“I ain’t his mama, but I am a MILF, and not only does he wanna fuck me, but your man would also—if you had one,” Ms. Blake shot at her ass. I had to laugh because she was vicious as all fuck, and I loved that shit. She was getting sexier and sexier to me by the minute. “I can’t stand little girls like you. I’m sure you been trying to get his attention while he waited for me. How does it feel to find out that he prefers a grown-ass woman to your teeny bopper trashy ass?”
The waitress stood there on stuck, not knowing what the hell to say to that. And if she knew what was best for her, she wouldn’t say a damn thing. Ms. Blake looked like the type that would beat ass and ask questions later. And I wouldn’t stop her, either. This bitch needed her ass kicked for trying to ruin my damn date.
“Now, what do you want to drink, baby,” Mika asked me, reaching out and taking my hand in hers. My dick jumped in my pants, and it took everything in me not to say that I wanted to drink from the fountain that was between her fuckin’ legs, but that was all that I wanted at this point. “I don’t think that’s on the menu here. But I’ll be more than happy to oblige you later,” she said with a wink like she was reading my mind.
“I want a double shot of Patrón, no ice,” I told her.
“Oh, you’re a drinker drinker, huh?” she teased me, and I nodded my head.
“That ain’t shit but water to a nigga like me,” I responded with a smirk.
“I heard that kinda shit puts hair on your chest.”
“You can check that fact later on,” I flirted with a wink. She blushed, and the waitress cleared her throat like our conversation was inconveniencing her. “Bitch, take a chill pill,” I snapped, finally tired of her shit.
“I’ll have what he’s having,” Mika said, and I swear that she had a direct line to my dick because every word that was coming out of her mouth made my shit jump.
Without a word, the waitress stomped off, and even though I wanted to shoot a cag under her ass, I fought the urge. I didn’t wanna be thought of as an abusive nigga by trippin’ that bitch on her way to get our drinks. Looking back at Ms. Blake, I could tell that she was irritated, but as soon as we locked eyes, her face relaxed.
“I don’t know if I wanna drink anything that she brings us,” she said with a nervous laugh, but there wasn’t a lie in anything that she’d just said.
“I agree. That bitch ’bout gon’ spit in our shit like Celie in The Color Purple,” I said, and I could tell that my reference to the movie was a shock to her.
“What you know about The Color Purple?” she challenged.
“You told Harpo to beat me . . .” I quoted one of the famous lines from the movie, and she laughed a deep laugh. I could tell that she hadn’t laughed in a while, and I was happy that I was the one that was giving her joy. “Don’t underestimate me, beautiful. My mama used to have me watching that damn movie with her when I was younger.”
“That’s one of my favorites,” she said, a broad smile on her face, and her eyes lighting up.
“Maybe we can watch it together, then,” I offered, and it was then that I realized that she had never let go of my hand.
“I don’t know about all that,” she said, looking around like she was trying to make sure that no one she knew was in the restaurant. When she was satisfied with her scan, she looked back at me. “This was already a stretch.”
“Yeah, speaking of . . . What made you say yes today? The last time I said something like this, you ’bout took a nigga’s head off to hang in your office as a warning to any other nigga who dared to try your fine ass.”
“Well, things change,” she said with a shrug, looking toward the floor.
“What things, Ms. Blake?” I asked, not wanting to be nosy, but wanting to know at the same time.
“Mika . . .”
“Huh?” I asked, not sure who Mika was and how she was the thing that had changed. Maybe that was the name of the woman her man was cheating on her with. If that were the case, the nigga was dumb as fuck. You didn’t step out on a bitch like her. These simple hoes I was used to dealing with, yeah. But not her. She was everything that a nigga needed. I could just tell from the couple of interactions that we’d had, and I didn’t even know her ass.
“That’s my name,” she clarified for me. “Well, my name is Tamika. But call me Mika. If you gon’ be all up in my business, then you might as well call me by my name.”
