Life After A Balla

by Jackie D.

  “Ooohhh, shit baby, this feels so good,” he moaned.

  “Say my name,” she demanded. When he didn’t respond, she got a little more forceful. “Say my damn name!”

  “Le Le,” he told her. “I want to taste you.”

  Le Le smirked. She wasn’t about to turn that offer down so she stopped sucking, changed positions with him and spread her legs. Kareem went down pushing his head deep into her nest. His face was saturated with her juices as he sucked then nibbled on her clit and stuck his tongue in and out of her pussy. His slurping noises drove her insane. She had no idea how a young man his age could please her like that.

  “I want you inside me now,” she mumbled.

  Following her demands, Kareem lifted his head before climbing on top of her and putting his raw dick into her dripping hot box. He stroked in and out going faster with each thrust.

  “You feel good, baby,” she moaned.

  “Is this is my pussy?” he whispered in her ear.

  “Yessss, it’s yours, Kareem.”

  He reached under her butt, grabbing her ass checks, digging even deeper.

  “Yes, baby, fuck me harder!” Le Le screamed. She tightened up her walls around his dick when she felt herself about to cum. “I’m cummingggg!” She grabbed onto his young frame as she climaxed and released her juices all over his dick.

  “Damn, this shit is good,” Kareem added. “I’m cumming, too.” His body stiffened as he groaned and unloaded a load of cum inside her.

  The two layed out of breath in each other’s arms on the couch for awhile until Le Le heard Kareem snoring. She stared at the mole under his lip. It was hard to believe he was so much younger than her. Thinking back to her past relationships, he seemed to be more mature than some of her former lovers. Not to mention he was much better in bed. Youth was definitely a plus when it came to sex. Since Kareem could go all night, she’d finally found a partner that satisfied her appetite for sex.

  Le Le eased Kareem’s arm off of her and slid her body away without disturbing him. She lightly walked to her bedroom, went inside her huge walk-in closet and retrieved a locked box. She then reached inside the pocket of her mink coat that she hardly wore anymore and pulled out a key. She peeped down the hall making sure Kareem was still asleep in the living room. When the coast was clear, she quietly closed her bedroom door and locked it. She then sat on her black leather, king-sized platform bed, put the key in the box and opened it. Le Le fumbled through the box until she pulled out a picture and immediately kissed it. A tear ran down her face as she started talking to the picture.

  “Don’t be mad, I’m just having fun with him for now. It won’t last long.”

  ****

  Kareem woke up on the couch at Le Le’s house an hour later. As soon as he opened his eyes, the argument between him and his mother instantly popped back into his head again. He felt bad that he’d talked to her in such a disrespectful way, but lately the whole situation with her and Cruze was getting to him. He’d been holding how he felt about their relationship in for months, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to air out his feelings. He needed a break from her and the reminder that his life was so fucked up. Whenever the visions of Justice dying and his father getting shot popped into his head, he would do anything he could to block it out. But seeing Cruze on a regular basis was making it harder to forget.

  But being around Le Le helped him take his mind off all that. She really made him want to do something with his life. Luckily, he’d managed to graduate high school back in June, and even though Kareem decided not to go to college, he still wanted to make something of himself. With him receiving probation for his prior possession charge it was only right that he found a way to somehow make his mother proud even though it seemed as if nothing pleased her these days. He also had to find a way to please Le Le. With a woman like her, Kareem knew she wouldn’t want to be with a loser. Feeling the dryness of his throat, he got up and walked to the kitchen to get something to drink; he could still taste Le Le’s pussy in his mouth. When he called out her name and she didn’t answer he wondered where she was. As soon as he walked into the kitchen, he noticed a note on the granite counter.

  Kareem, since you were sleeping so well, I didn’t want to wake you. I had to go out for a while. There’s a leftover plate of food in the fridge if you get hungry. I hope you’re feeling better about the argument with your mother now. Maybe you should stay with me for a while and give her time to cool off. I really enjoy having you here with me. Be back soon.

