Hold U Down (13 page)

Back in the room, Legend took his place on the bed next to her and looked into her eyes.

“What?” Zoë asked after a minute of awkward silence.

“You're about the flyest chick that I've ever seen.”

“Whatever.” She laughed, waving him off.

“For real, I'm feelin' you.”

Not trying to hear him, she grabbed his dick and massaged it through his shorts.

“Damn, ma, what you trying to do to a nigga?” he stressed. Just as she was about to unbutton his pants, he stopped her.

“What? What's wrong?” she asked, confused.

“Look, I ain't tryin' to take it there wit' you just yet. I mean, what's the rush?”

“Ain't no rush.... I just thought you wanted to . . . you know.”

“I do, but not yet.”

“Why not?”

“'Cause I wanna know that when I give it to you, you can handle it.”

“Legend, please. I will have you speakin' in tongues.” She laughed.

“I hear you talkin'.” He grinned, licking his lips, liking her strong will.

“I'm for real.” She started sucking on his neck.

“Come on, Zoë. Chill.” Legend pushed her up off of him. Looking into her eyes, he could tell that she was hurt.

“Look, I'm feelin' you, but I need to get to know you better before I take it there wit' you. I wanna know what's in your heart, Zoë. What makes you smile? What makes you cry? What ticks you off, as well as what turns you on? I want to be your best friend as well as your lover, so that when we do take it to the next level, I will not only be making to love your body but your mind as well. Let me just take care of you tonight,” he whispered into her ear as he resumed stroking her clit.

“So, what you do last night?” Unique questioned Zoë over breakfast at Uncle Bill's.

“Nothing.” She smiled slyly.

“Bitch, quit lying. I already know you was wit' Legend last night.”

“How you know?”

“Don't worry about all that. I just know. Now tell me what happened.”

“We just kicked it, that's all.” Zoë blushed.

“Uh-huh, I know you lying, but it's cool. You ain't got to tell me.”

“Okay, okay, I'll tell you,” Zoë said, ready to spill the beans.

“I knew yo' punk ass was lying.” Unique grinned.

“Okay, well, first of all I went to T Billy's with Vito, not Legend.”

“What? How did you hook up with Legend then?”

“While I was there with Vito, Legend and his partnas came through. You know I was looking fly, right, so a brotha was eyeing me kinda hard.”

“An-y-way, finish the story.” Unique waved her off.

“Quit hatin'. Shit, my two-way going off. Hold up.”

“Who is it?”

“
Legend.
He just two-wayed me to say hi.”

“Oh God, y'all are so corny.”

“Whatever.”

“All right, finish tellin' the damn story!”

“Okay, okay.” Zoë giggled like a li'l school girl. “Well, when I went to go get us something to drink, Legend came up to me spittin' all this junk in my ear.”

“It must not have been too much junk, 'cause you left with him.” Unique smirked with one eyebrow up.

“Shut up, Nique! Anyway, he got a sista all hot and bothered, so when he asked me to leave with him, I did.”

“You mean to tell me you just up and left with Legend and Vito didn't say anything?”

“Now, see, that's the funny part. I told Vito that I was going out to use the pay phone, but really I left with Legend.” Zoë cracked up laughing.

“Gurl, you ain't nothing nice.” Unique laughed too.

“You want to hear the worst part?”

“What? You fucked him without a condom and now you think he gave you the dead-man disease?”

“Nah, dumb ass. I'm finding myself catching feelings for this cat.”

“Uh-oh, somebody got a love jones.”

“Yo, I'm for real! Dude got me buggin'. We were at his crib and shit last night, and he ate me out and everything, but never once did he ask to hit the pussy.”

“Word? But the question is, did he leave you some cash?”

“Bitch, I ain't no ho!” Zoë laughed.

“I'm just playin'. But for real, he on some other shit. You better watch him, Z. He might have yo' ass paying his bills in a minute.”

“I know, right,” Zoë agreed.

“What he say about not callin' you?”

“First he lied and said he lost his phone.”

“Oh, hell naw,” Unique snapped, placing down her fork.

