'Til Death (16 page)

              "Really? Introductions are needed then," Sky said, while walking up to Heaven.

              "Hello, I'm Sky, a friend of the family." Sky extended her hand towards Heaven.

              Heaven glanced at me before accepting Sky’s hand in hers. "Hi, I'm Heaven."

              "Pretty name. You look just like your mother. Tell her I said hello." Sky gave her a fake smile and I just shook my head.

Sky walked up to me. "That was petty." I said to her.

I saw Culprit walk in the store, and he looked at me and shook his head. Culprit started laughing and came and sat right next to Heaven. Avery followed Culprit into the store and sat on the other side of Heaven.

              "Boan, don't keep me waiting. I don't like to be wet for long," Sky said, walking away. I hoped Heaven hadn't heard that. I looked over, and Culprit and Avery were distracting her, trying to give her a gym-shoe lesson. I walked back over to Heaven.

              "Have you decided what you wanted?" I asked.

              "Yea. Culprit and Avery think I should get these two." She showed me the gym shoes, which were both a pair of Jordan’s.

              "Ok," I said.

Heaven walked away and went to go tell the clerk her size.

              "Yo, funny that you run into Sky, because I ran into Camille." Culprit took his hat off and shook his head rubbing his hands through his hair.

              "Damn, must be something about today then." I couldn't believe the odds of that and wondered what would of happened if the girls were with us.

              "What y'all niggas got up for tonight? I want to hit up some shit." Avery said.

              "Shit, me and Lo going to some event tonight."

              "That's why you got that square-ass tux, son?" Avery said, laughing. I laughed too, and Culprit just shook his head.

              "Ciara and I ain't doing shit. I'm sure Tosh ain't doing shit either," I said.

              "Naw, don't bring Shorty," Avery said.

              "What's wrong with Tosh?" Culprit asked.

              "I mean, shit, nothing. I don't know; she just seem young and narcissistic to me."

              "Naw, Tosh cool, you just got to get to know her," Culprit said.

              "I know she’s digging you." I teased but it was pretty obvious.

              "I'm looking for a wife, not a fuck. I'm thirty years old, son. Tosh just seem like a spoiled kid to me," Avery said.

              "I know the lames she usually fuck with be eating out the palm of her hand," Culprit said.

              "Yea, and I'm not that type of nigga," Avery said. My phone started vibrating on my hip. I unclipped it, and it was Ciara calling me.  

              "What's up?" I walked away from the conversation that Culprit and Avery continued to have.

              "You still at the mall?" Ciara asked.

              "Yea, why you miss me?" I was hoping she was going to say yea because I missed her too.

              "Yes."

              I started to smile. "I know you do." I said into the phone.

              "Whatever, nigga. When you coming back?"

              "I don't know. Do you need anything?" I asked her.

              "Yea some ice cream. Where is Heaven?" I could tell she was moving around because of the muffling from her phone.

              "Buying some shoes."

              "Let me speak to her." I walked up to Heaven and handed her the phone. I listened to her and Ciara talk.

              "Yea, I love you too, mom. Oh and Sky, the friend of the family, told me to tell you hi. I figured I'll tell you now before I forget," Heaven said. My heart dropped in my stomach. I watched Heaven’s eyes get real big.

              "Oh," Heaven said. She looked down and handed me the phone.

              "Yea," I said.

              "What the fuck, Boan, for real?" Ciara practically screamed in my ear.

              "Man, chill out," I said.

              "Naw, nigga. Matter of fact, don't bring me shit. I'll go get my own damn ice cream," Ciara said, then hung up. I put my phone back on the phone clip.

              "I'm sorry, Boan, I didn't know my mom didn't like her," Heaven said in a hurry.

              "Naw, you good. Come on, let's finish buying shit," I said.

Ciara

              If Boan was still fucking with Sky, I swore I would shoot him and her both. I hopped in my car and went to the nearest store to buy some butter pecan ice cream, then I sat in the car and ate it. Lo and Tosh hadn't even texted me. Bitches. I began to drive to nowhere in particular; I just drove around. I thought I should go see Boan's mother Sheila, but for some reason, I found myself sitting outside of my old drug warehouse. It now belonged to Tez. His car was in the parking lot. Fuck it. I reached under my seat and grabbed my Desert Eagle 50 Caliber. I made sure it was loaded, and put it in my huge purse. I got out and walked up to the door. I still had a key, so I used it to get in. Everybody looked up when I entered the door. They stood there shocked, and stared at me.

              "I'm only here to talk to Tez," I said. Nobody said anything. I walked upstairs where my old office used to be. I opened the door, and Tez looked up. I could tell he was shocked. I walked in and closed the door.

              "What do I owe this pleasure?" Tez said.

              "How did we get here?" I said to him. I cut right to the chase.

              "You left me hanging and married another nigga. What you mean?"

              "Tez, you were my best friend." I explained to him, wondering if he could hear the pain in my voice.

              "I was never your best friend. I was always more than that, and you know it," Tez’s tone was harsh with me and I could tell he was hurt too.

              "I never meant to hurt you." I reassured him, not sure if it would do any good.

              "Well, you did; so." Tez shrugged his shoulders as if the subject didn't no longer matter.

              "But you fucked Tosh. You never told me about that."

