All You Had to Do Was Ask!

We parked two blocks down from Freddie's Barbershop.....Kool Kat and Owen Todd walked up to the two toughs who were standing guard outside...They put pistols to their temples and quietly marched them away.....Donald Smooth walked across the street to a Black BMW gingerly parked on the corner with tinted windows and got the drop on the driver and another guy who was inside and gingerly marched them away....

Chris and I walked into the barbershop....where Freddie was just finishing up Bruce Studden's haircut....I sat down next to a thick ,muscular thug and put my pistol in his ribs and quietly whispered..."Don't twitch or I'll drop you where you stand...." He got the message quick.

To Bruce's horror, he looked into the eyes of Chris Thompson!!!!!   Freddie, his other two barbers and three customers all got up and began heading for the door....

"Nice haircut Brucie....I've been lookin for a barber...I need to start comin here..." said Chris...

Bruce looked around...He didn't see his guys outside and he was startled to see me sitting quietly next to his bodyguard...

"So you're gonna do me right here huh?" he said, almost whimpering....

"Come on Bruce....You know me better than that?  All these witnesses..You think I'm going to risk going to jail over you...right here, right now?"

"Well what is this about?" he asked.

"What is this about?  You tell me Brucie....You send hitters after my main homey, Chess here two times and let me just say..If Chess or a member of his family had gotten just a knick...just a knick...Brucie...they would be picking parts of you up all over Philadelphia and Southeastern Pennsylvania...you feel me??? But to get back to you...What is your beef with me?   I'm not in the game anymore...I'm totally legit...I got nothin you want." said Chris.

"I want that building." he spat...

"What Building?" Chris asked.

"That building you finesed the panties off of Rita Davis to purchase....It wasn't hers to sell...That was my building....I purchased it...I was runnin business out of there for Mingo before I went to jail.." he spat.

"Well Hell Bruce...all you had to do was ask...You don't go puttin a contract out on people." said Chris.

''So you'll give me the building?" he asked.

" Helll No.  It's Chess and mine now...Legally....We bought it.....And we are not going to have you or nobody else sellin drugs or runnin women up in there either.And for your information...It was a legitimate business transaction...Then the panties came off" said Chris.

"Don't matter...That was my buildin..I collected rents, I conducted business ,all out of that building..I laundered money, the whole works...That was mine!" he spat.

"Well ,like I said...It's mine and Chess's now...She had papers drawn up with her name and her name only as the legitimate and legal owner and Chess and our lawyer dealt with her...I only closed the deal." said Chris.

"Yeah, I guess you did." said Bruce.

''What?" said Chris...Who now was no longer in a joking mood...

"You heard me!" said Bruce who looked like he was going for a gun...until he heard the click of my gun and saw Chris's gun on him and realized that he'd lose no matter what he did.  He was not a stupid man by any means.

"Look....Let's compromise here...I'm not into runnin women  in this area and I aint runnin drugs no more period...I just got out of the joint...I need some income man." said Bruce.

''Get a job." said Chris... I smiled....

"Okay, well look...How about this...When you guys finish renovatin..You rent me a floor?   I give you my word Chris...No drugs, no babes ,no juice....I aint into that , not here....I swear." said Bruce.

"We rent you a floor?  For what?" said Chris...

''Just to chill and to conduct business...My count.Just the money Chris...Nothin else....The real business will be nowhere near where I lay my head, I swear.." said Bruce.

"I might could do that....." said Chris..

"Okay...Could I make you an offer?" he asked...

"Hold that thought...Give me a number where you can be reached and we'll get back to you...In the meanwhile, your contracts on us are off." said Chris...Who signaled me to get up...

"You got my word...the contract is up. You guys will get no more trouble out of me.'" He said..

"Your boys are safe and sound...They're around the corner, unharmed. If you try to go back on your word Brucie, the deal is off and you'd better find another city to live in" said Chris.

"Okay...Okay...I gave you my word didn't I....A playas word is bond or has that changed?" he asked.

"How long was you in the joint?" I asked.

"Three years, six months and 14 days Chess." he said with a sigh.

''Some things done changed." I said.

"True dat." he said as Chris and I left the barbershop.

II-

A few hours later, Chris and I sat in Josies having a few beers and talking..

"You really want to rent a floor out to that creep?" I asked Chris...

''Don't be ridiculous Chess...I just said that to stall him.  Something is up...First he wants to buy the building, then he agrees to rent a floor and he's saying all along that he's not going to be running women or drugs out of there....I don't buy it...That's how Bruce Studden makes his money..He runs women, he sells drugs and he puts juice on the streets...He's all about the money...and there's a reason he is so interested in that building..." said Chris.

"What do you think it is?" I asked.

"I don't know...but I just wanted to stall him until we could find out...." said Chris....

