I Heard It All Before

by Chenell Parker

  “I don’t work on the weekends,” Cam replied.

  “A good friend of mine is hosting an antique car show next Saturday. A few sellers and dealers will be there too. You think you might be interested in spending the day with me? Just the two of us. No tv’s, cameras, or spouses. Are you free?” Camden asked.

  Cam stopped his stride and turned to face him. If never before, his father now had his undivided attention. Cam had been to several car shows, but the antique ones were the hardest to get into. He was sure it was a top of the line event, if his father was even entertaining it. Cam was interested, but he tried to play it cool.

  “I don’t know. Where is it?” Cam asked.

  “It’s in Destrehan on a private lot. Invitation only,” Camden said peaking his son’s interest once again. He didn’t know it, but he’d already sealed the deal.

  “Yeah, I think I can free up some time for that,” Cam replied.

  “Great!” His father smiled. “It starts at noon, so I’ll pick you up around ten, if that’s okay.”

  “Yeah, you can get me from my mom’s house,” Cam replied.

  “Ok, I’ll see you next Saturday,” Camden said with a bright smile right, as an all-black town car pulled up and stopped in front of them.

  He wanted to ask Cam for his number, but he was too afraid of his son’s rejection. It was one thing to hear it from Nora, but he didn’t want to hear it directly from Cam’s mouth. Cam watched as his father drove away in the back of the car, before he headed to his own ride. His heart skipped a beat when he opened the door and saw Courtney sitting in his back seat.

  “Still the same old Cam, I see. How many times do I have to tell you about locking your car up when you get out of it?” Courtney lectured.

  “Girl, you scared the shit out of me. The fuck you always doing that stupid shit for?” Cam asked as he hopped in the driver’s seat and put his key in the ignition.

  “We don’t live in Mayberry, Camden. Too many things are happening for you to be so careless. It only takes one second for you to press a button and lock your truck,” Courtney fussed.

  Cam had been that way since he got his first car. He always got out of it and walked away without bothering to lock it. His mother fussed at him about that all the time, but some habits were hard to break.

  “It ain’t like I have nothing valuable in here. This bitch is fully insured. If they want it, they can have it.” Cam shrugged nonchalantly.

  “Sometimes, I feel like I’m talking to a brick wall,” Courtney muttered.

  “Girl please, you ain’t never met a brick wall this fine,” Cam joked.

  Courtney unconsciously licked her lips in agreement, but she would never stoke his ego out loud. Cam was fine, indeed, and he had a face that could grace anybody’s magazine. His features were rugged, yet handsome, with his smile being one of his best assets. He hated his neutral colored skin and bluish green eyes because it didn’t make him feel black enough. He kept his hair cut low and close because he despised his naturally curly tresses. Cam even had a preference with his women, whom he’d preferred with darker complexioned skin. Courtney didn’t pass the skin tone test with her light caramel complexion, but she was the exception. Cam had known her all her life and he didn’t have a preference when they were together. He had too many issues for Courtney to deal with, so she would never take it there with him again. Sex was a different story altogether and she would love to get another taste. She and Cam were each other’s first love, but they were better off as friends. She was always a listening ear and tried to offer him advice if she could. That still didn’t stop her from wanting to lick him like her favorite lollipop.

  “I saw you talking to your father. How did that happen?” Courtney asked while changing the subject.

  “Probably my mama. That’s the only way he would have known where I was. I agreed to go with him to a car show next weekend,” Cam replied.

  “That’s good Cam. Maybe y’all can work on having a decent relationship now,” Courtney said.

  “That ain’t happening. I’m only going with him to one little car show and that’s a wrap. I’m going more for me than for him anyway. It’s too late for us to resurrect something that’s been dead for over twenty years. He gave me that half-ass apology and his sob story, but I’m over it.”

  “No, you’re not Cam. You have a lot of issues resulting from him not being in your life. You’re half-white and you hate white people,” Courtney pointed out.

