Loving Angel 2 (2 page)

I wished Chance would just stay on his side of town
, but it wasn’t as if he would listen to anything I had to say. He was so hard headed and he hardly even listened to Tyga.

My husband
didn’t comment on his brother’s plans because since Chance had gotten shot he had become more tolerant of his actions. Tyga was trying to let him make his own mistakes, but I could tell that he really wasn’t happy with Chance’s decisions. However, he didn’t want to push him away again by being too controlling. His brother would only end up resenting him. He’d already lost one brother because of jealousy and he wasn’t trying to lose the other.

He was also allowing his baby bro to shadow him when he made a lot of moves in the streets
, because he was teaching him the ropes of the business. I think he was still feeling some guilt from when Chance almost died. He felt that if he had given his brother more responsibility, instead of just letting him count money, he wouldn’t have felt the need to work for Kit.

“More licious,” Ricky demanded, breaking through the tension in the room by causing us to laugh.

I placed a small forkful of eggs into his mouth and he smacked his lips happily before taking a drink from his Sippy cup.

I just shook my head at the young thug in t
he making. Boy oh boy were the damn niggas in my life demanding.

CHAPTER TWO

ANGEL

It was only two weeks into August so we were still in the middle of summer. The ice-cream van was still circling the block trying to entice children and adults alik
e with its delicious treats. The kids were still busting open fire hydrants when the days got too hot and humid and the man on the corner in his little stall was still selling those itty bitty bottles of water for a dollar. He knew that in that type of heat people would give their left kidney to cool down.

My cousin and I were sitting on a bench in the park talking while we watched our little boogers playing on the slide with the other little terrors. Ricky was so
possessive of his cousin Kiki; he would get mad at all the other kids if they tried to play with her. He acted too damn much like his father, but who could blame my son for staking his claim. Kiki was a very gorgeous baby. She was chubby with light skin, lots of curly hair and huge dark brown eyes blessed with long lashes.

Daisy shook her head at my son’s antics. “That boy swears he’s the baddest thing on the playground.”

“I know right,” I agreed. “I swear I’m gonna have to beat that ass someday.”

Daisy laughed. “And then his daddy would beat your ass.”

“Girl please, Tyga doesn’t try that shit with me anymore. That’s one area I’m happy he matured in.” When we first got together Tyga used to always whoop my ass with his belt when he felt I was out of pocket. The beatings stopped after I got kidnapped by his brother and was beaten badly. We still argued occasionally like any normal couple but he hadn’t put his hands on me again.

“Well I’m happy that at least your man has changed. Mine is still full of the same old shit.”

“What happened with Delco this time?”

“Apart from the fact that
he’s living with that bitch and trying to convince me that he’s not sleeping with her, or the fact that every time I tell him I’m done with his trifling ass he shows up at my house and won’t leave me the fuck alone until I give in to him?” she asked sarcastically.

Delco’s wifey Maria had gotten out of prison over a year ago
, but my cousin was still messing around with him. I guess we can’t choose who we love, but boy was that situation fucked up. I hated that he was living with someone else while my cousin was left to play the role of his side-chick. I don’t know if I could have been with Tyga if he was trying to put me through some shit like that, but I wasn’t gonna tell my cousin what to do in her relationship. She was a grown woman and had to make her own choices. Plus, I knew she tried real hard to get over him, but for some reason she just couldn’t let go. Maybe that was because he refused to let her go. He was one of those niggas who liked to have his cake and eat it too.

“I don’t even know what to tell you on that one,” I replied.

Tears started coming from my cousin’s eyes and they immediately tore at my heart strings.  I wrapped my arms around her and tried offering some comfort.

“What’s wr
ong?” I knew it had to be something other than the fact that he was living with Maria, because Daisy had been dealing with that for a year now.

“I found out that I’m pregnant last week,” she revealed on a sob.

“Oh shit,” I breathed in a surprise. “Did you tell Delco yet?”

She shook her head in the negative. “I’m going to tell him tonight.”

“Well, I’m sure he’s gonna be happy. You’re giving him his first child and plus you know he loves you even though he’s got some fucked up ways,” I assured her. I really did believe he was in love with her. I just felt like he thought he was obligated to Maria because she went to prison for him, so he couldn’t leave her. Not that I thought he didn’t love Maria. From what I heard from my husband, Delco and Maria had been very happy before she went away.

I only saw her once since she came home and it was totally by accident. I had stopped by Excellence to
drop off some paper work Tyga had forgotten at home and I ran into her and Delco partying. He introduced me to her and I was polite because I didn’t want to blow up his spot. But I quickly excused myself before she got the idea that I was trying to be friends with her. There was no other bitch in the world that came before my cousin and because Maria was Daisy’s rival, she sure as hell couldn’t be cool with me.

“I’m not worried that he won’t be happy,” Daisy clarified. “That mother fucker probably go
t me pregnant on purpose so he could trap me. I’m sad because here I am bringing another child into a fucked up situation.”

I got where she was coming from. She had already had a baby by Carter and thei
r relationship didn’t last. Now she was pregnant by Delco and their relationship was in a state of limbo.

I took some tissue from my Hermes bag and gave it to her to dry her eyes. “Hopefully
, since the situation has changed, he’ll finally make a decision,” I enthused, trying to find a bright side. Deep down I knew that Delco wouldn’t make a choice between the two unless he was forced to. Men are very selfish like that. They only think about what makes them happy.

