A Night in Brooklyn

It was going to be a chill night. Just me and Chocolate, a bottle of Hennessy and some of the loudest, purplest Kush available. She and I were smoking, drinking, and watching some TV when Ron-g called. It was around 11:00 p.m. on a Friday night.

Still early.

He arrived about 20 minutes later. I rolled up another blunt, and thick smoke filled the room. He poured himself a cup, and I motioned for Chocolate to come sit on my lap. She is my friend with benefits.

She obliged, and we made small talk and laughed a lot. The whole time I was thinking about the Twitter-stamped Ecstasy tablet in my pocket. I knew Chocolate would be feeling extra freaky later on, especially under the influence of Henny, weed, and ecstasy—a combination she didn’t mind indulging in. She’d agreed to split it with me.

But Ron-g was pushing a different plan.

“Yo, Temptations is lit tonight bro. We gotta pull up,” he said about a nearby club.

By the seductive look that Chocolate gave me, I could tell she was against the idea. She had come over to spend the night. When Ron-g wasn’t looking, she bit the pill in half and gave me the other portion. We both gulped them down with shots of Hennessy.

A blunt or two later, and with almost the entire bottle gone, I was feeling nice. Ron-g was set on dragging me to the club, and I was warming up to the idea. Chocolate could spend the night anytime, I thought to myself, and maybe I could leave the club tonight with a new chick, especially given how euphoric I was feeling.

“My nigga, you already dressed,” Ron-g said. “So come on, we out.”

Chocolate gave me a look.

“You serious?” she said.

“Yeah,” I said. “You could stay here till I come back.”

“Nigga, whatever,” she said. “I’m leaving. Call me a cab.”

As the three of us headed out, the change in Chocolate’s demeanor was unmistakable. I was feeling on top of the world though and ready for more drinks and more girls.

I told Ron-g to walk up ahead and meet me in front of the building where a girl named Honey lived. Honey was another friend with benefits.

“I’mma meet you in a minute, bro,” I told Ron-g, as I tried to flag down a cab for Chocolate.

“Don’t ask me to come over no more,” she said. “You got me fucking tight.”

Finally, a cab pulled over and she got in. Chocolate was a tough girl, so it took me by surprise when I saw a tear roll down her cheek. She gave the cab driver her address and stuck her hand out for me to pay. I gave her a $20 bill for the $7 ride.

“Let me get some weed,” she demanded. I gave her a twenty-bag, enough to hold her for the night, promised to call her tomorrow, and shut the door.

I nearly ran a block and a half to Honey’s building. Ron-g was in front with Fifty, Honey, Rakema and G. It was 12:20 a.m., which meant we only had ten minutes to get to the liquor store. I wanted to pregame a little more before hitting the club. We made it just in time and shared a fifth of Hennessy.

Meanwhile, I sold a couple bags for some extra spending money in the club. The block was flowing with customers, and a more disciplined businessman would have stuck around to serve them. But I was now hell-bent on going to the club and catching a new “vic.” Ron-g tried to persuade the others to come with us, but Fifty declined.

“Nah bro, the block jinking tonight,” Fifty said. “I ain’t going nowhere.”

It was around 2:00 a.m. when we approached Temptations. The line was halfway down the block—a good sign. Once we got inside, the ecstasy pill really kicked in. I instantly felt like a movie star. I was the best-looking guy in the world. I felt certain no woman could resist me, and I had until about 6:30 a.m. to pick who I would be leaving with.

I ordered a pint of Hennessy in the club, which went for $50. I smoked some more weed, grabbed a couple chicks, and danced. The pint of liquor went down like a bottle of Poland Spring. This was my third bottle of the night, but I wasn’t drunk. I was just in superstar mode. A couple chicks were giving me play, but it was way too early to skip out with one. So what did I do? Ordered another bottle, of course. I was drinking like a fish but couldn’t seem to get drunk. It had to be the ecstasy. I spotted a chick I had taken home before, gave her a drink and smoked a blunt with her. For some reason, though, I wasn’t interested in her like that tonight. I needed something new, and the ecstasy told me I could pull it off.

Before I knew it, it was going on 5:30 a.m. I had spent $150 on Hennessy but still wasn’t drunk. I was, however, feeling great, the driving beats and lyrics like a sweet siren to my ears. Still, I couldn’t help but notice that the club was slowly emptying out. Ron-g was probably somewhere chasing skirts. My options for companionship were decreasing by the minute. Getting anxious, I approached a few stragglers. One said she didn’t want to desert her friend. The other declined as well. Fuck. It was about to hit 6:30 a.m., and all the sexy chicks were gone, probably laying up with their dudes already.

Before long, I found myself in a cab with Ron-g. I wasn’t giving up though. I decided to wake up Honey. The first time I called, her phone rang six times and disconnected. I instantly called back, and after about three rings, she picked up.

“Yes, Deuce.” I could hear the crankiness in her tone.

“Wake up, get dressed, I’m bout to come get you.,” I said.

“Okay,” she said.

Honey was my final resort, but I knew she would come through. When I walked into the lobby of her building, I was surprised to find Fifty and G still up hustling, so I kicked it with them for a while until they sold the last of their drugs. Meanwhile, Honey was texting me, getting aggravated, so I finally told her to come downstairs. We walked around the corner to my house. Once inside, I motioned her toward the bed and went to use the bathroom. As I emerged, anticipating some romance at last, I was startled by a loud snoring sound.

Honey was asleep.

Me—I still had energy. I called the breakfast spot nearby.

“Let me get a turkey bacon egg and cheese on toast,” I said.

Then I reconsidered

“Make it two.”

I ate them slowly, watching Honey sleep.