by K, S
Soul stopped as well and stared at his best friend. “What, muthafucka? If the stiletto fits, the bitch gotta wear it. And from where I’m standing them muthafuckas fittin' as if they were custom made for her trick ass.”
“Man, stop...! You killin’ me!” They both walked to cool down, still laughing. Amir pulled his shirt off and wiped the perspiration from his face with it. “Damn, it’s barely nine o’clock in the morning, and its scorching hot out here!”
“Yeah, and we thought we were getting an early start.”
They both sat down under a tree that provided a little relief from the beating sun and watched two women pass by wearing sports bras and tight biker shorts. "Hi Amir," they sang in unison, wiggling their fingers in greeting.
Amir flashed his famous smile, dimples in full affect. "Hi ladies. How are you today?"
"Fine." Again, they both answered at the same time.
"Oh, yeah. I can see that."
The women giggled at his obvious flirting. "We were wondering when we could all get together and get a repeat of last time."
"We'll definitely have to do that again. I'll be calling you. Soon."
As they walked away, Soul and Amir didn’t even try to hide the fact that they were staring at their asses. Soul looked at Amir. "Damn, playa. Both of them??”
Amir only grinned and shrugged.
“Wow, I miss being single.” Soul sighed heavily before changing the subject. “You didn’t forget about the party tonight at my house, did you? Sharon would tear you a new asshole if you didn’t show up."
“Nah, I haven’t forgotten.” As if a thought suddenly entered his mind, he shot Soul a suspicious look. “Hold up. What's so important about making sure I get there tonight? This is like the fifth time you’ve asked me in the last couple of days. Soul, please tell me Sharon is not trying to set me up again.” Amir fixed his buddy with a stare that said he was not for being tortured tonight.
Soul looked everywhere except at Amir. “How would I know?” As Amir’s stare turned into a glare, Soul caved. “A'ight, a'ight! Okay, yeah. She might have mentioned this woman who she thinks would be perfect for you, make you finally settle down and stop bein' a ho' yourself.”
When Amir’s brows bunched together, Soul threw his hands up in his defense. “Hey, those were Sharon's words, not mine. You lucky she lets me hang around you knowing how many women you have on standby,” Soul teased. "But seriously, though, you know she just cares about you and wants you to be happy."
Amir looked at him for a moment longer then lay back on the ground. He grew silent and covered his face with arm. This would make about the sixth or seventh time Sharon had tried to fix him up with a ‘nice girl’ as she called them. Sharon’s version of nice was cute but boring. Yeah, they’d make someone a terrific wife, but he wasn’t the one. Plus, right now he didn’t want 'nice'. Not only was he not looking for a wife, he had no intention of ever getting married. Aleesha was the one and only woman he could have seen himself taking that step with and he'd royally fucked that up. Clenching his jaw, Amir purposely diverted his thoughts away from that subject, but it seemed as if Soul was thinking along the same lines.
“Yo, Mir, in Sharon's defense man, you have gone a li'l pussy crazy since you and Leesh broke up man.”
Amir sat up and got to his feet. “Soul…”
“I know you don’t want to talk about it, but come on, bruh. It's been over a year since you and she broke up. She’s happily married now and has moved on with her life.” Soul stood up as well. “Can you honestly say you’ve done the same?”
Now it was Amir's turn to avoid eye contact. He knew it was mostly his fault the reason why he and Aleesha weren’t together anymore. Yeah, he had loved her, but that hadn’t stopped him from cheating. And then that bitch Simone had come by the house and told her about the affair they'd been having. There was no way Aleesha would even speak to him after that, let alone give them another chance.
Not that he blamed her. He didn’t know why he'd messed around on her. Sex with Leesh had been hella good. Women had never been a problem for Amir, but after he’d gotten involved with Aleesha, the shit had gotten ridiculous. Every time he turned around, females were hitting on him. It didn’t matter when he told them he was engaged to be married; that fact only seemed to make him more attractive. Mir admitted he was weak when it came to turning down pussy, and because of it, he had lost the best thing that ever happened to him. So yeah, he probably had gone buck fuckin' wild within the last year, but hey, he was a single man now. He didn’t have to answer to any woman, and he planned to keep it that way.
