URBAN: In Love with A Boss Nigga (12 page)

“Why not?”

“Every time I’m at your house, your brother is there with some chick.”

“Don’t be mad at my older brother having some game.”

“Game? You call sloppy bitches with ugly weave game? C’mon son, nobody should be bragging about those chicks and talking about some game.”

“Whatever.”

It was their lunch period and they spent it arguing as young men did. Who would win in a fight? How many girls could they get? When are the Knicks going to win a championship? Just the simple questions young boys asked one another. The bell rang and the boys made their way in the hallway.

“So where to now? What we got? English? Math? I never remember the schedule.” Lionel complained.

“We got math with Mr. Borno.” Antwon reminded.

“I really don’t want to go.” He whined.

“Lionel Taylor report to the main office.” The intercom announced.

“Damn, son you mad lucky. Catch you later?” Antwon and Lionel exchanged hands and parted ways.

Lionel walked to the main office wondering what it could be. He thought of all the pranks he’d pull recently. He attached a sign on the back of one of the teachers, but they found out about that. He tagged up the bathroom walls but nobody ever got in trouble for that. Just then his eyes opened wide. He finally remembered. Yesterday he pulled the fire alarm. He was sure that no one saw him, but maybe he was wrong. He was praying they didn’t call his mother, Yvette.

Yvette Carlton was his tough love mother. She had him when she was only 20 years old. It was after one night of heavy drinking and calling an old flame. All she remembered from that night was knocking on his door and that is it. Two months later she was throwing up and seven months after that, she was giving birth. With the help of her brother Maxwell, she went to school and became a nurse. Sometimes being a nurse meant that she worked crazy shifts. So there were times that Lionel found himself home alone during the day and with his Uncle at night. She was caring but she didn’t mind putting a foot up Lionel’s ass if he needed. He knew that if the school called his mother and she had to come home from work, that he would have a sensible yet stylish nurse’s shoes up his ass.

As he walked in the office, he saw Ms. Cabrera and his homeroom teacher Mr. Raymond. When they both saw him, they looked to the principal.

“Mr. Taylor, may you please have a seat.” His principal brought him into his office. He walked slowly behind him with his shoulders slumped. He could feel the tension in the air. Something was wrong. Perhaps there was a witness to him pulling the fire alarm. “Your mother is on her way here.”

“Why?” He looked around. The two teachers were avoiding eye contact. “I didn’t do anything wrong.” He was going to deny until they provided some sort of evidence.

“We’ve received some news and we’ve been told to tell you before your mother gets here.” He took a deep breath in. “I don’t know how to tell you this but your Uncle is dead.”

The principal was still speaking but Lionel clocked out. He didn’t hear a word after he was informed that his Uncle was dead. Surely there had been a mistake. His Uncle was a cautious man; a healthy man. He went running every morning in Prospect Park; so he was in great shape. He had many friends; you can find no one to say something negative about him. He didn’t have any enemies. No, they have the wrong guy, Lionel thought.

“Did you say that my Uncle is dead. My Uncle? Maxell Carlton?” His eyes welled up. Ms Cabrera kneeled next to him.

“I’m so sorry.” She apologize rubbing his back.

“Yes, I’m sorry as well.” His homeroom teacher spoke up. “If there’s anything that you need from me Lionel, I’m here.”

“My Uncle is dead.” He repeated it back to himself. “He’s dead.” The tears started slowly but surely.

“I’m sorry.” Ms. Cabrera told him again and this time embraced him in a hug.

As his head laid against her breasts, Lionel couldn’t help but think of how different everything was. Just a couple of hours ago, he was wondering how it would feel to be against her chest. Now that he was there, it was nothing like he imagined.

But that was then. It was nearly nine years after the death of his Uncle. Lionel tries his hardest to forget his Uncle, but every time he got carried away with sports, it always brought him back to that day. One minute he was cheering for his beloved Knicks and the next he was back to that main office. He tried to shake out the memory as he watched the game.

“Must you yell at the TV?” Renee asked him as she plopped next to him. “I’m in the kitchen and all I hear is you bitchin’ at some ball players. It’s just a game Leo.” She rolled her eyes.

“Just a game?” He scoffed. “You’ll never understand.”

