“So he owns this?” Jayla asked.
Simmy let out a long breath. She was so tired of Jayla peppering her with questions about Alex it wasn’t even funny. “C’mon. I told him we were coming,” Simmy said.
“Ohh, shit! If it ain’t bad-ass Jayla Massey,” Alex sang out when Simmy and Jayla walked into the shop.
Jayla’s face darkened, and her nostrils opened up. “Alexander fucking Kennedy,” Jayla said, almost whispering.
Simmy was confused by the exchange. Alex seemed overly excited to see Jayla, and Jayla seemed pissed to see Alex. Simmy didn’t think it’d be like this when they saw each other again.
“You ain’t change a damn bit, girl,” Alex said, looking Jayla up and down like she was something scrumptious to eat.
Simmy bit down into her bottom lip. Both Alex and Jayla had seemed to forget she was even there. “I’m going to the bathroom,” Simmy announced. Neither of them seemed to care or notice.
“Jayla is going to get down with the business,” Alex told Simmy when she returned. “We got history, so I think it will be a good thing,” he said, rubbing his chin.
A pang of jealousy flitted through Simmy’s chest, but she ignored it. “Great! That’s exactly what I wanted, to make sure my cousin is put on.”
A pretty Spanish girl walked over, stepped between Simmy and Alex, and whispered in Alex’s ear, then giggled. Simmy could see Jayla looking from the girl to Simmy and back to the girl.
Jayla grabbed Simmy’s arm and pulled her away. “So you just going to stand there and let the nigga play you like that?” Jayla asked.
“Like what? Please. I go home with him at night. I couldn’t care less about all of his groupie chicks flocking and trying to get at him. He don’t fuck with them ratchet girls.”
“Simmy.” Jayla exhaled her name on the end of a long, exasperated breath. “You still acting like some green-ass little girl out here?”
Simmy’s face and mood darkened. “Jayla, please don’t start that bullying shit you used to do with me. I’m not a little girl anymore. I’ve grown up. I’m confident with myself and my man. I hope me growing up doesn’t lead to you and me growing apart.” With that, Simmy stormed off. She didn’t need anybody trying to tell her what to do or how to react to her own man.
Chapter 20
Losing It All
Once Jayla was turned on to the credit card game there was no stopping her. It took her no time to learn the ropes. In three short weeks, Jayla became Alex’s number one.
“Little cousin, I need to speak to you about something,” Jayla said as she and Simmy got finished with a day of shopping in the city.
Simmy looked at her.
“I think we can find our own connect for the blank cards, IDs, credit card numbers, and socials,” Jayla announced.
Simmy rolled her eyes. “Look, I know you’re smart, Jay, but we can’t fuck with Alex. There’s a side of him you don’t know and, trust me, you don’t want to see that side,” Simmy said seriously.
“I know him pretty well, Simmy. Well enough to know you and me both need to be away from him.”
“Wow,” Simmy said, shaking her head. “So you’re being ungrateful now?”
“No. I’m trying to be smart,” Jayla retorted.
“Being smart is keeping your mouth shut sometimes and just going with the flow,” Simmy snapped.
“No. Being smart is not wanting your little cousin with a nigga who’s determined to fuck her cousin and ain’t stopping at nothing until he does,” Jayla blurted.
Simmy’s head whipped around so hard and fast a pain shot down her neck. “What? What the fuck are you talking about, Jayla?”
“Your fucking dude, the one you think so highly of. The one I’ve watched over the past few weeks play you right in your face with bitches sliding him numbers and him sending expensive bottles to bitches’ tables with you right there. The one who came to my fucking crib three times already trying to fuck me again,” Jayla spat. Right away Simmy could tell by Jayla’s raised eyebrows that she knew she’d said too much.
“Again?” Simmy said, barely above a whisper.
“I didn’t want to tell you because it was the past. I used to fuck with Alex heavy back in the day. That’s how we know each other. But, that’s when he was pimping, Simmy,” Jayla confessed.
Simmy chuckled. “Damn, your story just gets deeper and deeper, huh? Maybe you should’ve been a fiction writer. Alex is a lot of things, but one, he ain’t never been a fucking pimp Jayla; and two, every man who lives doesn’t want to fuck you,” Simmy spat.
