Larry joined Shae on her front porch. He lowered his voice. “So, ya brother is in the gang, I heard?” Shae remained silent. “Booney and them was talking about it the other day. I can’t believe Toby would get mixed up in something like that.” He shook his head.
“Yeah,” she mumbled. “Me neither.” She fidgeted in her seat. “I don’t really want to talk about it.”
Larry attempted light-heartedness. “Well, it’s better for him to be selling drugs instead of using.”
“That’s not funny. Just shut up. I said I didn’t want to talk about it.”
“Hey, sor—ry.”
They both grew silent and watched some people across from them try to start a fire on a charcoal grill. At first, it didn’t catch, but one man kept squeezing lighter fluid on the coals. When it finally caught, a big “whoosh” had everyone backing off in a hurry.
“Now, that’s a fire!” someone yelled, and they all cracked up.
James Wallace ambled up the sidewalk. He paused to watch the men messing with the grill. He shook his head, laughing. When he saw Shae and Larry, he went over.
“What’s up?” he greeted.
“Ain’t nothing much,” Larry replied as they slapped hands. Shae chose to ignore him. He gave her a puzzled look, shook his head, and sat down. He just couldn’t figure her out. One day, she was letting him suck on her tits, the next she was giving him attitude. Women. He loved them madly, but could do without the PMS.
“Y’all heard about ya boy, Chancey?” he asked.
“Nah, what happened?” Larry asked.
“Somebody capped that nigga last night. They found him in an alley with a bullet in his head. His car was all shot up, too. You know he used to sell crack, then he started using. He always ended up smoking more than he sold. Somebody said he fucked up and smoked the wrong nigga’s shit. When he couldn’t come up with the cash, he got offed. ”
“Damn. That’s fucked you. But, I guess that’s how it is in the world of drugs,” Larry said.
“I know what you mean.” James got quiet, his forehead creased in thought.
“What’s wrong, man?” Larry asked. “You’re concentrating mighty hard. It must hurt.”
“Nothing. Well—I’m leaving here next week,” he said.
“What?” Both Larry and Shae asked.
“I’m heading out,” he told them. “I joined the Army.” They stared at him, speechless. James took it to mean that they didn’t believe him. “I’m serious. I’ll be leaving next Tuesday. Ain’t nothing here for me in these projects. This ain’t no kinda life.” He shook his head, looking at the men cooking on the grill. He wanted so much more for himself than to end up like those losers. All they did was sit around gambling, smoking, and drinking. Occasionally they’d argue and fight. When things were going well, they had cookouts. There had to be more to life than that. A grown ass man should have his own and not live in the projects with his mama.
He knew he’d been half-stepping. Since he’d graduated from high school, he hopped from one meaningless job to the next. He also went from one woman to the next. Now, he’d fathered more children than he cared to admit.
“I know what you mean,” Larry agreed. “Soon as school is out, I’ll be heading to Ohio myself.”
“I been thinking ‘bout it for a long time,” James continued, ignoring Larry’s news. It hadn’t slipped past Shae, though. Her heart seemed to skip a beat and suddenly it grew difficult for her to breathe. She found it hard to continue listening to the conversation.
“I have three, possibly four kids, and I’m not even twenty-one. I want to be able to take care of mine. I don’t want them living like I have.” He’d watched his mama struggle since before he could remember. She had little education and worked many dead-end jobs just to take care of him and his three sisters. All her money went toward keeping the bills paid. She never had anything left over to do much with. She was in her late forties and didn’t have anything that she could call her own. It seemed to him that all her hard work over the years had been for nothing. When she died, she wouldn’t have anything she could leave to her kids, except unpaid debts.
He didn’t want to end up like that. He wanted to have something he could pass on to his children. He needed a legacy. The Army would enable him to have that.
“I know what you mean,” Larry repeated, still slightly shocked. They all fell silent, each thinking their own thoughts.
“So, Shae?” James broke the silence. “Can a brother finally get some before he leaves?” he asked.
