The Plug's Daughter (5 page)

              “Hmm, what about Trell?” She asked throwing me off my square with that question.

              My stomach churned and suddenly I felt queasy. I was starting to get tired of my boyfriend of only six months already. It was like he had changed over such a short period of time and it wasn’t for the better. I was surprised to see that he didn’t give a fuck about who my father was. The bad thing about that was the fact that Trell knew his reputation. My pops would end a nigga’s life for me and that was just the way it was. Still, Trell didn’t care and he knew that I was in a bad spot.

              “Fuck him. That nigga’s not who I thought he was. You’d think since we practically grew up together that he’d treat me with at least an ounce of respect.”

              My bestie didn’t say anything for a while. “You left Atlanta when you were eleven Jasenia. You don’t know him anymore.”

              That reminded me of what Keenyn had said earlier. I had been telling Nadia all about our little reunion before she brought Trell up. Yeah, a decade could make a drastic difference in a person, but something told me that Keenyn hadn’t changed. I was certain that he was still the same cool, laid back person that I’d known when I was a little girl. Trell on the other hand was still the same rude, mischievous boy from my childhood. I thought he’d grown up, but he hadn’t. Not one bit. Now I understood why my father never wanted me around him when I was younger.

Even now that I was grown he still talked about how much he didn’t respect Trell, who was now a ruthless, dope boy.

              Damn, a bitch like me just loved those damn street niggas. A thug was just, mmm, so appealing to me. Maybe it was because the first man that I’d ever loved was a thug. My father was my hero and I longed for a man like him. True, I was a very intelligent, refined young lady. I’d gone to boarding school in London and studied abroad during the summers in France and even South Africa. It was a worldly experience that had taught me a lot about life.

              I was supposed to graduate from college in the winter and my major in Biochemistry was not the easiest. Regardless of that, I still loved those bad boys. I’d dated college guys, and even professional men who made six or seven figures, but they were all boring as hell. Not only that, but college guys couldn’t afford me. My father had set a standard that they just couldn’t compete with. Although a professional man could afford me, he just couldn’t hold my interest for too long. The shit was frustrating as hell, because it was clear that a bad boy was nothing but a clear route to jail or the grave.                           

              I sighed. “You’re right DiDi. It’s like…I’on know. He just seems so…aggressive lately and I think he’s cheating on me. It hasn’t even been a year yet and I’m feeling like this already. I moved here to be with him…” My thoughts drifted because that wasn’t the only reason that I’d moved to Atlanta. Of course I’d told my father that I was there to spend more time with him as well, but there was so much more to the story.

              Not only did I suspect that Trell was cheating on me, but he was becoming more and more intolerable by the day. For some odd reason I still wanted to work it out with him. Then another part of me just wanted to let it go. Something told me that despite who my father was, shit wasn’t going to be that easy when it came to Trell.

              “Don’t be nobody’s fool boo. The Sen that I know won’t allow any nigga to play her. Don’t switch up on me, or I’m gonna have to disown your ass.”

              We both laughed.

              “You’re right. I’m gonna have to put my foot down with his ass and remind him of what the fuck he got. I ain’t some low budget, no class having ass hoe runnin’ ‘round this bitch. Fuck that shit. I won’t allow him to treat me like I’m some thot. I’m far from that. I’m almost done with my degree, I push a Range, got my own place and all types of shit in my walk in closet. He must not know ‘bout
this bitch
. Shit. Those hoes he been fuckin’ must have their hands out and shit, because I don’t need him. Mendosa’s my father and I ain’t gotta want for a muthafuckin’ thing. Hmm.” I was all out of breath.

              Nadia’s cackle of a laugh was contagious and even with the bullshit going on in my life, I couldn’t help but join in. “Damn bitch. Your ass done went off and shit.”

              “For real. Shit. I’m gonna call him and tell him to come over so we can talk. I have to get this shit off my chest before I do something crazy with all of these fucked up ass emotions girl.”

