Unaware that Cami was so close by or that she’d even just been admiring his house from afar, Millsap walked through his new home with a wide grin on his face. It had taken a whole year, but everything was exactly how he wanted it. Now he was actually walking around in his dream house. And it felt so good.
This home in the country was Millsap’s refuge from Enfield and all its woes. Job woes, legal woes, romantic woes, and even family woes. The biggest woe of them all right now was his materialistic mother.
Bonnie wanted yet another ten grand from Millsap. This time to go to Atlantic City to gamble.
Millsap outright told his mother no. He’d paid Bonnie’s house note and utilities. He’d paid her car note and filled her tank up with premium gas. Even bought her a new wardrobe. But Millsap was not going to pay for Bonnie to go on a gambling spree. Especially since he suspected she was becoming just as addicted as Franco recently confessed that he was to gambling.
And what ever happened to the three grand he gave her just last week for an allowance? Not to mention all the money Bonnie earned from being a bail bondsman and managing a small group of boosters (local thieves who stole retail merchandise and sold it hot on the streets)? Where did all that money go so fast?
Suddenly Millsap’s cell phone vibrated against him. He frowned when he looked down. It was his mother calling again. She just wouldn’t take no for an answer. This time she was giving him the 911 signal.
I’m not falling for that either, Mama, Millsap mused, convinced that his mother was trying to fake an emergency in order to get him to pick up the line or call her right back. This wouldn’t be the first time she’d done that.
After sending a do-not-disturb text message to both of the other generals, Millsap turned his phone off completely. He was determined to enjoy his new house to the full tonight…without distraction.
Unfortunately for Millsap, daylight would bring Mike-Mike to his front door with the message that his mother had suffered a stroke last night. Suddenly having his dream house wasn’t all that important anymore.
Later that night, Cami pulled out the letter Delia sent her last week and read it again. With it being past lights out time, she had to read by the dim light streaming in from the hallway of the Georgia prison she resided in. The same prison that had been her home for the last three years and three months behind that narcotics charge she incurred the night E-Blade died.
The more Cami read the apologies contained within Delia’s letter, the madder she became. In her opinion, Delia hadn’t apologized for nearly enough stuff yet.
Yes, Delia apologized for coming over to Cami’s apartment unannounced that fateful January night. Yes, she apologized for trying to beat Cami to a pulp while she was there. But Delia didn’t issue a word of apology about stealing the heart of Cami’s one and only son, Little Man. Yet it was that very thing that made Cami’s heart secretly grow cold towards Delia.
At first Cami didn’t mind Little Man gravitating to Delia more than to her. She enjoyed having all those breaks while they lived together. There was a certain amount of freedom in being childless if only for a little while.
Yet when her son started calling Delia ‘Mama’, Cami realized that things had gone too far. Powerless to undo the damage that had been done with Little Man, a secretly bitter Cami concentrated on stealing Delia’s big man.
Cami found it fairly easy to seduce E-Blade. Almost too easy. A notorious cheater, he had already shown enough interest in her by that time to warrant a tryst. Plus, E-Blade was still sexually frustrated due to Delia’s dysfunctions in the bedroom area.
Though Cami had been unsuccessful in using her body to get what she wanted with Bonz, her tactics worked like a charm with E-Blade. Especially the night she overplayed the victim role behind Aisha’s beat down.
Soon Cami got what she wanted on multiple levels. Through E-Blade, she exacted revenge upon Delia and gained access to another wealthy man’s wallet.
It never dawned on Cami that it was her own fault that Little Man was so fond of her cousin. That her son had gone where he was celebrated instead of just tolerated. That it had only been natural for him to grow attached to his primary caregiver.
To this day, Cami was nowhere near sorry for what she’d done to her cousin on any level. She didn’t regret snatching Little Man from Delia’s care during her imprisonment and sending him to live with her father in Washington, even though he wasn’t doing as well in school now. She certainly didn’t regret sleeping with E-Blade, despite her initial twinges of remorse when he was killed.
Cami’s only regret now was in not making E-Blade leave his illegal package in the car while he showered and changed in her apartment that fateful night. Then she could be free to marry a rich man, too, like her father recently told her Delia had done after her cousin’s secret nuptials were finally announced.
She’s lucky I’m not out yet. Otherwise, I’d take her new man, too, Cami mused conceitedly, erroneously assuming that Delia was still at a sexual disadvantage.
Sadly, though Cami wished evil upon Delia, the object of her hatred was kneeling at the foot of her bed at this very moment in prayer on her behalf.
As for Cami’s own spirituality…well, she didn’t have much use for God these days. Or rather, she didn’t think He had much use for her. In fact, Cami was convinced that God stopped caring about her a long time ago. At the age of thirteen to be exact.
Age thirteen was when Cami’s mother made her give her virginity away to one of her adult boyfriends. She was Ian’s consolation prize for being cheated on by her mother. It was also a way for them to remain in the wealthy man’s favor a little while longer. There were even ropes involved and everything.
Ropes!
Cami never told anyone about that incident. Not her military father, who’d been overseas at the time. Not any of her other relatives on either side of the family. Not even the prison counselor who seemed more interested in being nosy than actually helping the inmates with the emotional wounds of their pasts.
No, that secret had been bottled up and buried deep. If Cami had her way, it would never see the light of day again. She didn’t even want to think about it now.
Twenty more months, Cami mused, pushing away all negative thoughts as she once again counted down the time she had left on her sentence. Twenty more months, then I’ll be free to get my son back, free to live my life the way I want to again. She could hardly wait.
Feeling restless after reading that letter, Cami left the bottom bunk of her cell and went over to the small window. She looked out through the bars at the night sky.
Stars were twinkling. The moon was bright and full.
Cami’s eyes lowered to the earth, looking right, straight ahead and then to the left. On the left in the far distance were more twinkling lights. Or rather the lights seemed to be twinkling from where she stood.
I guess that place is finally finished, Cami mused, concerning a house that she watched go up brick by brick over the last year.
She didn’t know who owned that large Texas ranch styled house, but they sure took their time getting it just right. Now it looked like the owner had finally moved in as evident by the fact that every light was on in every room.
One day I’m gonna have a house just like that, Cami thought, unaware that the owner was none other than Millsap Monroe.
Returning to her bunk, she forced her mind to empty into nothingness so that sleep would come sooner. Cami needed her sleep. She had a long day of kitchen duty tomorrow.
Add a few inches to his height and put some colored contacts in his eyes and that brotha could be Millsap’s twin, Cami mused, referring to the actor Michael Jai White, who was currently on the large movie screen at the front of the prison’s recreation room.
If only this was an X-rated movie, Cami thought lustfully, willing to settle for an R-rated one at this point. Anything to see more of Michael Jai White’s muscular body.
But R and X-rated films were prohibited at the Village Square Correctional Institution. The ladies couldn’t watch anything beyond PG-13, which is one reason they were viewing Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married? Another reason was because this movie had so many fine black men in it. Sadly, few of them were watching it for the life lessons to be learned therein.
Cami was among the I-want-to-see-some-fine-black-men group. This was her third time watching this particular movie. Each time she watched it she thought about Millsap. Each time she wondered how differently her life would have been if she had slept with him that December night instead of E-Blade.
If I had hooked up with him, I might be a general’s main squeeze right now. I would definitely still be free, Cami thought, having heard about Millsap’s promotion even in prison.
She heard a few more things about him, particularly how Millsap and Mike-Mike nipped a rebellion in the bud when two captains protested Mike-Mike’s promotion over them. How those same captains ended up dead soon thereafter.
That’s probably just a rumor though, Cami thought, unwilling to think of Millsap as a murderer, despite the fact that violence often came along with the drug game.
Cami would much rather think of Millsap as a lover. A dark chocolate lover with muscles galore. Without realizing it, she moaned aloud at the thought of Millsap in his birthday suit…for her eyes and her pleasure alone.
“Girl, that Michael Jai White got me churning, too,” whispered Navina, Cami’s cellmate.
Together they were among the few females that hadn’t turned bisexual or gay in this prison. Both women were determined to stay heterosexual for the remainder of their time. It was their way of proving that not all inmates changed their sexual preferences just because they were locked up. That some inmates retained their sexual orientations quite well even under this kind of pressure.
Besides, if the pressure got to be too much they could always seduce one of the male guards. Navina did that on the regular. Cami hadn’t done it yet. When she had sex again, she wanted it to be as a free woman.
“Actually, I was thinking about another muscle-bound dude just now,” Cami whispered back to her cellmate as they sat on the back row of the recreation room. “A dude I once dated in Enfield, who happens to look a lot like the fine Mr. White up there.” She pointed towards the screen that they and the rest of the females from their cellblock were looking at.
“Was he mmm...mmm good in bed?” Navina asked, turning from the movie altogether now in search of steamy details from somebody’s real life adventures.
Cami chuckled softly at her friend’s antics. “I wouldn’t know. I got locked up before we ever got to that point.”
“Too bad. Maybe you can look him up when you get out. Get him to do some pushups on you, some crunches, some—”
“Quiet in the back, ladies!” a female guard interrupted in a harsh tone.
Cami and Navina collectively rolled their eyes upwards. They both blew out breaths of frustration at being treated like children. At being denied even the smallest of privileges. Especially when they weren’t even talking that loud in the first place.
Twenty more months, Cami mused, counting down the time she had left on her sentence before forcing her attention back to today’s movie.
Millsap and Mike-Mike headed back to Enfield without their intended package. They had to cancel today’s purchase on account of all the publicity they’d gotten at the track. Before the old generals retired they’d laid on a bit of sage advice to the new generals.
1.All strangers are the police.
2.All phones are bugged.
3.Never write anything down that can be used against you later.
4.If you get caught, you don’t know anything and can’t recognize anybody.
5.Stay off all public audio and visual recordings. Private audio/visuals should be regular family stuff with nothing criminal included.
Due to the incident at the track, Millsap and Mike-Mike were unable to adhere to the last piece of advice. They had been filmed thoroughly today. This meant their whereabouts could likely be traced to a drug buy in the future. They couldn’t have that. Especially not with all the busts that had been going on lately in the two-state area. Thus a new appointment would have to be made.
We need to set up another gig ASAP, Millsap mused, thinking about all the customers they had. About all the money they stood to lose if they lost those customers due to delays. And one thing Millsap didn’t play with was his money supply.
But like the wise general he’d replaced, he knew that timing was everything. Patience, man. Patience, Millsap told himself.
* * *
Later that night, Millsap thought about something he hadn’t thought about in a long time – college. He’d already completed two years of his Bachelor’s degree before he fully immersed himself in the drug game, rising from part-time street dealer to full-time drug lord. Now he was thinking about finally completing that degree.
For years, Millsap rebelled against finishing his college education because his mother convinced him that too much formal education could weaken a man. Bonita ‘Bonnie’ Monroe used his father as a prime example since Millsap Sr. was a PhD nerd with no backbone whatsoever.
But after being around Royal, Millsap saw that he could expand his education and still be strong. Not to forget the example of Bonz, who still had his street cred even though he was now a licensed pharmacist.
If they can get all that education and not get soft, then I can, too, Millsap decided, ready to call a few admissions offices first thing tomorrow morning. He might even go back to the college his father worked for since children of employees were eligible for free tuition. Anything to keep more money in Millsap’s pocket.
Incidentally, Bonnie said the same thing about religion’s ability to weaken a man. Though Millsap could also see that religion hadn’t weakened Bonz, Racker, or Royal, he would not dabble in that yet. Especially since it stood to interfere with his accumulation of fast wealth among other things.
Interestingly enough, when Delia and Royal mentioned putting Millsap and his crew on their prayer list before saying goodbye today, he hadn’t refused. Nor would he ever. Millsap might be a sinner, but he wasn’t stupid.
Millsap waited until the crowd dispersed to talk to Royal privately. There were things that he just had to say before they went their separate ways.
“I just want to thank you again for saving my life, man. It takes a lot of guts to do that for a friend. Even more for a man that was tryna steal yo’ woman,” Millsap said, revealing sincere gratitude in those words.
Royal chuckled. “So we agree, huh? You were trying to take my woman from me.”
Millsap grinned sheepishly. “Yeah, man. Sorry ‘bout that, too. It’s just that I been crushing on Dee for awhile now. Thought I saw a chance to finally get her, so I went for it.”
“I can’t blame you.” Royal looked over at Delia, who was busy talking to Mike-Mike by the black Mercedes they rented today. “She is something special.”
“Always was. E-Blade just didn’t know what he had,” Millsap replied in reflection.
E-Blade’s infidelities had been well-known in the Enfield area. So much so that no one was surprised when Delia finally took his life. Some people actually sighed with relief when they heard the news, for out of all the former generals, E-Blade was the most hated and feared.
Bonz was the most loved and respected of the ex-generals. His respect level and street credibility rose even higher after he survived E-Blade’s assassination attempt and made it out of that wheelchair after being shot in the back and dragged behind a car.