“Go to hell.” She got up and went inside, letting the screen door slam behind her.
“What’s up with her?” James asked. “I was just joking.”
“She’s upset about Toby selling drugs. Don’t try her like that, man.” Larry suddenly felt protective of Shae. James was always taking things too far.
“Since when did you become her watch dog?”
Irritation crept into his voice. “Me and Shae go way back. You know that,” he answered.
“What’s up, nigga? Are you getting soft on Shae or something?” He laughed when Larry didn’t answer. “Aw, man you got it bad.”
“Whatever.”
James wouldn’t drop the subject. Instead, he began to sing:
“I've been there, done it, humped around
After all that - this is what I found
Nobody wants to be alone
If you're touched by the words in this song
Then maybe...
U got, u got it bad”
“Man, fuck you.” Larry got up and followed Shae inside. As usual, Ma Violet sat in her rocker by the window. “Hello Ma Violet.”
She nodded. “Hey, baby. How you doing?”
James entered. “Hi Ma Violet,” he said. Ma Violet snorted and turned up her nose. The wooden chair squeaked as she rocked, watched, and listened. She’d heard what he asked her granddaughter and didn’t appreciate it one bit.
Mannish lil demon, she thought.
“Man, why don’t she like me?” James whispered to Shae, sitting on the couch next to her.
“I don’t know,” she answered. The truth was, she really didn’t care. At that moment, she couldn’t stand him too much herself. It dawned on her that James had always been annoying. The only reason she put up with him was because he was a paymaster. Now, she hated the fact that she’d ever let him touch her. There wasn’t enough money in the world that could convince her to sleep with his trifling behind.
“You know ya arms too short to box with grandma,” Larry joked. The two of them doubled over. Shae’s scowl cut their laughter short.
James frowned. “Shae, ya sour mood is getting on my nerves. The last time I ran into you at the store, you had an attitude. Hell, I’m not the one responsible for you problems, so why are taking it out on me? You been walking ‘round with ya ass on ya shoulder all week. Damn,” he complained.
“It’s my ass,” she told him.
“What’s bugging you? You PMSing or something?”
“None of ya damn business. If you don’t like the way I’m acting, then step.”
“Shit, I will. I don’t have to take this.” He was through tiptoeing around her. She acted like she was the only female that had a vagina. Well, it wasn’t like she was giving any to him. She was a big tease. He was still pissed off about her giving him blue balls the other night. “I get aggravated enough from other nappy headed hoes.” He stood.
Shea jumped up, too. “You calling me a nappy headed ho?”
“Come on, Shae. Chill out,” Larry intervened. “James, you too, man.” They both ignored him.
“If you a ho, you a ho. Simple as that. Don’t matter if you nappy headed or not,” James snarled.
“Keep talking shit and I’ll show you what a ho can do.”
“Bitch, you don’t scare me.” James pointed in her face.
“Wait a minute! Chill out!” Larry got up and stood between the two. “James, there you go taking things too far aga
in, man. You don’t have to be disrespectful.”
James’ lips twisted. “Fuck you, nigga. She got you whipped and you ain’t never getting in the panties.”
Larry’s face darkened. “James, don’t try me.” He’d let too much slide and now his anger was evident.
James knew he’d instigated the situation, but pride wouldn’t let him back down. “What’s up? You wanna do something? Bring it on then, nigga.”
“Look, James, I don’t want to fight you. This is stupid. Why you tripping and shit, man? We dawgs. I thought we was down?” Larry tried to appeal to the years of friendship between them. It must have worked because James threw up his hands and backed off.
“Fuck it. I’m out. I’m going where I can get with a real female, not some stuck-up, tight ho like that. Both of y’all can kiss my black ass.” He left in a huff, letting the door slam.
“Nasty mouth buzzard,” Ma Violet said. “Should of got rid of him a long time ago. He ain’t no darn good. I hope the Army teach him some respect.”
Shae and Larry looked at each other and exploded with laughter.
