“Oh, baby!” I screamed while squeezing the pillows on the couch. “I wasted my—my money on that book! I’m taking it back tomorrow, I promise that muthafucka going back tomorrow!”
Roc slid his tongue out of my pussy, leaving it overly pleased. He licked around his wet lips, tasting the flavored juices I’d provided. “You damn right you takin’ it back tomorrow. I already read it before and in case you ain’t noticed, I’m very skillful at what I do, when I get a chance to do it.”
Roc got back to business and calling him skillful was putting it mildly. He was . . . the bomb and as we tackled almost every single room that night, he proved himself to be even more than that.
I wasn’t sure, but I thought I’d heard the house alarm go off. One of Jill Scott’s favorite hits echoed loudly in the background as Roc and I were sprawled out in my king-sized bed. I was in-between his legs with no clothes on and nothing but a dark blue 500-thread-count sheet covered our naked bodies. We were so exhausted from last night’s events and my body was hurting all over. In a good way, of course, as Roc had completely shown his talents. Reggie’s loving couldn’t compare and I got a taste of what I’d been missing for all those years.
I stretched my arms and when I tried to back away from Roc, my body was too sore to move. I laid myself back on top of him, causing him to wake up. He rubbed my backside, still covered with the sheet, and lightly smacked my butt.
“You put it on a nigga last night,” he confirmed. “I almost hate to ask, but what time is it?”
“Time for you to get your shit and get the fuck out of here!”
Roc quickly looked over my shoulder and my head snapped to look behind me. Reggie was standing in the bedroom’s doorway with fury in his eyes. I had a loss for words and hurried to cover my entire body with the sheet. Roc moved to the side of the bed and stood up.
“What in the hell is going on here?” Reggie shouted.
“Hey, man, I was just leavin’, but you comin’ at me like she yo’ wife or somethin’.”
“And I’m not,” I added. “Last time I checked, I lived here—alone. Now, what are you doing here?”
Reggie looked at me with pure disgust. “Are you that damn desperate to be fucking Latrel’s friend? Or was that a lie too?”
I really didn’t owe Reggie an explanation, but I knew he wasn’t leaving until he got one. I didn’t want to have this conversation in front of Roc and he wasn’t too anxious to hang around either. He’d already had on his shorts and his shirt was thrown over his shoulder. He grabbed his keys from the dresser and walked over to me as I stood by the bed. He lifted my chin and kissed my cheek.
“Handle yo’ business, baby, and the next time I come, I want that dinner you promised me. Don’t be afraid to tell homeboy what’s up and I’ll call to check on you later.”
I nodded and watched as Roc made his way past Reggie. They mean-mugged each other and Reggie had a hard time keeping his mouth shut.
“Is this shit some kind of joke? Are you kidding me, Dee? Is this the kind of nigga you want?”
Roc’s face twisted up. “Nigga, you don’t know me, and for the record, I ain’t yo’ son’s muthafuckin’ friend. Obviously, yo’ time with Dez is up and she breakin’ in new ground. Stop sweatin’ her and stop showin’ yo’ ass up without callin’. There’s a new sheriff in town and you can address me as Roc.”
I saw Reggie tighten his fist, and as soon as he swung, Roc ducked. I rushed over to both of them, but not in time enough for Roc to pin Reggie against the wall with Roc’s arm pressed into his throat. Reggie’s hands were gripped on Roc’s throat and they looked as if they were about to kill each other.
“Please, don’t,” I yelled while struggling to separate their arms. I in no way intended for this to happen and I pleaded with them to break away from each other. Roc looked at me, and seeing the hurt in my eyes, he backed away from Reggie. Roc gave him one last evil stare before walking away and moments later I heard the front door slam. Reggie lifted his hand in a backhanded position, causing me to slightly back away. He caught himself and gritted his teeth.
“I have never come this close to wanting to hurt you, Dee. I can understand you wanting to be with someone, but him? How old is that fool? You couldn’t be serious?”
