by Jazz Jordan
After he finished, Deandre lay on his back and closed his eyes. Seconds later, he was snoring.
Knock! Knock!
Oh my God. Now what? I thought. “What!?”
LaNaya slurred, “Wh-where you keep your shits…er…your sheets again, si-sis?” she said, then let out a hiccup like a drunken sailor.
I climbed out of bed carefully because I didn’t want to get Deandre’s cum all over my sheets; it was bad enough that it was all over my legs. Usually, I climaxed two or three times before he did, but LaNaya had interrupted any chance at a memorable sexcapade. I cleaned myself off with a fresh towel and called out to her, “Gimme a minute!”
“Oops! My bad. Is you…was y’all fuckin’? Oh shit. I’m sorry. I just need a sheet.”
“I said to gimme a minute! Damn, LaNaya!” I looked over at Deandre, who was snoring like a wild animal, oblivious. It wasn’t at all how I’d envisioned our night, and my sister, with her phat ass and her drama, was all to blame.
CHAPTER 3
“Damn! You feel so good in my pussy! I bet my sister don’t know what to do with a dick like this!”
When I heard the yelling, I opened my bedroom door to the sight of my sister bent over the couch while Deandre fucked her doggie-style. “What the hell!?” I screamed. “LaNaya, how could you do this to me? All I’ve ever done is try to help your triflin’ ass. And Deandre? My God! Of all the bitches in the world, you had to go and stick your dick in my sister! I can’t believe this shit! Both of y’all need to get the fuck outta here right now!”
Like dogs fucking in the front yard, they completely ignored me. I thought I was gonna have to find a garden hose and spray the hell out of them to get them to stop.
LaNaya backed her booty up on Deandre, and he smacked it hard. “I wish Kai had an ass like this,” he said shamelessly, not caring at all that I was standing there.
I ran into the kitchen and grabbed my biggest, thickest butcher knife, certain that a ten-inch blade would get their attention, since talking to them was like talking to a brick wall. I was minutes away from becoming the city’s top news story, and I could almost hear the reporter: “This just in! Live, from downtown Detroit, Channel 5’s own Kai Lewis has stabbed her sister, exotic dancer, LaNaya Lewis and her lover, Pistons point guard, Deandre Grant, in a jealous rage. Kai, a very talented and usually very professional journalist, was arrested for the heinous crime and is currently in police custody. What happened here is a sobering reminder that anyone is capable of unspeakable things when it comes to matters of the heart. Please stay tuned for more developments.”
I stood behind them with the knife raised high in the air, looking like Kathy Bates in Misery. For the first time in my life, I understood the meaning of temporary insanity. In the past, I’d always thought it was just an excuse fast-talking defense attorneys made to help criminals avoid responsibility. Now, I knew it was real. I was about to ruin everything, but I was too numbed by rage to reason with myself or think rationally. Images of my future flashed in my mind: orange jumpsuits, nasty food, and horny women licking their chops for a chance to turn me out.
Still, somewhere beneath all that fury, a rational voice stopped me. I had to walk away. Deandre wasn’t worth it, and even though my sister was acting like Ho of the Year, I couldn’t hurt her and orphan my niece and nephew in the process. I dropped the knife, and the sound of the sharp blade clanging against the hardwood floor caused them to finally turn in my direction. I expected to see fear in their eyes, so I was shocked when they just smiled at me, then began chuckling like I was the opening act for The Queens of Comedy; LaNaya giggled so hard that her eyes began to water, and Deandre laughed and patted his stomach.
Suddenly, I opened my eyes and took a deep breath, thankful to be delivered from the horrible nightmare. It was just a dream…just a dream, I repeated over and over again in my mind. But it felt so real. With the back of my trembling hand, I wiped the sweat off my forehead, then glanced at the glowing red digits on my alarm clock; it was almost four o’clock in the morning. I rolled over, expecting to see Deandre there, but I only saw crumpled sheets instead.
As my head cleared, I heard laughter coming from the living room, along with the low voices of LaNaya and Deandre. It was eerie how much the moment reminded me of my dream. I pictured them on my couch, groping one another, but I tried to put the thought out of my mind and relax. I had a lifelong habit of thinking the worst about people, especially females, my sister in particular.
