by Edwina Fort
After that, I moisturized my braids and piled them into a messy bun on top of my head, allowing a few key plaits to escape using a little hair gel to get my edge game on point. I was never a big makeup wearer, a few swipes of mascara, a little eyeliner, finishing off with my favorite cherry-lemonade lip-gloss…
Now, it was time for the accessories…
I added a few pieces of silver loc jewelry to my braids and then a slim three-layered silver necklace. The first link fit almost like a choker and had a little silver feather charm that rested against my throat. The next link was slightly longer and had a slightly bigger silver feather that rested against my chest…and the last link was really long and had a bigger silver feather that rested against my belly.
I slid about twenty-five silver bangles on both of my wrists with the friendship bracelets Jessie had made for me…then I added my rings.
Don’t laugh at me, but I really liked rings. By the time I was finished, nearly every finger of mine had a silver ring on it. Some of them had two…That’s just the way I rolled.
Heck, it had been so long, I’d forgotten I rolled this way. But by the time I slid my socking clad feet in the suede boots that zipped all the way up to the center of my thighs…I remembered.
I stood in the mirror for a moment taking it in. For the first time in a while, I felt pretty. I turned this way and that…
I looked good, y’all…
And now I was super nervous to leave the bathroom. What was he going to think? Would he still think I looked like a homeless person because I was still clearly rocking the Boho style? After I gathered all my stuff, I paused with my hand on the doorknob.
Hitta was brutally honest. It would devastate me if he looked at me and called me a hobo again.
Okay, …you can do this. Just go out there and pretend it’s business as usual. Pretend you are just getting ready for work and don’t really care what he thinks. Go find your box of teas and chew on a few chamomile heads…
Oh! Chamomile…Yes! I opened the door and walked out.
So, you guys may have already guessed it, but I have a serious chamomile addiction. I loved that flower. I ate them fresh, dried, in cake, teas…just because for a reason, when I was bored, while I was busy. My addiction was the main reason chamomile was one of the things I constantly had to order for the shop.
Jessie and Westly both thought that I was a weirdo because I was always munching on the flower that most people only liked in tea. I don't know, I wouldn't say I ate them because they tasted good per se…Instead, I would say that I ate them because I was addicted to the way they made my mouth feel if that makes any sense…
I chuckled, maybe I was a weirdo like my niece and brother always say.
Hitta wasn’t in the bedroom. I put my things away and grabbed my bag and cell before making my way downstairs. I heard him talking on the phone in the living room. As soon as I reached the bottom, I saw him standing there dressed in a pair of black name brand sweatpants and a black t-shirt. On his feet were what looked like a brand-new pair of black and red Jordans.
He glanced my way before looking back out the window. A half a second later his head whipped back towards me. The look in his eyes as he slowly took me in was well worth the effort I had put into my look today.
“Sh********t!” he hissed, “Hey bo, let me holla at you later.” He told whoever he was talking to on the phone, before he pushed the off button and slid it down in his pocket as he began to approach me.
“Damn, shawty! What you do to yourself?”
“Do you like it?” My question was barely over a whisper. I couldn’t believe how much I needed him to like what he was seeing.
He didn’t stop till he was standing in front of me, then he did the sweetest thing. Bending down just a bit he wrapped both of his arms around me and pulled me into the most perfect hug anyone has ever given me.
“I love it, Teacup. You so pretty you take my breath away, baby.”
Awww! Shucks!
I closed my eyes as he tightened his arms around me. Goodness…he smelled so good.
“And you smell good too.”
I giggled because I’d just thought the same thing about him. When he unwrapped his arms from me and stepped back, I felt the loss instantly…However, the look in his eyes as he once again let them roam up my body was making me feel something else entirely.
“What’s the name of this style again? Hobo?”
I laughed before swatting his arm. “Boho, jerk!”
Chuckling, he pulled me into his arms again. “Naw, I’m just joking, shawty. You rocking the sh*t out of this look.”
Man, y’all, I was cheesing so hard my cheeks hurt. But by the time he stepped back again, I had my face in order.
“Thank you,” I told him as I turned to head towards the kitchen, however, I didn’t get far before he reached for my hand and followed me. And I’m telling you, I got such a rush at having this big powerful man following me like he just wasn’t ready to be away from me just yet.
“Sh*t, girl, you look too good to be going into work. You should play hooky with me so we can go shopping for this joint. Sleeping on the floor got my back hurting.”
I looked back at him and laughed, he was so full of crap. “I thought you said you didn’t want to go shopping. You said even the thought of it was giving you a headache.”
“That was before you walked out here looking like every nigga’s fantasy. I need to go with you to make sure nobody try to step to what’s mine.”
I wore a secret smile as I opened the box labeled herbs. He was jealous. This man who is a hood legend is jealous of other men looking at little old me. That should make me leery, but instead, it made me feel the exact opposite, it made me feel good, wanted, and yes…desired.
I pulled out my jar of chamomile flowers and after opening it, popped a few in my mouth. They worked their magic instantly against my tongue… As a matter of fact, I’m going to blame the zany way they made my mouth feel on the crazy and reckless words that came out of said mouth next.
