At Last (4 page)

“Momma, don’t be like that.”

“I’m not being like anything.  You went alone tonight?”

I knew that voice. She was insinuating that should have had a date. 
The next statement?
             
“Get a father for that baby.” It was too late for all of that and besides, Taylor had a father, a crazy one, but a father nonetheless.

“Yes I went alone.”  I said sitting on one of the barstools around the island in the kitchen.

“Mmmmmmm.”

“What’s that all about?”

“Nothing,” she said looking at the clock on the kitchen wall.

“Kinda early isn’t it.”

“Momma it’s 11:30 I was tired.”

She smiled and sat next to me, “You look pretty.”

“Thank you.”  I replied smiling.  She kissed me on my forehead.

“I just want you to have what I didn’t.  I want you to have the big wedding and all the bells and whistles.  You still got a chance baby.  You’re young, successful and beautiful.  You deserve a prince, just like your daddy.”

Just as those words escaped her lips the doorbell rang.

“Who could it be at this hour?” My mother asked moving toward the door. She looked through the window.

“Oh, it’s Durran.”

I already knew it was him. 
Fucking stalker.

“Come on in baby.”  She invited opening the door.

“Hey Momma.”
  He said hugging and kissing her on the cheek.

“Where you coming from?”
  She asked as he made his way into the house.

“Oh, I was just in the neighborhood.”  He said winking at me. Jerk.

“Are you hungry?”  She asked scurrying in the kitchen.

“Well, maybe a little.” He said smiling.

“Hey, Miss Morgan.”
  He said hitting me on the leg.

“Hey yourself, Mr. Johnson.”

He sat down next to me one of the stools. It was like déjà vu.  Memories of our ill-fated relationship came flooding
back.  I remained quiet as he and my mother continued their senseless banter.

“
You looking
good Durran. 
Where you coming from?”

He smiled before he answered, “Oh just out.”

His smile was making me sick. He was so
fake
.

“Well you and Mama K should’ve gone out together.”

“Momma!”
I exclaimed.

“What? It was just a suggestion,” she said looking at me like I was tripping.

“I’ma bout to go.”
  I said standing up and heading for Taylor’s room.

“Don’t you go and wake her up.  She’s fine just where she is.”  My mother said placing a plate of food in front of Durran.

“Why not?
  I’m getting ready to go home.”  I said becoming agitated.

“No you not.  You have company and I’m going to bed.”  She said before giving Durran another kiss on the cheek before going to her bedroom.  The last thing I heard from her was her bedroom door closing.

I slipped off my shoes and lay down on the couch.

“This food is good.
Mmmm!”

I sat silently.

“So good.”

I laughed to myself, he was so greedy. Looking down at my phone, I realized I hadn’t missed any calls.  I just knew that Justin was going to be blowing up my phone soon.

Next thing I knew Durran was seated on the couch next to me.  He had picked up my feet and placed them in his lap.

“You looked beautiful tonight.”  He said as he slowly began to rub my feet. I was hesitant to reply, “Thank you.”

“You tired of my shit, huh?”  He asked smirking.

“Yes.”

“I know you are.”  He said massaging deep into my skin.  He knew it made me melt and it was my weakness.  His hands w
ere strong and firm.  He kneaded
my toes and my arches like they were dough.

Since my job required me to be up on my feet all day, I relished a good foot massage.  In fact I hadn’t had a real good one since the last time he did it; which had been at least a year ago.

It was during the last time we messed around. Justin and I were broken up at the time.  It turned out ugly.  He expected us to get back together afterwards.  It didn’t happen, so he stopped messing with me altogether-Until now.

He continued to rub my feet and I closed my eyes.  I was in straight relaxation mode.  I began tuning out all the problems of the day, all the bullshit with Justin, the hair show-everything. 
Sneaky muthafucka.
He
knew
exactly what he was doing.

“Why you give me such a hard time?” He asked as he lifted my right foot.  Before I knew it, I felt the heat from his mouth as he sucked on my big toe.  His soft milk chocolate lips sucked it like
it
was sweet, sticky, candy.

I let out a low moan. His tongue went between each one of my toes. My panties began to get slick. He licked the bottom of my foot and kissed the top softly before placing it back in his lap.

“Why you trying to play big girl out here?”
  He asked as he picked up my other foot.

“I’m not,” I said breathing heavily trying to compose myself.

             
“You know you wanna be with me.  I heard you moan.  I make you feel good. Let me make you feel good.”

Even though that foot massage had me creaming, he pissed me off.  I moved my feet from his lap and stood up to face him.

“I’m not giving my body away to anyone who’s not going to take everything that comes along with me.”

He pulled me close to him and looked into my eyes. “Keisha, I love you.  I never stopped loving you.”

I broke from his grasp and shook my head.

“You don’t believe me?”  He asked agitated

“No I don’t. You still out here doing you like you always have.”

“Yeah just like you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean.  How can you trip about what I do and you still fucking with Justin after all these years?”

“I’m not with Justin.”

“You know what Keish, save that shit. Tell that to somebody who don’t know the fucking truth.  Don’t try to run that bullshit on me.” Durran said angrily. I put my finger up to my mouth trying to hush him. I didn’t want him to wake Taylor or my mother, “You think
cause
that nigga is Taylor’s father you gotta be with him. 
That don’t
mean shit.”

