Thicker Than Water

by Takerra, Allen

  “You still there . . . at her house?” he asked, hoping he could see her.

  “Nope.”

  “You got class in the morning?” he asked, a sly grin crossing his face.

  “Nope,” she responded, aware of her power.

  They both chuckled before he finally asked, “You wanna come back over here?”

  Tatum accepted the offer, coolly.

  She headed home and threw a whole bunch of everything into her Louis Vuitton duffel, and then headed out for what was her first potential sleepover at Ree’s.

  Ree had just poured himself a shot of cognac from his personal bar when he heard a knock at the door. He didn’t usually drink, but Tatum put him in that mood to let go a little—she relaxed him. He opened the door and was greeted by her smile.

  “What’s up, Ms. Lady?”

  Ree was prepared for her to be at the door, due to his top of the line security system. He had cameras situated all around the perimeter of the house at every angle. With his status, he had to be extra cautious. Not only for potential enemies, but also the Feds, who wanted him so bad they could taste it.

  “How are you, Mr. Knights?” Tatum asked as she placed her bag on the floor. She had learned his last name and was way ahead of any female he had ever dealt with.

  She walked in and placed her bag on the floor. She loved his house. Whenever she came there she pretended that it was her own and it made her feel like a queen. The different color schemes that varied through each room were astoundingly gorgeous. The contemporary furniture in the dining area and bar made the living space look like a five-star hotel lobby. Ree had paid the top interior decorators in the tri-state area to put together his place. Decorating wasn’t an interest or a craft of his. Also, it was time-consuming, and Ree barely spent enough time at home to even consider the task.

  Tatum made her way to her favorite room in the house, the study, which stood at the top of the double stairway. The room held African-American art, vintage books, and even framed pictures of Malcolm X, Bob Marley, and Huey Newton that Tatum had never seen before.

  Ree followed behind her and once inside the room, Tatum turned and gave him a hug and a light kiss. He held her long after that and she let him, while they held silent eye contact for a minute longer. Tatum, in a daze, stared at him, wondering how she fell so easily. She had always had complete control over her emotions and had never been like this over a guy.

  “You all right?” Ree asked, leaning against his wood grain desk. Tatum nodded her head in response and smiled a bright one at him, like a schoolgirl with a crush. This was so Sasha-like, she had to laugh.

  Neli left Sasha’s apartment feeling defeated. Something inside her wished she was the one who had gotten assaulted and pistol-whipped just so she could have the reward of Chauncey’s affection. If only she could get him to feel the same way about her that he felt about Sasha. She once heard someone say desperate times call for desperate measures, and that is exactly what Neli planned on pursuing.

  She whipped out her cell phone and hit up Chris, Tatum’s brother. She had kept him close to her just to keep her near to Chauncey. Not to mention he was a sucker for her, and all she had to do was fuck him right.

  “Hey Chris, where you at?” she asked, in an ever-so-sweet tone.

  “I’m at the crib.”

  “Tatum there?” she asked, hoping that she wasn’t.

  “Nah.”

  Perfect, she thought to herself.

  “All right, I’m coming through.”

  When she showed up at Tatum’s house it was a little after eleven and she knew that Chris’s daughters were sleeping. She had purposely kept him waiting for her, building up anxiety and keeping her control over him. The more control I have over him, the more info I can milk him for. After she called and let him know she was downstairs, Chris hastily opened the door with a big I’m-about-to-get-some grin on his face.

  Neli played along, giving him a lustful eye as she slowly sashayed her hips down the hallway. Chris didn’t have any time for the cute shit; he had to get it while his daughters were asleep and while Tatum was gone. He grabbed Neli and began tearing at her clothes, giving her dry-ass kisses all over her body. He was no Chauncey.

  After they finished, about six minutes later, Neli lay back in his bed smoking a blunt, as Chris began razor-blading coke and bagging it up. Neli began to put her plan into action.

  “I’m saying Chris, why do you still live here? If you work with Chauncey and not for him . . . why don’t you have everything he has?”