I tiptoed to my bedroom door. I considered pretending that I had to go to the bathroom, but I didn’t want LaNaya or Deandre to know how insecure I was. I held my breath and pressed my ear to the door to eavesdrop.
“So…that’s what you really think about me?” my sister asked.
“Look, I know my boy Rico be on some crazy shit, but what you did was wrong,” he said. “He told me all about meeting you in the club. When I saw you tonight, I knew right away that you were Candy Apple.”
“Hmm. Did my ass give me away?”
He laughed. “I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“You broke Rico’s heart, ya know. He even shed a tear for you.”
“What? He thought I was gonna hop in his limo just ‘cause he gets paid to shoot a basketball? Please! What would I look like goin’ home with his cheap ass? He was barely makin’ it drizzle with them one-dollar bills he was throwing at me. I’m glad he got traded to San Antonio.”
“Don’t be so hard on him. Pretty-boys like Rico ain’t used to being turned down.”
“I ain’t trippin’ off of that Shemar Moore-lookin’ motherfucka. If a man’s gonna step to me, he best bring his A-game. I’m talking Crystal, not Coors.”
He laughed. “Damn, girl. Rico only offered to buy you a beer? Well, one thing about him, he don’t ever pay a penny more than he has to. When we were on the road, he didn’t even eat at the steakhouses with the rest of the team.”
“Why not?”
“He was always over at Subway, gettin’ those five-dollar foot-longs.”
“Well, my mama taught me you can be pennywise and pound foolish.”
“What’s that mean?”
“It means some things are worth payin’ for,” LaNaya said. “When Rico saw a dime like me, he shoulda realized that right away. But forget him anyway. I’m done with ballers.”
“Not all of us are bad.”
“And let me guess. You’re one of the good ones?”
“One of the best ones.”
“In my line of work, I’ve gotta be able to scope a nigga out quickly, or else I don’t get paid. First, I check out the body language. If he’s leaning back in his chair, just chillin’, he’s trying to look like he ain’t stressed. That means he’s probably got a lot on his mind. If he makes eye contact and smiles—like you’re doing right now—it means he’s full of shit.”
Deandre laughed. “Hold up. I thought eye contact was a good thing.”
“That depends.”
“My daddy taught me to always look people in the eye, and he told me not to trust anybody who won’t do the same.”
“Well, maybe, but that still don’t explain that big-ass grin on your face.”
“Well, I can’t help it. I’ve got a lot to be happy about,” he said, then whispered something so low I couldn’t hear it.
CHAPTER 4
I leaned against my bedroom door, listening to LaNaya and Deandre talk in the living room. Nosing in on people’s conversations really wasn’t my style, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to hear what my lover had to say to my stripper/video vixen/newly single sister. Suddenly, though, I had to sneeze. I didn’t want them to know I was awake, so I held my index finger under my nose and took a deep breath. Controlling my bodily functions proved easier than revealing my insecurities as the sensation to sneeze subsided.
“I’m really glad I met you tonight,” Deandre said.
“Oh yeah?”
“I didn’t even know if Kai was feelin’ me like that. I can’t believe she told you about me.”
“Yeah, that’s my sister for ya. Kai’s pretty low key when it comes to her love life. She kicked it with this one dude for two years before she ever mentioned him. She’s secretive with her shit.”
“Do you think it’s too soon to tell her?”
“She probably already knows.”
“After I broke up with my baby-mama, I didn’t think I’d—”
“Hold up. How many kids you got?”
“Damn, what you gon’ ask me like that for? I only got one, all right? My son Corey will be seven next month. That little dude is my whole world,” he explained.
Deandre’s child was no secret to me. He’d already shown me a gallery of pictures of the cute, brown-eyed boy on his iPhone and his iPad.
“My bad, but some of y’all ballers have a dozen in every state.”
“Not this baller. I believe in strapping up. I don’t need no Maury Show drama in my life.”
I also knew that to be true; whenever Deandre was with me, he always pulled out a Magnum.
