by A'zayler
“Now you know I wasn’t about to leave you,” she said, putting her books up and grabbing her bag with her gym clothes out.
“I know, that’s why you my nigga T,” he said, taking her bag from her and wrapping his free arm around her shoulder. To everyone around them, the gesture looked to be innocent as a sibling embrace, but the feeling that shot between the both of them was anything but. She could tell by the way he moved his arm that he’d felt it too, but this feeling wasn’t as new to her as it was to him. Anytime he came around, touched her, looked at her, anything with the slightest touch of intimacy, she felt all tingly inside. They walked and talked the rest of the way to the gym for PE until she spotted Jeremiah coming out of the locker room.
“I’ll be right back Moto,” she said as she walked off and wrapped her arm around Jeremiah’s waist. When he turned and saw who it was, he smiled and grabbed her into a hug. He said something to her while releasing her from the hug, because she was blushing like crazy. Watching the exchange brought back up the confusing emotions Demoto had been thinking about earlier. Here he was getting jealous about her being with Jeremiah. He had to get a hold of himself, and quick. He gave Jeremiah a handshake as they began to joke about who could lift the most weights. They were deep into making fun of each other when Taryn told them they were both weak. Taryn laughed as she walked between the two and headed towards the female locker room.
“Taryn-Lee, don’t make me fuck you up shawty,” Demoto laughed as Jeremiah bent down and picked her up over his shoulder.
“Now what’s all that weak shit you was talking,” he said as he slapped her hard on her butt.
“Jeremiah stooooop put me down,” she squealed.
“Nope! I want to hear all that fly shit you was just on,” he said, slapping her butt again.
“Demoto make him stop please!” she yelled. Jeremiah had her head down, with her butt straight in the air for everyone to see. To say she was embarrassed would have been an understatement. Although embarrassed, she was still having a good time. Taryn was laughing so hard tears were starting to leak from her eyes.
“DEMOTO!” she yelled again.
“Man y’all wild,” Demoto laughed. “That’s what you get T,” he said again, walking past. He had almost made it by her when she reached out and pulled the bottom of his shirt to stop him.
“Demoto, if you don’t make Jeremiah put me down, I’m not speaking to either one of y’all again,” she said, trying to sound serious.
“Oh I know that’s a lie,” Jeremiah said, slapping her butt again. By now their classmates were standing around, laughing and smiling at them.
“Jeremiah, put that girl down!” Coach Sims said as he came out of the locker room and into the hallway. Thanking God for the coach; Taryn slid down the front of Jeremiah’s body slowly as he placed her back onto the ground. She knew he could have sat her down faster with a lot less body contact, but she had enjoyed it. Looking her in her eyes, he kissed her nose before turning around to face his coach. He instantly tried to plead his case. Demoto had seen their coach coming out of the locker room, but didn’t say anything. Anybody that went to Carver High School knew Coach Sims. He was a tall bald man that wore glasses, and he didn’t play. If he wasn’t making jokes about you, he was cussing you out; everybody loved him. He talked rough, but everybody knew it was all in love.
“Boy I don’t care if you was playing or not, that girl don’t want your nasty hands on her,” he said, drawing laughs from everybody in earshot.
“Man coach, that’s my girlfriend” At that moment, Taryn was glad his back was to her because she would have hated for him to see her face when he’d said that. Her eyes bulged out of her head at the same time she pushed her head forward a little. What in the world? she thought. She liked Jeremiah and wouldn’t mind being his girlfriend, but he was definitely jumping the gun with that one. Finally looking up, her eyes immediately went to Demoto; for some reason she wanted to see what he thought of the statement, but his face was straight and void of any emotion. Not saying a word, she grabbed her bag from Demoto’s hand and turned to walk away.
“Young lady, you don’t let these lil knuckleheads put they broke hands all over you like that. If he is your boyfriend, I sure do feel sorry for you,” he said before she could make it around the corner.
“I won’t sir, that was him,” she laughed as she hurried off.
