The Wild Child

by Nicole Jackson

  I batted my lashes. “Now, if you’ve taken the time to do all this research, then there’s no way that you didn’t know that I have a boyfriend.”

  He licked his lips. “Aint no ring on that finger, though. Feel me?”

  I lifted my hand wiggling my ring finger, showcasing my rock. “Actually, it is. Daddy keeps something heavy on my hand.” I let him know. No, it wasn’t a wedding ring, but it was a ring, which was more than I could say for most college freshmen. Jeremy’s commitment to me was not in question and he needed to know that.

  He chuckled. “Okay, baby, I’ll respect that. You’re going hard for your man, I see you.” I realized then that he had an accent himself, like most guys from L.A. He sounded like Nipsey Hustle or somebody.

  I nodded, while Gloria rolled her eyes. “That’s all that I ask for. But anyway, it was nice meeting you—” I extended my hand for a shake.

  He shook my hand firmly. “Dorian, your future man.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh at that. “You don’t stop, do you?”

  He grinned. “I can’t help myself. You got me considering relocating to Houston, especially if the city is producing baddies like you.”

  “Okay, go ahead and lay that charm on extra thick.”

  “Anyway, let’s take another shot,” Gloria cut in, as she handed me a shot-glass filled with Cîroc.

  With no hesitation I took the vodka to the head. That one was followed by five more. Before I knew it, I was stumbling all over the place. I was rolling my hips rocking to the beat of the music. There were several spectators just standing back admiring the view. I was cool with that. Works of art were meant to be viewed and studied.

  “See, Ion need nah nigga. Jockeying me. Stalking me. Climbing all on top of me, if he aint gon fuck me properly—”

  I lost it, hearing a song by Trina that my mama used to blast during our days in the projects. I noticed the Dorian nigga lustfully gawking at me, as he sat on a couch. Gloria was next to me, trying to dance in front of him. After swearing that he had a crush on me, she sure did seem to be flirting with him herself. Anyway, grabbing my knees, I threw my ass in a circle. I was in a zone, until I felt somebody push me. Before I could catch my balance, I landed right in Dorian’s lap.

  A few people laughed, as the cameras flashed. I covered my face, as I scrambled to stand up. Standing up, I glared at Gloria. “Bitch, did you push me?”

  She opened her arms. “It was a playful shove. I didn’t think you’d use that opportunity to sit on ya boy.”

  I frowned. “What? Nah, you got me fucked up.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “I know you’re not actually mad?”

  “The fuck do you think? All these bitches took pictures.”

  “Girl,” she rolled her eyes. “These people aren’t concerned about you. Look around. We’re surrounded by celebrities. I’m sure you weren’t the focal point of any of those pictures. Please stop the paranoid shit. What, talk to me. Is Jeremy going upside your head or something?”

  “Hell, no,” I scoffed.

  “Okay, then. What’s the problem?” she posed.

  I shook my head. “Look, I’m not about to go back and forth with you. I’m finna go grab my car, and if you’re riding, bring your ass on. Because I will leave you right here.”

  Jeremy

  The bathroom was steamed up, as I stepped out of the shower. I had not too long ago rolled out of bed and was now preparing to head downstairs to the workout room. This was my routine every day since football season had officially ended. It was now finals time, before going on winter break.

  While I was stepping into my boxers my cell was vibrating like crazy as it rested on the counter. Once it began ringing, I picked it up. “Yeah, what’s up?” I questioned Mel.

  “Aye, man, you good?”

  I scowled. “Yeah. Why you ask?”

  “The shit they’re saying on the Gram don’t make you feel some type of way?”

  “What shit?”

  “You know. About Jhyrah.”

  “What about Jhyrah?” I pressed, as my nostrils flared.

  “So, you don’t know about what she did at the club last night?”

  “Nah, so what’s up?”

  He sighed. “Look, all I’ma tell you is get on the Gram. People are tagging you left and right. She’s sitting in Dorian’s lap for the world to see.”

  “Dorian? Not the cat who plays for USC?”

  “Yeah, that nigga.”

  “A’ight, let me hit you back.” I ended the call. I was hoping that Mel was trying to pull some kind of prank. I’d played against that nigga Dorian and partied with him a few times. We followed each other on the Gram, and that nigga was always liking shit, so he undoubtedly knew who Jhyrah belonged to.

