“It’s only right, Netta,” he replied. “You deserve nuttin’ but the best. Especially after all you’ve been through.”
The fact that he put his own personal enjoyment behind hers wasn’t lost on Netta.
“Keep it up Tone, and I’ma fall head over heals in love with you and you not gonna be able to get rid of me, yo,” Netta assured him, turning to give him a hug and kiss.
“Well, I’ma hold you to that,” he promised. Their first day at sea was pretty much non eventful. They ate and then wandered around the ship, trying to get a full account of all the entertainment and activities they would get involved with in the upcoming days. At Netta’s suggestion, they went back to their suite and sat out on the balcony, watching the sunset. Netta kept her gaze riveted on the horizon as the sun slowly set. The view was awe-inspiring. They had witnessed one of the wonders of nature. The thought wasn’t lost on either of them.
Soon after they headed back to the deck, sitting poolside. They dangled their feet in the pool and watched the ripple effects they created. Tone downed a few alcoholic mixed drinks while Netta drank seltzer water. Her physician’s advice stayed in her head, warning her to shun alcohol. They talked a lot about everything and at times they talked about nothing at all. The care and concern that they expressed for each other was impressive. However, the most important thing they did was spend time together.
Tone and Netta walked back to their suite, hand in hand, high off life. They entered the suite like two giggling kids. Netta liked the fact that he hadn’t asked or pressured her into having sex, despite the fact that they had shared the same bed for the first time the night before. The fact that he had been a gentleman, that he respected her boundaries when he could have easily been a savage, made her want him even more.
“Let’s take a shower,” Netta suddenly suggested, leading Tone to the bedroom area. She immediately disrobed and wrapped her braids in a scarf before placing a shower cap on her head. The time was now; there was no place for shoulda, coulda or woulda. Netta was going to let it all hang out tonight and give herself to him. All the effort and the control she had expended to keep from appearing easy to Tone was gone now.
By the time she did all of that, Tone had already hopped in the shower and began bathing himself. He stood underneath the water, the remnants of soapsuds remaining still high around his neck and ears. Netta admired Tone’s lean and muscular body through the steamed up glass partition of the shower.
She entered the shower and slid up right behind him. Before things got heated, Netta picked up a washcloth and some body wash and began washing up. Once she lathered up, she and Tone swapped positions in the tiny shower. Netta lathered and rinsed numerous times, until she felt fresh.
There they were, body to body in the shower as the water splashed down around them. Tone ran his tongue across her earlobe, down the nape of her neck all the way to the small of her back. Netta moaned softly in appreciation.
When Netta spun around he kissed her passionately before reaching his arms around her and grabbing two hands full of her ass. Aggressively, Tone began feeling her up. Meanwhile, Netta reached down and took hold of his penis. Gently, she stroked it until his manhood came to life. Feeling his rock hard penis in her hand, Netta dropped to her knees and began giving him head. Slowly, her head bobbed back and forth as she amazingly took the whole of Tone into her mouth. From time to time she’d stop to spit on his penis, as if the water from the shower wasn’t lubricating it enough. Tone leaned back on the wall, eyes closed as he received his sexual pleasure.
However, there was only so much they could do in the shower. Netta got off her knees, reached behind her, and turned off the water. Their bodies were still wet as they made their way to the queen size bed. None of that seemed to matter when they landed on the bed, and Tone’s mouth found her nipples and began hungrily devouring them. Soon he worked his way down to her navel, and then to her private area as he returned the oral favor that Netta had given him earlier.
Netta moaned loudly as she spread she legs wide so Tone could have full access to her vagina. His mouth continued to work its magic. He alternated between feverishly licking and gently rubbing her clit. The end result was it drove Netta wild. She buried his face in her private area and then clamped her legs tightly around his head. Tone continued to stimulate Netta’s clitoris with his tongue until she was on the verge of climaxing.
