Grand Opening

by Carl Weber

  I couldn’t tell if he was lying. “Where’d he get money from?”

  “He works hard for it, just like the rest of us Duncans. Levi’s probably the best cock trainer in Georgia,” Larry bragged. “Not to mention the fact that he gets a check from the state and the feds every month for being slow.”

  Well, that just changed the whole situation. “So, Levi, you want a blow job?”

  “N–n–no, I w–w–want some pu–pu–pussy.” Well, the boy sure knew what he wanted.

  “I’ll be damned. That boy’s never had a blow job, has he?” I turned to Larry for conformation, but he just shrugged. “Okay, Levi, Big Shirley’s going to give you some pussy, but she’s also going to give you a lot more. Would you like that?”

  Levi nodded his head like an eager kid. He looked kinda cute. I took his hand.

  “Shirley, don’t you take a dime from him until you’re finished, and you settle up with me then. You hear?” Larry said sternly.

  “Yes, loud and clear,” I said, happily leading Levi toward the house. “You know, Levi, this might be both our lucky days.”

  LC

  24

  After two shots I had a buzz, so I left NeeNee, Larry, and Chippy to finish off the bottle they’d opened. I gotten up early, so I figured I’d get a catnap in my room, then when Chippy was ready for bed, I’d head back out there to the sofa. However it was damn near dawn when Chippy found her way to my bedroom, and she wasn’t in the mood for sleeping at all when she climbed in the bed and on top of me. She moved her hands against my stomach and slowly down my body.

  Chippy kissed me, and I kissed her back, ignoring the alcohol on her breath and concentrating on how soft her lips were. I loved the way she kissed, gently sucking on my tongue as it slid inside her mouth. I hated to admit it, but she brought out things in me I didn’t know existed. I’d never had a woman kiss me so passionately. She sent shivers down my spine at the thought of what else she could do with her lips.

  She straddled me, taking off her shirt and then her bra. I lifted my hands and cupped her perfectly round breasts then slipped my finger into her mouth, and boy, did she know how to suck. Of course, I imagined it being something else in her mouth, and just that thought started to make me crazy. Every hair on my body felt electrified by the sensuality of being touched, almost as if our bodies were not strangers but had been in this position too many times to count.

  She leaned in and kissed me again, and I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her closer to me, our bodies so on fire with lust for each other that I could feel the heat. I rolled her over so that she was on her back. I kissed her lips, then her neck, then I kissed and sucked her nipples like they were the sweetest fruit I’d ever had. I listened to her moan, loving the way she reacted to my touch. She made me feel like I was the only man she had ever truly given herself to. I continued to kiss my way down her belly until I found her neatly trimmed, heart-shaped pubic hair.

  I made up my mind I was going to do something I’d never done before. I’d attempted to do it to Donna once but I was shunned. I kissed my way down Chippy’s pubic hair until I found the little bump, or clit as Larry put it. Lou had always made sex about him and that horse dick of his, but Larry, despite his rough exterior, always preached that you had to know a woman’s body. From all the shit NeeNee talked to her girls, he must have known what he was talking about.

  I stuck my tongue out, licking her clit until Chippy started to squirm and moan, which just motivated me to lick her more. I knew I was doing something right when she raised her legs and used two fingers to pull back the hood of her clit to give me greater access. It seemed like the more effort I put in, the more reaction I got, so I just went for broke, sucking her entire clit into my mouth and running my tongue over it repeatedly in the process.

  “Oh God daaaaaaaamn,” she hollered, placing her hands on my head. “That feels so good, baby. So good. Don’t stop. Please, don’t stop.”

  Her encouragement just made me work harder, and I began to lick not only her clit, but her whole damn kitty-kat. At this point, she was starting to sweat and so was I, but I didn’t let that stop me, because pleasing her was so much fun.

