Lamar smacked spit out of her mouth, and before she came to from that blow, he backhanded her with the same hand.
“You dirty bitch, you burnt me,” Lamar said through clenched teeth.
Falisha tried to swing back, but Lamar blocked it, and then hit her with a closed fist, dropping her to the ground immediately. His attack didn’t stop there. He reached down and grabbed a handful of her hair, lifting her back up to her feet. Her legs felt like spaghetti noodles, and she could hardly see out of one eye. He put his hands around her neck and started choking her against the sink. She frantically clawed at his hands trying to get him off her, but the more she put up a fight, the darker it got for her.
“I should fuckin’ kill you, bitch,” he yelled, shaking her neck back and forth violently until her eyes started to roll in the back of her head. “Dumb bitch.”
Little Jordan crying was the only thing that snapped Lamar out of his trance. If it wasn’t for him, he probably would have killed Falisha. He let her go right at the moment she started to pass out. Falisha fell to the floor, knocking the kitchen chairs over with her. She was hurt pretty badly, but alive. Lamar squatted over the top of her and spoke.
“I want yo’ ass out of my fuckin’ house. It’s over,” he said and spit in her face before walking off.
Falisha lay there bleeding from her mouth. She wanted to get up, but she couldn’t. Her body was too weak to do anything. All she could see through her blurry vision was Lamar walking out of the front door with Jordan in his arms. This surely was the worst day of her life . . . and the drama was far from over.
* * *
Lisa wrapped her hands around Nate’s back, digging into it with her nails as he dug his dick deep inside of her. He stroked slow and hard, taking his time to make sure he hit every diameter of Lisa’s love box. His dick was touching places it had never touched before, and Lisa couldn’t believe how good it felt.
“Go deeper,” she whispered, then bit down on his chest.
Nate did go deeper, so much so that the condom popped. He almost busted a nut when he felt how soft her insides were.
“Hold on,” he told her as he pulled out. “I got another one.”
Nate reached in the nightstand and grabbed another condom. He took the broken condom off and was about to put the fresh one on when Lisa stopped him. She grabbed the condom out of his hand and placed it on the bed next to her.
“I wanna feel you,” she said, pulling Nate back down on her.
“Are you sure?”
Lisa nodded. “Just don’t come inside me,” she said, spreading her legs farther apart.
Nate entered her, cramming every inch of his hardness into her softness. Lisa moaned, digging her claws into his back again. It seemed like without the condom, Nate went even deeper. He looked down at her, and for the first time ever, he kissed Lisa. His full, thick lips softly pressed against hers, and after getting over the initial shock of it, Lisa kissed him back. It’d been almost two years since she’d kissed a man, but with Nate, it all came back to her, just like remembering how to ride a bike. His tongue became her tongue’s play toy.
Heavy breathing and grunts from Lisa was all that could be heard in the room. She was at the point where she wanted to come, but not in this position. It was a little too personal for her.
She pushed Nate’s body up, and then rolled over onto her stomach, spreading her legs slightly apart for him. He slid his dick inside her, while lying on her back. He grinded upward while biting and kissing her shoulder. Lisa tooted her ass up a little and could feel his girth rubbing against her G-spot every time he went into her.
“Don’t stop,” she panted, grinding her hips to his motion. “Right there. Oh yes, right there.”
Her pussy tightened around Nate’s dick, and as she came all over his dick, he too was at his point. He pulled out as previously instructed, and then jerked his dick the rest of the way. His come shot out onto the bed, but looking down at Lisa’s sexy body, he wanted so bad to push his dick back inside of her. Respecting her wishes, he restrained himself. He was happy and satisfied that he had made it this far, and for Lisa, this was more than a baby step. Today, she took more like a test drive around the block.
