by K. C. Mills
I was almost to the door when I heard her call after me. “I’ll see you next weekend,” she said sounding hopeful as hell which made me laugh. I looked back over my shoulder and smiled before I hit the door. I was going to have to avoid her ass something serious if she actually showed up, but fuck it. I got what I needed so it was worth it. I would be paying Jace a visit sooner, rather than later.
-9-
Tasia
“Tay, this place is huge,” Kaliyah said as she moved from room to room, checking out our new apartment. The wood floors were freshly polished and the three exposed brick walls in the living room gave it a rustic cozy kind of feel. It was a three bedroom, two and a half baths with a second level loft area that over looked the living room. There were exposed pipes and wooden beams that lined the ceilings which added to its charm.
“Exactly, so I don’t know why you won’t just stay here with us. You can have that whole space all to yourself Liyah.” I pointed above our heads to the loft area, but Liyah had her back to me as she stared out the window looking down at the city. Her arms were spread wide, as she leaned slightly forward with her hands gripping the windowsill.
“I just need to be on my own Tay.” Liyah glanced at me over her shoulder before she finally turned, leaning back and shoving her hands deep into the pockets of the sweatpants that she had on. She looked so much like her brother standing there that I couldn’t help but smile. Her long, thin body was a contrast to his tall muscular frame, but they housed the same oval face and hazel eyes; a gift from their mother. Unlike Keem, Liyah didn’t have dimples but there was a small divot in the center of her chin.
“I get it, but I wouldn’t mind having you around.” I walked over to her and leaned into her body just a little, before I let my arm fall over her shoulder and my head, press against the side of hers.
“I’ll be here, a lot. Just not every day,” she said letting her arm snake around my waist pulling me closer to her. She and I had created a bond that was starting to mirror the one I had with Brit. Liyah was my family, my sister and I loved her just that much.
“So what do you think about the club?” Liyah asked, as she pulled away and began scanning the room again. After a few minutes she sat down in the center of our empty living room Indian style, so I walked over and joined her. We were currently waiting for the furniture we ordered to be delivered, so aside from the bedroom set we received two days ago, the place was pretty much empty.
“I’m excited. I think I’m more excited than your brother is.” I laughed as I leaned back, placing my arms behind me with my palms flat on the floor.
“I still don’t get why he wanted to open a club. Keem hates people, he doesn’t like when they’re in his personal space, and he doesn’t like being in the spotlight.”
“That’s the same thing I said but he was like, ‘I don’t hate people, I just don’t trust people,’” I shook my head.
“And how is that different?”
“Ask your brother, it makes sense to him.”
“So you ready to fight these hoes, because you know it’s about to be on and popping?” Liyah asked with a smirk.
“I’m not fighting anybody. If he can’t keep them in check, then that’s on him.”
“You know these hoes are disrespectful. They don’t care if a man has somebody, they see a come up and they’re all over it.” Liyah frowned and rolled her eyes like she was speaking form experience.
“Trust me, I know, but we’re solid so it’s all good. I just hope he can handle it. It’s really not on me, it’s on him.
“Girl please, my brother doesn’t see anybody but you,” Liyah said with a childlike grin.
“I hope you’re right.”
A few hours later, the furniture had arrived, and Liyah and I directed as they placed everything where I wanted it. I was in love with our new place and it was starting to feel like home. Aside from a few accents, I basically had everything the way that I wanted it. Keem had already made it clear that he wasn’t going to be a part of the process because he knew that I was going to take over anyway.
Liyah had taken over my old studio apartment since she insisted on having her own space, so after I drove her back home I decided to head back to the office to get a few things done. I hadn’t really talked to Keem all day, so I decided to stop by the club before I got to work.
The second I stepped inside, I smiled. I couldn’t believe how much things had changed, even though I was in there literally every other day. The decor was smoke gray, black and silver, which looked classy and modern. There was now a DJ booth off to the side of the stage that looked like it was suspended in the air, and the bar was like an oversized island that was lined with brushed nickel stools with charcoal gray leather cushions.
“I thought you were waiting on furniture?” Hakeem smiled, as he leaned back in his chair from behind his desk. His cheesing ass was always smiling now and swore it was all my fault.
“I was, but they already delivered it so I decided to come see what you were up to.” I walked over to him and positioned myself on his lap.
“Where’s Liyah?” Keem kissed the side of my neck as his hand slid up my thigh to my waist.
“I took her back to her apartment. Are you alone?” I asked looking back over my shoulder towards the door.
“Yeah, why?” Hakeem asked as he lifted my hand and laced his fingers through mine.
“Because I missed you.”
“Oh yeah?” he asked with a smirk.
“Yeah.” I stood and turned his chair slightly so that I was positioned between his legs. Again he leaned back but kept his eyes on me, as I unbuckled my jeans and stepped out of them, the rest of my shit hitting the floor before I leaned forward to unbuckle his jeans.
“This how we’re doing it now?” Hakeem asked, as he lifted his self slightly so that I could move his jeans down his thighs before I climbed onto his lap.
I laughed and looked down. “I guess so since your body seems to agree.”
