The Black Widow Clique

by Genesis Woods

  “You already know how I feel about your little friend, so I’m not going to even get into that. All I’m going to say is, watch her, because she’s a sneaky bitch, and I wouldn’t put anything past her.”

  After trying on both pairs of shoes, I went with the half size and walked to the register to pay for my selection.

  “I hear you, Auntie, although I doubt I have to watch anything about Fiona. That girl is an open book and has been my best friend for years. She and I are cut from the same cloth, so if she was thinking about stabbing me in the back, I’d know before she even tried to do it.” I paid for my shoes, grabbed my receipt and bag, then headed out of the store. “Enough of this ‘watch your back’ talk. To what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call?”

  Aunt Bree laughed. “Leave it to you to change the subject whenever someone talks about your precious Fee. Anyways, I was calling to let you know that I requested a week or two off from work and will be out there in a couple of months. Make sure you clear your schedule for a few days so that me, you, and Madison can do our spa weekend, okay?”

  I nodded my head, as if she could see me, because my throat had suddenly become dry. I tried to swallow, but the lump in my throat was not going anywhere. My palms began to sweat, and the butterflies in my stomach began to go insane. Taking a deep breath, I tried to stop whatever was happening to me, but that didn’t seem to help, as whatever it was intensified. The last time I felt like this was when I was . . .

  My eyes scanned the somewhat crowded mall, in search of the only person who had ever made my body feel this way. Red T-shirt guy was somewhere near, but I had no idea where. I heard Aunt Bree’s voice on the other end of the phone, calling my name, but my attention was being pulled elsewhere. I almost thought that I was going crazy, standing still in the middle of the mall, with my cell phone on my cheek instead of my ear, franticly looking around. That was until my eyes connected with those sexy green orbs that had been invading my dreams since the last time I saw them.

  I took a sharp breath, then slowly released it as he held my gaze. I could tell by the way he was looking at me that he recognized my face but couldn’t place where he knew me from. As his eyes raked over my entire body, a tingle shot from my heart right to my clit, causing me to squeeze my thighs together. The jeans I had on were skintight, so the friction increased the thumping of my shit. Good thing I had chosen to wear a blue blazer over my white tank top, or else my hard nipples would be on full display right now.

  I watched him watch me for what felt like hours, before the same curly-haired mixed dude he was sitting next to at the club walked up to his side and began to look at me too. I watched as his friend’s eyes scanned my body first, then opened wide with recognition when he finally looked at my face. Red T-shirt guy, who was still staring at me, didn’t move a muscle. Even when his friend pulled him over and said something in his ear, his gaze never faltered. It was pretty evident that whatever his friend had said made him remember where he knew me from. His eyes, which just a second ago had been full of lust, now were filled with that same disappointment I’d seen that night at the club. My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach and killed all those butterflies fluttering around. My breathing came back to normal, and my legs began to get some type of feeling in them again. With one last look, I decided that I would just pull something from my closet to wear to the charity event, and then I turned and walked away.

  “Melonee, are you okay? What’s the matter? Mel! Say something, damn it! Do I need to call Proof?” I heard Aunt Bree screaming as I put the phone back up to my ear.

  “No. I’m . . . I’m good, Auntie. I just . . . I just . . . I gotta go. I’ll call you later on tonight or tomorrow, okay?”

  “But, Mel, wait . . . ,” was the last thing I heard Aunt Bree say before I ended the call and put my phone back in my pants pocket.

  Me running into this guy a second time and getting this feeling had to mean something; I just didn’t know what that something was. I’d never felt this way about anybody, so it was crazy that this complete stranger seemed to drive my mind, heart, body, and soul crazy, and I didn’t even know his name. Hopefully, he’d be at this charity event in a couple of days and I could find out what this feeling was all about . . . and whether it was good or bad.

