by Tiana Laveen
“Is everything okay?” she asked after a while.
“Wild is dead.”
Then just like that, he got off the hammock and stormed into the house, slamming the patio door behind him.
Majesty took a deep breath, rubbed Sarge’s head one last time, and went inside the packed house with a forced smile stamped on her face. She searched for Viper, but he was nowhere to be found.
Upstairs. I bet that’s where he went.
She made her way up the steps, then knocked on his bedroom door.
“Who is it?” Viper barked.
“Me.”
After a few seconds of silence, the door swung open. She walked in, and he locked it behind her. The man was pacing back and forth, looking down at his phone every now and again. Preoccupied. Angry. Hurt.
“If I remember this correctly, Wild was your friend, right? He’d gotten locked up recently. You told me he’d been a lookout, but the police had set him up. Same guy, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m sorry for your loss, Viper.” She approached him and wrapped her arms around him. He was so stiff. Icy. Distant.
He avoided eye contact.
“Do you know how it happened?”
“It was planned. Our own killed our own. You can’t have a better friend than a Latin King. You can’t have a worse enemy than a Latin King… I asked Jag not to do this. I told him not to do this shit!” He closed his eyes, shook his head, and then, as if a light switch had been flicked, he opened his eyes, and all she saw was death in his face. Emotionlessness. Aloofness. “I don’t want to talk about it.” Shaking loose from her grip, he hurried into the bathroom, leaving her standing there, alone. Majesty fought the urge to bang on the bathroom door and make the man talk.
He just needs some time…
She got ready to leave the bedroom and head back downstairs, then paused. Something stopped her from walking away. Walking to the bathroom door, she placed her hand against it. She stood silent for a spell, then cleared her throat.
“Viper… you don’t need to respond. Just listen. I know how you feel. I’ve lost so many people I’ve cared about over the years, and it never gets easier. Some people, I haven’t lost physically, but emotionally. For example, my father. He’s here, but I don’t fuck with him like that. Back to the point, though. I know it hurts. Losing a friend… Honestly, that’s another reason why I moved away. I just didn’t tell anyone that. Too many bad memories.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “I know you don’t want to be upset in front of me, or anyone for that matter. It’s just not your style. But it’s okay to be sad about it, to even feel a sense of responsibility. You told me that you can’t leave your brothers. You told me, once a Latin King, always a Latin King, but you’ve grown over the years, and there are some things that just don’t entice or excite you anymore. Nevertheless, your heart is with them, and that’s all right. Viper, you can’t save everyone, but I applaud you for trying.”
The door slowly opened, and he stood there, staring down at her. He crossed his arms, pissed off at the world. She reached up and stroked the man’s cheek, feeling the rough stubble. His hazel eyes were hooded, as if he were fighting something. Trying to shut her out from seeing just how dark he could go. Something so disconcerting, he wouldn’t even show it to himself.
He sucked his teeth, then lowered his gaze to the floor.
“Baby, talk to me. It’s just me and you here, Dominic.” She tugged at his elbow, making one of his arms drop, then took his big hand into hers.
“Something else went down.”
“What?”
“Something happened. Something unrelated to Wild. There was a plan to get some money. Now, I’m waiting to see if my cousin, King Sting, is dead.”
Two horrible announcements all within one day. God, Viper…
“Oh shit. I’m sorry… Hopefully you’ll hear something soon. This is a lot to deal with.”
He shrugged. “I’m a gangbanger, baby. Doesn’t matter if I’m on active duty or not. This is our life. It’s what happens.”
“Why do you think your cousin might be dead, Viper? Maybe he just—”
“I found out that a plan they had backfired big time. They got ambushed. That’s all I can say. I don’t want you to know more about this than you already do. Come on. Let’s go back to the party.”
He maneuvered around her, then made his way out. They went down the steps together.
