Single Ladies 2

by Blake Karrington

  Brian had her waist gripped tight. “Oooooh, you killing me,” she yelled, feeling another orgasm brewing. At that point, she began to throw it back at him, using the headboard to push off.

  “I’m coming, baby!” she yelled.

  Brian was at his peak as well. After looking down and seeing Kim’s ass clap against his pelvis, he threw his head back and busted off inside her. Feeling his warm, creamy come inside of her did something for Kim as well, and she joined him with yet another orgasm. They both fell onto the bed in a spooning position. His dick was still inside of her, and until they both fell asleep, he kept it there.

  * * *

  After being fingerprinted, photographed, and seen by the magistrate for her bail, Falisha was sent upstairs to a pod. The first night was like hell. She could smell the strong odor of period blood the moment she walked onto the block. There was nothing but dope fiends, prostitutes, and crackheads there, and every one of them walked around like zombies.

  “The phone is open,” a young girl said as they stood in the line.

  Falisha snapped out of her thoughts and walked up to the phone. So far, no one she’d attempted to call was answering the phone. Lisa was off playing house, Kim wasn’t even in the city, Tammy was still on her honeymoon, and Fox was nowhere to be found. The last two people she could call were Lamar and her mom, and Falisha really didn’t feel like hearing either of their mouths about why she was in jail.

  “Let me try this nigga one more time,” Falisha mumbled to herself as she dialed Fox’s house phone.

  She didn’t think he was going to be there, but to her surprise, he picked up the phone. The operator stated that the call was coming from the county jail, but Fox didn’t respond. Falisha hung up and tried the number again, but this time, the phone just kept ringing. Frustrated and pissed off, she threw the phone against the wall a couple of times before hanging it up. She didn’t pay the few females in line any mind when they complained about her almost breaking the only phone they had on the pod.

  One female in the line felt Falisha’s frustration so much that she got out of line and walked over to the table where Falisha was sitting by herself.

  “You mind if I sit here?” the young girl asked, causing Falisha to look up. “My name is Tish,” she greeted, holding her hand out for a shake.

  Falisha wasn’t in the mood to make friends, but at the same time, she didn’t want to be rude or disrespectful.

  “I’m Falisha,” she said, shaking Tish’s hand.

  Outside of Falisha, Tish was the only other young and attractive person in the place. She was a short, skinny, white girl who had the slang and attitude of a black girl.

  “I would cut his balls off when I got home if I was you,” she said, referring to Fox.

  Falisha had no idea what she was talking about, and the confused expression on her face said as much.

  “Oh, ya case was on the news this morning. The cops said that was your boyfriend that took off into the woods,” Tish told her. “How much did they set ya bond for?”

  “Two hundred and fifty K,” Falisha said, still in shock.

  In South Carolina, you could pay a bail bondsman ten percent to get you out. Unfortunately, you didn’t get any of that money back. Some people even put up property to get out of jail. Falisha didn’t know where she was going to get her money from if Fox didn’t pay her bail. The last person she was going to ask to put up her house was her mom.

  The situation was ugly, and with every minute that Falisha remained in jail, she hated Fox more.

  * * *

  “So, I gotta do a lot of running around tomorrow,” Nate said as he walked Lisa out of his apartment complex. “I was wondering if we could have lunch at Max’s.”

  Lisa smiled. “Max’s sounds good. I have a job interview at ten o’clock, so I should be out of there by eleven or eleven thirty. I’ll just meet you there,” she said, stopping at her car.

  When she went to open the door, Nate stopped her. “This ain’t ya car anymore,” he told her as he grabbed her hand. He spun her around and wrapped his arms around her. “That’s your car right there,” he said, pointing to an all-white Nissan Altima.

  Lisa turned around to look at Nate. “You liar,” she said, playfully punching his chest.

