Put A Ring On It (19 page)

Unable to control her lust, Nivea didn’t question this act of betrayal. Wordlessly, she spread her legs for her sister’s fiancé, a
man she’d only spoken a few words to over brunch…a man who was virtually a stranger.

His tongue made contact. He used the tip to separate her labia, delicately, like he was gently spreading silk curtains. “Mmm. You got that good-good,” he uttered in a strangled voice.

“Oh, God,” she replied, her legs beginning to shake uncontrollably. She widened her stance, trying to give him complete access to all the pussy he could eat.

Holding Nivea by the hips, Knox lowered her down to the floor. He rolled onto his back.

You know what I want, don’t you?” he asked, his voice roughened like he was ready to get violent.

“What?” she questioned breathlessly.

“I want you to ride my face.”

“Ride what?” Bewildered, Nivea blinked a couple of times.

“Get on my face. I want you to squirt cum all over my face and in my mouth.”

A sudden heatwave overtook her. She wiped a trail of perspiration from her neck. This nasty-talking pervert was bringing out something savage in her. She couldn’t blame it on the alcohol. No, something else had her going. She was jealous of her sister, and was happy for the opportunity to hurt her. She was angry with Eric and wanted revenge. The stickiness between her legs was accumulating. Announcing its need, her ravenous pussy began to make loud, demanding, wet sounds.

With Knox’s head sandwiched between her thighs, Nivea gyrated against his soft lips. She lifted up slightly. Using two fingers of each hand, she stretched her pussy wide open, accepting the stiffened tongue he inserted. She rotated her hips; her pussy clenching his tongue like it was an erect dick.

Nivea had never thought of herself as being a freak, but the
savage sounds that tore from her throat made her wonder about herself.

But there was no time for self-analysis. Knox’s puckered lips began to tug on her clit, affecting raw nerve endings, making her writhe and lose her rhythm. Awash in delicious sensations, she emitted a long moaning whimper. She could feel an intense orgasm travelling through her. On the brink of ecstasy, she froze, incapable of moving.

As if her passion had taken on a different flavor, Knox grunted, opening his mouth wider as he awaited his pleasure.

Thighs locked around her future brother-in-law’s face, Nivea exploded.

Yuri had entirely too many presents. Vangie was trying to keep up with Yuri, snapping pictures as fast as Yuri could open them.

“Slow down, Yuri. You’re tearing into your presents and then tossing them aside. You’re barely looking at any of the presents from Aunt Harlow, and Daddy and me.”

“Yes, I am,” Yuri responded, snatching a big red bow off an oblong box and tossing it into the chaos of wrapping paper and ribbons.

Shawn patted Vangie’s thigh. “He has his own way of doing things.”

“We’re not filling this living room up with unappreciated toys next year,” Vangie whispered in a pissed-off tone.

“Lighten up, baby. It’s Christmas. Let him have fun.” Shawn squinted at Vangie as if trying to figure out why her mood had gone sour.

It was their first Christmas together as a family, a momentous occasion that should have brought her joy, but Vangie’s mind was preoccupied. Trying to spot a puffy, ring-shaped boxed, her eyes darted among the gifts beneath the tree.

This is ridiculous; I’m acting like a child.
At that moment, she decided to stop pouting and to count her blessings. Her greatest gift was having her family together. Yuri was definitely behaving better now that his father was in his life.

Besides, Shawn had spent so much money on Yuri, he probably couldn’t afford to buy her a ring, even if he wanted to. And there
was another holiday to look forward to. Valentine’s Day was only a month and a half away.

Feeling much better, she picked up a box with Shawn’s name on it. “This is for you, sweetheart.”

Smiling, Shawn gently shook the box. “What is it?”

Yuri stopped ravaging his presents. “Open it, Daddy!”

“Nah, ladies before gentlemen,” Shawn said. He stood up and went behind the tree and retrieved a beautifully wrapped present topped off with a big pink bow that had been hidden from sight.

Vangie’s heart sank when she saw the size of her gift. Any hopes for a ring were now shattered. She mentally prepared herself for lingerie. With an awkward smile, she handled the box, gauging the heaviness.
It’s not a ring,
she thought unhappily.
But it’s the thought the counts,
she reminded herself.

“Open it, baby,” Shawn prodded.