  “I don’t hate white people, but I’m not forcing myself on nobody who doesn’t accept me. That includes Camden Blaire and anybody else. After I go with him to this car show, things are gonna go right back to how they were before. Fuck his bullshit ass excuses,” Cam fumed.

  “What excuses? What happened? I want the details,” Courtney said as she leaned forward in anticipation.

  She gave Cam her undivided attention as he told her everything that happened that day, starting with his argument with Asha. Courtney never interrupted her friend, as he rambled on about his failing relationship with Asha and his nonexistent one with his father. Cam was good at camouflaging his emotions, but he had a lot going on.

  “It sounds like you need to relieve some stress,” Courtney said as she massaged his shoulders and let her hands travel down further.

  “Nah Courtney, I ain’t trying to fuck with you like that no more. Laying hands on your punk ass husband is what messed me up the last time,” Cam replied.

  “Are you sure about that?” Courtney asked while slipping his index finger into her mouth and sucking on it slowly.

  Cam watched her twirl her tongue all around his finger, making his nature rise. He wanted to deny her request, but the bulge in his pants had other ideas.

  “Come get up front,” he demanded, making her smile victoriously.

  He had to be at work soon, so Courtney made him recline his seat back. She pulled her braids out of her face and went to work on him right there in the parking lot. His windows were tinted and no one would be able to see what was going on. She had gone long enough without feeling him inside of her and she was more than ready. She always did count on Cam to do what her husband stopped doing and she always walked away satisfied.

  Chapter 4

  Asha moaned as she moved up and down slowly. Her movements were intense and she knew that her partner enjoyed all that she was giving him. He stared up at her in amazement, while silently begging her with his eyes to keep going. He wasn’t the best lover that she’d ever had, but he wasn’t the worst either. She could have done without round three, but she had a motive behind everything that she did.

  “Do you love me?” Asha asked as she licked her lips and rolled her hips seductively.

  “Hell yeah, I love you,” he answered with short, labored breaths.

  Asha knew that he was trying his best to hang on, but sex with him never lasted very long. That was the best part of it all. Fifteen, sometimes, twenty minutes, was all it took for him to cum, and that was fine with her. Cam had the stamina of three men, and she usually was the first to tap out. Things with them were still rocky, but Asha wasn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet. Cam’s money was running low and he wasn’t used to waiting on a weekly paycheck. She was sure that he was going to break any day now and go back to what he knew. Being broke was not on his list of things to do.

  “I love you too, baby,” Asha said, lying effortlessly.

  Aside from Cam, there wasn’t another man that she could say that she’d ever loved. Most of the time, her motives were self-serving when she said it, but she meant it with Cam. That was one of the reasons why she hadn’t left him alone like she always threatened to.

  “Just like that baby,” Asha’s lover panted when she squatted down low and started bouncing on him faster.

  He grabbed her hips and slapped her ass as he thrust his body upwards to match her movements. His face was a mask of pleasure as he watched Asha rising and falling on top of him. Their skin slapped hard and sweat po
ured from his face as he let out a guttural groan. He came hard and fast, not giving her time to move or brace herself before he did.

  “Seriously?” Asha questioned, jumping up in a hurry to rush off to the bathroom.

  “I’m sorry baby, but that shit was too good,” he replied while getting up and following her.

  Asha looked at her boo of one year and admired his tall lean frame. Compared to Cam, he was mediocre, but he was still handsome in his own way. That was another issue that she had to get over. Asha was always comparing everyone to Cam and none of them ever measured up. Cam had a hold on her that was hard to break away from. All he had to do was get his mind right and she wouldn’t have a need for another man. Until then, she had to do what was best for her.

  After starting the shower, Asha invited her man in and washed him from head to toe. It was the little things like that, that had him falling so hard for her.

  “Did you think about what we’ve been discussing?” Asha asked as she lathered his body and started to wash him up again.

