by Sephiri J
“She’s so cute!” I said as I started the session.
We got some good poses, and they were really happy as I showed them some of the shots I took. After about an hour, I was a few hundred dollars richer and left feeling great. They were so excited that they said they would tell their friend, who was getting ready to do maternity pictures, all about me. That’s what I wanted to hear.
When I left the park, it was going on 6:00 pm, so I figured I would stop and get some food for Sade and me. Then, we could chill the rest of the night. Pulling up to La Granja, I was ready to put in my order of white rice and a whole chicken with black beans and plantains. My phone buzzed, and I glanced at it and rolled my eyes. Ever since I sent Dontrell the video of his baby mama to be snorting cocaine at City’s party, this nigga had been calling me non-stop. I don’t know what he had to say, and I didn’t care. I felt a little gratified though that he was so rattled by what he saw. Serves his ass right.
I put him straight on ignore and checked my missed call log after I ignored Dontrell’s call. City still hadn’t hit me up. I was starting to get a little worried. I called him again, but the phone went to voicemail just like it did earlier when I tried to reach him.
I ordered my food then scrolled down social media as I waited for them to call my order.
“What’s good, Bo?” I heard a deep voice say behind me.
Looking up, I saw Marcus grinning at me with his hands buried in his pants.
“Hey, what’s up?” I said as I closed my phone and turned to face him. He was looking real casual in a t-shirt and joggers with a pair of Nike slides.
“What you been up to?” he asked and stepped close to me.
“Just got done with a job and grabbing some food real quick,” I answered.
I didn’t know why every time I saw him I got this creepy ass feeling like he was trying to look through my clothes.
“Yeah, this my spot. Gonna grab some food then head back to the shop. I got a client in like an hour,” he said and glanced at his watch.
“Uh huh,” I said while looking back at the front counter and wondering how much longer my food was gonna be. I turned back to Marcus. “Have you heard from City today? I been calling him, but he’s not picking up the phone.”
Marcus raised an eyebrow. “Nah, I ain’t heard from him today, but he prolly out there taking care of business.”
“Oh,” I said then chewed on my bottom lip.
“Why? You need to get something done or to make another appointment? You could call me. You know I got you,” he said and smirked.
“No,” I said and took a step back from him since he stepped closer to me. “Me and City went out a couple times, so I was just trying to reach him.”
I didn’t like Marcus like that, and I didn’t need him to get the wrong idea at all.
“Oh, word?” he said and slowly nodded. “I got you.”
“Number eighty-seven,” the girl at the front said, and Marcus looked up.
“That’s me,” he said and nodded at the girl before he looked back at me. “So, you think maybe I could take you out one night or something? We could get to know each other. You seem like a cool ass chick, and I think we could be good together.”
I looked at him, wondering what the fuck he was on. I know I just said that me and City were kicking it, so for him to ask me out when he knew his friend and I was talking seemed weird as fuck to me.
“I’m good on that,” I said and gave him a fake smile.
“Think about it. I know I could show you a good ass time,” he said and walked away from me.
I didn’t respond, just thankful that he was leaving. My mind turned back to City. If his friends hadn’t even seen him, I knew I wasn’t gonna hear from him until he reached out. I didn’t know what was going on, but I could only hope he was okay. I pulled my phone out again and sent him a quick message.
Me: Hope you’re okay. Please call me.
“Number eighty-nine,” the girl at the front said.
Five minutes later, I went to get my food. Whatever was going on, I was sure I would find out eventually.
5
City
Two days later
The last two days had been rough as fuck. My pops was still in an induced coma, and the doctors said there was no change in his condition. All I could do was wait and pray. I’d been at this hospital for the last two days, stressed the fuck out and distracted by the thought of Pops never waking up again. That was some shit I didn’t think I would have to face any time soon, but here I was, and every time I looked at him lying in bed hooked up to all these machines and not responding, I felt sick to my stomach.
I hadn’t spoken to any of my niggas on the phone since this happened to Pops, and I knew people were probably wondering where the fuck I was. But I wasn’t in the headspace to talk to anyone right now. I was a private ass nigga, so things like this that were real personal to me, I needed to handle on my own because I didn’t want anyone to think I was weak. But I knew I couldn’t stay hidden forever, especially since I had a shop to run.
I’d turned my phone off two days ago just so people would stop blowing me the fuck up, but I reached for my phone now to turn it on and handle the missed calls and texts that I knew I had.
As soon as the phone powered on, it started shaking like a crackhead from all the notifications I’d missed over the last few days. Guwop called me a couple times, so I sent him off a quick text to let him know that Pops was in the hospital. I saw that I had two texts from Marcus too, so since he was holding the shop down for me, I messaged him back.
Me: My bad, bruh, my pops at Miami Regional, so I been with him. Run the shop till I get back, I’ll hit you up.
Finally, I saw that I had a text and two missed calls from Bo two days ago.
Bo: Hope you’re okay. Please call me.