“Y’all get y’all behinds in here,” Coach Sims said, ushering the boys into the locker room.
*****
School had just gotten out and Taryn was past ready to go. She had to go to work today, and on top of that she wanted to see Reece before she left for basic training. She pulled her cell phone from her small red backpack and dialed Reece. It rung three times before she finally answered.
“Hey baby!” Reece screamed.
“Hey sister!” she yelled back, drawing a few stares from the girls walking in front of her.
“I’m so glad you called. I was just begging my recruiter to bring me by your school to see you before I leave. We out here now, do you see this big white van by the entrance?” As she looked out across the parking lot, she spotted the van and speed walked towards it. The front passenger side door opened, and out hopped Reece. She was a few inches shorter than Taryn with long black hair that she had pulled back in a bun today. She was dressed casually in a pair of cotton shorts, a tank top, and some white converse. She didn’t know what had come over her, but the moment she saw Reece water came to her eyes, and she took off in a full speed run. Once Reece noticed her, she did the same thing and they ran until they met in a parking space. The moment they were close enough, they grabbed one another in one of the tightest embraces they could muster.
“Reece I’ma miss you sis!” she said through a tear broke voice.
“It’s only for a little while, T; we’ll be back together soon.”
“I know, but what I’ma do without you?”
“We can write letters and I’ll call you whenever I can sis, don’t be sad,” Reece said, fighting back her own tears. She was trying her hardest to keep it together. She loved Taryn like no other. Over the few months they had known each other, they had formed a bond that was unbreakable; there was nothing or nobody in the world that she loved more. Taryn was the only family she had; she was close with her other foster siblings, but it was nothing like what she shared with Taryn. Taryn was there whenever she needed her; whatever went on with one went on with the other. They faced anything together. She was not only her sister, but her best friend as well. The same thing went for Taryn; blood couldn’t have made them closer.
“You’re going to be great Reece, I love you,” Taryn said, breaking their embrace. Standing back, she looked at her sister and smiled.
“Man go ahead Reece before I start crying again.”
“Alright, let me go because this is too much for me. You want me to cry the whole way to South Carolina,” she joked. Grabbing each other in another quick hug, they kissed each other’s cheek. Reece got back into the van and it pulled away. Watching them drive off, Taryn got even sadder. Reece had been her rock when things got hard; she was serious when she asked what she was going to do now. Maybe she was making a big deal out of it; after all, basic training was only a few months, but after that there was no telling where she would be sent. Taryn wiped the tears that kept falling and went to find Kia; she had agreed to give her a ride to work.
Walking down the empty hallway, she stopped short when she saw Demoto and Alicia leaning against the wall kissing. She was standing on her tip toes holding him around the waist. She couldn’t hate if she wanted to; the whole scene was cute. She decided to avoid them, so she bent the corner and headed towards Kia’s locker to see what the holdup was. Kia wasn’t there either, so she decided to just call her. She told her she was doing some make up work for class and she’d be ready in a minute. When she walked back past, she expected to see Demoto and Alicia still standing there but she didn’t; it was just him. When he
looked up to see who was coming, Demoto shut his red cell phone off and closed his locker. The moment he laid eyes on her, he knew something was wrong.
“What’s up baby girl, what’s wrong?” he asked, grabbing her by her elbow and pulling her to him. Her eyes were big and red, like she’d been crying. She thought for a moment whether she should make something up or tell the truth. In a weird way she wanted him to care, and if it was serious he might. Deciding that was lame, she just told the truth.
“Nothing for real, my big sister left for basic training a minute ago; she came by here to see me and now I’m all in my feelings. She all I had,” she said as her eyes started watering again.
“It’s okay T,” he pulled her into his arms and squeezed her tight. He was holding her so tight it was as if he was pulling all of her feelings into his body. As each minute passed, she started to feel better but she wasn’t ready to let him go yet; he smelled too good! She gave a weak smile as she pulled away. At home was fine, but she didn’t want anyone to come and see her all hugged up with Alicia’s man; that would most definitely not be a good look.