"How are we going to do that?" I asked.

''We gotta do a little snoopin."  said Chris...

"I'm going to Robert Foxworth's office tomorrow...He's got  a friend in records..I'm gonna look up the history of this building" I said.

"Now you're talkin...Take Donald Smooth with you...Me and Owen Todd are going to take a real close look inside that building. I gotta feelin there is either something in that building or it's location that is very valuable to Brucie...More valuable than he"s lettin on." said Chris.

(To Be Continued....)

Best Part Of Waking Up!

Rell and I were in a deep sleep....Our baby girl was in a crib across the room from us...Next door..our baby boy was sleeping peacefully....It was a dull sound at first....I thought I was dreaming....then I woke up and realized that my Android was going off....It wasn't a phone call though...It was my silent house alarm...somebody was breaking in!!!!!!  Lockpick Johnson had installed a back up system for the regular system, so that if somebody beat the first system...the second one would still go off....Someone apparently had.!   I peeped outside my window and I saw a car parked directly across the street from me with tinted windows...

I was careful not to wake my family.  I slipped on my trousers and my shirt and grabbed my .45 and headed downstairs...I grabbed my android and called Donald "Smooth"....

"Hello....What's up Chess?" he said...He too had been sleeping..

"I got houseguests man...." I said.

"Huh? What?" he asked.

"Somebody is breaking in as I speak and there is a car across the street." I said.

''Sit tight Chess...I'm on my way." he said and hung up.

The culprit was at the back door.... I crouched and waited for the door to open.  When it did...I stuck the muzzle of my .45 right at his adams apple.

"Freeze....Kind of early in the morning to be paying someone a social call isn't it?" I said.   "Now drop that heater and lay face down on the floor." I said as I took his gun and his tools and another gun and a knife off of him... ''Gee Boy scout...you came prepared didn't you?" I laughed... The man said nothing.

Within a few minutes...Donald Smooth and one of his associates marched the two guys who had been in the car to my back door...

'We got em Chess...They got an arsenal of guns in that car." said Donald Smooth.

"Tie em up and gag em...." I said.  I turned to the one who was trying to break into my house....

''Who sent you?" I asked..

He said nothing.....Just then the hulking figure of Walter "Kool Kat" Jones appeared in the door way....

All three men's eyes got as large as saucers.....

"A guy named Goldie  man....It was Goldie...He gave us this address and paid us...He told us to kill everyone in the house....It was Goldie...I swear." said one of them.

Kool Kat hadn't uttered a word....Such was his fierce reputation on the street.. Kool Kat looked at me...

"Hey man, you got any more of them cookies?? They was good." he said.

Donald Smooth and I laughed...

II-

I decided not to waste anytime with these three cretins... I called the police and turned them over to them for B&E....Donald Smooth, Kool Kat ,Owen Todd, Donald's "associate " and I knew who "Goldie" was...Goldie was Stevie Gold, A low rate West Philadelphia hood....The kind of guy who "arranged" things for the highest bidder..Usually murder and kidnap...He also was a loan shark.

Kool Kat took the door of his apartment off the hinges...and Owen and Donald Smooth put the muzzles of their guns in the sides of his two henchmen...

"Heyyyy what the hell is this?" said Goldie...

"It's explanation time you cheap punk." I said as I aimed my .45 at his head and charged towards him....


''Do you boys know who I am?" He said as Donald Smooth and Owen Todd entered behind me...He hadn't seen Kool Kat yet.

I grabbed him by his collar and slammed him into the wall....He still had that stupid toothy grin on his face.

"Do you know who I AM?  " I asked...

"Yeah...Yeah..You're Chess, Chris Thompson's boy." he said.

''So why did you send hitters to my house?" I asked.

''Who me? Come on....I would never do a thing like that.." he said , still smiling that nutty smile of his...

Kool Kat ,who was now in the room had heard enough...He passed me his gun.

''Watch laughing boy here" he said

"Huh?" I asked , a little confused...

''Wait a minute Chess, let me try something." he said...

He cocked my gun and shot Goldie in the shoulder....

"ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHH, you crazy son of a...." he yelled in pain as blood poured down his side and onto the floor and he slumped over his desk.

"Alright now Goldie.....Next time Chess asks you a question and you lie...I'm gone shoot yo foot off...Then after that I'm just gonna kill you." he said with no hint of a smile..

They certainly knew who Kool Kat was and what he was capable of...and now all smiles were gone..

One of his Henchmen fainted...The other one began urinating.....

"Hey man...get a hold of yourself " said Owen Todd....

"Okay...Okay....A West Oak Lane player by the name of Bruce Studden put the contract out on you and Chris...He can't locate Chris...but he knows where you live and work...I just supplied him with guys....First time, two of my guys got shot....And I guess the second group I sent didn't do any better huh?" he said.