I smiled and nodded, not responding immediately. A nigga felt like he was making moves in the right direction for her to be telling me her name and letting me call her by that shit. The waitress came back with our double shots, but the look that she had on her face made me not wanna drink that shit for real. As soon as she walked off, Mika’s and my eyes met, and we both busted out laughing because neither one of us dared to put them damned glasses anywhere near our lips.
“Listen, I’m about to go to the ladies’ room. What do you say we pay for these drinks and finish this conversation somewhere else?”
“Shiiid, you ain’t gotta ask me twice,” I said, a big-ass Kool-Aid smile on my face.
She got up and went to the bathroom, and I used the little machine that was on our table to pay for the drinks. I didn’t leave that bitch a tip because she ain’t deserve one. Not a monetary tip. Not the tip of my dick against the back of her throat, which was what she wanted in the first place. I was signing the receipt, waiting for Ms. Blake—Mika—to come out of the bathroom, when I was met with the last muthafucka that I wanted to see.
“Soooo, you decided that since you can’t do right by me, you gon’ get an old bitch, huh? ’Cause she so happy to have you that she gon’ put up with anything, ain’t it, Jakeel?”
“Hey, Liza,” I greeted my sister-in-law, who was also, unfortunately, Shontelle’s best friend. Liza waved subtly, and I could tell that she hated bein’ put in the middle of this shit. She was a good girl, and I knew she was just being loyal to her friend. It was Shontelle who was in these folks’ establishment actin’ a fool.
“She the only one you see here?” Shontelle snapped with her hand on her hip.
“She the only one worth speaking to,” I responded with a shrug, praying that Mika didn’t come out while Shontelle was here cuttin’ up. I knew for sure that would be the nail in my coffin and completely blow my chances.
“So, that’s how you do me, Keel? That’s all I meant to you?” she asked, sounding like she was hurt.
“Cut the shit, Shontelle,” I said, standing up, wanting to get the fuck away from her. Leave it to her ass to make a damn scene. This was one of the reasons that I couldn’t take her no-damn-where. “You put me the fuck out. Don’t get mad ’cause I don’t wanna keep putting up with your bullshit.”
“Put up with my bullshit? Really, Jakeel? Your bitch brought your fuckin’ bastard-ass son into my shop to throw in my face that she was the one who was blessed with your child and not me. But you’re the one who put up with my bullshit?”
“What the fuck are you talkin’ about, Shontelle? You really trippin’ right now,” I said, my face all balled up, not knowing what she was talking about for real.
“Liza, play that shit back,” she said, and I had to laugh. Liza’s ass stayed recording shit. I believed her ass missed her calling. She could’ve been a private investigator or some shit and made bank. She knew how to set that shit up without being detected and get the perfect angles so that you ain’t miss a minute of what was goin’ on.
“Shontelle, we can do this another time,” she said, trying to talk some sense into her friend. I could tell she was just as embarrassed as I was right then.
“No, show him that shit now!” she snapped, and that pissed me off even more. I could tell that she was acting out, and it was coming from a hurting place, but she was really making an ass outta herself in front of all these folks.
Then I saw Mika coming from the bathroom and grimaced. That made Shontelle look in the direction that I was, and the smile that came across her face let me know that she
was really about to cut up now. Liza grabbed her arm and tried to pull her away, but what had me fucked up was that now she knew what Mika looked like, and I had a feeling that the shit was gonna backfire. She was about to be on the rampage, and I didn’t know how to stop her ass.
“This is what you want?” Shontelle shouted, looking Mika up and down with her face balled up. “This dry-ass geriatric-ass pussy!”
“You know, I’m ’bout tired of you young bitches,” Mika said, and I could tell she was pissed. I didn’t know if it was at me, or she was just tired of being picked on by these younger bitches for being with me, but I didn’t think that Shontelle knew who she was picking a fight with and that she wasn’t equipped for the battle she was about to start at all.
“You should be. We stay takin’ y’all’s men, huh?” Shontelle said with a laugh.