“You know,” I told him as I chewed, “You’re only my boyfriend for the next six months…I don’t think that qualifies you to be running off any future candidates.”
“Future candidates?”
He looked away from me and chuckled, doing that thing with his hand where he brushed his nose as if wiping off dust. Now, I don’t know how many of y’all out there has ever been around a thug, but for you who have and understand their mannerisms, you know the move I’m talking about. It’s the gesture that lets you know they’re getting ready to do something drastic.
I didn’t have long to wait, he moved so suddenly he caught me entirely off guard. I squeaked when he suddenly lifted me plopping me down on the counter in front of him. The next thing I know he was spreading my legs with his big body as he came to stand directly in front of me…our faces were only inches apart.
I should be pushing him away. With my legs spread like this, it caused my dress to ride up my thighs exposing my burgundy panties. But instead of pushing him away, my heart was beating fast in excited fear. I knew I shouldn’t have said that to him, I don’t know why I baited him like that… Hitta didn’t really look like the type that could take a joke.
You know what, scratch that, I do know why…It was to see what he was going to do.
“Future candidates you say?” He muttered these words in a way that should have intimidated me. But it didn’t because I knew he wouldn’t hurt me.
With wide eyes, now clutching my jar of chamomile to my chest, I nodded. Oh my God! Who knew I had this reckless streak in me? I was getting such an adrenaline rush I was practically pulsating with it.
He took the jar out of my hands and set it on the counter before his intense gaze came back to mine.
“I’m gon’ let that sh*t slide ‘cause you don’t know yet.” His gaze fell to my lips and I’m telling y’all the energy that was flowing between the two of us was electric.
I licked my
shivering lips. “Know what yet?”
He lifted his hand and gently rubbed my cheek. I wasn’t even aware of the fact that I was leaning into his touch. God, this man was spinning me in his web and I no longer knew if I wanted out or if I wanted to get wrapped in even deeper.
“You don’t know what kind of mutha f**** you dealing with.”
And then he was kissing me.
Hitta
Sh*t! She tasted so f***ing good!
Those little flowers she was eating on was the smell I was telling y’all about last night, the smell that was coming out of her skin that made my headache go away. And now I was kissing her and she tasted like them too.
God, she tasted good!
I had to tell myself to go slow. I could tell she was a little afraid, but she was turned on as well. I could smell her arousal. And I’ll be damned if the two smells weren’t working together to bring out the beast in me.
I wanted to rip this outfit off her and taste her deeper. I wanted to feel her heat surrounding me. She moaned wrapping her arms and legs around me, surrendering to me and I deepened the kiss.
When she’d come down those stairs dressed to kill in this little burgundy demo with these f*** me boots on, I’d had to hug her so that she wouldn’t see the instant f***ing erection I got.
This girl was bad! For some reason, she dresses to play down her looks, but I saw her beauty the first time I laid eyes on her. I saw her through all that frumpy sh*t she likes to wear. I don’t know what made her decide to go ahead and flex on a brotha, but I’m sure as hell glad she did.
Future f***ing candidates…
This girl don’t know that I will crack a mutha f***a’s vertebrae if I ever catch them even f***ing looking at her with the thought that they were going to try and step to her like that.
She was f***ing mine!
Now and mutha f***en forever…
I let her tell herself that six-month sh*t because I knew that made her feel comfortable. But the truth was, now that I had my elusive Angel in my grasp, I wasn’t ever giving her up…No! Not mutha f***en ever!
Angel
When his hungry mouth latched on to my neck, I gasped as a pleasurable spasm shot from that spot to settle in my center that was pulsating with need. He held my waist in his big hands, moving it in a way that caused my soft heat to rub against his length. And it was driving me wild.
The fact that I’d somehow cracked his cool exterior to release a hungry beast was also working me over. It’s like I knew he could be rougher with me; he was so big that he could easily rip me in two.
Yet… he was being so tender. How could something so big be so gentle?
His hand rose from my hip to settle on the spot just under my breasts and if it was at all possible, my heartbeat increased with my excitement. I couldn’t believe this, but I wanted him to touch me so badly…I wanted to see if it would feel different than when Stan had roughly grabbed me there.
I looked down at his hand, his gaze followed. When our eyes met again mine was full of need.
“What do you want, Angel?”
I opened my mouth to tell him, but then closed it. Could I possibly tell him what I wanted?
He leaned in and kissed my lips again. Like before, it was a hungry kiss.
"Tell me, baby, tell me what you want,” he whispered against my lips.
“I want you to touch me.”
He closed his eyes and groaned. “Where?”
“My breasts…” My words were barely over a whisper, I couldn’t believe I was being so bold.
“How would you like me to touch it?”
I looked up at him confused. Was there more than one way to touch a breast? “Is there more than one way?”
He grinned as he went down to one knee in front of me, bringing his face eye level with my breasts.
“Sure there is, Teacup.”
In no rush at all, he lifted his finger and gently ran it over my nipple. I inhaled sharply at the sensation such a light touch caused.