"Guess not....Okay Goldie...Here's the deal...You're out of business  as of right now....Give Bruce his money back or whatever...I don't care...Tell him you work for Chris and Me now....I want information on him..Where he lives, Where he eats and drinks, the book!" I said.

"Okay...Okayyyyy...just get me a Doctor....I've been shot.." he said.

"You'll live." said Donald Smooth.

"Don't get your blood on my suit...This is an expensive suit." said Kool Kat.

Once we were all in the hallway, I pulled Kool Kat to the side....I was half laughing and half serious.

"I know Kevin doesn't let you get down like this." I said.

"Nah...Kev would've had a heart attack if he had witnessed that last play...but with these street dudes, you gotta play hardball sometimes, let em know you serious.....but Kev is still my dude." he laughed.

Donald Smooth and Owen Todd left too... As he was leaving, Owen Todd looked at the guy who had urinated on himself and said-

"You know man....They sell Depends at the WAWA, but you look a bit young to have to be using those."

The guy shrugged...Goldie, who was still holding his bleeding shoulder yelled to one of them..

"Get on the phone and call a Doctor..and you...get a mop and clean that piss up and then after that...you fired...Don't come round here no more...You're embarrassing....People all over the city gone be laughing at me..I gotta reputation to uphold." he snapped.

We heard that as we were walking down the steps..We all laughed.

III-

We met with Chris Thompson at Jakes Hot Dog joint later on that day and told him of the early morning activities...Naturally he laughed.....

"Sorry about your troubles Chess...It's really me that Bruce wants....But I'm impressed with the way you guys went about getting the information....I got a scope on Killer Bruce anyway...A cat I used to know from the neighborhood told me where he might be." said Chris.

"Oh yeah?" I said.

"Yeah, he gave me a couple of adresses. Looks like tomorrow, we pay Mr. Studden a little visit." said Chris.

"I'm down with that." said Donald Smooth.

"Me too." I said.

(To Be Continued...)

Snickerdoodle

I  remember that Chris Thompson always told me that even though he was out of the street life...He never the less never wanted to get so comfortable that he was caught slippin.  My guess was that this was why he still carried a piece and why he still moved from apartment to apartment and kept his address basically a secret except for me and Donald Smooth...He always feared that somebody from his gangster days might be lookin to make a name for himself or to settle an old score....

Me? My name is Chess...I'm his best friend and business partner...Sometimes I carry a piece too...Today wasn't one of those days!

It started out pretty normal...For me at least!... I met with Grady and his construction crew at the apartment complex that we had bought from Rita Davis....Donald Smooth was with me...Chris had been out with Rita the night before and had called and said that he wasn't going to make this meeting...It was cool because there really was no pressing need for him to be here...He had handled the final negotiations about two weeks before and the crew was here and ready to begin work..

"So Chess..We are going to put in new windows....and siding and take care of that roof..It's in shoddy condition." said Grady..The contractor.

"Good and I want all new plumbing fixtures." I said.

"We on it and we got carpenters coming in to look at the apartments...We are going to make them all ultra -modern, Euro type suites...I got a team of painters comin to look at the joint tomorrow too." he said.

''Cool beans..I love what you did to that English woman's loft." I said.

"English woman? Oh ..the Black babe that Ralph Scallion is screwin?  Yeah, we hooked that place up...When were you up there?" he asked.

"I own it Grady...I was up there before she moved in." I said , shaking my head...

Donald Smooth laughed....

Just as he did.... A Black BMW turned the corner....The windows were dim so I couldn't see the driver...It was broad daylight and he turned the high beams on....That was odd I thought...but I didn't think...Then the car sped up and headed toward us....The window came down and a guy with an uzi aimed at me...

''Chess, look out!" screamed Donald Smooth who dove and knocked me down... Grady and his crew ducked and bullets were sprayed all along the avenue...breaking the windows of several cars... We all crawled on our bellys and attempted to find cover...Then the BMW stopped and began to back up....

Donald Smooth pulled out his .38 smokeless and fired two shots at the car...The first shot blew the back window of the car out and we heard a yell...

"Arrrghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....I don't believe it..I've been shot.."

Donald let fly with yet another shot and the gunman dropped his uzi in the street.. and yelled...

"I been hit....I been hit...Oh my goddd...stop the car...put it in drive....drive nigga drive....come on.. we gettin hit...aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...I didn't come out here to get shot...arggghhhhh it hurts...it hurttttss..." he yelled...

The car then sped off.......

When the smoke cleared...We all stood up......

"What the hell was that about ?" said Grady...

"I don't know....Your guys okay?" I asked.

"Yeah..we alright..." he said as the men dispersed...

"Must have been a case of mistaken identity" said Donald Smooth...