  Scrolling through Instagram I saw post after post of Jhyrah sitting in bitch ass Dorian’s lap. I could only imagine what people were saying in the comments, so I didn’t bother reading that shit. Furiously, I stomped to my bedroom, where Jhyrah was peacefully sleeping. Anger filled me to the brim, as I recalled her screaming out how much she loved me, as I fucked her, just a few hours before. Snatching the covers off her, I smacked her bare ass.

  “Get the fuck up.”

  Her head popped up, as she glanced around confusingly. “Huh?”

  “If you can huh you can hear. Get your muthafuckin’ ass up!”

  She immediately sat up, rubbing her eyes. “What’s going on?”

  “You tell me. You done broke the fucking net! All up on that nigga Dorian. So, tell me, Jhyrah, the fuck is up with that?”

  She groaned as she held her forehead. “I told Gloria this shit would happen.”

  I frowned. “Nah, don’t try to blame this shit on that hoe. You said that who you run with don’t define you, so don’t come with that. This is on you!”

  “But it’s not what it looks like,” she whined, as she gazed up at me with sad puppy dog eyes.

  “Then what the fuck was it!” I roared, as I was about to lose my composure.

  She inhaled. “Jeremy, calm down.”

  “Hell, nah! Don’t tell me to fucking calm down!” I beat my chest. “You better fucking tell me something before I lose my fucking mind in this bitch!”

  “I was dancing and Gloria shoved me. I fell into his lap,” she hurriedly blurted out. “It all happened within seconds. They had to literally snap those pictures as I was struggling to stand up. I felt like people were taking pictures of it, but Gloria swore that I was tripping.”

  “And you didn’t think that was something you needed to tell me about?” I fumed.

  “Jeremy, I didn’t know that it was going to be a thing. If I did, I would’ve told you.”

  “I can’t fucking believe you, man.” I paced back and forth. “I go against everything I’m feeling to let you do you. I told you that I didn’t like you running with that hoe, but you do it, anyway. Now, you wanna claim that she’s pushing you into nigga’s laps and shit. This is hoe behavior and definitely aint what I signed up for. I aint about to deal with this shit. On the cool, you can pack your shit up and go back to your dorm room. On me.”

  “What?” she shot to her feet, butterball naked. “Bae, I know you’re pissed off right now, but I feel like you’re overreacting. I’m telling you that I would never intentionally disrespect you like that.”

  “But you keep doing the shit!” I barked, getting in her face. “Ion like the shit, so I’ma end this shit, before I kill you in here, girl.” I jabbed her temple.

  “So, you’re breaking up with me?” she asked in disbelief.

  “Hell yeah.”

  “No.” she shook her head. “Hell, no. I’m not going anywhere.”

  I squinted. “You think this is a fucking game?”

  “I never said that it was. But I don’t care what you say. This…what we have going—” she pointed from her chest to mine. “Will never end. On everything I love.”

  “Oh, you wanna bet?” I furrowed my brows. “I’ma show you.”
I glanced around my room. Spotting a pair of basketball shorts and tee on the dresser, I snatch that shit up.

  She sassily folded her arms, as I stepped into the shorts. “Where the hell are you going?”

  “To mind my fucking business.” I pulled the tee over my head.

  “No.” she shook her head. “You aint going nowhere. We’re gonna talk about this.”

  I looked past her. “I’m done talking.”

  “So, what are you about to go do? What, go fuck another bitch?”

  I shrugged. “If that’s what I wanna do. I aint fucking with you, either way it goes.”

  Jhyrah gasped, as if she couldn’t believe her ears. “I can’t believe that something this stupid would have you talking like this to me.”

  “Well, I guess you really won’t be able to believe it when I bring something to fuck in here tonight, since you don’t wanna carry your ass home.”

  She gritted, before wildly attacking me. “You muthafucka!” she belted, while sinking her claws into my face. “I’ll fucking kill yoouuuuuu!” she sobbed.

  I was aggravated to the max, as I body slammed her ass onto the bed. She swung wildly, popping me in the mouth. That’s when I wrapped my hands around her neck. “Stop it!”

  “No!” she refuted. “Let me up, so I can find something to knock your ass out! How can you tell me that you’ll go fuck somebody elseeeeeeeeeeee,” she bawled.

  Seeing her cry like that was fucking me up, so I released my grip on her neck, but remained on top of her. “Stop that, man.”