“The fact that you was willing to go toe-to-toe with a brotha like me tells me that you ain’t no punk and that you know exactly what you got with Dee,” Millsap continued. “I can’t help but respect a dude like that.” He extended a genuine hand of friendship towards Royal.
“Thanks, man. That means a lot coming from you.” Royal smiled, heartily shaking the hand offered him before releasing it. “By the way, if you know Delia and E-Blade, then you probably know my Enfield cousins, too. Their names are Greg and Aisha Forsyth. Greg also goes by the name Bonz.”
Millsap’s eyes bucked. “Bonz is your cousin?!” he said, starting to look nervous all of a sudden.
“Yes, by his marriage to Aisha,” Royal replied.
“Which means I dodged an even bigger bullet today,” Millsap said more to himself than anyone else.
Although Bonz was the favorite among the ex-generals, people still feared crossing him. Even Millsap was reluctant to come against him unless by extreme necessity.
“What happened between us today is between us. No need to get anyone else involved,” Royal said, letting Millsap know that he wouldn’t bring either cousin in on today’s altercation.
“I ‘preciate you saying that and all, but with all the cameras in yo’ face today and with Dee being so close to Alexis and Aisha, Bonz is bound to hear about what happened at the track from somebody,” Millsap replied, blinking away any fear he’d felt as he straightened his posture like the man that he deemed himself to be. Unlike his father, he was no punk. “When he does, just let him know that we squashed any beef between us, a’ight?”
“Done,” Royal agreed, extending his hand this time. Then after they shook on it, they parted ways as unexpected friends.
“Dee, is that you?” asked Millsap, interrupting Delia and the olive-skinned man she was kissing.
Reluctantly putting their kiss on pause, Delia withdrew from Royal and turned to address the two men from her past. “Yeah, it’s me,” she said, giving them a genuine smile, despite her slight irritation at being interrupted from what promised to be the smooch of a lifetime.
“I thought that was you, girl. What’s up?” Millsap replied, grabbing hold of that smile like he’d just been given a million bucks.
That secret crush he’d had on Delia for years gained even more energy within him. It refused to be suppressed any longer. Especially with all signs pointing to her heart being completely healed now. Unfortunately, it looked like another man had already put dibs on Delia’s heart.
Not for long if I have anything to say about it, Millsap thought, determined to finally lay claim to someone that he deemed to be a hustler’s ideal woman. The kind of woman that understood the game and knew what it took to be with a man in a high risk environment.
“I’ve been up to a little bit of everything. How y’all doing?” Delia looked from Millsap to Mike-Mike in turn as she spoke. No need to ask what they were doing in Florida. A veteran of the drug game, Delia already knew the answer to that question.
“We keepin’ it popping. You know how we do.” Millsap grinned, plucking the collar of the expensive black jacket he had on with emphasis.
“Boy, you still crazy.” Delia chuckled at his animated reaction. “Listen, I want y’all to meet my…new man, Royal,” she said, stumbling over her introduction for some reason.
Unknown to Millsap, that stumbling was caused by one thing and one thing only - a secret. That secret: Delia and Royal were married. Had been for months now. Unfortunately, they weren’t at liberty to announce it yet due to lingering opposition from her eldest son.
“Royal, this is Millsap and Mike-Mike, old friends of mine from Enfield,” Delia continued with the introductions as she pushed her secret to the back of her mind.
“Nice to meet you,” Royal said, courteously extending his hand towards the more talkative man first.
Millsap’s eyes narrowed at Royal. “What’s up, playa?” His handshake was reluctant.
“Nothing much,” Royal replied, moving on to Mike-Mike, whose handshake was a lot more willing. “We’re just here to watch the show.”
“Dee, you should have told me you were into drag racing. I would’ve been brought you down here.” Millsap turned his attention back to Delia, basically ignoring Royal now.
“I didn’t know I liked drag racing myself until Royal brought me today,” Delia replied, suddenly realizing something she’d overlooked before – Millsap was interested in her!
No wonder he hadn’t responded well to her attempts to match him up with Cami. No wonder he was looking at her with so much open interest right now.
“Now I love it,” Delia added, affectionately putting her arms about Royal’s waist to show that she loved him, too.
Millsap shrugged off the obvious and then continued to subtly try to woo her away. “How them kids doing? I heard you had one more after you left. A little girl. I bet she’s pretty just like her mama.”
“They’re all fine,” Delia replied, ignoring his compliment. “My daughter’s name is Tess. In fact, Royal here delivered her.” She gazed lovingly up into her man’s eyes when she said that last part.
Millsap bristled at that amorous look. Jealousy singed his heart. Why couldn’t she look at him that way?
“You a doctor, man?” Mike-Mike asked, speaking up for the first time, though he’d been watching the interactions very closely.
“Yes, an OB/GYN,” Royal replied, addressing the more affable man.
Millsap’s eyes narrowed again as he realized it was going to be even harder to woo Delia now. Before she’d been with one of the top three generals in Enfield’s drug game while Millsap was just a captain. Now she was with a bonafide doctor while Millsap still only issued out prescriptions of the street pharmaceutical kind. Was this woman forever going to be out of his reach?
“Cool,” Mike-Mike said, looking impressed by Delia’s ability to snag a man like Royal. Especially with her past. Did the good doctor even know about her past?
As if he was thinking along the same lines as his partner in crime, Millsap said, “We miss you in Enfield, Dee…you and E-Blade.” That last part was one of the biggest lies he’d ever told. Hardly anyone missed hot-headed E-Blade. Most were glad that he was dead.
Delia’s cheeks colored at that particular reminder of her past. Beside her, Royal stiffened as the tension within their little group rose.
“I guess Delia needed a change from Enfield and all the bad things that went on there,” Royal countered, letting his rival know that he knew all about her past and still accepted her.
“Naw, what Dee needs is to get back among her own crew. Among folks she understands. Among folks that understand her,” Millsap retorted, looking for any excuse to attack Royal verbally or physically.
“Maybe these folks don’t understand Delia as much as they think. Maybe they never did. Otherwise they’d know that she and her kids needed a new life after that tragedy with E-Blade,” Royal countered again, standing his ground.
“Fellas, ain’t no need for all this,” Delia tried to intervene, looking anxious.
“Oh, there is definitely a need for all this and a little bit more,” Millsap replied, giving Royal a menacing look.
Since Millsap wouldn’t listen to reason, Delia turned pleading eyes towards Royal. “Baby, listen. Let’s just go.”
“Go? Why? The show isn’t over yet,” Royal replied with forced calmness, keeping steady eyes upon his enemy.
Fortunately Mike-Mike had chosen to remain neutral in this testosterone struggle over a female, so it was still a one-on-one situation. Had this been about a drug deal where buyers were usually outnumbered and outgunned by their suppliers, he would have quickly rallied on the side of his partner.
“Baby, this ain’t a guy you want to mess with,” Delia cautioned.
“I could care less who he is…” Royal’s voice trailed off as something greater than their argument suddenly caught his attention.
Sailing right for the back of Millsap’s head was the wayward wheel of a purple Mustang from the track directly behind them. It had somehow snapped loose from all the rubber the driver had burned during take-off.
Making the only decision he could, Royal pushed Delia aside for her own safety, then lunged for his rival. Fortunately, he knocked Millsap down just in time to avoid the man’s head being flattened from the impact of the propelling tire. He even pulled Mike-Mike down, too, though the other man had not been in any immediate danger.
With wide eyes, Delia watched Royal save the life of the man who’d practically threatened his life. If she hadn’t already been in love with him, she definitely would be now.
At first Millsap thought he was being attacked and so tried to push Royal off him immediately. However, when he saw that tire fly past where he’d been standing only seconds before, he knew that he’d just been saved.
Millsap also knew that the good doctor was a better man than him. He would have let the tire hit Royal, ensuring himself a place in Delia’s life as her new man once and for all. Now he felt ashamed of himself. Very ashamed.
“Everybody all right?” Royal asked, staring directly at Delia when he said that. She was his biggest concern. He had pushed her to the ground pretty hard a few seconds ago and needed to know that she was okay.
“I…I’m fine, baby,” Delia replied, giving Royal a ravenous gaze, as if she was actually turned on by his heroism.
For some reason that amorous look didn’t bother Millsap at all this time. Maybe he’d been changed by this near-death experience. Either way, he finally accepted the obvious and inevitable truth – Delia just wasn’t meant for him. She was meant for the good doctor. And Millsap was suddenly all right with that.
Royal seemed to almost forget what he was about to say next at Delia’s ardent look. He blinked rapidly and refocused. “You all right, man?” he asked Millsap, finally withdrawing from him.
“I’m cool,” Millsap replied, looking exactly how he felt - ashamed. “Thanks for looking out for a brotha.”
“No problem,” Royal told him with forgiving eyes. Then he turned to Mike-Mike. “What about you, man? Everything’s cool with you, too?”
“Yeah, I’m cool, too.” Mike-Mike grinned, moving to stand upright again. “What are you, the black ClarkKent or something?” he added, referring to Superman’s alter ego.
Royal chuckled and stood to his feet, as well. “No, I’m just a regular guy.” He quickly moved to help Delia upon her feet again as concerned people started to come their way.
“Don’t believe him, y’all,” Delia said, putting her arms about Royal’s torso. “This man is my very own superhero.” She moved even closer to him.
“I believe you.” Though shaken, Millsap finally rose to his feet. A new level of respect for Royal was in his eyes and tone now.
That was the last the foursome got to say to each other for a while as more people surrounded them, wanting to know if they were all without injury. Many wanted to talk to the man whose quick thinking and fast actions had saved at least one life today. Royal was even interviewed by a local television crew, which meant many more people would know what Millsap now did - that modern day heroes really did exist.
A lot of changes occurred after that E-Blade and Cami fiasco. Bonz and Racker recovered from their injuries. They both got married, became bonafide family men, and fully legitimate in all of their business endeavors. They were even Christians now, going to church on the regular.
Bonz’s wife was none other than Aisha, despite the fact that she plotted revenge on him due to misguided information about her deceased brother Dominic. Because her love for him proved to be genuine after all, Bonz forgave Aisha for entering his life under false pretenses and married her anyway. He even forgave her for blowing up the old lab, which was the second secret he discovered about her, but still hadn’t shared with anyone. Not even with Racker.
Delia did not do any hard time. E-Blade’s dying words were able to save her from any prolonged jail time. It was a good thing, too, since she was discovered to be pregnant with his third child shortly after his death.
Unfortunately for Millsap, Delia left the state of Georgia altogether and moved to Florida with her mother and children. He might have pursued her even then, but after Alexis told him that Delia had sworn off romance forever, Millsap decided to just let the woman be. It was clear that E-Blade had done irreparable damage to Delia’s heart. As a result, it was quite possible that she might need a lifetime to get over it.
As for Cami, she was still in jail. Her son used to be in Delia’s care, but was now living with her father up in Seattle, Washington.
Meanwhile, the new crew at the top of Enfield’s drug game, Millsap, Mike-Mike, and Franco (who eventually took E-Blade’s spot), were keeping things under control in the city by any means necessary. They were prospering while doing so.
Right now, Millsap and Mike-Mike were in Florida preparing to make another drug buy. In an effort to waste time before the transaction was scheduled to occur, the two generals went to a local race track and hung out. Franco was missing from their presence today on account of his latest girlfriend going into labor over the last twenty-four hours.
Franco was very popular with the ladies, which was why he had so many baby-mamas. Which was also just one of the reasons he stayed so broke. In fact, Franco owed Millsap a few grand now, but he wasn’t holding it over his head. Especially since he always paid him back eventually.
Is that Dee? Millsap mused, suddenly spotting a woman that looked just like Delia Valentine.
The woman in question wore a brown and tan outfit which consisted of a pullover sweater and wide-legged pants that looked more like a free-flowing skirt than trousers. Whoever this woman was, she looked prosperous and happy. She also looked preoccupied…with a man!
If that is Dee, then her heart has clearly healed, Millsap mused, straining his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.
“Mike-Mike, don’t that look like Dee Valentine to you?” Millsap said, trying to get a second opinion as he pointed to the elegantly dressed woman across the field.
“Yep,” Mike-Mike replied. “Wonder who’s that dude she’s with,” he added, noting the tall olive-skinned man with her.
“Let’s go find out,” Millsap suggested, leading the way.
Book giveaway question for this post is in the comment section. The first one to answer it correctly wins a free E-Book of his/her choice. Previous winners don’t qualify.
“Police are still looking into last week’s near fatal shootings of two local businessmen,” the perky anchorwoman said. “Anyone with any information in this case, please call the number on the screen.”
“The man who shot them is dead and buried,” Millsap said to the television as he sat brooding in his newly furnished apartment. “I went to the funeral just yesterday.”
Unlike the police, everyone in the drug game knew exactly who was responsible for Bonz and Racker’s shootings. Though none of them would ever break code and tell the authorities, they all knew that E-Blade betrayed his friends that fateful night he ended up dying himself. He’d been betraying them for years by constantly diluting the product to increase his own profits. And this was despite the fact that he received the greatest street percentage among the generals anyway.
