but why you gonna need both?”
“Because I’m not quite sure what I’m gonna be thirsty for. I thought you said you’d do whatever it takes to make me happy?”
“I did.”
“Then I’ll expect you to have both. Now I’ve gotta get some sleep.” She leaned over and kissed my cheek. My dick got hard right away. Thank God she didn’t look down at my sweatpants before she closed the door, because my shit was poking out so far my pants looked like a tent.
I picked up my bag of garbage and walked down the stairs with a stupid grin on my face. I never really thought I’d have a shot with Kerri. I guess I always thought she was too high maintenance for me. And in truth, she still might be. Dom and Moet? But I wasn’t about to let a chance like this go by without trying. Kerri had to be one of the finest women I’d ever met.
When I got downstairs I went around to the side of building where the trash cans were. Freddie was there, rummaging headfirst through one of the cans. It turned my stomach to see a grown man with his hands all up in that nasty shit.
“Freddie, what the hell are you doing, man?”
“I’m trying to find this brown envelope for Rodney. He said he was gonna give me two dollars if I found it. I’m gonna buy me some lottery tickets.” He bent back over into the can and started digging again. I grabbed him by his coat and pulled him out.
“Freddie, man, get the hell outta there. Here, I’ll give you the two dollars.” I reached in my sweatpants pocket, pulled out two dollars, and handed it to him.
“Thank you, Paul. Thank you!” He looked like he was gonna bust a gasket. “Man, when we hit, I’m gonna split it with you. I swear to God.”
“A’ight, Freddie, you do that. Just don’t be going through no more garbage. You hear?”
“A’ight, Paul. No problem. Look, I’m gonna go get in line so I can buy our tickets.” He turned around and headed straight for the Quick-Mart, which meant he’d be guzzling down a forty-ounce in about ten minutes.
I put my trash in the can and covered it with the lid. When I turned to go back inside, Rodney was standing in my way. I couldn’t stand his ass. Poisoning our people with his drugs and shit.
“Where’s Freddie?” he growled.
“I gave him two dollars and sent him on his way. Why the fuck you have him going through the trash?”
“That’s none of your damn business. Ain’t nobody tell you to send Freddie nowhere.” He took a step toward me, trying to get all up close and personal. Only problem was, he was about six inches shorter than I was and put no fear in my heart.
I pushed him backwards. “You better get the fuck out my face, man.”
What?” He threw his hands in the air, rocking his head like he was about to do something. “You talking to me, nigga? You better recognize.”
“Recognize what? That you a thug?”
“You looking to get fucked up, ain’t you?”
“If you feel froggy? Leap. Just make sure you don’t get stomped in the process. ’Cause you don’t scare me.” We stared at each other, eye to eye. I was not about to back down to this sorry-ass fool, and he sure as hell wasn’t really gonna step to me. Rodney was a punk when it came right down to it.
“You lucky I got some shit to take care of, otherwise CSI would be looking for a body bag for your ass.” He tried to sound menacing, but it wasn’t working on me.
“Let them know I’m a size forty-two,” I told him.
7
Kerri
I’d just stepped out of my apartment and headed downstairs to pick up a few things for my party tomorrow night when I ran into Paul coming up the stairs. I gave him the once-over, and I had to admit, in a suit and tie he looked much more respectable than I thought.
“Hey, Paul.” I smiled. “Don’t forget the party. Oh, and I checked my calendar. I’m free for dinner on Saturday.” He started to grin from ear to ear but then his smile disappeared.
“Kerri, do you think we could do it next weekend?”
“Next week? Why, you got something to do?”
“Well, actually no, but I had them fax over the menu from this Legal Seafoods place to my job, and well, it’s kind of expensive. I’m gonna be a little short on funds till payday next week.”
“Damn, you trying to tell me buying dinner is gonna break you like that?” I was starting to think Katrice was wrong. His broke ass was not for me.
“No, not normally, but Katrice asked me to help her out and pay my rent a little early. None of us wanna see her lose the building.” He was right, but that was beside the point.
“Paul, I’m not gonna lie to you. I don’t deal with disappointment very well. I was really looking forward to going out with you this weekend and sharing a little one-on-one time in my apartment after dinner, if you know what I mean.” I winked at him and he swallowed hard, looking like he was going to melt. I continued to walk down the stairs with a wide smile. When I got finished with him, he’d come through even if it meant pawning everything in his apartment.
I got to the front of the building and Freddie was sitting on the step drinking a forty-ounce like there was no such thing as an open container law in our town.
“Freddie, what are you doing? You know you’re not supposed to be drinking out here. If Katrice catches you, she’s gonna skin you alive.”
“Well, I guess I better finish this off so I don’t get caught,” he slurred. “Cheers, Kerri.”
He lifted the bottle in a salute to me then tipped it toward his lips. He finished most of what was left in one long, impressive gulp, then burped loudly, straightening up his back.
“Excusssssssse me!”
“Damn, Freddie, that’s nasty!”
He grinned and I had to let out a laugh. That Freddie sure was a character.
I looked down the block to my left, then to my right. “Damn, I could have sworn I parked it right there. Where the hell is it?”
“Something wrong, Kerri?” Freddie asked from his seat on the step.
“I could have sworn I parked my car across the street.”
“You mean the red Honda Civic that was parked over there?”
“Yeah, that’s my car. Where is it?”
“It’s gone.”
“It’s gone? Gone where? What happened to my car, Freddie?” My eyes were as wide as silver dollars.
Freddie shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know where they took it. But they took it.”
“They, who? Who took my car, Freddie?”
“The cops took it. Or was it the sheriff?” He scratched his head, looking confused. “I’m not really sure, but it had something to do with tickets. They said you owed a lot of tickets. That’s why they towed you.”
“They towed my car for tickets.” I felt like I was gonna faint and the tears just started rolling down my face.
“You a’ight, Kerri?”
“No, Freddie, I’m not all right.”
“Freddie! What the hell are you doing on my stoop with that bottle?” I looked up. Katrice was getting out of her car and she looked hot. Freddie, obviously not a stupid man, jumped up and was running wobbly down the block. Katrice followed him a few steps then stopped, turning back toward the building.
“Kerri,