“No because I don’t get worked up about silly shit like that.”

“Oh you don’t? So the Real Housewives and their drama is okay?”

“Shut up.” She pushed him.

“Yeah I thought so.” He ate a handful of chips. “I think that whole reality TV crap is bullshit, but you don’t see me complaining.”

“Shut up.”

“You’re going to learn to stop telling me to shut up in my apartment.”

“Your apartment? Boy, bye! This is your mama crib! And you don’t pay bills or rent so don’t try that angle with me.”

“Shut up.”

“Make me.”

He started kissing her and grabbed her body on top of his. She straddled him and took off her shirt. When he saw her breasts sitting in a lace bra, he smiled. He looked at this 5’5, cocoa brown beauty with her short pixie haircut and her model face. They met in front of a club. He walked past her while she waited in line. He walked back and smiled at her. She tilted her head and scanned him up and down. He was 6’2, with a low cut fade, and beautiful smile. She usually never went for guys she met in the club, but there was something about him. So she gave him her number and the rest is history. She was trying to get him to commit to something, but every time she brought it up, he dismissed it. He would just say why would they complicate things?

He brought his mouth to her breast. He licked the nipple and slightly bit it softly. She moaned and rolled her hips. She felt him get more erect beneath her. He slid her skirt up and moved her underwear to the side. He pulled down his pants and his boxers. He entered her and looked at her face. She bit her lip and rolled her hips. He leaned back and enjoyed her pace. She was now moving up and down on him. When he grunted, she slowed down and rolled her hips again.

“Keep going like that.” He groaned as she bounced up and down. He grabbed her hips and helped her along. She started yelling and put her hands on his chest.

“Slow down baby.”

“I’m almost there.”

“But I’m not.” She told him but he kept moving her along.

“Then you better catch up.” He warned her because he could feel it coming on. The tingling feeling started at his knees.

“Just slow down.” But when he grunted and sighed, she knew it was over.

“Fuckin’ bullshit!” She huffed climbing off of him. “You do this every time!” She started to fix herself up. “Every time we fuck, you cum first and I don’t!” She threw her hair into a ponytail.

“It’s not that serious.”

“Yes it is! You’re so fucking selfish, everything is all about you. I’d like for things to be about me for once. What about me?”

“Damn girl, why you gotta be so over-fucking-dramatic!” He stood up fixing his pants.

“I don’t know Leo, why do you got to be such an asshole? Would it kill you to try to get me off?”

“This…” He shrugged his shoulders.

“What? Are you afraid that you can’t last that long?”

“Watch your mouth bitch.” He snapped.

“Ooh! Did I hit a nerve?” She walked to the door.

“Nah, you didn’t hit a nerve.” He scoffed.

“Whatever one minute man.” She walked out of the apartment.

“Bitch, the only reason I nut so fast is because I wish you had some walls for me to feel. No wall, deep pussy bitch!” He cursed her out.

His insults echoed in the hallway. The people that were out there stared and started laughing. He glared at them and they turned around. He was just about to go inside when he saw a woman staring at him. She was 5’6 caramel, curvy, with beautiful hazel eyes. Her long black hair was in wavy tresses that framed her face. She was lugging in some suitcases.

“Hey.” He leaned against his door frame. “You moving in?”

“Yeah.” She whispered. Although she spoke softly, he could detect an accent.

“Where are you from?”

“North Carolina.”

“Oh wow, that’s what’s up.” He looked her up and down. “Where are you moving to? What’s your apartment number?”

“I don’t know.” She fished into her pocket and pulled a piece of paper. “Umm B23? Am I on the right side? I saw that the building split into two side and I was afraid I came in the wrong one.”

“No you’re on the right side. In fact B23 is just right over there across from the elevators.” He pointed out to her.

“Okay.”

“Wait a minute.” He stopped her while she was walking away. “You’re one of the foster kids?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

“Everyone knows about Ms. Rita.” He sighed.

Ms. Rita was a woman that sadly abused the government system. She figured that if she had a lot of foster children that the government would give her some great cutbacks. So on top of the money she received for every child, she was on the food stamp program, cash assistance program, and also rental assistance. She also applied for disability claiming that she was too injured to work, even though that wasn’t true. She loved getting all the money and if she spent it on the children, it would have been fine. But the whole building knew she had a nasty drug and alcohol habit to go with the bad attitude she had.