Did the other generals know about E-Blade’s monetary betrayals?
Bonz knew about some of them since he usually kept his ear to the streets. Millsap knew about them all because he’d worked directly under E-Blade for years. He’d been just about to work directly under Bonz as a general-in-training when the drug lab blew up.
“In other news, local and state authorities have ruled out terrorism as the cause of last week’s explosion on Old Savannah Road. Rather they attribute that isolated incident as the work of anti-drug radicals who sought to make a bigger dent in Enfield’s war on drugs. Area residents are praising those responsible for destroying the secret drug lab, which had been cleverly nestled underground beneath several rows of abandoned houses.”
“You won’t hear no praises from me!” Millsap shouted at the television. That one incident stopped him from rising among the ranks and he was very bitter about it. Thus all the ranting at the anchorwoman on the TV screen.
“Furthermore, even Police Chief Wyman couldn’t help but agree that the loss of that secret lab made his job amazingly easier this past week,” the anchorwoman continued. “In fact, the crime rate in Enfield dropped 40% over the last seven days. That is a significant reduction worthy of noting. Now our Channel 3 viewer question of the day includes: Do you think the person(s) responsible for this explosion should be found and persecuted? Or left alone and commended?”
“Found and persecuted to the fullest extent of the law!” Millsap shouted, ready to put a hit out on the person responsible for his lost opportunity and loss in profits.
Suddenly his cell phone rang. The Lil Wayne Stunning Like My Daddy ringtone revealed that it was a text message from one of the generals. Millsap scrambled to view the message. The anchorwoman on the television was long forgotten now.
The message read: “Tag. You’re it, young general. PS. Let the lab go. ALL of it. More later.” Then a large animated bone dressed in a general’s uniform appeared on the screen, gave him a military salute, and then waved goodbye before exiting the screen again.
Millsap whooped loudly and jumped excitedly in the air.
Was he happy that Bonz and Racker survived that attack from E-Blade?
Yes.
But he was even happier about that clandestine message Bonz just sent him. Especially since it meant that Bonz had given him that intended promotion anyway.
That message meant a few other things, as well. One, that Bonz wanted him to let the lab thing drop completely, which meant he likely knew who destroyed it and was handling the situation himself. Two, that Bonz had officially retired from the game and would contact him later with more vital information like detailed locations of their minor labs, which were still operational.
The phone call Millsap received from Racker soon thereafter confirmed what Bonz had communicated by text. The only addition was the fact that Racker was retiring from the game, too, and that Mike-Mike was his replacement.
Millsap was completely shocked now and yet thrilled at the same time by this unexpected turn of events. It was inconceivable that both generals would retire in one day.
The fact that Bonz and Racker appointed replacements instead of just stepping aside quietly proved just how worthy they’d been of their ranks. They knew that Millsap and Mike-Mike would have challengers to their newfound power and thus needed a certain stamp of approval to keep order among the street force. In short, this was Bonz and Racker’s way of keeping the body count down.
The first thing I’m gonna do is build another lab, Millsap mused after hanging up with Racker. Except this time the main lab would be built in a more rural area. This way, they could better monitor the comings and goings of visitors and employees alike, and hopefully avoid another bomb threat.
When the euphoria from his recent promotion subsided a little, Millsap’s thoughts finally returned to Delia. He’d been thinking about her a lot more lately. His heart grieved for her.
Millsap hated that E-Blade’s infidelities had finally driven Delia over the edge, causing her to take E-Blade’s life the same night he tried to take the life of his longtime friends. He hated Cami even more for helping to send Delia over that edge.
I knew she was no good, Millsap thought, glad that Cami was locked up on a drug charge stemming from all the narcotics the police found in her apartment that fateful night. The fact that her case was an open and shut matter made for quicker processing and sentencing.
Had Millsap known that Cami was waiting down the road with the car lights off while E-Blade exacted revenge upon his friends in another car, he would have despised her even more. Had the authorities known she was at the scene of yet another crime, they might have given her more time behind bars instead of just under five years.
Millsap just hoped Delia beat her manslaughter charge since shooting E-Blade had been deemed accidental by even him before he died. Millsap also hoped that Delia’s heart would heal from all this trauma. That maybe one day she’d be emotionally ready to love again.
And when she is, I’m gonna be ready to love her back, Millsap vowed, undeterred by Delia’s violent tendencies. Especially since he deemed them purely a product of her tainted romantic environment. In fact, he was convinced that if Delia had a faithful man, she wouldn’t be violent at all.
I’m gonna be that faithful man, Millsap promised himself, willing to turn in his playa’s card for a quality woman like Delia. He was even willing to help her finish raising E-Blade’s kids.
In the meantime, he was going to stay away from nasty women who were unworthy of being faithful to. In particular Paris, the woman that caused Millsap to have to get a shot of penicillin and be on antibiotics for two weeks straight.
A brotha is double bagging it from now on, he vowed, making yet another promise to himself.
E-Blade and Delia argued for the rest of the night. Sometimes quietly. Sometimes very loudly.
The loud arguing eventually awakened the kids from their slumber. The two Jackwood boys continued to lie in their bed, listening hard without moving or making a sound. Cami’s son, Little Man, got out of bed and went to make inquiry with his mother, unable to take the suspense about the nature of the arguments any longer.
“We gotta move again, Mama?” Little Man asked. For only five-years-old, he was extremely astute about grownup matters. Always had been.
“Yeah,” Cami replied, ignoring her smarting eye as she quietly packed their things into three suitcases. She had enough money for a hotel room for a few days, but not enough to last them beyond a week.
E-Blade is gonna have to help me get that apartment after all, Cami mused, throwing even more things into the suitcases.
She and E-Blade had talked about her moving often enough since their affair begin. He’d been against it before because with Cami having no job and no man, Delia would have surely figured out that he was her sugar daddy. She’d been suspicions enough when E-Blade unexpectedly bought her cousin a new car recently.
Now that our secret is out, there’s nothing stopping me from getting my own place, Cami mused.
“You made Mama Dee mad?” Little Man asked, interrupting his mother’s thoughts.
Slammed hard by his astuteness at knowing that she was somehow partly to blame for this late night move and by his now frequent use of his new nickname for Delia, Cami felt too many emotions to name right now. Jealousy was the dominant one though. It was what made her glad that her and E-Blade’s secret had finally come out.
In her own place, Cami could regain the right to be the only woman her son called Mama. She could also return to actually behaving like a real mother, which she hadn’t been doing lately.
“Dee won’t be mad forever,” Cami finally replied, deliberately skirting past the heart of her son’s question. “In the meantime, we’re going to be moving into a place of our own soon. A place where you will have your own room again.”
Little Man’s eyes lit up. “My own room?”
“Yeah, your own everything.” Cami smiled. “We’re going to be so happy in our own place,” she promised, pulling her son into her arms. Something that she would be doing a lot more of from now on in order to break Little Man’s attachment to Delia.
Unfortunately for Cami, she would not be able to keep that promise to her son…at least not for very long. In fact, their happiness in that new apartment would only last a good week.
Sadly, before that week was out, three people in their crew would be shot, one killed, and two incarcerated. All because of Cami and E-Blade’s greed, jealousy, and unwillingness to respect boundaries.
Cami’s scream brought Delia running back downstairs. Delia’s eyes widened with shock when she saw the two childhood friends/business partners going at each other like bitter enemies.
What in the world had happened to create this kind of chaos in her home?
Delia was about to find out more than she bargained for.
“Stop, y’all! Remember the kids, remember the kids!” Delia shouted over the loud expletives stinging the air. Somebody had to remember the kids in case the two men started doing more than cursing and throwing blows. Especially since both men were known to tote guns.
Delia’s sudden appearance caused E-Blade and Bonz to do what Racker hadn’t been able to accomplish alone – calm the men down far enough to separate from each other. Even still one could tell that that separation was reluctant, because the men still looked like they wanted to kill each other.
“Got some nerve tryna fight me over some freak that’s way out of his league anyway. Look at her on the TV all hugged up with some other dude,” E-Blade said, getting in a last shot, even if it was only a verbal one.
“You wish you had a woman like that!” Bonz retorted, ready to go at it again. Fortunately, Racker restrained him this time.
“Whatcha mean he wish he had a woman like that?!” an insulted Delia asked. Now she was furious with Bonz, too. “Aisha might be cute, but she ain’t all that now!”
“And I guess you are, huh?” Bonz turned to glare at Delia. She should have just stayed out of this. Now she was going to get hurt, as well. “You’re so busy trying to fight every woman in the street, when the one you got living in your house is dissing you the most.”
Cami let out a loud gasp. Her eyes snapped to E-Blade’s.
Did he tell anyone what was going on between them?
The surprised look on E-Blade’s face revealed that he hadn’t said a word. Yet Bonz had known anyway. Cami only had herself to blame for that, considering how brazenly she’d acted with her secret lover tonight.
Suddenly Cami let out another sound. This time a cry of pain, as Delia’s right fist connected with her left eye, the same eye Aisha had blackened just last month.
“I want all of y’all out of my house right now! And that means you, too,” Delia said, turning to glare pointedly at E-Blade. Despite her anger, the deep pain of betrayal shimmered in her eyes.
“But, Dee, me and Little Man have no place else to go,” Cami wailed as she held her smarting eye. It was going to be black and blue in the morning.
“You should have thought of that before you slept with my man!” Delia retorted, before stomping angrily back up to her bedroom. What she had feared the most had come upon her – her man cheating on her with a relative.
“I’ll deal with you later,” E-Blade told Bonz in a menacing tone before quickly trailing behind Delia. His heart had lunged in his throat when she looked at him just then. E-Blade had to try to do something to ease her pain. Anything.
Halfway out of the room, E-Blade glanced back one last time at his now ex-friend. Yeah, I’ll definitely deal with you later, he decided, again blaming the wrong person for his troubles. It wasn’t Bonz’s fault that E-Blade was such a dog, the worst kind of dog that didn’t know how to respect family boundaries.
The menacing look Bonz gave him in return actually served to solidify E-Blade’s plan of revenge. Nothing would stand in the way of that vengeance. Not the fact that they were business partners in the drug game and had so much money at stake. Nor the fact that they had a big shipment in just two days. Not even the fact that they were once beloved childhood friends.
I just need to figure out what to do with Racker, E-Blade mused, concerning the only person who stood in the way of him exacting a worthy revenge upon Bonz.
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Having enlisted as E-Blade’s new partner in crime, Cami patiently awaited the day when they would put their plan to remove Aisha from Bonz’s life in motion. That day was the Sunday of Aisha’s London premiere. A premiere that Bonz had not accompanied her to.
As soon as Bonz arrived at E-Blade and Delia’s house to watch a football game, Cami could tell that he didn’t really want to be there today. No doubt he wanted to be in London with his model/actress chick.
Cami knew exactly why Bonz wasn’t with Aisha at such a prestigious event. After E-Blade’s meeting with the model, which included blackmailing her about a hidden secret she had, it was determined that Aisha would bow out of Bonz’s life gracefully. That she would not be putting her career temporarily on hold in order to get married and start a family with him as planned. That Aisha would, in fact, leave Bonz’s life forever.
I can hardly wait, Cami mused, anxious to see Bonz reap some of the same rejection she’d felt from him. Then she would swoop down and claim the heartbroken man as her own when his defenses were at their lowest.
Although Bonz seemed to be doing his best to reconnect with his friends tonight, whom he’d been neglecting lately on account of Aisha, Cami could tell that E-Blade wasn’t going to make it easy for him. In fact, he was acting moodier than usual. E-Blade even went so far as to joke about Bonz slumming with the little people tonight.
At Bonz’s snappy comeback, their third partner, Racker, soon fell into the role of referee between them.
Cami didn’t make things any better by constantly bringing up Aisha’s name for no reason at all. Exactly like she was doing right now.
“That’s a fly ride right there,” Cami said, pointing to the black Mercedes on the TV screen. “Much flyer than that red Jag Aisha got.”
Bonz rolled his eyes upwards and blew out an exasperated breath. “Cami, can you please kill that noise? You and I just weren’t meant to be, all right? So you can just stop hating on Aisha.”
Cami scoffed. “I ain’t hating on nobody. You wasn’t all that no way.”
“Good.” Bonz was ready to agree with anything just to get her to shut up.
“Y’all so crazy.” Delia chuckled at their verbal exchange. Then she turned to E-Blade and said, “I’m going up to bed now. I have a lot going on at work tomorrow.”
“A’ight, baby.” E-Blade barely looked away from the television set when he said that.
“Night-night, cousin,” Cami sang out super-sweetly as Delia rose from between them on the black leather couch all three had sat upon this evening.
This time Delia rolled her eyes upwards. She was so ready for her cousin to move out that it wasn’t even funny. But since Cami still hadn’t found another hustler to replace the one she lost to the prison system in Texas, she was still living off Delia and E-Blade.