Viper put on an award-winning smile and began to chop it up with his friends. It was all a show, or perhaps it wasn’t. Maybe he was able to morph like that, shed the skin of pain and appear brand new because he’d had a lifetime of practice. Luis Fonsi’s, ‘Despacito,’ featuring Daddy Yankee, was playing as they both re-entered the living room, which was alive with dancing and chatter, the place now even more crowded than before. She spent the rest of the evening dancing her head off with Viper’s female friends. One of them, Aymee, had been especially nice to her, but authentically so.
Aymee had straight, shoulder length, dark brown hair, slanted green eyes with thick lashes, and skin the color of vanilla wafers. She was short, no more than five-one, sassy, and just as pretty as she wanted to be. Aymee’s nickname was Queen Tarot, and she had a tattoo of a spiderweb on the side of her face.
“Now you’ve got it, Majesty! Come on, girl! Work those hips!” she encouraged, showing her how to dance the Rumba.
The women in the room were beautiful, even with their overdone black eyeliner. They were all different heights, weight, and shapes. Full of life, feisty, and their stunning smiles lit up the room. One wouldn’t even guess by a mere glance that they were gang affiliated if it weren’t for their tattoos. This was one of those times when Majesty had to go inward and reevaluate her own stereotypes about people. It was hard not to. She used to even be annoyed, when she was younger, at illegals supposedly taking jobs from Americans, and didn’t understand until she got older that many Americans she knew didn’t want those damn jobs anyway. It was hard labor and didn’t pay enough, but to someone coming over to the country trying to escape true atrocities, those jobs were nothing short of a blessing.
But gangbanging was different. She was fully aware of what these people did behind closed doors when others were not looking. They did unspeakable things to make money, honor their LK colors, and take care of their families. Regardless, not every book matched its cover, and not everyone could be put in a box. Not agreeing with someone’s choices didn’t mean that they were a bad person, or predictable. In fact, some of these women were married or gainfully employed.
Some had attended college, and some had graduated. Some of them just focused on their families, or enjoyed their singlehood, but one thing was certain: they were still a tough bunch of ladies who didn’t give two shits about who didn’t approve of them. They were strapped just like the Kings, and she’d overheard enough conversations throughout the evening to prove they’d curse someone out just as badly as their male counterpart, too. Majesty didn’t feel in danger, threatened, or alienated, regardless. There was no racial tension, and in fact, they kept drawing her in, asking if she needed anything or if she wanted to play dominoes. A couple of the ladies even asked for her number so they could all go out together sometime. Despite being aware they were trying to walk the straight and narrow for Viper, she could sense that if they weren’t digging her, none of that would’ve happened. They’d be cordial, but not go out of their way to be so friendly.
She made her way into the kitchen where Marie was sitting at the island, checking her social media. A few Kings and Queens were in there, too, talking and enjoying themselves.
“Hello, Majesty. Are you hungry?” The woman greeted her with a big, beautiful smile. Her Latin dialect wrapped around the syllables like a shawl.
“Marie, if I eat one more thing from you, my stomach is going to explode. You know you are wrong for cookin’ all of this tasty food.” The woman’s face turned red, but she was undeniably pleased with the complimen
t. “I won’t be able to fit into my clothes after tonight and I have the nerve to contemplate packing up a to-go plate. Well, there’s no contemplating it: I am. Viper needs to ask you to move in so you can do this all the time.”
The woman burst out laughing and slapped the table.
“You liked it, huh? Good! I’m so glad I got a chance to finally meet you. Viper has told me so much about you.” Their eyes locked. Then, silence. “Sit down, sit down!” The older woman pointed at a chair across from her. Majesty grabbed a bottle of iced water and sat down. “You’re so pretty! Qué mujer tan bonita.”
“Thank you. So are you.”
Marie stroked her own arm, her dark eyes full of life, love, and pain.
“You’ve got a great man, Majesty.”
“I think so, too.”
“I’m serious.” The woman’s expression turned grave. “He’s rare. Hard worker. So, so smart. I knew when he told me he had a new novia, that he was in love. Viper isn’t exactly the type to talk about his love life.”