“It’s only a few months, she’ll be back soon,” he smiled as he pushed some hair behind her ear.
“I know, it’s just she’s the only person I really had; now it’s just me. I’ll be cool soon enough; it’s just still real fresh right now.”
“If it makes you feel better, I’m still here. I’ll take care of your big head ass,” he smiled and pinched her cheek.
“I guess I’ll take that as sympathy coming from you.” He could see she was genuinely hurt, and he hated that for her but eventually it would get easier. Once he and his brother Adisa had moved from Cameroon, it was hard at first but over time it became the norm.
“I’m serious T, anything you need I got you,” he said, looking intently into her eyes. He wanted to make sure she knew he meant what he was saying. “No matter what it is, I’m here.”
“What if I need some sex, you got me?” she asked with a straight face.
“Hell yeah I got you, especially if it’s sex!” She couldn’t hold her laughter in after hearing that. She laughed along with him.
“Boy you are a fool, Alicia would break your neck.”
“Mannnnn, whatever,” he laughed.
“Speaking of neck, I seen you and her over here a few minutes ago all down each other’s throat, y’all so nasty.” He knew he had heard someone walking earlier, but he didn’t bother to check and see who; now he wished he had have.
“Yeah, just like I ain’t know you was in a relationship now,” he said with a raised eyebrow.
“Man I don’t know why Jeremiah said that. I think he was just playing for real though; besides, you know I don’t do boyfriends.”
“Yeah I hear you talking, but why you ain’t say nothing earlier? You just stood there watching us kiss?” he smirked.
“I didn’t just stand there, first of all, and secondly what was I supposed to say?” she challenged. They stood there for a moment staring each other down until he reached out and grabbed her by both of her arms and pushed her backwards into the boy’s bathroom. After he kicked the door closed behind them, he locked it and pinned her against the wall with his body. He could tell she was nervous, because her breathing had sped up but she maintained eye contact, which gave him the reassurance he needed. He pulled the band from her ponytail and let her hair fall loosely around her shoulders. He loved her hair; she had so much of it and it drove him wild. With her hair down, she looked like a goddess.
“Vous êtes tellement belle.” (you are so beautiful) Clenching her legs tightly together, she let her head fall against the wall. She loved the way he talked, especially when he spoke French.
“You with me, Taryn?” he asked, leaning his head back to look into her eyes.
“Always,” she whispered back.
“I’ll always take care of you. You’ll never have to want for anything as long as I’m around. I promise, anything you need, all you have to do is ask,” he rattled off in perfect French. She didn’t have a clue what he was saying, but she could tell he was serious about whatever it was. She wanted to ask what he’d just said, but she didn’t want to ruin the moment.
She would never get used to seeing him; he was rare in every aspect of the word. He looked like your average street thug, minus the brown skin and blonde hair–that part was unique. His appearance alone made her melt. She wrapped her arms around his body, pulling him tighter to her, and placed three soft kisses on his lips. She was a little hesitant at first, but that changed quickly when he kissed her back. The kiss was soft and intimate in the beginning, but the pace changed drastically when she released a small moan. Hearing the sensual sounds she made, made him want to hear more. After that night at his house, he wanted to hear them again, over and over, while he was deep inside her. There hadn’t been the right time up until now. He kissed her with such an extreme ferocity that it made his knees weak. He was hungry for her; it was as if he was a lion and she was his prey. He had to have her, had to hear the sounds of struggle from her lips. A struggle between love and lust, the struggle to stop or keep going, to kiss or to devour; so he gave it all to her. In his mind, she was his; had been since the first day he saw her in the gym. He didn’t care that he was already involved, or that one of his best friends liked her; Taryn-Lee was his.
