Single Ladies 2

by Blake Karrington

  “Come on, Brian. It ain’t like I didn’t tell you about him. You know the situation already.”

  From the beginning of their relationship, Kim had told Brian about Lamar, and how complicated their relationship was. Even when she came back to Philly from her vacation, she’d told him about her run-ins with Lamar. She just failed to inform him that Lamar was still in love with her and wanted to work things out. Until now, Brian hadn’t cared too much about what she was saying concerning him.

  “So what is this that we got?” he asked with a confused expression. “I would like to know, so I won’t play myself any further.”

  Kim leaned back against the car and didn’t say anything at first. “I don’t know,” she answered, putting her head down.

  Brian gritted his teeth but restrained himself from showing how angry he was. “And you say you love me, huh?”

  “Brian, I do love you. I’m just confused right now. I don’t know—”

  Brian was done talking. He didn’t have anything else to say. He looked into Kim’s eyes for a brief moment, and then just walked off. Kim called out his name several times, but it fell on deaf ears as Brian walked across the street, up the steps, and into the house, slamming the door behind him.

  * * *

  The Apex bar was poppin’, and some of the neighborhood’s finest were there. It was turned up too because Chris had thrown a last-minute party to celebrate signing a three-book deal with Dynasty Publications for over $75,000.

  The meeting had gone great, and they were feeling his manuscripts along with his ideas to sell the books. It was a no-brainer that somebody was going to pick him up, and Dynasty wanted to be the one who did it.

  “Everybody, the bar is officially open,” the bartender announced at Chris’s request.

  Yo Gotti blasted through the speakers, females were dancing in the aisles, and everyone was taking pictures on their camera phones from all angles. The nice-size bar had been easily turned into a small club, and with all the females that showed up, a bunch of niggas had followed.

  “Yo, heads-up, ya boy Fox just stepped into the place,” Outlaw said, seeing Fox walk through the door.

  Outlaw stayed strapped, so Chris wasn’t worried about Fox doing anything stupid.

  “Damn, playboy, I’m hearing good things about you,” Fox said when he walked up to Chris.

  When Fox reached into his pocket, Outlaw instinctively reached for the gun on his hip.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Fox said, taking the money out and passing it to Chris. “That’s half of what I owe you. Give me a couple of days to come up with the rest.”

  Chris was having a good night, and he didn’t feel like ruining it with Fox’s mess. He gave him a pass, reaching out and giving him a dap of approval. As Fox was heading for the other side of the bar, the music shut off completely. The DJ jumped on the mic when he saw who had just walked in.

  “Aww, man, Falisha just stepped into the building,” he announced.

  Every time Falisha blessed the Apex with her presence, she shut the place down. She was the hood’s supermodel, and tonight wasn’t any different. She had on a white minidress, showing off her curvy body, a pair of pink Christian Louboutin heels, and in her hand was a Brahmin carry bag. Her hair was long and curly, and her accessory game along with her makeup game was on fleek. All eyes were on her, even Fox’s.

  “Damn, can I holla at you for a minute?” Fox asked, trying to stop her as she walked past him.

  Falisha pulled away and gave Fox the ill face before walking off. Fox stood there staring at her ass as she walked away. Her body was crazy, and he couldn’t help but to watch her fat ass swing side to side with every step she took. All the fellas in the place were looking to see where she was going to be sitting tonight. To Fox’s surprise, she walked right up to Chris, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him on the cheek.

  Chris was on some playa shit too. He quickly pushed his chair back so Falisha could sit between his legs. She was all giggles and laughs as she pulled out her phone and took a selfie with him.

  Fox couldn’t take it, but as bad as he wanted to go over there and say something, he opted against it. Instead, he tossed back his drink and hightailed it out of there. Tonight, Chris and Falisha were making a statement. She was officially taking her place on the money team, and it was crazy because she and Chris actually looked good together.

  * * *

  Darious got home and could smell that Tammy had been cooking. She was nowhere in sight, but he knew that his food was either in the oven or in the microwave.