“Aaaaaahhhhhh!!!” she screamed as her entire body stiffened while letting loose her creaminess all over his face.
“You okay?” Tone joked, coming up for air.
“Oh, that was so good. You did ya thing, yo,” Netta said in a low husky voice. “God Damn.”
Tone smiled, knowing he wasn’t done yet. He had more in store. Quickly, he mounted Netta in the missionary position. He looked in her eyes while kissing her deeply, using his free hand to guide his manhood inside her. Methodically, Tone began to stroke Netta, going side to side, hitting her walls. He wasn’t in a rush. He wanted Netta to remember this. He wanted her to remember whom she got the good dick from.
Netta watched his penis disappear into her vagina over and over again. But what really turned her on was how Tone kept whispering how bad he wanted her. A few moans escaped Netta’s lips while she was being pleased by his slow, deliberate strokes. At the end of each stroke, Netta would clench her pussy around the shaft of his dick. The foreign sensation took him by surprise, as he looked her passionately in the eyes and smiled.
Tone was making a conscious effort to please Netta. He knew he was hitting the right spot when he saw her begin to vigorously rub her clit with her fingers.
“Fuck me harder!” Netta cried out softly.
It was instinct that made Tone drive his manhood harder and deeper inside her. They both made ugly fuck faces as they had worked each other into a sexual frenzy. A thin layer of sweat glistened on their bodies as the room got hotter and hotter. It was a very intense situation that seemed to go on and on.
Netta began to shake violently as she climaxed, simultaneously Tone began to cum too. A strong surge of sperm raced from his scrotum to the head of his dick, exploding inside of her. He remained in that position until every drop of semen drained from his body. Netta gladly accepted it all.
In many ways Netta realized that she was making love to the man of her dreams. In this picturesque setting, she couldn’t imagine it being any better. Now that she knew what it felt like to have sex with Tone, it was a feeling that she wanted to repeat over and over again.
That night, Tone and Netta made love time and time again, all over the suite, from the bed to the couch to the balcony, they both experienced multiple orgasms. They had given each other a sexual experience that they wouldn’t soon forget. When they were done, they crashed in each other’s arms on the bed, as the warm sea breeze cooled their hot, sweaty bodies.
The couple made the most of their makeshift vacation, taking land excursions of the Caribbean islands, exploring different villages, cultures and towns. Netta admired the laid back feel of it all as she wondered what it was like to live there. They went sightseeing by Jeep, venturing into dense tropical jungles to see wildlife they had only seen on television. The experience opened up a whole new world, for not only Netta, but for Tone too. They dined on different dishes, awakening new taste buds. They smelled new scents and felt the warm Caribbean sun against their skin.
On the trip everything felt better. The air was cleaner, the sun was warmer and the fruit was sweeter. Even when the rain clouds formed it seemed it was only a sun shower that only lasted for a few minutes. Never long enough to spoil their fun or dampen their mood. Netta’s anxieties died down, as it appeared that the world had gotten bigger and her problems had gotten smaller.
One day during their five day cruise, as they walked the white sand beaches and waded in the crystal clear, emerald green waters, Netta looked at Tone and realized she loved him. She fell in love with him because he was unlike any of the other hustlers she had met in the s
treets. Tone could think for himself. He actually had an exit plan, a monetary goal in mind, to get out the drug game and open his own business. He was smarter than she thought and more complex than he initially seemed.
Sexually, Tone really put it on her and vice versa. Netta thought that if she could have created the perfect lover, then it would have been him. He fit so perfectly inside her it felt like a hand in a glove when they made love. It was impossible for her not to fall in love with him, especially after the sex.
It was as if they were destined to be with each other.
Being in love with Tone slowly changed her outlook on life; she had to eliminate that gold digger mindset. At times she even refused some of the most expensive gifts Tone offered to buy her. Netta wanted him to understand she wanted him for him, not for the material items that he could give her.
“Promise me you won’t.....” Her voice trailed off.