              “I feel you boo. Just be careful, because from what you’ve told me he’s a beer short of a six pack. Don’t make me have to call my goons and make a trip up there. You know I will bitch.”

              That made me smile because my boo was a ride or die all day every day. “I know. Let me call that fool. I’ll hit you up tomorrow. Okay.”

              “Okay,” she agreed. “Love you chica.”

              “And I love you back. Muah!”

              We hung up and I decided to wait and call Trell when I got home. In a way I was hoping that Keenyn would call me. Damn, if only I’d ran into him that night instead of Trell.

*  *  *

              Instead of calling Trell right away, I decided to strip down and take a nice, long, hot shower. Water always seemed to relax me and I needed to wind down before we talked. At the moment I needed to get my thoughts together. Something told me that it wasn’t going to be easy to get through to him.

My choice to move to Atlanta was only going to prove to be hazardous if we stayed together, but with the situation that I’d gotten into, it was my only choice. Although he didn’t know what was going on, I had to be closer to my father. I needed his protection just in case some crazy shit that I’d done came back to haunt me like a ghost.

             
The sensual aroma of my Gucci Guilty body wash filled the confines of the bathroom as steam covered the glass door of the shower. Brown and beige Italian Marble tiles surrounded me as the water’s pressure beat down on my weary body. Instead of clearing my mind, the shower only seemed to make me think more.

              Thoughts of Trell were swimming around in my mental despite the ritual that usually relaxed me. I sighed as the hot tears fell down my cheeks, mixing with the stream of water that spewed from the double shower head. It was seven months ago when I ran into Trell at a hot spot in downtown Miami.

              “Sen, that you?” A deep, masculine voice called out behind me when I was on my way out.

              I spun around in my six inch stiletto heels and was face to face with so much fineness that I almost lost my balance. His face didn’t register in my memory, which caused me to ask the next question.

              “Who the fuck are you?” My first thought was to be defensive because I didn’t know what that nigga was up to. Did he know who my father was? Was he there to gun me down in front of a packed ass club? I knew that anything could happen with the lifestyle that my father lived and I was prepared.

              He grinned, flashing one sexy dimple and an iced out grill. I wasn’t really feeling the grill, but I was feeling his features and his build. He was about 6’2, with flawless, cocoa brown skin that was covered in neatly trimmed facial hair. I mean, his side burns, beard and moustache were on point. It was obvious that he was a dope boy and I wondered what hot whip in the parking lot belonged to him.

              “Damn, you a feisty one. You don’t know who I am shawty?” His forehead creased as he pushed his eyebrows together, feigning surprise.

              His accent sounded like he was from ATL, but I hadn’t really spent much time there since I was a kid. My dad would often come to Miami to visit me. He wanted to keep me and his lifestyle separate after him and my mother’s divorce. Honestly, I liked Miami better and after spending so much time out of the States, I was glad to be studying at home.

              “Am I supposed to know you or something?” My hands were on my hips and I threw mad attitude as I narrowed my eyes into slits. How else would he know my name?

              That sexy ass grin invaded his handsome face again. My eyes were on his muscular arms and wide chest. His waist was slim and I could only imagine what he was packing in those dark blue jeans. I could tell that he’d just pulled the tags off. Even his J’s were crisp like they’d just been taken out of the box.

              “Wow, you can’t be for real right now.” His smile was gone and he looked genuinely disappointed that I didn’t recognize him.

              Then I thought about that time last year, when I visited my father for New Years. Nadia had gone with me and of course we partied like two wild, ratchet ass bitches. We both got pissy drunk and I woke up in a hotel suite at the W with some strange nigga. I woke up the next morning butt naked and he was sprawled next to me. Immediately I thought about my dad. I couldn’t be that reckless because of him.

