Crazy Summer (27 page)

“Hello,” the agent said as they shook hands. “I’m Susan.”

Summer nodded casually, a small smile forming. “I’m Summer. We spoke with one another over the phone.”

Susan flashed an even set of white teeth. “Have you seen anything that you would like to purchase?”

“Well, I was thinking more of building my own house from the ground up, but I need to talk with someone of your caliber first. You know, like cheating my way into the real estate game.”

Susan gave a bewildered look. “So what is it that you’re looking for?” she asked, a bit nervous.

Summer’s tongue rolled out across her bottom lip. “You don’t really wanna know, do you?”

Susan looked into Summer’s eyes and saw where she was going with all of this. It just so happened that Susan had divorced her husband eight months ago because she found out he was cheating on her and had gotten another women pregnant. His infidelity crushed her heart.

She slowly extended her hand, and Summer took it. “I’ll give you a tour inside this house,” she said nervously.

Inside the living room, Summer didn’t waste any time. She locked the front door, pushed Susan against the wall, and began unbuttoning her blouse. Summer noticed her hard nipples pressing against the cotton bra. Closing her eyes, Susan started twitching her lower body.

“I’ve never been with a woman before,” she whispered.

“Have you ever thought about it?” Summer asked, then removed Susan’s bra so she could take her left nipple into her mouth. She kissed her breast and ran her hand underneath her skirt. To her surprise, Susan’s panties were soaked. Summer played with Susan’s clit through the fabric.

“Yes. It was a fantasy, though.” She reached behind her head and let her hair down, while taking short breaths. “Are you actually gonna eat my cunt?”

“Do you want me to?” Summer was inside her panties now, two fingers inserted into her tight, warm vagina.

“Yes…please.”

She came again. Shivering, she locked her hands around Summer’s waist.

Summer stared into her gray eyes and thought about the first time she’d seen Susan in the Sunday newspaper, how cute and innocent her face looked in the real estate section. Summer finally kissed her, and their tongues twirled around one another. Susan nearly fainted.

*****

Later, Summer pulled up at the club, which was now called Platinum Pieces. She parked in the space that read: Reserved for Owner. She stepped out of her Lexus, and the night air casually blew. She walked around to the side door, escaping the customers and the ladies that now worked for her. She met a beefed up security guy standing in the small, carpeted corridor.

“How you doin’, Summer?” he asked in a deep voice.

“I’m doing well,” she replied while unlocking the door to her office. She went inside, closed the door behind her, and took a seat at her desk. Summer had only held this position a little over two weeks, and the way she got it was unbelievable. She leaned back in her leather swivel chair and allowed her mind to drift back to the night it all happened.

In the middle of the night, Stacy was at home in his bed with his wife when the phone rang. He removed his arm from underneath the covers and reached for the phone on the nightstand.

“Hello.” He had been definitely sleeping by the way he sounded.

“May I speak with Stacy?” Summer asked when he answered.

Stacy looked at the clock. “Who the fuck is this callin’ me at two in the morning?”

“This is Summer, and I really…”

He cut her off. “You don’t really need to do nothin’ but hang up this phone and see me tomorrow.”

Pressing the power button, he ended the call, dropped the phone on the floor, and snuggled up against his wife. Before long, he was back to sleep.

The following morning, Bookie rang Stacy’s doorbell and waited patiently for someone to answer. He turned his back to the door, facing the street where a stolen Grand Prix was parked. Nearly a minute passed. He checked his watch and realized how hard he was breathing. He then reached in his pocket, removed his asthma pump, and hit himself two quick times. He pressed the doorbell again, and within twenty seconds, he heard cursing and stomping as someone approached the door from the other side.

When the door swung open, Stacy stood there dressed in a pair of silk pajama pants. His chest, arms, and shoulders were ripped with muscles. With his face screwed up, he held a Glock .40 behind his right thigh.

“Who is you, partna?” Stacy asked.

Bookie held out a piece of paper. “I got a message for you.”

“A message? From who?”

“Here. Read it, dawg. I’m jus’ the delivery boy.”

“Well, you need to deliver the message. Read it to me yo’self.”

Bookie fought hard not to kill him; he tried not to show him how serious he could be. Bookie slowly unfolded the small piece of paper and began reading from it.

“To my friend Stacy, my lady friend gave you a call last night, and apparently, you got real fly out your mouth with her. I’ve set reservations for us to meet at the Radisson Hotel downtown in the lobby at ten o’clock this morning. Signed, Kiki.”

Confused, Stacy watched the back of Bookie’s head as he walked across the manicured front lawn and jumped into the car. Stacy’s anger had built up heavily. He knew Kiki personally and had heard about some of the things he’d done in the past. He also knew he wasn’t ready to deal with him on a confrontational level.

