Player Haters (13 page)

Desiree walked into the apartment at about 8:30 in the morning carrying one of her journals. I was sitting on the couch in my bathrobe, and I smiled at my roommate as she came through the door. She definitely didn’t return a smile as she plopped down on the couch next to me. She took out a pack of cigarettes and offered me one.

“No thanks. I quit.”

“You quit?” She looked at me and I smiled contentedly. “What the hell are you so happy about?” she asked with a pout on her face. She’d been over Tim’s house the last couple days and didn’t know I’d gone out with Prince last night.

“Oh, I’ve got my reasons.” My smile widened as I thought of each and every one of them. “So what’s up? What brings you home so early? Tim kick you out?” I thought I was joking, but Desiree’s glare told me maybe I’d stumbled on the truth.

“Did he call here or something?”

“No. Was he supposed to?”

“Melanie, I almost went to jail a few hours ago.”

“Why? What happened?” I leaned forward.

“Well, first of all, I knew something was up because after he got some this morning Tim kept asking me if I was ready to go home. He never asks me that. Usually I gotta drag his ass outta the bed or take a cab home. But he got dressed in a flash, talking about, ‘Are you ready? Let’s go.’ Well, you know me. I took my damn time then, but he kept insisting.”

“So what happened? He had a girl coming over there, didn’t he?”

“Mmm-hmm. And
girl
is right. That bitch couldn’t have been more than nineteen. And had the nerve to be pregnant, too.” Desiree exhaled.

“Dammmmn, is it his baby?”

“It must be, ’cause that motherfucker asked me to leave. Can you believe that shit? That nigga had the nerve to ask me to leave.”

“Get the fuck outta here. You lying?”

“Next time you see him, look at the scratch on his face and tell me if I’m lying.” She tried to look strong but I could tell by her eyes that she was really hurt.

“You all right?”

She burst into tears and I wrapped my arms around her neck and hugged her.

“I really liked him, Mel. I was trying not to, but I was really starting to like him.” Translation,
she was falling in love with him.
Something I warned her not to do. Desiree fell hard for guys fast. If you could make her come, you could make her fall in love. It was that simple. Desiree couldn’t distinguish the difference between good sex and love.

“It’s all right, Dez.” I rubbed her back as she continued to sob. “It’s gonna be his loss. He’s the one who’s gonna wish he had you.”

“Hey, Mel?” Both Desiree and I looked up as Prince walked in the room and stopped abruptly. “Oh, excuse me. I didn’t hear anyone come in.” He was buttoning up his shirt. In a heartbeat, Desiree sat up and wiped away her tears.

“It’s all right.” I smiled. “You remember Desiree, from Manhattan Proper, don’t you?”

He acknowledged her with a nod, then turned his attention back to me. “I’m about to leave, but I hope you don’t mind, I straightened up your room and made up your bed. We kinda knocked some things around.”

“We did, didn’t we?” I glanced at Desiree who was just staring at Prince like he was the last steak in the supermarket. But that was okay. She could look as much as she wanted as long as she remembered that particular piece of steak belonged to me.

He bent over and kissed me. “I’ll call you tonight, okay?”

“Sure.” I got up and walked him to the door where he gave me a passionate kiss, igniting memories of last night. My God, last night. I don’t think I’ll ever forget last night.

We’d just returned from Russell Simmons’s Def Poetry Jam and what was supposed to be a good night kiss had turned into me being pinned against my front door with him grinding up against me until I was near orgasm. I was at that awkward stage again where I had to either send him home or invite him in.

I wasn’t about to make the same mistake I’d made before. I whispered in his ear, “Would you like to come in? I have very nosy neighbors.”

He nodded his head as he delicately blew in my ear, sending little tremors down my spine. He kissed me again and I reached for the door handle. We slowly backed into my apartment, not once breaking the seal of what I could honestly call the most passionate kiss of my life. The second the door was shut I could feel his strong hands slide under my skirt, lifting me up into the air. His hands were smooth and soft and I loved the way they felt against the bare skin of my ass and thighs.
Thank God for the person who invented thongs.

