B00BNB54RE EBOK (8 page)

“What? Jumped him? That nigga’s lying like a politician in church. He walked up on me like he was crazy and I stabbed him in his throat with my keys. The only reason I didn’t shoot his ass in the head is on the strength of you. Come on now Khalil, I ain’t gotta jump nobody. This ain’t a high school lunch room.”

Khalil almost choked on his French fries trying to suppress the laugh rising from his stomach.

“I knew that fool was lying. That’s why I called you. I wanted to clear that shit up. I need to holla at you about somethin’ else though. You know Dallas is my cousin right?”

“Yeah
, I know. She said ya’ll were kind of close.” I grabbed my smokes off the coffee table and made my way to the back patio.

Khalil continued, “So you have
to know I was gonna rap with you about what happened to her. You know she ain’t kill no D.A. cuz. What happened with you two? Normally I wouldn’t even get involved, but family is family.”

I could respect where Khalil was coming from. Dallas was his blood
at the end of the day and I was responsible for what had happened to her.

“You’re right, family is family
and I did what I did cuz she was tryna put the mother of my daughter in prison for ten years cuz she was pissed off. I’ll give it to you straight; I did play a part in that shit. I also gave her every chance to be straight with me, but she lied in my face.”

Khalil sucked his teeth. “So,
cuz she lied to you that mean you throw her in the punk ass justice system. You know she don’t belong in prison.”

“Neither did Angelique.” I lit my
up cigarette as I stared at my indigo colored pool.

“Look
, I ain’t sayin’ that what she did was right. All I’m sayin’ is that she don’t belong in jail. I don’t know what the fuck you, her and your baby mama had goin’ on, but whatever it was ain’t nobody dead, so what the fuck? Shit gets fucked up when feelings are involved.”

I could hear the passion and love in his voice
. He cared for Dallas and we had that in common.

“I know she don’t belong there
and believe me when I say I regret doin’ what I did to her.”

Khalil paused. “I respect you Tyce
, so that’s why I’m tellin’ you this. I’m gonna talk to Dallas and if she wants me to get revenge for her, that’s what I’ll do. If you live, or die, it’s up to her.”

Now that was different. I’d
had niggas call me for all kinds of shit, but I never had a nigga come at me like that. My instinct was to cuss his ass out and ask him who he thought he was talking to. I started to tell him to meet me at the park so I could bury him under the playground, but I didn’t. Plus, I couldn’t leave the house since I was on daddy duty. He came at me like a man and I actually respected him for that.

“I can understand that. If it was my cousin I’d probably do the same thing
. I jus’ hope for your sake she’s not a vindictive person when it comes to me.”

“I hope so too.” He paused again briefly. “As far as Roman, I can’t guarantee he won’t come at you for fuckin’ him up. He’s a solid earner on my squad
, but I understand if you gotta do what you

gotta do. I kn
ow you can handle your own shit. I’m jus’ givin’ you a heads up. I ain’t seen the nigga in a few days and he ain’t returning my phone calls.”

I chuckled, “Roman’s a bitch ass nigga. If I
even see that nigga on my T.V. screen I’ll shoot him from my couch.”

This time Khalil couldn’t hold back the laugh and he started cracking up.

“Yeah that fool’s wild. Good help is hard to find.” He sighed.

“That’s why I stick with my people.” I flicked ashes on the ground.

The conversation ended shortly after that with us coming to an awkward understanding about things. I had to admit that the conversation was a little sideways, but on the other hand it was straight up. I was all set to grab some left over burritos to silence my growling stomach when my phone rang again. I answered it on the second ring and the light voice of a female echoed in my ear.

“Wasup girl?”
I continued to carry the baby monitor into the kitchen.

“Nothing, I just wanted
to call and give you an update,” she said breathlessly.

“A’
ight…shoot.” I sat the small white speaker on the counter.

“Okay, she’s been seeing somebody.”

“You sure?” I leaned up against the fridge.

“Unfortunately yes.” The voice confirmed.

“Who is he?” My jaw twitched.

“His name is Thaddeus Dent and they’ve been seeing
each other for about a week now.”

My face frowned up in disgust. “You mean that fake singing ass nigga Thad?”

“Yep…the one and only.” She answered back.

              Sway sat with his lap top on his thighs and his back resting against a stack of pillows. His better half sat right beside him reading an Essence magazine with Trey Songz on the front cover. The wide keyboard covered his manhood which was concealed in his army print boxer briefs. He was shirtless and his peck muscles flexed whenever he typed a word. Ranae took notice of her sexy husband from the corner of her eye. The cover story on Trey couldn’t compete with the reality of all that man just inches away from her body. She put the magazine down and turned to face him.

“I love you.” She smiled lovingly.

He turned his head to face her. “I love you too.” Her pouty eyes made him suspicious. “What do you want babe? I know it’s somethin’.”

She laughed. “I don’t want anything. I jus’ want you to know I love you
, that’s all. I haven’t told you recently how happy I am being with you. You make me happy babe.” She kissed his bare shoulder.

Sway leaned in for a deeper kiss as he shifted
the computer from his lap. After the lasting smooch, he smiled down at her pretty face. She was just as radiant as the day he met her eight years ago.

“You make me happy to
o.” He rubbed her waist tenderly.

“I jus’ want you to be careful when you do this next job. I know you and Tyce have everything under control and I don
’t even want to know what it is. I jus’ want you to be careful and come back home to me.”

“I will always come back home t
o you and the kids. Me and you mus’ never part ma ki da da.” He mocked the Color Purple song between Celie and Nettie.

Ranae joined in. “Ain
’t no ocean, ain’t no sea, ma ki da da, keep my Sway away from me.” She tapped her chest to the rhythm.