“I know, I know. Even I was like, ‘Negro, please.' But then he came up with that same ol' tired-ass line that all niggas use about how busy he was and that he was going to call me eventually.”

“I don't know, Z. He seem like he might be on some bullshit.”

“Girl, please. As you can see, I already got this nigga stuck. Shit, after he got a taste of this pussy, I won't be able to get that nigga off my back. But, on another note, I am officially a UMSL college student.”

“What? My girl going to school?”

“Yeah. I told you I wanted to go to school for graphic design.”

“Well, I'm proud of you.”

“You know, with me going to school and everything, my life is going to change drastically.”

“Right. You can't keep on associating yourself with men like Legend.”

“Girl, you know if his status ain't hood, I ain't fuckin' wit' him,” Zoë stated, laughing.

“I don't know what it is about having a thug-ass nigga rockin' your world, but a bitch loves it,” Unique joked.

“Have you heard from Kiara?”

“Nope. Have you?”

“Nah, I talked to Kay Kay, though, the other day.”

“What she talkin' about?”

“Same ol' same ol'. She told me about this job that we could do out in VA, but I told her that I wasn't fuckin' wit' her on that shit no more.”

“Yeah, Cezar told me about that. She probably gon' get Kiara to do it wit' her.”

“Can you imagine the two of them stealing a car together?”

“I just hope they asses don't call me trying to get me to bail them out of jail.”

“I'm full,” Zoë said, looking down and examining her damage. She had consumed a stack of pancakes, four strips of bacon, two sausage links, two pieces of French toast, an omelet, and to top it off, a diet Coke to cut down the calories.

“That is a shame. I don't know how your little ass can eat so much and never gain any weight.”

“I get it from my momma,” Zoë sang while doing a dance in her seat.

“You stupid.” Unique laughed hitting her in the face with her napkin.

After leaving Uncle Bill's with a full stomach, Unique decided to head home. Once she got there, she checked her messages and learned that Kiara had called with something important to tell her. She called her back, and Kiara picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

“You call me?” Unique asked with an attitude.

“Ay, Kay Kay, pick up the other phone. You there, Kay Kay?”

“Yeah, I'm here. What's up wit' you, Nique?”

“Shit, so what's so important?” she asked, already knowing.

“We called you to tell you that Cezar got this job for us up in VA.”

“I already know about it, but I told you and Kay Kay that I was done with that shit.”

“You was for real?” Kiara asked.

“What, you thought I was playin'? Yeah, I'm dead serious. I'm done.”

“So, you really gon' leave me and Kiara hanging like that?”

“Look, Kay Kay, y'all are two grown-ass women. I can't continue to hold y'all hand and spoon feed you for the rest of your life. If y'all want to continue doing the shit, then do it. I'll support you fully, but I'm just not down with it anymore.”

“First of all, we don't need you to help us out. We just thought that you wanted to get this money like we do. But shit, since it's like that, fuck you!” Kiara snapped, getting loud.

“You know what? I'm getting sick and tired of yo' muthafuckin' mouth. I've bit my tongue for a long time, but now I'm gon' let yo' li'l ass have it. You're weak, Kiara. You wouldn't survive a minute without me and you know it. If you were smarter and thought with your head instead of your pussy, maybe I would've let you take over the business, but fuck that! I wouldn't let you wipe my ass, let alone run my business.”

“Fuck you, Unique. We don't need you.”

“Kay Kay, you quiet. You got something you want to say to me too?” Unique asked, heated.

“It's just fucked up how you left us for that nigga you wit'. But it's cool though, ma. Kiara and I got this from now on.”

“Oh. So, you siding with this bitch?”

“Look, I'm trying to get this paper, and Kiara is my sister, so . . . I guess I am,” Kay Kay said slowly, making sure she was aware of what she was saying.

“A'ight then! Well, fuck you too, Kay Kay. And, Kiara, when I see you, I'm gon' stick my size seven shoe all the way up yo' narrow ass!” Unique yelled, hanging up on them.

Angry and hurt, she paced the floor. She couldn't believe that it had gotten to this point with Kiara. They had grown up together, took baths, got their periods, and even double dated together, and now they were practically strangers. She didn't want to fight with Kiara, because that was her blood, but a good ass whooping was what she needed, and Unique was just the person to give it to her.

