“Tyrone, I don’t have time for your games. What do you want?”
“Nah, boo, a better question is: what do you want?”
“You know what I want. I want you and Val to stop fucking with me so that my husband and I can live our lives in peace.”
“I can understand that, but life ain’t always that simple.”
Nina sighed aloud to show her frustration and stood in the doorway with her arms folded and a serious scowl on her face.
“What do you want from me, Tyrone?”
“I want you to play me in a game of straight pool. Val told me you were a pretty good pool player.”
“I’m all right.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” Tyrone replied as he started to rack the balls.
“If I play this stupid game, will you leave?”
“I’ll do you one better. I’ll leave for good.”
“What does that mean?”
“That means that if you beat me in a game of pool, I’ll take this money and you’ll never see me again.”
“Whatever! How do I know you won’t show up here next week asking for more money?”
“You don’t. You’re gonna have to take my word for it. I’ll take Val with me and you won’t have to worry about either one of us.”
“Yeah, right. Even if I did believe you would leave, I don’t believe Val would go with you. She’d still be here becoming a thorn in my side,” said Nina as she drew back her pool stick and smacked the cue ball. She sank a solid-colored ball and a striped ball, giving her the option of playing either set. She chose the striped balls.
“Good break,” Tyrone said.
Nina didn’t answer. She sauntered around the table with great ease and familiarity as she pondered which set of balls would be easier to knock in; thus, giving her an easy victory and a permanent departure from Tyrone’s presence.
“Look, Nina, like Al Pacino said in the movie Scarface, ‘All I have in this world is my balls and my word, and I don’t break them for nobody.’”
“So am I supposed to be impressed by the fact that you can quote a line from a movie? What does that have to do with what the two of you are tryin’ to do to me?”
“It has everything to do with this situation. If I tell you I’m gonna do somethin’, I’m gonna do it. My word is my bond. If I tell you I’m gonna leave and never bother you again, then I mean that. However, that goes both ways Nina. If I say that I’ll tell Larry what I know about the crash, trust me when I tell you, I will do just that.”
“You’ve told me what I get if you lose. What happens if you win? Are you going to want even more money?” Nina asked as she sank her fifth straight shot.
With each passing minute, the green on the surface of the pool table was becoming more and more visible. Nina had already knocked down five of her six balls that remained on the table, and was hunched over as she prepared to knock down the last striped ball before she targeted the eight ball to win the game. Just as she focused on her last ball, she heard Tyrone answer her question.
“If I win, you’re gonna give me some more money and a piece of that sweet ass that’s staring back at me right now.”
Nina took her shot as the word ass came out of Tyrone’s mouth. She sank the last striped ball easily, paused, and then looked at him.
“Tyrone, stop playin’.”
“Sweetheart, do I look like I’m playin’? I want some of that. I want some so bad that I’m prepared to leave town permanently if I lose. What do you have to lose? Val has already told me that you ain’t been givin’ Larry any lovin’. I know you don’t have any dick on the side because if you did, you would have told Val, and she would have told me by now.”
Tyrone walked over to Nina and stood behind her as she bent over and prepared to knock in the eight ball. He leaned over and whispered in her ear. “If I win, I want to fuck you right here on this pool table. I’m sure Val told you how good this ten-inch dick is, and yes, it’s a full ten inches when it wakes up for duty.”
Nina didn’t move. She could feel his rock-hard penis settle in the crack of her butt, forcing the silk pajamas she wore to retreat into her crevice. Tyrone purposely allowed his manhood to glide across her left cheek as he moved away.
As hard as she tried, Nina could not hide the fact that she was flustered. She stared intensely at the eight ball that was about twelve inches from the corner pocket. The ball was positioned close to the rail, but far enough from it that Nina had an angle that would give her a good cut shot.
Nina could still feel the remnants of Tyrone’s hot breath on her neck. Without looking back at him, she said, “You got a deal.”
Tyrone smiled and backed away. He looked like he’d already won the wager.