“Won’t what?” he asked, confused.
Netta continued, “.... You won’t ever leave me.”
“I won’t. I promise,” Tone said intensely.
Netta felt a connection with Tone unlike anything she had ever felt with a man in her life. She reached over and tongue kissed him deeply. After she was done, she affectionately stroked his chin while looking deeply into his eyes. She saw strength in them, enough for both of them.
“You ain’t gotta worry about Black no more. I’ll take care of that if I have to,” Tone announced suddenly, as if he could read her mind. “Netta, I’ll kill or die for you. But either way, I hope this nigga don’t make me prove it.”
Tone’s words seemed so final. He wanted Netta to know he was prepared to take this situation wherever it had to go. His words resonated with her. Tone wasn’t bragging or trying to sound tough. He was just letting her know where he stood in case she ever wondered.
Netta didn’t want to lose him, especially to a situation not of his making. She had his back just as much as he had hers.
“I love you, Tone,” Netta found herself saying.
“Love you too, Ma,” Tone replied. Whether he said it or not, the feeling was mutual.
Initially, Netta wanted Tone because Black frightened her. She wanted him because he made her feel safe. Now, she wanted him for a whole different reason, she had fallen in love with him.
The last few days of the vacation were the happiest of Netta’s life. Although she had been through so much drama with Black and her medical condition wasn’t the best, none of that seemed to matter. It was as if she and Tone made their very own footprints in the sands of time, on a tropical island where nothing could touch them. They had bonded and fallen in love on a spur-of-the-moment vacation.
The couple’s relationship was growing closer by the day. They had spent a great deal of time talking about the past, the present, and the future. Particularly the future.
“.....I wanna have a baby some day soon,” Netta confessed. “But I don’t wanna raise my kid in Baltimore.”
“We ain’t got to,” Tone assured her. “Just let me get a couple more dollars and we out.....”
Netta would recall that conversation, over and over again, as she pondered the realization of actually leaving Baltimore. The city wasn’t the end all be all. Though it had been to her for quite sometime now. From this point on, Netta planned on looking at life in the grand scheme of things and which direction her life was headed.
16
Soon as the couple arrived back in Baltimore from the cruise, Tone’s first order of business was to get Netta settled into their new one-bedroom apartment that they would be sharing in Owing Mills, a small suburb just outside of Baltimore City. Tone carried the luggage inside the first floor apartment and promptly sat them down in the hallway. He then began showing Netta around.
“This is the bathroom,” he commented. “It’s kinda small, but it’ll do since we won’t be livin’ here long.”
It was hard to read Netta’s body language. She was so quiet that Tone thought something was wrong. For some crazy reason he was expecting her to shoot down the whole idea of moving in.
“Something wrong?” he asked, while Netta looked nonchalant. “You don’t like the apartment?”
“No, of course not,” Netta responded, looking around the small apartment. “I’m grateful that you thought so much of me to find an apartment for us.”
Netta was deeply moved. Today marked a turning point in her life. Tone getting this apartment for her meant the world to Netta.
Good, he thought. Tone needed to know that his efforts weren’t in vain. The apartment was a last minute thing so he had to settle for what was available.
Looking around the apartment, Netta could tell that everything in it was brand new. Everything from the pots, towels, linen, television, the bedroom set to the brown leather three-piece couch. Netta could literally smell the newness in the apartment. She took a seat on the couch and laid back, imaging her and Tone spending a lot of time together there.
There was no doubt in her mind she was happy to escape her old home. The mere fact that no one knew where she lived was a plus. After everything that she had been through, Netta felt like she needed a safe haven and this was it.
“Gimme a second. I got somethin’ for you,” Tone suddenly announced before disappearing into the bedroom.
When Tone reappeared standing at the entrance of the living room empty-handed, Netta was puzzled.
“Well, where’s it at?” she wondered.
“Hold ya horses,” Tone said while extending his hand to help her off the couch.
