Cartier Cartel (5 page)

The one who was most pleased with all the attention she was getting was
Monya. Her long, silky hair was now cut into shiny layers, and her light brown,
Indian-looking complexion made her look older than her crew. That, coupled
with the skintight jeans, high heels, and large, oversized purse she wore, gave
her a mature look. Her dainty facial features were complemented by the
theatrical hairstyle, and the look enhanced her already sensual personality.

It didn't take long for Monya to get scooped up by a dude who had his
own ride. His name was Wise and he claimed to be the nephew of one of the
members of the infamous Fat Cat crew located in Queens. At twenty, he was
five years older than Monya. He cruised onto the block with music blaring, in a
deep lean in his new peanut butter and chocolate Mercedes AMG with custom
bucket leather seats. That car made everyone's mouth drop open with envy. As
Monya came switching down the steps of her stoop, her friends were proud.

Cartier, Shanine, Lil Momma, and Barn couldn't believe Monya's luck.
They all figured he had to be a millionaire. And they wanted to know what all
girls wanted to know; Did he have friends?

The crewwatched Monya slide into the luxurious ride as the car sat idling.
Soon Monya rolled down the window and called, "Cartier, let me holla at you
for a second:'

Cartier hopped up and walked toward the car. She was looking equally
cute in her skintight jeans and halter top, all dressed up with nowhere to go.
That was their daily routine. She bent down and peered inside only to see
one of the cutest guys she'd ever laid eyes on. Wise had a low-cut Caesar with deep, shiny waves. Long sideburns and a thin mustache complimented his
smooth, light brown skin. He had small, sneaky eyes and a slim frame.

"What's up?" Cartier asked.

"I wanted to introduce you to Wise. Wise, this is my best friend,
Cartier."

Wise did a head nod. "Nice to meet you."

"You, too," Cartier replied. This was followed by an uncomfortable
silence. Cartier ended the awkward moment, "See you guys later."

Wight!

Cartier went back to the stoop and told the girls how cute Wise was.

"I wonder where he's going to take her tonight?" Shanine stated.

"Monya said they were going out to eat," Cartier said, still admiring his
car.

"In Queens or Brooklyn?"

"How the fuck should I know?" Cartier snapped.

Just as a brutal debate was about to kick off, Monya exited the car and
began walking toward them. She tried her best to conceal her embarrassment
from her friends, while also trying to put on a sexy switch in her hips, just in
case Wise stayed around long enough to watch her walk away. He didn't. No
sooner had the passenger's door closed than he hit the gas pedal.

Cartier reacted first. "What happened?" She knew Monya didn't sit in a
beauty parlor all morning and put on her tightest jeans and brand new Prada
shoes to see this kid for five minutes.

Monya began shaking her head wildly. "He got a phone call, said he had
to bounce, and he'd call me later."

"Bounce?"

"That's what he said."

"He probably going to meet some bitch," Barn said.

"Why the fuck would he be going to meet some bitch when he's with
a bitch?" Cartier snapped, in defense of Monya. "Look at Monya. Ain't too many females out here prettier than my homegirl."

"Exactly. Ain't no other bitch out here prettier than me!" Monya ran
her hands through her hair. It was something she did when she was nervous
or embarrassed. "He know he want this. Besides, we ain't even fuck yet. He
probably had to go and take care of business."

"That sounds about right," Cartier agreed.

"Well, what about the money she spent on her hair? Is he gonna give that
back?" Lil Momma couldn't believe that they were taking up for him. "And
her nails? She spent all her money trying to look cute for him and he's talking
about he had to bounce."

"Don't be stupid," Cartier snapped. "She would play herself asking for
seventeen dollars back!" She paused and looked at Monya. She was steamed.
"He gotta know he can't just disrespect you like that. Did you tell that
motherfucker that your time isn't to be wasted?"

"Nah, I didn't say shit," Monya replied weakly. "I was so stunned that he
was ushering me out of the car. What do you think I did?"

"You ain't do shit!" Cartier blasted. "That bitch-ass nigga think it's like
that 'cause he got money. I can't wait until we get our own rides so we can
stunt on people too."

Cartier looked off and began thinking. Although they were doing well
with boosting, it was just enough money to get by. Plus, she was tired of
boosting. She knew they had to do something to make more money, but she
didn't have a clue what that could be. They could only go boosting on the
weekends, and after they divided the clothes and sold what was left, they only
made a couple hundred for themselves. After manicures, pedicures, doobie
wraps, lunch money and taxicabs, none of the five could save any money.

They all decided to go to the Magic Johnson Cineplex on Linden
Boulevard in the East New York area of Brooklyn. After the movie, they
all walked to the Lindenwood Diner one block over and ordered seasoned
crab legs and shrimp Caesar salad. It wasn't until a few guys from their neighborhood walked in that the real fun began.

Jason, Maurice, and Wonderful made their way over to the crew. Over
the past year, Jason had come up in the drug game. For years, he had sold
hand-to-hand, but now it seemed as if he was pushing weight on a small level.
At nineteen, although he was considered ruthless, he had a soft spot in his
heart for Cartier. Jason had a light complexion and loved dark-skinned girls
with thick thighs. Not to mention, he loved girls with sassiness. He deemed
Cartier his perfect match.

"What's up, ma?" Jason asked Cartier as he slid into the booth next to her.

"Jason, what you doing here?" a surprised Cartier asked.

"I came here to see you," he replied and licked his full, juicy lips.