  Le Le

  Kareem opened the fridge and pulled out the plate she’d left for him. He then took the foil off stuck it in the microwave and heated it up. He walked to the bathroom wondering where she’d gone.

  “She’s never left me at her place alone like this before. I hope I didn’t scare her away today showing her my crazy side for the first time,” he mumbled.

  As Kareem stood on the heated marble floors in her bathroom taking a piss, he looked around at her five-star bathroom. It had a basin stone sink and copper rust slate tile in the shower. She definitely had some money because the rest of her home was just as nice. It puzzled Kareem as to why she didn’t have a man before he came along.

  How can she afford all this shit, he wondered. She probably used to mess with some baller. And if she did, how the hell am I gonna compete with that?

  When the microwave beeped letting him know his food was done, Kareem flushed the toilet, washed his hands and headed back to the kitchen. He opened the fridge, grabbed some juice and turned it up leaning against the counter.

  “Le Le would probably be pissed off if she saw me drinking from the container like this,” he said, laughing to himself.

  Seconds later he glanced at the note she’d left him again admiring her penmanship. However, when he reached down to pick it up it fell to the floor on the opposite side. His eye’s increased twice their normal size and he stood stiff trying to comprehend what he saw on the back.

  “What the hell?”

  CHAPTER 7

  The next morning Skye was awakened by the sound of Payton crying. When she opened her eyes the sun was beaming brightly through the blinds of her bedroom window. After glancing at the clock that read 8:45 a.m. she looked over at the empty spot beside her, and realized that Cruze hadn’t come home.

  “Oh, hell no. We’re not about to start this staying out shit again. I don’t care how mad we get with each other,” she said, picking up her cell phone and dialing his number.

  When it went straight to voicemail, she called back three more times, then decided to leave a message when she heard the beep.

  “Cruze, where the hell are you? Why didn’t you come home last night? Call me back,” Skye said, hanging up.

  Feeling pissed and worried all at the same time, Skye jumped up and grabbed Payton out of her crib when she started crying. “Good morning, little girl. Are you hungry?” Skye said, kissing her daughter on her cheek. “Let’s go in the kitchen and get you some juice, then I’ll fix you something to eat.”

  Skye wondered why Jordan hadn’t come into her room and got Payton like he did every morning as part of his regular ritual. She was so thankful for her son, who was beyond helpful. When she passed his room a few moments later, her question was answered after seeing him sound asleep with his mouth wide open.

  All those late football practices are wearing my poor son out, she thought

  Skye then glanced across the hall into Kareem’s room and immediately noticed his bed was still made up, which meant he hadn’t come home either. She was pissed off even more that he hadn’t called to let her know where he was.

  “I know that bitch, Le Le, probably influenced him to stay out.”

  When Skye got closer to the living room and saw a body on the couch with a blanket draped over their head, she breathed a sigh of relief that Cruze had come home after all. He was known for falling asleep after watching movies late at night. Before she could wake him up, Payton started crying a
gain, this time having a full tantrum by kicking her feet and moving her head from side to side.

  “Okay little girl, calm down,” Skye reacted.

  After putting some apple juice in one of Payton’s bottles she headed back into the living room to wake Cruze up and drill him about what time he’d come in. However, when she got to the couch and pulled the blanket back, Skye was shocked to see that it was Kareem laying there…not Cruze.

  “What are you doing out here or should I ask what time did you come home?” Skye asked with an attitude. She then frowned up her nose. “You smell just like sex. I know you didn’t come in here and lay your nasty ass on my couch!” she yelled.

  A sleepy and dazed Kareem looked up and wondered why his mother was bothering him so early in the morning.

  “Ma, please don’t start with me again. I’m tired,” he said, turning over.

