Started From The Top Now I'm Here Read online

  “Go straight to hell!” Joe yelled back.

  “And don’t be calling me talking ‘bout we ain’t got no money for a headstone, Granny need a casket…. I ain’t got shit for y’all broke asses!”

  Sonnet stomped out of the building and peeled out of the parking lot vowing to not speak another word to her family until the funeral. And even then they better tread lightly. The nerve of these sorry ass low lifes blaming me, she thought. If they asses weren’t always crying wolf, begging to go to the damn store and shit I might have answered.

  She didn’t feel one bit of remorse about the fact that she was only a few blocks away at the time they were trying to reach her. Instead she was more concerned about the bruise that was now forming on her right cheek. She was the picture of perfection when Tyler met her and she wanted to keep it that way. She had to figure out how to make the swelling go down before the next time she saw him.

  Even though she was a good liar she didn’t have time to be explaining why she was hit in the face by her ignorant ass uncle. He was a refined business-man from a good family and she had no doubt in her mind that if he had any incline as to how ratchet her family was he would run for the hills, and she wouldn’t blame him one bit.

  After she made it back home for the second time, she applied an icepack to her face, and then called up Lexi and Cheron. She wanted to give them the news about Granny plus she knew that they were dying to hear about her time with Tyler.

  ****

  Chapter 14 – Time To Check In

  “Damn nigga! Would you look at this office?” Rayquan beamed as he walked in the elegantly decorated room and looked around.

  “Man watch your mouth, this is a place of business,” Kenterris scolded as he looked around to see if anyone heard.

  “Oh my bad, I’m just saying how can a brotha’ like me be down? Do you need an assistant? Hell I’ll mop the floor, work in the mail room or whatever.”

  Kenterris laughed as he offered his friend a seat on the rich Italian leather sofa.

  “You want something to drink?” Kenterris offered.

  “Nah man I’m good. You done spoiled the hell out of me already” Rayquan responded.

  Rayquan and Kenterris had been friends since the 9th grade. Despite the direction both of their lives turned Kenterris still kept in touch with him. He tried to help Rayquan on numerous occasions, but he just wouldn’t prove himself responsible. At the end of the day he was just like every other nigga in the hood that lived in his momma’s basement with numerous baby mommas. The job he was doing for him now was just Kenterris cashing in on a favor that he owed him for the many loans that were never repaid.

  “So, did she fall for it?” Kenterris asked.

  “Is fat meat greasy? She fell for that shit hook line and sinker. You weren’t lying about how thirsty that bitch was?” Rayquan boasted.

  “I told you man! Tell me what happened.”

  “First of all I told her my name was Tyler.”

  “No you didn’t, you a fool for that one,” Kenterris chuckled.

  “I gotta give it to you man; you had my ass looking like Don Juan last night in that suit. And yes I dropped it off at the cleaners like you said. You should have seen the way her ass was eyeballing that damn watch.”

  “I know she was all over that shit,” Kenterris replied as he leaned back in his executive chair.

  “Hell yea, I didn’t have no problems hittin’ that. And the pussy was quite good I might add.” Rayquan looked at Kenterris to read his reaction.

  “It’s all good. I told you I didn’t care if you hit it. I’m done with it.”

  “That’s all I needed to hear. Hell, I had the time of my damn life last night. I can’t remember when the last time I had a lobster dinner. It felt good to dress up, you had me looking like real gigolo. Shit you know I had to pawn all my suits to keep my ass out of jail for that damn back child support.”

  “Man you killing me,” Kenterris bent over in laughter.

  “I ain’t lying. My ass was sipping Cristal and eating shrimp scampi and shit. Ain’t nothing but Four Loco and Joose done touched these lips before that. I done been laid up all night in the Beverly Hilton, got me some ass and a free limo ride. What else could a broke ass nigga like me ask for?”

  The men laughed and chatted for the next hour about Sonnet before Kenterris let him listen to the many messages that she had left on his phone.