  Nate wasn’t lying at all. He dug into his pocket and grabbed the key. The Altima’s alarm beeped when he pushed the button. Ever since the shooting at the dental office, Lisa hadn’t been to work, nor had any job, for that matter. With limited funds coming in, she was forced to downgrade her car to a 2001 Grand Prix, which had more than enough mechanical problems for her to handle.

  “Damn, Nate, I don’t know what to say,” she said, looking at the new car.

  “You don’t have to say anything.” He smiled and pulled her close to him. “I just want you to be happy.”

  Every time Lisa thought that Nate was out of surprises, he came up with another one. If she didn’t know any better, she would’ve thought that Nate was in love with her. She wasn’t sure if that was the case, and if it wasn’t, she could only imagine how it would be if he did fall in love with her. Maybe it might not be too bad if that was to happen, she thought.

  * * *

  Brian lay in bed asleep while Kim sat up on her laptop going over case law so she could start preparing the motion for George. Her phone vibrating on the table motivated her to answer it before it woke him. She couldn’t identify the number, but she knew that it was coming from Charlotte. She got up and walked into the other room.

  “Hello,” she answered, walking over to the window.

  “Damn, you just up and leave without saying anything?” Lamar said as he changed baby Jordan.

  “I’m sorry,” Kim apologized, feeling a little guilty. “I had to come back—”

  “You don’t have to explain. Just let me know when you’re heading back this way. I’m missing you already.”

  “I’m not sure when I’ll be back. I got a court hearing in a couple of days, not to mention I got to get ready for the bar exam.”

  There was a moment of silence before Lamar started talking again.

  “So, I guess this is it for us then,” he said, picking up the phone from the bed so he could speak and hear clearly.

  “Why would you even say something like that?” she spoke, peeking back into the room to check on Brian. “Now granted, I did leave without telling you, but that doesn’t mean that me and you are over.”

  Kim really didn’t sound too convincing, but Lamar didn’t want to make a big deal out of it or start any unnecessary arguments. Her actions would soon speak louder than words, and as of right now, that’s all Lamar really had to look forward to.

  “Whatever the case is, Kim, I want you to know that I will always love you.”

  Kim could hear the defeat in his voice, and it pained her that she might be hurting him.

  “How about you come stay with me for a couple of weeks?” she offered. Immediately, her hand flew to her mouth as if she’d spoken too soon.

  The offer actually reassured Lamar that everything was going to be all right. It brought comfort to his feelings, but at the same time, he wasn’t really up for the traveling.

  “I’m good without the big-city life. You ain’t gon’ have me rollin’ around that crazy-ass place. You know my country ass gon’ stick out. I’ma be patient and just wait for you to come back home. I think I can hold out for another couple of weeks,” he said.

  Kim silently fist pumped, happy he didn’t take her up on the offer. As nice as it would have been, she didn’t want to risk having Brian and Lamar clash. One thing she knew for sure was that no matter where Lamar was, he would always act like a good ole country boy, ready and willing to get down and dirty with anybody, win, lose, or draw. Kim was also aware that she was in a city where murder stayed on the menu, and although Brian came off as the good guy most of the time, she knew that he was about that murder life for real.

  Chapter 15

  It had been two day
s since Falisha’s arrest, and today, she finally got in touch with Lisa to let her know what was going on. As expected, her mom was pissed but also very concerned. Surprisingly, Lamar didn’t say too much. He wanted to scream “I told you so,” but he knew now wasn’t the time for it. The main issue was that no one had that kind of money to pay the bail bond so she could get out. Although Lamar was a homeowner and could put up his home, there was no way he would get involved with anything that had Fox and his illegal shit tied to it.

  Falisha was up shit’s creek without a paddle, and it would be another week or so before she could go before a judge and try to get the bail reduced.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Tish said, patting Falisha’s back. “You need to take this as one big learning experience. The good thing is, you’re not facing that much time because it’s ya first offense.”