Hakeem firmly gripped my waist, as I lifted myself and then slid by body down onto his manhood.
“You good Tay,” Keem’s voice vibrated through my chest as I sat still for a minute to adjust, and then my eyes locked on his as my hips slowly began to grind.
He held me in place and guided my motions, as I pressed my hands flat, firmly against his chest. I was gone the second he was inside me and he knew it. A smile spread across his face when he knew he had control, and every time I tried to lift myself to get relief, he held me in place, pressing me deeper into his lap. I gave up, closed my eyes and let go.
“Fuck Tay.” Hakeem knocked my hands free from his chest and pulled me into it. His mouth met my neck and he started gently biting and tugging on my skin, which of course wasn’t helping my situation, so within a matter of minutes I could feel my orgasm building and I began moving faster.
We were on the same page because he held me closer, burying his face in my neck and before long he held me down, as his body tensed up and went rigid. We both reached the perfect high together.
*****
“You know you’re wrong for that shit don’t you?” Hakeem came walking out his bathroom with a frown on his face. I was already dressed and sitting behind his desk.
“Wrong for what?” I asked.
“For bringing your hot ass in here, fucking up my grove. You know I won’t be able to do shit else today because all I’ll be able to think about is you.”
I burst out laughing because he sounded so serious.
“That’s your fault, you could have stopped me.”
“No hell, you know that shit is addictive, Tay. You knew what the fuck you were doing,” Hakeem said with a smirk, before he stood in front of me and leaned back on his desk. My eyes went straight to his waist since it was eye level.
“You better chill with that shit Tay, before I bend your ass over this desk.” Hakeem balled up his fist and let it tap the top of his desk twice.
“Nah, I’m good on th
at.” I stood up leaned into his body before I kissed him. His arms went behind my body, gripping my ass before he let them rest on the small of my back. “I have to go.” With one last peck, I tried to pull away but he held on tighter.
“I’ll be late; I need to check on a few things before I head home.” He watched my face waiting for a reaction. I could tell from the look on his face that there was more to it than just checking on a few things, but I decided not to pry. I was in a good mood and didn’t want to ruin it.
“Okay, well I’ll see you when you get home then.” I was finally able to move away from Hakeem, but he caught my hand and pulled my back into him for one last kiss before I left.
A few minutes later, I was in my office digging through a rack of clothes that I had set up for a black tie event that I was styling for.
“Soooo, are we all moved in yet?” Jacob asked in his typical dramatic fashion, as he strutted in and plopped down on the sectional that lined one wall of my office.
“For the most part.” I smiled thinking about our new place.
“So do I get an invite or do I just have to randomly show up and dare you not to let me?” Jacob asked before flashing me his pearly whites.
“I was thinking about a small dinner once we got everything all set up.”
“You cook?” Jacob looked at me like he was shocked.
“Yes Jacob, and I’m actually really good at it. I just don’t because I never have time.” I frowned at him before I lifted a black sheer dress and held it in the air.
“Hate it, you can just put that right back where you got it, and calm down love bug; I just didn’t figure you for the domestic type. You seem more like the expert orderer versus the expert cook kind of person,” Jacob said, focused on his phone, not moved at all, as if he hadn’t just mildly insulted me, which made me laugh. He was always so blunt; it was like you couldn’t really be offended, it’s just who he was.
“Well you’re wrong.” I rehung the dress that I had been looking at before I took a seat next to Jacob.
“I think I have a situation.” I looked up at Jacob, who dropped his phone in his lap and was now giving me his undivided attention.
“I’m waiting,” Jacob said turning slightly towards me.
“You remember when I told you that Jace came by here and basically told me that he wasn’t over us?”
Jacob’s face creased into the most serious stare.
“Yeah, and?” he asked.
“Well, I think he’s been—scratch that— I know he’s been following me.”
“And what did our man have to say about that?”
“He caught him once and damn near lost it, but I didn’t tell him about the others.” I waited for Jacob to respond, hoping he didn’t assume that I was up to something.
“So you’re keeping secrets, that’s not good love.”
“It’s not like really keeping secrets. I just—”
“You just don’t want Jace to come up missing,” Jacob cut me off, but I was more concerned about what he said versus that fact that he cut me off.
“Don’t look at me like that Tasia. I know who your man is. It shows in everything he does love bug.”
“What do you mean you know who he is?” I asked, wondering if Jacob actually knew about Hakeem being in the streets.
“He brought you a building, he just brought a club, you moved into an apartment that cost more than I’ll likely make in my lifetime, and as far as I can tell, I’ve never heard you mention a damn thing about him actually going to work.” Jacob lifted both hands to create air quotes when he said the word work.
I laughed and then shrugged. “Yeah, I guess I didn’t really think about that.”
“I’m sure you didn’t mafia princess,” Jacob said with a devilish grin.
“We went to Solano’s a few days ago for lunch and Jace was parked outside. When Keem saw him, Jace jumped in his car and left but I know Keem, he’s not going to stop until he makes it clear to Jace that I’m off limits.”