Suddenly, Nina could feel the palm of her hands getting sweaty as she tried to will the ball into the hole. I’ve made this shot one hundred times. Just focus, Nina, focus.
As she pulled back her stick, Nina heard a thud sound on the pool table. Through her peripheral vision, she could see something shiny. Tyrone had removed a chrome semi-automatic handgun from his waistband and placed it on the edge of the pool table.
He positioned the weapon away from Nina, but within eyesight.
“Why do you feel the need to do that?” Nina asked as she tried to sound calm and not look intimidated.
“Because I can,” he replied. “Besides, I want you to know that I don’t like it when people try to renege on bets they make with me.”
Nina continued to stare at the balls on the table. She realized that he would be able to see the fear in her eyes if she glanced at him for even a second. She swallowed what little spit that remained in her mouth, drew back her stick, and cracked the cue ball. The cue ball rolled straight toward the eight ball. Nina knew she had to hit the cue ball at the perfect angle or else it would hit the railing and ricochet away from the hole. It seemed like time stood still as she waited for the two balls to strike.
Tyrone sat on a stool in the corner of the room. He seemed extremely confidant, as if he knew she’d miss the shot. He applied chalk to the tip of the stick he was going to use. Before the two balls met, Tyrone was already walking toward the table preparing to take his first shot.
The cue ball hit the eight ball flush. But it hit it flush at the wrong angle. The pressure of the moment had gotten to Nina. The eight ball brushed against the railing, causing it to get offline. It barely missed falling in the corner pocket.
“Shit!” Nina shouted, with a look of anguish on her face.
Tyrone approached the table, chuckling. “That’s the way it goes sometimes, boo.”
Nina surveyed the table and saw that Tyrone would have to knock down all six balls just to get a chance to knock down the eight ball to win. Based on the positioning of Tyrone’s six solid balls, Nina figured her odds of winning were still great.
“I wouldn’t smile too hard. It looks like you have a lot of work ahead of you.”
Tyrone chuckled once again. He looked at Nina, winked, and then asked sarcastically, “Are you gonna give me a kiss for good luck?”
Nina rolled her eyes.
“Two ball, corner pocket. You know, Nina, I’ve known you for a long time.”
“Tyrone, shut up and take your shot! We just met when you started dating Val.”
“That’s when we formally met, but I’ve known about you for years.”
“Oh really?”
“Yep,” Tyrone replied as he walked around the table with the demeanor of a seasoned pool hustler. “Six ball, side pocket. I remember you from back in the day when you lived in the St. Bernard projects.”
Nina looked puzzled. She didn’t remember Tyrone.
“Yeah, Nina, all the niggas in my ’hood knew about your fine ass. We knew about you, even though you didn’t know us. Three ball, corner pocket.”
“Did you live in the projects?”
“Nah, I didn’t live in the projects, but I lived a few blocks away. I even knew Flip. Seven ball, corner poc
ket.”
Nina could feel her heart flutter when she heard those words come out of Tyrone’s mouth.
“You knew my child’s father?”
“Yeah, I knew Flip. Everybody knew Flip. He was tryin’ to come up, just like me. I’m puttin’ that one ball in the side pocket.”
“Did you hustle with Flip?”
“Now that’s a tough question. Four ball, side pocket.”
“What do you mean?” Nina asked. She failed to notice that while he talked, Tyrone had cleared the table of all his balls. Only the eight ball remained.
“Damn, baby girl, it looks like there’s only one ball left on the table,” Tyrone commented. “Eight ball in the corner pocket,” he said.
Tyrone closed his eyes and gently struck the cue ball with just enough force to make it hit the eight ball. The eight ball vanished into the hole and Nina’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest.
“Looks like you’ve lost the bet, sexy.”
“Double or nothing,” Nina shouted as she grabbed the rack and started retrieving the balls from the pockets. She was determined to get them racked and start game number two.
Nina’s eagerness to prepare the balls for a second game was stunted when she felt the coolness of Tyrone’s chrome gun tickle her spine as he eased it inside of her pajama top and up her back.
