Passion of the Streets Read online

  “I heard your company leave,” Daisy said.

  Little Monty sighed. “He’s worthless.”

  Daisy walked behind his desk and made herself comfortable on his lap. “What happened? I thought he was the key to everything.”

  Little Monty shook his head. “I thought so too, but that nigga is too greedy. He wants Jamil’s spot so bad he can’t think straight, and that’s bad for business.”

  Daisy’s soft hands rubbed the top of his head. “So what are you going to do now?”

  “Honestly? I don’t know. I told Shock to bring him to the party, but now I’m not so sure. I was going to have someone put a bullet in his head the moment he got here, but I want that nigga to see me first. If I just let him walk around chilling, he might peep who I am and leave before I can handle his ass.”

  “Maybe we should just leave it alone and move on. It’s been long enough, babe. Maybe it’s time to just make peace with the situation. If you can’t figure out an easy way to do it, then maybe it shouldn’t be done.”

  Little Monty opened his eyes quickly and frowned at her. “How could you say that?”

  “I just think it’s too much. All of these years have passed and you’re still after this same kid.” Daisy shrugged. “I think maybe it’s time we just start fresh. We can move away from here, find us a nice house somewhere else, and leave it all behind.” Daisy kissed down the side of his face and he pulled away.

  “Fuck no!” He grumbled, pushing her from his lap. “Get out, Daisy.”

  She looked at him like she wanted to say something but changed her mind. “I didn’t mean to make you angry. I just think it’s time.”

  “Get out!” he bellowed, causing her to scurry from the room.

  Little Monty turned around toward his desk, pulled the picture frame from it, and just stared. He missed her so much. She had been his everything, and in the blink of an eye she’d been taken away from him. Something so sweet and so precious. How could he just let that go?

  With a deep sigh, he held the tenth-grade picture of his daughter up close to his face and kissed it. “Even if everyone else gives up, Daddy won’t.” He kissed the picture again before placing it back into his drawer. “Daddy loves you, Lauren.” He was looking up to the sky and thinking of her, as he had almost every night since she’d left.

  He wanted the pain to get better, but no matter how hard he tried, it just wouldn’t. Maybe it never would, or maybe it just felt like that because he hadn’t killed Jamil yet.

  Chapter Eleven

  “I love you now, I loved you then, I’ll love you forever. Your energy, your passion, your love. Everything about you is perfect, and not just plainly perfect, but perfect for me. The beauty in the love that you share with me is all I desire, and I wish to bask in it forever. My Milli Rock, my beautifully compassionate Milli. You deserve it all, baby, and I’m here to give it to you.”

  —Gee

  “Of course I miss you, Colonel.” Gia smiled brightly as she swung back and forth on the swing.

  She was on the phone with her father, and he was going in on her about them not speaking in days. Normally they spoke at least once a day, but ever since she’d been hanging out with Jamil, she had been neglecting him.

  “What? What would make you think that?” She looked at Oni, who was swinging next to her. “I have not met a man.”

  Oni’s eyes widened as she listened to Gia.

  “Uncle Rick told you what?” Gia hit Oni’s arm. I’m going to kill your daddy, she mouthed to her. “He’s not my boyfriend, Colonel. We just talk sometimes . . . yeah . . . I mean, but why would you want to talk to him?”

  Gia stopped swinging and held her head in her hand. “Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I will. Yes, sir. Later today. We’re going to a cookout at his friend’s house. No, he’s not a thug, Colonel. He’s nice. Okay. I love you too. Okay, bye.” Gia hung up her phone and screamed. “I’m going to kill your talking-ass daddy, Oni.”

  Oni was too busy laughing to talk. “What he do, girl?” she was finally able to say.

  “Told my daddy me and you been running around here with some men. Now the Colonel wants me to FaceTime him when I get with Jamil.”

  “Are you going to?”

  Gia looked at Oni like she should have known better. “Of course I am. Colonel Ellis will kill me if I don’t.”

  “You kill me calling your daddy Colonel.”