I stepped further away from Reggie, putting on my robe to cover up. This was one awkward moment, but what Roc said quickly came to mind—Handle your business.
“Reggie, who I see is my business, not yours. You have no business showing up at this house like you do, and I’ve been allowing you to get away with it for too long. In the future, you need to call before you come. There’s a possibility that I may have company, and I do not want something like this to happen again.”
Reggie looked as if he’d seen a ghost. My words must have stunned him, as he seemed to be frozen in time. I had never seen him look so angry and it was as if he couldn’t find the right words to say. That was rare.
“I—I came over this morning to cut your grass. When I saw that punk’s car still in the driveway, I knew something was up. No, it’s not my business, Dee, but I can tell you this . . . you are making one big mistake. That gangbanger can’t offer you a damn thing and how dare you fuck him in the bed I used to make love to you in!” His voice rose. “What in the hell is wrong with you?”
“In case you haven’t noticed, my grass has already been cut.” I pointed to my chest. “And if I’m making a mistake, I’ll have to live with it, not you! For now, though, that gangbanger doing all of the right things. You saw for yourself, didn’t you, and the way he’s made me feel in such a short period of time is better than your sorry ass made me feel during the last several years of our marriage.” I pointed to my bed. “That bed belongs to me and I damn well will fuck anybody in it that I want to. Now, if you don’t mind, I have plans for this afternoon. Lock the door behind you and throw away your keys because you’ll never be able to use them again. I’m having all of the locks changed, something I should have done when you walked out on me and started your new life of freedom. I’ve adapted to your theme too and now it’s time for you to adjust as I have.”
Reggie dug in his pockets for his set of keys and threw them at me like he was a pitcher throwing a baseball. I ducked, but the keys slammed into the window behind me and cracked it. He stormed out of my room, slamming the front door behind him. I dropped to the bed and combed my fingers through my hair, gathering the back of it in my hand.
Damn it, I thought. How did I ever let something like this happen?
Chapter Five
Being with Roc on Friday nights—and him staying the night—was becoming a weekend ritual. I was starting to enjoy his company more and had even agreed to let him take me out for the day. He raved so much about my dinner last night and wanted to show me how much he appreciated my efforts.
We got dressed Saturday morning and Roc was so enthused that I decided to leave my house with him. It was kind of chilly outside, so I wore a waist-length blue jean jacket and matching wide-legged jeans. A soft pink top was underneath and three-inch stilettos covered my feet. I put my hair in a neat ponytail, leaving a sway of bangs on my forehead. I locked the front door, only to run back inside to get my CD. I got in the truck and handed the CD over to Roc.
“Here, baby,” I said. “Put this in your CD player.”
He laughed, realizing that his kind of music wasn’t going to do.
“What you got on here,” he asked.
“Crank it up and you’ll see.”
Roc snickered and put the CD in. He turned up the volume, only to be hit with Patti LaBelle’s
“Somebody Loves You Baby.”
“Hell no,” he laughed, switching to the next song, Aretha Franklin’s “Respect.” “Next.” He switched to the next song and Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” crooned. “Okay, we gettin’ there. I can do Marvin and I don’t mind gettin’ it on, especially with you.”
Roc leaned in for a kiss and backed out of my driveway. “So, whe
re’d you say we were going?” I asked.
“I didn’t say. And don’t be tryin’ to squeeze it out of me either. I told you it was a surprise.”
“I really don’t like surprises, but I’m going to trust you on this, okay?”
Roc nodded, and Marvin had become too much for him. He ejected the CD and the truck vibrated as T.I.’s, “Whatever You Like” blasted through the speakers.
“Please, please turn that down. How are we supposed to talk if we’ve got to yell at each other to do it?”
Roc turned down the volume and leaned his gorgeous self a little closer to me. “I turned the music down, so what you wanna talk about?”
