It's Like Candy (24 page)

“Meeka, you can trust me. That money is nothing for me. All I ask from you is cut me some slack when I'm in here and on the streets. I know you can be a bitch about things. I'll pay you fifteen hundred a week, and all you gotta do is look the other way wit' me,” he suggested.

Karen looked at him and then glanced down at the cash. She was tempted. She contemplated it for a moment. Then she sighed and picked up the cash off her desk and flipped through the hundreds quickly. She was extremely nervous when she placed the money in her desk, hoping it wasn't a setup.

“That's my girl,” Russell muttered.

“I can't believe you,” she replied, staring at Russell.
How can he make it so easy?
she thought.

“We cool?” Russell asked.

“Yeah, we cool.”

“So, now that we got an understanding . . . what about us?” Russell continued.

“What about us?”

“I miss you, Meeka,” he proclaimed. “I thought about you every day in prison, wondering why you didn't write me, or come see me.”

“I already gave you my reason,” she responded.

“I know, but that ain't good enough for me. Listen, I'm a changed man now. I'm better and wiser. I'm taking back what belongs to me. I can use your help; I'll definitely pay you extra plus the fifteen hundred every week. And honestly, Meeka, lookin' at you right now is turning me the fuck on.” He moved forward, placing his elbows on her desk, gazing into her light brown eyes, and continued with, “You remember how we used to get down. I used to fuck the shit out of you every night. Remember how I used to eat that pussy out on your mother's sofa when we were young? You remember how crazy we used to get? “

Karen reluctantly let out a smile, remembering her past with Russell.

“You used to love fuckin' me; I was the only niggah that could make you come. Your husband makes you come like how I used to? I used to love the way you would grab and hold me tight when you were about to explode. Word! We can make it happen again, Meeka. I want you again so fuckin' much.”

“Russell, stop. . . . We're done here,” she said, rising from her chair.

“You sure?” he asked, staring up at her with a proud look.

“Yes.”

Russell slowly stood up. “Ayyite,” he muttered. “What about that piss test? “

“Please, just leave,” she instructed.

Russell made his way out of the office, looking content with himself. When he left, Karen plopped down in her chair, letting out an agonizing sigh. “God, please help me,” she whispered to herself.

Outside, Russell made his way to the Escalade where Critter was waiting for him. He jumped into the passenger seat.

“Everything okay, Slim?” Critter asked.

“I got that bitch in my pocket,” he proudly stated.

“You the man, Slim . . . fo' real,” Critter said, starting up the truck and driving off.

Something in River
made her extremely nervous as she traveled in the cab on her way back to Queens. She was quiet, noticing the cab driver peering at her from his rearview mirror. He smiled when she noticed him watching, and then focused his eyes back on the road.

She kept out of the loop for a week, ignoring phone calls and forgetting about business with Big Red. She had twenty missed calls from him and over a dozen threatening messages from Red demanding that she call him immediately. The last call he made to her, he threatened her life.

That run-in with Hubert and his goons had River shook up for a few days. She knew that she had to watch her back.

The cab continued to drive east on the Belt Parkway on a calm and warm Friday night. River's cell phone went off. She removed the phone from her hip and looked at the caller ID. It was Tah-Tah calling. River was stunned, because Tah-Tah never called River unless it was an emergency.

“Hello,” River answered.

“River, where the fuck are you?” Tah-Tah shouted. “I tried calling you before but I got no answer.”

“What happened?” River asked nervously.

“You got niggahs lookin' for you and shit,” Tah-Tah said.

“What?”

“About four niggahs came up in the crib asking about you. They were lookin' serious. They went through your room and shit, tossed shit around like they were lookin' for somethin'. They threatened to kill me if I didn't tell ‘em where you were,” Tah-Tah said, her voice panicky.

“You okay, Tah-Tah?” River asked, concerned that her beef came to her home.

“Yeah. I called Kay, he's here wit' me now. We need to talk,” Tah-Tah stated. “You in some kind of trouble?”

