BFF's

by Brenda Hampton

  BFF’S:

  Best Frenemies Forever Series

  Brenda Hampton

  www.urbanbooks.net

  All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Readers’ Discussion Questions

  Copyright Page

  Prologue

  No words in the dictionary—not even the urban dictionary—could define how Cedric Thompson made me feel right about now. There was so much hatred in my heart for the man whom I used to love with ever fiber of my being. Surely, we’d had our ups and downs, highs and lows, but lately things had gone beyond anything I had ever imaged. He’d become disrespectful. He ignored my demands and how dare he try to sit back and call all of the shots. I tried my best to get him to see why we needed to be together, but he wasn’t trying to hear me. He wanted everything to be his way, or no way at all. That was why the time had come for me to finally have it my way.

  Thinking about this fucking disease he gave me, I glared straight ahead while driving my car in the direction of his house. My vision was blurred from tears in my water-filled eyes. The scars that he’d left cut deep; I was damaged beyond repair. For days, I pondered about what to do with the man who told me that he loved me and said that I meant everything in the world to him. Yet, when it came down to it, his actions didn’t show what his mouth confessed. I was a fool to believe anything he’d said. The shame was on me for putting myself in this predicament. That in itself was hard for me to swallow, and so was the baseball-sized lump in my throat that was stuck there. As much as I swallowed, it wouldn’t go away. The pain in my heart lingered, and the only satisfaction I would get was when Cedric Thompson lay dead in his grave.

  With black leather gloves on, I squeezed the steering wheel tight. I could feel beads of sweat dot my forehead, and when I looked in the rearview mirror, my smudged mascara cascaded down my face with tears. Anger was trapped in my eyes. I was so upset that I growled loudly and slammed my foot harder on the pedal. I saw the speedometer needle jump from 60 to 90 mph as my car flew down the highway. My legs trembled from the crazy thoughts in my head, but I couldn’t help but to crack a tiny smile when a vision of Cedric’s dead body flashed before me. Needless to say, I was eager to get this over with. It was time. Time for him to answer for all the dirt he’d done, and go stand before his Maker. Oh, how I wished I could be there to hear his explanation for being such an asshole. He may have manipulated or gotten over on me, but there was no getting over on his Maker. Cedric would have to answer for his actions, and the punishment would be more brutal than the way I intended to do away with him.

  My car rocked as I made my exit, rolling over a few bumps on the road. I decided to slow down, because the last thing I needed was for the police to come after me. I was so sure that I would be questioned after my beef was settled, but I had planned this day for many months. I already knew what to do, when to say it and how to say it. I suspected that no fingers would point to me, and with all of the trifling bitches in Cedric’s life, finding the killer would be like searching for a needle in a hoestack. Or, at least, that was what I hoped. I hoped that this would be the end. That I would never have to look back on this day, feeling sorrow or having regrets.

  Instead of parking my car in the curvy driveway, I parked down the street. My eyes searched the neighbors’ houses that were close by Cedric’s. I had to be sure that no one saw me. The darkness enabled me to hide the shotgun by my side, so I raced toward the front door with my heart slamming hard against my chest. A hoodie was thrown over my head, and the baggy jeans I sported barely hung onto my butt. My white tennis shoes were the only things that reflected in the night, but I wore them just in case I needed to run.

  While at the door, I pulled a black mask over my face. With the leather gloves still on, I reached for the brass doorknob, turning it. The door clicked and opened immediately. I was surprised by the easy access, but rich people were always leaving their doors unlocked. Thing is, I had no idea where Cedric was inside. I had spoken to him today, and I’d seen him already too. All I knew was he was here. Somewhere inside. Unaware that he was minutes away from sucking in his last breath.

