her up once again, and this time I threw her on the bed.

“Put that ass in the air.”

She put her face deep into the mattress, and put her ass high in the air. Her shit was so fucking big and pretty that I had to smack it. I then slid my hand from her slit to her ass cheeks. She was dripping wet! I parted her ass cheeks and lowered my head so that I could taste her pussy.

“Oh my God Bryce!” she moaned and slammed her ass back on my tongue. Again, I ran my fingers over her mound and played with her clit. I wiped her juices on my dick and slowly entered her from the back. She started to run, but I grabbed her hair and wrapped it around my hand, locking her in place.

“Ain’t no running Lyric,” I whispered in her ear. “Take this dick ma.”

“Mmmm…” she bucked back against me, and I felt her walls squeezing the fuck out of my dick; she was coming.

“Uh huh, come on this dick Lyric. Show daddy how good he making that pussy feel.”

Her hand slid between her legs, and she started playing with her clit while I beat her shit up. She started making whimpering noises, and the next thing I knew, shorty was squirting all over the place. I quickly pulled my dick out and sucked on her pussy, bringing her into another orgasm. I had no doubt in my mind that she would be mine after that.

Once we were finished, I went into the bathroom and cleaned myself off. Lyric had fallen asleep, so I grabbed a warm towel and cleaned her off as well. When I got done, I went back into the room and just stared at her. After what Journee had done to me, I said that I wouldn’t get involved in anything serious again, but Lyric seriously had me rethinking that shit. Since the day I ran into her, I knew there was something different about her. She was so down to earth and real. Hell, I even admired her ass! She had been through so much and still managed to hold it together. She was built for a nigga like me.

My phone chiming caused me to break my stare. I walked over to the nightstand and picked it up. I had a text from Tyriq saying that Eden wanted to meet with us at 8 a.m. I looked at the clock and saw that it was only 2. I climbed in the bed next to Lyric and kissed her forehead before pulling her closer to me. For the first time in almost two years, shit was starting to feel right to me.

***

When I woke up a few hours later, it was 6:30 and Lyric was still asleep. I smiled when I thought about what had taken place a few short hours ago. It had started getting a little chilly lately, so after taking a shower, I threw on a cream-colored Akoo sweater, dark blue jeans, and a pair of wheat Timberlands. I sprayed on a little cologne and kissed Lyric once again before grabbing my phone, keys and my duffle bag. As soon as I made it out of my condo, I called Tyriq.

“What’s good?” he answered.

“I’m leavin' the crib now. Give me about ten minutes.”

“A'ight. I’ll be outside. I ain’t trying to risk staying in and have Mariah tripping again.”

“Nigga I’m starting to think you scared of my sister,” I laughed.

“Man fuck you! Just get yo’ ass here muthafucka,” he continued his rant as I hung up the phone, shaking my head. I didn’t feel sorry for his ass at all. I told him to stay away from my sister, and his ass didn’t listen; now he was stuck with her crazy ass forever.

I turned the volume up and pulled my car out of the parking garage. I made it to Tyriq and Mariah’s almost ten minutes later, and just like he said he would be, Tyriq was sitting on the porch smoking a Black and Mild. When he saw my car hit the corner, he stood up and started walking toward the sidewalk. I brought my car to a slow stop and allowed him to jump in.

“You ready to get this shit over with?” he asked

“Hell yeah. I left Lyric back at the spot and I don’t want her to be tripping about me being gone too long.”

Tyriq glanced at me and laughed. “You just ain’t gon’ learn nigga.”

“Learn what?” he looked like he knew something that I didn’t.

“Look how that bitch Journee did you. These hoes don’t mean you no good, Brick. All you need to be focused on right now is getting to this muthafucking money.”

I looked at him for a moment. “Nigga, how the fuck you gon’ tell me what the fuck I need to be focused on? I’m a grown ass man, I know how to balance this shit.”

“Yeah whateva. Don’t ever say I ain’t try to warn yo ass.”

By the time we made it to Eden’s warehouse, it was 7:58. We went through the usual pat down routine for a few seconds before we were granted access into her office. She wasn’t seated at her desk like she usually was. Just as I was about to call out to her, I heard heels clicking, and I knew that she was close.

“If it isn’t the notorious Brick! I’m so glad we were able to get you out of that bitch!” she said as she pulled me into a hug.

“Yeah thanks for that, Eden. On some real shit, I owe you big for that.”

“Don’t even worry about that shit. I wanted you both here because as you know, Reign and Sabrina are no longer a part of my operation.” A look of hatred flickered in her eyes as she sat at her desk, and it threw me for a loop. Before I got locked up, those three were like sisters; I wondered what brought about the change. “My sisters and I have been taking turns coming here, but it’s becoming tedious. Therefore, we are closing shop.”

“What!?” Tyriq said.

Eden shot him a look, and he calmed down.

“Instead of doing business here, we came to the decision that we will turn our blocks over to the both of you; granted, you still cop your work through us.”

“Come on now, E. You know damn well we ain’t fucking with nobody but you!” I wasn’t just saying that shit either. When I first started hustlin’, I tried to stick to just selling loud but Eden had the purest dope I had ever seen, and when I saw the way those fiends would beat down the doors for that shit, I knew that there was no way I could miss out on that money.

She smiled and looked at me, her green eyes almost burning a hole in my skin. “I know this is sudden, but Brick I know it’s nothing you can’t handle. Before you went away, the two of you were unloading more than ten bricks of dope a week, and almost double that in weed. I honestly don’t see anyone else fit for the job. I’ll even allow you to cop at an even lower price. You were the man before, but now you have the chance to be a fuckin’ boss.”

Eden’s deal sounded so damn tempting! I didn’t want to keep doing this hustlin’ shit, but my money was dwindling and I refused to be a broke nigga. “A'ight Eden.”

She squealed as she sat back in her chair and crossed her legs. “Perfect! All I need to do now is make a few calls and have you sworn in.”

“Sworn in?” I asked with my eyebrow raised.

She looked over at Tyriq. “Riq, could you give us a moment?”

He nodded his head and stepped out of the office.

“I promise, it’s nothing crazy Bryce. As you know, I’m a part of the Mafia. It’s ran just like a business operation, and the Don’s like to know who they are working with at all times. By you working with me, you will always be under my protection as well as the Mafia’s. Your problems become ours. The ceremony will take place in Miami. There you will meet the heads of the roundtable, as well as make a few business connections of your own. This street shit is cool, but you’ll literally become a boss. Your hands will never touch a brick again, and you’ll still see millions. You will definitely see just how lucrative this shit really is.”

I nodded my head as I listened to her. My phone started to vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out and smiled when I saw the notification saying I had a message from Lyric.

LYRIC:
Do you always leave strange girls alone in your condo?

ME:
Only the ones that fuck me like you do.

LYRIC:
:) Don’t keep me waiting Bryce.

ME:
I’ll be there shortly.

I placed the phone back in my pocket and when I looked back at Eden, she was smiling at me.

“Who’s the lucky girl?”

“What makes you think there’s a woman in my life?” I asked, returning her smile.

“Only a man in love smiles like that from a simple message.” I smirked, but said nothing. I didn’t want to say that I was in love with Lyric, but I could see myself going there with her one day.