Netta grabbed hold of his hand and he pulled her to her feet. Then Tone reached in his back pocket and produced a small black stainless steel gun.
“Here, this for you,” he announced. “I want you to feel safe when I’m not here.”
Netta took the gun in her hand and carefully looked it over. There was a feeling of calmness that the firearm evoked in her. She liked the idea of having the gun around. Suddenly she didn’t feel so defenseless.
“You know how to use it?” Tone asked, interrupting her thoughts.
“Yeah, this ain’t the first time I had a gun in my possession. Trust me, I know how they work,” she assured him.
“Aiight, home girl, I was just checkin’,” he replied. “There’s eight shots in there. Not enough to go to war, but enough to get a nigga up off you.”
Netta continued to admire the gun, tinkering with the trigger safety. Every muscle in her body tensed up as she imagined all the damage she could do. She thought from this point on, she wouldn’t have to worry about a thing.
“This was a nice surprise,” Netta admitted.
“I thought you’d like it,” Tone replied. “Now put that away, you scarin’ me wit’ that gun.”
Netta cut her eyes playfully in his direction. “Stop playin’ yo. I would never hurt you.”
“I know, I’m just jokin’,” he told her. “I’ma leave you here to straighten up the place. I gotta go handle some business. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Okay. Tone, be safe out there,” Netta told him. “Love you.”
“I will,” he assured her as he exited the house.
For the next few hours Netta busied herself around the house cleaning, unpacking and settling in, trying not to think, trying to keep her mind off what was really bothering her. In this case, it was Black. She had a bad feeling that things between them were going to come to a head very soon. She didn’t know how or when. Still, it’s what she believed.
While Tone was in the streets taking care of business, Netta’s thoughts were on him the whole time. Her most pressing thought was when would he be back? She didn’t like being home alone. She felt more comfortable with him there. Every little sound that the home or the surrounding apartment made put Netta on edge.
Netta was afraid to be alone in the house, gun or no gun. The hours that Tone spent hustling drugs in the streets felt like a punishment of some kind. Although she never expressed the fact that she was
afraid of being alone in the apartment, Netta was very afraid. Afraid that Black would return and finish the job. Whether that thought was just plain paranoia or not, it took hold of her psyche just the same. Her thoughts were that of a person who was terrified of being killed or physically hurt again.
She couldn’t just go on with her life in Baltimore like she hadn’t been damaged by what Black had done to her. As if her life hadn’t been altered by the vicious beating he had administered. Netta knew better, only time and distance would cure what ills.
As night fell, Tone put his plan to kill Black in motion. He never told Netta of his intentions, this involved only he and his cousin Mann, acting as the get-away driver. Baltimore City was small, if one didn’t know where a particular drug dealer sold drugs, it wasn’t hard to find out. As soon as word of Black’s new shop reached Tone’s ears, he reacted swiftly.
Tone promised himself the next time he got into an altercation with anyone in Baltimore, he would be the aggressor.
Tone believed if Netta was to have a prayer of surviving Black, of living her life without fear, without constantly looking over her shoulder, he needed to end things now. He had made up his mind on the cruise that when he got back to Baltimore, he was going to launch a surprise attack on Black. This was a risky strategy for Tone. He was counting on the element of surprise to help him emerge victorious.
If he hurts her, he hurts me. And I can’t let that happen, Tone thought. What kind of man would I be if I couldn’t protect my girl?
Tone had kept his intentions secret from everyone. Whatever information he shared was on a need to know basis. Netta wasn’t involved so she didn’t need to know. Tone was doing this on her behalf, so with that in mind, he would rather beg her for forgiveness than ask her for permission. He would endure all the rain just so Netta could bask in the sunshine. If that meant risking his life or his liberty to protect her, then so be it. One of Tone’s greatest pleasures in life was protecting the people that he loved. As long as he was around, Tone swore no harm would come to Netta.
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