Nobody Can Love You Like Them Roughnecks Do

by Shvonne Latrice

  Just a little while later, I was yanking her off, removing the condom and shooting off in her mouth. Like the bop that she was, she swallowed up every drop she caught, before I grabbed the towel I’d prepped on my end table to clean myself.

  “You think I can get some dick, Belly?”

  “Nah, that roast beef pussy ain’t a part of the diet, so you can bounce.”

  She sucked her teeth and started to walk back to my bathroom, but I’d fixed my pants in time to grab her arm.

  “What? I can’t pee?”

  “No, get out.” I walked her to the door to open it, only to see Sienna and my homeboy Rocko in the distance, shrugging with his teeth clenched.

  “Really, Cortez?” Sienna frowned before snatching Jasmine up and damn near yanking her weave off, before a brawl ensued.

  “Aye, Rocko, record this shit!” I yelled.

  As they fought, mainly with Jasmine getting her ass whooped, I closed and locked my front door to let them handle business. I went to wash my hands and dump the towel I’d cleaned with in the hamper, before hopping into the shower again.

  Once out, I quickly slipped on some gray sweats, a wife beater, some socks, and slides, before pocketing my keys and phone then heading over to Blaise’s condo. She had the game fucked up.

  Blaise

  Over in Beverly Hills…

  I was sitting with Island watching Disney Junior on demand with her, while looking over my lines. I half smiled, witnessing her crack up at the smallest things on the show.

  “You’re so silly.” I grabbed her to kiss her round cheeks, just as my iPhone rang.

  Placing Island down and handing her, her sippy cup, I grabbed my phone to see it was Belly calling. I was mad as hell because he hadn’t talked to me and had been ignoring me ever since the night of his fight. I didn’t know if we were broken up or what, but I was about to curse his ass out.

  “Yes?”

  “Bring yo’ ass downstairs.”

  “Nigga, I haven’t talked to you in almost three days, and you expect me to just come downstairs ’cause you asked?”

  “Either you come the fuck down here, or I’m gon’ cause a muthafuckin’ scene in this building.”

  “Fine.” I hung up on his ass. “Ma!”

  “What?” She entered my big living room.

  “Watch Island for me, please.”

  “I’ll take her back here with me”

  “No, she wants to watch this, so unless you’re going to change the channel, do not take her with you.”

  “I’ll change it, Blaise. How long before you’re back?”

  “Only a few minutes or something. I shouldn’t be long.” I checked myself out in the bust mirror by the front door. My press was still fresh, but these tights and spaghetti strapped top weren’t exactly up to par.

  I made my way down to the lobby, and when I spotted his tall ass, I tried not to lust over him. I wished he was ugly as fuck so I could just be done with him, but then again, I was attracted to his charming yet frank personality too.

  As soon as I got up to him, he went in.

  “Listen, when I tell yo’ ass I’m serious, don’t ask me about the shit no more. I’ve never in my twenty-five years told a female I was gon’ be her nigga exclusively and be faithful, so for you to question that shit pissed me the fuck off. I want you, not the next bitch or any other female, and when I say that shit, I need you to believe it.”

  “I know. It’s just the rocky start had me… leery.”

  Gripping the sides of my face, he said, “Fuck all that shit, Blaise. I’m yo’ man, and we serious as shit, aight?”

  “No other girls anywhere?”

  “Fuck I just say?” He pressed his forehead against mine as I chuckled.

  Our lips came together slowly, as he put his arms around my body. After sucking one another’s lips for a while, I reached behind myself to intertwine my fingers with his before pulling away.

  “You ready?”

  “Let me get something out my whip.” He tried to let go of my hand to leave out, but when I wouldn’t allow him to, he pulled me with him.

  I followed him to his car parked outside, and waited as he grabbed his bag out, one he frequently carried around before and after his matches, as well as to the gym. Once he had it, he locked his car, then I took him back into my building and up to my condo.

  “Shit is dope as fuck.” He eyed my living room. “This is a muthafuckin’ house, baby.”