  “Wassup Kenterris, I see you still trying to ignore me. Well it’s all good. I just called to tell you that you done officially fucked up and lost me. That’s right, I got me a real baller so you can keep yo’ tired ass over there with Cheron.”

  “That ain’t shit, listen to this one,” Rayquan added.

  “Hey Tyler, I miss you boo. Thank you for the good time last night, my pussy is still singing. Call me when you get this message, bye baby.”

  “Did she just say her pussy was singing?” Kenterris howled in laughter.

  “You heard her. I laid the pipe deep on that ass. Speaking of that, how long you want me to run this little scheme. You know she gon’ be asking to stop by the crib in a minute. What imma do then?”

  “Don’t worry about that. Just follow my lead. I got you covered with anything you need. By the time she starts pressing you about wanting to come over, your ass will be in the wind and she won’t know what hit her,” Kenterris smirked and rubbed his palms together.

  “Alight if you say so…. ‘cause you know I ain’t above bringing a female over in mom’s basement.”

  “I can see her ass now! That bitch would drop dead on the spot!” The imagery made both men laugh ‘till their sides hurt.

  ****

  Chapter 15 – My Name Is Sonnet Bitch

  A week had passed and Sonnet had yet to hear from Kenterris. She couldn’t believe he didn’t even respond when she told him about Granny passing. She had incredible sex with Tyler twice more since the night she met him. Aside from Granny’s death everything was finally going right in her life.

  Tyler had truly shown her how to let her hair down and have some fun. Not only that, he was breaking the financial game down for her. In the short amount of time that she knew him he had gained her trust as a true professional when it came to investing and making money grow. Everything from his suits to the way he wined and dined her spoke for itself. It was like she had met a unicorn among a sea of pit bulls. And to put the icing on the cake, he was all hers.

  There were no baby momma’s hanging around. No exes sending him texts every ten minutes. As a matter of fact whenever she was with Tyler he gave her his undivided attention. The only thing he hadn’t done yet was take her back to his place. It was all good. She didn’t want to rush things, plus she was enjoying every minute of what they currently had going on. Sonnet had no doubt in her mind that if his home was anything halfway like the suites he took her too it would take her breath away. He even promised to fly her to Paris in his private jet once he was able to clear up his work schedule. What else could a girl ask for?

  So why the hell was she still obsessing about Kenterris? She thought she had gotten him out of her system but that feeling was short lived. Sonnet’s pride was hurt more than her feelings. It was like all of a sudden he dropped off the face of the earth. She had niggas that went ghost on her before but this was totally out of character for Kenterris. Later that day she planned on having drinks and dinner with Cheron. Not only would it give her a chance to vent about her crazy ass family, she could get the inside scoop on Kenterris. Maybe he was super busy at work or wasn’t feeling well. Whatever the case may be she had plans to pick Cheron till she found out the real deal.

  Later that evening

  “I’ll have the Shrimp Alfredo and a garden salad please,” Cheron placed her order then took a sip from her glass of white wine. “Damn girl I’m so sorry about your Granny, you know she was like a grandmother to all of us in the old neighborhood.”

  “I know. I’m gonna miss her so much. She was one of the
realist people I ever knew. And one of the few people that always had my back,” Sonnet reflected as she stared off in the distance.

  “Well, you know I’m here for you. If you need anything don’t hesitate to call me. Have y’all finished all the final arrangements yet?”

  “Y’all? Girl I ain’t participating in that circus! I didn’t tell you what went down at the hospital. My trifling ass family trying to blame Granny’s death on me instead of the city of South Central. Like it’s my fault the ambulance didn’t show up.”

  “Oh my goodness. Are you serious? That’s terrible.”

  “Yes girl! Aviare got a stick all up his ass talking ‘bout he hate me. But it’s cool, that little nigga will need me long before I need him. I was about to check him till Uncle Joe jumped in front of him. And don’t let me even get started on that bastard. Do you know he had the nerve to slap me?”

  “What the hell Sonnet? Are you ok?”