Amir slipped his shades on as he and Soul started walking to their cars. “Look, I know Sharon means well and all, but I don’t want to settle down. And then she picks these little Betty homemaker types thinking that’s gonna make me want a wife and kids.”
“Yeah. That's because she says all you fuck with are slutty lookin' women. Personally? I don’t see a problem with them. I mean…you my damn hero.” Soul and Amir laughed as they exchanged dap.
“If you know what’s good for you, you better not let Sharon hear you say that.”
“Do I look like a fool to you? Why do you think I go along with all her crazy schemes? Real talk, though, there’s nothing wrong with the women she’s introduced you to.”
“You ever thought maybe Sharon is doing them more harm than good?" Amir asked. "I screw around with the type of women I do because we both know the score. They may have thoughts of settling down with me, but none of them can say I’m not clear on what it is to begin with.”
Amir got in his car and looked at Soul. “Before Sharon sets me up with one of her sweet li’l friends again, maybe she needs to remember that old saying: you can never turn a bad girl good, but once you turn a good girl bad, she’s gone forever.”
He peeled off with a wave and screech of his tires, leaving Soul staring after him. Soul thought about Sharon’s co-worker who she intended to introduce Amir to tonight. She was smart, hot, and career minded - and she didn’t take no shit. Amir was his boy, but she was just the kind of woman he needed. Tonight was going to be very interesting.
Chapter 3
It was after 10:00 pm by the time Amir pulled up to Soul and Sharon's house. He knew he was almost two hours late and would have to smooth Sharon’s ruffled feathers, but at least he was there. Besides, it wouldn’t be the first time Sharon was a little perturbed with him and he was sure it wouldn’t be the last.
Amir and Soul had been best friends since their Morehouse days. They had pledged the same fraternity and were known as the BMOC - big men on campus. Both men were intelligent, good looking, and excelled in athletics as well as academics and had their choice of any woman they wanted. They were like kids in a fully stocked candy store that offered an array of diverse sweets - that is until Soul fell for Sharon. They began dating in their junior year, and six months after they graduated, got married and had been together ever since.
Amir thought about Sharon as he rang the doorbell. She was a good woman and he knew Soul loved her. He’d had plenty of opportunities to mess around, but he never entertained the invitations that were thrown his way. Amir often wondered if he would ever be able to devote himself to woman like that. If Aleesha hadn’t made him change his wild ways, he doubted there was any woman out there who could.
Suddenly, the door swung open and Sharon stood there glaring at him. She was so tiny, he almost smiled at the picture she made, but he didn’t dare. Instead he gave her his most innocent look before leaning down to kiss her cheek.
“You’re late,” she snapped.
“I know and I’m sorry. I was, uh, held up at the last minute.” The excuse sounded lame even to him. Amir sent Sharon an angelic smile, but when she continued to glare at him, the smile fell from his face. He was frantically searching his mind to come up with a way to get back into her good graces when the corners of her mouth lifted reluctantly.
“What's her name…if you even can remem
ber.” Sharon grabbed his arm and pulled him inside. “Amir, don’t you get tired of being with a new girl every other week? That gets old after a while.”
“Sharon…”
“You need to find a nice girl to spend time with.”
“And I suppose you have just the one for me - again - right?”
This time it was Sharon’s turn to look innocent. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Amir laughed and shook his head at her. Moments later, Soul walked up behind Sharon and slipped his arms around her waist. “Babe, at least let him get in the door good before you start in on him.”
Sharon looked at both of them and pushed her nose up in the air before walking off, no doubt in search of the friend she’d invited who just happened to be single. Amir knew the drill well. Laughing, he and Soul watched her go.
Amir turned to his friend. “You really have your hands full with that woman, don’t you?”