" Yeah" I said... we both knew that that was a lie.

II-

A few hours later....Donald Smooth and I sat in our office in the shopping center we owned.

''What do you make of that?" asked Donald Smooth.

''I think somebody definitely doesn't want us in the housing business or at least not THAT house." I said.

''But why?"asked Donald Smooth.

"Guess you don't know who used to own those apartments and who lived there and conducted business there do you?" I asked.

"Nah, who?" asked Donald Smooth.

''Mingo" I said.

"Mingo?  He's dead...I thought that babe that Chris is bangin owned them units." asked Donald.

"She won em by default after he died....She couldn't or didn't want to be a landlord...and after everybody more or less moved out, the place fell apart...That's why she put it up for sale. She used to be his woman." I said.

"You think Chris knows?"asked Donald.

"He's gotta know by now..." I said.

"That aint exactly pillow talk Chess." said Donald Smooth...

"Trust me..Chris knows."I said.

"Knows what? I know what?" came the unmistakable voice of Chris Thompson.

"That your babe used to be involved with Mingo." I said.

"Yeah , she told me....She told me the first night we was together...They was engaged...Here try these, they are good." he said.

He had a tray of hot cookies with him that he put on the table...Donald and I ate the cookies...They were good..Not just good, exceptional!!!!

"Wow these are great..where did you get em?" I asked.

"My baby made em...She bakes...They're sugar cookies..called Snickerdoodles." he laughed.

"Snicker whats?" asked Donald Smooth...

"Snickerdoodles.....In fact, that's my little pet name for her...My little snickerdoodle.." laughed Chris.

"Some men have women making pancakes for em after a night of good lovemaking...This guy has em bakin cookies." said Donald Smooth....We all laughed as we muched on the cookies.

"So what about Mingo?' he asked.

"We had some company at the site today man.....Company in a Black BMW with tinted windows and an uzi."I said.

"What?" asked Chris.

"They  shot the place up...but nobody got hurt....and I think Donald Smooth hit two of them.." I said.

"Kill em?" asked Chris...

"No..just wounded them.....Mingo has been dead for a minute now...Think he's got any crew left that wants to claim that property?" I asked.

''Nah..that crew fell hard...they all got stiff sentences or they got killed..Aint none of them left....Except...Oh my God.....Except....Bruce....Bruce Studden..." he said.

"Killer Bruce?" I asked.

"The one and only...His number two man...He got paroled recently I heard...He went up a couple of years ago for manslaughter."said Chris.

"Damn...the court system in this country has got to be improved." said Donald Smooth.

Chris and I both grew silent and gave him the side eye for a minute....I saw Chris smile slightly and just shake his head.

"I didn't see him, but I couldn't make out the guys in that car." I said.

"He probably sent some muscle...He wouldn't come himself.." said Chris...

He went in the drawer and pulled out a .22 and tossed it to me...

''Come on....I know you done got comfortable and didn't have your piece." he said.

I smiled....Donald Smooth went downstairs and started the car....

III-

The first place we stopped was at Walter "Kool Kat" Jones's house... Kool Kat as he was known was as fierce an enforcer as has ever walked the streets of Philadelphia....Like Chris Thompson...He had retired from the street life and was an honest man...He mostly helped our friend, Kevin Morris, the private investigator out with his cases...Serving as back up muscle.


"Chris...Chess, Donnie Smooth, to what do I owe the pleasure? And what is that you guys are munchin on?" the big six foot four, heavily muscled man asked when he came to the door.

"I need a favor." said Chris Thompson.

''Ahhh When Chris Thompson asks for a favor...Who can refuse? " the big man laughed.

"I know you mainly roll with Kev...but do you think he can spare you?" asked Chris.

''What's shakin?" he asked.

"Bruce Studden is back on the streets." said Donald Smooth..

''Killer Bruce eh? Mingo's boy.....I heard he got paroled...Heard you was uh seein Mingo's old fiance ." laughed Kool Kat...

''Damn man...Nothin get by you Kools" laughed Chris...

"Can't...That's why me and You and maybe Deacon Basil are still alive in our retirement." he laughed...

"I figure you, Smooth and Chess is all the muscle I need for right now....You know where Killer Bill lays his head now of days?" Chris asked.

"You got me there..but I know somebody that might know." said Kool Kat...

''Cool...Tomorrow, we'll pay Killer Bruce a visit." said Chris....

"Okay...but hey man, before you leave...pass me some of those snickerdoodles...I love em." said Kool Kat.

"You've heard of snickerdoodles?" asked Donald Smooth.

''Hell yeah...Loved em when I was a kid." said Kool Kat.... Chris just beamed...and gave me and Donald Smooth a  "See I told you ." look.

(To Be Continued....)