  Chris looked at her and wanted to tell her to go fuck herself, but lately he had been thinking the same thing. Even though Chauncey was Ree’s right-hand man and it was no mystery that Chauncey was taking his steps into moving up in status, in Chris’s eyes, he still wasn’t the boss nigga that everyone else saw.

  To Chris, Chauncey was too flamboyant, attracting too much unwanted attention. He had his young niggas killing motherfuckers left and right, attracting bodies, attracting police. He was greedy with territory, never putting niggas on and never giving Chris his own shit to run.

  Even E, Chaunc’s man from NY, was doing it bigger than Chris. He was in charge of the whole area of Fairmount, and Chris had known Chauncey longer.

  “Whatever, ma, trust me, I’m getting paid,” Chris’s ego spoke.

  “Nigga, you ain’t got shit,” Neli quipped with a chuckle, knowing she had gotten under his skin.

  “Yes I do, and in a minute, I’m ’bout to shine. Imma get a crib, a couple of cars, we gonna stunt, ma, me and you.”

  “Me and you, huh?” Neli asked, sitting up in the bed, with just her red lace bra and an innocent look.

  “Yeah, ma, I’m telling you. I ain’t gonna be here forever, doing this shit forever. I got other plans, watch.”

  Neli had heard every word he said. She had other plans as well.

  After eating a delicious meal that Tatum prepared in his kitchen like it was her own, Ree and Tatum relaxed on his couch watching a Brazilian gangster movie called City of God. She felt unbelievably secure being there with him and in the back of her mind she couldn’t help but think that she could get used to this.

  “This movie is really good, Ree,” Tatum stated, getting more comfortable on the couch, as she placed her pedicured feet onto Ree’s lap. Tatum had never been the make the first move type of girl, but there was something about Ree that drew her into him. She imagined her drew just about anyone in his presence in. She could feel his semi-hard dick coming to life through his sweatpants as she rubbed her foot up and down his left thigh.

  “My feet are kinda cold,” she added, with a grin that read, You know I’m lying.

  He nodded his head slowly with a subtle smirk and looked down at her pretty toes as he let his eyes travel up her toned legs, to her thick thighs, to her tight stomach, to her breasts and up her neck, to her beautiful face, and finally landing on her hypnotizing eyes. She recognized her power over him.

  She could sense what was about to happen and she felt nervous and excited all at once. She had been fantasizing about what it would feel like to be with such a powerful man sexually. And although she didn’t want to admit it, she, like many women, craved to be handled by a true thoroughbred.

  Ree licked his lips as the thought of tasting Tatum entered his mind. He planned to make her cum—hard. He knew that there was a lot at risk in dealing with her and that the consequences could affect both of them. He also knew that she was different than a lot of females he had known and he had encountered some of the best by most people’s standards. He knew that she deserved a good nigga.

  On the flip side, he also knew that he was feeling her person, and she was sexy as hell to him, so he said, Fuck it, and went with the moment. He stopped all of the games and turned the movie off.

  “Hey, why’d you turn the movie off right after I just said I liked it?” she asked with a little humor, knowing damn well why he turned the flick off.

  “Come here,” he ord
ered with calm authority that made Tatum cream.

  Tatum gave him a yeah, okay look with a raised eyebrow but found that the demand in his voice turned her on. She repositioned herself on her hands and knees and crawled to his side of the couch. Her low-cut Donna Karan blouse gave Ree a nice view of her full breasts wrapped in a sexy lace bra. Before she could even reach him, Ree leaned over and strongly grabbed her by the waist, placing her on his lap facing him.

  She leaned in to kiss him, but he grabbed her gently by her long hair and pulled her head back before she could reach his lips, and then he licked and sucked lightly on her neck. Still holding her hair, he kissed her softly on the lips at first and then a little harder while his other hand reached under her blouse and unhooked her bra with ease. Tatum couldn’t even imagine it feeling any better. Her body shivered as if she was soaking wet in the middle of a blizzard as he licked and sucked on her nipples. She rubbed her hands through his dreads, grinding on his lap as she could feel herself becoming too damn hot. It had been a muthafuckin’ year since she got some, and this was feeling better than anything she had ever dreamed.