Instead of looking up, Delia should have been looking around. If she had, she might have caught Cami giving E-Blade the covert eye of interest. She might have seen one of the worst kinds of betrayal.
Unfortunately for Cami and E-Blade, Bonz and Racker saw what Delia had missed. They quickly picked up on the fact that Cami decided to shop for her new hustler right there at home.
When her cousin was out of the room, Cami moved closer to E-Blade on the couch. She picked up the remote and turned to another channel.
“Hey, turn that back!” E-Blade gruffed out beside her, though he didn’t look all that upset by her actions.
“It’s on a commercial. I’ll turn it right back, I promise. And you know I always keep my promises, E-Blade.” Cami gave him a heated look that had nothing to do with anger. A scorching look that instantly melted any anger E-Blade had, real or fake, since it was preplanned that he would appear reluctant with the remote.
Caught up with her present desires, Cami almost forgot that others were still in the room. It had been just that long since she’d been sexually active with a man.
Quickly getting back in character, Cami used the remote to turn the channel. She pasted a look of shock on her face when she paused at a particular station. “Hey, ain’t that your model chick right there?” She turned to Bonz with a smug look on her face.
Bonz’s head snapped to the right. Sure enough Aisha’s beautiful face was on E-Blade’s wide screen TV. She had on an equally beautiful golden dress. Except she wasn’t alone. On her arm was none other than Jarrett, a man that Aisha claimed was only a friendly brother-type, but whose eyes she was smiling adoringly up into in a non-sisterly fashion.
Now the whole world would assume that they were a couple.
Were they?
Upon seeing Aisha on the arm of Jarrett, Bonz let out a harsh expletive through clenched teeth. Rage surged through his body as he stood to his feet. His hands balled into fists. He wanted to smash something…someone.
“Man, that chicken head is playing you like a fool,” E-Blade said with a smug smile of his own. He was pleased that Aisha had kept her word. That she’d chosen to diss Bonz so publicly in order to protect the secret of why she’d really hooked up with him in the first place. Cami had played the moment out perfectly by switching channels at the right time.
Bonz turned to glare down at E-Blade. “Check your mouth before I do, partner!”
“No, you need to check yo’self in my crib!” E-Blade stood to his feet. He didn’t appreciate Bonz getting rowdy in his house one bit. “Don’t get hot with me ‘cause you ain’t got no control over yo’ woman.”
At those words, Bonz rushed E-Blade and slammed him up against the den wall.
Cami screamed and got out of the way as Bonz’s large fists commenced to delivering mighty blows to E-Blade’s face. Only Racker tried to break the two men apart.
Cami was in the den when E-Blade came downstairs for a late night beer. She had a freezer bag of ice up to her lips. Another one up to her left eye.
“Let me see what she did to you,” E-Blade said, offering to examine Cami’s wounds as he sat down beside her on the couch with beer in hand.
At the gentleness of his voice, Cami’s eyes welled up with tears. Oh, how she missed the tender attentions of a man. Her mind immediately went to thoughts of Bonz, who’d been such a gentleman during the short time they’d dated.
“What does he see in her?” Cami asked, removing the bags from her face. Like E-Blade, she refused to call Aisha by name. It was too bitter on their tongues.
E-Blade smirked and cocked his head to the side. “Come on now, Cami. You ain’t blind. You know exactly what Bonz sees in her.” He put his bottle of beer on the coffee table directly across from them. Then he cupped her face with one hand and gingerly touched her bottom lip with the other.
“But I can do anything she can do. Probably better. But did he ever give me a real chance to prove it? No!” Ire blazed in her eyes.
E-Blade shook his head. “Too bad. I bet you would’ve put it on him real good, too,” he said, allowing his eyes to travel down to her shapely thighs before looking upwards again.
“I sho’ would’ve.” Cami felt a different kind of heat now.
“It’s his loss.”
“Sho’ is,” Cami replied, feeling her confidence rising along with her desire to just connect with a man tonight. Any man. Even her cousin’s man.
“I think your lip is gonna be fine by morning.” E-Blade slowly traced her bottom lip in a sensual manner now.
Cami nodded. “I wish I had a man to kiss it and make it all better now,” she said, giving him a heated look that reeked of desire.
E-Blade’s voice grew huskier. “I could be that man for you, Cami. Want me to be?”
With no thought of her loyal cousin, a disloyal Cami whispered, “Yes.”
Together they rose and made their way to the third floor of the tri-level house. Sleeping soundly on the second floor was an unsuspecting Delia. Unfortunately, the two lovers didn’t seem to care anything about her at the moment.
* * *
After doing the unthinkable and utterly disrespectful, E-Blade and Cami returned to the den to talk.
Did they talk about the shameful thing they’d just done?
No. They talked about Aisha. About how they both wanted her out of the picture.
They couldn’t kill her. If they did, Bonz wouldn’t rest until he’d tracked down her murderers and killed them, too. Though E-Blade wasn’t afraid of Bonz, they had too many business ties together to muddy their relationship up with something that extreme.
A whole six-pack later, E-Blade finally had the answer to their problem. Thanks to the new information Cami inadvertently learned about their enemy from Millsap tonight, he now knew exactly how to get Aisha out of their hair.
While Delia dozed in their bedroom, E-Blade went to take a shower. As the warm water cascaded down his body, his mind swirled in reflection, reviewing all that had happened tonight during the Playas Ball and afterwards. No matter which way E-Blade’s thoughts turned, he kept coming to the same conclusion – Aisha had to go.
Because of Aisha, Delia and Alexis’ longstanding friendship was now in jeopardy. Because of Aisha, Bonz and Racker had become a couple of boring Joes who didn’t know how to have real fun anymore. Because of Aisha and her oversexed body, E-Blade was constantly reminded of what he didn’t have with Delia. Of what he thought he’d had again tonight until things went terribly wrong.
We came so close, E-Blade mused, now reflecting upon what happened between him and Delia after the Playas Ball.
Having left the kids at the babysitter’s overnight, because they didn’t want to shock them with Cami’s swollen lip and eye, E-Blade and Delia went straight up to their bedroom when they made it home. Cami went to put ice on her face.
Convinced that they were going to have another argument about his behavior at this year’s Playas Ball, E-Blade braced himself for more nagging. Instead of nagging, he got kisses. Delia was like a wild woman, kissing, touching, and grinding against him like the old days.
Overcome with the possibility that his woman had somehow returned to her former self, E-Blade literally ripped Delia’s dress from her body and proceeded to love on her with unbridled passion. Their foreplay was hotter than hot. There was no place Delia didn’t touch him. There was no place he didn’t touch her. Oh, it was so like the old days.
Everything was fine until…until E-Blade actually entered her. At first Delia was as tropical as a Caribbean island from their heated prelude. Yet as soon as the curtains to the main act rose, she became as dry as the SaharaDesert.
Even now E-Blade didn’t know what happened to turn her faucet off. Though Delia tried to fake that she was still enjoying herself, he knew better. He knew she was just trying to stroke his ego, trying to act like they still had it, when it was long gone. Might not ever return.
Feeling like a failure in yet another area of his life, E-Blade did what he always did at times like these – blame somebody else.
If Dee can’t give me what I need, ain’t no reason for her to get mad about me getting it from somebody else, he mused, finally turning off the shower.
Millsap knew things where about to spin out of control again the second he saw Cami grab Aisha’s hair and jerk her head back hard against the chair.
Would the model chick fight back? Did she even know how to?
That was left to be seen.
“Let her go, Cami!” Bonz shouted, throwing his cell phone on the table after just calling in more reinforcements to restore order elsewhere in the club.
“Uh-uh, baby. I got this,” Aisha said calmly, stopping him from intervening. “You want some of me, trick? Come get it,” she added, grabbing Cami by one of her arms and slinging her forward.
Cami’s midriff hit the table hard. The impact completely knocked the wind out of her. It also knocked Bonz’s phone on the floor.
Millsap winced like so many others who’d seen that move. Oh, Aisha ain’t no joke, he mused, starting to feel a little sorry for Cami now. Just a little.
With her hair now free, Aisha sprung to her feet. Using both fists, she began to annihilate Cami with swift punches to the body and the face, talking trash the whole time.
“Didn’t know what you were getting into, did you?” Aisha said, sending a right hook to her opponent’s face. “Thought I was just another pretty face, huh?” A left hook this time.
Grinning now, Bonz casually picked up his cell phone and speed dialed someone. “E-Blade, you need to come back for Cami. Aisha in here beating the brakes off her,” he said into the receiver even as Racker and Alexis hasted to their table among the chaos.
E-Blade and Delia quickly returned inside the club. By this time, Cami had started to fight back, but it was no use. Aisha had long since gained the upper hand and wasn’t about to relinquish it any time soon.
“Back up off my cousin!” Delia shouted, rushing over to the table where the main event was being held.
People around them stopped fighting each other to see what was about to go down at the generals’ table. The DJ cut the music. Even some of the VIP inhabitants came downstairs to investigate. Oh, yeah, Aisha and Cami’s fight was definitely a main event now for sure.
Millsap let out a frustrated breath. He didn’t want Delia involved in Cami’s mess. Especially since her cousin was the one that started the fight with Aisha.
Now holding Cami in a chokehold, Aisha turned around and faced Delia. “My beef is not with you, Delia. But if you want to join this party, you can,” Aisha said, not even out of breath.
“I don’t have no beef with you either, Aisha, but Cami is family,” Delia replied. “Now let her go,” she hissed menacingly.
“Make me,” Aisha challenged, tightening her hold on the gasping woman.
Before Bonz and Racker could intervene as this fight suddenly became unfair, Alexis stepped forward and evened the odds. “If you want to fight Aisha, you’re going to have to go through me first,” she told her longtime friend.
“You gone side with her?” Delia asked, looking more hurt than shocked.
“I’m on the side of what’s right,” Alexis replied, standing akimbo style in front of Aisha. “You and Cami are wrong for trying to jump Aisha when she ain’t been nothing but good to all of us. So I’m gonna tell your cousin what you should have a long time ago,” she continued, using her own fair share of Ebonics in the heat of the moment. “Move on already, Cami. There are other fish in the sea.”
Then Alexis turned to her new friend. “Aisha, please let that jealous heifer go, so she can do just that, move the heck on.”
“All right, but if she swing on me, it’s on again,” Aisha replied, finally releasing her hold on Cami. “Get,” she said, shoving her defeated foe away from her.
Stumbling into her cousin’s arms, Cami took deep breaths, trying to pull as much air as she could into her starving lungs. There was no fight left in her.
That’s what you get, Millsap mused, showing Cami no sympathy at all now.
“Are we all right now?” Bonz asked, moving to put an arm around Aisha’s waist as his eyes locked with E-Blade’s and no one else’s.
Like everyone else, Millsap heard that question from one general to the other. Like everyone else, he knew that it went deeper than the current situation. It meant were the men in the crew still all right, despite what just occurred between their womenfolk.
E-Blade broke gaze briefly to look at Aisha with icy eyes. Blinking the icicles away, he turned a warmer gaze back to Bonz. “Yeah. We cool,” he replied, draping an arm each around Delia and Cami’s shoulders.
A collective sigh was heard from the onlookers. The DJ turned the music back up, playing Yeah, an upbeat Usher song to get the people moving again. Club employees began to pick up fallen chairs. Attendees went back to their respective tables and rooms. As they did, they talked among themselves, collectively deeming this the best Playas Ball Enfield had ever had.
As E-Blade escorted his quiet womenfolk towards the exit, Millsap wondered if the generals were really going to be able to squash this confrontation. Or if it was going to lead to something else. Perhaps even something fatal.
It was clear that E-Blade didn’t like Bonz’s woman. That he likely hated Aisha. That issue alone was going to wreak havoc within the generals’ tight circle of friendship.
What was also clear was the fact that Bonz was in love. The way he was looking at Aisha now, the way he kept checking to make sure she was physically okay proved that fact to everybody.
Fortunately, only Aisha’s clothes and hair were damaged. She was physically just as fine as ever.
At this point, Millsap thought the remaining generals were sure to go home. Instead, they released the strippers from their duties for the night and got back into the swing of the party, creating new sources of entertainment for the crowd.
Aisha incited a Soul Train line, which went over big with everyone. Racker, who surprisingly could pop-lock like a pro, challenged other amateur pop-lockers to try to best him.
Astonishingly, a mahogany-skinned blonde-haired female named Paris, whom Millsap selected as his new love interest for the evening, won the dance challenge. Paris went home with a case of her favorite alcoholic beverage and a roll of hundreds courtesy of Racker and Bonz. She also went home with Millsap that night.
Although this was definitely the best Playas Ball Enfield had ever had, it was also a night that Millsap would never forget for one main reason.
Because of the large trophy he’d won?
No.
Because he’d seen Cami get beat down?
No.
Because this was the night he contracted his first and only STD.
