Thicker Than Water (3 page)

He turned his attention back to Tatum. “And might I say, ya beauty outshines every female out here tonight, no bullshit."  He took a pull of his blunt and simultaneously answered his cell phone. “Excuse me for a minute.”

While he did this, it gave the girls time to check him out in full view. Kim could hardly keep her mouth closed. The man was fine. His Audemars Piguet diamond watch and four karat diamond earring were his only accessories to his simple but sexy attire. He rocked a fresh white tee over crisp Evisu jeans and brand new Vasque Gortex boots. His dreads were neat but not pretty and his face was chiseled, sexy with a fresh edge up.  But damn it was all about those lips, the way he licked them and those eyes. Those eyes pierced through Tatum's body and gave her the shivers. 

They looked cold but Tatum could see the warmth beneath them.
"I apologize ladies, I must dismiss myself, maybe we can take a rain check on that food Ms. Lady." 

Tatum finally spoke. 
"I don't even know you." 

He laughed at her weariness.
"It's just food Ms. Lady, not marriage…not yet," he added.  Tatum couldn't help but crack a foot long smile exposing her perfect white teeth, which complimented her dark brown complexion. He didn't take his eyes off of her. He wanted her.
"That smile gonna be the death of a man. By the way, the name is Respect." (Pronounced Ree-spect.)
"But that aint what your momma named you," Tatum shot.
"But it's what I demand," he shot back. 

Respect simply put his finger up and the man shut up and got in the passenger seat of the truck.
"Well my name's Tatum. That's what you pushing?" 

Tatum asked referring to the fly Escalade truck he had.
"Yeah why, you impressed?" He asked licking his lips. 

Just then Tatum's own Escalade rolled up and the valet hopped out and handed her the keys.
"Nah not really, I got it in black." 

She smirked, playing his game, causing him to crack a smile.
"Respect Ms. Lady. So may I have your phone number to call you up sometime?" He asked ever so politely. 

Tatum wanted to take him and rip him apart just off the strength that he was so sexy. 

And the fact that she hadn't had any in a year didn’t hurt either. 
"Let me get yours," she insisted, handing him her phone. He took her phone and punched in his number. As he handed her the phone back, their fingers brushed against each other and they both looked into each other's eyes and knew they felt something. It was crazy. 

He said goodnight to the ladies and took one final look at Tatum. There was something so innocent, so special about her. She had that something that made a nigga want to take care of her. They locked eyes for one final moment and as he turned and walked away, he whispered one final "Respect."

"Yo Ree, who was that?" His short fat comrade asked as Ree hopped in the driver's seat.
"Her name's Tatum, she's gorgeous right?"
"Hell yeah, shorty bad as hell. Why you aint take her home and blow her back out? You know how we do bitches!" Fatso asked as him and Deets, one of Ree's other soldiers, cracked up laughing. 
"Not this one Fats…not this one," Ree answered, as he relit his blunt and drove off.

When Kim opened her door it was 4:55 a.m. and she couldn't wait to get to sleep. Every week was the same shit. Partying until she got drunk and fucked up, sometimes she'd go home with somebody, other nights like tonight, she didn't. 

She peeled off her cat suit and sat on the edge of her bed in her bra and thong listening to her messages on her cell phone.
"You have three new messages. First message, 12:14 a.m. "Yo Kim, its L. I'm trying to see you tonight ma, my girl went out.  Hit me." End of message, to delete this message press seven-deleted. Next message 1:12 a.m. “Yo Kim its Black, yo I'm horny as hell ma, I'm thinking bout you, them big ass titties.  Call me." End of message-deleted. Next message 1:15 a.m. "Hey baby girl, I miss you." End of message.” Kim's heart stopped, she had to hear it again. “To delete this mes-,” she quickly pressed 5, “Message will be saved for seven days.”  After playing the message three times, Kim sat on her bed debating whether to call him or not. 

His name was Blair. She always found it funny a black man named Blair especially since he looked a lot like Blair Underwood. He was a corporate brotha, into stocks and shit. Fine, paid, 30, smart, and married. 