For a minute she even thought about calling her aunt on Kiara, but that would've been childish. What she needed to do was speak to Bigg. She needed his advice and his voice of reason at times like this, so she picked up the phone and dialed his cell.

“What up?” Bigg said, bumping Jay-Z's “Allure” in the background.

“Hey, baby.”

“Yo, hang up. I'm pulling up right now.”

Unique hung up the phone and met Bigg at the front door.

“What's wrong wit' you? Why you lookin' like that?”

“I just got into it with Kay Kay and Kiara.” She folded her arms, pouting like a five-year-old.

“Why?” Bigg asked, kicking off his black-and-white Prada tennis shoes.

“They mad because I ain't fuckin wit' them no more on that stealing cars shit.”

“Ma, if they can't support you and your decision, then fuck 'em,” Bigg replied.

“But those are my cousins, Bigg. We grew up together. I'm the one that got them into doing the shit. Now I'm leaving them hanging just to be wit' you. I can see why they mad.”

“What? You having second thoughts?”

“Nah, never that. You know that I ain't going nowhere.”

“Well then, what's the problem? You gotta live for you and only you. You can't worry about what everybody else want you to do.”

“I know, but . . .”

“I know but nothing. You said that you were done with it, so that's the end of it. Now go in kitchen and fix yo' man a sandwich.”

“Negro, please.” She laughed, mushing him in the head.

Zoë sat in her platinum-colored Acura NSX thinking of Legend. For the life of her she couldn't figure out what was up with the guy. The two had been seeing each other for over a month, but there was still a lack of communication. It wasn't because of Zoë's unwillingness. It was because Legend was showing traits of being a typical nigga. He swore up and down that he liked her and wanted to spend all of his time with her, but his actions spoke differently. Either he didn't call or he didn't come by when he said he was going to.

Zoë didn't know what to do. Every time she got to the point where she thought she was over him, he would do something sweet to reel her back in. They didn't even go together, but whenever they did spend time with one another, he made sure that everything was all about her. He treated her like an absolute queen. It was nothing for him to send her on a shopping spree to one her favorite stores, or for him to send her a dozen or more roses every day. Legend was real romantic in that way, so the fact that he went without seeing her for days on end had Zoë confused.

She wanted to believe him when he said that he was busy, but she couldn't help but feel like she was being played. Plenty of nights passed by where she held the phone in her hand, daring herself to call him, but her pride wouldn't allow it. Still, she continued to mess with him despite his lack of being there.

That day in particular, Legend had sent her to her favorite spa for a facial, massage, pedicure, and manicure. The original plan was for the two of them to spend the day together since they hadn't seen each other in a week, but at the last minute Legend had something more important to do. Zoë tried to play it off like she didn't care, but every time Legend played her to the side, it hurt like hell. He did promise that they would spend the rest of the afternoon together, though.

Zoë enjoyed the day of relaxation at the spa but knew her day would have been better if Legend had been there. His lack of presence was quickly forgiven when she walked to her car and found an envelope with her name written on it. Inside was a stack of hundred-dollar bills.

Smiling, Zoë shook her head and placed the money in her purse. On the way home from the spa, Zoë stopped at the Shell station on Lucas and Hunt by her apartment. Sweaty and hot, she flipped open her cell phone and called Legend to thank him, but he didn't answer. She tried again three more times but still got no answer. Pissed, Zoë decided to try one more time.

“What up,” he said, finally answering the phone on the fourth ring.

“Legend.”

“What's good, ma?”

“What took you so long to answer yo' phone?” she snapped. She could hear a bunch of niggas in the background and swore that she could hear a couple of female voices too.

“'Cause I ain't hear that muthafucka ring. What's the problem now? Didn't you get the money I left on your car?”

“Yeah, I got it.”

“Okay, well, what's the problem then?”

“Nothing. I was calling to tell you thank you and where are you at?”

“I'm in the hood where the fuck I tell you I was at!” he shot, becoming annoyed with her nagging.