It Is What It Is. Montez Jordan
tryin’ to get the driver.”
“I hear that shit Swervo,” Cho grinned. Swervo swore every bitch wanted him. He thought his tall, lean stature, cornrows and golds made bitches melt. Cho got a kick out of his confidence.
“Man, who is these niggas?” Tiff whispered to her sister as she carried a box onto the porch. Sheila cut her eye as she picked it up to carry into the house. “I don’t know but the short one is sexy as shit.”
“He alright, but I think the fat one is kind of cute,” Tiff said. “You know I like big niggas!” Just then Swervo, wanting to be the first one to crack at the ladies, asked, “How y’all doing? Can we be of some assistance?”
“Sure,” Tiff smiled. “We could really use the help.”
“Well, I’m Swervo, and this is Radi and my man Cho.”
“Hey Swervo. I’m Tiff and this is my sister Sheila.”
“How you guys doing?” Sheila called over her shoulder as she walked into the house.
“Sup?” Cho and Radi said together under their breath as they surveyed all the furniture they were about to carry. They knew it was going to take up the rest of the day.
“Well,” Cho told Radi, “Let’s just hurry up and get this shit over with.” He grabbed one side of a couch and gestured to Radi to get the other end.
“I feel you. Plus once we done, we can get some crabs,” Radi said.
“Crabs! I would sure love some, too. How ‘bout we treat y’all since you guys were so nice to help us?” Tiff said, smiling at Radi. It was something about him that just made her panties wet.
“That’s cool,” Swervo interjected. “And I’ll get the drinks.”
“I don’t drink too heavy,” Tiff said, “but my sister does.”
“Do you smoke?” Swervo asked.
“Weed or cigarettes?”
“Either.”
“Sometimes,” she added.
“That’s what’s up. Then once we’re done, we going get some crabs, drinks and some smoke,” Swervo said.
“Cool. My cousin should be off of work by then,” Tiff smiled as she winked at Swervo. “I think she would like you.” That fucked Swervo’s head up. He just knew he had Tiff, and this bitch straight tried to put him onto somebody else. He wanted to drop the TV right in the grass and go on about his business but he thought, Shit, the cousin might look better than her.
Cho started laughing to himself. He knew Swervo wanted Tiff; he also could tell that Tiff had her eye on Radi.
Tiff was gorgeous. She had a light brown complexion with hazel eyes. Her hair was cut short like Halle Berry’s and she had a beautiful smile accented with two golds, one on each side. She was shorter than her sister and had a bangin’ body. Everything about her was right.
After about five hours, they finally finished moving all of the furniture except for a bedroom set that Sheila explained would be delivered the next day. She was relieved that the guys had helped them and now she had the rest of the night to do whatever she wanted. Her mother had her kids, so she was good.
While Radi and Tiff went to get the crabs and Swervo ventured off to get the weed and drink, Sheila and Cho sat on the front porch. Their conversation had gotten pretty deep — from her end anyway. She told Cho her whole life story up to the present, about her first baby father who had gotten killed when her son was only three and how the twins’ father got locked up for some shit he didn’t even do while she was still pregnant with them.
“He caught 20 years for some bullshit and he wasn’t even out in the street, you know,” Sheila explained in a sad tone that made Cho feel sorry for her.
As she was talking, Cho was taking in everything about Sheila. He really wasn’t all that interested in being with her, but he did want to fuck. He didn’t know the bitch so he wouldn’t give her any information about himself. All he told her was that he grew up around there, and he didn’t have any kids but he did have a girlfriend.
Cho always said he had a girlfriend, but he really didn’t. Most women didn’t really care anyway, but he thought it would keep them from getting too attached. He was right about them not caring, but wrong about them catching feelings. They always did.
Once everybody came back, they all ate, drank and got high. Cho didn’t smoke weed and Sheila couldn’t because she got pissed at work.. Everybody in the house was fucked up, tripping all night and laughing at all kinds of shit.
Tiff was all over Radi, and Swervo was on her cousin Shae, who had finally shown up. Cho was dozing on the sofa and Sheila couldn’t take her eyes off of him. She gestured to Tiff, hinting for her to get Radi to take her home.
Once she got the others to leave, she woke Cho up by rubbing her hand across his leg. She wanted him but she was too shy to come out and say it. When he woke up he realized what was going on and went straight at her. They fucked in the middle of the living room floor until the sun came up. When Cho had that drink up in him, he could fuck for hours. That’s one of the reasons women caught feelings. And that’s exactly what Sheila did.
• • // • •
Sheila heard Cho come in the house, so she threw the sheets to the side to expose her naked body. She always slept in the nude because she thought maybe Cho might come in and fuck the dog shit out of her like he used to. Sometimes he did; sometimes he didn’t.
Years had passed and he was still around. They were never a couple, just good friends. He had become very fond of her children and even when she did have a boyfriend, Cho played the role of her “little brother.”
Because she appreciated their relationship and the mutual agreement they had, no nigga was ever allowed in Sheila’s house unless he was with Cho. She always told the guys she dealt with that she didn’t allow no man around her children unless he planned on marrying her. That really wasn’t the truth. Cho didn’t want any niggas being nosey where he chilled. He paid the bills and helped her take care of the kids so if it wasn’t him, then couldn’t any nigga lay up in there. She respected that rule and that’s the way it was. None of the niggas she dealt with compared to Cho anyway. The way he dressed, his looks and his swagger were so much more advanced than the guys she dated — not to mention his money was much longer.
Sheila always thought one day they would be together as a couple. Then she got pregnant. She had met some nigga named T in the club one night and they hooked up. They kicked it for a couple of weeks and she thought he was the one. T had a nice car, a bangin’ crib and a few dollars. He told her everything she wanted to hear and she fell for it.
It wasn’t until a few months later that the truth came out. T was actually housesitting for his brother Bruno, who had taken his girl on a vacation around the world. His brother was the one who had that cheese and wanted to show his lady how much he loved her by taking her around the globe before he proposed. Their vacation lasted two months and he had left his brother with the crib, the car and some dough.
T started shitting on Sheila because he knew his brother was about to come home. He didn’t want her to know that he was broke, didn’t work, didn’t hustle, didn’t do anything. It had been fun while it lasted, but just as fast as he hooked up with Sheila, he cut her right back off. She couldn’t believe or in a million years understand why he started acting that way. She was hurt for a minute, but in time she got over it.
Cho paid attention to detail. It was rare for him to forget a person, place, car or event. It didn’t take long for him to realize that T was driving Bruno’s car and that they shared some facial resemblance. Bruno had West Port on lock. He and Cho didn’t know each other personally, but they knew of one another.
One morning Cho was in the breakfast spot on Edmondson Avenue. He overheard a group of girls gossiping about Bruno’s