“Ma Violet a trip,” Larry said. Shae shook her head in agreement. The things that James said had gotten under her skin, and she wanted to forget them.
“She’s only speaking the truth, though.”
“Ma Violet don’t sugarcoat nothing. She tells it like it is.” Larry shook his head. “I hope the Army molds that nigga into a man. He’ll get his ass kicked trying me.”
“Whatever Larry. You’re a lover, not a fighter.” Shae laughed.
“Yeah, you’re right about that.” He wanted to say, “I’ll fight for you.” Instead he changed the subject. “You got anything cold to drink?”
“What do you want?”
“I want some good old red Kool-Aid.”
“You know I don’t drink that shit.” Shae said, heading for the kitchen. “How about a soda?”
“That’ll work.”
She handed him a Pepsi and sat down next to him on the couch. They watched television for a while. Ma Violet had long since nodded off in her rocking chair.
“Hey, ya grams fell asleep. Can you change off the Golden Girls?” Larry asked.
“I don’t feel like watching TV anymore. You want to go up to my room and listen to some CDs?”
“Yeah, okay. That’s cool.”
“I got that new Lil Wayne.”
“Do you have 50 Cent’s new one, too?”
“Yeah, I think so. You know how I am with music. I buy everything,” she said. “Come on.”
Larry followed her up the stairs. As she walked, he checked her out. He couldn’t help himself. She wore a South Pole jeans jumpsuit and she looked sexy as hell in it.
“What’s that smell?” he exclaimed when they reached the top of the stairway.
“It’s pee. The twins wet their beds again.” Shae turned up her nose. “I let the windows up to air it out but I guess it didn’t work.”
“Smell like a damn possum got loose and got carried away. Better Febreze that mug.”
Shae couldn’t hold back her laughter. Larry always cracked her up. He was a comedian in his own right and could probably run a ring around Chris Tucker.
She opened the door to her room. As they entered, Larry gazed around. He’d only been in Shae’s room once, so he marveled at the changes.
“What them niggas doing hanging on ya wall?” He referred to various posters of Shemar Moore and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. “I should be hanging right on the ceiling.” He gazed up and caught his reflection in the tiny mirrors. “I am on the ceiling. That’s tight.” He sat down on the bed before Shae had the opportunity to remove a stack of clean underwear she’d folded earlier. When he noticed her gaze and apparent embarrassment, he grabbed a pair of g-strings and held them up.
“Wow.” He whistled. He felt his nature rise just thinking about Shae wearing the sexy under-garments. “I guess it ain’t Victoria’s secret no more.” He wiggled the garment on the end of his index finger.
“Larry, stop.” She snatched them away from him. She quickly grabbed the rest and tucked them into a drawer. “What do you want to listen to first?” she asked.
“Don’t matter,” he stated. He picked up an Essence magazine and thumbed through it. Shae put a Toni Braxton CD in the stereo. “Why do you read this trash?” He tossed the magazine toward the garbage can. “Trash. That’s what it is.”
“Don’t be throwing my stuff away,” she chastised and retrieved the magazine. She placed it on top of others that rested on a nightstand.
“I see you got quite a music collection.” He got up and went over to browse through her CDs. “Play this one,” he said holding it up like an excited child.
“Which one?” she asked.
“Usher.” James had been right, he did have it bad.
“Usher? I don’t want to hear him right now. All he do is whine.”
“Whine? Oh no. Keith Sweat whines, not Usher.”
“Yes he does. Ever since Chili dumped his ass, he whines and cries on just about every song he got now.”
“Aw man, that’s cold. Chili didn’t dump him. They mutually agreed to part ways.”
“She gave that nigga the boot. I would have, too, if he’d gone behind my back and got another ho pregnant.”
“Hey, that’s just hearsay. Gossip. Regardless, I still want to hear him. Play the damn CD, woman.”
“Nope,” she refused.
“Come on, Shae. I’m your company. You’re supposed to let company have their way. I’m a guest.”
“Too bad.” She playfully snatched the CD out of his hands.