Meaner Than A Rattle Snake

Rell had been home for three days with our newest edition...Charlene Christine Parker...Our daughter.  Our son ,Charlie Jr. was now two....I had  what they call a "Banker's Family" now...One of both...Me..Charles "Chess" Parker..

Hardly no one ever calls me by my government name...Charles Parker....My daddy named me after the jazz musician....but the name I came to be known by is by the game he taught me , that I mastered...Chess...

"Chess, why don't you go out...See what the guys are up to." said my wife Rell....as I put the tiny baby back into the crib...Our son was up in his room playing with his toy trains...

I was surprised , because I had been home more than usual, the past two months...Helping her through the last weeks of her pregnancy...She wasn't used to me being around this much and I suspect that I might have been getting in the way a bit.

"You sure?" I asked.

She kissed me softly...

''Sure...go find Chris and Donald.." she said.

Yeah...She was tired of me being around the house...She would have never said something like that before...

Chris Thompson and I had been friends since childhood......Donald Smooth too...When I went off to college, those two got involved in the street life...When they chose to leave it ,later on in life...We all came together again...Chris set me up in business and later on became my partner....Donald joined us too...Yet we've still had some close calls out in these streets.

I stopped in Josies...I figured they'd be in there and I wasn't wrong...Gus ,the bartender and the owner pointed me to them as I walked in... I sat down across from Chris and next to Donald Smooth in the booth...
Chris ordered drinks and he and Donald both passed me envelopes filled with money...

''Congratulations Chess on you and Rell's new baby girl" said Donald Smooth...

''Yeah man...I meant to stop by, but I been handlin business." said Chris with a laugh.

''Speaking of business... did you uh meet with that lady, uh Rita Davis...The one that was selling that building across the street from us?" I asked.

''Sure did." said Chris...

"Yeah...I should have went with you...She 's fine and all, but she's meaner than a rattle snake.....Hope she didn't give you to hard a time." I said.

"Actually, she wasn't mean at all...In fact...she was quite accomodating." laughed Chris.

Donald Smooth smiled a sly grin...

"Am I missing something here? She gave me the third degree...In fact, I thought she was downright snooty at first...Then we finally came to an agreement...." I said.

"Yeah? " said Chris with a sly grin....I was somehow missing something here.

"Yeah...Conrad Nelson and I met her in a coffee shop and we rehashed the details over for close to three hours....He expressed concern to me about you going to talk to her without us." I said.

''Why? You guys don't think I can handle a negotiation?" said Chris...

"No...Noooo it aint that...it's just that she was kind of difficult...like she had a chip on her shoulder." I said.

"Well she aint got one on her shoulder now...I closed the deal, gave her the check and got her signature in writing...The building is ours...Grady and the construction guys said that they can start as soon as you give the word Chess." said Chris.

"Really?? I'm impressed....and she was satisfied with everything?" I asked.

"Oh yeeahhhhhh..buddy she was satisfied.." laughed Chris.  Now, Donald Smooth was howling with laughter and slapping his knee...

"You hit that?   You? A rusty dusty street negro like you got in the panties of that uptown snob??? I don't believe it." I said.

"Damn Chess...you just a generation out of the projects ya damn self and you callin me rusty dusty." laughed Chris...

"But you hit that?" I asked again...

"More than once Chess...I took her out...a few hoity toity joints and then I brought her here and I didn't take any of her crap and before I knew it...we were between the sheets and each other...." laughed Chris...

I'd seen him scare the piss out of many a playa and finese the underwear off of many a lady...but they were all people like us...from the hood..This babe was seemingly out of our league....but I guess not...I looked at Chris Thompson with new amazement....

His Android went off all of a sudden...He showed me the name....It was "Rita"

''Chris...I need you....I'm not wearing any panties..." came the voice that was obviously her...Chris looked at Donald and me and just shrugged his shoulders..Donald Smooth just held his head down and laughed..

''Keep your shirt on toots...I'm on my way." he said.

"My blouse and my bra is off....I'm sorry." she said.

''Well alrighttttt...I'm leavin now." said Chris with a toothy grin.  He got up ,peeled off a few bills and dropped them on the table.

"Drinks are on me tonight gentlemen.." He said , then he looked at me-

"Still think she's meaner than a rattlesnake Chess?" he laughed.

"Obviously not now." I said and I laughed too...

"Be easy greasy." I said.

"Always" laughed Chris as he headed out the door and into the night.

That Kinda Party!

Because I had been late for our business appointment..I made sure I was early this time...A whole thirty minutes early...She let me in to her place...A very ultra modern and well furnished, well kept apartment..

"Oh you're early huh Chris?  Thought you'd be late." she said with a hint of a smile..

"That's why you're not ready huh?" I joked back.

She looked at me and smiled... For the first time...I saw a softness, a vulnerability if you will.  I watched her as she put her lipstick on and then adjusted her pumps...She really did have a nice curvy figure and nice legs....