  “No,” she sniveled uncontrollably. “Why would you say something like that? The thought of you being with somebody else makes me feel like I’m dying inside.”

  I gulped. “And how do you think this shit you did last night make me feel? How am I supposed to trust you when you do shit like this?”

  “Baby, I’m sorry. I fucked up. I swear to God that it’ll never happen again. I’ll distance myself from Gloria. Whatever it takes for you to see that I’m sincere.”

  Tucking my lips into my mouth, I shook my head. “I can’t do this with you, right now.” I lifted off her body and eased out of bed.

  She sat up. “Where are you going?”

  I stepped into a random pair of Jordans. “I just gotta go, man.”

  Once again, she hopped up, running over to block the doorway.

  I took a deep breath. “Jhyrah, get the fuck out of my way.”

  “No!” she shouted defiantly. “You’re not going anywhere! We’re gonna discuss this!”

  “I already told you that I was done talking!” my voice boomed.

  “You’re not leaving,” she stated evenly, as she gripped my shirt.

  “What are you doing?” I frowned, as she lifted my shirt.

  “Take this off. You’re not going anywhere.”

  I attempted to snatch my shirt out of her grasp, but she had a hell of a grip on it. “Nooo,” she whined, before attempting to kiss me.

  I dodged her lips, leaning my head back. “Watch out, man.”

  Instead of listening, she kissed my neck. In one swoop, she had her hand in my boxers, gripping my dick. By now, she was tonguing my neck, and stroking my hard-on.

  “Jhyrah,” I let out faintly, as she worked her fucking magic on me. “Chill out, girl.”

  Shaking her head, she dropped to her knees, whipping my dick out, before taking me into her mouth.

  Licking my lips, I gazed down at her. “This aint gone change nothing.”

  Hearing my words, she deep throated me. She was working the fuck out of her neck, jaw, and tongue. I was trying to keep it G, but her nasty ass had me. It was crazy to know that she’d never been with anybody else but could fuck me better than girls with five times the experience. It was mind blowing, as I realized that we couldn’t break up, because I’d go on a killing spree if she ever gave another nigga this treatment.

  An hour later, I stood in the middle of my bedroom stark naked, fucking Jhyrah upside down. She was literally standing on her head in what I called the stalker move. Because if a bitch could pull this off on a nigga’s dick…then she’d surely have a fucking stalker for life. And frankly that was my dumb ass. I was a fiend for the pussy and was never letting go.

  Chapter 16

  Jhyrah

  Up until recently, I had been looking forward to the Christmas break, but now I was feeling like this break couldn’t have come at a worse time. Me and Jeremy hadn’t broken up like he’d threatened to do, but our was relationship wasn’t the most solid, right now. Therefore, with us being back in Houston, in separate homes, I couldn’t help but feel the distance. Naturally, we had to catch up with family, but it was something different in the air.

  Usually, when there was conflict, we were under the same roof, and we could air shit out. I could cuss him out to the moon and back and vice versa. The only person who was ever privy to the conflict was Jared, whenever he was at home, but he mostly minded his business. However, back in Houston it was a different ball game. There was hardly any privacy at either of our parents’ homes, and conflict is noticeable immediately. That meant that a simple argument would be dissected and addressed with no regards for our privacy. Frankly, our parents didn’t really see us a fully grown, to the point that they minded their own business. We were their business, therefore, I couldn’t deal with my man like I wanted to. I couldn’t fuck him to sleep and look into his eyes, ensuring that we are still good.

  It had been two whole days since I’d laid eyes on Jeremy and that was unheard of for us. Especially, when he could literally walk from his parents’ home to mine. The first day, we both spent time catching up with loved ones, which is understandable. However, I expected for him to at least stop by the following day, which didn’t happen. He was tied with his grandpa on his daddy’s side, so I understood, but it still stung a tad. I was trying my best not to bitch about it, because I was the cause of this indifference, so I told myself to suck it up. Maybe Jeremy needed a little space, although it was hurting me like hell.

  Honestly, a huge part of me felt guilty for being so concerned about my relationship when so much other shit was going on with my family. Especially with my brother. Little Jahrein was going through some things, and definitely needed to be surrounded by love. It was crazy that our daddy had hustled to move us away from the hood and violence, only for it to still find its way to our doorstep.