  Gia shrugged. “I can’t help it.”

  “What time is the cookout?”

  “Jamil said to come through around three. He sent me the address already. I think it’s a pool party too, because he told me to make sure we bring our bikinis.”

  Oni danced around in her seat on the swing. “I hope some fine niggas be there.”

  “Don’t get caught up. You know Iverson might be there too. Not to mention your little old-school love affair.”

  Oni rolled her eyes. “I ain’t worried about Iverson. And Isaac isn’t a threat. He knows I’m young and we can’t be together like that.”

  Gia nodded. “Good. I’m glad you got all of that together.”

  They sat outside on the swings in the backyard of Oni’s house for a little while longer before going inside to get ready to leave. It was already a little after two, so they didn’t have much time.

  “I think I’m wearing this one.” Gia held up her red and gold bikini.

  “That’s so cute. I’ma wear my blue one.” Oni tossed the thin piece of fabric toward Gia so that she could see it.

  “All the little dope boys about to be choosing on us.” Gia smiled as she ran her hand through her locs. She’d braided them the night before, so they were nice and wavy.

  “You need to be worried about Milli Rock and that’s it.”

  “You better believe that’s the only one I care about.” Gia tied the red satin band around the front of her locs and fluffed them up around her earrings, a large pair of gold ones to match with her swimsuit. The colored tips of her locs lay against her skin as she put on eyeliner and lip gloss. She continued getting dressed while Oni went into her room to do the same. With a pair of ripped black shorts over her bikini bottoms and a loose-fitting red cropped shirt over the top, she was ready.

  On her wrists was a gold watch and a few bangles the Colonel had gotten her from Dubai. When she went into Oni’s room, Oni had her wrap combed down and was sliding her feet into her sandals.

  “You better be glad you washed that hair last night. It looks so bouncy today,” Gia said.

  “That’s why I did it. How do I look?”

  Oni was also wearing shorts, except hers were blue jeans, and her pink crop top looked more like a bra than a shirt. Since her stomach was so flat, it looked cute on her.

  “You cute, girl.” Gia grabbed Oni’s arm and pulled her down the stairs.

  They hopped into Oni’s truck and programmed her GPS for Jamil’s friend’s house.

  “What’s this friend’s name?” Oni asked.

  “I think Milli said his name was Shock or something like that.”

  Oni nodded and kept driving. They listened to music and talked about the party on the way. It took a little over twenty minutes for them to get there, but they could tell by all of the parked cars that they were in the right spot.

  Oni frowned. “Damn, it’s packed.”

  “It probably isn’t. This is an apartment complex. There could be cars from other residents too.”

  “If you say so. I just hope it ain’t a bunch of bitches. You know I don’t do bitches.”

  Gia giggled. “You must have forgot about that bitch you did at the hotel with Iverson.”

  Oni looked at Gia and pinched her arm. “Gia, don’t do that.”

  “Okay, my bad. I’m just playing, but I couldn’t let that slide by.”

  “Whatever. Let’s go.” Oni was smiling as she slid her sunglasses on her face.

  Gia did the same thing as she exited Oni’s truck. Before walking away, she leaned down and looked at her face in the mirr
or to make sure she was good. When the both of them were finally ready, Gia sent a text to Jamil letting him know that they were outside. When he didn’t respond right away, they decided to go ahead and go in anyway.

  They could hear the music as they got closer to the back of the building. As soon as they rounded the corner, there were people everywhere. Male and females crowded the pool and the walkway leading to the only balcony on that side. The sliding door to that balcony was open, so Gia figured that must be where Shock lived.

  The pool was surrounded by a stone wall that looked like it was made out of pebbles. The tall waterfall that cascaded down the side of it was lit up at the bottom, making the water look a bright green color. White beach chairs surrounded the pool, as well as umbrellas and tables.

  In the corner of the pool area near the gate was a large speaker system that had music blasting from it. Along with the speakers was a large table with drinks, chips, and food lined around it. Everything from alcohol to bottled water and soda flooded the table.