  “Oooooohh, shhhhiiiit! Oooooohh, shhhhiiiit!” she moaned, sounding almost as if she was in pain, but I could tell by the way she kept holding my head in place as her body squirmed that it hurt so good. “Oooooohh, shhhhiiiit!” She let go of my head, and her entire body just went spastic as she pushed me away.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I think so,” she panted, covering her kitty with her hand, trying to catch her breath. The way she was looking at me made me feel like a king, like I’d really accomplished something. “Shit, that was my first time.”

  “Your first time?” I gave her a look. Did she really expect me to believe she’d worked at Sam’s and never done this before?

  She must have read my thoughts, because she explained, “Yes, my first time cumming, silly. I always wondered what all the hype was about, and now I know. Damn, I felt like I was having an out of body experience.”

  “For real?” I probed, deciding at that moment that I liked eating pussy.

  She nodded her head, smiling. “Come here.” She reached for me, pulling me up until my face was close to hers.

  “I want you,” she whispered as a warm hand slid into my boxers and clasped over my dick, sliding expertly up and down the shaft. Here we were, two half-naked people in a bed, lusting for each other, and as much as I wanted to explode inside of her, I couldn’t. Not this way.

  “I want you, too, but I can’t,” I said, almost to remind myself more than her that I had a girlfriend who I didn’t want to hurt. Unfortunately, I could see that someone was going to get hurt. In fact, from the look that Chippy gave me, I knew someone had already been hurt.

  “What do you mean, you can’t? You want this just as much as I do.” She tried to force me down on her, but I stopped her.

  “I do, but I can’t. I’m not a cheater, Chippy. I’m a lot of things, but a cheater’s not one of them. I can’t believe I let it go this far.”

  “LC!” Larry screamed out from the other room. Talk about bad timing. I needed to stay put and make sure that she was all right, that she understood, but life would not conform to my needs at this moment. “Man, your old lady just pulled up outside!”

  “Shit! She never comes here.” Chippy and I exchanged a look. “Don’t be mad.”

  “LC! You need to get out here.” Now it was NeeNee’s voice sounding an alarm as she called my name. I pushed Chippy aside, pulling up my boxers and scrambling for my pants. Grabbing my shirt, I raced out of the room, slamming the door and leaving her alone in my bed.

  “Where is she?” I snapped as I hurried into the room.

  Larry burst out laughing so hard he could barely get the words out of his mouth. “She’s surrounded by the dogs.”

  “Dammit.” I gulped, running for the door.

  Chippy

  25

  I walked in the kitchen and glanced at Larry and NeeNee, who were sitting at the table sharing a cigarette like two cats that ate the canary. To be such a strong man, Larry looked so weak. I picked up the pack of cigarettes off the table, sliding one out, then bent over so Larry could light it. I took a long drag, sharing eye contact with NeeNee, who looked like she wanted to say something but didn’t. I strolled over to the kitchen window, sighing when I saw Donna standing next to her car, talking to LC. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Donna was smiling and giggling like a school girl who’d just been asked to the prom. I knew I didn’t have a right to be, but I was hurt.

  I was having the time of my life, hanging out with LC and his family. In fact, I was starting to feel so comfortable around LC that after a few drinks, I’d crawled into bed with him and got something started between us. It felt so different than all the men I’d been with at Sam’s; it even felt different than it was with Sam—and then, just like that, she’d shown up and ruined it. She
had everything I wanted: a good man, money, and most importantly, a fucking life with a future.

  I sighed, turning back to NeeNee and Larry. “She’s real pretty, isn’t she, Nee? I like her hair. It makes her look like Jane Kennedy.”

  “Jane Kennedy my ass.” Larry laughed, getting up and walking out of the room.

  NeeNee sighed, walking over and placing a comforting hand on the small of my back. “I guess. I don’t much like the uppity bitch myself.”

  “That doesn’t change the fact that she’s pretty, NeeNee.”

  We both took a moment, staring out the door. “Yeah, she’s cute, but being cute don’t make you pretty. You’re much prettier than her.”

  I touched my bruised face. “Not with my face looking like this I’m not.”

  “Your face will heal. It’s starting to get better already.” She smiled, touching my black eye then my hair. “Oh, and for the record, that bitch is wearing a wig. It’s an expensive wig and might look real, but that shit’s a wig. I knew her nappy ass in grade school.” We both laughed.