“For starters, did you enjoy dinner as much as you claimed you did?”
“Dinner was off the chain. I love steak and shrimp and you did the damn thing. Shit was seasoned to perfection, just how I like it.”
“Good,” I said, having much more on my mind. I was starting to really feel Roc, and at this point I wanted to know more about him. We’d talked about some things, but there was still so much about him I didn’t know. Before I could get another word out, a car pulled beside us and a horn sounded. Roc turned his head and two females in the car waved at him. He nodded, then turned his attention back to me.
“Did you know them?” I asked. “You kind of played them off, didn’t you?”
“No, I didn’t know them and I guess they were just flirtin’ with me.”
“I assume that happens quite often.”
“Yeah, but I could say the same ’bout you. I know you get approached by a lot of men, don’t you?”
I shrugged. “I guess, but I never paid it much attention, especially since I was married for so long.”
“Now that you ain’t married no mo, are you just rollin’ with me?”
I placed my hand on the side of Roc’s face. “You and only you, snookums. As long as you keep satisfying me the way you do, I’d say there’s a very rare chance of my status changing.”
“Snookums? You are so full of shit,” he laughed.
“You be tryin’ to play with my mind and make a nigga feel good, don’t you?”
“I hope you do feel good about us, Roc, and I’m serious when I tell you how happy I am that I met you at the car wash that day.”
“You wasn’t singing that tune back then. That day you looked at me like I was some kind of fool or somethin’.”
“No, I didn’t. If you only knew what I was thinking that day.”
Roc displayed a big smile. “Tell me ’bout yo’ thoughts. I seriously wanna know.”
I cleared my throat. “I’m too ashamed to tell you. Just know that I had a feelin’ about us.”
“So you knew I was gon’ be hittin’ that pussy like I wanted to, huh?”
“Is that what you call it? Why do you have to be so blunt about everything?”
Roc looked himself over. “’Cause what you see is what you get. I am who I say I am. I say what I feel and feel what I want.” He touched my thigh and squeezed it.
“I don’t have a problem with that, but didn’t your parents teach you how to talk to people?”
“FYI, my moms died when I was three and my old dude been in the slamma for years. My uncle is the one who raised me, but the only thing he taught me was how to survive.”
Our conversation was getting interesting and I was starting to step into the unknown territory I wanted to, without upsetting him. “How do you make money? I hope you’re not telling me what I think you are, and if so, you can do better.”
Roc rubbed the neatly shaven hair on his chin and kept his eyes on the road. He leaned away from me, signaling that he didn’t really want to discuss this. “All I can say is it’s not what you think it is. I’m just a mover and shaker in the family, but my hands are clean.”
“Mover and shaker? Simplify that for me, please. I don’t understand.”
He stopped at the red light and looked over at me. “I move and I shake. It don’t get no simpler than that, and if you can’t figure out what that means then I can’t help you.”
I could tell he was irritated, but I pushed. “So, how much money do you make moving and shaking? And, what kinds of risks are involved?”
“There are risks involved in anything you do. As for the money, it’s good, but it can always be better.”
I defensively folded my arms. “Look, Roc. We’re cool and everything, but you make this moving and shaking thing sound kind of scary. Should I be concerned about riding with you and being in your presence?”
“No,” he said, picking up his vibrating phone. I knew he was avoiding our conversation and answering the call saved him. “Roc,” he answered. “Yeah, you know I’ll be at the club tonight, why wouldn’t I? Right now I’m chillin’ with this fine-ass woman, but she workin’ a nigga nerves, you feel me?” He looked over at me, just to see if I got the hint. I didn’t want to ruin our first day out together, so I chilled on the questions and saved them for later.
To avoid any more questions, Roc talked on the phone with his friend until we got to our destination. That’s when he ended the call and opened the door for me.
“Come on,” he said, reaching his hand out for mine. I took his hand, gripping it tight to get his attention.