  He lifted her up off his lap and laid her down on the couch as he peeled off her jeans and pulled off her panties. He tongue-kissed up her thighs, causing her to squirm with eagerness, and then suddenly he stopped right when Tatum thought she was about to feel it. Anticipating his tongue, she moaned lightly and that turned him on even more. He knew what he was doing.

  “Tell me you want it,” he spoke, looking up at her.

  “I want it.”

  “You sure?” he asked while caressing her ass and looking for the answer in her eyes that would seal the deal.

  Tatum felt that he was not only talking about sex, but he was asking her if she was sure about this, about him, about coming into his world, giving herself to him in ways that could potentially lead to her being hurt. But damn it could also lead to happiness that she had never felt. She needed that. Was she sure?

  “Yes.”

  Ree tickled her clit with the tip of his tongue and then began giving her what would go down as the best head she ever received in her life. He parted her lips with his thumbs and licked her in all imaginable ways, his tongue caressing every crevice and every fold like a master. He started slow and light, then fast with more pressure, probing her with his tongue, causing her to actually fight the sensation of exploding.

  “Fuck,” she whispered out in pleasure.

  Even after she grabbed the pillows and pulled at his dreads, locking her legs around his neck and head, he kept going, and she kept cumming. After Tatum came the third time, Ree lifted with a hardness that pointed straight ahead through his sweats and Tatum knew what it was time for.

  He picked her up and carried her upstairs to the bedroom, placing her on his lavish king-size bed. After undressing, allowing Tatum to admire his cut-up tattoed physique, he pulled out a condom and right before he was about to put it on, Tatum gave him a little tongue tease. She licked the tip of his thick shaft, and then slowly slid him in her mouth, making sure to relax her throat. She sucked and licked him for a short time, just to give him a taste of what she could do. Then she stopped, looking up at him sexily. Ree had a look of pure ecstasy.

  He didn’t even know what to say. His mouth was open and he was caught off guard, half because he didn’t expect Tatum to give him head, and half because he didn’t know it was going to be so good.

  That was it, Tatum had him rock-hard, about to burst. He slid on the condom and worked himself into her and she felt like a slice of heaven to him. Ree took control and began hitting Tatum with a vicious stroke that had Tatum screaming and shaking, pulling her hair and biting the pillow.

  The sex was crazy, the bed was moving, the lamp was on the floor, the mattress was halfway falling off, and they couldn’t get enough. They went at it for what seemed like forever, giving in to every freaky desire that they had been thinking of. Ree gave her multiple backshots with orgasms to match, causing her to cream all over him and call for the Lord. And at the end of their round-for-round sexcapade, after they were both exhausted beyond belief, Ree got up, went to the bathroom, came back with a warm rag, and wiped her. She was in love.

  Chapter 7

  Jealousy

  “Where the fuck is Sasha at?” Tatum asked, taking a sip of her white zinfandel wine. She seldom drank, but the way she had been feeling lately was a cause for a celebration.

  “You know her ass always takes forever just to leave the house,” Kim joked. “Remember that time when that apartment down the hall from her was on fire? Bitch wouldn’t even leave the building without combing her wrap out.”

  They all busted out laughing. That was Sasha, all day.

  Tatum had invited her girls over to chill. She really wanted to tell them about Ree, but she knew she had to wait for Sasha. She would have a fit if Kim and Neli found out before her.

  “Kim, pass me some of that,” Neli said, eyeing the blunt.

  “All right now, don’t be slobbing all on my shit. You know you the wet mouth,” Kim joked, passing Neli the blunt.

  “Thank you, I promise I won’t get it wet,” Neli assured, smiling. The doorbell rang.

  “That’s her,” Tatum assumed, hopping up to get the door. She opened it and there was Sasha, smiling up a storm.

  “What you so happy about?” Tatum asked, smiling herself.

  “Nothing, what you so happy about?” Sasha shot back, and then they both busted out laughing.