“Yes ma
’am, you know it. Nothin’ but death can keep me from it!” He yelled out dramatically.

“You’re so crazy. You keep me laughing and that’s why I love you. I dated this one dude before I met you and I swear I had to drink four cu
ps of coffee on a date with that nigga…he was soooo boring.”

“It must be hard
to be with a boring ass person,” he suggested.

“You have no idea.
Speakin’ of hard, take off those boxers.” She jumped off the bed and jogged to the bathroom.

Sway slammed the laptop closed and hurriedly snatched his tight underwear off as instructed.
Since he was fifteen he never had to be asked twice to get naked by a woman. Moments later she returned wearing nothing but her skin and a smile in the well lit room.

Ranae pointed at him and smiled. “I wish you
’d move that fast when I ask you to empty the dish washer.”

“Apples and oranges babe, apples and oranges.” Sway
adjusted his body to lie on his back with his pole in the air.

“Well
, I have a taste for a banana right now, so put your hands behind your head.”

             
Ranae crawled on the bed. Her lips were shining from a fresh coat of Vaseline. She always moisturized her lips before she gave head, because the lubricant helped her glide up and down the shaft. Sway watched his wife swirl her tongue around the thick head of his dick with a slow deliberate motion.

“Damn tha
t feels good…it kinda tingles.”

She stopped
licking and grinned. “That’s cuz I rinsed my mouth with Listerine when I went to the bathroom. It’s supposed to give you a cool sensation.”

“Fuck
, yeah it does. That shit feels good! Where did you learn that lil’ trick?”

“My mom told me about it yesterday when I went to visit her.”

“What? Your mom hipped you to this freaky shit.” Sway sat up on his elbows.

Ranae winked at him. “Where you think I get it from? Besides if you don’
t take care of your man…another woman will.”

            
 
Thad and I sat in front of his massive fire place after our magnificently romantic date. The time was eleven o’clock, but honestly I was having such a good time that the late hour didn’t even matter to me. For one, I knew that Khari was fast asleep and Tyce was at home taking care of her. Sure, I felt a twinge of guilt being in Thad’s home alone with him; however I just let it ride. Truth was I was plain old tired of Tyce lately. I was still in love with him, don’t get me wrong. I just needed a breather.

             
Thad looked scrumptious in his tailored blue suit and he smelled delicious too. I caught his scent for the hundredth time as he sat next to me on the camel suede couch. Inches separated his muscular thigh from my bare leg and he moved closer as he extended a glass of white wine to me.

“Here you go baby.”

I took the glass from him. “Thank you.” I smiled.

“You’re very welcome.
I have plenty, so you don’t have to sip it.” He grinned at me showing his pearly whites.

“Good
, cuz a girl is thirsty.” I took a big gulp.

Thad paused after he drank from his glass. He tapped his knee for a moment
and then turned to face me. I could tell that he was thinking about something.

“Umm
, I have a confession to make.” He continued. “I, ahh was really disappointed when you told me you had a man and a baby. Make no mistake, I’m happy for you and everything, but I kind of imagined you being with me and having our baby.”

             
I had to take another swig of wine before I responded to his revelation. Over dinner I was upfront with my current situation and I told him everything about my new life. He knew how I met Tyce and how I felt about him. I also told him about our recent relationship problems, including his inability to stop running the streets to become a full time dad and husband. I even told him about the whole Dallas fiasco and how it was her fault that I went to jail. Thad couldn’t believe that little story. He also couldn’t believe that Tyce hadn’t put a ring on it yet. He told me plain and simple that if it was him who was my man he would have made an honest woman out of me with the quickness.

“Thad, everything happens for a reason. Sometimes we know the reason immediately, and sometimes it hides from us
until later. I was supposed to meet Tyce and have Khari…jus’ like I was supposed to run into you again. I don’t believe in haphazard coincidences.” I touched his leg to give a measure of reassurance.

He rubbed his smooth head. “I believe that too. You and I reconnecting was fate
, not chance. If you were married I’d back off, but you’re not, so I’m gonna try to make you mine before it’s too late. I’m not about to let you quit me again, not without a fight.”

             
I felt the heat from his handsome face as he leaned into me. I didn’t retreat as he nudged his nose against mine. Instead, I stuck my tongue out and licked his thick top lip from side to side. I remembered that he loved that and did that move purposely to entice him. He moaned deeply and then he smoothly attacked my mouth in one swift motion. Our lips parted like curtains and our tongues glided and twisted as we kissed passionately.  I could taste the Screaming Eagle 1994 wine as his sweet saliva mixed with mine. We worked our mouths slowly at first and then the pace quickened. I extended my wet tongue pass his front teeth as he captured it between his lips and sucked it, softly tasting my taste buds. That time I let out a soft moan as my pussy began to tingle and heat up. After minutes of making out, we finally paused to admire each other. I smiled at him and he smiled back at me.

“I see you didn’t forget how to kiss.” He winked seductively.

“Neither did you,” I shot back.

He turned his attention to the mini mountain of snowy white pow
der on the silver serving tray on top of the mahogany coffee table. My recent drug adventure had been a solo one up until that point. I started snorting coke about three months ago, unbeknownst to Tyce, or anyone else. That by no means was my first time doing the expensive drug. I’d dabbled in the stuff a lot with Biz over the years. Shit, he always kept a key or two around and we did it together on many occasions. I could never get high with Tyce, or even let him know I did it. He had a strict no dope policy that he stuck to and on that he didn’t budge. As thuggish as he was, he didn’t get high. Only the green stuff did it for him and I don’t mean weed. Money was his addiction.