"Why are you so quiet?" she asked after a long moment.

"No reason.." I said with a smile.

"Remember...I may be letting you take me out, but don't get any ideas...It's not that kind of party...This is purely social." she said.

"Most dates are." I added with a smile...She didn't smile back...

II-

We had a delicious steak dinner at a spot I go to called "Lou's" and topped it off with a fine bottle of wine......We laughed and talked about our lives, our upbringing and our hopes and dreams...Rita Davis actually let her guard down a few times and laughed and told me things that I wouldn't have figured a woman like her would have revealed to someone like me , who she barely knew or for that matter liked.

Funny Thing about women though....

Next I took her to an upscale bar in a completely different part of the city...A part where I wasn't well known... Josie's, Bottom of The C. ,Mulberry Street ,et al would come later, if there was a later...no need in her goin to my personal spots at this point.  Besides..Like I said...I'm Chris Thompson...I couldn't be seen with a woman like this, who talked to me like this and who for some reason, had my nose wide open...More so than I was willing to admit...I had a street reputation to uphold..

"Wow...you sure know some nice places Chris..." she said.   "Then again...In your former line of work..it figures." she said.

"Why are you like that?" I asked...

"Why am I like what?" she asked.

"Such a smart mouth....I know it's a defense mechanism." I said.

"Oh...you're a shrink now?" she asked tersely...

"Somebody or maybe a couple of people hurt you....and you come off with this tough act to keep people at bay....See...In my former line of work as you say...I also learned how to read people too...Had to...That was how I stayed alive and out of jail back then..but that skill never leaves you." I said.   I was certain now that I had killed any chance of a second date or a "happy ending" to this date.

"Wow....So you think you got me all figured out huh?" she said.

"Yeah...I think you got your heart broken by somebody like me...Or rather who I used to be..." I said.

Her eyes got as wide as saucers then and she held her head down.....

"Yeah...I used to be engaged to a guy named Mingo...He was a playa...I loved that man...He got himself killed...On the eve of our wedding.....I vowed never to get involved with that type of guy again.." she said.

I couldn't tell her that I knew him and that I even had a rough idea of who killed him and why!  That was one secret I was going to keep to myself. The guy that killed Mingo was now dead himself..So why bring it up?

"I aint that kind of guy baby..I used to be....That's why I got out of the game...Guys like that eventually either wind up in the joint or taken a dirt nap...I didn't see that in my future...That's why I hooked up with my main man Chess...My friend since childhood and probably one of the only friends I ever had that wasn't in the game.." I said.

"That's a good friend to have." she said.

"Indeed." I said.

"But you talkin like you is tryin to get with me...I told you that this aint that kind of party." she said, once again trying to straighten up, toughen up.

I smiled...paid for our drinks and motioned her towards the door...

"Where we goin now?" she asked...

"To a fun place...A place where I hang out.." I said...

"Wow..Really?  I must have made an impression on you." she said with a hint of a smile.

"Yeah... you have." I said dryly...

Funny thing about women sometimes!

I took her to Josie's... Reed Nelson and "88" and the band was playing....A lot of people I knew were there...Kevin Morris and his wife, Sepia, Sean Jackson and his wife Sheila, Clerow and Corrie, Kool Kat and Chelsea....Chance Howard, Anita, Paris, Blake, Cherish, Robert Foxworth and his wife , Bonita and of course Gus, the bartender and owner....

My lawyer, Conrad Nelson and his wife, Jill was there, as was Mabel Jenkins and his sister, Victoria....At another table, Donald "Smooth" and some of the guys, Ralph Mole, Roscoe, were there too..They all looked and smiled at me as we walked by.
"Wow , you know everybody in here." she said as we sat in a booth and ordered drinks..

"This is my spot.." I said.

We sat back and listened to the band play....and we drank..We didn't talk much...I could tell that she was enjoying herself...Finnally at two o'clock, closing time..We left.

I drove her home...I played a cd of Reed Nelson's in my car as we drove to her apartment...

"They played that tonight.." she said.

"Yup and he gave me this CD, right after he recorded it." I said.

"Bragging?" she joked.

I just shook my head and smiled...

I pulled up in front of her apartment complex.......

''Well...Did you enjoy yourself tonight?" I asked.

"Yes...Yes...I did..I really did...You showed me a really good time." she said.

"Is there a chance for a second date?" I asked.

''Wow!! You are something else...We did a business transaction ....and you're trying to date me aren't you?" she asked...

"Okay..Okay..Never mind." I said....Then for some reason...I leaned over and kissed her..She had soft lips....soft like melting butter...She didn't resist and she didn't freeze up...It was a good kiss, a kiss that lasted a lot longer than I expected...