Vangie was afraid to open it, fearful that she’d grimace. Vangie ran her fingernail beneath the strip of adhesive tape, and slowly peeled the gift wrap away from the box.
Shawn knows that I want to get married, so why is he looking at me with such a satisfied smile? I hope I can pretend to be thrilled about whatever is inside this box.

Her heart sank when she saw the Victoria’s Secret lettering on the outside of the box. Vangie looked at Shawn, a strained smile in place. Beneath the tissue paper were a gorgeous red lace garter slip, a colorful array of garters, push-up bras and thongs. And several pairs of thigh-high stockings. One of the bra and thong sets was covered in crystal pieces. She picked up each piece of lingerie, peeking around for her hidden diamond ring. But there was no ring inside the box. “Thank you, Shawn. Everything’s beautiful.” Vangie leaned in and gave Shawn a quick, halfhearted kiss.

“You gon’ model some of that for me tonight?” he said in a husky whisper.

I’m nothing but a sex object to this man.
She laughed, but she wanted to cry.

“Open your present, Shawn,” Vangie said, trying to sound enthusiastic.

“Not yet. I wanna see that pretty smile get bigger,” Shawn said confidently.

She felt a little leap of excitement. Vangie’s heart picked up speed.
He got me a ring!

“Hey, son, can you stop unwrapping gifts long enough to get your mom’s other present from under the tree.”

“The one I got her?” Yuri asked.

Vangie was instantly deflated, but pretended to be happy. “You got me a present, Yuri?”

“Uh-huh. Daddy helped me pick it out,” Yuri said proudly. His face was alit with joy as he presented Vangie with a gift wrapped with shiny red paper. Vangie could feel the corners of her mouth twitching as she struggled to keep the forced smile on her face.

There was no point in delaying disappointment. She ripped off the wrapping paper from the box, flipped off the lid and stared forlornly at a Louis Vuitton bag. A fifteen-hundred-dollar bag that any woman would have been thrilled to receive. But the money Shawn had spent on the designer gift was money wasted. She wanted a ring, not a handbag.

She forced out a gasp of surprise. “Oh, Yuri. It’s beautiful!”

“You like it, Mommy?”

“I love it, sweetheart. Thank you. I’m going to treasure this bag forever,” she said, cupping his face.

“Your turn, Daddy.” Yuri watched his father with happy anticipation.

Like his son, Shawn didn’t waste any time tearing off the paper and getting to his gift.

“I needed these,” Shawn said, holding up a shiny pair of clippers.

“I picked them out, Daddy!”

“And your head is gonna be the first head I cut with these.”

Silently sulking, Vangie snapped another picture as father and son shared a moment.

“This is from me,” she said, sticking a white envelope in Shawn’s hand.

Shawn pulled out two Eagles tickets, eyed them closely, and let out a loud boom of pleasure. “Baby! Yo, how’d you get these good seats?”

“That’s my secret,” she said, picking up the camera. With the camera in front of her face, she hid her immense discontent as Shawn posed, holding up the Eagles tickets that Harlow had made possible.

1995

Eating a bowl of cereal, Harlow sat on the couch watching a cartoon that was out of focus.

Scratching her head, Jody stumbled into the living room. “Good morning. How you feeling, baby?” Jody asked in a pleasant voice.

Harlow gave her mother an odd look. Jody’s tone was too cheerful to be normal; especially at eight o’clock in the morning.

Jody sat next to Harlow, and stroked her daughter’s hair. “You okay?”

Harlow inched away from her mother. “Yeah.”

“Bleeding yet?”

“No.”

“Not even spotting?”

Spotting? What’s that?
Harlow turned up her nose and shook her head.

“What about cramps?” Jody looked hopeful.

“I said, I feel fine.”

“Well, it’s been three days. How long did Miss Cakie say it’s supposed to take?”

Harlow didn’t have an answer. Miss Cakie had told her to expect clumps of blood, and Harlow wasn’t looking forward to that.

“Did you follow her instructions?”

Harlow shrugged.

Growing agitated, Jody sighed. “Look, I gave that old bitch a lot of damn money, and something needs to be happening right
about now. Didn’t she tell you to move around…to be active?”

“I guess.”

Jody looked at Harlow, blinking impatiently. “You guess? What exactly did Miss Cakie tell you to do?”

“She told me to jump rope.” There was an edge in Harlow’s voice.

“Then jump some damn rope.”

Harlow rolled her eyes. “I don’t to go school anymore, so how am I supposed to jump rope?”

