Double Dippin' (24 page)

He loved Misty in an odd way, but being that Brick was his dawg and she was Brick’s girl, he wouldn’t allow himself to fall deeply in love with her. Shane had a feeling Brick knew what was going on. Brick had to know they were sharing Misty. It was an unspoken agreement. Too touchy a subject to admit with words. Yeah, Misty had to be kept at arm’s length.

Misty was extra special—a pretty, sexy little thing who was as criminal-minded and fearless as the most treacherous man. There were so many fine bitches out there who gave him a sexual rush. But neither Misty nor anybody else could compete with the woman he had at home.

Shane and Dolores Holmes had an understanding. He didn’t expect society to approve of their relationship, but as he matured, he came to an acceptance within. He no longer felt guilt about what they were doing. It wasn’t wrong. It was just different.

Maturity had taught him to appreciate what she did for him. He was addicted and needed her like a drug. Her soft flabby body was a comfort to lie close to. And when he needed to release his emotions with tears, she was there to wipe his eyes and rock him until he calmed down. And like any mother, she figured out ways to keep him pacified.

The last time he’d come home agitated and became inconsolable and caught up in a crying jag, she promptly got up, went into the kitchen, and came back with a cup of evaporated milk. She stuck a finger in the milk and gave him a taste before dousing herself with the liquid and holding him close while he licked and sucked it from her heavy tits.

Heaven. It was heaven. Sucking and tasting something so familiar and sweet
brought back memories. With her he felt as sheltered and protected as a newborn.

He was deeply ashamed of the way he’d treated her when he was young, He hadn’t known any better when he’d taken something from her she’d been so willing to give. When he needed comforting like a baby, she allowed him to feel reborn, and when he had manly urges, without question, she parted her legs.

No, there wasn’t another soul in the world that could do what she did for him.

“So what we gonna do?” Misty asked impatiently.

“I don’t know. But I feel like I gotta check on my twin.”

“What? You feel like something’s wrong?” Brick asked.

“Yeah, but I’m not sure what it is.”

“Well, call ’em and find out if he’s all right. Why would you go all the way to Mount Airy for nothing?” Misty asked, peeved.

“Naw, I gotta go up there,” Shane said adamantly.

“It’s that twin shit,” Brick explained. “He used to go through this all the time when we was up in Barney Hills.”

“Whatever!” She was pissed off that Shane wanted to leave. Then she brightened. “I know!” She looked at Brick with mischief in her eyes. “Want to get into some freak shit? We don’t need no money for that.”

“I’m down.”

Misty smiled and pulled out her cell phone.

Shane gave his buddies a hug. “Y’all have fun.” When he was sure he was out of their eyesight, he flipped open his cell and called home. “I don’t feel good, Mommy,” he said in a choked little boy’s voice.

“Don’t start crying, Shane. Not out in public, you hear me?” As if she could see him, he nodded his head.

“Pull yourself together and come on home.”

“Okay,” he said and hailed a cab.

Blindfolded and with his hands tied together with Misty’s bra, Brick waited. He heard Misty speaking softly, then a baritone voice responded. When their footsteps and voices drew closer, Brick took a deep shuddering breath.

He felt the mattress sink from the weight of the man’s body. Brick tried to imagine what the anonymous man looked like, but couldn’t come up with an image. It didn’t matter. He was a faceless man whose forbidden intentions caused Brick to tremble with expectancy. He wore a blindfold because he didn’t want to see or be seen. His secret passion for homosexual activities was something he’d rather feel than see.

He felt Misty’s soft, small hand. “See,” she said, lifting Brick’s stiffened dick for the man to appraise. “Ten inches. I didn’t lie, did I?”

The man emitted a guttural sound that vibrated against Brick’s scrotum, giving Brick the impression that his face and his lips were near.

“Mmm,” Brick groaned in a tone that sounded like a low rumble and bordered on being a growl.

“Not so fast,” Misty said, interrupting the encounter. “That’s ten inches and I’m charging twenty dollars for every inch.”

At that moment, Brick felt like punching Misty in the head for breaking the mood with her greedy money transactions. Couldn’t she take care of that later? Jutting his groin in desperation, Brick cried out, “Stop wasting time, baby, get the money later. Let dude get on my jawn right now.”

Misty kissed the head of Brick’s penis. “Be cool; let me take care of the business end. He gon’ take care of you in a minute.”

The bed creaked, which meant the man had stood up. Brick heard the rustle of money being counted, followed by the snap of Misty’s purse.

Trying to control his sense of sexual urgency, he refocused his mind. He conjured an image of a tool kit filled with a grimy set of tools. In his mind’s eye, he examined screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers. Masculine items that would remind him of who he really was before he gave in to the all-consuming and unnatural desire to have his dick sucked by a man.

“T
he job pays sixteen dollars an hour and that’s a lot more than I make now,” Tariq explained to Janelle. “After I get my driver’s license, my pay rate increases to eighteen dollars an hour. Plus, I get tips.”

Unwilling to find anything good about Tariq’s decision to work for a moving company, Janelle rolled her eyes in disgust. “I don’t like it, Tariq. You said you’ll be away for a couple of days, sometimes. Suppose something happens to the baby…then what? What am I supposed to do? You can’t take that job; me and Lil’ Man need you here,” Janelle said firmly.

“Baby, I already quit McDonald’s; it’s a done deal. If there’s an emergency and I’m out of town, you gotta call Shane.”