              "So what, you're fucking married to Boan. The plan was for you to use him, and take all his fucking money, and his connect, and his turf. How the fuck you end up fallin’ in love with the target?" He yelled.

              "I didn't mean to, it just happened." I told him softly.

              "Clearly." Tez said, while shaking his head.

              "I'm sorry."

              "Yea, now look at you. A suburban housewife to a washed-up drug-lord. It was supposed to be me and you against the world. Instead, you joined the world and turned your back on me. You don't know what loyalty is."

              "I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry,Tez." I got up, and before I knew it, Tez came from around the desk and had me pinned up against the wall. My purse fell to the floor and I didn't have anything with which to defend myself. I stared at Tez, who stared right back at me.

              "I'll never stop loving you," Tez whispered. He kissed me hard. I tried to push him, but he kept kissing me. Tez pressed his body against me. I grabbed his neck to push him off of me, but nothing was working. I bit his lip hard and drew blood. Tez stepped back and slapped the hell out of me. I couldn't believe it. I fell to the floor and grabbed my nose. It was bleeding. I reached into my purse and grabbed my gun. Tez grabbed me by my shirt, and I hit him upside the head, knocking him out cold. I used my shirt to stop the blood and calmly walked out of his office. I walked out of the warehouse and went to my Camaro. I started it up and drove straight to Tosh’s apartment. There was a pizza man coming out, so I didn't have to call Tosh to buzz me up. I rode to her floor and exited the elevator. Her door was the first one on the left-hand side. Tosh had one of the biggest apartments in the building. I banged on the door and waited for her to answer. I kept banging on the door.

              "Hold the hell on!" I heard Tosh scream from the other side. She swung open the door, wrapped in a sheet. She saw my face and her eyes got big. I walked into her apartment.

              "Am I interrupting something?" I asked.

              "No, I just like to sleep naked. What the hell happened to you? Did Boan do this?" Tosh asked.

              "No . . . but Tez did," I said.

              "Oooooh bitch."

              "Yes I know."

              "I'll be back," Tosh stated. She went to her bedroom and threw on some clothes. She then walked into the kitchen. She came back with a warm, wet, rag and a bag of ice. Tosh wiped the blood off my face then applied the ice pack.

              "Now tell me what the fuck happened?" I began to explain what happened between me and Tez, and Tosh just shook her head.

              "I don't even know why you went over there," Tosh said. I looked at her.

              "I really haven't had time to ask you this, but what happened between you and Tez?" I asked her.

              "We had sex a couple of times. This was before I knew about you two, of course. I never told you, because he told me that you didn't like for your close friends to date, so," Tosh said while shrugging her shoulders.

              "He didn't want you to tell me, because I was fucking him too."

              "Yea I figured that. But listen, your ass is pregnant now,Ciara. You can't be running off into shit that can get you killed. Chill out," Tosh said.

              "You never did like me being in the drug game, did you?"

              "No. I always thought you were just too smart and pretty for that." I laughed at Tosh. She always knew how to brighten up somebody’s mood.

              "What you doing tonight?" I asked.

              "Shit, nothing."

              "Come over, because I'm mad at Boan and I need a distraction. Heaven made plans to go over Sheila’s house tonight," I said.

              "Is Avery going to be there?" Tosh raised her eyebrows and placed an innocent look on her face.

              "Damn, you thirsty ain't you." I laughed at her.

              "I'm not trying to fall in love with the man. I just want to look at him in all his sexy glory."

              "And if you do end up falling in love, your world is going to be turned upside down."

              "Exactly why I never fell in love in the first place."

Lo

              The event had started at seven; it was eight, and I still wasn't ready. I just got out of the shower and was applying lotion. Culprit got there late, and was in the other room getting dressed. I was nervous because I never brought any man around my colleagues with the exception of one, and I knew he was going to be there. I looked at my black strapless Jovani dress that hung on my every curve when I put it on. My hair was up in a bun, and I’d just got a new manicure and pedicure. As soon as I stepped into my dress, Culprit walked into my bedroom. I looked at him and my breath stopped. He looked so sexy in his black tux. His hair was freshly cut and lined up, and so was his facial hair. He had on some Cartier clear glasses and a Rolex watch.

              "You need help?" he asked. I nodded, because I couldn't form words. He came around and zipped me up. He stepped back and looked at me.

              "How do I look?" I asked.

              "Beautiful." Culprit answered like I shouldn't even be asking the question.

              "Yea, well you clean up good too." I was being honest. He looked damn sexy and the tux fitted him to perfection.

              "How about we just don't go and stay in tonight?" Culprit said, while wrapping his arms around my waist.

              "I have to go. But later on tonight when we leave, I'm sure we can find something to do."

              "I'm sure we can, and I got you something." Culprit pulled a box out of his pocket; I recognized it as being from Tiffany's. He opened it; it was a diamond-studded tennis bracelet. He placed it on my right wrist and leaned down and kissed me.

              "Thank you. I feel bad because I didn't get you anything." I admired the bracelet on my wrist wondering how much he even spent.

              "You good, I got your back, and that's the best gift in the world." I smiled at him and shook my head.

              "What?"

              "You milking it tonight huh?" I said, while laughing.

              "I plan on milking it tonight," Culprit said while walking out of the door.