“He better, because I’m not hiding my baby from that trick and I’m not standing for any of his bullshit anymore,” she announced with conviction as she wiped away the last
remnants of her tears. “Anyway, enough about me. What’s up with you? Is your man still working late?”

“Yeah, he’s still spending way too much damn time working on that damn club. But at least he came home early last night and put it on me like a motherfucker,” I confessed with a smile. I could still remember the feeling of ecstasy I felt when he was hitting it from the back and slapping on my booty.

“You damn well know your man is addicted to your snatch,” she joked. “Ya’ll two are like some damn rabbits when it comes to fucking.”

I was sure as hell happy about that
, because if he wasn’t getting it from me it meant he was getting it from someone else.

“Have you heard from your sister lately?”

“She’s been even more about her paper since she started working at your man’s strip club,” Daisy complained. “Last time I talked with her she was busy at work.”

I had convinced my bay to give Keya a job at Glitter when she came to me and said she wanted to start stripping. I didn’t like the fact that my cousin had chosen to become an exotic dancer
, but I couldn’t persuade her to change her mind. So I decided the next best thing was to get her a job in a club that I knew was safe.

“When I called her she said
that she was trying to get some sleep. We should all get together for some girl time and get our hair and nails done.”

“Definitely,” she agreed. “I need to get my wig fixed anyways and I’m sure Theresa has some gossip for us.”

I was about to cosign what Daisy said when I saw my demon child trying to push another kid out of the sand box. I ran over to them, got his bad ass under control and apologized profusely to the other parent. I guess it was time for me to take myself home, but that was not where I ended up.

After Ricky and I left the park we drove over to Mina’s house. I needed to use the bathroom and I also wanted to see how she was doing. I usually called before I stopped by her place
, but since I was already in the neighborhood I didn’t bother with the call.

She answered the door wearing a bathrobe and a shocked expression. “What
are you guys doing over here?” She asked in surprise as she blocked us from entering her apartment.

“Mina
, will you please get out of my way. I have to use the bathroom.” I pushed pass her, handing her grandson to her as I passed. I didn’t know what her deal was and at that moment I didn’t have the time to find out because my bladder was calling.

I ran to the bathroom with her hot on my trail. “Why didn’t you call first Angel? What if I wasn’t home? You do know that I have a life right?”

I rolled my eyes at her questions and shut the bathroom door in her face. “Are you not happy to see your daughter and your grandson? Plus if you weren’t home I would have used my keys.”

“Don’
t ask me any stupid questions. You know I’m more than happy to see you two. I’m just saying call next time,” she huffed from the other side of the door.

After I took care of business and washed my hands
, I opened the bathroom door to her still standing there with Ricky perched on her hip.

It was then
I realized that she was not only wearing makeup, but also expensive smelling perfume. Her hair looked a bit disheveled, although the locks were shiny from a recent do.

I fixed her with a curious frown. “Are you entertaining someone and Ricky and I are interrupting?”

“That’s none of your business,” she snapped in an annoyed tone. “So what if I was? I’m a grown ass woman.”

“Well
, no need to get all testy,” I replied retrieving my son from her. “All you had to say was that you’re busy right now and I would’ve gotten the message.”

I didn’t expect Mina to stay single for the rest of her life. After all she was only thirty five years old and looked damn good for her age. She could pass for twenty-five and with how immature she acted
, she probably did.

She had gone through
a very rough patch after Boss’s death because she felt guilty for not believing me when I told her over and over again he was no good. At one point she had been so depressed I was afraid she was going to fall off the wagon and start doing drugs again. Despite everything, she had stayed strong and made it through her struggle. I didn’t understand why she was hiding the fact that she was dating again from me. I wasn’t going to get upset at her for moving on. After everything she had been through, she deserved some happiness.

“O.K, I’m ent
ertaining someone at the moment,” Mina conceded.

“See, that wasn’t so hard,” I teased with a smile as we walked to the door. “So
, when am I going to meet my new step daddy?”

She sucked her teeth at me in annoyance which caused me to chuckle. I was just about to walk through the door when I saw a pair of Salvatore
Ferragamo boots like the ones Chance was always wearing when he rode his Ducati bike. He had even gotten Tyga a pair for his birthday.

“At least your new man got some taste,” I joked pointing to the shoes. “Both Tyga and Chance have a pair of those
, so I know they cost a pretty penny.” Those damn boots cost twelve hundred dollars and were a limited edition so a lot of people didn’t have them.

For some reason my statement cause
d a look I couldn’t decipher to cross Mina’s face. She quickly schooled her features and ushered us from her apartment with even greater haste.

CHAPTER
THREE

KEYA

Three shots of Patron, two lines of that pure Columbian white and an extra coating of lip gloss over my fire engine red lipstick and I was good to go. The DJ queued my song and I sauntered onto the stage to Vybz Kartel’s
Wine Pan Di Cocky Gyal
in my six inch silver Red bottoms with my ass jiggling.

Aye, you, tight pum
pum gyal,

Mi love when you skin out fi mi fuck yuh
,

Mi love fi do di video dem wid yuh

I could feel the music, the drugs and the liquor coursing through my system. The combination made me feel as though my waist line was a rubber band. I could contort it to the beat of the music in any direction I chose as I danced my way toward the pole.