“Honey, let it go. That man obviously does things his way, and if you try to stop him then it’s going to look like you’re protecting Jace and trust me, that’s the last thing you want. No man likes to feel like another man holds any type of place in his woman’s heart.”
I gave Jacob a strange look which he immediately picked up on. “Yes boo, I know a little something about relationships so stop looking at me like my freak flag is flying.”
I couldn’t help but giggle at Jacob’s freak flag comment. “I know that and I’m not going to defend Jace to Keem, but I just don’t want to give him a reason to go after Jace either, and if I tell him that Jace showed up here and that I’ve noticed him following me more than once, then that’s exactly what he’s going to do.”
“But what if he does go after him and Jace tells him about your little rendezvous instead of you. Keem will be trying to figure out why you didn’t tell him, which is going to look bad love bug. Men protect, that’s what we do and when you take away our right to do so, then it’s like saying you don’t respect us as a man. Trust me, I have that problem with Will all the time and it’s a serious issue.”
“Fine, I’ll tell him, but if this backfires on me then you are gonna regret it, because I’m firing you.” I gave Jacob a devilish smirk which he totally ignored.
“If it backfires then you just give that man the best sex of his life to let him know where your loyalties lie and everything will be all good.”
“Oh my God, I’m done. Let’s get to work.”
-10-
Hakeem
I looked down at my phone and I was receiving the third call from Tay, likely since I hadn’t answered the first two. I took a deep breath and tried to get my head right so that I could deal with the twenty questions that were about to come my way.
As I held the phone to my ear, I let my head fall back, turned just enough to keep my eyes on Jace’s building to make sure I didn’t miss him coming home.
“What’s up Tay?”
“Something wrong?” she asked. I knew I sounded irritated but couldn’t really control it. I was mad as hell that I hadn’t caught up with Jace yet.
“Nah, I’m good ma, what’s up?”
“When are you coming home?”
“Not sure, hopefully not too long. Why, you miss me?” I could feel a smile forming as I closed my eyes briefly, just long enough to see Tay’s face in my head before I focused on Jace’s building again.
“Nah, I just want to make sure I get my other man out before you get here.” Tay’s words caught me off guard and I almost snapped.
“Oh, so you think that shit is funny. What if I tell you I’ll be home as soon as I pull up out of this hoe I’m in right now.”
“Don’t make me come find you Keem, that shit is not funny.”
I let out a light chuckle. “Yo, watch your damn mouth. You know I’m just fucking with you but don’t put it out there if you can’t take it.”
“Shut up, where are you?”
“Out,” was all I said.
“You must really be with some hoe if you can’t tell me where you are,” Tay pouted.
“Chill with that shit, you know better. I’m just handling some shit right now. I don’t want or need anybody but you.” Just as the words left my mouth, I finally saw Jace’s punk ass walking towards his building. “About fucking time,” I mumbled without even realizing it.
“About time for what Keem?” Tay asked throwing me off.
“Nothing ma, I was waiting on somebody but I have to go. I’ll be home in a few. I love you, be naked.”
“Love you too and hurry up or I’ll be sleep.”
I pulled the handle to my truck to get out. “It’s early as fuck Tay, how are you even thinking about going to sleep?”
“I’m tired and you’re not here so I’m bored.”
I laughed. “You’re so damn spoiled, just get naked and chill with all that pouty shit. I’ll be there soon.”
“You better,�
�� she whined.
“Don’t be threatening me Tay, but I love you and I have to go.”
“Bye,” she whined and then ended the call.
I turned my phone off, checked my gun and then shut and locked my doors before I made my way across the street. Jace was about to get up close and personal with my dark side.
As soon as I entered the lobby, I looked around and noticed the security guard who was too busy on his phone to pay attention to me, so I moved right past him confidently like I belonged and knew where I was going, just in case he decided to his damn job. Of course he didn’t, so I went straight to the elevator unnoticed. Jace lived on the eighth floor, giving me the ability to go straight to his door. I thought for sure he would be in a penthouse apartment. People like him liked to pretend like they owned the world, but apparently his paper wasn’t as tight as he liked to pretend it was.
After I stepped off the elevator, I checked the wall to figure out the direction of his apartment and then followed the arrow pointed to his number. When I reached his door, I didn’t bother taking my piece out because I really wanted to lay hands on him. I felt an ass whooping coming on something major and killing him wasn’t really the best option in a building like this.
I knocked on the door and stepped to the side, even though there wasn’t any way that he could see me unless he actually opened the door. Just as I suspected, his arrogant ass didn’t even bother to check to see who was at the door before he opened it. The second he pulled the door back, I rushed him with a hard blow right to his jaw that sent him backwards.
After he recovered he grabbed his face, looked at me and laughed. “I should have known that you would eventually show up.” Jace flexed his jaw before he looked at me with a smug grin.
I took a step towards him but he didn’t move. I had to give it to him, he had balls, but that confidence was about to quickly be wiped away.
“You don’t know me and I don’t know you so let me make myself real clear. Tay is off limits. You don’t need to be in the same zip code at the same time and if I see that shit happening then your people will be planning a funeral.”