* * *
Chris’s five-hour pass turned into a visit at the halfway house. After Tammy spazzed out on him, he really didn’t feel like going anywhere. They sat in the visiting hall in silence, watching the rain through one of the windows. Tammy had cried her eyes out and got the bulk of what she had buried inside of her out on the table. She felt a little better, but Chris still had plenty of issues to deal with.
“So, what are we going to do?” Tammy asked, breaking the silence. “I’m so confused right now.”
“Well, as of right now, you got a fiancé at home waiting for you. To be honest wit’ you, I don’t even like him. I’m trying to give him a pass, because I know he doesn’t know any better,” Chris said.
Darious was another issue in itself. He was very disrespectful in his actions the day Chris stopped by. It may have been the whole territorial thing men have, but it was a bad move on Darious’s part, especially dealing with somebody like Chris. With Darious, it was like he wanted to establish his position in his household, which was respected to a certain extent, but with Chris, it was like a lion who left his pride, only to come back and find another weaker lion there.
It kind of shocked Tammy that Chris hadn’t done something to Darious by now. She could see a big change in Chris and the way he carried himself. Jail had not only preserved him, but it had matured him also.
“The one thing I can say is that I think ya dude really do love you. I remember I used to be like him when it came down to you. So, for that reason alone, I’m going to respect his boundaries and limit my visits to your house. I’ll send my mom to get the kids when I wanna see them.” Chris stood up, indicating that the visit was over.
“Why are you leaving?” Tammy asked, getting up from the couch as well.
“Visiting hours are over,” Chris said, pointing to the clock on the wall. “We’ll talk again soon.”
“Well, here, take these,” she said, digging in her bag and pulling out a set of keys. “The house is the same exact way it was when you left. I couldn’t sleep with another man in that house. After I moved, I kept paying the rent, so I’d always have a place to go if times ever got rough,” Tammy said, passing him the keys.
She refused to leave without getting a real hug from him, so she just stood in front of Chris, blocking the exit.
“I guess you want a hug,” he said with a smile on his face. “You got issues.” He shook his head.
“Please,” she begged with a sad, puppy dog face.
She stepped into his body, hoping that he wouldn’t reject her. Chris looked into Tammy’s eyes and could see more than just the beauty in them. He could see the look of a woman who had once loved him more than anything in the world. He saw the eyes of a woman who was in pain and whose heart cried out for him.
Chris grabbed the sides of Tammy’s waist and pulled her closer to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his chest. His natural body scent was like pheromones, drawing her in. Chris wrapped his arms around her body, bear-hugging her gently. Her body fit snug inside of his, and for a moment, neither of them wanted to let go.
They stood there holding each other for almost two minutes, and when Chris tried to let go, Tammy held on tighter. She didn’t want to let go, and she wished that this moment would last forever. The tears started to fill her eyes again. She wanted Chris back so bad. She needed him in more ways than one, and the regret of stepping off on him while he was in prison weighed heavily on her.
* * *
Nate looked over at Lisa, who was asleep with her head sunk into the pillow. He didn’t realize just how beautiful she was until he saw her in this fashion. She had a natural beauty, one that didn’t require any makeup at all. Her body was flawless, despite the bullet wound to her gut. Even that, Nate found
to be somewhat sexy, but he couldn’t help but to wonder how she got it. There were many things he wanted to know about Lisa, but that was only going to come with time. Her wounds were deep, and if Nate wanted to get into that portion of her life, he was going to have to work extra hard and be very patient.
* * *
Aside from waking up on the kitchen floor with a cut in her mouth, the side of her face a little red, and a splitting headache, Falisha was okay. Her self-esteem was battered and pretty low at this point. She felt that she had to be the worst type of female to have cheated on her man, caught an STD, and then gave it to him. On top of that, she had been cured and wasn’t even going to tell him about it. As she sat there on the edge of her bed, she realized that it actually was worse than it sounded. How reckless! There was no way she could deny it, nor could she try to clean it up. Lamar wasn’t trying to hear anything from her, except that all of her stuff was out of his house.