“Say what you want, you know and I know that I wouldn’t just lie to you like this. The nigga tried to convince me to let some niggas run a train on me, and I refused, so we had a big falling out. That’s why I stopped fucking with him. And now he’s trying to get at me, and I told him not to ever play with me again, ever. I also told him that I would take a bullet to the head for you, Simmy. And, right hand to God, that’s the truth. You need to check for Kyan. He’s the type of nigga you should settle down with, Simmy, not a nasty-ass dick-slinger like Alex.”
“I told you what happened with Kyan already. He got nasty and ungrateful with me when all I was trying to do was make paper so I could help you and him. He sat there accusing me of fucking with Alex when I had nothing going on with him.”
“Yeah, and look at you now. Riding that nigga’s dick whenever he tells you to. I’m telling you, Simmy. You made a big mistake walking away from Kyan.”
“Let me out. I’ll take an Uber,” Simmy said, tugging at Jayla’s rental car door handle.
“C’mon, Simmy. Don’t do this. I just don’t want to see you lose it all behind this nigga,” Jayla pleaded.
“Pull over!” Simmy boomed. “I have nothing fucking else to say to you. You’re an ungrateful bitch just like Kyan, and I should’ve known better! Don’t ever give me advice on who I should settle down with when you had a parade of niggas in and out of your crib like you had an ad on Backpage! Fuck outta here, Jayla!”
Jayla’s head jerked like Simmy had slapped her in the face. “A’ight, this is what you want to do? You want to let a nigga come between family? Suit yourself, but when shit falls down around you, don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Jayla shot back.
She pulled over. Simmy grabbed all of the bags that were hers and stormed away. As she walked, she could not stop the tears from falling hard and fast. She couldn’t believe what was happening.
* * *
“Didn’t I tell you Jayla was a hater?” Alex said, practically laughing at Simmy.
“Did you go to her house?” Simmy asked again.
“She’s a liar. I don’t want her. She’s jealous and unhappy because she ain’t got a man like me,” Alex replied. “C’mere.”
Simmy reluctantly lay against him. “I just feel like I’m losing it all, Alex. My grandmother is dying. Jayla is mad at me. You’ve been spending almost every night out, saying you’re working,” Simmy said.
“You always got me,” Alex said, kissing her deeply. Within minutes he had Simmy out of her pants. She gladly followed his lead once her pants were off. She opened her legs wide, and Alex lowered his head. Simmy gasped. She knew she was in for a special treat. He used his fingers to gently part her delicate flower and then he took the tip of his masterful tongue and teased her clit. Alex always knew how to get Simmy’s mind off of things. She was no longer thinking about Jayla and her accusations; instead, she was concentrating on moving her body like a video vixen or a sexy siren from a porn movie. Alex liked when she let herself get freaky.
“Lick it. Fuck that feels so good,” Simmy panted, moving Alex’s head to the spot where she wanted him. “Yeah, right there,” she huffed. Alex licked up and down her entire opening. She could feel a mixture of his saliva and her juices leaking down her ass crack. Simmy couldn’t care less if she ever spoke to Jayla again. Alex was giving it to her like she wanted it. The more she moaned and cooed, the harder he went at pleasing her. The sl
urping noises were making her crazy. “Yes, daddy! Do that shit. I’m sorry I ever doubted you,” Simmy hissed, grinding her hips toward Alex’s tongue in response. She was breathing so hard her head started swimming. Alex was doing what he did best. He pressed his tongue on Simmy’s clit again, and that was enough. “Ouuu!” she screamed out, her thighs shuddering. She creamed all over his face within seconds.
“Damn, you know how to do that shit right,” she panted out.
“My turn now,” Alex said, his voice gruff with lust. He pulled his pants down and pulled Simmy off the bed and onto her knees. He went to enter her mouth and suddenly stopped.
“Hold up,” he said, reaching over for his cell phone. Simmy’s face folded.
“Really? You’re going to . . .” she was saying.
Alex ignored her and answered his phone. As he walked away, Simmy could hear a female voice filtering through. She jumped to her feet and rushed over to him. Jayla’s words were playing over and over in her ears: “The one I’ve watched over the past few weeks play you right in your face with bitches sliding him numbers and him sending expensive bottles to bitches’ tables with you right there. The one who came to my fucking crib three times already trying to fuck me again.”
