The ride back to the Ninth took about fifteen minutes with him stopping to grab the things Liberty sent her to the store for in the first place. True to his word C's pulled the car right in front of her building. The funked out Chevy pulled old biddies to their screen doors, hood rats to the sidewalks, and dope boys from the basketball court. Dang! You'd have thought that the Dog Pound had rolled through. The way folks kept walking close to the car just to try and see through the window tint, embarrassed the hell out of her. What was so hard about people minding their own damn business?
"Need me to walk you to your door?" C's asked eyeing the group of dudes at the bottom of the stairs that led up to her apartment.
Cleo shook her head. That was the last thing she needed. It was one thing to come flossing around the way with a brother, but a Latino? Some things in the hood were just not done. "I'm good. These fools ain't stuttin' me. 'Sides, Liberty's sitting on the porch. Last thing they wanna do is step wrong with her."
C's gaze traveled in the direction of where Liberty sat. "Damn. Moms, ducked off in the dark up there. Like she wanna smoke my ass." He muttered with a smirk. When he spotted the outline on the darkened porch he nodded and turned back to her. Settling back into his seat, he reached over and pulled her hand into his lap. All laid back and thangs, he flipped it over and began to stroke the center of her palm. "Que pasa, when the next time we gonna get up? Holla at me."
Cleo felt her eyebrows collide. Was he high? He knew the 411 on her. And he still wanted to be down. "You tell me. School's out. The only job I have is holding down those steps."
"I hear you." He murmured as he continued to stare at her hand like it was the best damn thing on T.V. After a few moments his gaze returned to hers. "Give me a day or two to move around and I'll get back at you. Cool?"
"Cool with me." She answered, relieved he still wanted to chill. Even if only from time to time.
Not wanting to push her luck, she reached for the door handle. C's, however not ready to let her go, wouldn't release her hand. Instead he used it to pull her across the seat to him. Once she was damn near in his lap, he released her hand to let his slide up her arm. She held her breath as his fingers crept across her shoulders to caress the nape of her neck. The feather light touches triggered a chain reaction. A wall of heat smacked her in the face, while a loud roaring noise in her ears drowned out all sound. On deck! He was the first player up to bat and he held her complete attention. Her defenses were down. Anything he wanted was his. All he had to do was ask.
Taking advantage of the hold he had on her neck, he slowly guided her face closer to his. When she was close enough to smell the sweet mint on his breath, he leaned forward and brushed his lips across her slightly parted ones. Before she could react, it was over. He'd pulled away. It had jumped off so quick, she wasn't really sure if anything had happened at all. With her ring and middle finger she touched her lips.
"Go on, before your peoples come down and blast my ass. 'Specially when she see your eye." He lifted his hand and let it hover over the left side of her face. The side she took the blunt of the blows on. When she winced from his touch he let his hand drop. "Does it still hurt?" She nodded and he exhaled an exaggerated breath. "Man I can't wait to see that bitch, Tina. Fuckin' around with her, your mom's probably won't even let me take you up the street. But I guess I'll skip across that bridge in a day or two." He murmured more to himself than to her. "Sure you don't want me to go up there with you and explain shit to your mom's?"
"Naw." Cleo shook her head, sliding back toward the passenger door. "It'll be better if I go up by myself. She gonna flip when she see me. You don't wanna be around for that. Trust me." She grabbed the paper bag from the floor that held Liberty's items, glad C's had stopped by the store on the way back to the Ninth so she wouldn't have to see Liberty's crazy ass empty handed. But shoot, she didn't know how much good it would do when Liberty got a look at her face. She opened the door and slid out of the car. Stepping away from the Chevy she headed for the stairs.
The squad of hard legs split to allow her access. Not looking forward to hearing Liberty's mouth she took her time climbing the steps. When she finally made it to the top, she shoved a paper bag filled with, a coke, almond joy, and a box of condoms into her mom's hands. Liberty snatched the bag without looking inside.
"What the hell store you went to? One in Panama City?" Liberty said with a hand on her hip as she stared Cleo down. Leaning forward a bit, her eyes narrowed. It only took a second for her gaze to assess the damage inflicted on her face. Just like she feared, shit hit the fan and flew everywhere. "What the hell happened to your face?" She grabbed her chin, yanking her face from side to side. "Was it that motherfucker who dropped you off? That hoe ass jit got the wrong one tonight baby. You can believe that." Liberty spun on her heel and almost snatched the screen door off the frame when she opened it to go inside.
Cleo stumbled after her, trying to get a word in over her pissed off rant. "Liberty!"
Ignoring her, Liberty stomped to her room and headed straight for the closet. "Then this punk got the nerve to drop her at the door. Like he some kind of Prince Charming and shit. Humph! Let's see how motherfucking charming he be when I put this iron in his life."
"Liberty!" Cleo pleaded. "It wasn't him. God! If you'd only just listen to me for a second."