  “Here we go,” he mumbled to himself after finding his food in the oven. He was hungry, but had a lot on his mind also.

  He placed the food back into the oven and headed upstairs to talk to Tammy about what was going on with her and her baby daddy.

  When he got to the bedroom, Tammy and Sinniyyah were in bed asleep. They looked so peaceful; he didn’t want to wake her, especially for something so foolish. His mom and cousin really had him on some nut stuff, and it was high time he started putting some faith in his wife, instead of listening to what people were saying about her. The bottom line was, he loved her, and as he looked down on his beautiful wife, Darious came to the conclusion that he wasn’t going to ask her about the matter, not now or ever.

  * * *

  Brian woke up from his little catnap, and looked over at the clock to see that it was a little bit after midnight. He was ready to check up on his money, and then head back home for the night. When he opened the door, he automatically reached for his gun, seeing someone on the steps. Further examination revealed that it was Kim. She had been sitting out there for hours, waiting for him to either come out or answer his phone.

  “Kim, what’s going on?” Brian asked as he walked down the steps. “How long have you been out here?”

  Kim shrugged. “I don’t know. I been trying to call you, but you turned ya phone off.”

  Brian pulled out his phone to check it. The battery was dead. Looking at her face, he could tell that she had been crying. He took a seat on the edge of the step and put his arm around her.

  “I’m not going home tonight,” she said, blowing her nose. “The difference between the two of you is that I got love for Lamar, but I’m in love with you.” Kim’s voice broke as her eyes began to water again. “I don’t want to lose you, Brian, and I never want you to think that my love for you is fake.”

  The whole time Kim had been sitting out on the steps by herself, she had time to consider all the possibilities of being with either Brian or Lamar. After careful thought, her choice was made. Brian now had her heart, despite all the time she had in with Lamar. Being honest with herself, she knew she still had love for Lamar, but it was time for a change. It was time to see what love was like with someone else. Someone who constantly made her happy. Someone she never had an argument or a fight with. Someone Kim felt safe with and could depend on when or if she ever fell. When it came down to it, that person was Brian, and Kim couldn’t afford to pass that up. This was what she wanted. This was what she needed, and as soon as she got up enough courage, that was what she was going to tell Lamar.

  Chapter 19

  Tammy’s phone vibrated on the nightstand. It was 7:00 in the morning. Darious had already left for work, and the kids were still asleep. The phone continued buzzing, and in the nick of time, she grabbed it right before it hit the ground. Her eyes were still hazy, so she didn’t bother looking at the screen.

  “Hello,” she answered in a groggy voice.

  “Hey, bitch,” Ernie yelled into the phone, apparently wide awake and bushy tailed. “You could have at least called me when you got back from ya li’l honeymoon.”

  “Child, please,” Tammy shot back. “But wassup, tho, and why the hell is you calling my phone this early?” she asked in a humorous way.

  As much as Ernie always liked to gossip, he really couldn’t wait to give Tammy this bit of information. “When ya ass wake up from that beauty sleep o
f yours, go on Falisha’s Instagram and see how ugly shit got last night. You gon’ blow a fuse when you see this shit.”

  “What in the world is you talking about?” Tammy asked, hating when Ernie talked in riddles.

  “All I’ma say is yo’ baby daddy ain’t shit,” he said, then hung up the phone.

  Tammy looked at her phone, then put it back on the nightstand, thinking that Ernie was tripping. She lay in the bed for every bit of two minutes before what he had said about Chris registered. She sat up in the bed and began to scroll. Tammy thought that she was seeing things when she saw pictures of Falisha and Chris hugged up somewhere. She put the phone down to clear the cold from her eyes, and clear as day, Falisha was sitting between Chris’s legs taking a selfie. The caption below the picture had Tammy in her feelings. A new power couple, #MBM, it read.

  “A new power couple?” Tammy mumbled to herself, analyzing every inch of the picture.

