Anarchy (10 page)

CHAPTER FIVE

The Silver Lounge was
jam
packed for open
mic
night.
Alfonzo
spotted
D
anté
at the bar talking to a
n attractive
woman
with dyed blonde hair and a tight dress that showed off her hourglass figure.
He
approached the
duo
, “Who’s your lady friend?”

D
anté
turned around on the stool, “
Yo
, you made it man…” he pointed to the woman
, “this
is
my cousin Kiki
, remember she use to come over and
wanna
play videogames with us and shit?” He chuckled hard, “She had that annoying whine that sounded like
a
injured cat we laughed at
all the time
.”

Alfonzo leaned in to kiss
Kiki’s
cheek
then smirked, “Damn, I wouldn’t have recognized you chica. You look good.”

Kiki’s painted red lips spread into an attractive smile as she took in Alfonzo’s appearance. The black V-neck designer shirt displayed his muscular arms and
torso. His
long legs
were
encased in a pair of
D&G
slacks,
she knew her men’s designer wear. His clothes were understated but cost more than the expensive outfit she wore which took two paychecks to buy. Her eyes discreetly admired the
inconspicuous
Vacheron
Constantin wristwatch. You had to have deep poc
kets to afford one of those. T
he timepiece cost over three
hundred
grand. Her eyes roved over his
hand
and noticed the platinum band
on his finger
.

Damn, he’s married!

“You look even better than I remember, too.”

“
Yo
, let me go cop a table!”
D
anté
exclaimed getting off the stool and disappearing through the crowd.

Alfonzo leaned over the bar, “Celia, let me have a mojito.” He said to the female bartender
who
finish
ed serving a
customer
.

She smiled wide, “
Hola
, where you been ‘
Fonzo
, I
aint
seen you in a while?”

“Around.
How’s the kids
?”

“
Bueno
, y
t
ú
familia
?”

“
Un
poco
enfermo
,
pero
bueno
.”

“I hope they get better, tell Selange hello.” She said then turned to mix his drink.

“So, Kiki, I hear you’re a singer.” He said
swiveling around on
the stool.

“
Yep,
doing this singing
bit and
hoping to get signed.
That’s why I’m here,
ten thousand dollars is
a nice piece of change
,
plus I
hear
there are industry people
in the mix.” She wiggled her shoulders playfully, “It’s like show and tell. Show ‘
em
what you got then tell ‘
em
what you want.”

His blue eyes smiled, “I hear that.”

“So, you got married, must be a pretty special woman
to
curb your bad ass.”

“Yeah,” he
grinned
thinking about his wife, “she’s pretty bad ass, too.”

Celia sat his drink down and he slid
her a
rolled hundred.

Kiki noticed,
“Why didn’t you bring her, it’d been nice to have some female company?”

“She’s sick or I would’ve.”

D
anté
returned, “Come on.
Got us in the VIP section.”

They made their way through the crowd over to
a
n exclusive section
with an unobstructed view of the stage and DJ booth. This was
where the movers and shakers were
or those
with cash to spend.
He scanned the faces for any familiar ones and found a couple. One in particular
got his attention.
Juan
and his boys.
From the size of his entourage and the bottles of pricey champagne atop the table he’d come up in the drug game
.
Alfonzo
frowned,
h
e couldn’t bring his piece in the spot, so he left it in the concealed compartment in his car. Damn!

Either way
,
tonight’s festivity became a tension filled atmosphere
. Th
eir eyes locked. Juan’s face contorted into an adversarial scowl
as he watched Alfonzo sit
.
Alfonzo’s gaze never wavered.
The
steely glare
held
a
threat
which
eventually caused Juan to look away.

“You know that fucker?”
Danté
enquired, noticing the strain between the men.

“Once upon a time.”

Kiki
broke up the conversation as one of the acts exited the stage, “
Boys please put your
pelotas
back in your pants for a minute and wish me luck.”

Danté
guffawed, “Go break a leg
cuz
, literally.”

She pushed his shoulder then rose smoothing the sides of her tight dress. The men in Juan’s party eyed her as she passed but none exhibited a
ny
sign of disrespect.

“So wh
at’s been going on
?” Alfonzo asked as Kiki climbed the stairs
.

“Not much action in Jacksonville. New York
and
L.A are the spots if you want to break out big in the music business.”

“How long you’ve been managing her?”

“Five months now. Her last manager wasn’t doing right by her, so I stepped in.”

“
Yo
, that’s what family’s about.”

“What about you, from the shit I heard, you
’re up
in the stratosphere?”

“All legit, though.
Constructing commercial and residential buildings.”

Danté
peered toward the dudes, “What’s his deal?”

“
Frenemy
, like they say.
Old news.”

T
he emcee hyped the crowd
, they fell silent.

Kiki cupped the microphone,
“What’s up everybody?”

Everyone hooped and whistled. Alfonzo grinned. The chica definitely knew how to work the crowd.

“I’m singing an original song
, entitled, Healing and I’m dedicating this to everybody who’s going through a rough time in their lives. So, hear it goes!”

She waved her hand for the DJ to play the instrumental track then moved from side to side humming softly.
She
began sing
ing
and
her voice
reminded him of the late
Whitney Houston.
Her
sultry tone was amazing
ly identical
.

“
I’ve been
hurtin
’ so long –seems pain
’s been
my name,

It’s been a rough time
goin
’  –
yeah…yeah…yeah…yeah
but
I’m back in th
e
game…”

Kiki’s
performance
brought
people to their feet.
Alfonzo smirked when
Danté
slapped the table
in excitement
, “
Yo
, that’s my
cuz
!”

Alfonzo checked his watch.
It read two a.m.  H
e decided to end the night
and get
home
.
He
stood,
“I’ll check you later, tell your
cuz
she sounded great
, al
l
right?”

“Alright man I’ll hit you up
later
.”

“Do that.”

Alfonzo exited the
crowded lounge
. The night air
was
still
warm and humid
;
a contrast from the
air-conditioned club.
There were people mingling
outside
,
smoking
weed and having a good time
.
He hurried across th
e street
to
his car
,
which sat
partially hidden on the southwest corner
beneath
the shadow of a solar powered streetlamp.
The latest in the city’s energy saving initiatives
.
He
smiled,
it seemed the city was finally catching up with the rest of the world in utilizing solar power.