Percival Everett - Erasure

Her eyelids be flutterin closed now and I think she say yes and I pull her shirt and look at that big-ass bra she be wearin. I try to undo the muthafucka in the back, but shit, I cain’t get it loose and I say, “Hep me out, damnit.”

Cleona reach her hands back, one from over her head and through her collar and the other up the back of her shirt and she open it up. Those giant jugs just flop there like big pillows, like bags of sand. I grabs on to them and sucks ‘em real hard till she moans and I whispers a lil’ sumpin, I don’t even know what the fuck I be sayin, but I squeeze and suck and squeeze and suck. The clock cross the room says one o’clock and I remember that I’m s’posed to meet Yellow and Tito over at the pool hall, so I gotta pop it quick. I push her back and undoes her pants, all the while I’m suckin on them titties and she’s moanin. It’s hard to get her pants over her big ass, but I do it and then I puts it in her, all of it. Wham! Just like that and she cry out and man I feel so powerful. I bang it, man, I bang it and she start cryin, openin her eyes and seein me and she be cryin, sayin for me to get off her. But I be hittin it now and I smile at her.

“I said, get off me,” she say. “Get off me, you nuffin nigger.”

That shit makes me mad and I pull out and shoot my juice all over that fuckin new couch. She don’t know what to do now. Her mouf just fall open like she stupid. Then she run cross the room and look back at me.

“Mama gone kill me,” she say.

“Shoulda thought of that shit before you started to fuckin on her new couch,” I say.

“I hate you!” she shout. “I hate you! Get the fuck out my house!”

I take my time pullin on my pants and doin up my belt. I look at her naked body. “You fat,” I say.

“Get out!”

“You cain’t tell me what to do, girl,” I say to her and get my shoes on.

“You rape me, nigger,” she say.

I laugh at her ass. “I ain’t raped shit. How I’m gone rape my baby’s mama? You gone always be my woman.”

“I ain’t yo woman!”

“You my baby’s mama,” I say.

“Rexall ain’t yo baby,” she say.

I just stare at her.

“You hurd me,” she say. “Rexall ain’t none of yo baby.”

“What the fuck you be talkin bout? If I ain’t the waterhead’s daddy, then who is?”

“That don’t matter,” she say.

“It matter when I be givin you money for that big-head retard.”

“You ain’t never give me no money!” she scream. “You talk about it and that be all.”

“I was gone to, but I ain’t givin you shit now,” I say.

“Get the fuck out!”

I laughs and walk over to the door real slow. “You a fat ho,” I say. “Rexall ain’t yo baby, but he sho look like you.”

“He mine awright,” I say. I was at the door now. “I hit and I don’t miss. If I hits it, you be pregnant. It be like that.”

“You rape me!” she scream.

I laughs and walk out.

From Cleona’s I goes over to the pool hall where I’se s’posed to hook up wif Yellow and Tito. Yellow is called Yellow cause he light-skindid and got that kind of red hair. Girls always be making a fuss over that nigger’s hair. But Yellow awright. He my partner, him and Tito. We calls Tito Tito cause he always want to Sing but he cain’t say. He just like that Jackson brother with the big hair. I see Tito standing outside smokin a square.

“Hey, man,” I say.

“What up?” Tito say.

“Whatchew doin standin out here?” I ax.

“Fatman say I gotta smoke out here. He say no mo’ smokin inside.”

“What the fuck? What kinda pool room you got to smoke outside?”

“His pool room. Sides, Fatman cool.”

“Yeah, he cool,” I say.

Tito throw his Kool down and step on it. Then we walk on inside. The room be dim like always and Fatman be sittin on his stool behind the counter. He nod to me and and I nod back.

“Over here,” Yellow calls out from a far table. He be playin a game with a tall, slick-looking nigger in a hat. Another nigger be standin by watchin, filing his finger nails.

“What up?” I say to Yellow.

“Whippin this boy’s ass, that what,” Yellow say.

“Ain’t over yet, youngblood,” the smooth nigger say just as calm as anything.

“Look to be over to me,” Yellow laugh.

“Wanna bet?” Smooth say.

Yellow hesitates and I can tell he ain’t got no money.

Smooth be pullin out some bills. “How about twenty?”

“I don’t wanna bet, man.”

“You sure you gone win, right? Or was that just a pussyfart?” Smooth look over at the nail-filin muthafucka. And they laugh.

“Nigger call you a pussy,” Tito whisper to Yellow.

“I ain’t gots no money,” Yellow whisper back.

“You got his ass whooped for sho?” Tito ax.

Yellow kinda nods his head.

“I got ten,” Tito say and then he look at me.

“Shit,” I say. “Fuck, Yellow, and you better for sho kick his ass.” I hand him my ten dollars and look at the table.

“Okay,” Yellow say to Smooth.

“Well, awright.”

Yellow takes a shot and misses, but he say, “Don’t worry, he cain’t get to the six for shit.”

I looks at the table and I see that the nine ball is smack in between the cue and the six and I think he right.

“You ain’t gone make it, tight-ass nigger,” I say to Smooth.

“You talk a lota shit for a lil’ boy,” he say.

Tito say, “Ohhh, nigger called you a little boy.”

“He just mad cause I got a piece o’ his mama,” I say.

“I didn’t want none of yo mama. She so fuckin fat and ugly,” he say.

“Fuck you,” I say.

Then the smooth nigger just laugh and he make the cue ball jump over the nine and knock the six just as pretty as shit into the side pocket. Then he run the table and pick up the money. I look at Tito and I gets to thinkin bout my ten dollars and I get pissed.

“Youse a hustler,” I say.

“And youse a hustlee,” he laugh. The nail-filer laugh too.

“You ain’t taking that money, nigger,” I say.

“Let him have it,” Yellow say.

“Naw, man,” I say.

“Listen to yo friend,” Smooth say.

“I ain’t listenin to shit,” I say.

“Then listen to this,” Smooth say and he pull a.380 out his pocket and stick the muthafucka in my face. “You want some of this?”

I back away a step.

“Just take the money, man,” Tito say.

“There wasn’t never no doubt bout that, youngblood,” Smooth say and he and his partner just walk on out sweet as they want.

Fatman call over to us with his gravelly voice. “Ya’ll okay over there?”

“Yeah, we okay,” Yellow calls back.

Tito blows out a sigh. “Shit, man.” Then he hits Yellow in the shoulder. “You cost me ten dollars.”

I look at the door and then at Tito and Yellow. “I got to get me a gun.”

“And whatchew gone do with a piece?” Tito ax.

“First thing we gone do is rob that K’rean muthafucka over in the plaza.”

“Why you wanna fuck wit him?” Tito say.

“I don’t like the way the bitch be lookin at me when I be in there. Like he think I gone steal from his ass.”

“You is gone steal from his ass,” Yellow say.

Tito laugh.

“So?” I say. “That ain’t give him no right.”

Yellow say, “Nigger, you crazy.”

“Gots to be crazy to survive,” I says.

“You think you in some damn movie, nigger?” Tito say. He pull out a Snickers bar and start tearin the paper.

“Crack me off some,” Yellow say.

“See,” I say. “Y’all niggers act like you ten or eleben. Talkin bout candy and shit. We can get us some real money.”