Page 106 of Anything Necessary for Her
Banks cheesed at me when she noticed I was there since the whole room was alight now. My phone buzzed in my pocket, so I rose to pull it out.
I mouthed to Banks that I would be right back, and she nodded.
“What’s good?” I answered for Free, knowing it had to be serious for the nigga to call instead of hitting my text-only burner with a code.
“Aye . . . um, old girl ain’t ready,” he said, using the code to tell me someone was fishy or acting off.
There was only one woman on the team, so I knew he meant Gaia. The shit surprised me since one thing I could say about her ass was that she was diligent and on her shit when it came to work, no matter how shit was going between us.
“Ever since the last kick it event, huh?”
“Yep. I don’t wanna put her out there since she not ready. I couldn’t trust it.”
“Cancel her appointment then,” I replied, letting him know she wouldn’t be running with him today. “All of the ones in the future too.”
“I got you.”
“Aight.” I hung up just as a BMW pulled into the Prolific Pointe theater lot.
Sliding my iPhone down into my pocket, I kept my eyes on Banks’s old fling Trayvon as he stepped out of the car, a Tiffany bag dangling from his fingers. He swallowed hard, visibly nervous as he shut his door, fixing his T-shirt as he started toward me and the entrance.
“Who you looking for?” I pressed him.
“My girlfriend.” He tried to step around me, but I blocked his ass, cutting him a look that said he’d better not try to get around a nigga again. He listened.
“Nikita, right?” I played dumb.
“No. Banks.” He frowned. “Who the hell are you anyway? You work for her brothers or something? They tell you to run me from her house that time?” he investigated, sounding like the bitch ass nigga that he was. “I recognize your voice.”
“Nah, I’m Banks’ man.” I peered down into his eyes as I watched him digest my words.
“You? Nah.” He shook his head. “I get she’s mad at me and probably likes talking to you to piss me off, but she would never get with someone like you.”
“Like me?”
“A thug,” he replied lamely, like he didn’t wanna say the shit.
Bobbing my head, I chuckled before saying, “Well, until Banks tell me that shit, you better make this the last muthafuckin’ time you pull up on her. I don’t repeat myself, especially when it comes to threats and shit. I ain’t big on talking. I’d rather show a muthafucka than tell him. I hope you listen, process, and understand what the fuck I’m telling you andfor real grasp who the fuck I am and what type of nigga I am. I ain’t the hood nigga with a heart of gold like you see on TV. I’m heartless, and it don’t take shit for me to get reckless. I’m sparing you now ’cause you a spoiled, sheltered dummy. But you try anything with Banks, ya life as you know is gon’ change.”
“What? You’re gonna kill me?” He was floored, eyes bucked as he looked me up and down.
“Nah. A nigga like you, yo’ life can be ruined while keeping you alive. Matter fact, you gon’ wish I killed you instead.” He stepped back from me slightly, spooked out of his fucking mind as he began distancing himself from me until he made it to his whip. He’d refused to give a nigga his back until he was safely to his car. “Aye, not even a text or phone call, my nigga. It’s not worth it.”
He floored it out of the lot in reverse as if I was about to jump on his hood and break his front windshield, then righted his vehicle to speed off down the street.
I really hoped that nigga heeded to my warning because I was gon’ for real make good on my threat. I’d yet to make one that I didn’t follow through on when a nigga needed to.
Today I hadsome errands to run, but my most exciting one was having found a ballet history book at the local library.
Parking, I climbed out of my Jeep, enjoying the hot sun as I crossed the lot. To the side of the building, a woman and a man who was talking a mile a minute to another girl were holding a stack of flyers.
As I neared the entrance of the library, the woman looked over, causing me to smile out of habit until I realized I recognized her—Rue.
Moving from who I assumed was her man’s grasp, she stepped toward me and reached out a flyer to which I took. Looking over it, I saw it was an advertisement for new members to come to her church.
“Thank you,” I said awkwardly, slipping it into my Louis Vuitton bag before continuing into the library since she was just staring at me.
I hadn’t been browsing the shelves for five minutes before Rue appeared at the end of the aisle, walking toward me while hugging her stack of flyers to her chest.