“I can't talk right now,” River said. “How long ago was this?”

“They came by yesterday.”

“What they look like?” River asked.

“One was light-skinned and fat,” Tah-Tah informed her.

“Fuck!”

“River, please tell me you're coming home soon.”

“I'm on my way home now,” she said.

“How soon will you be here?” Tah-Tah asked.

“I'm on the Belt right now,” River said, not giving away too much information.

“You alone?”

River didn't answer. She was wondering why Tah-Tah was asking her if she was alone.

“Tah-Tah, where's Kay at right now? I wanna ask him sumthin.”

“He went to the store,” Tah-Tah said.

Something bothered River deeply. Kay never went to the store, he always sent Tah-Tah if they needed something. They would fuck like crazy, and he would rarely come out of her bedroom.

River knew Tah-Tah had to be setting her up. She thought Big Red and Twinkie had to be at her crib right now, waiting for her to show up. She'd dissed Red by not calling him back, and she knew
how he got.
But what if it's not Big Red, what if niggahs found out my location!'
she pondered.

The thought of running into a trap scared her, because she was on her way home, and if Tah-Tah hadn't called, who knows what might have happened.

“Tah-Tah, I'll be there in fifteen minutes,” she lied.

“Okay. Please hurry. I'll tell Kay you wanted to talk to him.”

River hung up. She needed a change of plans. “Shit! Shit! Shit!” she shouted.

“Everything okay?” the driver asked.

Going home was not an option for her anymore. She thought of someplace else to go, but nothing specific came to mind for her at first.

“Excuse me, I have a change of location,” she told the driver.

“You're not going to Hillside Avenue?” the driver asked, glancing at her through his rearview mirror again.

“No.”

River thought of one place to go, but it was risky for her—she might end up getting her head blown off. But it was her only hope. She just prayed that he was a very forgiving person.

River looked at the driver and told him the new location.

 

River walked up to the ten-story building
on Hillside, extremely nervous. She had no other options for herself. She didn't have any type of weapon on her, the one knife she did carry she'd left stuck in a man's hand.

She walked behind a woman toward the lobby, and when the lady got buzzed in, River walked into the building with her. She got on the elevator and pressed the button for the fifth floor. As the elevator ascended, her hands felt clammy, her heart rate increased, and she was fidgeting with her cell phone.

She slowly stepped out on the fifth floor and made her way toward his apartment. Her beauty and attire made her look as if she was
working for an escort service. She strode down the hallway clad in a belted Lurex herringbone skirt, stilettos, a white sleeveless mock turtleneck, and her long wavy hair falling onto her shoulders.

She stood in front of the apartment door, hesitant.
What if he's not home?
she thought. She glanced down the hallway, and took a deep breath. She rang the bell twice and waited.

 

Eric heard the doorbell
and wondered who was at his door so late on a Friday night. He wasn't expecting company, and except for Critter, he rarely got visitors at his home.

He gripped his .380 in his right hand and made his way to the door. He looked through the peephole and thought he was seeing things. He saw River at his door and got nervous. He wasn't making the same mistake twice.

He cocked the gun, securing a round in the chamber, and shouted, “Who is it?”

River hesitated for a moment, and then answered, “We need to talk.”

Suddenly the door flew open and Eric yanked River into his apartment by her arm and shoved the gun in her face. “Bitch, why you come back here? I should blow your fuckin' head off right now,” he shouted, but his bark was worse than his bite.

“Please, please . . . let me explain,” River pleaded, looking sad as she gazed into Eric's eyes.

“Start talking.”

“I'm not here to set you up. Eric, believe me. I wanted to see you again,” she proclaimed.

His grip around the .380 tightened as he glared at River, her back pushed against the wall. “Where's your crew?”

“I don't fuck wit' them anymore. I had to leave. Look, if you think I'm lying, then shoot me. But I'm here on my own account.”