  I tiptoed across the floor then step-by-step I climbed the carpeted staircase that led me to Cedric’s bedroom. I expected to find him in bed, possibly rocking the shit out of it or asleep. But when I pushed on the double doors, they squeaked. The king-sized bed was empty and so was the rest of his bedroom. I inhaled the smell of his masculine cologne, then I went into his walk-in closet to look around. His tailored business suits, in almost every color, were neatly hung. His expensive leather shoes were stored in separate compartments and an island with drawers sat in the middle of the floor. On top of it were several expensive watches, gold cuff links, and diamond earrings that I assumed cost a fortune. I swiped up the items, stuffing them into my pockets. Since he had made me a homeless woman, I had to get something out of the deal.

  I took a few steps away from the closet, causing the floor to squeak. That was when I heard Cedric’s voice and realized that he was downstairs.

  “Jacoby,” he shouted. “Is that you?”

  Of course, I didn’t respond. I held my breath as I heard his hard footsteps on the stairs. While peeking through the cracked door, I observed as Cedric went into Jacoby’s bedroom, looking for him. I suspected that Jacoby would be here soon, so I had to hurry and finish the job. Then, I needed to get the hell out of there.

  I made another move and took a few more steps to get closer to the door. I could see Cedric coming my way, dressed in a silk robe. He reached inside to scratch above his dick, and when he pushed on the door, he was met with the barrel of my shotgun, aiming steady at his face. His eyes grew wide then they squinted as if he were trying to figure out who I was. That was kind of hard to do, because every inch of me was covered in black, with the exception of my tennis shoes.

  “Wha—what do you want?” Cedric stuttered.

  He carefully eased his hands in the air, keeping his eyes locked with mine. Fear was trapped in his eyes, and I was delighted to see the scared look he presented.

  I held my finger on the trigger and Cedric’s eyes shifted to it. “Please,” he begged. “Don’t do this. I’ll give you anything you want. Wha—what is it that you want?”

  I released my finger from the trigger and placed it over my red, glossy lips, signaling for him to hush. When my finger returned to the trigger, I took a few steps forward, causing him to step back. As I moved, he moved. He kept squinting and searching into my eyes, trying to figure out who I was. At this point, I didn’t give a damn if he recognized me or not. We halted our steps at the top of the stairs, and that was when I signaled good-bye with a slow wink. His mouth opened, but before any words came out I lowered the shotgun to his buffed chest and happily squeezed the trigger.

  The force from the gun jerked me backward, but I remained standing. I got much pleasure in watching Cedric’s body tumble down the stairs. His blood stained the clean carpet, and several of the rails broke loose as he tried to reach for them to break
his fall. His body, however, landed on the cold, marble floor in the foyer. He lay there with his arms stretched wide, eyes gazing at the high ceiling. I moved slowly down the stairs, keeping a close watch on him as he gasped to catch his breath. Blood dripped from the corner of his dry mouth, and it also trickled from a deep scar on his forehead. I reached the bottom stair and stood over him with a wide smile that was visible behind the mask. His eyes fluttered, and wanting him to see who I was, I removed the mask and raked my fingers through my sweaty hair.

  “Don’t you know, Cedric? Too much pussy ain’t good for you.”

  He strained to speak, but no words could be comprehended. His eyes fluttered a few more times before they shut and never opened again. His head tilted and the heaving of his chest came to a halt. I sucked in a deep breath then sighed from relief and grief. My mission was accomplished, or at least that was what I thought, until I saw someone staring at me through the glass front door. Right then I knew I was busted.

  Chapter One

  Evelyn

  It had been a long day at work. I was completely exhausted. I breezed my Lincoln Navigator through the busy traffic in downtown St. Louis, trying to make my way home. My loft was on Washington Avenue. It was good to know that I was only ten minutes away from relaxation. My stomach was growling and my bed was calling me. I had worked overtime today so I could have extra money in my pockets to pay down the rising debt I found myself in. My girlfriends, Kayla and Trina, were the only ones who knew how messed up my financial situation was. But just so I didn’t have to borrow any more money from them, I decided to pick up more hours at work. I also decided to do something else—something that I suspected my girls wouldn’t approve of. That was find a man who could help me crawl out of my unfortunate situation. He was exactly what the doctor ordered. And there was no question that I had to give a little in order to get a whole lot. On-call pussy was what he wanted, but that didn’t bother me one bit. I was willing and able to give him whatever, and for the past three months I realized how beneficial this relationship could be to me.