“Good. That’s smart, ‘cause I know a lotta girls who’d love to get knocked up by a baller.”
“You one of ‘em?” Deandre asked.
“Nah, you see how I roll. I believe in making my own money, just like Kai. We just have…different ways of going about it.”
He laughed.
“But I see why you like my sister so much. She really has her shit together.”
“Being in the league, I meet all kinds of women, but even back in high school, the girls treated me like I was some kinda god, just ‘cause of my moves on the court. It really fucked with my head. Then I met Kai. She’s different, and she don’t trip off my NBA lifestyle. I love that about her.”
“Be careful with the l-word. That’ll scare her off,” she warned.
My sister knew me well, because that was very true. I would have rather bungee-jumped off the Mackinac Bridge than experience the out-of-control emotion of love again. Heartbreak had made me into such a cliché: I didn’t eat, didn’t sleep, and I soaked hundreds of little white tissues with my mascara-stained tears. My depression deepened whenever I heard Toni Braxton crooning “Another Sad Love Song” on the radio. Worst of all, I almost lost my dream job! There was no way in hell I was going to risk putting myself through that again.
“I don’t buy it. Every woman wants to be loved.”
“Did your father teach you that too?”
“No doubt. My old man had a way with the ladies, but he used to tell me, ‘Son, don’t play no games when the right one comes along.’”
LaNaya laughed. “I’m happy for my little sister. Clearly, Kai’s got herself a good man.”
“I’m glad you feel that way, because I’m ready to make it official with her.”
“Do you plan to turn my sister into a wifey and give me some nieces and nephews, the whole nine?”
“I can’t rule that out.”
“Well, Kai is thirty-two, and she’s never even been engaged. Good luck trying to putting a ring on it,” she said.
At that point, I wanted to choke my sister for running her mouth too damn much, one of her many bad habits. How dare she tell him that? I didn’t want Deandre to know that no man had ever proposed to me before; it made me seem like a picked-over piece of fruit.
“Maybe none of them other dudes measured up, but I think I got what it takes,” he said.
“I know what you got. You got it bad.”
“At first, Kai was just another pretty face, but the next thing I knew, I was thinkin’ ‘bout her all the time.”
“You got it… You got it bad…” LaNaya sang, sounding nothing at all like Usher. She paused for a moment, looked at him seriously, and said, “Real talk, Deandre, you seem like a good dude.”
“Why’s that?”
“‘Cause you didn’t try to fuck me.”
“That would be some grimy shit. I wouldn’t do nothing to hurt Kai.”
“When I first saw you…I’m not gonna lie, I thought you were like the other ballers I know, on a mission to smash as many chicks as possible. I’m glad to see you’re different. Kai deserves a good man.”
“And I’m gonna be that.”
“She’s a good woman, and I’m not just sayin’ that ‘cause she’s my sister. She’s been through a lot with men. I hear you talking all this shit about love, and it sounds real good, but talk is cheaper than Rico.”
“I promise you it ain’t just talk, but I’ll let my actions speak for me.”
“True dat.”
“I’d better get back in bed with Miss Kai. Goodnight.”
“Do me a favor. Don’t tell Rico you ran into me.”
Deandre chuckled. “No problem.”
“Take care.”
I heard Deandre’s footsteps approaching my bedroom door. As I hurried toward the bed, I stubbed my toe on the corner of the wooden frame. I wanted to scream out like a woman in labor, but I pressed my lips together tightly instead and slowly climbed back into my king-sized bed. My left pinky toe felt like somebody had banged it with a sledgehammer, and my eyes watered from the pain. I turned my head toward the window so Deandre wouldn’t see my frowned-up expression when he opened the door.
A few seconds later, Deandre walked inside and lay down next to me. He pressed his body up against mine in a spooning position and gently stroked my neck and shoulders. The sensation of his touch almost made me forget about my throbbing toe. He held me closer, kissed my cheek, and whispered, “I got big plans for us, Reese’s. You’ll see.”
