The Glamorous Life (17 page)

She watched him and made up her mind that she was going to test him until he dropped. She said, “Look, man, you got to stay focused if you want to mess with me.”

“What you talking ’bout? I am ’bout one of the most focused-on-point dudes you’ll ever meet.”

“Well, look,” she said, looking at her watch, “it’s three a.m. and you out here drinking and got a cooler filled with beer. Now, to me that isn’t being too focused. I’m offered beer all the time, but I refuse it because in my line of work I need and want to be focused. I know one slip can cost me. I know we have different professions. Still, I’m sure a slipup can cost you your life. Right?”

“I feel ya,” he said, and threw the bottle across the parking lot into the woods.

“Well, good night, Lynx, and thanks for the cat. I named him Snowball.”

“Look, can we hook up and do lunch tomorrow?”

“Yup, we sure can. I’ll get with you tomorrow. Good night and stay focused,” Bambi said as she got into her car and pulled off, leaving Lynx standing there.

T
hey still had not exchanged numbers, and he had no idea how she was planning to get in touch with him. Things weren’t exactly going his way. Well, not the way he’d planned anyway, or it hadn’t so far, at least when it came to Bambi. As far as he was concerned, it always seemed like Bambi had more hold than any point guard, never turning the ball over and always crossing over at the right time, leaving dudes for broke. Most dudes would’ve been intimidated by Bambi, but not him. Lynx knew for a fact he was not outclassed. After taking all those things into consideration, Lynx wasn’t trying to get her on his team. Instead he had to be on her team. In his mind Bambi was the franchise maker, the star of the squad, and it would be a privilege for him to squad up with her. He knew that with her he couldn’t lose. Being mindful of that, he was willing to play his position.

He thought about her last words as he drove home.
Stay focused.

CHAPTER 17

Unexpected Guest

I
t was 11 a.m., and Cook’em-up was at Lynx’s house making BLT sandwiches when someone knocked on the door. He got his pistol because he knew Lynx didn’t usually invite anyone over. He asked, “Who is it?”

“Bambi,” she said sweetly.

He opened the door and rolled his eyes at Bambi. “You better be glad you identified yourself, because I was about to shoot first and ask questions later.”

“Oh, my! I am glad you didn’t act on impulse. Is Lynx here?” she asked, batting her eyes.

“He still asleep. Go on upstairs and wake him up.” Cook’emup didn’t think twice about Bambi coming over. He was sure if she was here it was because Lynx had told her to come. No broad would have the nerve to come over without an invitation.

He watched her sashay up the stairs in her baby blue Iceberg
capris with a matching tee. The whole ensemble looked like it was painted on her. He shook his head, trying to figure out exactly what his main man saw in that high-priced whore.

B
ambi knew that this was the house she had followed Lynx to, but she had no idea whose house it was. It was in one of the nicer, secluded communities in Richmond. It had a finished wood stain on the outside. The interior of the house was like something out of a magazine: high, vaulted ceiling, skylights, sunken den and living room, and a three-car garage. All the furniture was white throughout the downstairs of the house, from what she could tell.

She reached what she figured had to be Lynx’s room because it was the only room with a closed door. Without even knocking she slowly opened the door and peeped in. The large colonial-style California king-sized bedroom suite didn’t even take up half the room. Neither did the chaise chair and theatersized television.
He had to have a wall or two knocked out to have such a spacious bedroom,
she thought. She loved the crisp white linen on the bed and the custom-made drapes to match.

The furniture and unique architecture of the house was a visual appetizer. Now her eyes really took in the main course. Lynx was asleep on the bed naked. She stood over him, admiring the total package as he snored lightly. Lynx had the prettiest dick she had ever seen in her life. While she watched him sleep, she decided that she’d call Egypt to see if she’d made it to the penitentiary yet. She was expecting to leave a message, but Egypt picked up.

“Hey, girl,” Bambi said.

“Hey, girl, what you doing?”

“Girl, I am at Lynx’s house in his room, watching him sleep. You haven’t made it there yet?”

“I’ve just left there.”

“What happened?”

“Girl, you don’t want to know,” Egypt said with a sigh.

“I can only imagine, but tell me.” Bambi was more eager to know than she let on.

“Girl, got all the way up there and almost got busted.” “

What? What you mean ‘busted’? How in the hell you gon’ get busted at the damn slammer jammer?”

“Girl, listen, you know I be going to see Moe up Powhatan, right?”

“Right,” Bambi said, wishing Egypt would hurry up and get the story out.

“Well, today I was going to see Jay. He’s up in Coffeewood.” “Right?” “Well, when I got up there, it was packed like sardines in a can. So, I had to ride around the parking lot to try to find a parking spot. Girl, and guess whose car I saw?”

“Whose, girl?” Bambi said.

“That gotdamn motor mouth Amy, and you know like I know that bitch will blow anybody’s spot up at the drop of a dime. And Moe is up in Powhatan with Amy’s cousin, too. I knew before I could get back to Richmond, Amy would have already gotten word to Moe through her cousin that’s locked up with him. By no means am I trying to fuck up the money I get every month from Moe. So I busted a U-turn and sped out the parking lot, and now I’m on my way back to Richmond.”