  Just as I’d predicted months back, my brother got to college and lost his damn mind. Although, he’d reeled Josairah in, he suddenly decided that he was too young to be tied down. Therefore, he started openly fucking with Airy again, along with several other broads. Of course, Josairah wasn’t for it, and began doing her own thing too. Some kind of way, Josairah runs into her old hype, Meeko. He was the cat that she briefly lied to, pinning Jhyshun on him. Now, that was a while ago, and a blind man could see that Jhyshun was my brother’s. Anyway, for whatever reason, this Meeko dude refused to accept that my nephew didn’t belong to him. So, after a run-in with Josairah, he basically kicked her ass outside of my nephew’s daycare, before kidnapping Jhyshun. That shit was absolutely crazy, and I was pissed that my family didn’t inform me of any of this until after the fact. Nevertheless, shit got crazy. Josairah’s old friend just so happened to be Meeko’s current girl. And the minute Meeko came home with my brother’s child, she called Little Jah…because they’d briefly had a thing together, but that’s another story for another day. Anyway, Little Jah, my uncle Jalero, and Josairah took it upon themselves to pull up on Meeko. This was despite our parents going out of their way to make sure that they didn’t get involved. Since Josairah’s old friend tip came directly to them, they acted upon it. I mean, I understand why, because I’d do the same if that was my child. Still, my daddy and Josairah’s daddy wasn’t trying to hear that. Please believe that they were pissed, but what’s done is done. My brother had gone over there to Meeko’s to get his child, and ended up in a damn shoot out. My uncle Jalero was shot in the process, and so w
as Josairah’s old friend. Thankfully, my uncle pulled through, but Josairah’s ex friend, Seven, wasn’t so lucky. She died that night, seemingly with my nephew in her arms. Meeko had shot his own girlfriend for snitching and then my brother shot him. I couldn’t believe that Little Jahrein had murdered someone, because that type of shit wasn’t in his nature. Regardless, of the killing being justified, I knew that it had to do something to him. And now, we were all dealing with the aftershock.

  Thankfully, my uncle Jalero was already out of the hospital and my nephew was unharmed. It was now more about the emotional scars that I was sure would be around for years to come. My heart bled for my brother, because I knew firsthand what it felt like to witness something so traumatic. My daddy had been forced to kill his lame ass baby mama in front of me, and the only time I didn’t really dream about her was when I slept next to Jeremy. I swear that boy was literally my peace, in ways that he didn’t even realize.

  With everything still being fresh, everyone was over at our house. It was like one awkward ass family reunion. My aunt Raquel and her husband Kevin were visiting, along with a very pregnant Keyasia. Josairah, Jhyshun, and her parents Josh and Shay, along with Shay’s sister, Tasha, were there as well. Even Josairah’s cousin Daynah had stopped by. Then there was my pawpaw Ray-Ray…and his women. No, he wasn’t technically with anyone but my granny Red, but it didn’t feel that way. My granny Tisha and Roz were both there, along with Red. Roz and Tisha were on their bestie shit, cackling together, while Red kept sipping from her cup of codeine and staring them down. I think that because she was so high that it made her oblivious to the fact that she was obviously watching them. It was all actually quite comical. Tisha and Roz were like the popular school girls congregating together, and Red was bitter because she couldn’t sit with them. Then to make matters worse, Ray-Ray was over there talking to them, making them laugh like some damn goofy hens. Sadly, I never saw him interact with Red like that. She was always…high, while he was off somewhere sniffing behind other women. Truthfully, the only reason I liked going over Red’s house as I got older was because she would be so out of it, that I’d have Jeremy come over and fuck his brains out, while she was passed out downstairs on the couch. We could literally get away with murder at her house, because she was always detached, while both Tisha and Roz didn’t play that shit. They’d all give me whatever I wanted, but Tisha and Roz were all about me staying on the right track. Especially Tisha. But honestly, I was drawn more to their warmth and concern. It was the closest to the feelings my mama provided. Therefore, I was closer to my mama’s mama and her old best friend. My granny Red would sometimes have little smart comments whenever I’d choose to spend nights with Tisha over her, and my mama would low key check her. Ever since my mama and Tisha had repaired their relationship, things between my mama and Red had changed. My mama said that Red was cooler when her mama wasn’t in the picture, and she also felt that Red was an insecure and jealous individual. According to my mama, she didn’t have time to baby-sit Red’s feelings, and she’d let her actual kids focus on their unstable mama. So, it was evident that this was serious enough to have all these people under the same roof.