A new novia. I know that word. It means ‘girlfriend’…
The woman clasped her hands and offered a careful smile. “He brought it up to me… discussed you with me.” The woman seemed to look through her, as if dissecting her. It was a bit unnerving, but there was something so motherly about Marie that it didn’t ruffle Majesty too badly.
“So, what was said exactly in these discussions?”
“Oh, the usual… What you looked like, how you two met. What you do for a living. That you had a son.” Majesty nodded in understanding. “Viper likes children. He said your son is bright.”
“He is very smart. And a smart ass, too!”
They both burst out laughing, then Marie drew serious again.
“Majesty, Viper loves you. Do you know that? He loves you very much.”
“Yeah, I know. I love him, too.”
“We’re protective of him. We’re family and he’s like another son to me. He’s been good to me. Generous. Helpful. He scares people, not always intentionally, but inside, he’s loving. He has a big heart. Only the people he trusts get to see that, though.”
“I agree with you completely.” Majesty broke the seal of her water and took a big gulp.
“¿Puedo ofrecerte un consejo?”
“I’m sorry, my Spanish is limited, Marie.”
“Oh, okay. I said, I’d like to give you some advice, if that’s okay?”
“Of course.”
“Accept him for who he is.” The woman’s eyes grew darker. “He’s a King. He will always be a King. It’s not a word or title; it’s what is in his heart. He was born this way. If you don’t accept him for the man that he is, you will hurt him deeply. When men like Viper get hurt in love, they move on as if nothing has happened, but inside, they are never the same. He trusts you. That’s a big deal. He trusts very few…” The woman’s gaze bore into her. “If you take my advice, you two will be just fine. He will give you the world on a platter. He’s come a long way. Now, he’s ready.” The woman sighed, stood and walked around the island to her. After patting Majesty’s hand, she walked out of the kitchen.
Majesty sat there for a while, mulling Marie’s words.
Later in the evening, the house began to clear out. People said their goodbyes, kissing and hugging, some holding to-go plates of delicious Cuban food. The Queens kissed and hugged her on the way out, and the Kings were ever so cordial. Polite gangsters… Wow. She chuckled on the inside.
Majesty, Viper, and a few others cleaned up the house, and then, at last, it was just the two of them.
Viper turned off the music, poured himself some tequila, then plopped down on the big living room couch. Turning on his remote-controlled fireplace, he rested his head on the sofa, looking every bit exhausted. Majesty sat beside him.
“I hate to tell you this, but we haven’t cleaned up the backyard yet.”
“Awww, fuck!”
She burst out laughing, then got back up and left out the patio door. It was so quiet and particularly light that evening with the moon and stars shining bright. She began to clear some of the backyard tables of empty cups, used napkins, and so forth. She wasn’t out there for more than a couple of minutes before Viper joined her, a trash bag in hand. They steadily got the job done, working as a team.
“Thank you for helping with this. You were my guest, though, like I told you. Go back inside and relax,” he said.
“No, I’ve been relaxing all night already. Your friends were waiting on me hand and foot.” She chuckled, then looked at her watch. It was three in the morning.
After a few more minutes, they had everything put away.
“All right. We did it!” she squealed. “Since I’m spending the night, I figure we can go inside and—”
“You ever fucked on a hammock?” He didn’t wait for an answer. Viper was suddenly undressing, tossing his clothing down on the grass.
“You bet not get naked out here! What if someone sees you?!”
He laughed lazily, then crawled onto the hammock, clutching his shirt. Draping it over his big, erect dick, he waved her over.
“Come here, sexy.”
She went over and tugged at his arm.
“Come on, get your ass off there. You must be drunk.”
“I’m not drunk.” He reached for her and caressed her face. “Ride me, baby. I want some of that good cha-cha.”
She abhorred how her pussy palpitated at his words.
“I’m not fucking you outside, Dominic.”