  Falisha looked over at Tish like she was crazy. Just the thought of doing time crushed her. “I can’t do no time. I got a son and a mother to go home to. They need me out there,” Falisha said with a worried look.

  She didn’t realize it until she came to jail, but prison was now her worst fear. Now she wished she would have ratted Fox out, so she could have been the one at home.

  A knock on the cell door caught both of their attention. A female CO came to the door and told Falisha that the police were calling her name. She and Tish walked out to the officer station where Falisha gave the guard her name and ID number.

  “They want you down in R&D,” the guard said, giving Falisha a pass.

  “R&D? Shit, girl, you done made bond,” Tish said, giving Falisha a hug.

  Relief washed over Falisha. She was so happy that she refused to go back to her cell and get her things. “I’m ready right now,” she said, standing by the door and waiting for the escort to come and get her.

  * * *

  “You better not answer that phone,” Tammy yelled from the shallow water.

  Darious had been lying in a beach chair, watching his new wife strut around the shoreline in her bikini.

  “It might be important,” he yelled back, looking at the screen. “Yo, what up, cuz?” he answered. “You gon’ get me killed.”

  “Boy, shut up, and why you ain’t been answering your phone? I know you on ya li’l honeymoon,” Terry, Darious’s first cousin, said. “And I’m not tryin’ to bust ya little bubble, but a word to the wise; you need to keep ya eyes on that new wife of yours.”

  “Why you say that, cuzzo?”

  “First, I saw her baby daddy at the church—”

  “And what that mean, Terry?”

  “Damn, if you let a bitch finish, I can tell you what it mean . . . Then I seen his ass snoopin’ around the dressing room before the wedding started. You know you my cuz, so I’ma keep it real—”

  “Wait, wait, wait. What do you mean you saw him around the dressing room?”

  Terry was family, but she was also a gossip queen and knew all the family secrets. She wasn’t afraid to expose them either. Darious was used to her trying to tell some shit and knew she always made it more than it really was. But he had also questioned why Chris was there, and the old saying, “where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” rang out in his head.

  “Yeah, nigga, you heard me right. I saw the nigga Chris going up to ya wife’s dressing room. I don’t know what the business was, but all I’m telling you is to keep ya eyes on her. Oh, and you better had signed a prenuptial, even though you ain’t got shit.”

  Upon hearing that, Darious hung up the phone, laughing at how funny his cousin was after all these years. Though his cousin was pretty funny, he started thinking about the last thing she said pertaining to a prenup. They didn’t have one, so at this point they pretty much shared everything. Tammy did have a slight advantage if things were to go south.

  “Are you going to get in the water?” Tammy yelled, breaking his thoughts.

  He stared at her, trying to size her up. She never seemed like she was in it for the money, and for the most part, Darious could feel the love. But at the same time, there were moments when he felt like he didn’t have 100 percent of her. He always knew she had some love for Chris, but to what extent, he wasn’t completely sure. Terry calling him with the bullshit wasn’t helping out any, and though he put a lot of trust in Tammy and loved her dearly, he was going to take his cousin’s advice and keep a close eye on her and her kids’ father.

  * * *

  On her way down to R&D, Falisha prayed that God gave her enough strength not to kick Fox’s ass if he was outside waiting. She knew that he would come through with the bail money, but she hated the fact that she had to sit in jail for the past couple of days, living in the worst conditions ever. He would definitely have to pay her more than ten thousand for all that she’d been through.

  “Sign right here and right here,” the guard said, passing Falisha the pen. “You can get dressed in that room over there, and when you’re done, the bondsman and ya cosigner are on the other side of the door.”

  Falisha went in the room and got dressed. She’d had more than enough jail experience, and wanted to go home and lie down in her own bed.

  When she finally got dressed and walked through the double doors, she was taken aback by who was there to bail her out. She looked around to see if anybody else was with him, but there wasn’t anyone. It was only Chris, and, of course, the bondsman.

