Caught Slippin'

Chapter 8 Nicole

-Sunday Night At Home-

"Come on, just, baby, try a new thing, and let's spark a new flame, you gone be my baby, let me love you crazy,

~New flame Chris Brown"

I walk downstairs and sit at the dining room table and search through my text messages on my new Samsung S5.

I decide to text Lamar. When U coming over? Send.

My phone vibrates a few seconds later. Lamar: I can come over tonight. I'll bring Ur favorite. Chinese with a side of me ;)

I blush and type: Hurry up and get over here I'm hungry. Lol

I stare at the picture of Harmony playing soccer. She looked so happy then.

Harmony, my little sister, is six. She, too, looks like mom; long wavy light brown hair, hazel doey eyes, thick brows, with long curled eyelashes on fleek.

People always ask me why I grind so hard. Harmony and Arianna is why. It came to a point in life where I wanted to call it quits. The more I think about it, Lamar has been there for me through thick and thin. Even when I got pregnant, he was there supporting me. Dre was elsewhere fuckin' some other girl. Lamar was around so much Arianna was calling him dad & dada.

Jaylen walks into the dining room, scaring the shit out of me.

"Do you ever knock?" I say walking into the kitchen.

"What's for dinner?" He asks ignoring my question.

"Hmm. I think I'm going to order out. Chinese maybe?"

"Order me some shrimp fried rice and spicy orange chicken." Jaylen lick his lips. The niggah addicted to spicy orange chicken. "So when you gone put me up?" he asks, getting to the point.

"Hmm. How about never?" I say sarcastically, texting Lamar the addition to my Ham fried rice. Jaylen always tryna move up in the crew.

"Why not?"

"Look, here's the difference between me and you: Jaylen wants power, money, and sex. Nicole wants to be able to pay the bills-" I say before getting cut off.

"You can still do that. All you have to do is put me up and-" I cut him off.

"I said No! You don't understand. If I put you up everyone will want your head. Shit, they already plotting. I'm not gonna put my flesh and blood in danger."

"No, they won't want my head, Nicks. You just bein' dramatic."

"Yes they will. Your ass like to show off with stolen Lamborghini's and shit."

"Oh, you tryna talk? You just got a damn 2014 BMW!"

"Niggah I drove it once. That was to get it to AJ. You drive that Lambo just to show off."

"Man, whatever. KiKi told me to give you this."

He hands me a card.

"It's a crew foam party over in the flats, July 10th. All crewmembers MUST wear proper crew colors.
410- Black and Yellow
510- Red and Black
610- Red and White
305- Green and Yellow
710-Blue and White
678- Blue and Yellow
925- Green and White
210- Red and Yellow
810- Black and Gold
440- Purple and Yellow
330-Black and Silver
215- Green and Black
216-Purple and White
007- Black and Blue
105- Black and White"
-KiKi

"Thanks. And I'm still not puttin' you up."

He smacks his big ass lips. "Man why?"

"Because I said so." I say with my attitude.

"Man... you just want it for yourself."

"Niggah please."

His phone goes off, interrupting our conversation. He checks his messages and his entire aura changed. He went from being annoying to being pissed off. He waves me off and storms out the front door.

I walk up the stairs wondering what the hell just happened.

I collapse on my king sized bed. Lamar and I run this shit, not Jay! Niggahs know not to fuck with him. Lamar has this whole nation on lock.

Lamar is six feet two inches tall with caramel skin, hazel eyes and sharp features. He always had a fresh haircut since the very day I met him. I love it. Niggahs these days don't care how they look. They don't represent. Lamar compliments my swag the way a man s'pose to.

I start to feel sad, thinking about what we used to be. I was damn near in love with the niggah then all that shit with his dad and sister popped off and everything went downhill from there. .. I miss how we used to be.

Lamar is a bad muthafucka and I'm a bad bitch. Us together is unstoppable.

Lamar and Arianna bust in my bedroom door holding Chinese food.

I had to stare at them as they dug into their noodles. Arianna looks a lot like Lamar. Had his nose, skin tone, facial shape... It's weird, ya know? Now that she's older, I've come to realize... maybe Arianna's father isn't who we all think he is.