“Whatever Durran.
I ain’t with him
.
”

“Alright then.
  You don’t lie in the bed with him at night?  He
don’t
hold you?”

“Fuck you, Durran.  You ain’t there. Do I trip out on you about all the bitches you run with?  No.  So don’t question me about Justin.  He was there for me when
you weren’t.” I said bitterly while trying to keep my voice down.

“That nigga used to whoop your ass.” He said it so calm I couldn’t believe the words left his mouth.  I looked down at the floor remaining silent.

“You didn’t think I knew that shit, huh?”

“Who told you that?”

“Don’t worry about it.”  He said heading for the door.

“You
leaving?”
  I asked. Deep down inside I didn’t want him to go.

“What am I staying for?”

“Why did you bring that up?”

“To bring your ass back to reality.
  That nigga ain’t shit and you still trying to hang on cause he Taylor’s father.  That don’t mean
nothing
.”

He was right, but he wasn’t shit either. I rubbed my hand over my forehead, “I’m about to go get Taylor.”

“Let her sleep.”

There was a brief silence.

“You wanna go
in the back?  I’m going to lie
down.”  I asked unsure of what his answer would be.

“You sure you want me to come?”

“I asked you didn’t
I
?”

He slid his shoes back off.  I turned off the television, grabbed my purse and my shoes and walked to the back of the house to my old room.  He followed my lead.

My bedroom still looked like it did in high school; it was like
a
museum.  Nothing had been touched.  My mother kept it the same since I moved out when I was 19.

Durran sat down on the bed as I began to undress.  I had my back turned to him as I looked in the drawer for a t-shirt of some sort.  I had on nothing but a black thong. I could feel him behind me. My body began to tense up.  He wrapped his strong arms around me and kissed me
softly on my ear which sent chills up my spine. I dropped my head.

“I’m sorry.”  He whispered in my ear while placing kisses on my ears, neck and shoulders.  Turning me around to face him, he bent down and gently kissed me on my lips.  I damn near fainted. His lips were so soft.  Slowly slipping his tongue in my mouth I tasted how sweet he was. I felt like I was standing in quicksand, and was going in deeper and deeper.

We kissed a little while longer before I took a step back.  Slowly he undressed in front of me.  Eventually, he was standing before me in his gray Polo boxer briefs with his manhood bulging.  He was still muscled the hell up. My eyes drifted up and down his broad chocolate shoulders to his ripped arms. His washboard abs was perfect and I wanted to touch them so bad I ached.  His body was, to say the least, a work of art.

I turned off the light and slid underneath the covers.  He got in the bed right behind me. Wrapping his arms around my waist he kissed me on the back of my neck just like the old days.  I could feel his manhood rising and pulsating on me.  I didn’t know how much longer I could take it. Then he whispered in my ear, “I just wanna hold you tonight. We ain’t gotta do nothing.  Just being here with you is enough for me.  I love you baby. I’ll never stop.”

Running his hands up and down my breasts, stomach, hips, and thighs; I could feel my eyes stinging with tears.

“Good night Durran.” Was all I could muster
up.
  At that moment I knew I was ge
tting back on the rollercoaster.

Chapter Three

Driving up to Justin’s house I saw police tape surrounding it.  The neighbors were outside talking and EMS technicians had walked inside the house.  My heart was racing.

I was worried that he hadn’t called me all night so I dropped by his house to check on him.  Durran was still sleep when I left my mother’s. I sat in my car petrified.  I didn’t know what else to do but pick up the phone and call Missy. She picked it up on the first ring.

“Hey boo?  How the
show
go?  I was just about to call you,”

I couldn’t bring myself to say a word.

“Keisha?”

I remained silent, watching the front door, never leaving my car.

“Keisha!?”

I took a deep breath, “I’m sitting outside Justin’s house and the police are here and I see the Corner’s car.  The EMS just went inside.”

“What!?”

At that very moment, my fear was realized. The EMS workers pushed a stretcher outside the house covered by a white blanket.

I screamed in horror before jumping out of the car and running to the stretcher. I began to cry my eyes out over what had to be Justin’s body. A police officer finally grabbed me.  She began asking me questions, but I couldn’t understand a word she was saying.  I didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t want to believe what
was going on. In an instant my world had come crashing down.

She put her arm around me and tried to console me, but I was inconsolable.

“I should’ve come straight over.  I should’ve come straight over.  Oh my God!!
Oh my God!!”
I screamed hysterically.

“It’s alright sweetie. It’s alright.”

No matter what she said I wasn’t going to feel any better.  I might as well have done this to him. The EMS technicians put his body inside the back of the ambulance and shut the door.

“Where are they taking him?”  I asked blankly.

“To Receiving Hospital.
  Are you related?”  She asked trying to be as careful as possible.

“He’s my daughter’s father.
Oh my God!”
I said breaking down again.

“Do you want me and my partner to take you to the hospital, so you can identify the body?”

When she said that I really lost it.
 
The body?
  Was that what he had been reduced to? 
The body?
  I lost all strength in my body and began to fall out of the officer’s grasp. She put a tighter grip on me to stop me from dropping.