Hardhearted

by Sherrod Tunstall

  Santana walked up to her, carrying a birthday cake with eighteen candles on it. “Come on, friend. Blow out these candles and make a big wish.”

  Josie chuckled, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. I wish this year that I will get to go to Paris and be famous.

  She blew out the candles, and everyone clapped.

  “Okay, everyone. Enough of this emotional shit. Let’s get this party started right,” Blood shouted into the microphone.

  Everyone cheered, and the DJ started to play the latest song by Chris Brown.

  As the night went on, everyone was having a great time, especially Josie, who couldn’t stay off the dance floor. If she weren’t in her birthday gown, she’d really have cut loose. She wanted to show out the strippers King hired.

  Swag, on the other hand, was in the restroom taking a piss. Once he was done, he washed his hands and walked out. He looked around the club and noticed the birthday girl having a great time. He smiled and was in awe at how beautiful she looked. Every time he saw Josie, she kept getting sexier.

  Then he saw a familiar face he hadn’t seen in weeks. It was Tyler, looking sharp in a white silk suit with pink shoes. His face was clean-shaven, and his hair was done in cornrows.

  Swag looked at his old friend sitting at the VIP table, sipping on his drink and watching everyone on the dance floor. Swag took a breath, knowing he had to talk to Tyler to make some type of peace. He also wondered if he had recovered a little from Travis’s death. Swag walked to the other side of the club and bypassed so many women who wanted to dance or make another trip to the restroom with him. He brushed them off by saying, “Maybe later” or “Not now.” That was so hard for Swag to do since he hadn’t had sex in weeks and was tired from all the training. At night, Swag thought that his nuts were about to explode, and he didn’t like masturbating. When he finally got over to Tyler, he tapped his shoulder.

  Tyler turned around and rolled his eyes. If this weren’t Josie’s birthday party, Tyler would’ve knocked Swag down again. But Tyler did an excellent job keeping himself calm as he sipped on rum and Coke.

  “Hey, bruh,” Swag held his hand out, hoping to get some type of love from his friend.

  Tyler looked at Swag’s hand but refused to shake it. “What up?” His eyes shifted back to the dance floor.

  Swag looked at him for a moment. He thought he was looking at some beautiful, exotic beauty on the dance floor. But if only Swag knew who Tyler was looking at....

  Tyler wanted Swag to go away so he could watch Santana do his thing on the floor.

  Santana was dancing and laughing with Josie. Tyler loved how Santana moved on the floor, and that explained why he was so good in the bedroom. He put a smirk on his face while looking him up and down.

  “So, you okay?” Swag asked.

  Swag had broken Tyler’s focus on Santana.

  Tyler finally looked at Swag again. “Yeah, I’m fine. Do you want something?”

  Much attitude was on display, and Swag was taken aback. All Swag wanted was for them to settle their differences. He thought if he left him alone for a minute, he’d cool down, but Swag was wrong. He was still willing to give it another try, though.

  “Nothing. I just wanted to check on you, that’s all. I know that it’s been a few weeks since we lost Travis and—”

  “Don’t you speak his name,” Tyler snapped and looked at him with cold eyes.

  Swag couldn’t hear over the music. “What was that, bro?”

  “I said, don’t you ever, ever speak my brother’s name! He’s not your brother. He’s mine! Now, if you’re done, your negative energy is bringing me down.” Tyler sipped his drink and shifted his eyes back to Santana.

  Swag still believed the situation with them wasn’t supposed to play out like this. He hoped that he and Tyler would squash this and be boys again. Unfortunately, he was wrong. Tyler signaled for Santana to come his way.

  He stopped dancing with Josie but kissed her on the cheek before exiting the dance floor.

  Tyler’s back was turned to Swag, and the last thing Swag wanted to do was kiss Tyler’s ass to be his friend. He knew that this wasn’t Tyler talking to him. Swag figured the only reason he was acting this way was that he was still grieving over Travis. Swag wasn’t going to give up until he mended their friendship.

  “Ty—”

  “Hey, Ty, baby,” Santana said.