  “Yeah, I thought about it, but I don’t know Asha,” he replied.

  “What don’t you know? Lo doesn’t just work with anybody. You should be flattered that he’s even giving you a chance,” Asha snapped.

  “I’ve never sold drugs a day in my life and you want me to just agree to it just like that,” he replied with a snap of his finger.

  “We’ve been talking about this for weeks. He’s a business man, so he’s not gonna wait on you forever. It’s not like you don’t have the money to get started. I know all of Cam’s old customers and I can tell you exactly what to do. He used to make a killing at the clubs and you can too. I’ve seen him do it a million times before.”

  “You’re gonna tell me what to do, but you won’t be the one to do it. I’ve never been to jail and I’m not trying to go. It must not be as easy as you say or your nigga wouldn’t have gotten locked up so much.”

  “Cam was just reckless. He was always out somewhere that he wasn’t supposed to be. He stayed getting into fights, knowing that he was riding dirty,” Asha noted.

  “Just let me think on it a little while longer,” he replied, pissing her off.

  “Fuck it! If you’re too scared to make some real money, I’ll find somebody else who isn’t,” Asha concluded, her nostrils flaring in anger.

  “It’s not even like that Asha. I just have to be careful is all I’m saying. I have too much to lose.”

  “You promised to take care of me better than Cam, but I can’t see that being true. I might as well stay with him and wait for his paychecks to hit the bank every week,” Asha pouted.

  “You swore that you were gonna leave him while he was in jail too, but that never happened. You ran your ass up there for every visit until he got released. What I look like taking care of you and you go home to another nigga every night? Your ass is in love with that pretty nigga.”

  “I told you that you have to show me better than you tell me. I want to be taken care of properly. If you can make that happen, then I’m all yours. And let’s not forget that you have a little situation too,” Asha reminded him while ignoring his comment about her being in love with Cam. It was true, but now was not the time to bring that up.

  “You let me deal with that. Like I just said, I have way more to lose than you do. You’re asking me to put my life and freedom on the line, among other things, but I love you enough to do it. Don’t play with my heart Asha,” he warned her.

  “I would never do that baby. You keep your promises to me and I’ll do the same for you.” She smiled.

  “Damn man, I’m nervous and I haven’t even done the shit yet,” he remarked.

  “Do you trust me, baby?” Asha asked him.

  “You know I do,” he acknowledged.

  “Okay, well, that’s all that matters. We just have to set up a meeting with Lo and take it from there. He can probably meet up with us sometime today,” Asha said excitedly.

  “Damn Asha. Why so soon?” he asked as nervous energy coursed through his body.

  “I got you, baby. You don’t have nothing to worry about,” Asha said as she stroked his growing erection and planted soft kisses on his neck. She needed him on board with no doubts or hesitation.

  “Shit,” he hissed when Asha’s hand started moving faster.

  When she dropped down to her knees, he braced himself for the bomb ass head that she was always known to deliver. Asha slowly licked around the head and moved her tongue up and down his shaft. When he hissed and grabbed the back of her head, she knew she had him right where she wanted him.

  “So, can I tell Lo that we’re on board?” Asha asked as she looked up at him.

  She didn’t wait for him to answer before she wrapped her full lips around his stiffness and took him to the back of her throat. Her lover’s moans of pleasure excited Asha, putting her in the mood to please herself as well. She inserted two fingers inside of herself and hummed to the same orgasmic rhythm. She bobbed her head faster with an intensity that she didn’t have before. She was a woman on a mission and she was trying to accomplish it. When Asha felt her boo start to tense up, she sucked harder and faster than she did before. Soon after, he was spilling his seeds down her throat and she swallowed every drop.

  “Call your people and set up a meeting,” her boo said weakly, spent from busting a huge nut that Asha had just gulped down.

  She smiled sweetly and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Mission accomplished.

