thick inches kept him and Misty rolling in enough greenbacks to meet their needs. And his needs were quite basic. Food, weed, and brew on a daily basis plus a pair of sneakers, a pair of Timbs, a new pair of jeans, every now and then. Brick wasn’t into flashy jewelry. In fact, he didn’t wear any type of jewelry; not even a watch. Misty rocked so much bling, Brick was satisfied to bask in the illumination of her shine. Brick smiled. Just standing next to his pretty little Misty was a major come-up in his life.
After all these years, he still felt honored to be in her presence. He didn’t even mind when Misty openly flirted with other dudes.
“What about him?” dudes would ask whenever Misty flirted in Brick’s presence.
“Oh, that’s Brick. He’s my bodyguard,” she’d reply, looking and sounding like an A-list star. On cue, Brick would assume a severe expression and the wide-legged stance of a bodyguard.
Going along with Misty’s public role-playing games always assured him of a night of freaky passion. He had to give her major props. Misty was dat bitch; in and out of bed.
A loud growl from his stomach interrupted his musings. Brick called a local deli and ordered a smorgasbord of greasy food.
When the doorbell rang, Brick rubbed his hands together and delightedly opened the door. The delivery person stood in the doorway, heavily laden with a large pizza and three large paper bags filled with side orders. “Hey, my man. What it is? Yo, cuz, you got here quick as shit. That’s whassup!”
Happily, Brick unburdened the delivery man of the packages.
Overdosing on weed and food and groggy from too much beer, Brick fell asleep on the living room sofa. The blare of the house phone jolted him awake.
“Damn!” he muttered and reached for the handset, a bleary eye focused on the caller ID. Thomasina Bernard . “Aw, fuck that!” he growled. He had no rap for Misty’s loud-mouth mom. If Miss Thomasina wanted to speak to her daughter, she’d better hit Misty up on her cell. If Misty didn’t pick up, that meant she didn’t feel like talking to her right now. Just hearing Miss Thomasina’s voice would wreck the remainder of Brick’s peaceful day. Following his better judgment, Brick turned off the ringer and curled back into his spot on the sofa. Two minutes later, the muffled but annoying sound of the telephone emanated from the bedroom.
He sat up and stared at the mute phone in the living room. What the fuck is up with Miss Thomasina? Maybe something had happened to Misty! Sudden apprehension caused Brick to lunge for the phone. “Hello!” he said urgently.
“Where the hell is Misty?” Thomasina barked into the phone.
Irritated, Brick blew out a whoosh of air. “She ain’t home.”
“Well, where the hell is she?” Thomasina asked sharply.
“Shopping.” Brick’s emotionless, one-word response was certain to rile Misty’s mom.
“Tell me something I don’t know, genius,” Thomasina snapped. “Misty picked me up after work. She dropped me off at my linedancing class and was supposed to come back and take me shopping after my class.”
Brick screwed up his lips. He didn’t appreciate hearing that Misty’s hateful mom was benefiting off his hustle, too. I’m not good enough for her daughter but my money’s good enough for her to spend.
He wanted to say something sarcastic, but Misty wouldn’t appreciate him disrespecting her mother. Wisely, Brick decided to suck it up and let it ride. Besides, Miss Thomasina’s taste wasn’t anywhere near as expensive as Misty’s. She couldn’t break the bank.
“I’ve been waiting for an hour and twenty minutes. Where could that girl be?”
Deep in unpleasant thoughts, Brick frowned as he ran a finger over his thick scar. It wasn’t like Misty to leave her mom stranded. If somebody had hurt his pretty baby, he’d shoot a mufucka, strangle him with his bare hands, stomp a nigga to death. Brick shook his head as a succession of murderous
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