  “You know she don’t even appreciate him, Nee. If she supported him the way she should, he could do anything in the world. He’s really smart, and not just book smart.” I turned back to them. I couldn’t stop staring at her.

  NeeNee turned to me slowly, speaking very candidly. “You really like him, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, he’s my friend. The first real male friend I think I’ve ever had.”

  “Girl, you must think I popped out of my momma’s pussy this morning. You don’t look at LC like he’s your friend, so you can take that shit somewhere else.” NeeNee gave me this look that said I shouldn’t waste her time with storytelling.

  I hesitated, not sure if I even wanted to admit to myself how I was starting to feel. “So what? What if I do like him? That’s not going to change anything. He’s made his choice. He’s planning on marrying that girl, with all her fancy ways and expensive things.” I huffed, growing more jealous by the minute.

  “And you’re just going to let her have him? Chippy, that girl’s on the ropes and she knows it. Her woman’s intuition is kicking in like a motherfucker. She can sense something’s wrong with her relationship, and that something is you.”

  “You don’t know that, NeeNee,” I said, although a big part of me hoped she might be right.

  “The hell I don’t. She don’t ever come over here. She thinks she’s too good for us country folks,” NeeNee huffed. “Shit, she done got everything she ever wanted with her expensive clothes, flashy jewelry, and fancy car. Why you fittin’ to let her have LC too?” She shook her head.

  “Because he’s not mine! He’s hers; trust me.” She had no idea of the rejection I’d just faced trying to make him mine. I’d never had a guy say no to me, and as far as I was concerned, it was humiliating.

  “Well, Charlotte, then I must be wrong about you. I thought you were scrappy, the kind of girl who grew up fighting for what she wanted and always got it. The woman they called Chippy and she claimed it.”

  “NeeNee, you’re right. I have spent a lot of time fighting and proving myself and having to work for every little crumb of kindness this world’s shown me, and maybe that’s why I’m not going to do it anymore.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I knew they were true. I was tired.

  She gazed over at me. “Are you sure?”

  “There’s a spark, but I’m not sure if the candle’s lit. I’m not going to fight some woman over a man who may or may not want me. I don’t even really know him, and he damn sure doesn’t know the real me,” I protested, starting to feel genuinely terrified for some reason.

  “You think you have to know a man for a long time before you know him? Do you know how long I chased Larry’s sorry ass before he realized I was in the room? Sometimes men don’t know what they like. It’s up to us women to show them.” NeeNee smiled. “He’s quite a good catch, Charlotte. If you really like him, you need to fight for him.”

  I turned to NeeNee. “No, I’m done fighting over men. Three days ago I fought for a man I would have given the world to, and come to find out he didn’t give a shit about me. Next man I give my heart to is going to fight for me just as much as I’d fight for him, and I mean that. Besides, LC’s my friend. I would rather lose his heart to her than lose his friendship.”

  “She’s not going to make him happy. Mark my words that if LC winds up with Donna, she will make him miserable.”

  “Well, that’s not my problem. I have other things to tend to.” I shrugged my shoulders, my mind already moving on to other things. “Can I use your phone?”

  “Sure.” She motioned to the phone on the wall.

  I made my way over and dialed a number from memory. When I heard the voice on the other end of the phone, I almost hung up.

  “Hello! Hello!” my mother shouted into the receiver.

  I glanced over at NeeNee, taking a deep breath before I said, “Momma.”

  The phone fell silent for a good three seconds. I was fully expecting a barrage of insults and curses, but none ever came. “Charlotte, baby, is that you?” She called out my name in an unfamiliar tone that made me suddenly homesick for a place I couldn’t get out of soon enough.

  “Yeah, Momma, it’s me.”

  “Baby, where have you been? I been looking everywhere for you. You had me worried sick.” She actually sounded concerned.

  “Momma, I just thought . . . You told me to get my ass out your house.” There was momentary silence on the line again.