  ****

  Two hours later, Asha had freshened up the bed clothes at her friend’s house and made sure to clean up after herself. Her boo had left for work and she had already set up a meeting with Lo for the following day. Asha was on the sofa flipping through the television, when she heard keys being inserted into the front door.

  “Dang girl, you got it smelling spring time fresh up in here,” Laila said when she walked into her house.

  “Bitch, don’t try to play me. You know I always clean up after myself when I have company,” Asha replied.

  “Is he still here?” Laila asked.

  “I wouldn’t have told you that it was safe for you to come home if he was,” Asha answered.

  “How did it go? Is he on board with everything?” Laila asked as she took a seat next to her.

  “Duh bitch, I’m Asha. Niggas don’t tell me no. Well, nobody but your dumb ass cousin,” Asha said with a roll of her eyes.

  Although she and Cam were first cousins, Laila and Asha were best friends. Asha’s brother, Quincy, and Laila had been messing around off and on for years. They broke up damn near every other month, but Laila loved the ground he walked on. That was mainly the reason why she was okay with her cousin’s girlfriend fucking other niggas in her house. She would do anything to make Quincy happy and that included staying on Asha’s good side. Quincy was crazy about his little sister and Laila knew that.

  “Cam is so damn stupid. All he has to do is ask and he can have whatever he wants. I wish my daddy did have money like that. He wouldn’t have to beg me to come around,” Laila replied.

  “I thought they were trying to get right with each other when Cam went to the car show with him last weekend. Nigga had me fucking and sucking him all week, thinking he was about to get some coins,” Asha admitted.

  “What happened? Lacey told me that they spent the day together, but I didn’t ask her anything else,” Laila said.

  “Nothing happened. He said it was a one-time thing, but he still don’t fuck with him like that. Do you know how good we could be living if he stops being so fucking childish?” Asha questioned angrily.

  “He’s opening the door for another nigga to walk in. Especially if things go as planned with Lo,” Laila said.

  “I don’t want another nigga to walk in, though. I want Cam, but he needs to get back to the Cam that he was before. He’s worrying about jail and shit, like his daddy ain’t the best attorney in Louisiana. He’s forcing my hand and I hate that shit. I can’t have ano
ther man taking care of me and still be with Camden like that,” Asha noted.

  “Maybe if he sees another man stepping up to the plate, that’ll motivate him to do better,” Laila said.

  “Fuck that! He’s gonna find himself broke and alone. Trying to live off that chump change he’s making at the shop. He needs to sell one of those damn cars. It’s not like he drives them.”

  “I wish Quincy would pull some bullshit like that. This rent gets paid faithfully on the first of every month,” Laila said as she stood up and stretched.

  Laila’s back was turned, so she didn’t see when Asha rolled her eyes. She was dumb as fuck, and Quincy was making a fool of her. Whatever relationship they had existed in Laila’s mind only. Quincy did pay her lil seven hundred dollar rent every month, but he did it for a reason. Laila was too dumb to see shit for what it really was. Quincy had basically turned her house into a trap house, where he stored all his guns, money, and drugs. He came over every night and sold his shit right from the comforts of her home, with a hot meal that she always prepared. He hated that he had to fuck her every once in a while because he had a fiancée and kids at home. Quincy had three sons, and Laila’s dumb ass thought he’d made them during the times that they were broken up. Never mind that all three kids were by the same woman. He was planning a wedding with his children’s mother right under her nose, and she was too dumb to see it.

  “We’re meeting up with Lo over here tomorrow night. I might need you to cover for me, just in case Cam asks you anything,” Asha spoke up.

  “I got you, sis,” Laila replied as she went into the kitchen to find something to cook. Her man was coming over later and she had to make sure he had a hot meal waiting on him.

  “I’ll see you later. I got some change in my pockets, so I’m going to the mall,” Asha said as she grabbed her purse and walked out the front door.

  Her boo broke her off with some shopping money before he left. He told her that it was only the beginning of what was to come, and she couldn’t wait.