  Minutes later, I entered the parking garage, parking my SUV into the reserved spot. That was the plus side of living in a loft apartment. I appreciated the privacy it offered. I used my swipe card to open the elevator that took me to my loft on the third floor. Dressed in a black pencil skirt and silver blouse, I sashayed down the narrow, carpeted hallway like a runway model. I had always wanted to be a model, and my slim figure had brought about many opportunities in the past. But then life happened. Moneywise, things didn’t pan out for me. What I settled for was being a customer service representative, working for a white man who did nothing but boss our entire department around. It pained me to get up everyday and go to work, but I was blessed to have a job. Therefore, my complaints were kept to a minimum. I just had to put up with the bullshit until I could get the man in my life to save me by forking out more money.

  I approached the bright red door to my loft with a smile plastered on my face; partially because I was home, but mainly because of the written note I saw taped to the door that instructed me to enter at my own risk. That meant Cedric was inside, waiting for me. I was delighted that he was there, only because we hadn’t seen each other for almost two weeks. Our relationship was . . . complicated, but it was a relationship that I refused to tear myself away from.

  I hurried to put the key in the door. The moment I walked inside, I was hit with the scent of Cedric’s masculine cologne. A trail of pink and red rose petals were scattered on the hardwood, shiny floors. The petals made a path that led straight to my bedroom door. The door was closed and there was another note taped on it. I squinted behind my silver-framed glasses and still couldn’t read the note. Eager to see what was up, I put my purse on the kitchen island and removed my high-heel pumps. My hair was parted through the middle and making sure everything was in order, I teased the flowing, blond-tinted tresses of curls with the tips of my fingers. I didn’t have time to freshen my makeup, but with it being M•A•C, I was sure that it still looked fresh. My light, silky skin glowed from the shimmery lotion I wore. It didn’t take much for me to present myself as sexy.

  As I neared the door, the words on the note became clearer: SOMETHING GOOD AWAITS YOU! HURRY!

  I rushed to open the door, feeling as if I had entered paradise. The strawberry-scented room was dim from the melting, flaming candles that burned on my nightstands. The trail of rose petals continued to the foot of the bed and a white sheet rested on the bottom half of Cedric’s muscular frame. A smile was washed across his face, and as our eyes locked together in a trance, my heart started to race from excitement.

  “What’s up, sexy?” Cedric said, flashing his pearly-white teeth. “I hate to say it, but you know you looking more and more like my future wife, Evelyn Lozada, everyday. And not because of the first-name thing, baby, but because I said so.”

  My smile turned into a smirk as I started to undo my silky blouse. I pulled it away from my shoulders and began to create a pile behind me.

  “I hate when you compare me to other women, and must I remind you that she doesn’t have it like this.” I flashed my goodies, hoping that Cedric appreciated what I was offering. “So, on another note, I’m glad you let yourself in. I’m highly interested in learning about the risk you mentioned at the front door, so why don’t you tell me more about it?”

  Cedric moved the sheet aside, exposing his flawless body that looked as if it had been dipped in creamy, milk chocolate. His dick stood at full attention, and as he relaxed sideways on his elbow, I walked to the bed and crawled my way up to him. Our eyes remained connected. When our lips finally touched, all I could do was shut my eyes and savor the taste of pure sweetness. My tongue danced with his, and like always, the lip-lock was intense.

  Cedric held the sides of my face then backed away from me. “What did I ever do to deserve all of this?” he questioned.

  “I could ask the same question, but I won’t. I’ll just say that we both should feel grateful and leave it there.”