  Fiona

  Rays from the morning sun were bursting through my blinds and damn near slapping me awake. Three hours of sleep just wasn’t enough for me, but I had to get up and get my day started. I grabbed my phone, which was on the nightstand next to me, and looked at the time. A soft groan escaped from my throat, because it was too early for me to be getting up.

  “What time is it?” a rough, deep voice asked as I sat staring at the ceiling. When I didn’t answer, his arm snaked around my waist and pulled me deeper into his side. My nipples instantly became hard when I got a whiff of his subtle yet masculine scent. Remnants of his Clive Christian cologne filled my nose and caused a slight shiver to go down my body.

  “It’s a little after nine. Why? Are you ready to leave me already?” I asked, hoping his answer would be no. I could feel his lips curl up into a smile against the back of my neck.

  “You would think that after a night like what we just had, you’d be up serving me breakfast in bed . . . naked,” he replied.

  I licked my lips and smiled. He wasn’t ready to go yet. “Maybe I didn’t enjoy it as much as you assume I did,” I told him.

  The devilishly handsome man lying next to me opened one of his eyes and turned his head toward me. The small rays of sun coming through the blinds cast a light glow over his tawny-colored skin. My eyes skimmed over his very masculine and impeccably fit body. This man’s whole aura screamed, “Bad boy,” but I didn’t care. I was grown and could most definitely handle anything he threw my way. That sexy smirk I couldn’t get enough of was plastered across his face, with a hint of naughtiness behind it.

  “With the way you were screaming my name last night and scratching up my back, I highly doubt you didn’t enjoy my sex,” he countered.

  He was right. I did enjoy the hell out of his sex, but I’d never tell him that. I needed something from this man, and before things became too complicated, I had to make sure I’d be all right on my end.

  Instead of responding to what he’d said, I pulled my burgundy silk sheets off my naked body and got up from my bed.

  “I like my eggs over easy and my toast lightly toasted,” my guest said, with a hint of humor in his voice.

  Because I didn’t turn around to acknowledge his request, I knew he didn’t see my light eye roll and the big-ass smile on my face. He’d get that breakfast this time, but the next time we hooked up, I bet that it would be him bringing me breakfast in bed.

  “Oh, and before you go, you might want to get that,” I heard him say to my back, and I instantly stopped in my tracks.

  “Get what?”

  “Your phone.” He pointed to my dresser. “It’s been going off all morning.”

  I waved him off. “It’s no one important.”

  “No one important, huh?” He laughed and ran his hand over the five o’clock shadow forming on his face. “If that’s your boyfriend, I can leave and get up with you some other time.”

  I turned back around to face him, with my hands on my hips. Walking closer to the bed, I made sure he got an eyeful of every inch of my naked body. “If that’s your way of trying to ask me if I’m in a relationship, then the answer is no. I enjoy the company of men who understand that I don’t want a relationship or situationship right now. All I want is some good sex when I call, and maybe a few meals in between.”

  He nodded his head after lustfully eyeing my body one last time, then laid his head back down on my pillow and closed his eyes. Obviously satisfied with the response I had just given him.

  I left my cell where it was at and proceeded down the hall to my kitchen. I didn’t have to look at my phone to know that it was Melonee calling me again. We were supposed to go to the mall this morning an
d shop for dresses. I knew she was going to kill me for standing her up, but I didn’t care. Although it was my idea for us to go, I couldn’t let this opportunity I had right now pass me by. My mind was always on the money, and it would always stay that way.

  Roman

  “Roman, you should just go after her.”

  “Go after who?” I said, trying to play it off.

  Marques stopped looking at the overpriced shirt in his hand and gave me a pointed look. “Ole girl from the strip club you were just having a stare down with,” he said as he nodded his head in the direction she had just taken off in.

  “How did you know . . . ?”