After I stopped kissing her, I knew what was coming next...

She raised her index finger and she said....

"I told you that this was not that kind of party...." she said....

Then...to my total surprise, she leaned over and kissed me...long and passionate..longer than our first kiss...and then she crawled over and straddled me and continued kissing me..hard and long.....

I put my arms around her and pulled her closer and continued kissing her and holding her...I lifted up her dress....She was wearing sexy garters, connected to her pantyhose...I cupped her buttocks in the palms of my hands and squeezed them tightly and continued kissing me...She opend my shirt and began rubbing my chest....

III-


I don't remember when we left my car, when we got on the elevator or when we got in her apartment..All I know is that my next memory was of being in her bedroom, her clothes and mine left a trail to her bed...and we were standing up, kissing and fondling each other....

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, ohhhh my godddd Chris....please...please make love to me..ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." she moaned...


"Ouuuuu baby...you just don't know...you just don't know how long I've thought about it...ohhhhhhhhhhhhh.." I found myself moaning...

I still had on my boxer shorts, but they were being stretched like a tent and Rita began rubbing my now throbbing penis through my shorts....

"Ouuuu, you packin daddy." she moaned as she rubbed and fondled...

Daddy?  did she just call me Daddy?..Hmmmmm...Maybe I had made an impression on her!  I was certainly getting ready to make an impression inside of her!

I slipped out of them and she passed me a condom which seemed to have come from out of nowhere....She was a just a little too prepared for me!

I layed her down and straddled her...She looked up at me with that vulnerable look again...That trusting look that a child has ....I slowly entered her..She was very wet and very warm...

Her body was like her lips..extremely soft and she smelled very good...I couldn't get that scent out of my mind...as I began to thrust very slowly.....With each thrust she moaned.....

''Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu....oh don't stop...don't you dare stopppppp...good godddddddddddd it's sooo goood......damnnnnn.."


I was going slow...I wanted to savor every minute of this experience...I was almost certain that this was a one time only deal...

She was right about one thing..It did feel good and I let her know it...

"Ohhh my god girl....it is good...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.." I moaned...Not like me at all...

I gradually began speeding up, rubbing harder, thrusting harder and grinding stronger. It was definitely turning her on. She grabbed the pillows and began moaning, when she tried to move her hips in concert, I stopped her.

This time ,it was gonna be my way or no way. She was on the verge, I had been inside of her for close to an hour now and just as she started to tremble, I leaned forward and put my tongue on one her breasts and began sucking. I wasn’t ready for her to come yet.

I smiled, leaned forward a bit and began thrusting slowly again. She was, good and wet. The palm of my hand , began to squeeze her round buttocks which made her jump. Her eyes said it all, she was astonished, excited and wanted more. I was more than ready to oblige,,

But after another hour of this...I couldn't take much more...I came and came hard, despite the fact that I didn't want to...She began trembling too and let out a blood curdling yell..

"YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

I  , gave myself a high five...(In my mind of course!)

"Oh My God Chris...That was off the rails." she said as we cuddled in post -coital passion...What's so funny? I know a few big words...Hangin around Chess has paid off.

"Uh, I know that you don't usually do this type of thing...but I was wonderin...If there was a chance for a second uh, er such occurrence?" I asked.

She turned away from me...

"Yeah...Uh, I suppose so.....Uh Chris?" she said.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"Remember, I told you that this was purely a business date and that it wasn't that kind of party?" she said.

"Yeah..I remember.." I said dryly....

''Well...I guess you know by now...I'm a big liar." she said and turned toward me and flashed the sweetest smile.


I smiled too....

Of course I knew that!

Frisky...

Usually my partner, Chess would be telling this story, but he and his wife Rell are about to welcome their second child into the world...So me, Chris Thompson will be telling this story... Me, reformed gangster...Now, successful and semi-honest businessman... We own several apartment and condo units...a juice bar , a couple of gyms and a few other small businesses...We financed a very successful shopping center that houses several of our friend's businesses... All under Chess and I's umbrella company...C&C Brothers Inc.  Needless to say...I'm making more money now than I ever did when I was hustling.(Ie-selling drugs)

I was sitting in a coffee shop having my third hot steaming tumbler of coffee and waiting for Donald "Smooth", perhaps the only friend I know of that's been with me longer than my main man, Chess...  It wasn't long before Donald Smooth walked in and sat down with me at my table...He passed me an envelope...An envelope filled with money...What I called "Lunch money"

This lunch money was from the one illegal activity that Chess, Donald and I were still involved in...A high stakes card game that we ran from time to time....We didn't need the money...We were making money hand over foot, but we were investing our company's money into our family and our businesses...This money was untaxable and free and fun....

"Did you give Chess his end?" I asked.