When Stacy got to the lobby of the Radisson, he saw Kiki and Summer sitting next to one another in separate chairs. There were two more chairs across from them. As Stacy walked in that direction, he noticed Kiki had on shades. He hated when someone wore shades that didn’t allow him to see their eyes. When he got to the table, Summer stood up and extended her hand, which he shook. Kiki never stood up; he didn’t even look at him.

“How y’all doin’?” Stacy asked.

“We’re fine,” Summer replied for the both of them. She gave him a smile and then crossed her legs. “When I called you the other night, I was offering you a price for your club, but since you refused to negotiate a price with me, I’ll assume you will take seventy-five grand today in cash.”

His eyes squinted as he looked at Kiki with a serious face. “What’s goin’ on, Kiki?”

Summer cleared her throat. “This meeting isn’t about Kiki, Stacy. Just you and I.”

Small beads of sweat began forming on Stacy’s forehead. He felt a lump in his throat. “I can’t sell my club for no seventy-five grand.”

“So what would you sell it for?” Summer asked, acting calm and very professional.

Again, his eyes went to Kiki, who was staring in another direction. Stacy felt the intimidation. Better yet, he saw it.

He looked back at Summer and said, “I’ma need a couple of days.”

“This has to be taken care of today. You opened the club twenty-eight months ago. You got seventeen ladies who are permanent there, not including the out-of-town bitches. You had a nice run, and you generated good paper. Don’t you think it’s time to pass the torch? Damn, let a bitch get in and get some paper. I promise that you will be rewarded in the long run.”

He wiped the sweat on his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt. Then he dropped his head and shook it side to side.

Summer stared at him. She could care less about his feelings. This was extortion, and she didn’t give a damn who knew it.

“I guess I don’t have a choice,” he mumbled under his breath.

“But you do have a choice.”

A knock at Summer’s office door brought her back to the present. She raised her head.

“Come in.”

The door opened. It was Bookie, wearing a Dickies suit and sneakers. His dreads were hanging loose.

Summer smiled. “Whuzzup, Bookie?”

He sat down in the leather chair in front of her. “Kiki told me to come get you.”

“Why? What’s the problem?”

Bookie shrugged. “He jus’ told me to come get you.”

She stood up and walked toward the door with her eyes fixed on Bookie, who stood up and followed her.

In the basement of a house in Blyth, Georgia, Red Bone was tied up naked and sitting in a dark corner on a cold concrete floor. Her feet were perfectly bound together and her hands wrapped behind her back, leaving her perky breasts exposed. The cold air gave her goose bumps and caused her nipples to harden. With her head lowered, her chin rested at the top of her chest. Two hours had passed since she last cried. Dealing with Kiki, she had given up all hope and lost faith in nearly everything except God.

The light came on. Red Bone raised her head and squinted her eyes. She heard keys rattling on the other side of the door. Her heart sped up, thumping rapidly inside her chest.

The door opened, and Kiki walked in first. He was in jeans and sneakers, no shirt, and a huge chain hung around his neck with his dreads tangled up in it. Summer came in behind him, her heels clicking against the concrete. She stared directly at Red Bone and immediately began to feel sorry for her. It was nearly unbearable to see her old friend destabilized in such a way. Summer was beside Kiki, and they both stood over her. Kiki squatted down in front of her and rested his forearms on each of his legs. He stared at Red Bone briefly in total silence. Feeling a chill run through her body, Summer wrapped her arms around herself.

“Now, I want you to tell Summer what you did and what you told me about her.”

Summer’s interest peaked. She swallowed hard and allowed her eyebrows to furrow. She was squinting so hard that small wrinkles appeared in the corner of her eyes.

“Don’t make me…”

Before she could finish, Kiki slapped her so hard that saliva flew from her mouth. She hollered and balled herself further into the corner, shivering.

“Tell her, bitch,” Kiki said between clenched teeth.

Red Bone shook her head uncontrollably. The right side of her face was blood red and swollen. Her eyes cut to Summer and her lips began to tremble.

“Summa’, I did what I thought was best fo’ me.”

“And what was that?” Summer asked, taking a deep breath while waiting for an answer.

“I was gonna help Stacy set you up.” She closed her eyes and dropped her head.

Kiki stood up, raised his leg, and kicked her square in the face. Blood, along with a tooth or two, shot from her mouth. Her head hit hard against the wall, and she tilted over, smearing blood on it.

Summer looked at Kiki, a grim look masking her face. “I don’t have no use for her.”

“Summa’, please. You know we go way back. It wasn’t my fault.” She paused and looked at Kiki. “Everything I did fo’ you. I saw you kill people, Kiki, and I never opened my mouth about nothing.”

“Well, I’m proud of you. You did damn good.”

A million things were running through Summer’s head. She thought about the time Red Bone took her in when she’d left home and the time she had given her half of her food stamps to feed the twins. Those were the good times, and Summer remembered them just like it was yesterday.