“You are such a good kisser,” he murmured as his tongue slid up and down my neck.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” I whispered, wrapping my legs around him.

He carried me to the sofa and I moaned, arching my back when his fingers gently caressed me through the thin cloth of my thong. He laid me down on the sofa. I looked up at him in almost disbelief. I was about to make love to arguably the finest man I’d ever seen. I was so excited I was shaking as I watched him unbutton his shirt, letting it fall to the floor to expose his perfect bare chest. I couldn’t wait to suck on his small, protruding nipples. Guys never admitted it, but they loved that shit. And so did I.

He reached down and took hold of my right ankle and gently slipped off my red pump. Then he surprised me by sucking each one of my toes. Now, I’ve heard Desiree talk about shit like that, but you can’t really appreciate it until you’ve had it done. He repeated the same thing with my other foot, then ran both his hands up along my legs and hips until he reached my waist. Gently he took hold of both my skirt and panties and slid them down past my ankles, exposing what made me a woman. He moved in between my legs and I took a deep breath, expecting him to lick me. But he bypassed my lower half to take hold of the lapels of my shirt. Then without a second of hesitation, he pulled them apart, popping all six buttons off a sixty-five-dollar blouse. At that moment, I didn’t give shit about that shirt.

Within seconds he’d released both my swollen breasts from my bra and was running his tongue around the outer edges of my nipples. Before I knew it he’d pressed my breasts together and had both my nipples in his mouth at the same time, driving me crazy. By this time I was moaning so loud I didn’t care if the entire building heard me. I needed to release something that had been cooped up in me for months. I gently guided his head down between my legs, praying that he wasn’t one of those brothers who didn’t believe in oral sex. Fortunately he wasn’t, and in no time his soft tongue was running along my clit sending waves of indescribable pleasure throughout my body.

“Don’t stop, baby! Please don’t stop! I’m about to commmmmmmme!” He had me climaxing so hard the only parts of me on the sofa were my feet and head. And when the laws of physics finally made me collapse on the sofa I was shaking uncontrollably.

I can’t begin to explain how good that felt. And that was only the beginning because as I savored the pleasures of my orgasm, Prince, unlike any other brother I’d been with, patiently held me in his arms until I recuperated. When he knew I was ready for more he slid off the sofa and stood in front of me. I watched him unbuckle his pants, letting them slide to his ankles. He stepped out of them and as he stood before me, the view was purely magnificent. Not only did he have the finest face I’d ever seen, he had the body to match. The only thing I needed to see now was what those sexy ass red boxers of his were covering up.

He must have read my mind because he didn’t waste any time pulling them down and taking a step closer to the sofa. I didn’t wait for an invitation. I acted just like I was AT&T. I reached out and touched someone. Prince wasn’t huge, but he was big enough to do the job. And just like everything else about him, even his dick looked perfect. It was smooth and perfectly proportioned. The thing I liked about it most was that he knew how to use it.

Kneeling down on the floor, he slid in between my legs, kissing every spot of my body from my belly button to my upper lip. When his tongue slid into my mouth, his dick slid inside me, too. The combination of his tongue and his dick made me close my eyes and moan, “Ooh-la-la,” as his rhythmic strokes brought me closer and closer to my second orgasm.

“That’s it, baby. That’s it! Just a little bit more,” I encouraged. “I’m about to come, boo. Please, please come with me!”

I don’t know if he was some sort of expert or something, but he reared back and hit a spot I’d never felt before. That shit felt so good it started an orgasm that left me helpless to do anything other than close my eyes and clutch onto his back. I held on to Prince for what seemed like eternity.

“Melanie!” Desiree snapped me out of my reminiscent fantasy, waving me over to the sofa. I closed the door after I watched Prince step onto the elevator, disappearing behind the closing doors. I smiled when I looked over at the sofa, ’cause I knew exactly what Desiree wanted.