"Yeah..I stopped by his house first and I deducted my end....The rest is all yours daddy." he said..

" Cool beans...." I laughed...

"Rell is big...she's ready to have that baby any day now." said Donald as he headed to the counter to order some coffee...

My partner, Chess had been so busy with his pregnant wife and his small son that he hadn't been around the office or the card game lately.... Even I hadn't been with the card game..Donald "Smooth" was running it.. I spent my days meeting with contractors and construction guys, who were working on two properties we had bought and were turning into condos...After meeting with them..I spent the rest of my afternoons in Josies, shooting the breeze with Gus and Honey Brown....

I had moved into a new apartment building recently...One that Chess and I bought and were renovating... I still hadn't bought a house yet and I was still subject to move at the drop of a hat... Chess used to just look at me and shake his head and laugh..

"Chris...Chris daddy, when you gonna settle down?" he'd say.

'I'll sleep when I'm dead." I'd reply.

''Aint nobody said nothin about sleep..I said settle down..with one woman, a house...a couple of kids." he said.

"One of these days Chess..No time soon." I laughed.

''So what's up for today?" asked Donald ''Smooth"..

"Chess wants me to go meet this woman, a Rita Davis something or other about purchasing the Apartment complex across the street from me..." I said.

"Across the street from you?  That burned out joint?" asked Donald "Smooth"

"It's not burned out...It's just been empty for about a year and the punk kids broke out some of the windows..We got a crew comin in to put in new windows and gut the place...When we get through with it...You won't recognize it." I said.

"Yeah? ,Well that'll be an improvemant..I'm sure.." said Donald...I just smiled.

II-

I next drove into center city and picked up a few tailor made suits, I had waiting for me and then I stopped at the dry cleaners and picked up a few suits that I had in there....I then stopped by Fathead's office and shot the breeze with him and Roscoe and Ralph Mole...Finally, I drove over to Rita Davis's office.

Rita didn't look anything like what I expected , which was an older and white woman...Rita was a sister and she was fine...Had curves on top of curves...Attitude too!  As soon as I walked in...She looked at her watch.

"You're late Mr. Thompson." she said.

"And you're fine.." I said with a smile.

''Save that okay..If you don't value my time, you don't value my business." she snapped.

"Okay..Okay...How late am I?" I asked.

"About two hours." she lied...I was actually ,maybe a half an hour late.

"Okay...well I'm very sorry I'm late...I had a few other things to take care of...I'm a very busy man myself." ,I lied.

''Where's your partner?" she asked.

"Chess?..He's with his wife...She's about to give birth." I said.

"He set this deal up and he's the only reason I'm going to do business with you." she said rather tersly..

She had no idea who I was, or rather who I used to be....Nobody and I mean nobody ever talked to me like that...There are cats on the block this very day that wouldn't dream of raising their voice to me like this broad was doing...I just chuckled to myself.

"What's so funny?" she said.

"You are." I said.

"Why am I funny?" she asked...

''No reason...Let's get down to business..I have the papers here in my briefcase." I said as I laid out everything.

"I've already met with your attorney...Conrad Nelson." she said.

"Good..." I responded.

"That's a nice suit...Italian isn't it?" she asked.

"Yes it is." I responded...

"Those shoes....They look like they cost about a G." she said...

"You're close..." I said...

"And that cologne smells very good Mr. Thompson.....Hmmmmm...You dress too well to be just an average ghetto real estate guy." she said.

"Who said I was average?  and aint nothin ghetto about me." I said in all seriousness.

"I've seen your type before...Most of my life....You're a drug dealer aren't you?  You and Mr. Chess are buying this property to launder money aren't you?" she asked.

"You know baby..you ask a lot of questions.....The wrong questions....but to answer your question...No..I'm not a drug dealer...and haven't been for years...Mr. Chess was never one...We co-own C& C brothers , a legitimate company...You can look it up." I said.

"Oh I did..I checked you both out.....No record, Legit company, owns a lot of real estate.....but you more than Mr. Chess just has that street look about you...That hustler look." she said.

"Is that going to stop you from doing business with us?" I asked.

"No...I'm just makin an observation.." she said.

"Okay...heres a pen..." I said and passed her my pen.....

She looked at me, frowned and signed the papers and I presented her with a cashier's check as agreed.

"Pleasure doin business with you.....Hey, look....we got off on the wrong foot tonight...Why don't you let me make it up to you...Some Dinner, Some drinks....Uh...There's not a Mister   Davis...is there?" I asked.

"Wow...you ask that last, after you make your pitch huh?" she said and for the first time , she laughed...

"Well is there?" I asked.

"No..Not at the moment....not that that would be any of your concern..This is just a business date...We aint gettin frisky..cause I don't play that." she said.

"No..I'm sure you don't." I said....

Liar!!!!

(To be continued....)