              When I looked in the trash can and saw the Magnum wrapper I felt relieved. At least he’d used protection. All I could do was hope he’d kept it on because I didn’t remember shit. As I got dressed and stumbled out of the bedroom I ran into Nadia who was walking out of another bedroom. I hadn’t been to ATL since. Was he that nigga? I honestly could not remember his face at all.

              “Uh, I’m for real and if you don’t tell me who you are by the time the valet pulls my Range up, it won’t matter. I got shit to do,” I snapped.

              The sexy stranger glanced down at his platinum Rolex and shook his head. “What the hell you gotta do at 3 am other than go get some breakfast wit’ me?”

              I couldn’t help but smile sexily at that. “Just go ahead and tell me how you know my name, and I might.”

              “I’m Trell. We used to go to school together back in Atlanta. C’mon shawty, we played in the sandbox together and shit,” he said with that smile on his face again.

              “How the hell did you recognize me in a dark ass club after ten years?” I asked suddenly giving him a suspicious look.

              Honestly, I still didn’t remember him.

              “Nah shawty, I remember when you came down to visit your pops a while back. I was at Lenox Mall wit’ my nigga Jus and he pointed yo’ fine ass out talkin’ ‘bout you Mendosa’s daughter. I never stopped thinkin’ ‘bout yo’ fine ass, so I can’t help but remember you. It just so happened that I came down here wit’ a couple of my niggas. I saw you a few times in the club and I was wondering if it was you. Once we got out here where it’s some light, I knew it was. Like I said, I’d never forget a face…or a body like yours. Real talk.”

              That long ass speech had my attention, but I had to give my ticket to the valet and move on.

              “How long will you be here?” I asked as I unlocked my car door with the remote key.

              “A few more days,” he said vaguely as his eyes scanned my face and then dropped to the cleavage that was oozing out of my low cut top.

              “It’s too soon for me to go to breakfast with you. Maybe we’ll get together before you leave. What’s your number?” I was playing it safe because I’d made so many bad decisions about men in the past. Repeating history over and over again was not my thing.

              As he recited each digit I punched it into my phone and then saved his name as Trell ATL. Once I was behind the wheel heading away from the club, I remembered exactly who he was. His name was Latrell Robertson and we had gone to elementary and middle school together. Of course he looked different after ten years and he went by the nickname Rocky back then. A smile spread across my face, but soon faded. I could remember my father telling me how much he couldn’t stand Trell when we were kids.

              When I thought about it, I could kind of understand why. Trell wasn’t as polite and respectful as Keenyn. He loved to fight and cussed like a sailor. I could remember when Trell came to my tenth birthday party and my pops called his father to tell him to come get him. That fool was wreaking havoc like a human version of the Tasmanian Devil. Not only was he starting fights with all of the kids, including the girls, but he went off and broke a window just because he couldn’t break the pinata.

              Lost in my thoughts, I turned the water off and grabbed a towel as I stepped out of the shower. Without even drying off, I walked into my bedroom and called Trell.

              “Shawty…sup ma?”

              I rolled my eyes starting to resent the small things that I liked about him at first. He had swag and he was a brash, shit talking ass nigga. That had initially turned me on, but now I was wondering if I should’ve took his behavior as a kid as a warning sign. I liked dope boys who made lots of money and did all types of foul shit in the streets, but I didn’t like being mistreated. One thing I didn’t take was a man’s abuse. With a father like Mendosa, I didn’t have to.

              “Nothing. I just got out of the shower,” I said before getting straight to the point. “We need to talk.”

              “Y’en wait for yo’ man shawty? Damn, that’s fucked up, but it’s cool. I’m pullin’ up now, so I guess I’m right in time for that talk huh?” His voice proved his disinterest.

              I was sure that he didn’t take what I said seriously. Trell tended to be shallow as hell and didn’t have a deep bone in his body. Not only did that nigga do all types of illegal shit, but he didn’t give a fuck who he hurt while doing it. As long as he got his paper, he was good. It wasn’t just about making money either. He enjoyed everything that came with his lifestyle, especially murder.