  “Yea I’m cool but I told them not to call me for shit. Broke asses always needing a damn hand out. I don’t know how they paying for this funeral and I don’t care,” Sonnet sneered resentfully.

  “Don’t you think you are being a little harsh? I mean regardless of what went down, you helping out financially is so your Granny can be put away nicely. It has nothing to do with them. Sometimes you have to put differences aside in times like this.”

  Sonnet rolled her eyes. “Not you too, I don’t need no damn lessons in humanity. If they want to apologize they know where to find me. I mean I guess I could have rolled through there that night seeing as they were wearing out my damn phone and I had just dropped off Lexi, but shit how was I supposed to know she was sick?” she replied defensively.

  “By answering your phone,” Cheron responded with a raised eyebrow. The more she tried to ignore Sonnet’s selfish ways the more they were exposed. Nothing or no one could have stopped her from checking in on her family if she were that close, especially knowing how much they needed her. The bottom line was Sonnet had a lot of growing up to do.

  “Sigh…. can we please change the subject? What have you been up to?” she asked hoping to get an earful about Kenterris. Little did she know that Cheron was more than happy to oblige and she ended up getting more than she bargained for.

  “I’ve been laid up with my baby. Girl I don’t know what has come over that man but he has been turning me out the last few days.”

  Sonnet could feel her blood pressure rising, “Oh really?”

  “Yes girl, he’s been super romantic all of a sudden, it’s like he can’t get his mind off of me. He’s been sending me little lovey dovey texts throughout the day. And look at what he bought me!” Cheron beamed as she flashed her three-carat diamond tennis bracelet.

  Sonnet’s eye began to twitch so was so pissed off. Her mind raced to come up with a response that didn’t sound like she was jealous. His funky ass can’t return even one of my calls but he can text this bitch all day. Nigga didn’t even square me off like he usually does but his ass buying bracelets and shit.

  “Oh wow, that’s beautiful. But you know what they say don’t you girl? If a man is acting that good all of a sudden he must have something to hide.” No matter how much she tried to hide her displeasure she couldn’t help but to throw a little shade.

  “My God Sonnet, can you at least be happy for me just once?”

  “Girl you know I’m just talking mess. You and Kenterris probably gon’ grow old together and have a ton of babies. Besides I ain’t hardly worried about y’all when I got my own boo chasing after me.”

  “Oh yea, how is that going?” Cheron asked.

  “Couldn’t be better. The nigga is PAID! Do you hear what I’m telling you! He been having my ass laid up like a Princess. As soon as he gets some time off work he’s taking me for a ride on his private jet. We going to Paris girl! And did I mention that the sex is off the chain?” Sonnet gloated. Uhmm hmm yo’ ass always think you winning. Top that one bitch!

  “Sounds like y’all are really hitting it off.”

  “Oh we are. And he’s helping build my cash flow. I’ve already given him a thousand dollars to invest for me. He says he can turn it into three in a matter of days.”

  “Are you serious? How much do you know about this guy? I think you need to slow down and rethink this. Can you get your money back?”

  “I knew yo’ stiff behind wouldn’t understand. Can’t YOU be happy for somebody for a change” Sonnet groaned. That’s what happens when you try to share good news with haters; they always try to come up with some bullshit excuse as to why you shouldn’t try to get ahead, she thought.

  “I am happy for you. I’m just saying that you need to be careful.”

  “I get it…. you concerned about me. Well in case you haven’t noticed. I’m a grown woman. I’ve been taking care of myself all this time. And I think I can judge whether or not if somebody is being shady. This guy is the real deal and if he wants to upgrade me so be it. Damn I done lost my appetite.” Sonnet dropped her fork and threw her napkin over her plate.

  “Sonnet I’m sorry… I..”

  “Nah you good, nothing more to be said. Can we get the check please?” she asked beckoning the waitress. It was time to cut this dinner short.