“No, the only men you take are the ones who never grew the fuck up and based their worth on a phat ass and a young face. And don’t get it twisted. You gon’ get older, and the men that you runnin’ up behind, chasin’ their pockets, are gonna leave yo’ ass too.”
“What-the-fuck-ever, bitch. I leave niggas—they don’t leave me,” Shontelle said, dismissively.
“Correction, apparently they do leave you because you’re confronting one who is out with me. So, technically, it seems like I may have taken your man. Or maybe he grew the fuck up and decided it was time for an upgrade. Like somebody who knows that you handle your private business behind closed doors and don’t air all your dirty laundry in public.”
“Oh shit,” Liza said before she could catch herself. Shontelle looked at her, and I could tell that she didn’t expect Mika to come as hard as she just had for her. But she’d asked for that shit. “What? Keel tried to save you from this shit, but you wouldn’t listen,” Liza said with a shrug.
“I am soooo sorry, Mika,” I apologized, not giving a fuck about Shontelle’s feelings because, like Liza said, she’d done that shit to herself.
“It’s cool. I know this comes with the territory.” She shrugged coolly, letting me know that she was a beast in her own right, and this shit hadn’t bothered her like I’d thought it would. The more I learned about her, the more I wanted her fine, classy, grown ass. “I’m just gonna go ahead and go back to the office,” Mika said, and the fact that she told me where she was headed made me smile. She grabbed her clutch off the table, kissed me on my cheek, and walked the other way out of the restaurant as if Shontelle wasn’t even worth her walking past.
I looked Shontelle up and down before shaking my head and walking out of the restaurant myself. If she knew what was best for her, she would take her ass the fuck on. On my way to my truck, I couldn’t shake what she’d said about me having a child. There was only one person who could’ve possibly had my baby, and I knew her ass was petty enough to throw the baby in Shontelle’s face . . . Lauren.
I made a mental note to stop by her spot in the morning. But tonight, I had a date to finish and a true boss bitch waiting on me.
* * *
“I didn’t know if you were coming,” she said, sitting in her car when I pulled up. The only reason that I knew it was her car was that it was the only one there outside the Probation Office at seven at night.
“I wouldn’t miss the chance to get to know you,” I said, smirking and keeping the last part of that thought to myself.
“Follow me,” she said, and I was confused, but didn’t get the chance to ask any questions, because she had already pulled off.
She navigated through the streets of Decatur until we reached a gated condo community. I was familiar with it because I used to serve customers out here. I hoped that she wasn’t taking me to the house that she used to share with her husband. I didn’t know if I would be able to handle an altercation with that nigga the way that she had. I was a beat-ass-first kinda nigga. I was over all that damn bickering. And only bitches bickered anyway.
When she put in the code, I pulled into the gate behind her. I followed her for what seemed like forever until we reached a cul-de-sac at the back end of the complex. I knew that she had to have just moved in, because these were new, like just built in the past seven years. They weren’t there when I got popped, and I knew that she had to have been married longer than I had been locked the fuck up.
She parked in the garage, and I pulled up on the curb, turning off the ignition of my truck. She walked to the door, opening it and standing in it, waiting for me to get out. Her silhouette was sexy as hell, and I wanted to trace it with my hands so badly. But she wasn’t that type of bitch, so I was gonna take my time with her. Learn her. I could honestly say that she was the first woman that I had wanted to get to know on a deeper level. She was appealing to a different side of me. Getting out of the car, I made my way up the walkway to her.
“Took you long enough,” she teased, a shy smile on her face. I could tell she was nervous, and she had every reason to be. She was still married, and I was an ex-con and her parolee. She could lose everything fuckin’ with me, and that was evident with the way them bitches had just acted at the restaurant. But for some reason, she was still giving a nigga a chance.
“I was admiring the view,” I said, looking down at her.
“You tryin’ too hard,” she said, trying to dismiss the fact that I had just made her blush.
“No such thing with someone like you,” I said honestly.