  “I know. I thought it was too much when I first got it, but now I’m used to it.” I stared at him as he continued to survey my place, and wondered if me living in a spot Five-Star purchased was going to be a problem. Then again, Belly was a pretty confident man, so this probably didn’t bother him. I’d find out though. “You can have a seat. Are you thirsty?”

  “I’m straight unless you got some Hennessy.”

  “Cortez, you’re about to meet my baby.”

  “Right, my bad. Nah, I’m good.” He gave me the cutest smirk, making me shake my head before going to the back to retrieve Island.

  “Who is out there? I feel like I heard an extra voice,” my mama quizzed me as I scooped Island from the bed.

  “A friend.”

  I quickly left out, placing my baby to her feet, and then leading her into the living room by hand. When Belly saw us, he straightened up a little bit.

  “How you doing, beautiful?” He grinned, showing off his sexy smile. Island hid behind my leg immediately, prompting us both to laugh. “Oh, you ain’t fucking with me?”

  “Go say hi, Island.”

  She shook her head ‘no’, and continued to hug my leg while peeking around it at Belly.

  “So you can stare at me but not speak? Aight, I got you.” He turned to reach into his bag and removed a pretty Black Barbie doll, still in its box. “I guess this shit can go back.” To my surprise, Island came from behind me slowly and started over, making him cheese widely. Once she reached him, he handed it to her and asked, “Can I pick you up?”

  She didn’t respond, so he put his hands out, and she lifted her small arms to accept him. Once she was in his lap, she reached the Barbie out to him, so he began opening it for her. I felt awkward just standing there as they began to bond over the Barbie doll and all it came with.

  “Is anybody hungry?” I questioned.

  “Cookie!” Island shouted like every other time I asked her what she was hungry for. I’d given her a cookie a month ago, and now my baby was a full on crackhead for them.

  Ignoring her, I went into the kitchen to make something simple: barbecue chicken, rosemary mashed potatoes, and steamed zucchini. Halfway through, I heard Island let out a loud laugh, making both my mother and I go into the living room. When I got there, I saw Belly was telling her a story, and even though I knew she didn’t understand half of the shit he was saying, it was hilarious to her. I guess all the animated faces he was making did it for her.

  “We good.” Belly looked to me, then to my mother. “I’m—”

  “Cortez Khalil,” my mom beamed, cutting him off. I recognized that flirty expression on her face from when she’d try to finesse men when I was a little girl. From the time I was seven years old, she’d always taught me I could have whatever I wanted because I’d inherit her good looks. “I’ve seen one of your fights.”

  I remember her saying she’d heard of him, but I had no idea she’d sat up and watched him.

  “You watch boxing, Ma?” I chimed in, going over to sit down in Belly’s lap. He welcomed me, palming my hip with his large hand. It was crazy how his touch always got me feeling some type of way. It was like my body was sensitive to it.

  “Yes, when it’s worth watching.” She kept her eyes on Belly as she took a seat on the recliner adjacent to us. “So this is a real relationship? Or are you still in love with Merlin?”

  Oh, we’re doing it like that, Mom? Okay.

  “I was never in love with Merlin; I was dating him. But to answer your question, yes, this
is my man.”

  Belly kissed my shoulder, so I looked down at him to peck his lips. I was getting horny, so I got up from his lap.

  I left the living room to continue finishing dinner, and I could hear my mother in the distance, flirting extra hard. She’d never done this before; she’d just been nice in hopes of helping me secure whoever it was since they were rich. But right now, she was definitely interested in more than what Belly had in his pants pockets; she wanted the crotch part too.

  After about thirty minutes, dinner was finished, so we all sat in my dining room to eat. My mother usually ate in her room, in front of the television, but this evening, she chose to sit with us all. She attempted to dominate the conversation, but Belly wasn’t falling for it, which made me happy. Had she been some random hoe on the street, I would have checked her ass. And if she kept up her behavior, I just might.

