New Friends Part 2
Bigg Cinn’s Party
By Charlie Sellers
Instead of watching game film on her next opponent with coach Dawn Staley, Cinnamon Wright found herself in the middle of an Airbnb, supervising an orgy.
“Do that shit, girl.” She bit her lip and pulled out her phone. Those involved hesitated at the brightness of her phone’s flash, but after seeing who the director was, they went back to it.
Who would tell her no phones were allowed? It was her party.
The liquor was free, the women were going, and she made sure all your vices were taken care of.
Standing a micro braid over six-five, “Bigg Cinn” had hoop dreams and headed into her final year of high school; those dreams were looking more like a reality…until Zay didn’t answer his phone.
His name alone caused Cinn to take a hard pull on one of the many blunts floating around. “Damn, Zay.” She wiped her eyes behind the darkened sunglasses. Her older brother was one of the innocent ones. The streets respected him for his skills on the court and made sure he was safe in every room; it wasn’t them who killed him.
Cinn had always felt his homie Demarcus backdoored him, but nobody moved on it. To her, the shit was simple math: crackhead Philly said he seen Demarcus running up 21st Street a few seconds after the shots rang out; Demarcus was also the only one besides her who knew Zay’s location. Her brother was a civilian, but he wasn’t green. He knew the wolves only needed a reason, and with him looking like money, that was all the reason for them to crash out over his cars and jewelry, so he moved in silence and only shared his location with his little sister and his best friend….one of them told somebody and backdoored him, leaving her without her hero.
Zay’s death rocked Bigg Cinn to the depths of her soul, and after him went her love of the game, but nothing like it did their younger brother Quay. If Cinn saw him as a hero, then to Quay, Zay was God sitting across from him eating cereal. It was Quay who called her with a shaky voice and told her their brother was gone. He told the police he couldn’t see the shooters from the backseat because Zay was covering him up, and from his behavior afterward, Cinn knew only half of that story was true.
Quay had changed; before, he was her scrawny loudmouth brother, running behind her and Zay, but now he was the silent kid locked away in her room doing push-ups. It also didn’t help that when their father lost his job in the shipyards, they had to downgrade and move to Lafayette Gardens. It only took Quay two weeks to get attached to the other new kid in the Gardens, and while it was good that he found a friend, she soon learned this brother was headed down a much darker road than Zay.
Cinn knew she couldn’t control her brother’s life, so this is where the parties began. With their father’s blessing, she funded her own party so Quay could move comfortably in an environment SHE trusted. That was three years ago. Now Bigg Cinn threw parties around the city and was the go-to host for any event you wanted to pop, and this one was no different. The city was still mourning the loss of their Queen, but they still came out for Bigg Cinn, and she made sure they got their money’s worth.
“Baby,” a half-naked female got her attention over the loud music. “Little Quay just walked down the stairs.”
Before she could continue, Cinn was already headed in his direction.
He wasn’t alone, of course; his homie was with him, and while he scared her at times, she was still happy he came. Unbeknownst to him, Bigg Cinn was throwing this party with his mother in mind. Lady V was a hero to all girls, and even some of the boys in the Gardens, and Cinnamon was no exception.
By the time she reached her brother, he was standing away from his homies with a blunt barely hanging off the corner of his lips.
“Quay Quay!!!” She wrapped him up in her arms. He might’ve been making a name for himself in the streets, but she was still BIG SIS. Plus she was taller than him.
“Chill cuz,” he playfully slurred. “I thought studs had to be tough.”
“Boy, shut up,” she laughed before giving him a tight squeeze. “Haven’t seen or heard from you in a few days; the Cash Apps are cool, but you know the rules.”
“Blame it on my head and not my heart, sis,” Quay threw his hands up before changing the subject. “Big Boy come through yet?”
“Yeah, Dallas and them niggaz uptown don’t play that shit,” she nodded. When word got out that Zay’s little sister was throwing another party, and after hearing her speak on how they lost Lady V and the impact, Bigg Cinn found herself backed by one of the biggest dogs in the state. Dallas Ignacio bankrolled everything and even sent a few of his people to help Bigg Cinn with whatever she needed. Not only was Cinn getting a cut from the door, but Dallas had also slipped her something extra on the side.
The siblings continued their lighthearted conversation until the mood shifted cold.
“Quay Quay,” Demarcus wrapped his arm around him in an attempt to son him. You could tell from his eyes that he took advantage of the open drugstore upstairs.
“Fuck outta here with all that yo,” Quay pushed him back.
“Don’t be like that, lil bro,” Demarcus laughed it off. “I haven’t seen you since…..”
“My brother’s funeral,” he cut him off. “Out of respect for my sis, I’ll keep it cool, but don’t call me your fucking brother. Shit could get dangerous for you.”
The boldness of his threat shocked both Bigg Cinn and Demarcus, but both recovered well. For Cinn, it was her first time seeing her little brother conduct himself amongst the snake pit, but for Demarcus, the little nigga was only bold cuz his big sister was cool with Dallas Ignacio. Cinn could tell things were about to go left quickly, but God was on her side…
“Wus good lil bro?” she acknowledged Quay’s friend Fitz approaching them. He had walked off earlier to give them some space but closed the distance after seeing Krank walking closer to Cinn and Quay.
“Nothing much sis, gotta holla at the homie really quick,” he nodded before pointing to Demarcus and Krank. “Hope that’s cool with y’all.”
“Hell nah, homie, do your thing. I’ma catch you later lil bro,” Demarcus took one last parting shot at Quay before quickly saluting Bigg Cinn and walking off with Krank in tow. He would never admit it, but the little nigga gave him the creeps, so he kept his distance.
“See what the fuck I’m talking about yo?” Quay shook his head at Demarcus’s antics.
“Yeah that bitch ass nigga been really bold since they mauled Brandon’s little brother at Nay-Nay’s house,” Cinn spat. “He gone get his one day.”
“Fucking with me, that day will be today,” Quay mumbled. “I’ma get at you later sis,” he started to walk off but Cinn grabbed him and hugged him tight.
“Be safe out there you hear me? Both of y’all,” she locked eyes with her brother. Something about his last statement made her pause, but she made a note to address it in the morning when he called to check in.
“Love, sis,” he nodded before disappearing into the crowd, laughing off with his friend.
“You gone stand there playing big momma to your brother or are you going to take me upstairs and play big momma to phat momma?” Serenity placed one of her hands between her thighs, letting Cinn feel her growing moisture. Before long, little bro was an afterthought and Bigg Cinn was strap deep in the baddest bitch in the party. For a few minutes, life was back to normal.
Until the shots rang out.