“Someone like me? What does that even mean?” she asked. She turned and led the way into the condo. I closed the door behind me and locked it, making sure that all the locks were engaged. When I turned around to follow her fine ass farther into the condo, I was too caught up watching her thick-ass hips sway to answer her question. “Make yourself comfortable,” she said, motioning toward the couch.
I sat down and made myself comfortable. She went into the kitchen, and I just sat there, waiting on her to return. She had definitely just moved in because I couldn’t see her living in a house that didn’t have any personal touches or decorations. That put my mind at ease. When she came back, she handed me a glass and set the bottle of Patrón on the table in front of me before sitting down beside me, throwing back a glass of the clear liquid.
“So . . .” she said, pouring herself another drink. I could tell that she was nervous and trying to calm her nerves.
“So?” I asked, not sure what she wanted.
“What does it mean when you say ‘someone like me’?”
“Oh,” I laughed, realizing that she really wanted an answer to her question. I took the double shot of Patrón before answering her. “You’re a woman who knows what she wants. I can tell that outside of that hard-assed work demeanor, you’ve got a heart of gold. I think that you’re unappreciated and misunderstood. That most people don’t want to know you beyond the surface and what you can do for them.”
“Wow,” she said, shaking her head.
“What? Did I say something wrong?”
“You picked all that up from two encounters?” she asked me in shock. “I was married to Rasheem for fifteen years, and he ain’t catch on to half of that,” she said frustrated. There was a sadness on her face that I wanted to relieve her of. I reached out and touched her face, and she lay into the palm of my hand.
“You are too beautiful, inside and out, for that not to be noticed by any man with eyes and common sense. I take it your husband isn’t blind. So, I’ma just assume that the nigga rode the short bus when he was little,” I said, and it made her laugh and hit me in the chest playfully.
“You make everything a joke, don’t you?” she asked, and I shrugged.
“I was told that laughter was good for the soul. With everything that I’ve dealt with in my life, all I have sometimes is shits and giggles.”
“Well, thank you for the giggles,” she said, smirking. “And the shit. ’Cause Lawd knows that I done got my share of shit tonight with them little girls you got hangin’ on ya dick.”
I was shocked when she reached out and placed her h
and in my lap when she said the word “dick.” I didn’t know how to react, but when she started to massage it and leaned over and kissed me, I almost pounced on her fine ass. But something in me told me not to. Not yet. So, instead, I pulled her into my arms and let her lay her head on my chest.
“Nah, we got plenty of time for all that,” I said, and she looked at me like I was rejecting her. “I wanna try something different. Let me get to know you. The you that you don’t let the world see.”
She gave me a bright smile and looked up at me with something that I had never seen in the eyes of any other woman that I’d dealt with. It looked like love, but I wasn’t sure, so I didn’t wanna assume. I was hopeful, though, because I was convinced that I loved her ass from the first time I walked my ass up in her fuckin’ office a couple of weeks ago.
* * *
The sunlight in my face woke me up. I looked down and realized that Mika was asleep in my arms. That made a nigga smile because I was sure that last night was a fuckin’ dream. It had to be. This kinda shit ain’t happen to a nigga like me. Shifting her to the side, I slid her off of me and onto her oversized couch so that I could relieve my bladder. It took me a couple of rooms to find the bathroom, but I did, just in time before I pissed all down my leg.
While I stood there peeing, I thought about last night. It had started with bullshit with the waitress, and then Shontelle’s ass, who I was sure had blown up my damn phone all night. But I had left the shit in the car so that we wouldn’t be bothered by it. Mika and I had talked all night. We shared childhood stories, and I thought it was funny that she’d wanted to be a stripper when she was younger. Our stories weren’t that different. She just chose to take the legal way to the money, and I chose the other route. When we’d finished the bottle of Patrón, she had challenged me to a game of Grand Theft Auto on the PS4, and that was the most fun that I’d had in a long-ass time. We’d laughed and cried together and eventually had fallen asleep. If it had been any other bitch, I would’ve been worried about violating because I wasn’t at home last night, but since I was with my PO, I was hoping that I would get a pass.
Finessed a Dope Boy's Heart Page 12