  Skye decided to leave him alone for now since her main concern was Cruze, but the shit definitely wasn’t over. She headed back to her room to get her cell phone and call him once again. As soon as she laid Payton back down in her crib, Skye wondered what type of lie he would come up with for staying out this time. Was it really work related or was he going to try and pull the same stunt he did the month before saying that he’d gotten drunk with the boys and fell asleep in the car?

  I forgave his ass that time, but I’m not gonna keep falling for that shit, Skye thought.

  After calling Cruze’s phone at least five times and it continuously going straight to voicemail, Skye’s head started to spin as she took her fist and pounded it repeatedly on her bed.

  She then decided to text him as if that would make a difference.

  Cruze, where are you? You need to call me A.S.A.P, WTF? Skye typed, and then hit send.

  Why would he take me through this if he knows Sandino used to do the same shit?

  Her blood began to boil, as each minute passed and Cruze never text back. After waiting for almost twenty minutes, Skye decided to go to his job and see if he was there or even worked the night before. She glanced over at Payton who’d fallen back asleep. She then walked back into the livingroom and woke Kareem up once again.

  “I need you to listen out for Payton. Cruze didn’t come home last night and I need to go look for him. I’m worried.”

  Kareem smirked, “There you go running behind another man. Where are you going to look for him at, the strip club? Tell Jordan to watch her, I told you I was tired,” he said, with a smart tone. When he attempted to turn back over, she yanked his shoulder.

  “Kareem, I’m tired of you disrespecting me. If you think you’re gonna just come and go as you please and not do shit around here, you better think again! I’m sick of your selfish, lazy ass!”

  Skye knew Jordan had been going hard for the past few weeks in football practice and didn’t want to wake him. But Kareem on the other hand never did anything to help her out and she was beyond sick of him not pulling his weight.

  “Get the fuck off my couch! You bitched and complained about having your own room this time, so go get in your own bed!” Skye continued to roar.

  Kareem sucked his teeth and jumped up snatching the covers. “You don’t say shit when Cruze be sleeping on the couch,” he replied, stomping toward his room and slamming the door.

  Once again deciding to let Jordan rest, Skye chose to take Payton with her to Cruze’s job. As her heart paced, she prayed he was there as she quickly got dressed and grabbed Payton out of the crib still in her pajamas and left the house.

  Skye made the fifty-six minute drive to College Park in less than thirty. She was so anxious to get where she was going, the police pulling her over for speeding was the last thing on her mind. While driving, she glanced at all of the people out walking the streets and began to think about her problems. She had so many thoughts in her head about whether she should go back to Miami. She also didn’t like the strained relationship between her and Kareem. Skye had let him get away with so much because of what he’d experienced the night Sandino was shot, but she was beginning to think he was using it as an excuse to be a loser and not do anything with his life. And that wasn’t going down. All her kids were going to be successful if she had something to do with it. She also didn’t know what was up with Cruze lately. All Skye knew was that she wasn’t about to put up with any more bullshit from another man. Years of putting up with Sandino’s lies and abuse were never going to be repeated.

  When Skye finally saw the sign that said, Sal’s Used Cars she quickly turned into the parking lot and immediately noticed that Cruze’s car wasn’t there. She parked and grabbed Payton out the back of her black 2003 Nissan Maxima that Cruze bought when her Honda finally broke down. She remembered how proud Cruze was when he gave her the keys. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings so Skye acted as if she liked it.

  I should’ve been more appreciative because without him I wouldn’t be driving shit right now, she thought.

  Skye looked around and wanted to laugh at some of the old cars the dealership was attempting to sale. A gold 2007 Infiniti G35 was the nicest thing on the lot. She wondered if the cars were the new inventory Cruze had mentioned the day before. Skye couldn’t even picture Cruze working there, but he constantly told her how cool the owners of the mom and pop dealership were and how they didn’t judge him or the fact that he had a felony.

