A Dollar And Dream. Carl Weber

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СКАЧАТЬ thing that ever happened to me outside of my daddy. But I was getting more and more frustrated with our current financial state, and more importantly, I was getting fed up with him

      “Aw, Trice. You have no faith in your man,” he said as he rubbed the lotion on my back. His hands felt so good, I began to loosen up. I let my head fall forward as he massaged my neck.

      “How much, Jordan? Just tell me.” I sighed.

      “I was up a grand, Trice. I was on a roll. But then the dice, they got cold.”

      “How much?”

      “Four hundred but—”

      I cut him off before he could finish. “Four hundred dollars? Jordan, that’s half your paycheck!” I screamed. Jordan had a decent job working for FedEx, but he gambled most of his paycheck away every week. “We barely have lights and water. Not to mention the fact that they’re about to foreclose on this building!”

      “What are you talking about, Katrice?”

      “This building, Jordan. You know we’re three months behind on the mortgage. The bank is calling every day and now they’re sending Kevin letters, too. You know how hard I had to fight to keep this place. It was my daddy’s dream.” I could feel the tears as they filled my eyes.

      “Don’t worry, Trice. It will be okay. You won’t lose the building. I promise, baby,” he whispered.

      “How can you promise something like that, Jordan? We can barely pay our own rent in this place. This is becoming a habit, Jordan, and I can’t do it no more.” I pulled away from him. He put his finger over his mouth and motioned for me to be quiet. Before I could cuss him out for shutting me up, he pointed to the ceiling. “I don’t care who hears me,” I said.

      “No, listen. Kerri is yelling at somebody,” he hissed. I concentrated so I could hear what he was talking about. He was right, she was yelling and she was loud. Then we heard her door slam.

      “Let’s go peek!” He grabbed my arm and pulled me up. We hurried into the front room and pulled back the curtain. I could see a tall man running to his Mercedes. He didn’t look too happy.

      “Damn. I wonder what he did?” Jordan turned and asked me.

      “He probably gambled half of his paycheck away!” I huffed and got up.

      “Trice, look, I told you I’m gonna take care of it. You gotta trust me. I am not gonna let you lose this place. Come on, let’s go to bed.”

      “Where’s the rest of the money, Jordan?”

      “I put it in the bank,” he said.

      “Give me the card.”

      “What?”

      “Gimme the ATM card.” I stood up and held my hand out.

      “Oh, so you don’t trust me now? Is that how it is, Trice? I told you I put it in the bank.”

      “But I don’t want it to wind up out of the bank. Now give me the card and the checkbook.” I should have done this a long time ago. Jordan had lost all control and now it was time for me to gain it back.

      He reluctantly reached in his brown pants pocket and pulled out a well-worn wallet. He flipped through until he found the check card for our joint account. I figured there was no point in getting his credit cards because they had been maxed out a long time ago. That done, he reached into the top of the closet and got the checkbook and thrust it at me.

      “I can’t believe you’re doing this, Trice.”

      “There are a lot of things I can’t believe you’ve done, Jordan.” I looked at him solemnly. I had to ask myself if this was the same man I fell in love with three years ago.

      “I’m going down to the Quick-Mart and get a beer,” he grumbled.

      “You got half a beer in the fridge already.”

      “Well, I’m going to the Quick-Mart to get some fresh air, then,” he said as the door slammed behind him. I climbed in the bed and faced the wall. I had used everything I had to get this place and now I was losing all I had to keep it, including my mind and my marriage. I had to wonder if it was all worth it.

      2

      Paul

      I could see Kerri’s light was still on when I pulled up to the building. That made me pause and think, because she was usually in bed by eleven and it was way past that now. It’s kinda funny how quickly I’ve learned her routine. I can tell you what time she gets up in the morning, what time she leaves for work, and what time she comes home without even giving it a second thought. Hell, I could probably tell you what time she takes a piss if you really wanted to know. And no, I’m not her over-bearing boyfriend or some deranged stalker. I’m her neighbor, her next-door neighbor to be precise, and with the thin-ass walls in our building, I can hear everything that goes on in her apartment. And I mean everything! Especially her sex life.

      The way she moans and calls out that sorry-ass old dude’s name she be messin’ with is enough to make a brother sick to his stomach. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to hate, but what the fuck does he got that I ain’t got? Well, except for a Mercedes. Oh yeah, I think he’s got a Lexus, too, but hell, I got a Maxima. I mean, I just don’t understand why she ain’t gave me none yet. I’m always nice to her. Dammit, what the fuck is she waiting for, Christmas? Shit, she don’t know what she’s missing. I would put it on her ass.

      I closed my eyes and imagined her lying back on her canopy bed, legs spread, with her fingers pulling back the hood of her clit as I knelt down between her legs.

      “Paul, oh Paul!” she’d moan as I French kiss her pooh-pooh with my catlike tongue. “Eat me, Paul. Oh God, eat me! Please, just eat me!”

      Just as it’s gettin’ good for her, I’d stop abruptly and tease her with my words.

      “Is that it, baby? Is that what you want me to do? Eat you?” She’d nod her head and I’d smile. Then I’d moisten my lips and lower my head to finish what I’d started.

      “Paul! Paul! Paul!”

      I shook my head and snapped myself back into reality. Shit, I wasn’t in Kerri’s apartment. I was still in my car and someone was out there calling my ass for real.

      “Paul! Paul! Paul!”

      “Who dat?” I shouted, searching the dark parking lot until a wobbly figure appeared at the rear of my car.

      “It’s me, Freddie. What’s wrong with you? Can’t you hear? I called your ass ’bout ten times. What’s up, nigga, you drunk? ’Cause if you is, let me get a taste.” Freddie was the neighborhood wino. A pain in the ass at times, but Freddie was generally harmless.

      “Freddie, whatcha want, man?”

      “I need to borrow two dollars until the day after tomorrow.” He almost fell over.

      “You need what?” I looked at him like he was crazy.

      “I СКАЧАТЬ