  Gia and Oni stayed close to one another, observing the outside setup before moving through the crowd until they were inside the apartment. Gia was looking all over the place for Jamil but hadn’t spotted him yet. Niggas were damn near drooling as Gia and Oni passed. Some even had the nerve to try their luck at talking to them.

  With a smile and quick shake of their heads, both women turned them all down. Well, almost all of them. One dark-skinned dude with muscles like a bodybuilder and the smile of a model caught Oni’s hand and wouldn’t let go.

  “What’s your name, beautiful?” he asked her.

  Oni blushed and tried to pull her hand away. He grabbed his chest as if she’d broken his heart as she and Gia moved past him.

  “Don’t do me like that, li’l bit,” he called after them, only getting a smile in return. “I’ll see you again.” He winked and walked away.

  “Girl, he was cute,” Gia told Oni as they circled the house fully and headed back out the door.

  “I’m trying to feel things out first. I don’t want to be talking to random niggas until I scope out the scene.”

  “I got you, but what I’m trying to figure out is where the hell Jamil is.”

  “Right here. Waiting on you.” A pair of arms that had become her favorite resting place snaked around Gia’s stomach and held her from behind. Jamil’s embrace was followed by a soft kiss to the back of her neck. “I’ve been looking for you all day,” Jamil whispered in her ear.

  Gia turned around to face him and wrapped her arms around his neck. His hair was pulled up into a large bun on the top of his head. Gia had never seen it like that before. She’d seen plenty of other niggas wearing it, and she’d liked it, but she loved Jamil’s. It was so messy and cute on him. His eyes were red and low as he stared down into her face. The orange hair that made up his eyebrows and the small beard on his chin was neatly trimmed.

  “You been smoking?” she asked him.

  He nodded.

  “And you’ve been to the barbershop?”

  He smiled and nodded again.

  “You look so sexy.” She kissed his chin while he kissed her forehead.

  As she pulled away, she felt his hands wandering down to the bottom of her back. He pulled her closer before dipping his head and kissing her lips softly. His kiss was so soft Gia wasn’t sure whether she should deepen it or leave it as it was, but she couldn’t help herself. Her mouth parted just enough to suggest she wanted more, and he obliged.

  Sliding his tongue into her mouth and pulling at her top lip with his teeth, Jamil gripped her back a tad bit tighter as he got lost in their kiss. It was clear he had been missing her just as she’d been missing him all day. Even with the faint taste of whatever weed he’d been smoking, Gia desired more, but it was time to let go.

  When she pulled away, Jamil held her bottom lip with his teeth until she began to giggle. He pecked her mouth once more before letting her go.

  “Got damn, girl. That chocolate be having a nigga feigning.”

  Still being held tightly in his arms, Gia smiled and observed his handsome features. “I’ve been missing you all day.”

  “Shit, you? I was two seconds from calling your ass to see where you was at.”

  “Hey to you too, Jamil.” Oni made her presence known.

  Jamil and Gia both looked at her with a smirk on their faces. “My fault, cousin. What’s good?” He held his hand up for her to high-five it. When she did, he wrapped his arm right back around Gia.

  “Nothing, but y’all are killing me acting like y’all in this house all alone.”

  “We are not.” Gia grinned.

  “The hell you say?” Oni rolled her eyes playfully. “Anybody watching y’all would probably agree with me.”

  Jamil let Gia’s body go only to wrap his arm around her shoulder and pull her right back to him.

  “That’s Gee. Coming up in here while I’m high taking advantage of me and shit.”

  “Oh, whatever, Milli.” She pushed his chest playfully. “Show us around.”

  Jamil looked around the living room like he’d forgotten where they were. Gia surveyed the navy blue and yellow Corona swim trunks he had on before realizing he was shirtless.

  “Why you ain’t got no shirt on up in here with all these women?” She raised her eyebrow above her shades.

  He looked down at himself the same way he’d looked around the house. Gia shook her head, because that weed had him zoned all the way out.