“Give that back. I’m going to hear it, one way or another.” He tried to take it back from her. They wrestled each other toward the bed. “Shae, give me the CD.” They stumbled at the edge of the bed, falling onto it. Larry landed on top of Shae.
Suddenly, the CD seemed unimportant. Larry gazed into Shae’s lovely face, completely mesmerized. She didn’t try to push him off her, and he made no move to get up.
“Larry, st-” she began. The sentence got cut off when he leaned forward and their lips met. Shae’s body responded instantly. She moaned as Larry’s tongue slipped into her mouth. A delicious feeling of warmth coursed through her entire body. She could feel Larry’s passion throbbing against her thigh, and it excited her.
“I want you,” Larry all but groaned and kissed her again. His hands found her breasts, but he couldn’t feel them through the thick material. He impatiently unzipped the front of the jumper and eased it from her shoulders. He trailed kisses along her collarbone and neck, stopping long enough to gaze into her eyes.
Shae looked dazed as she stared back at Larry. Her long hair cascaded around her shoulders. Her breasts strained against the flimsy material of her bra. He reached around and unhooked it and they sprang forth. Her erect nipples jutted out at him and he couldn’t resist taking one into his mouth. The moan came from the back of her throat. She didn’t protest when he raised her up and slipped the jumpsuit from her body. She was clothed in only a pair of g-string underwear, which didn’t cover much.
“You are too sexy,” he complimented. His hands shook when he touched her. He covered the other nipple with his warm mouth and she gasped. Never had she felt so hot. The pressure between her legs got so intense that it felt like she’d explode.
Larry worked on both nipples, alternating from the left to the right. He twirled his tongue around the tips then pulled them into his wet mouth. His hands moved downward and her underwear soon lay on the floor.
Larry started kissing every inch of Shae. His head went lower and lower. It seemed to take forever for his lips to find the center of her. When he did, he hesitated. He’d never gone down on a woman before, but he wanted his first experience to be with the woman that he loved. He breathed in deeply as he took the small, delicate part into his mouth. As he sucked, he could taste her juices, which he swallowed hungrily. He blew on her bud and experienced her rea
ction. Her moans had him throbbing with arousal. He stuck his tongue inside the opening and she froze.
“Don’t,” she protested in a weak voice. The things Larry were doing to her felt so good- better than the vibrator had ever felt. His mouth was so hot and his tongue so wet. She really wanted him to go on forever, but she had to stop it before it got out of control.
“Shae, don’t start tripping,” he said huskily. “You let me go this far. Why are you stopping me now?” He brought his head up from between her thighs and looked at her.
“I just don’t want to. You know I ain’t never did this before. Let’s just stop. Okay?” She pleaded half-heartedly, and tried to sit up. She remembered that she’d promised never to give herself to anyone from the projects. Technically, Larry wasn’t from the projects, so he didn’t really count.
“But, you do want to do this,” Larry stated. “I can feel it.” He pulled her against him and drowned her with heated kisses. An image of her with Dana flashed across his mind. He wouldn’t let some drug dealer get with his girl first. He would make sure of that. “Come on, Shae, let’s lose our virginity together.”
When she offered no further protest, he positioned himself between her thighs and pushed into her softness. She cried out from the slight pain and discomfort, but he stifled the sound by kissing her. He stroked in and out until he felt her loosened up.
Soon Shae raised her hips to meet him. Her body seemed to react on its own. Suddenly, she wanted Larry to go deeper. She pulled at his butt, allowing him to sink further into her love nest. She found herself wrapping her legs around his waist for even deeper penetration.
“You feel so good,” Larry moaned, as his thrusts became more powerful. He tried to hold back until she’d gotten satisfaction, but he felt himself slip. “Oh God, Shae.” He pushed into her as deep as he could go. She dug her fingernails into his back and bit down on his shoulder as she reached an intense orgasm. He could feel her muscles gripping him, and it drove him wild. He erupted like a volcano, spilling his lava deep into her crevices. “I love you,” he whispered. He doubted she’d heard the confession.
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