She didn’t know what had gotten into Demoto, but whatever it was she was thankful for it. He was kissing her like he was crazy. His kiss was filled with an abundance of aggression; the way he was touching her was almost animal like. He was grabbing and squeezing every part of her body; the guttural moans escaping him had her in a frenzy. She moaned his name as she ran her hands through his dreads. He was leaned so far on her that his hair was laying all over the top of her shoulders, shielding their faces.
“Sshh baby girl, just let it happen,” he spoke in between kissing and picking her up off the floor. He turned around so now his back was against the wall; he slid down and sat on the floor with her on his lap. Lifting his hips up a little, he nudged at her warmth through their clothing. She followed his lead and began to grind harder onto him. They had gotten so caught up in their kiss that Taryn had totally forgotten about meeting Kia out front until her phone started ringing. She broke from their kiss as he begged her to ignore it.
“I can’t, it’s Kia; she’s taking me to work today. I have to go,” she said, leaning her forehead against his. They sat there for a moment, invading each other’s space with their breathing until he spoke.
“Taryn, you confuse the hell out of me girl.”
“No Demoto, you confuse yourself. One minute you acting like my brother, and the next you tongue kissing me in the bathroom.”
“Man I know, I just can’t help it! I got to do something about this though,” he said, lifting them both up off the floor.
“Yeah you do,” she backed away and fixed her clothes.
“Come give me a hug before you leave.” Walking slowly into his arms, she laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes. After a few minutes they let go, and she was about to open the door until he stopped her.
“Aye, find out what’s going on with you and Miah.” Looking at his face, she couldn’t deny the attraction so she nodded her head and left. He waited a few minutes so if someone was in the hallway they wouldn’t see them come out together. Walking to the mirror, he tied his dreads back at the base of his neck and stood their eyeing his reflection. He had to figure out what he wanted with Taryn, and fast. It was selfish to want her all to himself given their situations, but he didn’t care. Demoto was a man that knew what he wanted, and made sure he got it no matter what.
Chapter 5
As Young Thug’s song Lifestyle blared from his speakers, Jacko cruised down Manchester Expressway headed to the mall. He had a busy weekend ahead of him and needed to make sure he had stuff to wear. He was the only person out of all his friends that had to buy something new any time he stepped out. He had so many clothes and
shoes he had to move from his one bedroom apartment and into a two bedroom so that one room could house his wardrobe. He made money, so it was nothing to spend it. He was twenty years old with no real responsibility, besides his car note. He had a 2014 charcoal gray Corvette Stingray with red interior and Blackhawk rims. His car fit him perfectly; he was flashy yet low key, and he loved attention but only if it was for good reason. More often than not, he stayed to himself and kept a low profile. Everyone knew who he was, so he had to make sure he was surpassing their expectations of him. Aside from his mother and niece, he had no one to spend his money on so he shopped. Ever since his twin brother had been killed, he had taken over responsibility of his daughter; he made sure her mother had everything she needed. Sometimes he went overboard but he loved his niece, she had just turned two and looked just like his brother. Of course because they were identical twins, she looked exactly like him as well, which is why a lot of people had mistaken her for his. He looked back at her on his backseat waving her arms in the air. Her happy face made him smile. She was so pretty; his brother would have been proud. He pulled his car to a stop and went around to the other side, got her, and proceeded into the mall. He didn’t plan on being in there long, but he knew nine times out of ten he would see people he knew and have to stop and talk.
“You want Uncle Jack to get you some shoes?”
“Yes I want Dora.”
“Okay well let’s go see if we can find you some Dora,” he said as he walked into Kids Footlocker.
“Ooooh Jack-Jack!!” she yelled as she ran to the wall and picked up a pair of pink and purple Air Max.
“Izzy, those are not Dora,” he smiled as she handed him the shoes.
“Yes they are Jack-Jack look, it has pink and purple just like Dora.” He couldn’t do anything but smile. He had been paying for her to go to private school since she first turned two five months ago. It was really paying off. She was smart and talked better than kids twice her age. He grabbed her little hand in his and walked to the front of the store to get help.