Falisha sat there and cried, seeing how serious the mistake was. She was about to lose more than just her man; she was about to lose her family too. It didn’t seem like she cared when she was out doing her thing, but the truth was, she really did love Lamar and Jordan. They meant everything to her, and losing them was a devastating blow.
Chapter 6
Chris came back to the halfway house to see several police cars and a marshal’s van sitting out front. Normally, it meant that somebody had violated the rules and regulations of the halfway house and was about to be sent back to jail. It happened every couple of weeks, so Chris really didn’t think anything of it until he got inside, and one of the correctional officers tried to put him in handcuffs.
“Hold up, what’s goin’ on?” Chris asked as he pulled his hands away from the guard.
Several U.S. Marshals came from upstairs carrying two large trash bags and a couple of scales. Two more detectives escorted Bizz and Malcom down the stairs in handcuffs. Bizz had a sick look on his face. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to get out of a life sentence this time, no matter what. Malcom had the same look. Chris just knew that he was about to go right back to jail with them, but to his surprise, the marshal spoke up.
“He’s good to go,” the marshal said, pointing to Chris.
The only real reason Chris wasn’t going to jail was because when the marshals ran down on Bizz and Malcom, they took their own beef and said that Chris didn’t know what was going on. A search of Chris’s belongings inside the dorm turned up clean. He didn’t have anything that would suggest he was involved in the drug ring. No paraphernalia, no drugs, no guns of any sort. All they found was clothes and his hygiene products.
“A’ight, homie, keep ya head up out here,” Bizz said as he was escorted out. “And don’t forget what I said,” he yelled.
“Yeah, stay up, homie,” Malcom added as he walked out of the building with his head down.
* * *
“Damn, shorty, you better learn how to bob and weave,” Fox joked when Falisha got into his car.
Her lip was still a little fat, and the force from the punch had left a little bruise on her chin. Falisha was not in the mood for jokes, especially since Fox was part of the reason things had gotten so ugly in the first place.
“I need to stay with you for a couple of weeks,” Falisha said, looking at her face in the sun visor mirror. “Just until I get my own place, which shouldn’t take long.”
“Come on, shorty, you know you can stay with me for as long as you want,” Fox told her. “And on some serious shit, I’m sorry about what happened. I should have strapped up wit’ these dirty-ass hood rats. But trust me when I tell you that it’s a lesson learned.”
“Yeah, well, you’re not getting none of this pussy for a while. Got me running around wit’ some damn gonorrhea.”
“Hell, it’s ya fault I caught dat shit in the first place,” Fox smiled, poking her in the side.
“My fault? How in the hell is it my fault?”
“Because you left me. If you was my girl, I wouldn’t have to be out here looking for a quick nut. Yo’ ass up there playin’ house wit’ a nigga that don’t give a fuck about you,” Fox shot back.
“That’s not true. He do care about me,” Falisha tried to defend. “Well . . . I know he used to care. I don’t know about now.”
“Oh yeah? Well, if he cared about you so damn much, why in the hell is you and ya son still living on Walton Street? He should have been got y’all up out of there. Look at ya girlfriend. You know who I’m talking about. The one that’s about to get married,” Fox said referring to Tammy. “She’s out of the hood, and she’s getting married to the nigga.”
Falisha thought about it. Lamar did have plenty of opportunities to move them to a better neighborhood, but for his own personal reasons, he chose to stay. And when it came to marriage, he had mentioned it once or twice, but never followed through with anything, and that was eight months ago. It seemed like once he got Jordan, all the love that he used to show Falisha went to him.
“Yeah, I hear you, Fox. So what are you saying? Things would have been different if I would have stayed with you?” she asked. “And don’t be lying either.”
