Careful of the Company You Keep. Angie Daniels
a tap on the shoulder. I glanced over and my mouth dropped.
“Oh my God, Landon!” I swung around and gave him a hug. “When you move back?”
He smiled and appeared pleased that I noticed he’d been gone. In a town this small, who the hell wouldn’t.
“I’ve been back from Germany almost five months.”
“You still in the military?”
He shook his head and said with pride, “Retired army.”
I nodded and took in everything he had to offer, and that was a whole helluva lot. Landon had been one of those misfit kids in school who always seemed to hang with the girls. He didn’t act gay and shit, just one of the girls. Senior year, he started dating Tonja’s ass and she had his nose so wide open, he followed her around like a lost puppy. A week before graduation, she dumped him and next thing I heard, right after graduation, he had joined the military. Over the years I had seen him from time to time, but this was the first in two decades we had a chance to strike up a conversation. I’m glad I came out. ’Cause Landon was finer than a mothafucka!
He was wearing a typical military cut. Hair was higher on the top than the side but low just the same. A navy blue turtleneck emphasized every muscle in his chest and his arms. His jeans were loose but not enough to hide his massive thighs. White sneakers set off the look.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. “Trying to catch a case with the jail bait in here?”
He frowned. “Nah, Hodges dragged me in here with him.”
I nodded knowingly and followed the direction of his eyes to his boy standing at the other end of the bar trying to spit at one of those young-looking girls. Hodges was one of those who refused to admit his ass was hitting fifty.
Landon grinned. “I should be asking what you’re doing in here.”
“I’m meeting Danny.”
He chuckled and I joined in. He knew my girl’s taste for young thugs as well as I did.
“Have you seen her?”
He pointed to the back of the room. “She’s sitting over there.”
We stood there staring at each other like two damn fools. I could have continued, but the last thing I wanted was for him to know just how attracted I was to him. I don’t run after men. I like to be chased. “Thanks. I’ll holla at you later.”
“You do that. Save me a dance.”
I reached for my drink, then turned and walked away. At least something good was coming out of this night. I moved to where Danielle was sitting. She was wearing this cute Rocawear jean outfit she bought while we were in St. Louis shopping last week.
There were only two chairs at her table, and neither was empty.
“Hey, whassup?” I asked with my eyebrow raised as I looked down at Mavis’s crackheaded ass sitting across from her.
“Whassup, Renee?” she asked as she rose out of my seat. “You got five dollars?”
I backed up and raised a finger to my nose because I could smell her breath from where I was standing. “Yeah, here.” I reached inside my pocket and slipped off a five. Anything to get her ass away from me. She didn’t even bother to say bye as she dashed off into the crowd. “Ugh! What you doing talking to her?”
“Girl, you know her ass is a booster. She’s going to come by my house tomorrow with some new DVDs that just came out.”
“Oh, well, if she’s got anything good, hook me up.”
Danielle nodded, reached for her drink, and took a sip.
“Guess who I saw coming in?”
“Who?” she asked.
“Landon.”
Danielle’s eyes widened. “Landon Lawson? Hell nah! I heard he was back.”
“Yep, and he looked good as hell.”
She gave me that look that said I know something you don’t. “Girl, you know he’s been messing with Leslie’s wide ass since he’s got back.”
She had my attention. “Leslie who?”
She smirked and reached for her drink. “Leslie Harris.”
My eyes grew large. “Hell nah.”
She sucked her teeth. “Yep, but I heard she started stalking his ass, so he quit fooling wit her.”
Leslie came out of high school a year ahead of us and was one of those that I never cared much for. She spent too much time in the club getting drunk instead of home taking care of her three kids. I heard she didn’t like me. Why, I don’t know, and really couldn’t care less.
“I saw her in here earlier, so don’t let her see you talking to her man.”
“Fuck Leslie’s ass.”
“All right, don’t say I didn’t warn you,” she teased.
I pursed my lips and swung around in my chair. Danielle knew I wasn’t scared of that ho. One thing I don’t do is back down.
While sipping my drink, I waved at people I knew as they moved around the building. Like I said, the place is one big circle, so at some point everyone came around at least once. Sure enough I saw Landon, and shortly after Leslie was coming up behind him. I shook my head. One thing Renee doesn’t do is sniff after a brotha. When it’s over, it’s over. If we decide we want to fuck after that then it’s a mutual decision. But I’ll be damned if I ever stalk a mothafucka that doesn’t want me.
“Danielle, look.”
I pointed to the bottom of Leslie’s boot. She was dragging a long piece of toilet paper. We both fell out laughing.
I sat there for the longest time watching Leslie watch Landon. What Leslie needed to do was go home and change her damn clothes. I don’t know why fat people always feel they have to throw on a miniskirt, especially when their thigh is wider than their waist.
Danielle lightly kicked my leg underneath the table. “Nae-Nae, here comes David.”
David Lavell. Short, chocolate mothafucka and one of Columbia Police Department’s finest. He looked fabulous in dark slacks and a white polo shirt and white sneakers. But then he looked good in anything he wore. He had a body made for clothes. I tried to give him some last year, but his crazy-ass wife came banging on the door of our hotel room. If I had gotten some before she had interrupted maybe I wouldn’t still be angry.
“Whassup, Renee?” He gave me his devilish smile and held out a hand. “Come dance with me.”
I shook my head. “Hell nah! So your wife can come over and start trippin’? I don’t think so.”
“She’s not here and if she was, she wouldn’t trip about me dancing with a friend.”
Before I could object further, he took my drink out of my hand, placed it on the table, and led me out onto the dance floor. The music had slowed down to Fantasia’s new cut. I allowed David to pull me in his arms. I ain’t gonna lie, the married mothafucka smelled good as hell.
He brushed his lips against my ear. “You know I regret what went down with us.”
“No, you don’t, ’cause if you did, you wouldn’t have gotten me in that mess in the first place.” I leaned back so he could see my eyes as I spoke. “How could you set my ass up like that?”
“I didn’t mean to. Really,” he pleaded.
“Yeah, you just forgot you and her were together,” I replied sarcastically.
“Nah, I just was pissed at her.”
“And you tried to use me to get back at her?”
He