When Bonz and Aisha returned to the generals’ table, Delia was sitting there alone. Racker and Alexis had dipped out to their car for a little tryst of their own. E-Blade had gone onstage to personally introduce his female employees to the crowd, one by one.
“Can I get you anything?” Aisha asked, looking truly sorry for Delia. No use asking the woman what was wrong. Everyone knew E-Blade was a notorious cheater, who didn’t seem ready to change anytime soon. Few knew that Delia’s unexplained sexual dysfunction was at the root of his infidelities.
“No, I’m fine,” Delia lied, blinking her shiny eyes clear. “Thanks anyway.” She did her best to smile.
“You’re welcome,” Aisha replied compassionately as fresh drinks were brought to their table by a diligent waitress named Tonja.
Bonz’s mouth went into a straight line as he assessed the pain on Delia’s face. Up until now he hadn’t realized just how much E-Blade’s behavior had hurt Delia. Up until now he hadn’t really cared since he’d had that same playa mindset for years.
Now that Bonz did care, he couldn’t ignore Delia’s pain any longer. He would see what he could do to talk some sense into E-Blade’s head. Or at least get the man to slow down his wayward activities.
Just then, E-Blade announced that it was time for the distribution of the awards. The minor awards when first. Hustlers from all over the club strutted up to the stage to receive their honors.
When The Hustler of the Year award was announced, no one was surprised at the recipient. Millsap was a true go-getter. He would be a general in no time if he kept up his momentum.
Three tables away from Bonz, Millsap quickly went up to get his award. His smile was wide. He’d never walked taller or prouder.
When he returned to his seat with the large trophy in hand, even Cami looked impressed. That irritated him to no end. Before the trophy, she barely paid him any attention. Now that all eyes were on him, she couldn’t stop gawking.
Too late now, girl, Millsap mused dismissively, unwilling to even look her way now.
Suddenly The Playa of the Year award winner was announced. That announcement was followed by many gasps of surprise.
Bonz had won again this year, despite the fact that he’d been off the dating market for months now on account of Aisha. As a result, he looked just as surprised as anyone else by that announcement.
“Though my boy is out of commission now, he still had more women in the first part of the year than everybody else did all year,” E-Blade bragged to everyone, explaining the reason for this win in the process as Bonz seemed to reluctantly make his way to the stage.
“As all you OG’s know, this particular award comes with a few extra perks,” E-Blade continued, handing the gold crested pimp cane over to Bonz a few short minutes later. “Ladies, come give this playa his due,” he added, calling forth every stripper on the stage.
One by one, their hands would soon be all over Bonz. Some would even give him lap dances in the red velvet pimp chair that had been placed on the stage.
Suddenly Bonz grabbed the cane with one hand, the microphone out of E-Blade’s hand with the other. “Ladies, though I appreciate what you are about to do, I have to pass on this one.” He turned towards the table where Aisha sat and added, “My lady got all the lap dances I need.”
Then amongst loud claps from the women in the club and even a few of the men, including Millsap, Bonz returned the microphone to E-Blade and quickly exited the stage.
Fire blazed in E-Blade’s eyes, yet a pasted smile remained on his face. “Well, ladies, since my boy don’t want his due, I’ll take it,” he said, sitting down in the pimp chair himself.
Millsap heard Delia before he ever saw her coming or rather going. Screaming like a banshee, she leaped upon the stage and attacked the first girl that sat in E-Blade’s lap. Cami ran up on the stage to help her cousin.
Soon mayhem broke out in the club. Not among the men, but among the women. And because the ruckus was among the women, the men in the club took their time trying to break up the catfights. They saw it as simply another form of entertainment.
To Millsap’s surprise, Aisha yoked up with the men, refusing to participate in the estrogen-laden ruckus. Like the men, she remained at her table and only observed these new developments with amusement.
“I wish there was some mud or at least a few gallons of oil involved in this mayhem,” Mike-Mike said with a wide grin.
Millsap chuckled, yet he kept his eyes on Delia. He didn’t want anything bad to happen to her even though she was known for holding her own in a fight. He could care less what happened to Cami.
E-Blade, used to Delia’s jealous outbursts, grabbed her about the waist and proceeded to carry her off the stage. Handfuls of some woman’s hair were between her fingers. One of her shoes was gone, pulled off in the heat of battle to clock another woman over the head.
Millsap sighed in relief when E-Blade carried a kicking Delia towards the front exit.
Was he relieved about her going home with E-Blade?
No. Millsap was relieved about Delia being taken out of harm’s way.
Meanwhile, Cami stayed behind to work out some of her personal frustrations. When hitting other women didn’t give her the satisfaction she desired, she subtly made her way towards Aisha.
Pretending that she was going to casually pass by the generals’ table, Cami waited until Bonz and Aisha’s backs were to her before quickly detouring behind them. The time was just right to strike.
“Trick!” Cami snarled, grabbing a handful of Aisha’s long hair.
Hearing Millsap chuckle beside her, Cami finally turned the whole of her attention to her date. Not only did she like the sound of Millsap’s voice, she finally realized that he was one handsome man in his own right. Especially with those brownish-green eyes of his and all those big muscles.
Even now Cami was openly admiring Millsap’s muscles, taking a minor reprieve from her jealous ire in order to just appreciate another fine male specimen. With his jacket off, she could really see how muscular he truly was. Every time Millsap lifted his drink to his mouth, his biceps looked like they wanted to burst out of that black dress shirt. And it wasn’t even tight on him either.
Fully aware of Cami’s eyes on him as he continued to converse with his friends, Millsap surprisingly felt heat everywhere her gaze touched down. He didn’t think he would, considering his dislike of her. And yet here he was actually enjoying her open perusal of him.
I guess Franco was right. You don’t have to like a woman to sleep with her, Millsap mused, willing to sleep with Cami in spite of her obvious flaws.
I bet she is full of fire, Millsap deduced silently, finally meeting Cami’s hot gaze with one of his own.
Suddenly time seemed to stand still. The things and people around them seemed to fade into the background as something within her called to something within him. Something wild and untamed. Something that Millsap was determined to explore until…
Cami suddenly broke gaze and turned to scan the room. She was obviously looking for someone - Bonz.
Swallowing that subtle rejection like a man, Millsap brought his drink to his mouth again and took a long swig this time. This date couldn’t be over fast enough for him now for sure. No more favors like this for anyone. Not even Delia.
Despite Cami’s clear attraction to Millsap, it wasn’t strong enough yet to quench the deep craving she still had for Bonz. More specifically, the deep craving she had for his money and status.
Bonz was a general with more money than both of his peers. Millsap was only a captain and didn’t even own a house yet, though that was inevitable since he was so driven to succeed. In fact, many had him pegged as a sure winner of tonight’s Hustler of the Year award.
Even so, Cami’s eyes would not stop scanning the room for Bonz’s return. She even refused to dance with Millsap when he eventually asked her to. And not just because he’d half-heartedly made that request, either.
He ain’t won that award yet, Cami thought. Until then, Millsap would still be just a lowly captain in her eyes.
Finally, Bonz and Aisha returned to the main area of the club.
Cami’s temper grew hot all over again when she saw their modified appearances. Bonz’s hat was gone, clearly left behind wherever he’d obviously just had sex at. Aisha’s hair, which once sported a mass of curls, was now parted in the middle and combed straight back. Their clothes were a little more wrinkled, but not terribly so. They were still presentable enough to make it through the rest of the night in good style.
That should have been me with him, Cami thought, too wrapped up in her own misery to care that her cousin was just as miserable tonight at her own table.
When the DJ announced that it was time for a bit of special entertainment, everyone returned to their tables. When all were seated, the room suddenly became completely dark. A large movie screen descended from the ceiling behind the dance floor. Soon the Kiss, Kiss video by Chris Brown and T-Pain appeared on the screen.
Simultaneously, several stripper poles ascended from the floor. A line of strippers came from an east side door. They headed towards the elevated dance floor/stage, bouncing and shaking their money-makers all the way.
The red and white cheerleading uniforms the strippers wore consisted of a wide strip of material across their breasts and another ruffled strip across their pelvic area. Their exposed backs bore the company logo of E-Blade’s new strip club.
The eyes of every man in the place became glued to the stage, anxious to see what the scanty clad women were going to do next. Millsap stared, picking out all the onions in the crowd. The thicker, the better.
Wincing, Cami snatched her gaze away from the stage. It pained her to even look at the strippers. They reminded her too much of her mother and some very, very unhappy childhood memories.
By the time the song Nasty Grind by Adina Howard came on, Cami had better control of herself and Millsap’s attention had switched from the strippers on the stage to the generals’ table like so many other attendees. They were all watching Aisha give Bonz the best lap dance he probably had ever had in his life.
Cami’s eyes soon followed in that direction, causing her to get upset again for a whole nother reason now.
“Man, Bonz is a lucky dude,” Millsap said, speaking to no one in particular now.
“Sho’ is,” Mike-Mike agreed. “I bet a C-note that Bonz takes her somewhere in the back and hits that hard in about ten minutes.”
“I give him five,” Millsap replied, taking that wager.
“I call only three,” a captain named Franco Hoffman said from the next table, getting in on that wager.
Franco won. It was exactly three minutes later that Bonz and Aisha left the generals’ table and made their way to a private spot for a little rendezvous.
As Millsap and Mike-Mike paid their debts, Millsap happened to look over at the woman fuming quietly beside him. Cami looked like she wanted to call down lightning bolts. That made him chuckle.
That’s what you get, Millsap mused, having no sympathy for a gold-digging woman. His own mother was one and he barely had sympathy for her.
“Man, Bonz sho’ know how to pick ‘em,” Millsap said, intent on making Cami just as miserable as he was right now.
Why, oh why did he ever agree to this date?!
One word – Delia.
“She ain’t all that,” Cami replied from the chair beside him. Her eyes danced with jealous ire as she, too, watched Aisha and Bonz sway on the dance floor to Bed by J. Holiday.
Millsap cut his eyes at her, despising the hateration he saw there. This would not be a repeat date. In fact, Cami was likely to be dumped before the night was over, despite how fine she was. He’d kept his word to Delia. It wasn’t his fault that her cousin’s attitude was so stank.
“She looks all that to me,” inserted Mike-Mike. “I can’t stop looking at that Triple T video for nothing ‘cause of her.”
Millsap’s eyes widened in realization. “She was in that video, wasn’t she?” he said, finally recalling where else he’d seen Aisha. “Now I know Bonz is the man. Who else but a true playa could snag a video vixen/business owner.” He didn’t harp on Aisha’s model or actress status since Cami already knew about those.
“Business owner? What kind of business does Aisha own?” Cami asked, thoroughly saturated with jealousy now. She personally didn’t own much of anything these days. Not even her own car since the one she left Texas with a while back had recently put her down due to lack of proper maintenance. That was Cami’s own fault for not putting oil in it as frequently as she was supposed to.
“Some tight beauty shop over in Littleview,” Millsap replied, showing his malicious side by digging the verbal knife in deeper and turning it. “It’s always packed, so you know she stacking big paper over there. I got mad love for any chick willing to make her own cheese.”
“Me, too, man,” Mike-Mike co-signed. “Ain’t nothing worse than having a lazy chick who don’t want to do nothing but help you spend your loot.” The heavyset man had enough of them in his life now.
As more men at the table chimed in about trifling women (who happened to be just like Cami), she tuned them out in the face of this new information about Aisha. This was the first time she heard anything about her rival owning a business.
I wonder why nobody ever said anything, Cami mused. Especially Delia, she thought, referring to her cousin by her given name now as she started to wonder if she was switching sides on her.
Delia had been pushing Cami to abandon all thoughts of snagging a general a lot more lately. Plus, she was starting to say things like ‘Maybe Aisha knows something we don’t about how to reform a playa. She definitely seems to have Bonz in check.’
I’ll ask E-Blade about the situation, Cami decided, still finding an ally in him concerning Aisha. Concerning a lot of things.
With his long dreadlocks freshly done, a new outfit on his tall muscular body, designer glasses on his face, Millsap was more than ready for Enfield’s annual Playas Ball this year. What he was not ready for was his date for the evening.
I wish I’d been hooked up with Dee instead, Millsap mused, preferring voluptuous Delia Valentine over her more slender cousin Cami Edison any day.
Yet Delia was off limits to him. She belonged to Esteban ‘E-Blade’ Jackwood, one of the generals in the Enfield drug game. The same general that Millsap, a street captain, directly answered to.
The fact that E-Blade was such a hot head was also a deterrent against pursuing Delia. No captain could expect to be successful in a coup against a general. Not in Enfield. And Millsap didn’t believe in starting wars he couldn’t win.
Plus, Delia had specifically asked him to be her cousin’s date for the evening. How could Millsap refuse her anything?
As usual, the Playas Ball was being held at The Urban Revue, a club that the two other generals, Gregory ‘Bonz’ Forsyth and Romare ‘Racker’ Newman jointly owned. As usual, everyone was dressed to the nines for the event. Suits, jewelry, and big hats on the men. Jewelry and barely-there outfits on the women.