“Melanie! Git your ass over here and tell me what the hell is going on. I thought you two weren’t speaking.” I walked over to the sofa and sat next to my girlfriend with a big grin. I couldn’t wait to tell her every detail of what was without question the most wonderful night of my life.

I pulled in front of Michelle’s house, and I knew there was gonna be trouble the second I saw her and that son of a bitch Ray standing on her porch, all hugged up like they were on
Love Connection.
Just the sight of him touching her pissed me off beyond belief. I’d been stopping by to see Michelle and Marcus almost every day for the past two weeks, but this was the first time Ray was there when I showed up.

I’d been trying to get Michelle to dump his ass so that we could get back together, only she wasn’t having it. At least she was acting like she wasn’t having it. There were plenty of times I caught her checking me out or smiling affectionately when I was playing with the baby. The last few times I was over she wouldn’t even let me leave without giving her a hug. I think deep down she wanted us to be a family. And to be honest, I was starting to want that, too. I think she was just keeping Ray around for a while so that I wouldn’t get too sure of myself. I bet if I showed her enough interest, she’d lose that brother in a heartbeat.

The only thing I was concerned about was that she might find out about my engagement to Indigo. I hadn’t even told my mother about that, and I was a little sorry I’d mentioned it to Melanie. Not that she would blow me up on purpose, but you never know when someone’s gonna slip up.

When I stepped out my car, Ray spotted me right away. That bastard had the nerve to smirk at me, then kiss Michelle like she needed CPR and he was trying to resuscitate her. At first I thought Michelle was in on his little game, but by the time they finished slobbing each other down I was standing three feet away and she jumped like hell outta his arms when she saw me.

“Trent! What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t coming by till later.” She was nervous.

“I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by. What’s he doing here?” I pointed at Ray. “I don’t want this nigga around my son, Michelle.”

“Trent, why you tripping?” She cut her eyes at me.

“Yeah, Trent, why you tripping?” Ray smirked again. “I’m just here to see
my
girl.” He reached out and pulled Michelle closer to him, looking way too self-satisfied. I wanted to slap that smirk right off his face, but Ray was kinda nice with his hands and I didn’t wanna write a check my ass couldn’t cash. I wasn’t scared of him but I damn sure wasn’t gonna start nothing physical. I’m a lover, not a fighter.

“Your girl?” I glanced back and forth between the two of them. I was hoping Michelle wouldn’t embarrass me.

He bent over and kissed her forehead. “Yeah, my girl. Isn’t that right, boo?”

Michelle smiled at him weakly. It was obvious she was not comfortable with this situation at all. “Marcus is inside with Momma, Trent. Why don’t you go inside? Ray’s just about to leave.” I nodded my head and stepped toward the house. I could’ve started something, but he was the one about to leave and I was the one she was letting in the house.

“Hey, Trent,” Ray called to me. I turned around and faced him as he continued, “Glad to see you’re no longer an absentee father. I’m proud of you, man.”

He gave me that smirk again. He’d said that shit to impress Michelle, but his words meant more. Much more. What he really meant was,
glad to see you back, nigga. ’Cause now I can get this good pussy without having to take care of your sorry ass kid.

“Thanks, Ray.” I wanted to punch him in his head. “I’m just trying to follow in the footsteps of a great father like you. How many kids you got now? Is it six, or is it seven? I keep getting confused. Matter of fact, didn’t LaTisha Jones just have a baby by you? Dammmmmn, that makes eight kids, doesn’t it?”

“Eight!” Michelle snapped, her head in his face. “I thought you said you only had two kids.”

“I do, Michelle.” He shook his head adamantly, glaring at me. “That nigga’s lying. LaTisha ain’t had no baby by me.”

“Look, man, don’t get upset with me. You know how shit gets misconstrued on the street. We can always call LaTisha and find out the truth, can’t we? You know LaTisha, don’t you Michelle?”

