by Sequaia
“What are you doing here?” Confused was an understatement. There hadn’t been any communication between us that told me he would show up here today. I wouldn’t have agreed to it if there were. He was still to be avoided outside of texts and calls right now.
“Came to check on you since today’s a big day for you and shit. But I see you rather be entertaining some lame.” He sucked his teeth.
“Who the fuck—” Damian spoke up, and before things could go all the way left between these two, I stood.
“Damian, I’m sorry. Can I take a rain check?” My eyes pleaded with him as I lifted my backpack from the seat.
“The fuck you can,” Prentice protested.
“Sure, see you on Wednesday,” Damian smirked. I can’t lie. It was cute and kind of a turn-on that he didn’t let Prentice’s antics scare him.
Instead of saying anything further to him, I pushed past Prentice, storming out of the diner.
“Tell me how you claim you not trying to date and don’t want a relationship, but I catch you on a date with a nigga?”
“First off, why are you coming at me like I lied to you or something? Second, it wasn’t a date. I just met him today in class, and he asked to take me to lunch.”
“Sounds like a damn date to me.” Now, he was pissing me off. How dare he speak to me like he owned me? This was the shit I dealt with being with Adrian, and since I was single as a damn dollar bill, Prentice damn sure wouldn’t speak to me like this.
“You need to lower your voice and find a better way to speak to me.” My words were slow and deliberate. He needed to feel every word.
“Nah, you not ’bout to turn this around on me. You not supposed to be out with no dudes, Aúrea.”
“Says who?” With my hands on my hips, I challenged his ass.
“Me, dammit.”
“And who are you?”
“Aúrea, you the one who keep saying you not looking for a man or relationship. Yet you on a date and shit.”
“It’s not a date. And if it were, so what?”
“I’m tryin’ to protect yo’ ass,” he spoke, and I swear it felt like air left my body, and exhaustion took over.
“Prentice, I don’t need protection. I’m not the same girl I was five years ago, and even she could handle some stuff on her own. I’m not your responsibility, and I thought I made that clear.” I used my right hand to massage my temple while my eyes remained on him. This was a stressful situation that was so unnecessary.
“Maybe not, but I love you too much not to step in. I’m going to always step in because of my love for you.”
“I love you too, Prentice, but you don’t see me trying to control your life.” I wasn’t trying to sound like a bitch or ungrateful. I just wanted him to understand that he couldn’t just continue to make rules for me.
“That’s what you think? Yeah, yo’ last nigga really fucked you up because clearly, you don’t know the difference between somebody looking out and control. But it’s cool, Aúrea. I’m out.”
Without another word, he turned around, leaving me standing there, looking stupid. And for the first time with his back turned to me, watching him walk away, I knew I would have to be a fool to let him.
23
Prentice
Aúrea really had me fucked up this time, and not only did she have me fucked up, but I also had myself fucked up too. I wasn’t this dude. A nigga had grown up, changed, and she had me damn near running behind her like the 18-year-old I used to be. That stopped now. That shit stopped today. She’d been through some shit, and I knew that. Had she not been so damn closed off like she didn’t even know a nigga, I would’ve known the full extent sooner and could’ve nipped a lot of stuff in the bud sooner. Still, that didn’t give her the right to play me like she’d been doing. For her to have told me she wasn’t looking to date was understandable, but it was evidently a lie.
On top of that, she calls herself looking at me like I’m the one with two heads. She told my ass one thing, yet did another instead of just being real with me. Ain’t that some shit? She kept saying dating and shit weren’t what she wanted. Then I catch her on a date with some college dude. Truthfully, that shit was like a punch to my stomach. Maybe she just didn’t want to date the dude who was into street shit over the safe-ass college boy. Not that I didn’t get it. I just didn’t understand it. If that’s what she wanted, though, so be it. She ain’t have to worry about me no more. Leaving her standing there, I hopped into my Range and blasted Notorious B.I.G.’s “Get Money.” Yeah, Lil’ Kim had a verse on here talking ’bout fuck niggas. After B.I.G.’s verse, I was turning the shit down because I wasn’t feeling no woman’s empowerment-type shit right now.
Doing at least sixty in a forty, I got home in record time. When I got out of my car, Aúrea sped in right behind me in my Tesla. She wasn’t trying to fuck with a nigga exclusively but was still driving my car. At this point, I was hoping she was bringing my shit back. She barely put my shit in park, then hopped out, rushing toward me.
“Prentice,” she yelled.
I sucked my teeth before turning my back to her. Her eyes and tone were evident that she knew she fucked up with me, and no lie, the shit moved me, but not enough to stop me from making my way to my front door and placing my key in the lock. I had just about shut the door before Aúrea caught it.
“Really, Prentice?” She looked at me, chest rising and falling with her arms folded across her breasts and brows furrowed.
Looking at her, I chuckled before turning my back on her once again. She had the nerve to be pissed.
“Stop turning your back on me.” She forced her way in front of me. She stood there, and that was cool.
I looked everywhere but at her. Avoiding eye contact with her wasn’t hard due to towering over her with my height.