Since Millsap’s date for the evening was meeting him there, he found one of the captains’ tables and settled in beside his number one homeboy Michael ‘Mike-Mike’ Duggar. Mike-Mike was a captain like him. They’d come up in the game together. They’d even played on the same high school football team.
When the first general arrived, Millsap turned to give him a respectful nod and a warm smile, getting the same in return. Everybody liked Bonz. He was level-headed and one of the most brilliant men you’d ever want to meet.
Like his partner Racker, Bonz owned a slue of legitimate businesses, despite his connections to Enfield’s underworld. Millsap couldn’t help but admire a guy that knew how to make money in multiple arenas.
Bonz was also a renowned ladies man. Yet as of late he’d settled down with one chick named Aisha, who was rumored to be an up and coming model/actress. She was also a business owner.
That’s where I know her from, Millsap mused, suddenly recognizing Bonz’s lady from the salon he’d visited in Littleview. Dressed like that, I can see why Bonz turned in his playa’s card, he thought, perusing her frame from head to toe.
Aisha wore a pair of red thigh-high boots and a red and black short jumpsuit that showed off her shapely model figure to a tee. Beside her, Bonz wore a black Armani suit with a red tie. On his head was a black hat with a thin red strip around it. They were definitely color coordinated tonight.
Aisha and Bonz weren’t the only couple matching tonight among the generals. Racker and his girlfriend Alexis wore green and red coordinates. E-Blade and Delia wore black and green. All were colors of the holiday season.
Veterans of the Playas Ball, E-Blade and Racker’s attire consisted of pimp suits. Delia and Alexis both wore dresses that were short enough to discourage any type of bending over.
Though Alexis was most certainly attractive with her shapely slender frame, Millsap’s eyes instantly zoomed in to Delia. He was partial to thicker women. Women with wide hips and ample bottoms. Women that could handle all that he had to offer on a physical level.
E-Blade don’t know what he got, Millsap mused, now scanning Delia’s frame from top to bottom.
Delia’s neckline was so low that one could almost see the tips of her breasts. The open navel area of the dress revealed a washboard stomach that belied the fact that she was a mother of two kids. Her hips were shapely and cellulite free.
Dude has no clue, Millsap mused, looking over to E-Blade only to find his boss’s eyes wandering all over the place, looking at every woman except the beautiful one on his arm.
Delia definitely deserves better than him, Millsap thought, wishing he was a general now so that he could at least stand some semblance of a chance with her. After all, most women connected to the game didn’t date down. They dated up.
Just then, Millsap’s date entered the club, walking in right behind E-Blade. And for a moment there, he forgot all about Delia as he took in Cami’s sensual frame.
Tonight Cami wore a pink see-through dress that left nothing to the imagination. Though slender, her curves were supple and full in a way that Alexis’ wasn’t. She even had an onion–shaped bottom, which Millsap particularly liked.
Some men labeled that kind of derriere an apple bottom. But for this man it was the vegetable, not the fruit, that Cami’s key asset reminded him the most of.
Nothing like an onion to make a grown man cry, Millsap mused, thinking that maybe this date with Cami might not be so bad after all. Even Delia didn’t have an onion as perfect as her cousin’s. After a few hearty meals at my place, Cami will be sho’ nuff right for a brotha, he thought, ready to thicken her up a bit.
Suddenly Millsap’s mind completely changed as Cami moved from behind Delia and stood where she could be more easily seen. Not easily seen by him, but by Bonz.
Millsap frowned and instantly recalled a few more rumors from the streets. He’d heard about Cami’s chase of Bonz. About how Aisha booted Cami out of Bonz’s picture when she came on the scene. About how there was still bad blood between the two women because of it.
To Bonz’s credit, he didn’t seem to know Cami existed tonight, concentrating the whole of his attention onto Aisha.
See, that’s why I look up to that brotha, Millsap mused, admiring Bonz and dreading his inevitable date with Cami at the same time. He didn’t want to have anything to do with her now. The fact that Cami seemed just as reluctant to leave the generals to come to a captain’s table made Millsap dread this date all the more.
Having heard that Dominic’s hair salon was the best place in the two-city area to get his dreadlocks done just right, twenty-one-year-old Millsap Monroe concluded his work in Enfield, Georgia and drove over to Littleview, a neighboring city.
After being checked in by the receptionist, Millsap was directed to an empty workstation. The photo near the mirror of the workstation featured the flamboyant picture of an openly gay stylist named Berry.
It’s a good thing I’m not homophobic anymore, Millsap mused, settling his muscular frame in the vacant chair of the workstation.
His gay father and bisexual mother cured him of that phobia several years ago when they both came out of the closet. At that time Millsap was faced with two choices. One, sever all ties with them from the embarrassment factor alone. Two, continue to love them, despite the fact that he didn’t agree with their lifestyles.
Long story short, Millsap chose to keep both parents in his life for better or for worse. In fact, it was his father that recommended Dominic’s to him.
While Millsap waited for Berry to return to his workstation, he couldn’t help but notice the stunning woman the stylist was talking to. She looked so familiar to him.
Where have I seen her before? Millsap mused, just as Berry approached him with a friendly greeting.
Instead of responding to the greeting, Millsap said, “Who is that?!” His brownish-green eyes followed the shapely woman in red as she walked through the salon and out the front door, waving goodbye to others as she went.
Berry fought not to frown with disappointment. With that kind of reaction to his female boss’s beauty, the man had to be heterosexual. The lonely man had hoped differently.
“That’s the owner of the shop,” Berry replied.
“Oh, for real?” Millsap looked even impressed. “She got a man?”
“Yes,” Berry said with relish. He recalled Aisha mentioning dating a man named Greg, though he had yet to meet him.
“She happy with this dude?”
“Very,” Berry replied, again taking pleasure in dashing the other man’s hopes. Why let his hopes be dashed alone? “So what can I do for you today?” he continued, smoothly switching subjects. “You want your locks washed, conditioned and re-twisted? Or taken out all together?”
“The first thing. I want my locks clean and tight for the Playas Ball tomorrow.”
“The annual one over in Enfield?” Berry asked, gathering various products up to use.
“One and the same,” Millsap replied, proud to be going to such an event. It showed in his smile.
“Oh, you about to get the hook up for real now.” Berry smiled. He could smell a big tip coming already.
Only a certain caliber of hustler got invited to Enfield’s infamous Playas Ball. Plus, if Berry did an extra good job with Millsap’s hair, that would be walking advertisement, which meant more business would come his way.
“Hook it up!” Millsap grinned, unaware that by coming to this salon today, he now held valuable information about his own boss’s number one thorn in the flesh – Aisha Norwood. The same woman that would help usher in a new day among the Enfield drug cartel.
I just wanted to take the time to acknowledge a fellow writer – Charlene Leonard. Although Charlene is deceased now, she is the one that taught me how to connect books together by using the same scene just from a different POV (which is what I’m doing in the first few chapters of Cami’s book). In this way, any of the books can be used as standalones as well as parts of a series.
Fortunately, Charlene’s website is still up and running. You can view some of her work at: http://www.charleneleonard.com/ )
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Check the comment section for this post’s book giveaway question. The first one to answer it correctly wins a free E-Book of his/her choice.
As y’all know Cami’s story (Miss Opportunity) is starting Monday. Below are a few things that I need to go over before it starts:
1.The V-O-D price has changed to $8: I listened to my faithful readers (and also my hubby) and finally realized that I needed to stop short-changing myself. Although I will not be raising the prices of my other products any time soon, I couldn’t deny that this particular item needed to be higher right now. Especially when you consider what you get in exchange:
·Any time viewing.
·Regular and timely posting.
·Commercial free (no ads or specials).
·Insider features (i.e. spoilers, story behind the story, insights & tidbits).
·Free copy of E-book when story is over.
·Direct feedback from author.
·Audio and visual effects that enhance the story.
·Contest Prizes and giveaways.
And that’s just to name a few things. The link to signup for the V-O-D is found below.
I wanted to give previous subscribers to the V-O-D half off, but when I realized that I wouldn’t have any control over who logged in to which Paypal button (the $8 one or the $4 one), I decided to give you a free E-book of your choice instead. This will cut down on confusion, I think. Just tell me which freebie you want in an email after you signup, okay? For people like Subrina who have every book in my released catalog, I may have to dip into the unreleased file for y’all.
2.New posting schedule: Instead of everyday posting, I will now stick to a Monday – Saturday routine. I’m taking Sundays off to rest and be with my family.
FYI - I’m trying to avoid burnout and relationship issues, both of which I endured over the summer. That might be too much info for some, but my regular reader friends know how transparent I am. lol. Plus, I wanted to set the stage to thank you all for your prayers as the crooked places in my own life and relationships were made straight over the summer.
3.Book giveaways: Lots of questions with attached freebies will be given out during the first part of the story as a way to increase our fun and spark memories of the prequels to Miss Opportunity. You can only win once though. This way others will have a chance to get a freebie.
4.Flashback alert: The beginning of Cami’s story will revisit scenes from the prequels, but from her and Millsap’s (hero’s) POV. Starting the story out this way will serve as a potent reminder of why we don’t like Cami. Maybe even hate her. Which means I’m going to really have to work hard to make us all love her before the story is over. I think I’m up to the task…I hope. lol.
Thanks to everyone that participated in the character interviews this week. I had lots of fun with this promo and I hope you did too. We all got to know the characters we've come to love/hate a little bit more. lol.
In gratitude to the people that commented this week, check your emails this weekend for a little Thank You gift (a novella entitled My Only John). You qualified for this freebie even if you commented only once this week.
Comments received after the time and date of this post are welcome, but the commentator does NOT qualify for the freebie. Sorry. Hopefully you'll meet the next giveaway deadline. I plan to have a few of them during the first part of Cami's story (spoiler).
Anyhoo, THANKS AGAIN everybody.
Suprina
P.S. There's an audio message from me within your freebie, so don't forget to play it when you download the book. You already know how I look. Now you'll get to see how this southern belle/Georgia peach sounds, too. lol. Much luv, y'all.
E-Blade’s reply: Although I believe in Jesus and have committed most of my life to doing right by him, I haven’t committed it all. There’s still a part of me that I hold back. I know that’s not right, but it’s the truth. It’s a trust thing. It’s hard for me to trust anyone, including God at times. I guess it’s because I’ve been let down by so many people.
Paula asked: Do you now see what Bonz was feeling for Aisha? It made him feel loved liked he had never been loved before. Do you now understand what that feeling can do to a man, even a thug?
E-Blade’s reply: Yes, I do understand now. Interestingly enough, my love for Fila has transcended my love for Dee. I still don’t understand that because I never thought I could anyone more than the mother of my kids.
Paula asked: Please watch your back with Speed, because I would hate to see him harm your loved ones.
E-Blade’s reply: *smiling* I really appreciate your concern, Paula. Especially after hearing how much you hated me in both stories. Oh yeah, Suprina told me how much you used to call me a JERK. lol! I forgive you.
As for Speed doing something to my loved ones, there’s no place on earth he could hide if he so much as TOUCHED one hair on any of their heads!
Carmel Beauty asked: What is your situation with the officer you had problems with in the past?
E-Blade’s reply: Me and Speed still don’t get along. I hate him just as much as he hates me. I have to watch my back all the time around him. Thankfully, I got a wife that helps me watch my back because Speed is NOT to be trusted. He’s even worse than I was.
Carmel Beauty asked: What would you say to Racker and Bonz now?
E-Blade’s reply: I honestly wouldn’t know what to say to them, Carmel Beauty. Sorry doesn’t seem to be enough to say to the people I tried to kill.
*shrugging*
All I can do now is let my regret show up in my actions. To be a better man every day. But then again, who knows if I’ll ever get the chance to show Bonz and Racker how much I’ve really changed?
Author interruption: I know. *grinning mischievously* Everybody else will just have to wait until Cami’s book to find out. When will that be? The last week of September. I should have my finals taken care of by then (prayerfully) and be ready to go full force with the story.
Carmel Beauty asked: What changed in your relationship with Bonz and Racker to make you do what you did?
E-Blade’s reply: I changed in the relationship. The fellas still treated me the same way they always did – with much respect. I’m the one that decided to hate on them, especially Bonz. For some reason, I just couldn’t take the fact that all this good stuff was happening to him and not me, or at least to us together.
See, Bonz and I had done so many things together, had overcome so much…together. When he got with Aisha, all of that suddenly changed. Suddenly he didn’t want to hang no more. Suddenly he was going to all these fancy places and experiencing all these exciting things…without me. I couldn’t take it. I was jealous plain and simple. And like jealous Cain did to Abel, I tried to kill my brother(s). I will ALWAYS regret that.
Carmel Beauty asked: Also what made you do another 180 and change into the man you are today?
E-Blade’s reply: When my life was spared, I realized that it had to be spared for a reason. A good reason. That’s why I cooperated with all the changing I needed to do. That’s why I did the whole 180.