Giggling, Cartier replied, "No, you didn't

Jason didn't miss his opportunity. He moved closer and draped his arm
around her neck. The other crew members had broad smiles on their faces.
They all felt Cartier should hook up with Jason, but for some reason she
wouldn't. She was more interested in his man, Wonderful. Cartier had no
idea that Wonderful thought she was ugly. Although he would fuck her, that
was as far as Wonderful would take it with her. In fact, he didn't find any of
the Cartier Cartel attractive. Bottom line, he loved Spanish girls and had no
interest in sistas.

Internally, Cartier was hoping Wonderful was getting jealous over the fact
she and Jason were flirting. She stuck her fork in her shrimp and fed it to Jason.

"Damn, ma, this shit is good. Excuse me, waiter," Jason began. The waiter
quickly came over and gave Jason his attention. "Let me get another order of
the shrimp Caesar. What y'all niggas want?"

"I'm straight," Maurice said. He was the broke one out of the crew and
sometimes, Jason could flip. Sometimes, Jason would pay for Maurice, other
times he'd leave him hanging.

"Yeah, order me one, too," Wonderful replied. Jason and Wonderful were
best friends like Cartier and Monya. Jason never screamed on Wonderful or tried to play him.

"Yo, give me three orders of the shrimp Caesar salad," he looked to
Maurice, "Motherfucker I know you hungry ... and let me get three double
shots of Hennessy."

The waiter took the order and didn't bother to ask for identification. He
didn't want any kind of altercation with the young gangster. He knew asking
for a simple ID card could lead to a beat-down or the end of his life. It was
that serious in the hood.

"Order me a shot of Henny too," Lil Momma asked Jason. When he
didn't acknowledge her request, she barked, "Oh it's like that?"

"Stay in ya lane little girl," Jason replied and then playfully plucked a
toothpick at her. Only Lil Momma didn't find anything funny.

As the night went on, Jason would allow Cartier to take sips of his
Hennessy, and before anyone knew it, she was tipsy.

"Do you know that nigga named Wise?" Cartier asked Jason.

"Wise from Queens?"

"Cartier!" Monya wanted to keep her friend quiet, but Cartier wasn't
having it.

"What? Jason peoples. Besides, we don't know shit about that kid."

"Oh, Monya, you frontin' on me?"Jason asked.

"Nah, it ain't even like that," Monya replied. "Wise and I are only friends."

Cartier turned her body toward Jason. As she spoke, he couldn't help but
want to take her home and eat her pussy. Jason loved to eat pussy. It gave
women the most pleasure and he had made a concerted effort at being the
best. Additionally, he believed eating pussy could compensate for his small
dick. The girls he was with didn't consider him to be packing, and Cartier
looked like she could handle a big dick. He was almost sure she wasn't a virgin
the way she and her crew ran around. Word on the street had them boosting
and running around all the boroughs thinking they were cute.

"So that punk ass comes around supposedly to take Monya out to eat and five minutes later, he's out, talking about he had somewhere to go!"

"Damn, Monya. You running niggas out of town like that?" Wonderful
asked.

"Whatever."

"You sure ya breath wasn't lightin' up the car?" Wonderful joked.

Everyone began making jokes at Monya's expense. She glared at Cartier,
who then tried to redirect the conversation back to her original question.

"But what's up with him? He got a girl or something?"

"I ain't into snitching on a nigga," Jason began. "But that nigga be getting
rep from his uncle. He run around here like he thorough like them real niggas
in Fat Cat's crew. And who's to say he really blood to one of those niggas?"

"He got money?"

"I don't give a fuck what that nigga got and don't got!" Jason was
suddenly upset at Cartier's interest. His jealousy took over and he forgot that
the questions were in her friend's best interest. Not hers.

Cartier rolled her eyes, "Calm the fuck down."

"Calm me down-"

Cartier playfully slapped his face.

"You lucky I don't hit girls, 'cause I don't let nobody be touching my face."

"Please, you know I will fuck a nigga up"

"Word? I heard how you and your crew put in work on those old broads."

"Nah, that was her moms out there getting busy," Wonderful
interjected.

"What? It wasn't only my moms ... that was me too!" Cartier was
insulted. "And my crew. We were all out there thumping."

"Yeah, give my girl her props," Jason said defensively.

Wonderful looked to Barn, Shanine and Lil Momma who had basically
sat quiet throughout the whole meal.

"Y'all was out there thumping too?" he quizzed the three girls but only
Bam nodded her head. "Why y'all so quiet?"

Lil Momma snapped, "I don't talk when my throat is dry," and the whole
table erupted in laughter.

After they finished eating, Jason paid the check for everyone and they all
squeezed into his green Nissan Pathfinder. When he pulled onto the block
and dropped off the girls, he called out to Cartier.

"When you gonna give me the digits?" he asked.

"What? You know you're like a brother to me," Cartier replied coyly.

"Fuck that brother shit. You know how I feel about you. Let's make it
official."

Cartier truly didn't want to hurt his feelings. He was always good to get a
free meal, free ride, or sound advice and she didn't want to ruin that.

"I'm not looking for a man right now, but when I do, it will definitely
be you."

"I like that answer, ma"

Cartier exhaled. "Goodnight"

"Goodnight, wifey."

ith a silk scarf tied tightly around her head, Cartier headed out
to the corner store to buy her mother a pack of Newports and a
sour pickle. It was eleven o'clock in the morning and she had every intention
of going back to sleep. Every Saturday morning, her mother woke her up
early to help clean up the apartment. The routine was always the same. Her
mother would wake up and put on all her favorite music from the late sixties
and seventies: Aretha Franklin, Prince, Diana Ross, and Donna Summer. To
make matters worse, her mother didn't have CDs. She had vinyl albums.