Larry was a portly young man, with a belly like a honey jar. He wore his hair in zigzag braids that day, tied off by black rubber bands on the end. Larry and Paul had been friends since grade school, both running in the same circle of troublemakers. While Paul was serving time for credit fraud, Larry had managed to square up and get a job. Though he still sold weed in the hood, loading UPS trucks was his reportable income.

Larry brushed past Paul, giving him a friendly pat on the back. “‘Sup, nigga?”

“Larry, how many times I gotta ask you about not popping up at my spot?” Paul frowned. “For all you know, I might’ve been in here with a bitch.”

“Bullshit.” Larry flopped on the sofa. “That might’ve been a possibility a few months ago, but you ain’t built like that no more.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

Larry pulled a sack of weed from his pocket and a Dutch. “Come on, son. You ain’t gotta front for me. Ever since your ass got with Marlene, you’ve developed a tender dick.”

“Fuck outta here.” Paul dipped a larger brush into a tray of green paint. “I’m still the same old G.”

Larry looked at Paul disbelievingly, crushing some buds up into the now split cigar. “Paul, you know Marlene got you like that.”

“Marlene ain’t got me like nothing, Larry. I can still get outta here and pull any bitch I want.”

“I’m sure you could, my man, but the truth of the matter is, you ain’t got that fire in you no more. Its cool, though, it happens to the best of us. Just not a true player like me.”

“Man, fuck you!” Paul spat.

“The truth is the light, dawg,” Larry responded. “If you got a soft spot for these hos, then you got a soft spot.”

“I ain’t got no love for a bitch, kid. My heart pumps straight ice water.”

“Ice water, my ass. Paul, every time you get with a chick who seems okay, you wife the ho. I know you, kid. Look at Rhonda.”

“Here we go with this shit. Why don’t you leave that alone, Larry?”

“Because it’s a prime example of what I’m talking about. When you got with her, we all told you to hit it and quit it, but you didn’t listen. You catch feelings for her and ended up hit. When she got pregnant, I told you to make her have an abortion, but you wouldn’t listen. She starts kicking that pro-life shit in your ear and you fall for it. Don’t get me wrong, I love P.J. like my own flesh and blood, but you got caught up, man.”