I felt like shit for putting her on ignore, but I didn’t even know what to say. I was trying to keep shit together and do what I needed to do for my pops for when he woke up, and I knew if I reached out to her, she would want to talk about how I felt. That wasn’t something I was trying to address now. I debated texting her back but then put the phone back in my pocket.
“You okay, sweetheart?” a voice said behind me, and I turned to see my mom looking right at me.
“Yeah, I’m good, Ma,” I said and gave her a half smile.
“You should go home and get some sleep, Dominic,” she said.
I’d called her two days ago after I went to Pops’ house and watched the tapes. Even though she wasn’t with him, I knew she still cared about him in her way, and she needed to know what happened. I wasn’t surprised when as soon as I told her, she dropped everything and met me back at the hospital that afternoon. And she stayed the whole last two days right by his side. Their relationship was weird as fuck to me, I didn’t get it. But I guess what was important was that she wanted to be there so at least he would see a face he loved if I wasn’t there and he woke up.
“I’m good off that, Ma. I need to make sure Pops is good,” I answered.
“Dominic, your father would want you getting sleep and not here stressing out about him. Have you even been home since he came in here?” she asked.
“No, but I’m good,” I said, shaking my head.
My phone buzzed, and I looked down, but all I kept thinking about was Bo. I went back to the texts that she sent me two days ago. I stared at the phone for a minute, fighting with myself on whether I should call her or not.
“Who’s got you looking like you’re weighing the biggest decision of your life right now?” I heard my mother ask.
I chuckled as I looked over at her. She knew me so well that she could tell things about me just by looking at my facial expression or demeanor.
“This girl I been kickin’ it with texted me a couple days ago,” I answered.
“Oh? This girl has a name?” she asked, sitting up in her chair.
“Bo. She been checkin’ on me the last couple days
, but my phone has been off, so I was just getting her messages now,” I explained while looking back down at the phone.
“So, answer her. What’s the problem?” my mother asked. Like it was that fucking easy.
“Ma, this is some shit that’s real life, though. Some things I feel like I gotta handle on my own,” I said with a shrug.
“But, why would you want that if you have someone who is genuinely trying to make sure you’re okay? You don’t need to do everything alone, Dominic. You won’t find love if you don’t accept it,” she said.
I sucked my teeth because my mother was getting on this sappy shit that I wasn’t trying to be on right now.
“I'm for real. I’m going to be honest with you, Dominic. Most days, I pushed your father away. It was because I didn’t want to open up my heart to him, knowing that he might reject me since he had a whole other wife and child. Even after he left his wife and tried to pursue a relationship with me, I still pushed him away. I’m going to tell you something that I never told you before. I met your father when I was sixteen. I knew him before he even got married to his ex-wife. I loved him back then, and he pursued me for years, but I wasn’t ready. So, he got married to someone else.
“Years later, we re-connected, and although I knew it was wrong, I justified it because I said he was mine first. I know we shouldn’t have messed around when he was married, but life isn’t always black and white. I ended it, though, when you were a child because of the guilt. But, even after all of that, when you love someone, you know when it’s real. You think if I didn’t really care about him I would be here on this hospital chair waiting for him to wake up? The connection me and your father has is one that is unexplainable. So, if you think you’ve found something worth pursuing in someone who cares about you in the same way, don’t push that away because of your pride. Trust me,” she said.
I listened to her with mixed feelings. I had no idea my mother had known Pops that long. Neither of them ever shared any of that with me. Matter of fact, this was the most my mother had ever explained to me about her and my father’s relationship. I looked down at my phone again with her words running through my head. Picking up my phone, I went to call Bo when the door to the room opened.
When I looked up and saw who it was, my blood started to boil. Rigs walked through the door with his eyes all wide as he looked toward Pops’ hospital bed.
“The fuck you doin’ here?” I asked, standing up.
“My pops is in the hospital. What the fuck you questioning me for?” he asked, looking at me like I was the one unwelcome in this bitch.
“Nigga, you wild. He’s been in here for two whole days, and you just now getting around to coming to check on him? Sounds like the family he needed to be here with him for the last couple days has been here so you can see your way out,” I said while sneering at him.
“Dominic, stop,” I heard my mother say behind me. “I was the one who called Rigs.”
I turned so fast and looked at my mother like she had betrayed me to the worst end.
“What you say, Ma?” I asked, staring angrily at her.
“It’s what your father would have wanted. God forbid something happens, and he doesn’t wake up. I know he would want both of his sons here.”
“Fuck that!” I yelled; I was pissed.
This nigga Rigs was nothing but a fuckin’ thorn in my side, so for my mother to act like we were about to be some happy fuckin’ family now just because Pops wasn’t doing well, she had a whole other thing coming.
“If this nigga stayin’ here, I’m out. Call me when his ass is gone. I’ll be back.”
“Dominic, stop!” my mother shouted after me, but she was talking to my back.
She had me fucked up if she thought I was about to sit in that room and look at that nigga’s face. I was heated. There was so much going through my mind, and I needed air.