Her tone was full of emotion, and there was no doubt she was on the verge of crying. That wasn’t my intention to make her cry. Slowly, I lowered my head to look into her eyes. They were moist.
“What, Aúrea? You made yourself clear already. I’m good. I ain’t looking to be your savior, protector—none of that shit. A nigga do love you, but I’m good.” I stepped back, putting distance between us so that she could get a good look into my eyes to see I wasn’t playing.
“That’s not what I want, Prentice. I mean, I want you to know that I don’t need saving, but I also don’t want you just to say forget me and leave me alone and not love me.” Her eyes pleaded with mine. Her actions were confusing the hell out of me.
Wiping my hand down my head, I took a deep breath and peered into her eyes.
“Then tell me what it is you want, A.”
I didn’t feel like I needed to be any more specific with my question. She wasn’t dumb. She knew that one question could be answered a million ways, yet I only cared about one.
“I want y-y-you,” she said nervously, which wasn’t good enough for me. With a raised brow, I looked at her, needing her to sound a bit surer.
“I want you, Prentice.” This time, her tone spoke volumes—held confidence. What I needed now was for her to show me.
I took a few steps, closing the space between us. Latching my fingers in the belt loops of her jeans, I was pulling her body toward mine with ease, placing my hands on her waist. My lips were on hers, gently at first, but I was a bit more aggressive when I didn’t sense any hesitation, mashing them together. I took my tongue, using it to part her lips, when she surprised my ass by opening her mouth, willingly inviting me in. The minty remnants of a piece of gum had lingered on, and I hungrily sucked on her tongue until the flavor had become my own.
“Mmm,” she moaned softly, eyes fluttering into the back of her head.
Aúrea tossed her arms around my neck as she continued moaning in my mouth, causing my dick to spring forward. It was yearning to be set free, and the way we were making out, it wouldn’t be too much longer.
Without hesitation, I moved my hands from her small waist, lifting her by the ass a
s her legs reflexively wrapped around me. I walked her to the sofa, taking a seat as she continued clinging to my body. Aúrea was kissing a nigga like she’d never see me again, and that shit felt good. It was confirmation that she’d been fronting all this time. Slowly, I peeled my lips from hers, making contact with her eyes.
“If we do this, there’s no turning back, and you’re mine . . . exclusively. Stop me now if that’s not what you want.”
Aúrea kept her eyes on mine as I waited, almost impatiently, for a reply. She was nibbling on her bottom lip, thinking about what she wanted to say. Ultimately, she didn’t say a word.
She removed her shirt, giving me a full eye view of her black lace bra where her breasts lightly spilled over from at the top.
“This answer your question?” she asked me, a smirk playing at the corner of her lips.
I nodded before once again attacking her lips. She placed her hands on my face as I helped her out of her jeans. The snug fit had her having to practically shake her way out, which had her on her feet so she could do so more quickly. Once they were at her ankles, she kicked them off, not giving a damn where they went. Aúrea prepared to resume her seat on my lap when my lustful stare had her covering herself. All I saw was perfection as she stood before me in her black lingerie, and I wanted her to know it. My hands went to remove hers as I kissed along her flat stomach. I couldn’t even fully appreciate taking in every inch of her body before she was stopping me by again, cradling my face in her hands.
“I’m not the only one removing clothes around here, am I?” she asked, her tongue running across her bottom lip.
My dick practically sprang free, and she saw it too from the way it was bulging. As she’d done moments ago, I was stripping out of my clothing, tossing them wherever. She giggled at my eagerness as I swooped her in my arms bridal style. For a moment, we just stared at each other before our lips reconnected. I carried her to my room, laying her across the bed. Instead of going forward, I was stopping myself, much to her disappointment. She’d been doing so much back and forth, so I had to be sure this was what she wanted. I couldn’t handle her ass leaving again, but I’d rather her be upfront and not lead a nigga on.
“There’s no turning back now.”
“Good.” The huskiness in her tone was sexy as hell as I slowly made my way between her thighs. As much as my dick wanted to feel her, my taste buds needed to be satisfied first . . .
I removed her panties before taking her thighs into the cuffs of my arms, pulling her into me.
“Ahh,” she moaned as her back arched from the bed.
I had latched on to her clit, sucking before taking my tongue to lick from every inch of her fleshy folds.
“Mmm,” escaped my mouth as my tongue slowly spread her pussy lips.
Her sweet nectar immediately greeted me and had my ass tripping. This was some shit I’d wanted to do when we were younger, but there was so much that stopped it from happening. If I knew then she tasted like paradise, I don’t think I would’ve let her go. This shit right here was going to be a part of my daily routine, like getting the recommended intake of eight glasses of water.
“Prentice . . . I-I’m gonna come,” she moaned.
Damn, I hissed. Definitely a record for me—one I wouldn’t complain about, either.
Aúrea’s hand pressing on the top of my head held me in place as she came. Her legs shook violently in my arms as she tried catching her breath, but I wasn’t letting up.
“I c-ca-can’t,” she protested, still trying to remove the latch my mouth had on her clit.
“Just one more. Come for me one more time,” I mumbled in between sucks.
