King of Queens (a Nas Story)

THIRTY EIGHT

Nasir | 3:30pm

Gia drove me back to the crib in silence. I couldn't read her face at all. I didn't know if she was pissed off, worried or numb. It might be all three. Only the local newspaper got word about the arrest and interviewed me outside of the precinct as Gia and I were walking back to her car.

Gia parked her Lexus behind the house and slammed the door behind her without say a single thing to me. I was confused by her actions as I stepped out of the car and shut the door softly behind me. I watched her unlock the side door that lead to the living room. She left it open and walked inside.

I paced behind her and shut the door back as I locked it. "What the fuck, yo?" I said to Gia as she hung her purse on the rack that I nailed into the wall by the front door. She tossed her keys on the wooden table beneath the mirror of the entrance and turned her body around to face me.

"What's up with you?" I asked Gia as I twisted my face at her.

"You tell me, Jones. A fucking gun charge?" She yelled at me as she slipped out of her air maxes. I couldn't help but admire her beauty when she was angry. The furrow of her arched, thick eyebrows. The curl of her full lips when she was yelling at me. It was turning me on to see her like this.

"Somebody tipped one time on me. I wasn't doing shit!" I raised my voice to match her energy.

"Fuck all of that! You have a SON, Nasir. What did I tell you about your friends? Who else would tip them about you?" She placed her hand on her hip as she studied my facial expressions. "You love Queensbridge so damn bad but this is the love it gives back." She said coldly. "The streets see you're on now. They will do whatever to make sure you don't make it out. Don't you get that?" She walked up towards me and dug her index finger into the buttons of my polo.

"Driving without your papers, that's one thing. Driving without papers and a nina? You're asking for it." She scoffed at me as she started at the necklace resting on my chest. She the charm into her hand and fiddled with it. "Nasir, I'm only going to say this one time." She said as she lifted her head to look into my eyes. "What's that?" I asked her.

"If you're going to Queensbridge, it's only to see your mom and Jungle or to drop Des off with his grandmas. Ain't no hanging out on the block no more. Heard me?" She poked her nails into my bare chest that was exposed.

"So you telling me I can't hang out with my niggas?" I asked her with a raised brow.

"You can hang out with them, just not on Vernon." She said unwavering. "Do you realize who you are?" Her eyes were bigger than before. More cautious and sincere than ever before. I wrapped my hands around her waist as she stayed close to my chest.

"Do you know that people know who you are outside of New York? I was stopped in the street yesterday by a group of paparazzi who know that I'm your girlfriend." She said as she continued to poke my chest with her finger as she spoke. "Word?" I smiled at my girl as she continued to dig her manicure deeper into my flesh.

"Word." She said with a chuckle. "This shit is bigger than us, Nas. We're not those kids from the block anymore. We can't continue to move like we are." She stopped poking her finger into my chest and placed her palm there instead. "Think about the life you made with me. The career you're trying to build. Our families. Let's move smarter, okay?" She leaned upwards on the tip of her toes and kissed my cheek.

"Now, go shower and get ready for the show tonight. You smell like five-oh." She joked with me as she nudged my shoulder with her knuckles. She laughed as she walked off and upstairs to where our bedroom is. I stood there for a moment with my hand over my chest, still feeling the imprint of her nails being left over my skin.