How Can I Be Down? Read online

  “Whew, that’s a long story. See, I came in the house, poured myself a drink, fired up a few blunts, and when I reached into my pocket for the numbers, they weren’t there. You didn’t jack me for my phone numbers, did you?”

  “Yeah, I’m in a hotel room right now getting my dick swallowed by all six of them, including the two you sat in the theatre with.”

  “Straaaight? Sounds kinda painful to me. Don’t let ’em bite you, okay?” He laughed.

  “Serious, though, did anybody call?”

  “Let’s see . . . Yeah. Plenty muh-fuckers called.”

  “I mean, for me.”

  “Aw, right. Uh, Ginger called twice, Candi called two or three times, Al called to tell you something about your car, and Belynda called.”

  “Belynda? Who in the hell is Belynda?”

  “Aw, that was for me.”

  “Kareem, sober yo’ ass up. I’ll be home in a li’l bit.”

  “Cool, and I’ll be waiting. Waiting on the love of my fucking life to come home and rescue me from all this . . . this weed and drink in my system.”

  “Good-bye, fool. And please take your hand off your chest ’cause it ain’t that damn serious.” We laughed and hung up.

  I crept out of the bathroom so Jada wouldn’t hear me and started to put my clothes on. When I bent down to tie up my tennis shoes, my keys fell out on the floor and awakened her.

  “Where are you going?” she asked, rolling over groggy.

  “Home.”

  “I thought you were going to stay the night with me.”

  “I was but something came up. I’ll be back later.”

  “Well, what about what we talked about?”

  “You lost me. We’ve talked about so much I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “I mean, about me moving back into the house.”

  “Aw, that.” I sat down on the bed next to her.

  “Wait a minute,” she said, reaching over to turn on the lamp. “Are you high?”

  Wasn’t no sense in me lying ’cause I’m sure my eyes were probably burning red. “A slight bit. I had a few joints while you were sleeping.”

  “So what about me moving back in?”

  “That might not happen, Jada.”

  “And why not?”

  “You know why. You and Kareem are going to kill each other. I want a peaceful house, baby. If you move back in now, Kareem and you are going to stay at it and you know it.”

  “Kiley, you know damn well that as long as you tell Kareem to chill, he will. After a few days of me being there he’ll adjust.”

  “Naw, and I’m not going to ask him to. Just because I might have forgiven you, Kareem and Quincy doesn’t have to forgive you for calling the police on them. Frankly, it would be wrong of me to ask them to.”

  “So I’m just supposed to spend hundreds of dollars living in this hotel room until your brother is willing to forgive me?”

  “No, I didn’t say that. All I’m saying is now ain’t the time for you to move back in. Maybe in a few more weeks or another month. I don’t know, let me think about it.”

  “Well, while you’re taking your time thinking, I’m stuck without a place to go. You know I don’t want to move back to L.A. My family barely talks to me since I moved to St. Louis, and my friends, you know all of them got issues.”

  “Baby, I’m sorry. I’ll give you the money to stay here until I decide what to do, but for now, there’s no way I can let you back into the house.”

  “Fine,” she said, pulling the covers back and getting out of bed. “Suit yourself. If you want to let Kareem control your life, do it. I guess that’s probably the reason you’re so anxious to leave now so you can go babysit his ass.”

  “Jada, watch it. Don’t go fucking this up right now by running off at the mouth. Things were going cool between us and I’d hate for—”

  “Just go, Kiley,” she said, raising her voice. “Please go before I get upset with you again. You got what the fuck you came here for anyway.”

  “So, now you think I just came here to have sex with you, right?”

  “You damn right, you did. Fucked me well and all you wanted was to hear me beg for your ass.”

  “That ain’t the reason I came here and you know it. Honestly, I had plenty of pussy waiting for me . . .” I shut up, realizing I’d put my foot in my mouth.

  “Really? Say you did, huh? Pussy all over the place just waiting for Mr. Kiley Jacoby Abrams. Well, you’re a bad sucker, aren’t you? But the next time you got that much pussy out there waiting for you, by all means, jump on it. This one here,” she said, pointing to her pussy, “don’t want your dick, no mo’. And I mean that shit. Now, go! And I don’t want your goddamn money to pay for this room ’cause I’m outtie!”