“Who is that, Alex?” Simmy demanded, grabbing for his phone.
“Yo. What the fuck? Stop playing,” Alex grumbled, taken aback by Simmy’s sudden bravado.
“No! I want to know what bitch that is who’s so important that you stopped in the middle of fucking me to answer your phone!” Simmy boomed. She could hear the girl on the other end calling out to Alex and asking him what was going on over there.
“I’m telling you to chill. I’m not gonna say it again,” Alex warned her.
“Fuck that! You’ve been playing me right in my face. You been out there getting numbers right in my fucking face, and now you standing there talking to the next bitch when you were all up in my pussy just a minute ago!” Simmy screamed. She could feel her face filling with blood and her entire body coursing with hot adrenaline.
“Bitch, I made you; why would I play you?” Alex spat. Without thinking, Simmy slapped him across the face. She shocked herself but not more than she shocked him.
“Bitch,” he spat. Then he backhanded her across the face so hard blood and spit shot out of her mouth. The force sent Simmy reeling backward and slamming to the floor. Within seconds he was on top of her.
“Don’t you ever roll up on me like that,” Alex snarled, and he slapped her again.
Simmy saw stars. Her head started pounding, and her ears rang.
“I run the fucking show around here. You want to listen to your ho-ass cousin? I will put your ass on the street where I found you. You fucking understand?” he barked. He stood up, and before he turned to leave, he kicked Simmy in the stomach.
Simmy lay there coughing and trying to catch her breath. She didn’t have the strength to stand so she crawled over to her nightstand and grabbed her phone. She called the only person she knew would come to her aid.
“Hello.” She heard aggravation in the voice on the other end of the line.
“Jayla!” Simmy cried out. “I need you to come and get me!”
“Simmy, what’s wrong? What happened” Jayla immediately sat up in bed.
“He beat me, Jayla!”
“That motherfucker!” Jayla screamed into the phone.
Simmy felt herself calming down a little bit. “Jayla, I’m sorry about everything. You were right. He’s a no-good piece of shit,” she said as she took deep breaths in an attempt to compose herself.
“Apology accepted, cousin. Don’t even sweat it. I’m on my way.”
* * *
“What the fuck happened?” Jayla said as she helped Simmy into her car. Simmy was limping, and the bruises all over her face were starting to turn black and blue. Her eyes were puffy from the crying and the slaps she took from Alex.
“Some bitch called him, and he flipped the fuck out when I confronted him about it.”
“Damn, Simmy. I’m sorry that he did this to you,” Jayla said solemnly. She felt guilty that she hadn’t been around to protect her cousin. She regretted introducing her to this world. If she hadn’t put her on to boosting, she probably wouldn’t be in the situation she was in now.
“It’s okay; it’s not your fault, Jayla,” Simmy reassured her. Her phone ringing and the vibration she felt by her thigh startled her.
“That better not be that nigga Alex,” Jayla said angrily.
“No, it’s not. It’s Aunt Sheryl.” Simmy said as she pressed the answer button. “Hi, Aunt Sheryl,” Simmy said into the phone.
Jayla turned the radio off and drove in silence, hoping to be able to hear what Sheryl was saying. She was being nosey, but she didn’t care. Unfortunately for her, she couldn’t hear anything.
“What? No! Please, God! No! This can’t be happening!” Simmy screamed. Her cell phone slipped from her hand, and she could still hear Sheryl screaming into the other end of the phone.
“Deep breaths, Simmy! What happened? What is it?” Jayla did her best to calm her down.
“Mummy Pat,” Simmy said in between sobs. “She’s gone, Jayla! She’s gone!” Simmy felt like her world came crashing down on top of her. The physical pain she was feeling from Alex’s beat down was nothing compared to the pain she was now feeling in her heart.
Jayla immediately drove to Mummy Pat’s house. By the time she and Simmy got to Mummy Pat’s house, paramedics had already taken her body out of the house and were loading it onto the ambulance.
“What hospital are you taking her to?” Jayla ran up to one of the paramedics.