“I won the bet, Nina. It’s time to pay up.”
Nina stood still. She thought about using one of the pool balls to hit Tyrone in the mouth, but that would do nothing to help her position. If he didn’t kill her, he would definitely make her life a living hell.
As she stood there trying to decide what her next move would be, she felt her pajama bottoms fall to her ankles. Tyrone pushed her body forward, forcing her upper body on top of the pool table. A few moments later, Nina’s face was pressed against the green canvas. Her normally perky breasts were flattened as they pressed against a few of the pool balls.
Tyrone parted her supple cheeks for easier access and then slid his pole inside of her. Surprisingly, Nina’s vagina was extremely wet and provided very little resistance.
“Yeah, I knew it. You haven’t had any good dick in awhile; that’s why you’re sloppy wet. I believe you’ve been curious to find out if this dick was as good as Val said.”
Nina didn’t respond to the comments of the narcissist who was moving in and out of her. She let out a light moan as he slid his rod deeper and deeper inside.
“Umm hmm, you can try to fight it, but I know it feels good.”
Tyrone started to stroke. He stroked her at the same swift pace for the next five minutes. At first Nina didn’t move, but as the seconds turned to minutes, her body betrayed her. As much as she wanted him to stop, her body seemed to enjoy the encounter. Her nipples were erect and her silence was replaced by heavy breathing.
Nina’s curvaceous hips, which she’d once used to mesmerize men in the strip club, became alive once again. She pushed aside the balls and lodged her manicured fingernails into the pool table canvas. Her body started moving like a snake as she took all ten inches of Tyrone’s penis.
“There we go. Now you actin’ right. I know this dick feels good to you. I believe that deep down you’ve wanted me inside you.”
Nina didn’t answer.
“That’s okay, baby, you don’t have to answer because these big sexy hips are tellin’ on you.”
He wasn’t lying. If someone were to walk in and see this scene, Nina’s attempt to convince them that this was not a fully consensual event would have been futile.
Tyrone reached down and maneuvered both of Nina’s legs so that her knees were now on the green canvas of the pool table. Her shins pressed against the railings of the table, and her feet dangled helplessly. Nina’s picture-perfect butt was perfectly propped up and inviting Tyrone in . . . and he accepted the invitation.
The scene was like something out of a porn film. Nina rocked back and forward as she moaned without shame at this point. The more she moaned, the more trash Tyrone talked.
“There we go, Ms. Nina. Work it. Show me how much you want it,” Tyrone said as he grabbed Nina’s hair. “I believe you missed that shot on the eight ball intentionally. Didn’t you?”
Nina refused to answer. Her reluctance seemed to annoy Tyrone.
“Answer me, dammit. You missed that shot on purpose so that you can get some of this, didn’t you?”
Still, she refused to answer.
Tyrone grabbed his gun and pressed it up against Nina’s temple and said, “Bitch, you’d better answer me. Did you miss that shot on purpose?”
As the tears escaped from her eyes and streamed down her face, Nina said, “Yes. Yes, I missed the shot on purpose so that I could have sex with you.”
Those words were all Tyrone needed to hear. His body erupted as he relieved himself all over her butt and back.
Nina scampered across the pool table like a roach. She hopped off, collected her pajama pants, and leaned against the wall as her vaginal lips throbbed uncontrollably. It had been a long time since her vagina had experienced such friction. Tyrone pulled up his pants and grabbed the moneybag.
“You never did answer my question,” Nina asked.
“What question?”
“How did you know Flip? Did the two of you hustle together?”
Tyrone’s eyes were glued to the contents of the bag. He counted the stacks of money as he answered.
“Flip and I hustled in the same neighborhoods. We had some of the same friends and in some cases, his friends were my enemies. For a time we struggled to control the same territory.”
“We were going to get married, but he got killed. Do you remember anything about his death?”
Tyrone closed the moneybag and started to walk out of the room. He turned and took one last look at Nina as she slouched down in the corner with her chin resting on her knees and her forearms around her shins like a woman sitting on a lily pad trying not to let her legs and feet touch the water.