Carmel Beauty asked: Are you enjoying life with Fila?
E-Blade’s reply: Oh yeah! *grinning wide* Life with Fila is exciting, exhilarating, and downright satisfying. I also like that little dangerous edge she got to her. It really turns me on.
Author note: Carmel Beauty, E-Blade will be back in a minute to answer the rest of your questions. Thanks for asking so many.
Paula asked: How do you think everyone else will feel to know that you are alive?
E-Blade's reply: I think many will still hate me. Some will even want to kill me. Only my kids and maybe my mother will be happy. Sad, but true. I don’t blame any of them. I brought all that hatred upon myself.
Paula asked: Are you really over Delia or do you have some lingering desire to still be with her?
E-Blade’s reply: I don’t know if I will ever really be over Dee. She was the first woman I ever loved, the mother of my children. I can’t help but keep her in a special place in my heart.
As for any lingering desire to still be with Dee, I can honestly said, no. My wife Fila got full control over all my desires now. She’s my equal in every way…just like I’m sure Dee is Royal’s equal. Even I have to admit that they go good together.
Paula asked: Are you happy with your new wife?
E-Blade’s reply: Oh, yes! *grinning* Fila got a brotha’s nose wide open. And for once, I like that!
Clara asked: E-Blade, you said you have received tons of help with your many "issues" which is to count a few- jealousy, anger, bitterness, murder, and betrayal. Do you really believe you can change your ways?
E-Blade’s reply: Yes, Clara, I really do believe I can change my ways. But the problem is convincing everybody else that I can…or that I have changed so many of my bad ways already. Buy hey, I ain’t got nobody to blame for that but myself. As wicked and foul as I was, I probably wouldn’t believe me either.
Tidbits about E-Blade: Ex-hustler, secret agent. Has 3 kids by Delia. Is married to a fellow agent named Fila. Is presumed dead by everyone that used to know him except for Delia and Royal. Tried to kill Bonz and Racker once. Regrets hurting his family and friends, especially Delia. He also regrets sleeping with Cami.
Author’s question to E-Blade: How do you feel about Cami?
E-Blade’s reply: I don’t hate or despise Cami. I understand her. Like me, she is prone to bouts of jealousy and pride stemming from her overall unhappiness with herself, which then leads to bad decisions. Very bad decisions. Although I’ve received tons of help with my issues (and am still receiving help through the agency and my wife), Cami still seems to be resistant, despite all the people trying to help her. I can only hope that she will change her ways before it’s too late.
* * *
The floor is officially now open for you to ask your questions of E-Blade now. P.S. you don’t have to handle him with kids’ gloves. Believe me, he can take it!
Clara asked: Royal, you must be an open minded person; considering the fact that you are a very accomplished person and a success, you could have your choice of women yet you went for a woman with three children. What do say to this?
Royal’s reply: Clara, like I told Jrboss a little while ago, I felt called to be Delia’s husband. From my understanding and experience, once you are called to something or someone, you are given a certain level of grace and equipped to handle any kind of baggage that comes along with that assignment.
Now although I don’t consider my stepkids baggage by any means, some people do and so that is why I used that illustration. Either way, I didn’t let the fact that Delia had 3 children when I met her deter me from going after her heart. In my opinion, Junior, Cuba, and Tess were bonuses to the deal.
*chuckling to himself*
Yes, even Junior, who gave me the hardest time before and after Delia and I were married. We're good to go now though.
Jrboss asked: Nowadays you don't see many men that are willing to fight for what they want (were women are involved). My question is with all the women that continued to throw themselves at you on a daily basis, how did you know that Delia was the one GOD had in mind just for you?
Royal’s reply: That’s a very good question, Jrboss. Let me think back for a second. Hmmm…as I recall, Delia’s smile was the first thing that attracted me to her, not her body since she was heavy with child at the time and about to go into labor. I also liked her personality and how much she loved kids.
When I saw her again 7 weeks later, I found myself highly attracted to her on a physical level and wanted to date her. I started to believe that Delia was the one after I learned all those horrible things about her past and STILL wanted to date her. I KNEW she was the one when I soon wanted to take things beyond dating and make her my wife.
Feeling called to be Delia’s husband went a long ways towards helping me resist other women. That calling is what still equips me to stand strong against temptation now, because women are still trying to throw themselves at me, despite the fact that I wear my wedding ring proudly.
Jrboss asked: And when you walked in on her kissing E-Blade I know that hurt you to your soul because I felt it, how hard was it to get pass that hurt and forgive?
Royal’s reply: *wincing at that memory* I try not to even think about that time in my life, Jrboss. That whole situation wounded my soul tremendously. It made me want to commit murder for the first time in my life and not just in self-defense either.
All I can say is that by the grace of God, I’ve been able to push pass all the hurt stemming from that incident. It helped that Delia was so repentant and humble, so willing to beg for my forgiveness. In all honesty, it was easier for me to forgive her than E-Blade, although he apologized too. I guess that was because what he did was more calculating. Delia had simply been reacting in shock and from a flood of memories. Truthfully, although I have forgiven E-Blade and have even made room for him and his wife in our lives, I still don't trust him fully. I may never.
Tidbits about Royal: Former OB/GYN, businessman, pediatrician. He and Aisha are cousins. Married with kids to Delia, who used to be one of his former patients. Loves kids, a great musician and singer. Loyal to a fault.
Author’s question to Royal: How do you feel about Cami?
Royal’s reply: Like everyone else, I don’t trust Cami at all. She has proven herself untrustworthy even in the short time that I’ve known her. Although I agree with my wife that her cousin is redeemable, I sense that that redemption won’t come until Cami is broken, humbled, with no one else to turn to but God and whom He sends to help her.
* * *
The floor is officially now open for you to ask your questions of Royal. Go for it with gusto!
Joy asked: Delia, for so many women it is difficult to recover from a negative relationship not to mention, manage hope that they can even find a better one if they do choose to move on. What advice would you give to other women to help them move on from a negative relationship?
Delia’s reply: Joy, that is a hard question. First of all, I believe I had supernatural help to move on from E-Blade. That had to be it, because I truly didn’t want to move on. I was stuck in the past, married to my regrets, and had closed my heart to loving any other man than the one I wanted (even though he was no longer in the picture and had stopped being good FOR me a long time ago).
But then I made one significant step – I physically moved to a new town. In this new town was where I met Royal. That gorgeous man seemed on a mission from God to help me get past the whole E-Blade mess. Through Royal’s love, patience, and overall longsuffering, I was finally able to move on. Finally able to let the man I thought I wanted go and fully embrace the man I was always meant to have. But it took a long time, Joy. A real long time.
Since my experiences might not be typical, the only advice I can offer to help women move on is to hook the reins of your heart up to God. To let Him lead your emotions where they should go. I also advise that you throw yourself in the Word and stay there. To practice stuff like thought-substitution where every time you think about that other man, you substitute that thought with something else. Something more positive. Something less painful.
Joy asked: What advice would you give to encourage a woman to hope again for a better love?
Delia’s reply: Quite honestly, I had no hope for a better love when I met Royal. I had hope for a better life for my kids, but hope for a better love was not even an option for me. Joy, I LEARNED to hope for a better love. It didn’t come easy for me. But just like learning a new language or a new dance, you have to practice hoping.
How do you practice hoping? ~ By reading the success stories (testimonials) of others. ~ By making confessions contrary to the despair that you’re feeling concerning your love life. ~ By surrounding yourself with people who are optimist and allowing the hope that’s oozing from them to saturate you. ~ By remembering that when Adam missed up, God had a Plan B (Jesus) - which was a much better plan. Which also means God can give you a better man than the first one.
Thanks for asking such thought-provoking questions, Joy. I really had to think hard to give you quality answers, which I hope I did.
Demavelyn asked: Why didn’t you move on earlier from E-Blade? Why did it take him cheating with your cousin to finally knock some sense into your head?
Delia’s reply: I stayed with E-Blade so long because of all the things he’d done for me, both financial and otherwise. One of the main things he did was run off my abusive stepfather.
I put up with the cheating for the same reasons. Plus, I felt guilty about not being able to satisfy E-Blade in the bedroom. I didn’t know that my condition was physical at the time. Had I known, things might have worked out a lot differently for us. But then again, I wouldn’t have met Royal and had the great life that I have now. I guess everything worked out for the best after all.
Demavelyn asked: Why did you let Cami stay with you in the first place knowing how loose she was?
Delia’s reply: I call myself trying to give her a helping hand, the way I would want somebody to give me if I was in her predicament. Plus, I really thought Cami would at least exercise some boundaries with me because of our kinship and maybe even out of gratitude. As you know, I thought wrong.
Demavelyn asked: How did you feel about having to stop working at the daycare center?
Delia’s reply: Leaving that daycare behind was one of the hardest things I ever had to do in my life. Everybody knows how much I love kids, how much I love just being around them. Although I understood why it was necessary for me to resign my position there (due to my unexpected crime of passion), I still long for that environment at times.
Fortunately, I have my baby store and a house (and large extended family) full of kids to help fill that void.
Author note: It's all right to email your questions in also. In Demavelyn's case, these questions were given via phone. lol. I'm so loving this!
Jessie asked: How do you like married life with Royal, the man who gave you back your love life?
Delia’s reply: Girl, married life with Royal is off the hook! lol. Sorry, lapsed into my ghetto vernacular for a second there. lol.
But really, life with Royal is wonderful. I’m so grateful to have him not only because he restored my love life, but because the man is just so good to me. I love his patience, his forgiving heart, and the way he loves me and our kids, including the ones he didn’t produce.
And the constant serenades aren’t bad either. As you know, my man can play many instruments and can sing like Brian McKnight, so you know I’m getting quite a show at home. *giggle* Sometimes I just lie on top of the piano and just listen to Royal croon and play. At times it’s so relaxing. Other times, it’s soul-stirring…among other things. lol.
Good question, Jessie. Thanks for reminding me of even more reasons to praise God for my husband today.
Tidbits about Delia: Businesswoman. Married with 5 kids to Royal. Three of those kids belong to E-Blade. She and Cami are cousins. They used to be close, but became estranged when Cami betrayed her and slept with E-Blade.
Author's question to Delia: How do you feel about Cami?
Delia’s reply: I still love my cousin, have even forgiven her. But I seriously doubt that we will ever be close again. Not after she slept with E-Blade and then tried to sleep with Royal, too. I still get mad about that sometimes. Even still, I find my heart wanting to reach out to Cami. I truly think she is redeemable. Maybe it’s because I’ve been forgiven of so much myself and needed someone to just give me another chance whether I deserved one or not.
* * *
The floor is officially now open for you to ask your questions of Delia now. Don’t be shy like yesterday with Bonz. lol. Ask Delia whatever comes to your mind…
Jrboss asked: Bonz, I know it was a shock to find out you have a brother. How has your relationship been with him and your new found relatives?
Bonz’s reply: Finding out that I had a brother at all was indeed a shock. But to find out that it was College Boy Floyd (Jarrett) of all people was the true shocker. Especially since I’d hated him for so long because I thought he was a rival for Aisha’s affections. Now I am so glad I didn’t do Jarrett any bodily harm, because you know I wanted to. lol. Many times.
As for how our brotherly relationship is, it truly couldn’t be better. In fact, it’s great! I now see Jarrett as a Godsend in so many ways. Not only did he lead me and Aisha to the Lord, but he filled that void that E-Blade left among other things. Besides just being my brother, Jarrett has become one of my best friends. Royal, too, so I guess God gave me double for my trouble.
*smiling*
The rest of my family (via my blood ties to Jarrett) is great to me, too. My brother and I are both still trying to forge healthy relationships with our birth father (as you recall, Dee helped us hook back up with him). It’s been hard and there’s been a lot to forgive in the daddy department, but Jarrett and I are making great strides in that area, too.
*chuckling*
Sorry for using so many ‘greats’ in my response just then, Jrboss, but that seems to be my favorite word today for some reason.
Sharon asked: Hi Bonz!!! So the only thing that attracted you to Cami was her physical appearance and nuthin’else?
Bonz’s reply: Hello, Sharon. Back then the only thing that attracted me about most women was their physical appearance. Sad, but true. The same thing happened with my wife when I first saw her. Except I was more attracted to Aisha than I had ever been to any other woman before or since.
Sharon asked: I bet the thing that first attracted you to Aisha was also her physical appearance but when did you realize that Aisha was better than Cami-was it just from a physical viewpoint or deeper?
Bonz’s reply: I realized Aisha had something extra going for herself beyond her looks when I talked to her that night at the club. Her whole conversation was different than Cami’s, who had a tendency to talk about money and material things a little bit too much from the day I met her. Although Aisha’s outfit was expensive (you know I know how pricey it was because I own a clothing store, remember?), she didn’t focus on her clothes or anything else materialistic that night. And the white wine she ordered was top shelf, which she wouldn’t even let me pay to refill for her.