“Hell yeah, man, she keeps me on my toes. Between her and Destiny, I feel like I’m just a pawn in their world doing whatever they command me to do.”
Destiny was their five year old daughter, and was definitely a daddy’s girl. She had Soul wrapped around her little finger, but Amir was no better. He loved his little goddaughter. All she had to do was look at him with those big, brown eyes and say ‘Uncle Amir’, and he was putty in her hands.
“You had me worried there for a minute. I thought you weren’t gonna make it.”
“Yeah, right. As if I dared. Actually, Vanessa showed up on my doorstep a couple of hours before it was time for me to go and, well….you can imagine the rest.”
“Damn, boy, you got that woman sprung already. You’d better leave her alone unless you’re prepared to take over her sugar daddy’s role and keep her in the style he’s made her accustomed to.”
Amir let out a hard laugh. “Like I told her before, it ain't even that type of party, but I guess you’re right. She’s getting a little bit too involved. I don’t need the drama in my life.”
Amir looked around at the number of guests that overflowed from the living room, out to the back yard, and around the pool. “Wow, I see you have a full house.”
Amir stopped to speak to several people as they made their way to the bar to get a drink, trying to avoid more than a few of the women he’d slept with in the past.
“Yeah. You plan for a little get together, and before you know it, it’s standing room only.”
“You guys always throw a good party.”
They continued to make small talk as they walked outside. Amir caught up with friends he hadn’t seen in a while and began to enjoy himself. He had actually forgotten all about Sharon and her matchmaking until Soul nudged him in the ribs with his elbow. “Uh oh. Don’t look now, but it looks like my wife is makin' her move.”
Amir saw Sharon glancing around as if searching for someone until her eyes found him and Soul. She excitedly turned back to the person she was talking to. The woman had her back to Amir so he couldn’t tell what she looked like from the front, but the back view wasn’t bad - at all.
She seemed to be around average height, 5’5” or so. Her dark hair fell in soft waves just below her shoulders. As Amir’s eyes traveled down her body, he took in the sleeveless black fitted top which showed off a small waist. As his eyes wandered further down, he admired the way her snug, short skirt hugged the round curve of her backside. Amir lifted a brow. Looked as if Sharon may have outdone herself this time.
“Give me the quick lowdown on this one." He leaned his head towards Soul but kept his attention on the woman. “Who is she?”
Soul watched as Sharon grabbed the woman’s hand, who seemed even less enthused than Amir about being set up. “She moved here several months ago. She and Sharon hit it off right away at work. I’ve met her a couple of times.” He looked at Amir. “But, Mir, look. She’s not like the other women you usually fuck around with, man.”
Amir took a sip of his drink as he frowned at Soul, but before he could question him further, he heard Sharon’s overly cheerful voice calling out to them. “Hi you two. Honey you remember my friend, Alexis don’t you?” she asked Soul. Without giving him a chance to answer, she pulled Alexis forward and pushed her towards Amir with a big smile. “Amir, I’d like you to meet my friend and co-worker -”
“Oh my God. You…!” The woman stared at Amir in shock. He was accustomed to being recognized all the time, but this woman didn’t appear to be very happy to see him.
Amir squinted and searched his mind to try and remember if she was someone he’d slept with in the past. She did seem familiar, but he couldn’t quite place her face. Sharon glanced at Soul with questioning eyes, but Soul just shrugged, letting her know he was as lost as she.
A slight smile crawled over Amir's mouth. “I’m sorry, do we know…” Then he froze. Aww fuck! It couldn’t be! But as he looked at her closer, he realized that it was her. Now his expression somewhat mirrored hers.
Alexis frantically tried to quell her panic. Over the years, she'd successfully put him out of her mind. It hadn’t been easy, especially once he got drafted by the Falcons. He was always in the news being heralded as the next great football player ever. Every time she’d turned on her television, she’d seen his smiling face in commercials endorsing everything from cereal to popular sports drinks to luxury cars. He even got his own line of shoes. Kids everywhere wanted to grow up to be the next 'A-Man', as the media dubbed him.