“I’m guessing she’s not that nice.” Giselle sighed. “That’s really the last thing I need now.”

“Yeah…”

“Today just keeps getting worse.” She spoke to no one in particular. “It’s going to be a long year.”

“You’re 17.” He put the pieces together.

“For a whole year.” She smiled for the first time and he smiled back.

“Well, welcome to the building. Good luck with Ms. Rita. You’re really going to need it.”

Lionel went back inside the apartment. He peeked at the new resident and saw her ring the doorbell. He knew what awaited her in there. She was going to get treated like trash while Ms. Rita went on to cash her money for drugs. At least she didn’t have to stay there for longer than a year. When he saw her walk inside, he hoped for the best for her.

“Lionel!” His mother yelled. “Come here and eat some breakfast!” She set down the plate of pancakes, eggs, and bacon. “Boy, don’t let me start screaming again.”

“I’m here already.” He went and kissed his Mom on the cheek. “You know you don’t have to do this right? I’m not a little kid anymore. I’m a man.”

“Man or kid, you’re still my son. A mother can’t cook for her son anymore?” She sat next to him. “Besides, isn’t today the day of your big interview? You can’t expect to wow your hiring managers if you’re starving. Trust me if there is one thing I know, it’s how to get a job.”

“Oh boy, here comes to the whole speech.”

“What speech?”

“The one about how you had me and you worked throughout most of your pregnancy and went right back to work after only six days.”

“Boy hush and eat your food.” She laughed. “You know I’m proud of you.”

“I know Mom, but I know you’d be prouder of me if I went to college.”

“You have to find your own path.” She started eating huge fork loads of the food.

“You have to go back to work?”

“Yup. I’m technically not here. I’m only working so hard because I want to buy a house. I’m so close.” She took another forkful. “I got to run.” She kissed his forehead and she was out.

Lionel ate breakfast alone. He’d grown accustomed to it. He missed his Mother a lot when he was younger, but after the death of his Uncle, she cut back a lot of hours from work. She tried to make sure she squeezed in some time with him. She took him to some games when she could and if it was something as simple as dinner at home she did it. After he graduated high school and turned 18, she took some more hours so that she could save up for a house.

His cell phone ringing made him drop his dirty dishes in the sink. He knew how much his mother hated it but he would always be home before her, so he’d just washed them then.

“What’s up?” He greeted his friend Antwon once he saw his name flash across his phone.

“Nothing much kid, just checking up on my boy. What’s good with you?”

“Chillin’ son. I got this big job interview today.”

“Oh yeah, what is it?”

“Just something in a retail store. Some shipping position.”

“How much does that pay?”

“Minimum wage.”

“Damn son, why you being a sucka?”

“A sucka? Is it the eighties again?”

“Whatever nigga, I’m just saying now you know you can make more bread with me… You and me take over the block, push some products, and make way more money than that.”

“Aww…”

“Come on, son. I got your back and you got mine. It’ll be like how it always been, but this time we making paper.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“A’ight.” His friend sighed. “So what’s up with you and Renee?”

Lionel laughed. He knew that word would get around but he didn’t think that it would take only one day.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He brushed it off.

“Oh yeah, shorty is going around bad mouthing you.”

“What is she saying?”

“What do these bitter chicks always say when it’s over?”

“He can’t fuck me.” Lionel joked in a feminine voice.

“He plays too many games.” Antwon mimicked in the same tone.

“He wont wife me up.”

“He won't let me fuck his homeboy.” Antwon mimicked again.

“You really think you funny.” They both busted out laughing.

“Nah, but for real, hit me up when you get done with that job interview. If you get the job, we party tonight with alcohol and bitches.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Then we heal your wounds...with alcohol and bitches.”

Lionel checked the mirror in the men's’ bathroom. It was a couple of minutes before the interview. The bright white shirt and dark blue slacks transformed him. He was so used to seeing himself in casual street gear. He leaned close to the mirror and looked at himself one more time. He didn’t want to psyche himself out.