  I didn’t even feel like defending myself. I picked up my keys, grabbed my coat, and left. I knew the “fuck me, fight me” game would be the end result, so I could only blame myself for coming to see her.

  When I got in the car and turned my phone back on, Ginger’s number flashed across the caller ID. I didn’t want to hear her mouth after hearing Jada’s, but it only made sense to get it over with as fast as I could.

  “Yes,” I said, dryly.

  “So, that’s how I get played? It’s three-fifteen in the morning, Kiley. All you had to do was call and tell me you wasn’t coming.”

  “I was, but my phone was trippin’, Ginger. Believe it or not, I was just getting ready to call you right before you called me.”

  “That’s a lame excuse and you know it. I just don’t understand why I keep letting you do this shit to me. I’ve been trying to be nice to you, trying to let you spend time with Desmon, cooking dinner for you, trying to be there for you when you need me, and this is how I get treated.”

  “Ginger, look, I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you later this week. Something just came up and I had to take care of it.”

  “Your word ain’t worth a damn and you know it. And if you tell me you’re sorry one more time, I’m gonna scream so loud in hopes of busting your damn eardrum out for lying.”

  “Are you finished?” I said, getting really tired of the female bullshit.

  “You’re damn right I’m finished. And if you think I got this shit out of my system tonight, I’ll be sure to call you for the rest of the week as I’m drumming up more shit to curse you out about.”

  “Fine,” I said, calmly. “I’ll just wait on your call.”

  I listened to the dial tone after Ginger hung up.

  Women. Just couldn’t please them no matter how hard I tried. Give ’em some good loving and they go crazy trying to control your ass. And when shit don’t go according to their plan, all hell breaks loose. It wasn’t that I didn’t care about Ginger, but I thought I made it perfectly clear I wasn’t up for no relationship with anyone. So it wasn’t my fault she made plans for us tonight without telling me and I cancelled. If I had something to do, damn, I just had something to do. This is the silly-ass shit I try to stay away from.

  Quincy and Kareem were passed out in the entertainment room on the couch. The aroma of marijuana was in the air and empty bottles of cognac were on the table. I thought about putting some pepper in both of their mouths since they were wide open; but instead I went to my room and lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling thinking about what tomorrow was going to bring. For some reason, I smelled trouble.

  CHAPTER 10

  The phone was ringing off the hook. Nobody answered so I rolled over and picked it up myself. It was Donovan. He asked me if I ever got a chance to gather up his things for him, and being so damn occupied for the last few days, I forgot I had told him I would get right to it. After I told him I hadn’t, I asked him if he needed a ride from the hospital. He said a friend of his, Marcus, was picking him up in a few and they’d be by the house to pick up his things.

  I hung up the phone, then looked at my watch, realizing it was already two in the afternoon. I must have been in a deep sleep because I had no intenti
on of sleeping this late in the afternoon. Knowing I hadn’t slept like a baby in a long time, I couldn’t complain. I put my robe on and went upstairs to see if Quincy and Kareem would help me get some of Donovan’s things together.

  When I got upstairs, they were still lying in the same positions as when I came in last night. Two lazy, drunk-ass fools who didn’t have nothing to do but sit around and sleep the day away. I picked up the remote to the stereo and blasted it as loud as I could. They both hopped up, and just that fast, Kareem had his gun in his hand, aiming it in front of him. When he saw me standing there, he aimed it at me.

  “You dead, playa. Don’t be interrupting my dreams when I’m about to lay into Halle Berry.”

  “Naw, you dead. It took you five minutes to find me.”

  Quincy fell back on the couch, holding his stomach. He rested one hand on his forehead and massaged his dick with the other. “That cognac don’t be bullshitting. Whew, I feel like I’m about to . . .” He quickly stood up and jetted to the bathroom.