  We finished dinner, then I bathed Island before putting her to bed. Belly helped me read her a story so she’d fall asleep, and then we retired to my bedroom.

  KNOCK! KNOCK!

  “Yes, Ma!” I called out since I knew it was her knocking. I was going to talk to her about going back to the house Merlin bought her. He hadn’t asked her to move out, so she needed to take advantage.

  “I just wanted to say goodnight to you two.” She entered, cheesing.

  “Goodnight, Mom.”

  “Goodnight, Miss…?”

  “Call me Ava. I’m too young to have a Miss in front of my name.”

  “You know I’m fucking yo’ daughter, right? And I only wanna fuck with her,” Belly replied, catching my mother and me off guard.

  “Excuse me?” My mom frowned.

  “I’m just making sure we got an understanding and shit.”

  My mom didn’t say anything else; she just backed out, closing my door. I then turned to look at Belly’s crazy ass.

  “I can’t believe you said that!”

  “Yo’ moms wanna suck my dick, baby. I’m just letting her know I ain’t with that shit.” He said the last part a little lower as he leaned over to kiss my collarbone.

  “Don’t talk about my mom in that way, Cortez.”

  He climbed on top of me in my large bed, running his hands all over my thighs and ass.

  “My bad. My mouth is a little reckless, but you’ll get used to that shit. I’m always gon’ be quick to let a female know what it is though.”

  “That’s good to know.”

  He pecked me then stared down at me for a minute.

  “Thank you for letting me meet ya baby. She’s beautiful; smart too.”

  “She is, thank you. And I’m sorry about what I said in Miami, baby. I just really like you and I was afraid that—”

  He started shaking his head before saying, “We can discuss that shit another time. My dick is hard just from looking at you. Take this shit off.”

  A couple days later…

  For some reason, Five-Star had taken an interest in Island, so much so that he wanted me to bring her by.

  I tried to get him to come over, but he started bringing up excuses, and since my baby hadn’t seen her father in forever, I wanted her to spend time with him. Especially because she had such a good time with Belly, I feared she might confuse them. Merlin had met her, yes, but he never bonded with her like Belly had done. Hell, Five-Star hadn’t even spent that long with her.

  I knew right now he only wanted to see her because he thought I was pretty much single. Yes, the blogs had posted that Belly and I were at the same places on more than one occasion, but they really had no evidence that we were together other than puzzle pieces thrown out. I kind of liked the semi-privacy.

  “Ready to see daddy?” I adjusted Island on my hip and kissed her cheek.

  “No.” She gave me a subtle smile as she caressed her new Barbie doll.

  I tried to make her leave it at home, but she threw such a fit that I said fuck it.

  “Damn,” Five-Star answered the door, eyeing me.

  “It’s just you here, right?” I inquired.

  I specifically told Five-Star that my baby and I weren’t coming over here if his other baby mamas Tahani or Liza were around. His first baby mama, Monique, was the only one I liked, I guess, and that was because she hated Five-Star, so she couldn’t care less about what he did, as long as he paid child support. Liza and Tahani, on the other hand, were still getting fucked, so they had much invested interest in his personal life.

  “Nah, I told you I’m single, so they ain’t got no reason to even be here with me, Blaise.”

  This nigga was about as single as a married man.

  Rolling my eyes, I walked into his humongous mansion. Both Island and I eyed his many chandeliers hanging from the ceiling in his foyer.

  “Does she have somewhere she can play? You told me you got her some toys.”

  “I did. It’s back this way. I can hold her.”

  Reluctantly, I handed Island over, and she jerked her little body back to get a better look at him. It was sad that she didn’t even know her dad really.

  He kissed her cheek and then started toward the back, so I followed. We ended up in this large room, with a bunch of toys everywhere. It made me smile knowing he hadn’t lied like usual.

  “This is a lot. Does she have a bedroom here, or is this playroom it?”

  “Really, Blaise? I pay you $24,000 a month in child support, yet you expect me to have all that shit. Don’t you got everything?”