  “You can’t be serious,” Falisha said, walking over to them.

  “That’s a hell of a way to say thank you to the person that just bailed yo’ ass out of jail,” Chris said, giving her a hug.

  She never expected this in a million years, and knowing Chris as well as she did, Falisha knew that there was a catch to it.

  “A’ight, Falisha, make sure you make every court date, or I will send the bounty hunters after yo’ ass,” the bondsman threatened while Falisha signed the form. When she was done, he informed her that she was free to go.

  It was quiet for the first ten to fifteen minutes of the ride home. Chris wasn’t saying too much of anything, but Falisha was sitting there smiling from ear to ear about her freedom.

  “What you sitting over there smiling for? You just set me back twenty-five stacks,” Chris said.

  “Yeah, and about that, I hope you don’t think you getting some pussy for this,” she said.

  “First off, I bailed yo’ ass out because nobody else seemed to give a fuck. And despite what you think, I still consider you to be my friend. We practically grew up on the same block. If I learned one thing, it was never to leave a friend behind,” he said looking over at her.

  She respected that, coming from him.

  “Oh, and for the record, I’ll never pay that much for a piece of pussy,” he chuckled.

  Yeah, that’s ’cause you never had none of this pussy, Falisha thought to herself.

  “Well, thank you for coming to get me,” she said in a sincere tone.

  “Yeah, well, from here on out, you rollin’ wit’ the money team,” he said, reaching in his center console and grabbing one of the flyers the printing company had sent to him.

  “MBM Publishing, the best urban authors in the game,” Falisha mumbled to herself as she read the flyer.

  “It’s about time somebody made good use out of that cute face and sexy body. I want you to run with the money team. You’re loyal, dependable, and you go hard. I’m not gonna lie to you or sell you no dreams, but I’m about to do something real big, and I want you to be a part of it.”

  Falisha sat there looking down at the flyer, thinking about what Chris had said. She appreciated him more than he knew. If it wasn’t for him, she’d be sitting in the cell sharing commissary with Tish right now. For that reason alone, whatever Chris had planned for the future, Falisha felt that she at least owed it to him to give it a shot.

  “Show me what MBM is all about,” Falisha said and sank back in her seat.

  Chris had her undivided attention.

  * * *

  Kim had been wor
king round the clock, trying to put together the motion that was sure to get their client off on the double homicide charge. This case was very high profile in the city of Philadelphia. If they were successful in defending their client, it would give Tim and George a lot of exposure, which meant more business. That’s just how it was in the city. Criminals from all over were going to hear about the case, and they would all want to be represented by the firm.

  “Hey, George, I like the Eagles on Sunday,” Kim heard Brian shout.

  She poked her head out of the cubicle to see him walking in the office like he owned the place. His friendship with George afforded Brian the opportunity to come and go as he pleased.

  Brian had beat a homicide case, several drug-trafficking charges, and a slew of other arrests, all by the time he turned twenty-one. Though it was nearly eight years later, and Brian hadn’t been so much as arrested, he stopped by the offices routinely to drop off money, just to have George on deck in case something went down.

  “What are you doing here?” Kim asked when Brian walked up and kissed her on the cheek. “You gon’ get me in trouble.”

  Brian grabbed the bobble head doll off her desk and stood it up against the partition. He had a young boyish smile on his face. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

  “Well, try me, and make it fast because you only got a couple of seconds before George come in here and chew both of our asses out,” Kim said.

  “I really did miss you while you was gone. I had a lot of time to think, and I came to the conclusion . . .”

  He hesitated for a second, not sure if now was a good time to tell Kim how he really felt about her.

  “Kim, I’m in love wit’ you,” he said, looking deep into her eyes.

  Kim found it hard to swallow her own spit hearing those words coming from him.

  “When you left, it was like my life went on hold. I couldn’t focus on anything for more than ten seconds without thinking about you,” Brian said in truth.