Walking out of the hospital front doors, I got to my car and jumped in. The history with Rigs and me was taking a toll on me. Plus, worrying about pops and who the fuck could’ve wanted him dead. I needed a fucking drink and people around me who actually gave a fuck. Pulling out my phone, I called Bo. It rang about three times before her pretty ass voice came over the line.
“City?” she asked, and I could hear the hesitation in her voice.
“Yeah, it’s me,” I said and leaned my head back in my seat.
“Where have you been? I haven’t heard from you in two days. What the fuck, man?” she said, and I knew she was upset, but I could tell she was also worried.
“I’m sorry. I know I’ve been ghost, and it wasn’t nothin’ you did. My pops is in a coma. Somebody tried to kill him in a hit and run,” I explained.
Just saying the words made the shit so real to me. I hated this.
“Oh my God, what?” she said. “Where are you?”
“I’m at the hospital, but I stepped out cuz I needed some air,” I said. “Prolly ’head to the crib for a minute.”
“I need to see you, City. Send me your address,” she said.
My stomach dipped when she said that shit. No one, I mean nobody, came to my house. Some of my closest niggas had never been there, and I think Guwop prolly been there once in his life. That was my fortress. Apart from the girl who cleaned my house every week, the only person I let come through when they wanted was my mom, and even she knew not to make that too regular of an occurrence. That’s just how I was.
“Hello?” she said after I didn’t answer.
“I’m here,” I said and rubbed the bridge of my nose.
“You gonna tell me your address?” she asked.
I could just see her face all screwed up as she wondered why I was acting the way I was. But, I knew I really liked this girl. She’d checked up on me even when I was MIA, which meant a lot to me. Most girls would’ve split or had a whole attitude before giving me the chance to explain. She was different from any other girl I’d dated before. Definitely different from Gisselle, who was only out for herself. Bo acted like she really gave a fuck about a nigga. She was the furthest thing from selfish, and I knew she could be good for me. I knew I could be good for her too.
“City,” she said all sternly, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Yeah, Bo. Ima text you my address. Meet me in thirty minutes,” I said then hung up the phone.
6
Gisselle
“Oh, fuuuuuck,” I said as I got pounded out from the back. My pussy was dripping because I hadn’t been fucked in weeks, and I needed a fix. “Marcuuuuuus, beat that pussy up, babe!” I screamed as I held onto the sink in the restaurant bathroom.
I looked back, and Marcus, City’s friend, was slamming into me like crazy. All I heard was the clapping sounds our skin made as it connected each time he rammed his dick into me.
“Catch this dick, Gisselle,” he said as his eyeballs rolled.
I threw my ass back, and he gripped my hips as he fucked me crazy. I had missed this dick so much that I had forgotten what it felt like. I’d been fucking with Marcus on and off for about five months. It might have been fucked up, but I had been fucking him while me and City were together. City just didn’t know. City was the man, and Marcus tried so hard to be like him that it was easy getting him to give me money for some pussy.
Marcus knew I was City’s girl, and that made him come at me harder in the beginning. He pulled out all the stops. All I had to do was hint, and he would throw money at me. At first, it was all about the money. I didn’t need it because City had taken care of me, but the fun was taking it in the first place. Marcus was so caught up in trying to be just like City that he would have done anything I told him. But, after like two months of sneaking around, I actually started catching feelings for this nigga.
“Baby, I missed this soooooo much,” I panted as he reached around and squeezed my nipple.
He didn’t know that I had lost the sensation in my nipples because of the four breast surgeries I’d had on my tits, but he loved when I moan
ed, so I put on a show for him. I reached down and started rubbing my clit as I rocked my hips back and forth.
Fucking with Marcus was fun and games at first. City was the man in the streets; everyone knew him, and he had a big ass ego. When we were together, he treated me like I was replaceable, and I hated that shit. But it made me want to prove myself even more to him. In the meantime, though, Marcus throwing himself at me stroked my ego and made me feel like I still had it. I wanted City, though. I wanted him to give me more of him. I knew I didn’t have his whole heart, and I wanted that. I wanted him to love me because I loved him.
When City broke up with me, I cut it off with Marcus because it wasn’t fun anymore. I wanted my man, and I wanted to show him that I was where he needed to be. Marcus never took that shit light and kept blowing up my phone. I ignored him for a minute because I’d been convinced that I could throw pussy at City, and he would change his mind. But when all my efforts weren’t working, I realized that desperate times called for desperate measures. I was horny as fuck, so I’d hit up Marcus to meet me for lunch, and now here we were.
“You missed this dick?” he asked in his deep ass voice.
“Yes, baby,” I said. Because I did. Marcus was a poser and wanted whatever City had, but that didn’t change the fact that he was slanging some serious meat. I wouldn’t tell him he didn’t compare to City, but his dick was still bomb as fuck.
“Shit, Gisselle, don’t hold out on me no more. Shit,” he said as his grip on my hips got firmer.
Someone started knocking on the locked bathroom door, but I ignored it because I felt myself riding a wave.