  This nigga would never get over how much he had to pay me per month. But that was California for you; Island was to get 10% of his monthly income. I remember the judge telling him that he’d seen many wealthy men go broke, not from spending, but having too many kids and having to pay child support.

  “Yeah, I do, but you’re her father, so she should have stuff here as well. How do you expect her to come spend nights here in the future if she has no bedroom?”

  “You right.” He gave me that ugly ass cynical smirk. “I will make sure I have a bedroom all set up for her for when that day comes.”

  I nodded just as he gestured for me to have a seat on the couch in the room. I did so as he closed the door, before placing Island to her feet. Carrying her doll tightly in her small hands, she went up to the play oven and began toying with it. She was the cutest.

  Five-Star brought his ass right over to the couch with me.

  “What, Jelani?” I felt my top lip touching the tip of my nose damn near because I was so disgusted.

  “You know I’ve been thinking about you—”

  “Jelani—”

  “Listen, Blaise, just listen to me.” He took a deep breath before licking his lips. This nigga thought he was so fine. And when we were first dating, I thought so too. But now, knowing how shady he is and comparing him to Belly, he was incredibly whack and mediocre in the looks department. “I’ve been thinking about you a lot, about how our shit ended, and it bothers me. It bothers me because I love you, and I want a chance to make shit right.”

  “No, there’s no making anything right.” I shook my head to add support to my statement.

  “Baby, we were in love like crazy, still are. I gave you yo’ time, let you fuck with that bitch nigga Merlin, and now you see ain’t nobody else for you.”

  “Jelani, no.”

  “Was our shit that bad? Nah, I gave you everything.”

  “Yeah, you bought me everything, but you cheated on me throughout the whole relationship, got me pregnant, convinced me to take you back just to cheat on me while pregnant, then purposely made me miserable, harassed me, and embarrassed me for the rest of my pregnancy. Then you beat me three days after Island got here because you wanted to break my six-week period, and I wouldn’t agree. Hmm, what else… Oh, I had to sue you for child support, and even now, you see her, what, twice a month?”

  He just stared at me, lips tightly tucked, and his nostrils flared a little bit.

  “Aight, but I’m different now.”

  “It doesn’t matter.
I have a boyfriend now anyways.” I pushed my hair behind my ear since his stare was making me uncomfortable.

  “I know you don’t fuck with Merlin no more, but you bet not be talking about that fucking boxer.” The anger in Five-Star’s face was so apparent it was almost comical. He wasn’t even this pissed when he found out about Merlin. I think because he knew he couldn’t punk Belly like he’d done Merlin.

  “Yeah, it is him.”

  “You left me to go be with whack ass Merlin, and now you with Cortez Khalil? That nigga is known for having a harem of females, Blaise. You’re just being put in rotation, I hope you know that. He’s probably with one of them right now, since today clearly ain’t your turn to have him. He’s also a damn gang banger.”

  “Well I’d rather be his side chick than be your only one. I’d take being one of his many over having a faithful version of you.”

  I could tell my words bothered Five-Star because that bone in his jaw was moving about, making it obvious he was clenching his molars together.

  “You’re really letting this nigga fuck you? Knowing he fucks on other bitches?”

  “He’s not fucking other bitches.”

  Five-Star was getting on my damn nerves because he actually had me wondering. A lot of the men in the entertainment industry knew one another, so I was sure Five-Star had heard or seen things. Plus, every time I looked up, there was a new bitch either claiming Belly or about to kill herself because he didn’t want her anymore.

  In the back of my mind, I was always wondering how many there were, but it still didn’t stop me from wanting to be with him. I didn’t want to be too confident, which is where most women fucked up, thinking they were special and had what it took to change a man. Not to mention, I’d witnessed his player behavior. But then again, I was a top-notch woman, and Belly seemed to be able to see that.

  “I’ve ran into a few of the females he rotates, and they sound just like you.” Five-Star chuckled, showing every tooth in his mouth. “I don’t know what he doing to where all y’all females think y’all the one.”