“I know all about the night Flip got sprayed while he was sittin’ in his car with one of his homeboys.”
“What happened?” Nina asked as she lifted her chin from off of her knees. This was the closest she had ever come to getting an eyewitness account of the incident.
“Flip was workin’ on the wrong set. He was in total violation. He thought he could do whatever he wanted and there wouldn’t be any repercussions. He pissed off the wrong people.”
“What do you mean the wrong people? Do you know who killed my man?”
Tyrone paused for a second. He opened up the bag and stared at the money again. With a devious smile still on his face, he looked at Nina and said, “Yeah, I know. How do you think I got this tattoo teardrop?”
CHAPTER FOUR
To describe Val and Tyrone’s living arrangement as uncomfortable would be an understatement. They were both so busy scheming that they rarely saw each other. Val never bothered to tell Tyrone that she was going to California to Larry’s party.
When Tyrone returned from California, he crossed paths with his estranged girlfriend. As he sat in their tiny kitchen and nibbled on a bowl of noodles, he decided to confront her.
“So how was the dinner party?” Tyrone asked, his words reeking of sarcasm.
Val immediately recognized Tyrone’s jealous tone and deliberately tried to avoid a confrontation. “The party was fine.”
“Did you meet any interesting people?”
The question was loaded and Val knew it. No matter how she tried to avoid the discussion she realized that Tyrone knew something.
“Tyrone, what’s on your mind?”
“Nothin’, I’m just askin’ you a question.”
“Whatever.”
Tyrone started to get angry at Val’s reluctance to engage in discussion. “What, you’ve been hangin’ out in Cali so much that you’re too good to answer a fuckin’ question?”
“What do you really want to know, Tyrone?”
“I wanna know everythi
ng that happened while you were out there in Cali at Larry’s party.”
“How did you know Larry had a party? I never told you about that.”
“Don’t worry about how I find out about shit. Just answer the damn question. Who were you hangin’ out with at the party?”
“I was with Nina.”
“Bullshit!” Tyrone yelled as he slammed his fist against the small dining table.
“Since you know so damn much, Tyrone, you should tell me who I was hangin’ out with.”
“Okay, I will. I know your ass was hangin’ out with that nigga, Sharrard. I know you were grinnin’ in his damn face every chance you got. I know you went outside and was all hugged up with that ma’fucka, too.”
“We were just talkin’, Tyrone. Why do you always have to exaggerate shit?”
“Exaggerate? Bitch, please! You must think I’m stupid. I’m gonna give you a chance to tell me the truth before . . .”
“Before what? What the fuck are you’re gonna do if I don’t tell you the truth?”
“Don’t push me, Val.”
“Trust me, I don’t wanna push you. If I was gonna push your sorry ass anywhere, I’d push you down to the unemployment office so you could find a damn job.”
“You don’t be worryin’ about a nigga gettin’ a job when he hittin’ that ass.”
“That’s all you have to brag on? The fact that you have a big dick. Nigga, do you know how many big dicks they got walkin’ around this country? Do you think you’re the only nigga on the planet that can sling dick? Boy, you don’t even know the kind of shit I got stashed in my room to take care of myself when yo ass ain’t around.”
By this time, Tyrone stood up and started pacing the floor. He and Val were truly made for each other. She was one of the few women he’d ever met who had a temper that rivaled his in every way.
He walked behind Val as she sat down in the chair and placed his hands on her shoulder. With the steely look of an assassin, Tyrone leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I know you fucked that dude, Sharrard. I can’t prove it yet, but I know you did. You’d better hope I never find out the truth, or else I’m gonna kill you and him.”
Val sat in the chair. She had about a month to figure out a way to separate from Tyrone. But now she had a problem. There was a chance she was pregnant with Sharrard’s baby. Tyrone would know it wasn’t his child and go on a rampage. To make matters worse, Sharrard had already told her that he wasn’t taking care of a child. Val now found herself in a quagmire.
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