  Another selfie of Falisha kissing Chris on the cheek read Bonnie and Clyde. That picture too was analyzed closely by Tammy.

  On the first picture, he had his hand around her waist, and in the second one, he had his hands on her ass. Tammy wanted to cry. She was mad but also confused about what they were on. Both of them were way out of pocket and disrespectful beyond measure. Tammy wasn’t sure how and when, but she definitely had an ass whooping on her mind, and the first person she had in her crosshairs was her supposed good friend, Falisha.

  * * *

  The scent of sausage and eggs awakened Kim. She looked around, confused about where she was. A king-size bed with a mahogany headboard and trimming, along with mahogany dresser drawers to match came into view. On the wall right in front of her rested a 60-inch flat screen, and off to the side of the room was a glass door that led to a small balcony. Kim was in awe.

  “Brian!” she yelled as she walked down the short hallway toward the stairs. The rest of the house looked just as good as the bedroom. She called out to him again and was finally answered.

  “I’m in here,” he yelled from the kitchen.

  “Baby, where are we?” Kim asked when she walked into the kitchen.

  The kitchen had an island with a pot rack hanging from the ceiling, a six-burner stove with all the little appliances to match, and in the corner was a huge double door stainless steel refrigerator that looked like it could fit a small grocery store inside of it.

  Brian walked over to the island where Kim was sitting and put a plate of food in front of her.

  “Baby, we are home,” he said with a smile on his face as he walked back over to the stove to prepare his plate.

  “Home? What do you mean, home?”

  Brian took his plate and sat right next to her on the island. Kim was really starting to regret falling asleep in the car last night. She was so tired, Brian had to carry her from the car, into the house, and put her in bed. She’d missed the whole outside view of the home. This was the first time she had actually seen the house, and Brian was loving the effect.

  “When two people love each other, they move in together,” he said sarcastically.

  Kim playfully punched him in his arm.

  “I know that,” she said, getting up and walking over to the French-style glass doors that led to the backyard.

  Brian got up and followed her.

  “I bought this house about a year ago with my mother’s life insurance, or at least I used it as a down payment,” he said, walking up behind Kim and wrapping his arms around her. “The mortgage is low, and the upkeep is cheap. It’s in a good neighborhood, and it’s an easy commute for you to get to work,” he explained.

  It seemed too good to be true, and though Kim would have loved to live this good life with this great man, she had a major concern that could ruin everything in a heartbeat. She turned around to face Brian, looking directly in his eyes.

  “For me to even consider moving in, you have to leave the streets alone. I don’t want to get any phone calls in the middle of the night telling me to come and identify ya body, and I damn sure don’t do the prison life. Never have and I never will.”

  Brian smiled and placed his hands on the side of Kim’s face. She didn’t know it, but he was already in the process of ending his role in the North Philly drug game. The streets were drying up anyway, and the only thing left out there was the stickup kids. Transitioning from the streets to the legal life wasn’t going to be hard at all.

  Brian smiled, knowing that he had a stipulation of his own. “I’m off the streets from this day forth, but now . . .” he said, descending to the floor on one knee.

  Kim covered her mouth with both of her hands as he reached into his sweatpants and pulled out a little red box. “It don’t have to be today, it don’t have to be tomorrow, or a week, month, or a year from now. But one day, when you feel that you are ready, can you please be my wife?” Brian asked, pulling the diamond ring from the box.

  He looked up at Kim who was shedding tears of joy, and it wasn’t until she finally said the word yes that he slid the ring on her finger. It was a perfect fit, the same as he felt Kim was in his life.

  * * *

  Nate and Naomi both began jumping up and down on the bed at the same time, waking Lisa from her sleep. Grumpy for only a few seconds, she sat up fast and snatched Naomi out of the air. She tickled her until she almost peed her pants, and just when Lisa thought it was over, Nate jumped down and started tickling her. Naomi joined in, and for a second, Lisa thought she did pee on herself.

  “Watch out, I gotta pee,” Lisa said, jumping up and darting to the bathroom.