  “I was drunk, and I shouldn’t have said and done those things. I’m sorry, baby.” My mother had never apologized about anything in her life. Who was this woman? “Charlotte, you got to come home. I need my baby back. I need you, girl.”

  “What about him?”

  She paused again before telling me, “He’s gone. He left me not long after you did. Come on home, baby. Let’s be a family again.”

  I hesitated, taking a breath. I realized there was only one place that I wanted to be. “Okay, Momma. I’m coming home,” I told her before I hung up.

  When I turned around, NeeNee stood in the doorway, staring at me. “You sure about this?” I could see in her face that she was thinking about the scars she’d seen.

  “Yeah, he’s gone and she wants me to come home.”

  “What about her drinking?” NeeNee questioned me, sounding worried.

  “She was sober, NeeNee. For the first time since I can remember, Momma was sober,” I said, staring out the window at LC and Donna getting all touchy-feely, which only served to make me more determined to leave this place. NeeNee followed my line of vision out the window.

  “Sure wish it was her about to leave and not you,” she huffed, shooting Donna the stink eye through the window.

  “Me too, but it ain’t.”

  She gave me a hug. “Damn, girl, you going to miss our grand opening.”

  “I know.” I got my purse and pulled out one of the only phone numbers I actually had. “Gonna need to use your phone one more time.”

  John

  26

  My first day on my new job wasn’t as I’d imagined it.

  The rickety station wagon they had me driving reeked of burnt motor oil, mold, and old people. Still, it was better that it smelled of those things than of the cargo that was concealed in the car. It was an amazing job by the cartel back in Houston that it didn’t smell overwhelmingly of marijuana instead.

  I’d just crossed into fucking Georgia with its goddamned peaches and racist Confederate flags, relying on the map that lay open across the seat beside me. I was already tired, almost missing my exit off I-10 back down by Tallahassee, but I didn’t want to stop to rest until I got at least to Virginia. The sooner I could get to New York and make the exchange, the sooner my mother and sisters would be safe and benefitting from the money I’d made. I wished I could have gotten them to safety sooner. If I had somebody back home I could trust, I would have gotten my family to safety and maybe di
sappeared with whatever packages were hidden all throughout this piece of shit some idiot in Detroit dared to name a Country Squire. Thoughts of what my boss had threatened to do were torturing me even more than the fifty-five mile-per-hour speed limit I was forced to adhere to.

  Again, I was getting sleepy and foolish. Just do the job and everything will be fine, I thought as I looked in the rearview mirror. A police car that I thought had been following me for miles finally exited at a Cracker Barrel, calming me just a little bit. To celebrate overcoming my latest scare, I grabbed my pack of Marlboros off the dashboard and lit one up.

  That helped, but in such an unsatisfying automobile, I really needed some music to distract me. These radio stations around here were awful, though, with their endless country twang, and I’d been punching the eject button since I was back in Louisiana, trying to get whatever tape was stuck inside to pop free.

  From Houston, I’d brought a few eight-track tapes, The Steve Miller Band and The Jackson 5, but I couldn’t even play them until this one was unstuck. “Dammit!” I cursed, angrier than I should have been over such a thing. I guess I was tired of feeling so helpless.

  I figured I’d try one last time before screaming. I jammed the eject button, but this time did it at an angle, hoping the button would finally catch on something. When I felt it resist against my thumb, I held back on my excitement. When the tape popped free and landed on the floor, I let it all go.

  “Yes!” I triumphantly crowed, free to have some sanity and get my boogie on the rest of my trip. Who in the fuck listens to Perry Como? I thought as I read the faded label with the smiling gray-haired man who mocked me. Nevertheless, I swiftly cranked down the window as I prepared to ditch the old people’s music once and for all. When I reached down to grab the eight track tape off the floorboard, it slid away from my grasp.

  I ever so briefly slid out from under the steering wheel and extended my fingertips as far as they could go. It was so close, and with a final stretch, I got my mitts on the tape. Preparing to toss it out the window, I slid across the bench seat and put my eyes back on the road—just in time to see the brake lights on a bright green pickup truck as it stopped to make a left turn.