  “Because I knew you were coming.” He winked and she smiled. “Come on. Let’s go outside by the pool.”

  “Wait. We need to take our clothes off first,” Gia told him as she stood next to Oni.

  “Cool. Y’all can do that in my nigga Shock’s room. I can guarantee you ain’t nobody up in there.”

  Gia and Oni followed Jamil through the house full of people. Once they reached the last door on the hall, almost the entire environment changed. It was as if they’d entered a dead zone. Not only were there no people near the door, but even the air seemed cooler back there. Jamil twisted the knob and pushed the door open.

  Once he stepped inside and the girls walked in, he closed the door behind them. Gia and Oni both began to remove their shirts first, but Gia was stopped when he pulled her into the bathroom with him. As soon as the door was closed, he reached for her shorts, unbuckling them for her and sliding them down over her bottom.

  He quickly became so distracted by her curves that he stopped pushing her shorts down and just held on to her butt. With a cheek in each hand, he squeezed and pulled her forward so that his erection was positioned just between her thighs.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Gia rested her arms around his neck.

  “You’ve been on my mind all day. Then you show up looking all sexy and shit. What you expect me to do?”

  Jamil looked at her as if she really had left him no other choice than to casually molest her in the bathroom. Her smile returned his hands to her body, both of them aggressively touching and groping her thighs and breasts.

  “I want to be inside you so bad.” He growled into her ear as he assaulted her neck relentlessly.

  Gia moaned and grabbed his dick through his shorts, sending him over the edge. She looked into his eyes as she massaged the length of it in the palm of her hand. With one of his hands still on the bottom of her back and the other holding the side of her neck, Jamil closed his eyes and allowed her free range to his body.

  Gia reveled in how sexy he looked as she touched him the way he touched her. When she wanted to do a little more, she pulled down his trunks as quickly as she could before he could stop her or before she could change her mind. At the same speed that his pants came down, so did her body.

  Gia was on her knees in front of him with her hands circling the girth of his manhood. Totally forgetting where she was or what was going on around her, Gia wrapped her mouth around just the head first.

  “Oh fuckkkk,” he groaned as her mouth slid
farther down. “Fuckkkk, Gee.” He grabbed the back of her head and held his hand there.

  He didn’t move or try to force more in than she was ready for, which she appreciated. He simply leaned against the wall and enjoyed it. The pleasured look on his face urged her to go further, so she did. Gia moved forward until her entire mouth had nearly swallowed him whole. She did this a few times until she found a rhythm that worked for her.

  “Sssss.” Jamil sucked air through his teeth as he watched her. “Ah yeah, Gianna,” he moaned.

  Gia kept her eyes on him as she watched him fall apart above her. His eyes closed as his head fell back. The muscles in his arms jumped every time she sucked harder or made a slurping sound. The pleasure he looked to be receiving had Gia wanting to suck his dick forever and ever.

  If he was going to look and feel like this every time she touched him with her mouth, she had plans to do it more often. Gia reached up and grabbed his hand, holding it in one hand while using the other to slide back and forth in her saliva, making rotating circles around his shaft.

  “Damn, Gee.” He finally opened his eyes and looked down at her.

  Gia could only imagine how she must have looked kneeling before him on the bathroom floor of his homeboy’s apartment with his dick hanging from her mouth, but at that moment she didn’t care. All she cared about was making him feel the way he made her feel just by looking at her.

  “Aye, li’l shawty, ain’t nobody supposed to be in here.”

  A deep voice on the other side of the door interrupted Gia’s flow.

  With no warning, she hopped up off the floor and wiped her mouth while Jamil leaned closer to the door so that he could hear who was talking. It was Oni.

  “I’m just waiting on my cousin. She’s using the bathroom.”

  “I feel you, but my bedroom is off-limits. There’s another bathroom in the hallway.”

  Gia heard the voice again and looked at Jamil for an inkling of what to do next. The way he pulled his shorts up and pecked Gee on the lips like it was nothing wrong relaxed her some.