“Girl, you are crazy, but I am not even going to lie. I would have done the same damn thing.”

“Girl, but that ain’t even the funny part,” Egypt said with a laugh.

“What else?” “Okay, there’s this man who circles the prison like every two minutes—I guess patrolling the perimeter—in this white state-issued pickup truck. Right?

“Okay.”

“Girl, when I saw Amy’s car, I put the pedal to the metal and got the heck out of Dodge.”

“Right. Right.” Bambi was waiting for the funny part to come.

“Well, how about the rent-a-cop dude had the nerve to try to come behind me to pull me over. I kept going until I couldn’t see the penitentiary, and then I pulled over.”

“What did he say?”

“Talking about I was speeding and I could get in a lot of trouble. So, you know me—I asked him what kind of trouble. He gon’ tell me he can take my visits. I told that fake-ass cop, I don’t give a damn. Take them ma’fuckas because you won’t see me up here anymore anyway and sped off again. He put the siren on this time. I didn’t even stop. His truck couldn’t keep up with me, and by then I was off the prison property.”

“Girl, let me find out you was on the high-speed chase from a rental cop.”

They both laughed, and Bambi’s laughter woke Lynx up. He saw her, and for a minute thought he was dreaming. Then he focused and realized that it was actually Bambi in the flesh. Without saying anything, he got up and went into the bathroom to take a dump, brush his teeth, and wash his face. When he returned Bambi brought her conversation with Egypt to an end and turned her attention to him. For a second her heart
began to pound. She didn’t know whether Lynx was angry or what for her showing up at his house unannounced.

“How you find out where I live?” he asked.

“Well, I’m happy to see you, too.”

He looked at her coldly, and she knew he wanted an answer. “If you were focused, then maybe you would know.”

“If? If? If ‘if’ was a fifth, we’d all be drunk. Now I’m asking you again, how you find out where I live?”

She didn’t know how to read the expression on his face. She responded nervously, “Ummm, let’s just say, let’s just say, I saw to it that you got home safe last night.”

He looked at her and then said, “Come here.

“You look nice,” he said to her as he took her in his arms, hugged her, and kissed her on the forehead.

Though the hug lasted only about five seconds, it had her all to pieces. It had been so long since she had been hugged by someone she actually liked that she had forgotten what it felt like. When he let go, she wanted another but wouldn’t dare ask for one or initiate one; she didn’t want to seem too mushy.

Bambi and Lynx hung out all day. They stopped at Kentucky Fried Chicken and had a picnic at Maymont Park after walking through and checking out all the animals. They sat on the little blanket and talked for hours, getting to know each other.

She felt a little awkward because when they were inside KFC, a guy Bambi had seen at a lot of her parties spoke to Lynx.

When he thought Bambi wasn’t paying attention, he asked, “Are you with her?”

“Yup, that’s my baby,” Lynx responded.

“Damn, man, I didn’t know that. Just watch yo’self because I heard she will trick you out your money,” the guy said. Bambi
was getting ketchup for the french fries, but she could hear plenty.

“Only if a nigga let her. I’m too smart for that, but good looking out, man,” Lynx said. Bambi joined Lynx and pretended she hadn’t heard a thing, but she felt bad about her rep. Maybe some of it was true. She had taught a few so-called players a valuable lesson about messing with women in the months after she had schooled that rattlesnake Smooth. But a lot of it was just haters talking about shit they didn’t even know, who wished they could see firsthand what she was about.

Later that night they went to Lynx’s house, and he invited her in to watch the movie
Rush Hour,
which he’d purchased earlier that day. They went to his bedroom, and he took off her shoes and told her to get comfortable. As she lay across the bed, he began to give her a massage. He unsnapped her bra, telling her to turn over, and when she did he put her perky chocolate breasts in his mouth and began to suck on them. She wanted to tell him to stop, but she couldn’t make her lips say it.

What if I told him and he really did stop? Damn that shit feels good as hell. I ain’t going to say a word. I am just going to ride the wave.

And that’s what she did. She rode him like a cowgirl. The only thing was, she didn’t have a lasso. Though she was in excruciating pain because of his size, she took it like a real woman. The next morning her whole body was so sore she felt as if she had run in a marathon. Lying in his arms, she realized that this was what she had been missing. Sure, she had a box of vibrators that could make her come as many times a day as she wanted, and without a doubt, they did a damn good job. But it was not until she lay in Lynx’s arms that she realized she had missed having a warm body to comfort her.

She spent the next few weeks making up for what she’d been
missing. She and Lynx tried different restaurants, went to the movies, museum, and took walks. They enjoyed one another’s company and easily made the transition into one another’s lives. They both had respect for the other’s hustle, neither questioning the other about what he or she really did. They were seeing each other exclusively, but neither had made a formal commitment.