  Baby? Swag thought as he looked in the direction of the person speaking. Santana sat on Tyler’s lap, threw his arms around him, and smiled.

  Swag’s eyes widened. “What in the entire hell is this?” He knew that he was in King’s crazy-ass domain, but at that very moment, he thought he’d left that world and traveled to the Twilight Zone. He always remembered Tyler being the biggest lady’s man. Tyler always told him and the rest of the fellas how he’d slept with some of his female clientele. He was considered the biggest player in the group. Swag was speechless, but the next act Santana and Tyler did almost made him vomit up the birthday cake.

  Tyler and Santana tongued each other down like they were about to make a porno in the club.

  “What the hell!” Swag shouted with a twisted face.

  The men stopped kissing and looked over at Swag. Tyler smiled, and Santana laughed.

  “Oh, what’s the matter? You wanna join?” Santana stuck his tongue out.

  Tyler figured that was the key for Swag to leave him alone for good. He assumed Swag didn’t want to have anything to do with him after this.

  “Nigga!” Swag shouted. “Tyler, you sick, man!”

  Tyler laughed sinisterly as he licked the side of Santana’s neck. “Damn, you taste so good.”

  Santana laughed, and they kissed again.

  Swag threw his hand back and walked away. He wanted to get rid of his thoughts about those two, and even though he knew Tyler was hurting, he didn’t believe that was the route for him to go.

  Not looking where he was going, he continued to walk off until he bumped into the birthday girl.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Swag said. Seeing her cleared all the negative images of Tyler and Santana. When Josie flashed her smile at Swag, it melted his heart.

  “Hey, Josie. Happy Birthday, ma. I’m sorry about that. Are you okay?”

  Josie chuckled. “That’s okay. Thank you again for the birthday wishes. And, yes, I’m cool.”

  Swag couldn’t stop staring at her.

  “What’s wrong?” Josie asked with a smirk.

  He shook it off. “Nothin’.”

  “Where’s the fire?”

  He knew that she was referring to him walking away quickly from his so-called boy and his new lover. Swag brushed it off.

  “Nowhere.”

  “So where you been hiding at all night?”

  “I’m doing my job for your mother and making sure everything is going smooth for your birthday.”

  “Is everything?”

  “What?”

  Josie rolled her eyes and giggled. “Secured.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Swag laughed.

  “Come on and dance with me.” Josie pulled him toward her, but Swag stood in place.

  She looked back at him. “Why aren’t you moving?”

  Of course, Swag wanted to dance with her, but the last thing he wanted to do was piss off King. He was now on her good side while going through all the training and dealing with Blood’s ass. He didn’t want to screw up everything he was trying to build up. He was going to get out of her world by any means necessary.

  He cleared his throat. “Damn, ma. Ain’t you tired of dancing? You pretty much outdanced everyone up in here, especially Santa—” Just speaking Santana’s name grossed Swag out. But he kept his focus on Josie. “Yeah, don’t you want something to drink or some of your birthday cake?”

  Josie giggled. She could tell Swag was stalling. “Look, Swag, it’s my birthday, and I want you to dance with me. That’s an order. Fuck King. Come on!” She took his hand and led him to the dance floor.


  As he followed Josie to the dance floor, Swag was shocked at what she had said about King. The DJ played “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” by the late singer, Whitney Houston. Josie loved this song. She practiced with it so many times. It brought a smile to her face as she started to dance and let Whitney’s voice take over. Swag smiled. He truly adored her. Their eyes were locked in a trance, and after Josie pulled him closer to her, they danced like there was no one else in the room.

  In the far upper corner of the club, King and Blood were up drinking, eating, planning their next move and watching everyone enjoy Josie’s party. King looked down to check on her child. When she looked down, she saw that Josie was dancing with Swag like they were dancing on a Broadway stage. At first, she wanted to get pissed off. But she remained cool, remembering this was Josie’s night. She loved how Swag was getting down on the dance floor. She smiled at him, and she believed that if a man moved this good on the dance floor, he would move even better in the bedroom. King signaled for one of her guards and whispered in his ear. After she finished speaking, he walked away.