“Prentice, I caaaannn’t.” Her confession, apparently, hadn’t been true as her legs began shaking again.
Feeling satisfied, I removed my mouth from her, then sat up, taking off my boxers.
“Oh, shit,” she whispered, her eyes just about bucking from their sockets.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t remember it being so big.”
I grinned at the comment as she began blushing. I’d told her ass I wasn’t that same boy she’d left behind. I was clearly going to have to show her. Leaning down, pressing my lips into hers, and sticking my tongue into her mouth, I used my free hand to remove a condom from the drawer of my nightstand. Pulling back, I ripped the wrapper with my teeth, took out the condom, and rolled it on.
Aúrea opened her legs wider for me without instruction. I inched the tip of my dick closer, knocking at her entrance, barely able to get the head in as she sucked in some air.
“You okay?” Slowly, I continued to press into her opening.
“Uh-huh,” she moaned out. It was like music to my ears.
Good, I thought. I pushed all of me inside her while biting her neck as she cried out, digging her nails in my back. Aúrea was wet as hell, but she was also extremely tight. With all of me inside, I paused. She probably thought I was giving her a few moments to adjust to me when I was simply basking in the feeling. We felt fucking good together, and she knew it too. Aúrea began to move, slow winding her hips, promoting my own movements. Slowly, I moved in and out of her, and it seemed she got wetter with each stroke. I was doing my best to be gentle, but the way she was gripping my dick had me struggling like a motherfucker.
“Damn, baby,” I groaned. I held my face in the crook of her neck while biting down on my bottom lip hard enough to draw blood, hoping the pain helped ease the pleasure my manhood was receiving because what I wasn’t trying to do was come prematurely. Not again like the last time I was with her. I pulled out, shutting my eyes tightly and taking a second to gather myself before slamming back into her. She gasped out, convulsions capturing her body. I slammed into her again . . . and again . . . and again, as she cried out.
“Ahh . . .” Aúrea’s walls tightened around me, and I felt her raining down my shaft.
“Just one more time. Come for me one more time.” Kissing down her neck, I released her right breast from her bra, taking her nipple into my mouth, allowing my tongue to flick over it lightly.
“Prentice, I can’t.”
Her plea sounded like a challenge to me, so I pushed into her slow and rough like I was trying to connect my dick to her stomach. Like I was trying to intertwine our souls into one. I was thrusting in her hard, giving her everything I had. Our skin slapping together and the pleasured moans escaping us were all that could be heard as she did what she said she couldn’t do. She was coming, shuddering so damn hard that it had me filling up the condom.
“Damn, Aúrea.” I kissed her lips, then her temple, before slowly sliding out of her, lying on my back, and pulling her on top of me.
“No more running from me, A. It’s you and me from this point forward.”
“Okay,” she readily agreed, making me feel good as fuck.
“No more little dates either. I don’t care if it’s yo’ damn professor. If I can’t be there, then the shit isn’t important enough for you to be, either.”
“Okay,” she laughed this time.
“You’re mine now.”
“I’m yours.” The smile on her face made me feel good. She kissed me, then removed herself from my grasp, making her way to my bathroom. My dick just about rose again watching her ass jiggle.
“You need to discard that, right?”
Nodding, I sat up, throwing my legs off the bed. Removing the condom, I threw it into the trash in my room.
“Yeah, so we can go another round.”
“You know you can give me at least ten whole minutes to recover.”
“You may as well tell Nijah that you’re staying with me tonight.”
Shaking her head with a broad smile on her face, Aúrea used the towel she had to gently wipe me off before taking the trash can with the condom and the towel out of my room.
Within seconds, she was back, being pulled into my lap.
“Ten minutes have passed—”
The blaring of my house phone hal
ted the rest of my words. Tapping Aúrea on the butt, I eased her from my lap. If my house phone was ringing, that meant something needed my immediate attention. Walking over to my nightstand, I removed the phone from its cradle.
“Hello?”
“Prentice.” My mom’s shaky voice hit me like a ton of bricks. It was evident that she’d been crying, and my mind went to Prima. If something happened to my little sister . . .
“What’s wrong, Ma?” My mood had changed, and Aúrea, rushing to my side, let me know she sensed it.
“Gerald. H-he . . . We got into a fight.”
“That nigga hit you?” I seethed. He’d be dead before the sun rose if he put his hands on my mother.
“No, no, he didn’t hit me. He just . . .” She breathed heavily, pausing, and knowing my mother as I did, she was contemplating whether to tell me what that fuck boy had done. It was too late, though. She shouldn’t have called if she didn’t want me to know.
“What did he do?” Holding the phone, I walked into my closet, grabbing some boxers, sweats, and a T-shirt, getting them all on damn near in one swift motion.
“He cleared out your sister’s bank account,” she said sadly, and there was also some embarrassment in her tone. She had every right to feel like that too. Who wouldn’t be embarrassed about a mothafucka stealing from their own child?
“How you know it was him, Mom?” There was no doubt she wouldn’t pin this on him if it weren’t true. Getting more details would determine the level of an ass whopping he was getting. He damn sure was getting one.