Incensed, Janelle threw a plastic baby bottle. Tariq ducked. “Fuck Shane. You know I can’t stand your brother and he can’t stand me either. Tariq, why would you go behind my back and make a major decision when you know you’re supposed to ask for my permission?” She sighed heavily. “How’d you find out about this job, anyway?”

Tariq swallowed. “Kapri told me about it. Her brother works for the company and she recently got hired as the office manager.”

“Kapri! You still talk to Kapri?”

“No, I just happened to bump into her.”

“Oh yeah? Where?”

“In the supermarket. I was in Pathmark picking up a box of Pampers for Lil’ Man. I just asked her if she ever went to that court stenographer school she had planned to attend.”

“You ain’t supposed to be talking to no skanks and you know it.” Janelle’s angry tone shifted to an insecure whine.

“I don’t talk to no skanks. Kapri’s not a skank. She’s an old friend. I couldn’t see myself ignoring her—treating her like she’s a stranger. Baby, why you worried about Kapri; she ain’t got nothing on you.”

“I’m not worried about Kapri,” Janelle snapped. “I don’t like it when you break my rules.”

“Okay. I’m sorry I didn’t discuss it with you, but I knew you wouldn’t like it, so I went behind your back. But it’s not like I’m cheating on you. I’m trying to look out for us as a family. Look, with the baby’s day care bill and the high rent we pay to live here, one of us has to bring in more money. I promise you, I won’t look at no other women when I’m on the job. After I finish working I’m coming home to you. When I get paid, I’m giving it all to you. Now, do you trust me?”

“I thought I could trust you; but I don’t know…”

Tariq sat on the sofa and pulled Janelle on his lap. He could feel her weakening as he spoke to her softly. “Can’t no other woman come between us, baby. Can’t nobody do what you do and you know it.”

Janelle and Tariq held each other. She unzipped his pants, slipped her hand inside his crotch—a panty check. Feeling reassured, she smiled as she caressed the soft red satin panties that concealed Tariq’s manhood.

Brick was blissfully asleep and Shane was with his brother. Or so he’d claimed. Shane had been pulling quite a few disappearing acts lately. Misty hoped he didn’t have another woman hidden away in the cut somewhere. Shane couldn’t possibly think she would sit back and let some other chick have him. Sex for play-and-pay was one thing, but catching feelings for a bitch was an entirely different matter.

Something was up; her feminine intuition was telling her that Shane had another bitch on his mind.

She shook Brick. “Baby, wake up.”

“What?”

“Have you noticed anything different about Shane?”

“You woke me up to ask me that?”

“It’s important, Brick. Wake up.”

Brick rubbed his eyes and slowly sat up.

“I think Shane is doing something behind our backs.”

“Like what? He checks on his brother. They twins. You know how that twin shit goes. They be feeling each other’s emotions and shit.”

“I know Shane well enough to know when he’s lying and you should know him better than I do.”

“So why he gotta lie to us?” Brick asked.

“Stop playing dumb. I think he’s cheating on us.”

“Whoa, Misty. I’m not the one fucking Shane. He’s my man and everything but that emotional stuff is between you and him.”

“Well, you’re part of a threesome, so you should care, too.”

“I ain’t part of no damn threesome. You and me been dealing with each other since…for how long, Misty?”

“I don’t know. Since the first or second grade.”

“Right. We don’t have no secrets. I got mad love for you and that’s why I don’t trip. But in my opinion, you and Shane let y’all selves get out of control. Both of y’all is wrong as hell. Y’all shouldn’a caught no feelings for each other. It was supposed to be just a sex thing.”

“I know,” she said, looking down. “But baby, I love the shit outta that pretty nigga. Shane’s sneaky ass is driving me the fuck crazy!” Misty stamped her foot to make her point. “Whatchu think we should do?”

“I don’t know, Misty. Don’t drag me into this. If you let Shane know I’m down with what y’all been doing, then you gonna have to tell him that I don’t mind. And he’s gonna wonder why. Then you gonna have to admit that I share you with him because you share me with other men.” Brick shook his head. “Everything ain’t for everybody. That’s our secret, baby. I can’t let my man know about that part of my life. He’d hate me and think I’m a fag if he found out I like getting my jawn sucked by men.”

Misty sighed. “You’re probably right. Shane wouldn’t understand. But baby, he’s breaking my heart. Don’t you care?”

“Yeah, I care. But it ain’t nothing I can do about it.”

“Yes, you can. You can call his brother’s house and see if he’s there. If he’s there tell him to get his ass back to West Philly. Tell him you need his help on an ATM job.”

“Calm your little ass down, Misty. You can wait ’til tomorrow. When he comes through you can take him aside and ask him if he’s cheating on you.”

“Right! You think he’s gonna tell me the truth?” She sat and briefly pondered the situation. “I know what we’re gonna do! The next time Shane says he has to leave all of a sudden, we’re gonna follow his ass. I wanna see with my own eyes who this bitch is.”

“All right. We can do that. Now come on and lay down and get some sleep.”

“I can’t sleep. I wanna fuck. You done let dude suck you off about three or four times, so what can you do for me? Not a damn thing!”

“You right. I ain’t gon’ front, but I
can
do that other thing you like.” Brick paused. “And I know
how
you like it.”

Misty smiled. “Well, stop talking about it and do it! I’m miserable. Make me happy, Brick,” she whined.

She quickly pulled off her jeans and panties and put one foot up on the bed. Brick got off the bed and walked around to the side of the bed where she was sitting. He got down on his knees submissively and started kissing her feet. Then he worked his way upward. When he got to her crotch, he steadied himself by gripping the edge of the bed.

Just before his tongue touched her vagina, she pushed his head away. “Brick!”