“I can touch you with the tip of my finger.” He did it again and again…
Each time he did it, it felt like he was striking a spark in me… However, what he did next caused me to gasp. He gently palmed my whole breast in his hand.
“Or I can use my whole hand to touch it…weigh it, marvel at how soft it is.”
I was clutching the counter on both sides of me so hard my knuckles were turning white. He was moving my breast in his hand in a way that caused my bra covered flesh to spill out of the deep V of my dress.
“But the way that I want to touch it most is with my mouth.”
My eyes widened as my breath became so heavy, I was almost panting. I licked my lips.
“Yo--your mouth?”
“Mmmmhhhhmmm.” He nodded as he used the tip of his finger and slowly moved the cloth of my bra to the side until my nipple popped out.
When it did, I held my breath. No man has ever seen my breasts, not even Stan. Of course, he's tried, but I’ve always managed to fight him off before he got to that point.
“You’re so beautiful, Angel…You make me so hungry.” He whispered as his head got closer to my flesh.
When his hot mouth closed on the sensitive tip of breast my head fell back to rest against the cabinet as he feasted on me. My eyes drifted closed as strange unrecognizable sounds of pleasure came from between my lips. I didn’t recognize the hands that reached up and grasped his head holding it to me as he fed on me.
At some point, he bared my other breast and feasted on that one too. When his hand lowered to my heat, I didn’t have it in me to stop him. It felt like my body was on fire and only he could put out the flames.
He used his hands and mouth to work me over up there on that counter. At some point, I was begging him for something, but I didn’t know what…
And then it hit me…
Like an explosion, my world shattered. I cried out his name as a feeling like I’d never felt before washed over me, consuming me, making my body feel drawn so tightly it was numb in places. He came to his feet holding me close, kissing me softly as I gently floated back to earth. And I clung to him, needing him just like in the dream…at that moment, he felt like my anchor, just like he had in my dream.
“I need you, Angel.”
The pain in his whispered plea was very real, I put my hand on his chest, getting ready to give him whatever he needed, but my phone picked that moment to ring on the counter next to me. I would have ignored it, but it was Jessie’s ring tone.
I picked up the phone. “I’m sorry, Hitta, I have to get this…it’s my niece.”
The muscle ticked in his strong jaw, but he nodded and helped me down off the counter.
“Hey, baby,” I said into the receiver praying my voice was not still heavy with passion. I watched as Hitta took several steps away from me while grabbing his erection. I grinned because it looked like he was trying to tame it…or rather get it to behave.
“Where was you at? I was trying to call you at the shop.”
I looked at the time on my phone, 12:30, she should still be in school. “Why aren’t you in school?”
“My mama didn’t never come home last night.” I rolled my eyes.
Unfortunately, this news did not surprise me. Trina was legendary at pulling disappearing acts.
“Who’s there with you?”
“Peaches…”
I rolled my eyes again. Peaches was Trina’s little sister. Although she wasn’t on hard drugs like Trina, she was well on her way. Every time I saw her, she was high on weed or drunk out of her mind. Plus, she had a horrible reputation with the fellas, her bedroom door was a revolving one and everybody knew it.
“Did you eat today?”
“Nah uh…and I’m hungry.”
This sh*t really pissed me off! “Put Peaches on the phone!”
“Okay, hold on…” I could hear her beads bouncing around as she ran to take the phone to Peaches…
“Peaches…My Tee-Tee
want to talk to you!” she yelled, banging on a door.
It’s a damn shame, Peaches was her auntie too, but she didn’t even see her that way. The phone was snatched from my baby.
“Angel, don’t start this sh*t! Like I have told you a hundred times, this is not my kid! I got sh*t to do! And this lil mutha f***a finna be left here ‘cause Trina dumb a** should have been back by now. That b**** told me she was going to the sto’ yesterday! The ho’ never came back! Like I said, this is not my mutha f***en child!”
Then she threw the phone on the ground, I had to take the receiver away from my ear when she did it.
“Tee-Tee…” Jessie said picking up the phone.
“Where did Peaches go?” I asked angry enough to shoot somebody.
How in the world could she sit her trifling butt up there and not feed a six-year-old child? Over the years, I have had to beg and even pay her to feed Jessie when Trina was too high to do it or was just not there. I have also had to beg and pay her to take Jessie to school as well.
“She went back in her room with her boyfriend.”
Boyfriend my a**!
“Okay baby, what exactly do you have in your fridge—”
“F*** it…Let’s go and scoop her up. We’ll take her to get something to eat. She can help us shop for furniture,” Hitta said grabbing his keys off the counter.
“Really?!” I asked him, breathing a sigh of relief.
I was just thinking about the bus and train ride to the southside and how I was going to do it to feed my baby but wasn't looking forward to the long trip.
He pulled me to him with one arm and leaned down and kissed my lips. When he lifted his head, the look in his eyes made me feel that everything was going to be okay.
“Yeah, Teacup. Tell lil mama we on our way to scoop her up.”
“Jessie…do Tee-Tee a favor and get dressed. Make sure you have your hat, scarf, and gloves. I’m on my way to get you.”