  “Bruh, I’d remember that body and those eyes anywhere. Shawty’s shape is superbad. Ass, titties, small waist, smooth chocolate skin, not a scratch or scrape anywhere, and those thick, full, juicy lips. Woo . . . If you weren’t my dude, I would’ve gone after her myself.” He shook his head. “Just promise me this one thing,” he said, placing the shirt back on the rack. “Hook a brotha up with someone she is related to or is good friends with, please. You know birds of a feather flock together, so someone in her circle is bound to be as fine as she is. And you know I don’t discriminate, either. That body and those looks ain’t come from just anywhere. Either her mama is hot or her grandma is shutting shit down. I’ll take either one if they even look a third as good as she does.”

  I smiled and shook my head at Marques’s crazy ass. Only he would put a bid in for someone’s mother, aunt, or grandma and really mean it. No woman was off-limits to him. Big, tall, small, skinny, young, old. As long as you were a woman and looked good to him, he had no problem hooking up with you.

  A lot of people were turned off by his realness, while some never took him too seriously because of his family heritage. When you were the heir to a multimillion-dollar luxury hotel chain, some people tended to think that you were stuck up and snotty, like most heirs were. Marques, however, was totally different and had been that way since we were little kids.

  Being 100 percent black, as he would say, with a little bit of Spanish blood mixed in to explain his head full of curly black hair, Marques had no problem getting any woman he wanted. His light skin, light brown eyes, over six-foot frame, and basketball-player build did play a part in driving the women crazy, but that wild curly mess on the top of his head and around his face got ’em every time. If his family business was not worth well over nine figures, if Marques were a struggling actor who worked at Starbucks part-time, he’d still have no problem picking up women.

  “Aye, man, she’s getting away. You better hurry up and try to get at her before one of these other cats that’s staring at her does,” Marques said.

  I didn’t know why Marques mentioning other men starting at Gray Eyes got under my skin, but, for some reason, it did. Even when he had just talked about how sexy she was, I felt some type of way about that. It felt like she belonged to me already, and I didn’t even know who she really was. Our eyes connected as she turned to look at me one last time before she disappeared completely into the crowd.

  I felt Marques’s hand touch my shoulder. “See? I told you to go after her. What if you don’t see her any more after this?”

  That was a good question, one that I really couldn’t answer. What if this was the last time I saw her? I mean, I had gone back up to Decadence a week after the first time I saw her, hoping that she had returned to work, but when I’d asked the flirty redhead in VIP if my mystery girl was coming in that night, the redhead had informed me that Lucky Charms had quit working there and that she didn’t have any way to contact her. After I tipped the waitress with a hundred-dollar bill, she’d managed to remember my mystery girl’s real name. Melonee.

  I had left there empty handed that night and had thinking and dreaming about Melonee’s beautiful face and sexy gray eyes ever since. It was so bad that I would get distracted at work with thoughts of seeing her again. So much so that Benji’s ass was picking up on some of the slack I was putting out.

  Something was pulling me to her, and I had no doubt that I’d run into her again. When that moment came, I was going to make sure she didn’t get away that time.

  For a couple more hours, Marques and I shopped in his cousin’s overpriced store for nice suits to wear to the charity event. Finally, we both decided on going with some custom Hugo Boss three-piece suits. His a dark navy blue, and mine a smoky gray. After Percy took our measurements and promised to have the suits done and ready to wear by tomorrow evening, we went and had lunch at a restaurant up the street.

  While we waited for our beers and appetizers, I went through work-related e-mails on my phone, and Marques cupcaked with some girl he’d met a few days ago on his. Finally, the waiter came back with our order and placed the hot food on the table. Just when I was about to dig into the blackened salmon meal and enjoy one of my favorite things to eat, my phone rang. As expected, Benji had finally decided to return my call after ignoring my calls all last night and this morning.

  “Hello,” I answered, but I was met with silence.

  I popped a piece of grilled asparagus in my mouth and chewed for a few seconds before I said hello for the second time. When I was met with silence again, I pressed the phone closer to my ear and tried to make out what was going on in the background. The faint sound of Benji’s phone being tossed around could be heard, followed by a nasal, high-pitched laugh.