She had promised her girls that she wouldn't see him anymore, and she hadn't for the past month. In fact, she had told him to go home to his white wife and stay the fuck away from her. But the truth was, she missed him. She would even go as far as to say that she loved him. They had been messing around for about as long as he'd been married-three years, since she was 16 and he was 27. 

She knew it was wrong to get tangled up with him again especially knowing it hurt her self esteem as a black woman every time he went home to his white wife. But the truth of the fact was that she missed him, he missed her, and they were both horny. 

She opened her bedroom door and heard her mother snoring down the hall. She closed the door and went back to her bed, picked up her phone, and dialed the numbers that she knew a little too well. After the third ring she thought to hang up, but then.
"Hello," a voice answered on the other end. Kim froze up.
"Hello. Hello. Who is this?" The voice asked inquisitively and a little upset. Kim hung up. The sound of his wife's voice reminded her that she was dead wrong and that she really didn't want to go there with him again. 
I should just go to bed.
 Just when she started to take off her bra, her phone rang.
"Hello," she answered, ready to go off if it was his wife.
"Hey baby girl," a sexy whisper came from the other end of the telephone causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up.
"Oh hey Blair, what’s up?" She tried to sound nonchalant.
"Don’t
oh hey
me. Listen baby, meet me at the spot."

He wasted no time. Blair was always upfront, never beating around the bush, just like Kim.
"No Blair, I'm not driving. I'm drunk, and you're married," she reminded him, with her ghetto boldness.
"Ssh. If that was the case you wouldn't have called. Be dressed in 15 minutes, I'm coming now," he whispered.
"No Blair, we stopped this. I can’t keep going through this bullshit wit you. I need a nigga that wants me," she said, really on the verge of tears, but in no way showing it.
"We'll talk about it when I get there." 

And with that he hung up. Kim sat on her bed for a minute looking at the dead phone. 
Why the fuck am I so stupid?
 She could feel the tears coming on as her face became hot, and before she knew it they were coming down her cheeks. She knew he had some type of hold on her because Kim didn't cry for no one, not her mama, not her punk ass daddy, and especially not for any man. She stood up and went to the bathroom. She stood in front of the mirror and for the first time in a long time, she really looked at herself.
What am I doing with myself?
 

The ride there had been completely silent but now it was time to release all of that built up and long suspended tension. 
"I missed you," she whispered while unbuckling his pants. 

She threw him against the door and got down on her knees.  She took him in her mouth and worked it back and forth, then took it out and jerked it while she licked his balls. 

Her head game was off the hook and she was determined to make him love her. She sucked, and slobbed, and moaned until she could feel him throbbing about to climax.
"Damn girl, that shit feel so good," he moaned. 

He then picked her up off the floor and placed her on the dresser while licking all over her neck and breasts and describing all of the freaky things he wanted to do to her. 

She encouraged him thoroughly.
"Fuck me Daddy!"
"Hell yeah," he responded with a smile, before throwing on a condom and turning her around to face the mirror standing up.  He rammed inside of her and pounded her like he was going for broke.
"Oh daddy, Oooh, I'm gonna cum!" She screamed. 

They stayed in that position until she could feel another build up.

He felt so good to her, she wanted to cry. She wanted him to be hers. She wanted…to cum again.
"Here it comes baby!"
"You cummin?"
"Yeah!"
"Aaah!"
"Yes!!!"
"Ohhh!!!"
And then they came simultaneously and screamed together as they climaxed. They went at it some more until both of their sexual frustrations were released.

Afterwards, the room was a disaster and there was a weird silence. The two of them sat on the bed and couldn't even look each other in the eye. This had been going on for months.

She walked over to the air conditioner and turned it up a notch, then got back into bed getting comfortable in the plain Motel sheets. She studied his muscular back as he remained turned around, not facing her.

She wondered when he would finally acknowledge her.
"We gotta stop this shit Neli," he finally spoke to her.
"But you wasn't saying that five minutes ago!" She shouted with an attitude, hurt.

Calming down, she proceeded in a much sweeter tone. 
"I love you Chauncey." 