I smiled through my tears at the realization that Deandre was falling in love with me. Even though I’d built concrete walls around my heart and told myself over and over again that he was just a booty call, what we shared went deeper than that. If it had only been about sex, I wouldn’t have dated him exclusively for four months, and I definitely wouldn’t have been so intimidated by LaNaya’s visit. I was relieved that he didn’t try anything with her. It felt so good to know Deandre was all mine.
* * *
In the morning, there was no sign of LaNaya, but I was happy to see a neatly folded bed sheet on the couch cushion and a note that read, “Thanks, sis!” with a cute little smiley face scribbled at the bottom.
Deandre walked up behind me. “I’m hungry, Kai,” he said.
“I could make some pancakes if you want.”
“You’re my breakfast, Reese’s.” With that, Deandre turned me around and slid his hand up my negligee. He caressed my stomach and thighs, then slowly worked his finger inside of my warm folds.
I quivered from the sensation as his touch made me wetter and wetter.
Suddenly, he dropped to his knees, and I couldn’t help but scream out when his tongue made contact with my clit. He kept licking as I climaxed, causing me to holler until I was hoarse.
It felt so incredible that I was tempted to yell, “I love you!” Instead, I smiled down and said, “It’s your turn, sexy.”
I was eager to return the favor, even though I didn’t go down on every guy I slept with. Some men couldn’t be trusted, some didn’t deserve it, and some had a tendency to get too obsessive afterward. If I did decide to kiss a man below the belt, I made it count. Superhead had nothing on me!
My pussy was still soaking wet and throbbing from Deandre’s gifted mouth. He sat on the couch, and I pulled his boxers down. His huge, brown dick glistened in the morning sunlight. I flicked my tongue over the tip of his mushroom and slowly inserted him into my mouth.
He moaned as I sucked harder and faster. He bit his bottom lip, and his legs began to tremble a little. “Damn, Reese’s. Come ride it,” he begged.
Seconds later, I was sliding a condom on him. I climbed on top and straddled him with my long legs. I slowly brought my pussy down on his hard dick and rotated my hips.
Deandre grabbed my breasts and licked my nipples. He looked up at me, locked hi
s gorgeous eyes on mine, and said, “It’s got your name all over it.”
At the sound of his voice and the feel of him thundering between my thighs, I came so intensely that my body felt weak.
After a few more strokes, Deandre muttered, “Shit, baby, I’m about to cum too.” He held my body closer as he grunted, repeating my nickname over and over again, “Reese’s, Reese’s, Reese’s…”
A few moments later, our movements slowed, and we collapsed into each other, nearly out of breath. The aroma of our lovemaking filled the air. We smiled at each other while sharing a glass of ice water.
“You amaze me,” Deandre said, then took a long sip.
“Well, you’re not so bad yourself.”
“You know, you’re the first woman I’ve really connected with since I broke up with my baby-mama.”
“Really?” I said, trying to act surprised and pretend I hadn’t heard him say the exact same thing to LaNaya.
“I guess…well, I wanted to ask you, uh…”
“Go ahead. Speak your mind.”
“I think we should…make it official,” he said slowly, cautiously.
I grinned. “Are you asking me to be your woman, Deandre?”
He nodded.
I was both excited and afraid. The safest thing would have been to tell him no, but it was absolutely impossible to turn him down with that handsome face of his.
He sensed my hesitation and took my hand. “I’ll do whatever I can to make you happy and keep you that way. So…what’s it gonna be?”
“Hmm. Well, I’d say my answer begins with the letter Y.”
“That’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout!” He smiled and kissed me.
So, just like that, we made it official, and I had something I hadn’t had in years: a boyfriend!
CHAPTER 5
“Here you go, Ms. Lewis,” Madison said with a smile as she handed me a large Styrofoam cup filled with cappuccino. Madison was a petite girl with honey-brown skin; short, spiky hair; and a mouthful of silver braces. Her hazel eyes blinked at me from behind her wireframe glasses. I wasn’t sure exactly how old she was, but I doubted she could get into a club without a fake ID. As an intern for Channel 5, she was very eager, but she was also a little awkward. I couldn’t blame the girl; I remembered what it was like, because twelve years earlier, I’d been in her shoes.