*smiling to himself at that memory*
Yeah, I really liked the fact that Aisha was willing to pay her own way. That intrigued me. It made me want her all the more.
Sharon asked: As a Christian now how do you deal with what E-Blade did to you? Have you been able to forgive him and if you were given a chance to talk to him for 1 minute only before never seeing him again what would you say or do to him?
Bonz’s reply: I walk in forgiveness by faith one day at a time. If I didn’t have this slight limp to remind me of what happened, I might do better in the forgiveness department. But having to work so hard to regain all of my mobility and then to keep up with my active wife and kids, sometimes causes me to feel a little bitterness.
Sharon, I thank God that seeing E-Blade again isn’t even a possibility, because I truly don’t know if I’ll be able to hold it together. If I’d even WANT to hold it together. And that’s the honest truth.
*taking a deep breath to calm down and unclenching his large fists in the process*
But then when I think of Jesus, and how He was betrayed by someone close to Him, too, and how forgiving He was, my faith is stirred. I start to believe that I can also get beyond what was done to me. The fact that I’m still so active with E-Blade’s kids without a thought of bitterness in my heart tells me that forgiveness has indeed taken root in me already. I’m happy about that.
Sharon asked: How do you like marital life with my gurl Aisha?!!
Bonz’s reply: Now this is a question that I don’t mind answering, Sharon. That last one had me going for a minute. lol. Married life with Aisha is great! Baby girl is still full of spunk and seems to have been blessed with tons of energy. She’s a fantastic mother to our kids, runs our household as efficiently as she does our businesses, and keeps me satisfied in every way. And I mean in EVERY way (can't say much more without getting in trouble).
*cheesy grin*
Let’s just say, I couldn’t have asked for a better wife.
Tidbits about Gregory ‘Bonz’: Pharmacist, businessman, and ex-hustler. Married with kids to Aisha. He and Cami once dated. That brief relationship almost turned into something else, but Aisha intervened and Bonz hasn’t looked back since.
Author's question to Bonz: How do you feel about Cami?
Bonz’s reply: Although I don’t hate Cami and am not blind to her attractiveness, I don’t trust her to walk three feet without scheming on somebody. She could have never been the woman of my heart, just my bed. The girl is bad news to everyone, including herself. Everything Cami touches seems to crumble. I honestly don’t know if she even has a do-right gene in her body. Or if she even wants one.
* * *
The floor is officially now open for you to ask your questions of Bonz now. Once again, ask as many as you like…
This marks the official end of Aisha's Day. Thanks to everyone who participated. Don't forget to come back on Tuesday to chit-chat with Bonz.
Special thanks to Aisha for being her usual feisty and funny self...and for helping me to bring you guys such a wonderful story in the first place. We might even get that book (Enticing Mr. Wrong) turned into a movie one day. I'm already thinking about how to convert it into screenplay format and about potential media houses/production companies to submit it to.
Much luv, y'all.
Suprina
P.S. I'll wait until the end of the week to thank everybody else all at once.
I just wanted to drop in briefly and tell everybody about a great review that I just got from Coffee Time Romance. I thought it would be fitting to insert this good news here since it is Aisha's day and all, and since it's her story that garnered such a great review.
That’s right, Enticing Mr. Wrong earned 5coffee cups from Coffee Time Romance. If you know anything about this esteemed site and their rating system, you know that not many books receive 5 cups. That any book that does is deemed “a superior work” and “an ultra rare extraordinary read”.
*grinning wide, y’all*
I’m so happy about this news. It couldn’t have come on a more appropriate day. God definitely is good!
Here’s a snippet of what Krista (the reviewer) wrote about Enticing Mr. Wrong:
“The characters in this book have heart-felt emotions. Anticipation in every move is just another reason I could not put this book down for nothing. I would struggle every time so I could get other things done. Ms. Frazier has a fantastic spiritual story full of great major and minor characters. Even the little storylines on the side kept me reading. This is one author I would definitely recommend to anyone who not only wants a true romance but one that has spiritual undertones as well!”
Paula asked: Will you ever be able to forgive E-blade if you ever got the chance?
Aisha’s reply: Actually, I have already forgiven E-Blade…by faith. Did I want to do that? Nope! Not after what that man did to my loved ones, starting with Dominic. But since God says that I have to forgive in order to keep my own prayers from being hindered, in order to keep moving forward in my life, I have forgiven E-Blade. Even so, I’m still not sad about him being dead*.
Paula asked: Do you still see Cami as a threat to your union with Bonz?
Aisha’s reply: Hmmm…I don’t see her as a threat as far as her being able to take him away from me. I know Greg loves me very much and don’t want to ruin what we have by cheating with anyone, especially not with Cami.
However, I think Cami does have the ability to threaten my peace. Meaning, if she decides to pursue Greg again, I may be tempted to get in the flesh and…spank…that…tail…AGAIN. You know, give her a little repeat of what happened at the Playa’s Ball. lol.
But...since I really don’t want to do that (and shouldn't according to what I've been taught in the Word), please pray for me, Paula. Because from what Delia told me recently, Cami is not as reformed/rehabilitated as she should be after her stint in prison and I might end up in the flesh again anyway if our paths cross.
*Author note: As of this writing, Aisha, Bonz, and the others doesn’t know about Delia and Royal’s secret concerning E-Blade, so please don’t tell them, okay?
Clara asked: Aisha, I want to know why you felt you had to put that show up in chapter 19 of your book just to save Bonz face in front of his friends?
Aisha’s reply: Clara, I grinned at the memory your question stirred up and at the fact that you’re so familiar with my story that you even remembered which chapter that little show was in. Excellent.
Now on to your question…
Clara, if you recall, I had just overheard E-Blade say something offensive about me staying overnight at Greg’s house. Even though Greg knew we didn’t do anything sexual the night before, it was clear to me from his previous comments that he didn’t want his friends to know that. That he wanted them to think that he was still the playa (playboy) he always was. That made me mad, too, but I didn’t make a big deal about it since I was on a secret mission at the time, remember?
So in order to complete my mission and stay on Greg’s good side, I protected his ladies man reputation when I could have smashed it to smithereens (as I was itching to do at the time. lol!). If you also recall from the very next chapter (Ch. 20), me and Greg talked about the situation and I made it clear that I didn’t like what he’d done and why. I went on to tell him what would happen if he did something like that again. lol. Never had a problem out of him in that area since, girl. lol.
Joy asked: I know that you were very hurt over your brother's death and pain causes us to respond in all different ways. Pain can cloud our perception and move us in directions that we would otherwise never go. I understand that you were dealing with your pain in the best way that you know how at the time, however after reading your story I had this thought. Some would have called you highly self-confident... I would have called you arrogant. Some would have called you highly resourceful... I would called you manipulative. These are my questions...:
Aisha’s reply: Before I answer your questions, let me first just say that yes, pain does sometimes bring out the worst in us. When I lost Dominic, I was looking for somebody, anybody to blame…even God as you recall. I’ve since learned who was really behind my brother’s death and through much prayer, I have forgiven those people.
Joy’s 1st question: In retrospect... what would you have called yourself? Why?
Aisha’s reply: I would have myself called all of the above. I was self-confident, arrogant at times, highly resourceful, and manipulative. Still am in some ways. Unlike most people, I own all of who I am. If part of who I am at times is not good, I own that, too. Then I ask God for forgiveness, the strength to move forward, and the power to not repeat those negative actions. He’s been helping me a lot with the vengeance thing in particular.
Joy’s 2nd and 3rd questions: How did you become that way? In your opinion is good to be that way?
Aisha’s reply: Some of those personality traits are a part of my blueprint, which means I was simply born that way. Resourcefulness is one of them. For some reason, my mind gets very alert in crisis situations and I am able to think fast on my feet. That resourcefulness turns into manipulation when I allow the devil into a given situation. My self-confidence turns into arrogance in much the same way.
Incidentally, those touches (depending on who you ask. lol) of arrogance were acquired from life experiences. They come from people trying to make me feel less than who God made me to be. Or from people who resent my self-confidence and want to ‘put me in my place’. No one has the right to put me anywhere but God! I belong where He wants me to be.
Is it good being this way? I think so. There’s nothing wrong with having self-confidence or a high level of self-esteem. And even though I may come off as being arrogant at times, it is usually a reactionary response to someone coming against me first. Trust me, I don’t go around thinking I’m superior to others. But I refuse to think that they are superior to me either!
But here lies the heart of the matter – the devil is always trying to corrupt the good things that God puts in us. For me, that corruption might be arrogance when I should stay in the high self-esteem zone when someone comes against me. For another, it might be lying under pressure when it’s the truth that sets us free.
Joy’s 4th question: How do you see yourself now? Why?
Aisha’s reply: I still see myself as self-confident with a healthy level of self-esteem. Being a Christian has only solidified that. I mean, I’m a King’s kid (The King’s kid) now and I really don’t think Father God would like for me to act like or allow anyone to treat me like a pauper – somebody who is deprived of the basic necessities in live, including love.
Joy’s 5th question: What would your advice be to other women with a similar self perception?
Aisha’s reply: I would advise all women (and men), regardless of their self-perceptions, to get into the Word of God to find out who they really are. Who God says they are. A good concordance with a thorough search of “In Christ, In whom, In Him,” and other phrases like that will help any Christian, male or female, to raise their level of esteem. After all, it’s kind of hard to feel down on yourself when you start to see yourself through God’s loving eyes. When you realize that He loves you even if nobody else does. When you realize that He thought you were worthy of making sacrifices for (the ultimate sacrifice, in fact) even if no one else on this earth ever gives up a thing for you.
Best wishes to you, Joy. I hope I clarified things enough for you.
Jrboss asked: Aisha, how many more children are you and Bonz going to have? And a comment, I loved the little display you put on at the Playa Ball to distract Bonz from the ladies on stage. Just an awesome idea.
Aisha’s reply: I’m not at liberty to say how many more children we’re going to have (Suprina says that would be telling the next story. lol). But I can say this, we are not nearly through yet. lol.
As for that little thing I did at the Playa’s Ball, I thought of that on the spot, Jrboss. lol. It worked like a charm, didn’t it? lol. Hey, a sista had to do what she had to do, right? Today I might have handled things differently since I’m a Christian and all now, but back then I didn’t mind getting on a certain level in order to keep my man’s attention.
Sharon asked: Are you satisfied as a Christian and why? What do you like best about being a Christian?
Aisha’s reply: Yes, I’m very satisfied being a Christian. I like the peace that comes along with God, His accessibility. The way you can just go to Him about anything at anytime. I especially like how even though you might not have the solution to your problem right away, you can come away from your prayertime with peace knowing that the solution is at least on its way. Yeah, that’s my favorite part right there.
Sharon asked: Does Bonz’s hardcore past sometimes come to haunt you and give you doubt about your man and when it does what do you do? Thanx for answering my questions, I love ya’ by the way sista’ cuz y’all was jus’ so fun and freaky!!
Aisha’s reply: First of all, you’re welcome. I feel honored to answer any questions you have, Sharon. I really do. As for Greg’s past coming to haunt me, I can tell you right now that there is no escaping that. My man was what he was. And I had to learn to accept that in its entirety if I was going to remain in his life.
Plus, we still live in the same city, so yes, there are times when we’re somewhere and somebody recognizes him from that former life. I used to cringe inside at first, but after watching how smoothly Greg handles those situations, I learned to relax. Plus, I still carry around my gun, so if push ever comes to shove, I will have my man’s back. lol. I’m laughing, but so serious.
Also, Sharon, I have absolutely no doubts about Greg ever wanting to return to that life. He’s a Christian now, too, you know, and knows that God wouldn’t approve of such a thing. However, it is safe to say, that if he ever had to return, it would be on a peace-keeping mission.
PS. Greg and I are still fun and freaky. lol. That part of our relationship didn’t change after salvation. It only got better. *smile* Much love in return, Sharon.
Sharon asked: I can understand where you’re coming from since I really could not and still can’t stand Cami but I think that a person no matter how horrible can always change for the better thru Christ, would you be willing to give her a chance to change and give her room to grow as a Christian while supporting her and her ways?
Aisha’s reply: Sharon, I agree that a person can always change for the better through Christ. And yes, I would be willing to give Cami a chance to change and room to grow as a Christian with my full support, IF she shows me that she’s really sincere about changing. Other than that, God is going to have to drop a truckload of peace in my heart about Cami because I simply don’t trust her…and definitely not around my husband or anybody else’s for that matter.
Sharon asked: When you and Cami were after Bonz, did you at one time actually think of giving up to her?
Aisha’s reply: Girl, I’m way too competitive for that. lol! Cami wouldn’t have been a good enough reason to give up on anything, especially Greg (or Bonz as everybody else calls him), who to this day is still the finest man I’ve ever been with.
*fanning herself*
I’m getting warm just thinking about my husband now.
*chuckle*
I’ll be right back to answer the rest of your questions, Sharon. I need a glass of water right now to cool off. lol.