She waited for a response, but didn't get as much as a glance.
Chauncey sat smoking a cigarette. He knew he had to end this. He missed Sasha so much and he never wanted to let her go, but Neli had him right where she wanted him. Now the girl was starting to catch feelings and he knew how she got down.  The girl was definitely off the chain, and it was only a matter of time before everyone else would find out.

Chapter 2 - Growth

10:21a.m. Saturday Morning

Sasha jogged on her treadmill while watching a rerun of American Justice. It was something that Chauncey had her in the habit of doing. Come to think of it, everything she did was a habit influenced by Chauncey. 

Working out, eating good, waking up early, and even watching court TV and the A&E channel. She missed him. 

Her thoughts were interrupted by her ringing phone.
"Hello," Sasha answered, sort of out of breath.
"Hey kid. Doing that daily routine, huh?" 

She recognized the voice immediately. 

Oh shit, I done went and thought this nigga up.
"Hey Chauncey," she replied, stepping off the treadmill. 

"You know I gotta stay fit for my new man," she teased.
Chauncey loved her southern drawl, and he loved the way she tried to make him jealous. 

He loved that girl. That's why he had to leave her alone.
"I hear that hot shit ma. So when can I come get my stuff? Cuz you know I wouldn't want ya new man to see my shit all around and get all tough guy. Then I gotta go and fuck him up," he joked. Sasha just rolled her eyes and smiled.
"Boy, what you doing?" She asked getting comfortable on the couch. Talking to Chauncey was like talking to her best friend.  In fact, he
was
her best friend. 

He knew everything about her.  And she knew everything about him. 

Almost.
"I'm at IHOP," he answered.
"With a girl?" She asked, her heart pausing.
"Alone." He answered. Her heart beat again.
"See if that chick you got was me, you wouldn't be at IHOP ‘cause I would've had ya food ready, hot, and waiting. But you know that." 

This was true. Sasha cooked, cleaned, and even did Chauncey's laundry. Wherever he was, she was. She took care of him.
"Yeah, you right ma. I told you already, you too good for me." 

There was a silence and Sasha wanted so badly to blurt out that she missed him and that she loved him, but her pride wouldn't let her.
"You can come get your stuff now," she suggested, changing the subject. 

His voice became cold and distant.
"Nah, I changed my mind. I'll send E to get it. He in the area anyway."

He paused and then added a blasé.

"I'll get up wit you kid." Then, he disconnected the call.
"Fuck!" Sasha screamed, throwing the phone. She didn't understand him. Why did E have to come instead of him? She didn't understand why Chauncey didn't want her anymore. He didn't want to be around her, he didn't even want to talk to her.  She didn't understand why he left. She thought that she did something wrong. She didn't understand that it was him, and that he loved her more than life itself. She didn't understand.

Neli looked at the clock and realized that it was only 10:30 in the morning. 
Where did Chauncey go?
 She climbed out of the motel bed and searched for her underwear. She and Chauncey had gone at it for hours last night. She went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. She couldn't even look at herself.  This was the first time that she had real friends and she was executing the ultimate betrayal, she was sleeping with one of their men. She loved Sasha too. In fact, Sasha was her favorite. She was perfect to Neli, and that's what made Neli want what Sasha had. Neli had moved to Jersey three years ago, her family still resided in LA. She always wanted to live on the East Coast, anywhere near New York. So on her 18th birthday, she bought a one way ticket to Newark airport, after realizing that living in the city was an arm and a leg, but living in Newark was a lot cheaper. A little after that she met Tatum.  They became tight. And then she met Ray. 

Ray was persistent at getting Neli and when it became hard to pay the bills on her waitress/bartending salary, she moved in with Ray. She tried to make herself love him but being with him was all for the convenience. He was the only man that would put up with her partying, not paying bills, and hardly fucking him just to be in her presence. She couldn't wait to get on her feet and get her own place. 
What the hell am I going to tell Ray? I wish I wasn't with him. I wish I was with Chauncey. 
Neli had been attracted to Chauncey from the moment Tatum introduced Neli, Sasha, and Kim to him two years ago.