  Cedric nodded then lay back on the bed. I straddled the top of him as he tucked a fluffy pillow behind his head and narrowed his light brown eyes to stare at me. His eyes scanned down my naked body. It didn’t take much longer for his hands to roam. From the small curves in my hips to my plump ass that was just right, Cedric squeezed all of that and then some. I was so hungry for him that I reached for his package and positioned it to enter me. As my pussy lips sucked him into the heat I was packing, he closed his eyes. His hips started to grind in circles with mine, and the sound of my creamy juices being stirred played like theme music to our ears.

  Minutes later, things sped up and we were going at it like two dogs in heat. The mattress squeaked and the loose headboard kept slamming against the wall. I was putting in some serious overtime, doing my best to please the one man who kept me satisfied more than any other.

  “Yeah, you bad. Work that pussy on me, baby,” Cedric said with a healthy portion of my ass gripped in his hands.

  I rubbed the minimal hair on his buffed chest, and then gripped his broad shoulders so I could have something to hold on to when I increased my pace. I always got excited when he talked dirty to me, but there were times when he got too animated and went a little overboard.

  “That’s right, bitch!” he spewed through gritted teeth and smacked my ass. “Serve Daddy like you supposed to! Do that shit, girl, do it!”

  By now sweat was raining down on my body. Per his request I was doing it. My pussy felt swollen from being beat by his mammoth-sized package that Cedric always used as a weapon. I was just about ready to cum. The moment my toes curled Cedric hurried to lay me on my back. He threw my long legs over his shoulders and broke into my insides like a thief in the night. For fifteen more minutes, we went at it. Then it happened: The same thing that happened every time we got together. It was always the one thing that brought our sex sessions to an end. I couldn’t help myself from going there. I wanted to know what his wife ha
d been up to, because I hadn’t heard from her today.

  “Why go there?” Cedric looked down at me with a blank expression on his face. “Why must you bring up her name every time we get together?”

  “Because I can’t help but to wonder how she would feel about all of this? I mean, do you fuck her as well as you screw me? I hate to keep asking, because one of you is lying. She says you do, you say you don’t. What’s really the truth?”

  Cedric eased his dripping wet goodness from my insides, causing my coochie lips to lock. He released a deep sigh and shook his head.

  “The truth is, all that shit you talking right now don’t matter. I always try to do nice things for you, Evelyn, just so you’ll recognize how much you really mean to me. You’re pushing me away with your bullshit. Don’t be mad at me when I tell you I’ve had enough.”

  As Cedric got dressed to go, I sat on the bed and pouted. Maybe I had been too hard on him, but then again, maybe not. After all, he was my friend’s husband. Kayla would kill us if she knew about this, but this was not about me being in love with Cedric. I was in love with his money: Money that I needed right now and saw no other way to get it. Kayla had everything in life she wanted. Sharing a piece of her husband’s dick wasn’t going to cause her world to come tumbling down. She knew Cedric was no good, and after fifteen years of marriage all they did was put up with each other.

  I honestly didn’t view this situation as a big betrayal. I assumed that Cedric didn’t love Kayla anymore and that she didn’t love him. They stayed in their marriage because of their sixteen-year-old son, Jacoby. That in itself was the wrong reason.

  Feeling kind of bad for bringing up Kayla around Cedric, I realized that I had some quick making up to do. But when I got out of bed, Cedric was dressed and ready to go. He was one fine man who knew how to turn up the heat in the bedroom. He also knew how to present himself as a professional businessman. The business suit he wore clung to his athletic frame that had been there since college. At thirty-eight, Cedric had his act together. I wasn’t the only woman who craved him. Many people thought he was the real Columbus Short, and some women were foolish enough to run up to him for an autograph. So, not only did Kayla have her hands full with me, but she also had her hands full with tricks who desired to have her husband for his looks, and with those who wanted him for his money.