  What the hell is wrong with me? Why can’t I be happy for her? Sonnet thought long and hard on the drive home about her feelings for Kenterris. In her heart she knew that she didn’t love him. So why was she so damn jealous of what he was doing for Cheron? The only conclusion that she could come up with was the fact that he cast her to the side like she was used goods. And the blow stung extra hard because she had planned the whole time that they would one day be together. As luck would have it, history would repeat itself and Cheron won again. Once again Sonnet was left in the wind by a man she thought she could steal away from her friend.

  The fact that she had been beaten at her own game grinded her gears. The only reason she was fucking Kenterris in the first place was so that she could come up. It wasn’t like the nigga was spending quality time with her, not that she wanted him to. He didn’t own a jet, nor did he give her half the things that Tyler had given her in the short amount of time they had been kicking it.

  “And this nigga got the nerve to be dissing me for that fat bitch!”

  Once she finally settled in for the night she downed several shots of Patron before going through her phone reading all the messages she had sent Kenterris. She couldn’t believe that it was really over, just like that after six months. Even though she already had a new man lined up it always felt good to have one in the trenches. Kenterris had always been her backup plan when shit went sour with the other niggas on her list. She had to admit that it was kind of scary not having him to lean on when she needed extra loot. She had gotten use to her “payouts” after their sexcapades.

  Tyler hadn’t given her any money yet, but it was only a matter of time before he cashed her out. What would have taken years to accomplish messing with broke ass wanna be ballers would be a drop in the hat for a man like him. The more she thought about it, she really didn’t have a reason to hate on Cheron. She could have Kenterris’s sorry cheating ass, but not before she got some closure. She was determined to have her final say whether he chose to acknowledge it or not. Sonnet always kept a little dirt in her pocket for when she needed to drop a bomb on a muthafucka and this was one of those times.

  “I know his punk ass ain’t going to answer cause he probably with her, but I’m getting this shit off my chest anyway.”

  “Just as I guessed you not picking up. It’s cool though. I had lunch with Cheron today and don’t nobody care about that raggedy ass bracelet. I saw that little Cubic Zirconia, electroplate bullshit you gave her. You might have fooled her dumb ass but I got an eye for quality. Anyway that’s not the reason I called you. The real reason is I needed to set some things straight.

  You really think you the fucking man don’t you? You thought you could just use my ass and kick me to the curb when you g
ot finished with me? Well I got some news that’s gon’ bring you down off of that high horse of yours. First of all the dick wasn’t all of that.” Sonnet knew that she was lying through her teeth with that line, but she wanted to hit him where it hurt.

  “Secondly, do you remember that slip up we had a few months back when I was pregnant? Well guess what? I had yo’ black ass pay for an abortion for another niggas baby.” She was telling the truth this time and she reveled in every second of rubbing it in.

  “I would pay $1,000 to see the look on yo’ face right about now. I bet you feel simple as hell. Thinking you was rolling through saving a bitch. Nigga you wasn’t the only one. You never were! I played both of y’all silly asses. I knew I was pregnant long before you came over drunk and hit it raw that night. The real daddy was sweating me hard as hell.

  Talking ‘bout a damn relationship, love and all that bullshit. That fool just didn’t know he was nothing but another paycheck. I knew he would have been trying to get me to keep that little crumb snatcher and you know I wasn’t having that shit. I had an abortion with your money and that nigga was none the wiser.” She was about to continue on but the answering machine cut off.

  She took another shot before calling back to finish her verbal lashing.

  “Yea so like I was saying, I knew yo’ ass would jump to pay that shit with the quickness cause your bitch ass was running scared, hoping Cheron wasn’t gon’ find out about us. It was the perfect set up. I got rid of that niggas seed at your expense. Now tell me how that shit feels? I bet you feel dumb as hell don’t you? Well it’s no better for you. You fucked over the wrong bitch Kenterris. You better be lucky that’s all I did to yo’ ass! We could have had it all but you wanted to throw it all away. You tried to throw me away, but didn’t you know I’m like cream nigga; I will always rise to the top! You and your fat bitch can both kiss my ass! And if you even think about retaliating just know that my man is a lawyer.” With that she hung up.