  Blood looked at her with suspicion. “What was that all about?”

  “Blood, baby, why don’t you take the rest of the night off.” She snapped her fingers, and within a few seconds, Desiree strutted over to them, looking sexy with her hair microbraided and a strapless cream-colored dress that showed off her chocolate skin and matching heels.

  Just seeing Desiree brought a smile to Blood’s face. She’d been gone for weeks with a hip-hop mogul, an oil tycoon, and a member of a royal family. They couldn’t resist her addictive chocolate punany. Besides King, Desiree made Blood hard and hot every time he saw her.

  “Waah gwaan, love?” she said in a seductive voice.

  Blood wasted no time getting up.

  “You two have a good time tonight,” King said, waving as they walked away. Then she strutted out of the balcony and headed downstairs.

  * * *

  Swag and Josie finished dancing to Whitney. He was almost out of breath and could barely keep up with her. He hoped she would become a famous dancer one day. He had put it into the universe, hoping that this would be the year that she would become a prima ballerina superstar.

  Since Swag was sweating so much, Josie put her hand on his shoulder. “You okay, hun?”

  He took deep breaths to get himself together. “I’m good, ma. I just haven’t danced like that in a while.”

  Josie laughed. There was no question she had worn him out. When a Chris Brown song came on, Josie started to shake her hips. She was ready to get down again.

  “Come on, Swag, let’s dance again.”

  She took his hand, but he pulled it back.

  “Ma, I’ma get me some water. I’ll be back, okay?”

  Josie nodded, and he headed over to the bar. Josie continued to dance and raise her hands, but her vibe was broken when she felt a cold tap on her shoulder. By touch, she felt something wasn’t right. She slowly turned around and saw that it was one of King’s bodyguards.

  “King wants you to be at the spot,” the bodyguard said in a deep, scary voice.

  Josie looked at him with concern. “Spot? What in the—”

  The bodyguard gripped her shoulder. She felt chills going through her bones.

  “Baby girl, I know it’s your birthday, but your mother told me to tell you not to ask any questions. Just shut up and come with me as she instructed.”

  Josie didn’t want to make a scene at her own birthday party. She took a deep breath and walked off the dance floor, followed by the bodyguard.

  Once the bartender gave Swag his second glass of water, he started to get his breathing under control. He went back to the dance floor to look for Josie. He was ready for another round of dancing, but Josie had vanished without a trace. Swag looked around all over the dance floor, thinking she had found another dance partner, but she was gone. He felt a great disappointment while standing in the middle of the dance floor, looking like Prince Charming, who’d just lost his Cinderella. The only thing he needed was the glass slipper. Then he felt a soft, gentle hand on his back. He closed his eyes with a big smile on his face, thinking Josie was ready for him. King, however, stood with a beauty pageant smile on her face.

  He smiled and tried to pretend he was happy to see her. “King.”

  “Yes, bae. Who did you expect?”

  They both laughed.

  The DJ decided to slow things down. He played Janet Jackson’s “Anytime Anyplace.” It was an oldie but goodie to get everyone in the mood.

  “Come on and dance with me,” King said, placing Swag’s arms around her hips and butt. She rested her arms on his shoulders and pulled him closer.

  While letting Janet’s smooth voice take over, Swag looked into King’s eyes and saw a sweet girl, not a gangsta bitch. King put her head on his chest. She felt like one with him. After the song was over, King lifted her head and looked at Swag. “Let’s have a quick drink before we leave. I have a surprise for you.”

  She reached for his hand and led him to the bar.

  “What surprise?” he asked with a raised brow.

  “If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it?”

  Beads of sweat formed on Swag’s forehead. He knew it didn’t come from dancing, but from King’s sexy ass, that drove him crazy and made him nervous. Swag needed some water and a nice stiff drink to get through whatever King’s surprise was.