“Listen, before we go inside, I need to say something,” I said. He stared at me without a blink. “Please don’t be rude and talk to your friends on my time. I know you did it to avoid any more questions from me, but if you want to continue this friendship, there are some things I need to know about you.”
“I just told you ’bout my mother, old dude, and ’bout what I do. Don’t blame me if you the one who can’t put two and two together. And if you want to continue this friendship, then I suggest you chill out with that tone you bringin’ and enjoy this day that I got planned for you, ma.”
He kept my hand clinched with his and moved forward as if our conversation was over. Obviously, Roc was used to having his way and getting what he wanted, but sometimes a man needed to be put in his place. I squeezed his hand again, halting his steps. He looked stunned that I challenged him.
“Let me make a suggestion to you too. I’m not the one, Roc, and if you continue with your controlling attitude, this will be the last time you’ll ever see me. Got it?”
Roc let go of my hand and I followed behind him as we walked into the spa. He confirmed my appointment with the receptionist and ignored me.
“She’s here for the private ultimate package,” he said. “How long will it take and tell us what it includes.”
The friendly receptionist laid a brochure on the counter and opened it. “It takes about six hours and includes: a custom-blended facial, Swedish massage, pedicure, manicure, a mineral body wrap, haircut and style, facial makeover using our makeup, and lunch with fresh flowers. How does that sound?”
Roc looked at me. “Are you gamin’ or what?”
“Are you going to stay with me?”
“I hadn’t planned to.”
“If you’re not going to stay, then—”
“This is a place for women. I—”
“No sir,” the woman interrupted. “You can stay too. We encourage men to stay, and they can assist with pampering their women too.”
I wanted to ease the tension between us. This was a good opportunity. “Is he allowed to rub my back and feet too?”
“Yes,” the lady said, massaging the air with her hands. “We’ll show him how to massage you in all of the right places to ease your tension.”
“Now, you know I have plenty of tension and how can you resist that?” I asked Roc.
He cut his eyes, but agreed to stay with me. I kissed his cheek and thanked him. “You’re so sweet, snookums,” I said. “When you want to be.”
“Get yo’ butt back in that room and change clothes. Just so you know, I’ll massage your back but I’m leavin’ yo’ feet up to the professionals.”
“And what’s wrong with my feet? I have some pretty, sexy toes and feet.”
“I won’t say all that, and I can really only vouch for that pretty pussy—”
I quickly turned, placing my hand over Roc’s mouth. “Would you watch what you say in here,” I said, smiling, but whispering. “That lady probably heard you.”
Roc moved my hand from his mouth. “I don’t give a damn if she heard me or not. This shit gonna dig deep in my pockets and I should be able to say what the hell I want to up in here.” He patted my ass. “Now, go get naked and let me have some fun.”
I entered the private room and it was to die for. The room was dressed with soft lime green and beige decor. A private whirlpool for two was in the middle, supported by four surrounding columns. A steam shower was to the left, and a flat screen TV was on the striped wallpapered walls. In one corner was a tiny bar and two lounging chaises were nearby. Two flat beds lay side-by-side and candles were all over the place. The smell of freshly cut flowers lit up the room and they were placed in glass vases. The lady explained everything that was on display in the room, including the exotic oils, down to the bathing beads that promised our skin a silky-smooth feel. I was in awe and before leaving, she gave Roc and me two thick white bathrobes to get comfortable in.
“When you’re ready for us,” she said. “Pick up the phone over there and we’ll come back in and get started. Have fun and enjoy yourselves.”
The lady left and I was still in shock. Reggie and I had never, ever done anything like this and it proved just how complacent we’d become in our marriage.
“Did you expect for me to stay here all by myself?” I asked.
“Hell no,” Roc said, reaching for my waist and bringing me to him. “I told you this was a surprise and I want you to lay back and enjoy yourself, a’ight?”
Full Figured Page 6