“Yeah, I know her.” She shot Ray an evil look and he swallowed hard. “Maybe I should give her a call when I get in the house.” It’s a good thing Ray didn’t have a gun or my ass might’ve been dead.

“Don’t worry, Ray. Maybe it’s this other triflin’ ass nigga I know.” Now I was the one smirking.

“Triflin’? Nigga, I’ll kick your ass.” He took an aggressive step toward me. I took a step back.

“See, Michelle? See?” I continued to instigate. “Is that the kind of man you want around
our
son? Always trying to settle things with his fists.”

“No, that’s not the kinda man I want around my son. Ray, relax. You started this by calling him an absentee father. I told you to stay outta my business.” Michelle spoke calmly, trying to soothe his ego even though she was obviously blaming this shit on him. That’s just what I’d hoped she’d do, but I never expected him to flip on her.

“What? I know you not taking his side. After what he’s put you through? You the trifling one. He’s coming over here like he’s king shit. Where was he when you needed him? Nowhere to be fucking found. I was the one helping you out.”

“You don’t have to throw it in my face, Ray. I know you helped me. But Trent’s my son’s father and you’re gonna respect him or you gonna have to bounce.” Her voice wasn’t so calm now.

“Respect him? For what? He don’t respect me. And he damn sure don’t respect
you
! I bet he didn’t tell you he was engaged, did he?”

Uh-oh!
This nigga was about to blow me up!

“Engaged?” Michelle spun around and I knew I was in trouble. “Who are you engaged to, Trent?” I couldn’t answer. I was too busy trying to figure out how Ray knew.

“Yeah, he’s engaged. He engaged to some chick that hit the Pick Five.” It was time for quick thinking and drastic measures.

“Is that true, Trent? Are you engaged?” Michelle looked hurt. I know what she was thinking. I’d been with her for ten years and never even brought up the subject of marriage.

“How the fuck can I be engaged when I came over here to ask you to marry me?”

“Yeah, right. Get the fuck outta here,” Ray snapped with a laugh.

“Oh, yeah? Well, I got the ring in my pocket. I was just waiting to talk to Michelle in private.”

“Stop lying. Where’s the ring, then? Let me see it,” he challenged.

I reached in my pocket and pulled out the ring that I’d just purchased less than an hour ago. It was supposed to be for Indigo. I’d promised her she’d have a ring on her finger tonight. “Right here.” I opened the box and walked toward Michelle.

“Oh, my God, Trent. It’s beautiful. Can I see it?”

I handed her the box.

“Is this for real? Do you really wanna marry me?”

“He don’t wanna marry you. He just don’t wanna see us together.”

Ray was right about that. I didn’t wanna see them together, but there was one thing he didn’t know. Hell, I didn’t even know it till recently. In my own crazy way, I was in love with Michelle.

“Trent, do you really wanna marry me?”

I nodded my head, then said some things I didn’t even know I’d been feeling till right then. “Look Michelle, I know I fucked up. But you and me, we got history. And we got a son who deserves to have a mother and a father who share the same last name. This chump’s not gonna offer you that. Are you, Ray?”

We both turned toward Ray who had this stupid ass look on his face. “Michelle, this nigga’s trying to trick your ass.”

“Maybe he is, Ray. But he’s right about one thing. My son needs a family. You said yourself you’re just trying to take this one day at a time.” She paused and took a long look at me, then at Ray. “Look, I know you gotta go to work. Why don’t you give me a call during your break? I need to talk to Trent alone.” She didn’t kiss him. She barely hugged him before she walked toward the house. She was still holding Indigo’s ring. “Trent, you coming?”

“Yeah, baby, I’m coming.” I wanted to smirk at Ray as I walked in the house. But reality set in. If Michelle accepted my proposal, I was in trouble. Big trouble. ’Cause not only was I gonna be engaged to
two women,
but I was one ring short and I’d promised Indigo I’d have her ring tonight.