However, after he got hurt and was forced to retire, the fickleness of the public eventually moved on to the next great athlete. She’d finally gained some semblance of peace. But that peace was now shattered into tiny shards of glass as he stood in front of her.
Neither one of them seemed to be able to look away as their minds traveled back to that weekend ten years ago: Freak Week in the ATL…
Chapter 4
Freak Week – Atlanta, Georgia
“I don’t know why I let you guys talk me into coming here,” Alexis told her friends as they checked into the hotel. “This is wild!”
“Girl, I can’t believe you’ve never been to Freak Week,” her girlfriend Jocelyn exclaimed. “I’ve been coming every year for spring break since I was a freshman.”
“We almost had to threaten her ass this time to get her here,” Mia, who was Alexis’ roommate, chimed in. “She’s so busy with her head in those books that she fooled around and let the whole college experience pass her by these last four years.”
Alexis wrinkled her nose up as her Soros continued to good naturedly needle her about her lack of a social life. “That’s not true. You heffas act like I never do anything. I go to parties, I go on dates. Just because I’m not in the clubs every weekend doesn’t mean I’m not enjoying college life. Some of you might need to take a page outta my book and study a little bit more instead of majoring in partying - Shalonda!”
They all laughed and looked at Shalonda Lansford, or Shay, as they called her. It was a well-known fact that she barely eked her way through the last semester in order to graduate with them next month. “Whatever, bitches. I don’t care. As long as I got that piece of paper in my hand when I exit the stage, I'm good. Anyway, I’m gonna have a job when I graduate regardless , so ya’ll can kiss my barely passing ass.”
Again, they cracked up because she was right. Her father owned one of the largest black magazines in circulation, and if Shay never worked a day in her life, she would be well taken care of. “Well, not all of us have the luxury of being a trust fund baby. I have to keep my grade point average up because of my scholarship,” Alexis said in her defense.
“Girl, you need to relax a little! This is spring break!”
“I am relaxed. Just because I don’t plan on sexing my way through the weekend, I’m not relaxed?” Lexie rolled her eyes at all of them as she punched the elevator button and waited for it to open.
“Oh, we know you don’t plan on doing that, Ms. Innocent and Pure. God forbid you actually decide to have sex. I
swear, you have to be the world’s only twenty-one year old virgin,” Shay laughed along with the other girls. “But seriously, all I’m saying is you need to take advantage of being here and find a guy or two - or three - and have some fun. Get that cherry popped and then tell 'em to step. This place is the crème de la crème of men. You can have your choice of fine, good looking stallions that aren’t looking for a commitment any more than you are.”
“Shay leave her alone,” Mia said. “She’ll do the nasty when she’s good and ready.” She smiled at Lexie before changing the subject in order to take the attention off of her roomie.
Alexis didn’t care, though. What they didn’t know was she planned on doing exactly what Shay suggested and find someone this weekend to have sex with. She’d finally get the whole “virgin” thing done and over with, and would never have to see the guy again. Perfect.
“Go! Go! Go! Go...!” Amir’s friends gathered around him as he chugged his fifth mug of brew. He and his buddy were trying to see who could drink the most beer before the timer went off. Amir eyed the pile of money that was going to the winner. As with everything, he loved to compete and win. He was already ahead by one glass and his frat brother wasn’t looking too good. Amir smiled as he smelled victory.
“Come on Amir!” His best friend, Soul, was timing them. “Thirty seconds!” Amir upended the glass and slammed it down with one second to spare. “Time’s up! Amir is the winner!”
They all drunkenly cheered and clapped as Amir took an unsteady bow. He didn’t really drink due to football, but because of spring break, he was making an exception. In a month when he graduated, he would be forced to leave times like this behind. He was favored to be a top draft pick in the NFL and knew that as a rookie, his dedication and attention would have to go towards being the best. For now, though, he planned on drinking and fucking a different girl every night until the end of spring break.