  “Aye. You okay?” Marques asked. “Because your facial expression just changed drastically.”

  I nodded my head and pointed to my phone. “Benji sex dialed me again.”

  Marques wiped his hand on the linen napkin and laughed. “Aye, I’m starting to think he does that shit on purpose, just to rub it in your face that he’s getting some pussy, while you’re using your left hand to pleasure yourself.”

  The nasal laughter in the background suddenly turned into a series of moans and loud screams, which had me hanging up the phone.

  “Benji’s dick will eventually fall off from the numerous infections he’s going to get from fucking all these random women, while I’ll be balls deep in my wife’s pussy and popping all kinds of babies inside her every nine months,” I said.

  Marques shook his head and stuffed a piece of his steak in his mouth. “I still don’t understand why you’re doing this celibacy thing, but I can respect it. Men should be selective with their dicks, just like some of these women are selective with who they giving it up to.”

  About a year ago, I had made the decision to become celibate after having meaningless sex with countless women and not getting any kind of satisfaction or mind stimulation, or having any genuine interest in whoever the woman was that I was dealing with. I would get completely turned off either after the sex or after going on a few dates.

  I’d never been the relationship kind of guy, anyway, since my father took up the majority of my free time when I was in college, grooming me to step into the CEO role as soon as I graduated. I didn’t have any time to enjoy being a young man while going after my bachelor’s degree in finance. If it weren’t for the parties my frat house had on campus during my college years or the travels Marques and I enjoyed during summer breaks, I probably would’ve never had any type of social life. All my father had ever believed in was work, work, and more work.

  Thinking back, I may have had one serious relationship when I was younger. During my high school days, I did date the captain of the cheerleading squad for a few years. Shelly Richfield. I thought she and I would get married and everything, being high school sweethearts and all. But that shit changed when I caught her in the football team’s locker room, having sex with Marques’s older brother, Siah, right before our senior year. I never looked at women or relationships the same way after that. That was, until I laid eyes on Melonee. Maybe she would be the woman to change my whole outlook on women and being in a committed relationship. Then again, it could be my body reacting to not having the feeling of some tight, wet, sweet pussy wrapped around my dick for the
past twelve months. I didn’t know what Melonee was working with, but I had every intention to find out.

  “Aye, man, while you were sitting here, obviously daydreaming about sexy chocolate, I had the waitress wrap our food to go,” Marques said, breaking me from my nasty thoughts. “Just got a call from Miss Porsche. She’s in town for a few, and you know she had to hit your boy up.” Marques stood up from the table, with a huge smile on his face. He started texting on his phone with one hand while holding our to-go boxes with the other.

  I remained seated at the table and waited for Marques to finish texting.

  “Yo, Porsche just texted me and said Tina’s out here with her too and was asking about you,” he informed me a minute later.

  Tina. I hadn’t heard that name in a while. The Tiffani Amber Thiessen look-alike was a pretty girl, but her sexual prowess and personality were on another scale. That was why I never gave her my contact info after that night we had sex. The only way for her to relay a message to me was through Porsche and Marques.

  I stood up from the table, ignoring what Marques had just said, and put on my leather jacket. It was a beautiful day outside, so I had decided to ride my bike and handle my business for the day. I touched a back pocket of my khaki shorts to make sure my wallet was still there, grabbed my keys from a front pocket, then placed my phone in a side pocket.

  “Thanks for lunch, man,” I told Marques. “Text me if Percy needs any more measurements from me or if he has a problem with getting those suits done by tomorrow evening. I don’t want to have to borrow one of Benji’s tight-ass suits, Q, so tell your cousin to get on that shit.”

  Marques laughed. “Man, Benji’s suits wouldn’t even fit your ass. You see how tight they are on him. His package shows through his pants. I’m, like, bruh, come on.”

  “The girls seem to love it.” I shrugged my shoulders.