Eric wanted to believe her, but fool me once, shame on you, fool
me twice, shame on me. He still had the gun near her face.
She looks good,
he thought. But pussy got him robbed in the first place.

“Can we at least talk without the gun in your hand?” River gently asked of him. “Look . . .” She began to remove the expensive necklace that was around her neck. She unclasped it and dropped it to the floor. Then she took off her rings, bracelet, and took out the cash that she had left over after her spending and tried to force it on Eric.

“There's five grand in that envelope. It's yours. I just wanna talk, that's all. No surprises. I came alone,” she said.

Eric was still skeptical.

“Answer me this one question,” he said with the gun still aimed at her.

“What?”

“Was it real? Was the attraction you had for me and the bond we created, was it ever real?”

“Yes,” she honestly answered, never taking her eyes off him. “It was. You think I would risk coming back here to see you again after what happened if it wasn't? I can honestly tell you from my heart that I miss you.”

With that, Eric lowered the gun from her, and held it down by his side. River looked depressed. He saw a few tears trickle down her face as she told him, “Eric, my life is so fucked up right now that I felt you were the only person I could turn to. I'm sorry for everything that happened. If I could take it back, I would.”

His passion for her, and his kind heart, soon won out over the anger and resentment he'd felt for River. Instead of wanting to beat her and curse her out, he wanted to embrace her.

It seemed too easy.

“I'm alone, and I have no one else,” she cried out.

“You in trouble?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Are people after you?”

She nodded again, with tears still trickling down her face.

I'm gonna hate myself for this,
he thought, moving closer to River and taking her in his arms. When it came to women, he was weak, especially the ones for whom he truly cared. Some might say that he was a sucker for love. He nestled River against his chest as she cried.

“I got you. Don't worry,” Eric said, trying to comfort her.

River faintly smile and turned her tearstained face up to his caring eyes. “Thank you.”

She held his gaze for a moment in silence. He cupped her chin tenderly and moved his lips toward hers, and gently kissed her. Her lips were soft and inviting. River didn't resist but poured herself onto him, feeling his grip around her tightening. He embraced her with passion and fire. The gun fell from Eric's hand and they tore at each other's clothing.

He pulled her shirt over her head, exposing her lacy purple bra, and River pulled his T-shirt over his head, seeing his upper-body six-pack physique. She was definitely impressed. They kissed passionately again as River straddled Eric and covered his neck with her kisses.

Eric carried River off to his bedroom where he laid her down on her back on his plush king-size bed. River quickly unfastened her skirt, and Eric removed his jeans and boxers. He was so hungry for her that his long erection was clearly visible.

River smiled and sexually positioned herself for him as she moved back near the headrest and spread her legs. Eric was in awe of her womanly figure. She was perfect from head to toe—shaved pubic hair, hour-glass figure, with a pedicure and her gleaming long legs looking like they belong to a Playboy pinup.

He climbed on top of her, positioning himself between her inviting thighs, and slowly pushed his dick into her. River gasped, “Aaaaaahhh,” as she felt him slowly penetrate her with a deep hard thrust.

It had been months since River had sex. With Eric it was real for her, the attraction was there, and it showed between her thighs.
Her sweet juices flowed against his dick as he pounded away into her. She gripped him tight, rooting her manicured nails into his back.

Eric gripped her thighs and continuously pushed himself into her. He'd been longing for her since the day they met, and had never thought that he would get a chance to be with her sexually.

Neither cared about using a condom, he wanted to feel her raw. He clasped her outstretched hands, pinning her against the mattress, and ground deep into River's soft thighs as if it would be his last time.

“I'm coming,” he announced, pushing himself into her harder and deeper.

River moaned, feeling his dick hardening more inside of her, feeling his manhood about to explode. They both were sweaty and didn't want the sex to end. River owed him this, but she also wanted it for herself, to make sure it was real. She knew after tonight, there was no turning back from him. She had never felt so strongly for a man, and it scared her somewhat, because she risked her life coming back to him not knowing what his reaction would be.