Jody gritted her teeth and took a deep breath. “I’m not in the mood for your shit, so don’t work my nerves. You don’t need a rope. Just do some jumping jacks, something like that.”

“Jumping what?”

“It’s an exercise. Don’t y’all do exercises in gym class?”

“We play basketball sometimes, but we usually do freestyle dancing or we watch a movie with a sports theme. I don’t know anything about that back-in-the-day stuff you’re talking,” Harlow said with a sneer.

“You better watch your mouth. I’m not one of your lil’ girlfriends; I’m your goddamn mother.”

“Well, act like one,” Harlow mumbled. Harlow was starting to see Jody in a different light. Her mother was as skinny as a twig, and always looked a hot mess. She wasn’t the scary, imposing figure she’d always seemed to be. Her mother was a pitiful, drugged-out wreck.

“I’ma slap the shit outta you, girl.” Jody’s voice trembled with anger.

Daring her with her eyes, Harlow boldly looked her mother up and down, and then stared in her face.

“See, you starting to act like you think you’re grown. Ever since you had that goddamn procedure you’ve been showing your ass.
I’m not having it.” Jody reached into the pocket of her robe and pulled out a pack of Newports.

“I’m bored, Jody. There’s nothing to do all day. I wanna go back to school.”

Jody lit a cigarette and blew smoke in Harlow’s face. “Well, you can’t go back until you drop that load.”

Scowling, Harlow fanned the cigarette smoke away from her face. “Why not?”

“Because I said so.”

“This house is starting to feel like a prison.”

“Ain’t nothing I can do about that. Do what Miss Cakie told you to do and you’ll be back in school.” She blew more smoke in Harlow’s direction.

N
ivea put the finishing touches on her makeup. She stood in front of the full-length mirror in her bedroom and smiled, surprisingly impressed by her own reflection.

She looked amazing in her Christmas outfit. Skin-tight black sequined spandex pants, a sexy pair of knee-high leather boots, and a stretchy sheer top that clung to her curves, showing off a flat tummy and tiny waistline. Those few pounds that she’d dropped while she was dealing with Eric’s drama were all in the right places.

Her confidence was back. She felt vivacious and sexy.

There were no twinkling lights surrounding her windows, no wreath on her front door, and no Christmas tree. There was nothing that suggested that Nivea was feeling the Christmas spirit, except Mariah Carey’s carols that played softly in the background.

Lights were dimmed and every room was illuminated with the soft glow of a scented candle.

As she spritzed her wrist with a new fragrance that smelled divine, it occurred to her to that inserting a dab of powdered sugar inside her coochie would be a good treat for Knox, her good pussy-eating, secret lover.

She shook her head, imagining her sensitive pussy having a bad reaction to powdered sugar or anything foreign. She couldn’t even switch brands of bath gels without getting an annoying itch between her legs.

I don’t need any damn sugar up in my twat. The way Knox was lapping it up last night, my juices must be as sweet as honey.

The doorbell chimed. Nivea gave herself one last look in the mirror. She and Knox had been texting all day, and his visit was no surprise. He had slipped away from her parents’ house and out of Courtney’s clutches. He was outside Nivea’s door, ready to sample something tastier than Nivea’s family’s Christmas dinner.

It was obvious that Courtney didn’t know what to do with her freak of a fiancé.

But Nivea did and her plans were now in motion. Knox not only had an experienced tongue, the cute future doctor was holding like a damn horse, and had the stamina of a stallion.

Knox wouldn’t be sniffing between Nivea’s legs if her sister was on top of her sex game.

Sorry, Courtney, but you’re too young and dumb to be married to a doctor. Even if he is only a foot doctor, I’m much more deserving.

Grinning, she opened the door for Knox. No khakis or Argyle. He looked extra sexy in jeans and a Polo thermal pullover beneath his jacket. He was carrying a bottle of Ketel One vodka. A red bow decorated the bottle.
How sweet.

But Courtney came up behind him, her arms filled with presents. Nivea’s smile vanished.
What is she doing here?

“Merry Christmas!” Courtney exclaimed and pranced inside. “Mother wanted me to bring these gifts for you and Eric!”

Sending a menacing glance at Knox, Nivea rolled her eyes at the gifts.

Oblivious to Nivea’s distress, Courtney set the cheerfully wrapped gifts on the coffee table. She sniffed the air. “Mmm. It smells good in here. And you look great, Sis. What’s up? You and Eric going somewhere?”