“She’s going to Kings County Memorial Hospital. I’m sorry for your loss.” The paramedic gave his condolences.
“Thank you,” Simmy and Jayla replied in unison.
“Simmy, I’m going to follow Mummy to the hospital and get all the information we’ll need so we can make arrangements. You run in and stay with Aunt Sheryl. I may not like her, but I can respect that she just lost her mother,” Jayla said. Her voice sounded shaky from trying to hold back her tears.
“Okay, Jayla.” Simmy looked into Jayla’s eyes and could see the tears welling up. The two cousins held each other for a few seconds, Simmy trying to comfort her cousin and Jayla attempting to do the same.
“I love you,” Simmy said as they let go of each other.
“Me too,” Jayla replied before walking back in her car so she could go to the hospital.
Simmy rushed into her grandmother’s bedroom and found Sheryl in the middle of the floor sobbing. Simmy fell down next to her, and they hugged and sobbed together.
“She went in her sleep,” Sheryl said as she wiped at her eyes. Simmy could tell she had been crying for a while.
“Jayla is on her way to the hospital to get all the information we’ll need.”
“Okay,” Sheryl replied.
“I can’t believe she’s gone,” Simmy said in a low voice.
“I know, Simmy. Me too. It was her time to go, though. She lived a long life and took care of so many of us. It’s time for her to rest,” Sheryl said as she took a deep breath and tried to stop herself from bursting out crying again.
“Yeah, she took care of so many of us, and look who was there for her in the end.” Simmy looked around at the empty room. “People ain’t shit, Aunt Sheryl. After everything she did for everyone in this house, they didn’t have the decency to pay their respects to her on her deathbed. Uncle Marcus went and moved out on her when she needed him the most.” Simmy felt overwhelmed with emotions. It felt good to vent and let it all out. She never thought her aunt Sheryl would be the person she’d open up to but here they were. Simmy had learned a lot about her aunt since she and Simmy were the only ones who had been looking after Mummy Pat. She knew her aunt Sheryl would understand her.
“Men ain’t good for nothing, Aunt Sheryl.” Simmy looked to the ground.
“No, Simmy, not all men are bad. There’s
still some good ones out there.” Sheryl took a deep breath. “I have something for you,” she told Simmy. “With Mummy being so sick, I kept forgetting to give it to you.”
“What is it?” Simmy asked.
Sheryl got up from the floor and went over to the tall, old-fashioned dresser Mummy Pat had in the far corner of her room. She’d always told all of her grandkids the story of how that dresser was the only thing she had left from her childhood in Jamaica. But, as Simmy got older, she’d figured out that there was no way Mummy Pat could’ve gotten that dresser on a plane from Jamaica. That was what her grandmother would always do, tell them stories that made them feel proud of their heritage and proud of her.
“Simone. What happened to your face?” Sheryl asked once she was standing directly in front of Simmy. She was holding something in her hands.
“It’s nothing. I slipped down some stairs,” Simmy lied. “What is it that you want to give me?” she changed the subject. She could see the doubt creasing Sheryl’s brow, but neither one of them wanted to deal with it at that moment.
“Here,” Sheryl said. “Mummy had all of these. She was holding them for you. She wanted to give them to you personally but, since she got so sick, she made me promise to make sure to give them to you myself. She didn’t want them to get lost.”
Simmy stood up and held out her hands. She looked down at what Sheryl had handed her. She sucked in her breath and looked back up at Sheryl.
“Oh, my God, are you serious? When did they start arriving? I mean, why wasn’t I told sooner?” Simmy couldn’t find her words. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her heart felt like someone had stuck their hand inside her chest and started squeezing it.
Sheryl nodded. “Every single week, one came for you. Like clockwork, without fail. And he had been calling and talking to Mummy Pat once a week, too. Mummy Pat really grew fond of him. She was always raving about her new adopted grandson. When she got too sick to take his calls, he began writing to her. I would read them to Mummy whenever they arrived. We got used to getting two letters a week. One for you and the other for Mummy. He’s a good guy, Simmy. And he truly cares about you. A good man is hard to come by and what he’s been doing really says a lot,” Sheryl said. Then she pointed to Simmy’s busted lip and the dark ring under her right eye.
Magic Touch Page 20