  Skye walked towards the sign on a raggedy trailer that said office and went inside. The office was shabby, junky and smelled like moth balls. After seeing her reflection in a dusty mirror, she tried to finger comb her hair that was all over the place as an older man drinking a cup of coffee immediately walked over with a huge smile.

  “I got the perfect car for you out back. It just came in yesterday and has your name written all over it. It’s a 2006 Honda Odyssey,” he said

  “I’m not here to buy a car even though my boyfriend who works here told me about the new shipment of cars coming in. Is he here?” Skye asked.

  “Who is your boyfriend? I know you’re not talking about my crazy ass nephew. You’re too pretty for Lamont.”

  Skye shook her head. “No, I’m talking about Dezmond. Dezmond Cruze.”

  The salesman looked at her crazy. “Who? Nobody by that name works here,” he informed, taking another sip of coffee.

  Skye stood there for a minute. “Are you sure Dezmond Cruze doesn’t work here?” Skye looked around as if she expected Cruze to walk out of one of the offices in the back.

  “Miss, I own this place, and I’ve been here every day for the past twenty years. I would know if somebody by that name ever worked here. I’ve had a lot of guys run through here, but ain’t nobody ever worked here by that name.” He took another sip of coffee. “Now, do you wanna take a look at that Honda? It’s a beauty. Only got 78,000 miles on it.”

  “No, thanks,” Skye said, walking out.

  Skye left puzzled. Cruze had been claiming to go to this job every day for the past seven months and it was obviously all a lie. She could feel her temperature rising as she thought, not again, I trusted this muthafucka!

  After opening the back door and putting Payton in her car seat, Skye hopped in the driver’s side. She banged her fist on the sterling wheel with all types of thoughts going through her mind.

  “My gut feeling told me something wasn’t right. I bet that muthafucka is cheating on me!” she yelled. Skye started the car and pulled out the parking lot like it was NASCAR Season at the Daytona 500.

  While driving, Skye started hyperventilating and having a panic attack. She reached over in her purse in the passenger seat while trying to keep her eye on road and pulled out her pills. When she twisted the top off, the pill bottle fell on the floor.

  “Shit!” Skye said, while trying to reach down and grab them.

  It seemed as if she’d only taken her eyes off the road for a second. By the time Skye looked back up, she could see two rear lights only inches away from her car. Going way too fast to stop, Skye let out a piercing scream as she hit th
e break, but still managed to collide into the back of another car.

  CHAPTER 8

  Skye was completely delusional as she laid in the emergency room badly bruised and cut. With everything a blur, she looked down at her clothing that was covered in blood and became hysterical.

  “Where’s my daughter?” Skye screamed.

  When the petite Asian triage nurse working on her wounds grabbed on her arm, Skye started swinging back and forth.

  “Ma’am, please calm down. I need to finish sterilizing the cut over your eye,” the nurse stated. “Your daughter is with a doctor in another treatment area. From what the paramedics said you’re both lucky to be alive. Your vehicle was completely destroyed.”

  Desperate to see her baby girl, Skye immediately jumped up off the hospital gurney and ran through the emergency room snatching each curtain back. She wiped the dripping blood from her forehead as she continued to look for Payton.

  “I need to see my daughter!” she yelled.

  “Miss, you can’t disrupt the other patients like this. Come back and lay down, you need stitches. That cut is very deep and you’re losing a lot of blood,” the nurse said, running behind her.

  Ignoring the Asian woman, Skye kept looking through various areas invading other patient’s privacy in the ER until she finally found Payton. When she saw her precious baby laying on a gurney with her right leg wrapped in a splint and blood on her Dora the Explorer pajamas, she completely lost it. Skye ran to her bedside.

  “Oh my God. Payton…Payton!” Skye belted. Flashbacks of the accident continued to flood her thoughts. “Is she okay?” Skye said, kissing her forehead.

  When Payton started crying uncontrollably, Skye was even more devastated. Suddenly the doctor treating Payton walked around the bed and introduced himself.