Liberty came away from the closet with an old Dooney & Burke bag in her hands, still muttering to herself. "Had the nerve to put his filthy hands on my motherfucking child." She growled through clenched teeth, and then reached in her handbag to withdraw a black as night glock. The kind Cleo saw all the time in hood movies. "He better kiss the bitch who had him. 'Cause he gonna die tonight." Liberty cocked the gun.
Cleo's eyes bugged as her next breath got caught up somewhere in the back of her throat. Shit had definitely just got real. Knowing Liberty would never believe what actually happened, Cleo quickly constructed a story that held a whole lot of lie and a little bit of truth. "Liberty he didn't do this to me, he helped. Some girls jumped me on the way to the store."
"What?" In a, too smooth for school motion, Liberty spun on her heel to face Cleo with the barrel of the gun pointed to the floor. "Say that shit again."
Finally snaking Liberty's attention, Cleo spit her explanation quicker than a, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, rap song. "For real, for real. These girls jumped me about a block away from the store." Cleo fluently lied, knowing damn well if she'd said the store parking lot, Liberty could've easily checked that out. "Came out of know where." She paused, to peep if Liberty was buying what she was selling. Satisfied when Liberty's shoulders relaxed, she continued. "Dude who dropped me off, seen it go down as he was driving by. Thank god he drove by when he did, 'cause dude jumped out his ride and backed 'em up off of me," she said, elbowing the air around her. "He let them hoes know that if one of them wanted to fight me straight up that would be cool, but there wasn't going to be no jumping."
"And what they say?" Liberty turned to place the gun on the bed, and then turned back to her.
Cleo mentally sighed in relief. At least she'd gotten her crazy behind mama to put the heat down. "Nothing. Backed off all cool like," she said, slowly backing away from Liberty, pretending to be one of her make believe attackers. "When they got ghost, dude took me to his house so his mom could have a look at me."
"His house!" Liberty's hand found her hip. Oh Lord! "Why the hell he didn't bring you home right after it jumped off?"
"Dang, Liberty. Calm down!" Cleo snapped. "He took me to his house because his mom's a nurse. Wanted to make sure I was okay."
"Humph." Liberty lifted her chin and stared down her nose at her. "Bet he did. Why brother-man ain't bring you back after his moms checked you out? You been gone six hours."
Not having a ready answer, Cleo shrugged and decided to weave in a little bit of the truth. "I don't know. Dude was cool. I wanted to chill for a little while longer."
"Say what? Please come again." Liberty head snapped back like she'd been pimp slapped. She scrunched up her face at Cleo's too bold reply. "You mean to tell me that I been sitting up here worried like a nigga about to be sentence on Fed charges all because you wanted to be fast. Girl, I ought to put that leather on your ass for that shit."
Cleo flinched at the thought of an ass whooping. She'd already had one that day, she wasn't looking for a round two.
"Do you know," Liberty continued, jabbing her finger in Cleo's direction. "I even marched my behind up to the gate just so I could talk to that lazy ass police officer about your hot to trot ass. Talkin' about it ain't nothing he could do for forty-eight hours. Humph! Bet if you woulda been white, he woulda got on the horn behind that. Fat ass." Liberty muttered to herself as she turn back to her bed to stuff her glock back in her purse.
"Sorry, Liberty." Cleo mumbled.
"Sorry, Liberty." Liberty mimicked, with a stupid look on her face. "Get the hell out my room. Go find you something to do, like puttin' some ice on that swoll ass eye of yours. Looking like Sophia off the, Color Purple, when she'd just jumped from prison." Liberty stomped back over to the closet to shove the gun back on the top shelf of her closet. "Got me 'bout to catch a charge, all 'cause she done started smellin' herself."
On that muttering note, Cleo backed out of Liberty's room, pulling the door to once she cleared the hall. She then turned to rush to her room. She wanted to get the hell out of dodge in case Liberty had any more questions. Tired and fresh out of lies she ain't have nothing else for her, not even a pack of bubble gum. Once in her room she closed the door behind her, and argued with herself whether she should lock it or not. Not locking the door won out. Considering Liberty's current mood, not being able to get in at will would only serve to piss her off more.
Cleo crossed the short distance of her bedroom and flung herself on the narrow twin mattress that was shoved against the far wall. Rolling onto her back, she stared up at the popcorn ceiling, while her mind drifted to the Puerto Rican dude from across town. Dude had got her head bad without even trying. Man! All hombre had done was look at her. Those chocolate brown eyes had left her dumb. Now she was beginning to see what made some girls from around the way fight like dogs in the street behind a man. Hell if the man was anything like C's she'd fight too. She didn't think it was anything that she wouldn't do to get him to come through, at this point. The way he walked, talked, and dressed...man, dude had her tripping like a mug.
For the next hour, until Cleo fell asleep, her mind never drifted far from C's.