  Naomi and Nate sat on the bed cracking up laughing, giving each other high fives.

  “I got a big day planned for us,” Nate yelled toward the bathroom.

  “Yeah, Mommy, a big day,” Naomi chimed in.

  “Is that right?” Lisa asked, coming out of the bathroom. “I hope it don’t include any rides, ’cause I’m not getting on any,” she said, walking over and kissing Naomi on her head. She gave Nate a kiss too, then walked over and grabbed her shower stuff.

  Lisa had to admit, this was the happiest and most open she’d been in a long time, and like many people tried to tell her, this was the exact thing she needed in her life. Not only was she happy, but so was Naomi. She couldn’t get enough of Nate. For some reason, he reminded her of her daddy in so many ways.

  By no means was Nate trying to replace Ralphy, but he wanted to provide somewhat of a father figure to a little girl who’d captured his heart from the first day he met her. If he planned to be with Lisa the way he wanted, it was going to become his responsibility anyway.

  * * *

  For the first time ever, Falisha woke up in a bed next to Chris, who lay there completely naked. Falisha was naked also. After multiple rounds of sex the night before, both were too exhausted and lazy to move. She watched as Chris slept and was intrigued by how peaceful he looked lying there breathing lightly and looking as innocent as a baby. Falisha couldn’t help but to lean over and kiss him on the side of his lips.

  He jumped, but didn’t wake up.

  “You are out of pocket, Falisha,” she mumbled to herself. It’s Chris, for crying out loud, she thought. Tammy is your friend, but damn, this nigga look good, and he fuck like a porn star. I know I’ma burn in hell for this, but his ass is gonna burn wit’ me. I guess we’ll be fuckin’ up a storm in hell then.

  Falisha almost burst out laughing at her crazy thoughts and had to roll over for fear that Chris would catch her and think that she was a weirdo.

  “You mine now,” Chris blurted out, getting her attention.

  Falisha rolled back over, thinking that he might’ve been talking in his sleep. She waited to see if he was going to say anything else. He remained still for a second before he spoke again.

  “I’m not playing with you, either,” he said, opening his eyes.

  “Oh, is that how you feel?” she shot back, inching a little closer.

  “I don’t see it happening no other wa
y.”

  Whatever Falisha and Chris had was clicking on all cylinders, and it didn’t look like either of them was willing to call what they had just a simple fling. There was more to it than that. It wasn’t love yet, but it was something strong enough to make them content with being together.

  “You know we gon’ get a lot of backlash behind this,” Falisha said, making sure Chris understood.

  “Yeah, I know, so we gotta make the best out of it and do the damn thing big so it be worth it,” he replied, putting his arm around her. “Don’t get scared now.”

  “Boy, ain’t nobody scared. You know me better than that,” she said, rolling over on top of him.

  Falisha looked down into Chris’s eyes and saw something that she’d never seen in any man that she’d ever been with. She saw devotion and the highest level of sincerity one could have. It was enough to convince her that what they were doing was okay, and if all else failed, at least she knew he had her back.

  “Let me show you how I wanna wake you up every morning,” she said before leaning over and kissing his chest.

  Falisha kept moving down the center of his stomach until she reached his dick, and then she took all of it into her mouth.

  * * *

  Since the judge had not ruled on the motion yet, there was no need for Kim to go to work. It gave her a little more time to think about how she was going to tell Lamar that she wasn’t going to be able to run off with him like he’d hoped. The whole ride back to her apartment, she went over her lines a thousand times, and no matter how many times she said it or what tone she used, it still sounded fucked up. It was going to crush Lamar, and Kim knew it, but this was something that needed to be done. She didn’t want to drag him along any further, knowing that her heart had chosen who it wanted to love.

  “He’ll understand,” she mumbled to herself as she parked the car.

  What was usually a two-minute walk from the garage to the apartment turned into a fifteen-minute walk, including a five-minute talk with the doorman and another five-minute conversation with one of her neighbors.