  “‘Run, run!’” Kareem shouted. Quincy didn’t make it on time and threw up on the floor. “That nigga can’t handle his shit. He need to stop trying to hang with the big boys and settle for some milk.”

  “Aw, you’ve had your moments too, so don’t be trying to talk about him.” I looked over at Quincy. “You gon’ be all right, man?”

  He nodded and held on to the staircase rail. “I’m cool,” he said, holding his stomach and bending down. “I just need some fresh air, that’s all.”

  “Well, let me go open some windows to clear out that smell,” Kareem said, getting off the couch. “Then I’ll fix you a tonic that will have you feeling better in no time.”

  After Kareem opened up some windows and I helped Quincy to the bathroom, I stooped to an all-time low and cleaned up his vomit. Kareem sat on the couch watching football, refusing to offer his help. He laughed at me a few times as I gagged and frowned while cleaning it up. It was hard to do with one hand but I somehow managed.

  When I finished, I rolled up a blunt and sat on the couch smoking it with Kareem. Quincy came upstairs with no clothes on, massaging a towel through his hair, trying to dry it. He looked down where he had vomited and saw that it had been cleaned up.

  “Aw, y’all some really nice fellas. I’m touched. I was on my way up here to clean it up myself.” He came over and sat down on the couch, still drying his hair with the towel. When he finished, he folded the towel in half and wrapped it around his neck. He leaned back on the couch and rested his hands on top of his dick. “What y’all watching?”

  Kareem and me just looked at each other. I passed the last of the joint back to him and blew the smoke out. “What’s your problem?” I asked, looking at Quincy.

  “What do you mean, what’s my problem?”

  “I mean, we ain’t interested in sitting here talking with you and you ain’t got no clothes on.”

  “Whatever, man, I’m comfortable. Just don’t look at me.”

  “Shit, we can’t help but notice your white bare ass sitting there with your dick slanging.”

  “Aw, so that’s what this about. Y’all upset ’cause you brothas thought a colored man couldn’t have it going on like this.” He stood up while holding his pipe in his hand.

  Kareem and me laughed. “Naw, fool,” Kareem said, standing up and pulling his boxers down. “That’s a white man’s dick. This is a black man’s treasure, right here.” He grabbed his stuff.

  “Please, Kareem,” Quincy said. “If you’re going to stand up for the black man, you need to come more correct than that. This is top of the line right here.”

  “Both of you muh-fuckers really need to be ashamed of yourselves,” I said, standing up. “Put your dicks up and come help me pack Donovan’s shit for him.”

  “Hold on, big brother. For the record, would you tell this fool why the women love us so damn much,” Kareem said. Him and Quincy stood there waiting for a response from me.

  I tied my robe tighter, and before I headed downstairs I looked at both of them, shaking my head. “Honestly, I really don’t see what the ladies got to look forward to when it comes to either one of you. Y’all both should have played with yourselves a li’l bit more when y’all were kids; and, Kareem, let’s just say you’d better start respecting Quincy as a colored man. Through my eyes, he definitely earned my respect to be called one, and more than you, I might say.”

  “Daaamn,” Quincy said, wrapping the towel around his waist and looking at Kareem. “I guess that should clear up any misunderstanding you might have, bro.”

  “Man, Kiley don’t know what the fuck he talking about.” Kareem looked at me. “I didn’t see you pulling yo’ wee-wee out, bragging on yo’ shit.”

  “And you won’t. Might scare you. If you want to know, all you gotta do is ask the ladies in my life. They’ll be more than happy to share it with you.”

  I headed downstairs to Donovan’s room and they followed.

  After Kareem’s constant complaining about getting Donovan’s things together for him, I told him to forget it and he changed clothes and left. Quincy said the only reason he helped was because he didn’t want me doing it by myself. It was times like this one that Quincy always seemed to come through for me. Just like yesterday when I asked him to help Jada with her things, he didn’t even trip. Kareem never would have helped. Even if I begged him to. He was stubborn as stubborn could get, but I definitely understood how he felt about Donovan and Jada both so I really didn’t trip.