  When they got into the living room, Sasha said her what’s-ups to her girls, then took a seat on the couch with Kim. She poured herself a glass of wine and slipped off her four-hundred-dollar Manolo Blahnik heels. Then she remembered what she had to tell them.

  “Oh, y’all all are invited to my mom and dad’s Fourth of July barbecue, so y’all better not make any plans.”

  “When is it?” Kim asked seriously.

  They all started cracking up.

  “Fourth of July, bitch!” Tatum screamed. Kim started laughing herself. After about a minute straight of clowning and cracking up, Kim added, “Oh you know I’m gonna be there, with Sasha’s fine-ass daddy.”

  “Unh-unh, Kim don’t be talking ’bout my daddy, my mom will fuck you up.”

  “Mrs. Seals’s Vanessa Williams–looking ass ain’t gonna fuck nobody up,” Kim cracked.

  They all laughed some more. They all loved going down to Sasha’s parents’ house. It was a mini mansion located on the outskirts of Somerset, NJ. It had five bedrooms, six bathrooms, a pool, a Jacuzzi, and a basketball court. And when they had their parties, they loved to entertain and show the fuck off.

  The only reason Sasha had moved up to North Jersey and out of her lavish surroundings was because after she moved from Atlanta when her family bought the house in Somerset, she had met Tatum at an elementary school summer scholars’ program and they became really close friends. They remained that way the whole time growing up, and soon Sasha became just as close with Kim, spending weekends at their houses and them even coming down to the suburbs some weekends.

  When the time came, she applied to all the colleges that Tatum said she was applying to. Plus, Sasha wanted to meet some up-north, true thug niggas and she wanted to see more of an urban lifestyle. She received a full scholarship to William Patterson University and got an apartment near Tatum’s house in Elizabeth, and their friendship grew even tighter ever since.

  “Okay, I’ve got something to say,” Tatum informed them, tapping her glass as though she were at a wedding.

  After all eyes were on her, she spoke.

  “Your girl, Tatum Mosley, has officially”—she paused and looked around at the waiting faces for dramtic effect—“been fucked.”

  They all jumped up smiling and screaming, clapping and hooting and hollering.

  “That’s what the fuck I’m talking about!” Kim screamed.

  “Congratulations!” Neli yelled out.

  “I knew that celibate shit was not gonna last, I’m
so proud of you,” Sasha added.

  “Yes, girls, Ree is the man. He is the real man.” Tatum smiled just thinking about the way he had her.

  “I’m so happy for you, Tay, it seems like you are really in love,” Neli declared.

  “Wait, I ain’t even say nothing about love,” Tatum protested, taking another sip of wine, trying to mask her true emotions. Everybody just looked at her with narrowed eyes but Kim was the one to speak what they all were thinking.

  “Yeah right, you ain’t give up the booty to nobody in a year, and this dread come and take your second virginity, and you gonna act like you ain’t in love, bitch, please!”

  Everybody slapped hands with Kim and started laughing again. Neli looked over at Sasha while they were laughing and admired how beautiful she was. At that moment, she was glad that Sasha was her friend and she was starting to feel bad for the things she had done to her. These were her girls and it felt good to have friends, especially ones that were beautiful inside and out.

  Kim said a couple of more jokes and they all laughed some more. Sasha put her arm around Neli as they jested together, and Neli felt good. She felt a part of something, like a family. She knew this was the time for her to put all the mess with Chauncey behind her. All of her jealousy and envy would go out with it, too, and she would focus on herself and her friendships. She loved Sasha.

  “Okay, wait, I got something to say,” Sasha spoke up, taking a gulp of wine fast to build up the nerve.

  “What?” everybody asked, sensing her nervousness. Neli put her hand on Sasha’s shoulder, urging her to go on.

  “There is a reason I came in here smiling tonight.” They all started to smile. They all had their preconceived thoughts of what she was about to say. Neli was smiling ear-to-ear because she just knew that Sasha had met someone and she was so happy for her. They all faced her and waited for the news.

  “Okay, I don’t know how to say this, and I know you guys are gonna say it’s too soon but—”