“Get on this dick and ride it.” He yanked her to him, making her scream so loud, he quickly covered her mouth to muffle the sound. The hammock swung wildly back and forth as he pulled her up, then steadied her against his chest. She kept squealing.
“I’m going to move my hand. If you scream again, someone might hear you and the police will be over here. If that’s not what you want, don’t do it.” They glared at one another. “Nod if you understand me.”
She nodded, then he slowly moved his big palm away from her face.
“You asshole.”
“Fine. I’m an asshole. Now, suck and fuck your man,” he said with mock-sternness.
He discarded the shirt and she gingerly scooted down his body, afraid she’d fall as the hammock rocked to and fro.
“Keep going… I’ve got you.”
She moved past his waist and came face to face with his big, juicy dick. Her heart pounded and her pussy swelled with excitement, nipples growing taut. The starlit sky twinkled above them, as if giving them its approval. He groaned when she enveloped his cock in her mouth. Sucking it with fervor, going as deep as she could go, she closed her eyes, loving the way the smooth, velvety skin felt against her tongue. Up and down she went, trying to take more and more of him in, but she went too far and ended up gagging, forced to pull back.
“Easy now… You can do it. Try again.”
Her eyes watering, she then returned to the task grabbing the base with both hands and massaging him as she delivered bottomless sucks with gusto.
“Shit, baby… Feels so fucking good. Damn, Majesty… Keep suckin’ it just like that!” He groaned.
Working her head up and down, the slurping noises from her mouth seemed to emit in stereo, along with her heartbeats. The risk of being seen or caught, as well as the way she risked falling off the hammock and the pleasure he expressed, excited her in ways she hadn’t imagined. Soon, her thighs grew sticky with moisture. He ran his fingers through her hair as he rocked his hips up and down, delivering more of himself inside her mouth.
“Mmmm! Baby… Come on!” He grabbed the base of his dick and pulled her off him. “Get on my dick.”
She removed her capris and panties, grabbed his dick, then slowly… gradually… carefully inched down. The girth spread her pussy open, and she took her time guiding herself down the monster cock. They moaned in unison when she took him all in, then started to move, her palms pressed against his chest. He wrapped his shirt around her ass
and hips to shield her body from prying eyes, giving her a sense of protection, and held onto her waist as she jostled up and down his shaft. His lips parted and a look of longing danced in his eyes that took her breath away.
When he started to move with her, it was pure magic. Her clit swelled with exhilaration; an orgasm imminent as he bumped his pelvis against her clit.
“Shit, Dominic! You feel so good inside me!”
He rocked back and forth, his teeth sinking into his lower lip as he took full control. She suppressed a scream when he pushed himself upward in rapid speed, the slapping noise of his balls beating against her sensitive flesh driving her crazy. The hammock rocked wildly, but somehow, he managed to keep them on it. It was like fucking on a rollercoaster, a precarious seesaw, and the dull pain and pleasure that radiated between her legs from the pounding of his dick was too much to take. She came hard and he quickly pulled her flat against him, squelching her euphoric screams when her mouth collided with his hard chest. He kept fucking her, never stopping, long after her orgasm had come and gone.
“Get up, get up, get up. I’m about to nut.”
She quickly lifted her body and he snatched himself out of her. White streams of cum shot from his dick, and she could see he struggled to not let go with his usual loud moans of pleasure. He threw his head back, his eyes rolling, neck veins popping, Adam’s apple bobbing, and his complexion darkening. Harsh breaths exited his mouth, and he looked positively drained. He slowly sat up, kissed her lips, then cleaned the cum from her stomach with his shirt. Helping her off the hammock, she quickly redressed. He picked up his clothing from the grass and they walked back inside, hand in hand, with the bright moonlight and stars guiding the way.
They took a shower together in calm silence, the warm water streaming down their bodies so soothing. After they rinsed the soap away, he embraced her, holding her tight and resting his chin on the top of her head. They stayed that way for a long while.
Once they’d dried off and changed into comfortable clothing, they crawled into the huge bed together. She fell almost instantly asleep against his chest.