“You know I keep it 100 wit’ you at all times. If you was my girl, I would have changed ya whole life around. You would have been in a position where you would have been able to take care of you and your son on ya own. You smart as hell, Falisha. The first thing I would have done was encourage you to go back to school and pick up some type of trade. I could picture you being like a nurse’s assistant or maybe even a registered nurse if you wanted to. Or maybe running ya own hair salon. You know you can do some hair. You could have done anything, and I would have supported you and backed you up financially. I tell you this one thing, you wouldn’t have been on ya desperate housewife shit like you are right now,” Fox said with a straight face.
It sounded good, but Falisha knew that she needed to be very careful messing around with Fox. She’d been here with him before, plenty of times, and she knew that he was the master of manipulating women into doing whatever he wanted them to do. Although he’d never treated Falisha like he treated the rest, she was well aware of the games he played, and how sometimes he would use his wealth to get what he wanted. Falisha wasn’t better than anybody else when it came to that, because she too found herself caught up with his money. Fox was vicious too. He was the type of nigga that knew how to buy love, and if it wasn’t love, it was damn close.
Her life had been turned upside down, and she really couldn’t afford to be getting caught up with Fox. But as she sat in the passenger side of his brand-new Jaguar, she reflected on her life and came to the conclusion that she really didn’t have anything else to lose if she did start messing back with him. In her mind, she would rather have something than nothing at all, and maybe this time around, she could be the one who did all the manipulating. She was in survival mode now.
* * *
Tammy felt bad about telling Darious that she was pregnant when she really wasn’t. At that time, she only said it on the spur-of-the-moment to make him happy and to take his mind off Chris. It had worked, but now Tammy was in a dilemma, because about twenty minutes ago, her period came. She was sitting in the bathroom trying to debate how she was going to tell him that she had miscarried the baby. When lying at this level, she needed to be sure that all her i’s were dotted and her t’s were crossed. It had to seem so real and convincing, that Tammy had to believe it herself. That’s the only way it was going to work.
The first thing she needed to do was come up with some fake tears, which was relatively easy, considering all she had to do was think of not ever being with Chris again. Her eyes watered immediately, and she genuinely became sad. The next thing she needed to do was get Darious to come into the bathroom without her calling him. She needed the shock effect.
“Tammy, you ain’t shit,” she mumbled to herself, picking up a water vase next to the toilet and throwing it against the bathroom door.
The sound was lou
d enough to get Darious’s attention in the bedroom. He jumped out of bed and shot down the hallway toward the bathroom. Tammy put her game face on. Darious knocked on the door, then eased his way in.
“Damn, Tammy,” he said, stepping over the glass. “What happened?” he asked kneeling down next to her on the toilet.
Tammy wiped her face with the tissue she had in her hand, faking like she had to get herself together. “I lost the baby,” she said, then began to cry again.
Darious put his head down. He was sick but didn’t want to show how much. Tammy was his number one concern right now and being strong for her was what he wanted to be. “Babe, I know you’re upset, but don’t worry about it. When the time is right, we’ll try again,” he said, lifting her chin up. “We got the rest of our lives to have a baby. But, babe, you can’t keep breaking up our shit.” He chuckled, looking around the bathroom at the broken glass.
That made Tammy smile. She looked into his eyes and started crying again, only this time it was for a different reason, and the tears were actually real. She hated what she was doing to him, when all Darious ever did was try to love her. He was a good man, and he deserved better treatment than this. The love he had for Tammy made her want to be stronger and to do right by him. It was the wake-up call she needed, and from that day forward, she was going to do her best to be the wife that he needed.
* * *
“So, are you ready for the workweek?” Nate asked Lisa as he cradled the phone between his ear and his shoulder, while doing the dishes in his sink. “’Cause I’m not.”
Lisa was home folding the last load of clothes while she talked to Nate. She was enjoying the conversations they’d been having lately. It was another step forward. “I’m definitely not ready. I got three twelve-hour shifts, plus I work eight hours on Friday. Hell, I’m not even thinking about the weekend, because I might be too tired to do anything.”
“Oh, did you have plans for this weekend?” Nate inquired.
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