  Quincy and me put some clothes on and started packing Donovan’s things. As we were finishing up, the doorbell rang, and when I looked at the monitor, it was Donovan and one of his boys standing on the back porch. Quincy went downstairs to open the door, and since I didn’t want his friend scoping the place, I started pulling Donovan’s things out in the hallway so he could get them faster and go. They were coming up the steps as I pulled more bags from his room. I looked at Donovan, when he called my name and introduced me to Marcus.

  “Hey, man,” I said, looking at him. “What’s up?”

  “Nuttin’ much. You and the fellas got y’all selves a nice-ass crib.” Marcus looked around, dangling a toothpick from his mouth.

  “Donovan, I think we got everything. You can check to see if we missed anything if you want to.”

  “Cool. I appreciate you getting this stuff together for me.” He stepped over the bags and went into his room.

  I followed behind him to pull the last two bags out as Marcus and Quincy started taking Donovan’s things to the car.

  “I’m going to miss this place.” Donovan stood with his gray leather pants on, and his jacket covering up his wrapped shoulder, looking around the room. “I’ve had some good memories in this room. Memories I will definitely be taking with me to my new place.”

  “So, I guess Tricia still trippin’, huh?”

  “Yeah, she is.” He leaned against his dresser and crossed his feet. “Told me it was over until I learn how to keep my dick in my pants.”

  “I must have heard that a million times before. She’ll get over it, trust me. They always do.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure she will, but in the meantime, I’m moving on.”

  “With who, Candi?”

  “Naw, not with Candi. Tricia told me Candi was in the hospital, trying to get at you. Told me Candi and Jada got into it and said after you walked Candi to her car, Jada told her the gory details about our relationship.”

  “Damn, that’s fucked up; but you know ain’t nothing going on between Candi and me, don’t you?”

  Donovan put his hand in his pocket and smiled. “Naw, I really don’t know what’s up. I can only assume, though, that it was the perfect opportunity for you to get me back for sleeping with Jada.”

  “Donovan, I don’t play games like that. By all means, she bad, but she too damn bad for me. That kind of woman can only mean trouble, so trust me when I say fucking her ain’t an option for me.”

  “Well, if you
do, ain’t no biggie. She’s history in my book so ain’t no trip.” He rose up off the dresser. “So, did you and Jada ever work things out?”

  “We’ve talked, that’s it. If it’s meant to be, I’m sure I’ll see her again.”

  “That’s the same way I feel about Tricia.”

  I stood there talking to Donovan for a while. Hinting around, he kept mentioning what happened between us and still sounded kind of bitter. To keep the peace, deep down I was really glad he was moving out.

  When Donovan started looking for some private things in his room, I left and went into mine. As I looked at the monitor, things outside didn’t seem to be going well with Quincy and Marcus. Their mouths were moving and they were standing face to face. Not knowing who this nigga was or what he was about, I took my Glock from underneath my pillow and put it in my pocket. I called Donovan so he could go downstairs with me and see what was up. By the time we got down the steps, Marcus and Quincy were coming through the back door talking shit to one another. Donovan quickly intervened.

  “Marcus, why you trippin’, man? What happened?”

  “Nuttin’,” he said, smiling with a mouth full of gold teeth. “White boy can’t take a joke, that’s all.”

  Quincy punched Marcus in the face so hard it sent him flying through the back door onto the porch. “You don’t know me, nigga! Don’t know a damn thing about me to be calling me a white boy.”

  Marcus got up and tried to rush him, but before he could Donovan stepped in front of him and grabbed his shirt. “Chill out, fool. Why you coming over here trippin’?”

  Marcus pushed Donovan back, trying to get at Quincy. “Move, Dee. Ain’t no white boy gon’ put his hands on me and get away with it.”

  Quincy turned and started at him again. I tried holding him back as best as I could with one hand. “Let it go, Q. Whatever he said to you just let it go!” I looked at Donovan. “Man, get your animal out of here before he gets hurt. Call me and we’ll make arrangements to have the rest of your things sent to you.”

  “All right, that’s cool,” Donovan said, standing in the doorway, holding Marcus back as he started cursing at Quincy and me.