  Chapter 29

  Birthday Present

  While driving to the next location, Swag was nervous as hell. He didn’t know what King had up her sleeve. King looked at him, loving the fear she’d put in him. She loved keeping him and all her play toys in suspense and on the edge of their seats. She had a couple of surprises for Swag. One was for tonight, and the other she was saving for him in the morning. She placed her hand on his shaky leg and caused him to jump.

  “Relax,” she said. “I just wanted to see if you were okay.”

  Swag cleared his throat while looking out the window and viewing downtown San José. “Yeah, I’m cool, ma.”

  King didn’t want to show weakness, but she was ready to mellow out and have a little fun with Swag. She had the perfect remedy to get him in the mood for anything.

  She reached into her Gucci bag and pulled out a cigar, along with a lighter. She lit it up and took a hit. After she blew out smoke, she passed the cigar to Swag.

  “Oh, nah, ma, I don’t—”

  “Take it! It’ll calm your nerves.”

  Swag didn’t put up a fuss. He took a hit too and blew out a big cloud of smoke. He then sat back to relax. While his eyes were closed, he thought about having sex with King. He was horny and had gotten a hard-on from looking at her sexy, green eyes, titties, and thick-toned thighs. King looked amazing in her dress that fit like a glove. It looked like diamonds were painted all over her curves that Swag couldn’t ignore.

  He handed her the cigar. “I’m done. Do you want a puff, ma?”

  “Nah, baby boy, that’s all for you. Just a little party favor I got from Josie’s party earlier, so enjoy,” King lied, smiling.

  “Okay then, more for me,” he giggled. Too bad he didn’t know the cigar was laced with coke.

  * * *

  Once they got to the Apartotel La Sabana, a luxury, five-star hotel, Swag was so high that he couldn’t keep his hands off of King. He touched her in places that she hadn’t let a man touch in years. Even though King didn’t like drugs or anyone that did them, she was okay with this. The coke made Swag’s freak come out. He kissed and sucked her neck like a vampire.

  King’s panties were wet, but she lightly pushed him off of her. “Oh, baby, you’re getting me hot.”

  Swag was high as shit but was still in control. All his thoughts and concerns vanished after the smoke. All he wanted to do was see what King Kia Costello was working with. From what he remembered in the documentary, he remembered the announcer saying that men found her puss legendary. Just thinking of her pink
walls was making his manhood even harder. The driver opened the door, and King stepped out of the limo first, with Swag following her lead. He grabbed her hand, and they went into the hotel together. He eased his arm around her waist like she was his. King smiled as she went up to the front desk, speaking Spanish to the front-desk associate.

  Swag couldn’t make out what they were saying, and to him, that was sad because he was half Puerto Rican. He regretted not learning Spanish when he was in school. Either way, King speaking Spanish was a bigger turn-on for him than anything.

  Within moments, the associate gave King the room key. She thanked him and gave him a tip. King and Swag walked hand in hand to the elevator. He stood behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist while smelling her hair. King leaned her head back. Her nipples were so hard. She wanted Swag to fuck her, just like he’d done to Desiree on the ship. That fantasy was broken when King pushed the button on the elevator to their next destination, and the doors closed.

  King faced Swag, and they shared a kiss. She had waited for this moment for weeks, and the wait was worth it. It was everything she had imagined. His lips were as soft as a rose petal. Swag’s hands went down her back to her plump booty. He scooped her thick ass with his hands.

  King unbuttoned his suit jacket. She wanted to rip off his shirt but refused to do so for now. They stopped kissing. Swag bent down and was face-to-face with her breasts. His hands cupped both of them.

  “Aah . . .” she moaned and turned her head. King’s body just melted at the touch of Swag’s hands on her. She wanted him to rip off her dress and suck on her edibles. Swag’s mouth was watering. He was ready to breast-feed on her. He was just about to expose her breasts, but the elevator doors opened. They almost gave a show to a wealthy American couple who were waiting for the elevator. The woman was in total shock. Her husband’s mouth was wide open. He definitely wanted to see more.

  King and Swag got off the elevator. They traveled down the hallway with King leading the way. They were armin-arm with each other. Swag looked over at her. “So, what’s this surprise you have for me, ma?”