Two months earlier…
My past always liked to sneak up on me in the middle of the night, when shit was quiet and peaceful. That’s when the demons would pounce, much like Omar. As a kid, I never got to rest. Even when I was big enough to win a fight with my father and he stopped fucking with me, having decided that my training was complete, I never could rest. I’d gotten used to sleeping light, ever ready to be snatched out of bed and have to defend myself or do some shit like mop the kitchen floor at three in the morning. Anything he could think of. I grew up in a twisted boot camp, not a family home.
Some nights, I could shake it off. If I was exhausted enough or had managed to stumble into a fight and kicked somebody’s ass, I’d sleep soundly. But on this particular night, the memories and the fear that I’d been trying to shake for decades had a stranglehold on my big ass and wouldn’t let go. I was sitting up in my bed, trying to decide if I was going to clean my bathroom or my kitchen, when she knocked on my door. It had happened so many times since we started our thing, I halfway expected her to show up. I swear she had a radar for my pain, or maybe the need for me that was in her was connected to that pain. I didn’t know, but I knew the fear left when she walked in my door. And when she looked at me? I believed I could conquer the fucking world, let alone face the demons Omar put on me. We had reached the point that we didn’t need any preludes. We each knew what the other required and were more than willing to provide it. So that’s what we did.
I carried her to my room, to my bed, and just stared at her, wondering how anyone could step out on a woman so damn beautiful. From her deep-set eyes to her Nubian nose, those juicy lips, and her thick body, Tricia was a walking wet dream, a fucking fantasy come true.
She was staring at me in anticipation, biting her top lip, her hands with those pretty blue fingernails covering her pussy. She’d arrived in a dress and no panties. That dress was up over her soft stomach and my dick was so damn hard; I was sure it could break a cinder block in half.
Licking my lips, I dropped my underwear to the floor and joined her in bed, stretching my body over hers to kiss her lips first, and then her neck, kissing my way down to her plump pussy. I sucked and licked and slurped until she grabbed my head, smashing my face into her sex, making it hard for me to breathe, but I loved that shit. If I died with my head between her legs, then so be it. I’d die a happy man.
Once she finished shaking and screaming, I slid up her body and into her wet pussy, let out a little groan, and worked her like she was a damn sudoku puzzle, closing my eyes and letting myself feel her, all of her. I tugged at her nipples, bit her neck, smacked her thighs, ate her pussy again, and when I finally busted, I swear I saw a white light and some angels. That was the second I knew I loved her. After that, she showed up every week, twice one week, and then she ended it. I played hard about it, but that shit broke my heart. It really did.
10
Tricia
Now…
I woke up to the sun in my eyes and Jah’s heavy body wrapped around mine. Once I was fully awake, I shook him. “Jah, wake up. Don’t you have meetings or something today?”
“Nah,” he mumbled, the remnants of sleep heavy in his voice. “No meetings today. Just the golf tournament. I don’t play golf.”
“Oh? So what you planning on doing today?” I asked.
The next thing I knew, Jah was lifting my leg and filling my yoni. “You,” he said directly in my ear.
*****
Set and Kareema opted not to attend that night’s event, the national Rho Beta Gamma step competition. Jah was dressed down in jeans, a Rho Beta t-shirt, and a Rho Beta bomber jacket with red Nike’s. With his low-cut fade and stubble-covered chin, he looked so damn good I had to concentrate on not drooling. I wore a backless black jumpsuit that dipped to the top of my ass and black heels, my braids pulled up in a high bun.
Jah rested his hand on my back as he led me through the auditorium. When we finally took our seats near the stage, he leaned in, and said, “You look fine as hell in this, but if one more of these niggas looks at your booty, I’ma break their neck.”
“You’re gonna break one of your frat brothers’ necks?” I asked.
“If they get down wrong with you? I will murder their ass with my bare hands, and I’ll smile the whole time I do it.”
Staring at him, I said, “O…kay. Um, Jah…should I be scared of your big ass?”
With a grin, he informed me, “The only thing you need to be afraid of is this dick.”
Rolling my eyes, I said, “I’m thirsty. They doing concessions?”
“Yeah, what you want?”
“I need to see what they got.” I moved to stand up, and he stopped me.
“Hell, no. You ain’t displaying that ass for these niggas no more. Give me a list or something. I’ll get whatever they got that’s on it.”
“Really?” Saul wasn’t even this damn possessive and we were together for years.
He just glowered at me.
“Water is fine.”
He kissed me and said, “Be right back.”
I was people-watching the folks entering the arena when someone said, “Excuse me.”
Turning my head to the right, I was met with the smiling face of a young woman wearing a baggy jogging suit. “Hi,” I said. “You were speaking to me?”
“Yeah, I was wondering if you have an IG page. I’d love to follow it. I’ve seen you at other events and you always look so good!”
I got that a lot, other big girls complimenting me on my outfits. “Thank you! I’m on Instagram but I barely post on there.”
“Can I get your name on there in case you start sharing outfits or something. You are the bomb! You could be an influencer!”
I gave it to her, and after she left, I sat there thinking about what she’d said. I hadn’t thought about anything like that before, but even I had to admit that I had a talent for dressing my body. Maybe I could help other women and get paid in the process. Maybe…
When Jah returned, handing me a bottle of water while holding a cup of beer in his other hand, he asked, “Did anybody fuck with you while I was gone?”
“Who would fuck with me, you damn lunatic?”
“A nigga.”
“No, Jah. I’m sure they’re all too scared of you to actually approach me.”
“They better be.”
So I had noticed some guys looking at me, but I wasn’t going to tell this fool that.
The step competition was like nothing I’d seen before. The precision, the athleticism, the absolute pleasure of seeing these young black men committed to something positive—wow! And I can’t lie, it was sexy as hell, too. Made me wish I could’ve seen Jah in action as a young Rho Beta man. Hell, as agile as he was now, I was sure he could still move like that.
Jah left for the restroom, but I was so enthralled with the performances that I barely missed him. However, by the time the last performance was over, Jah still hadn’t made it back and I began to wonder if I needed to go find him, but I texted him instead.
Me: You okay? Do I need to come bail you out of jail or something? Whose ass did you kick in the restroom?
Jah: I’m good. See you in a minute.
Me: Okay. You better not be somewhere texting bitches.
Jah: Never that.
By the time the winners, who represented the eastern region of the fraternity, were announced, Jah still wasn’t back. And I was so worried that I only half paid attention as the young MC said, “As we do every year, we have a group of old heads coming to the stage to show us how it’s really done. The Gamma Gamma alumni chapter is about the rip this motherfucking stage up!”
As the arena was filled with loud “Rhooooooo Betas,” I pulled my phone out to text Jah again, but something made me look up at the stage, and there he was.
I watched with inflated eyes as Jah and several other men, all wearing black jogging suits and red boots with green bandanas covering their heads, stood stock-still on the
stage. Pony began to play, and they all hit the floor, making the crowd go wild, including me. After they screwed the stage floor to Pony, they hopped to their feet and proceeded to assassinate that damn stage, putting the younger men who’d competed earlier to shame. My mouth probably hung open the entire time, my eyes glued to this man my ho’ ass probably didn’t deserve as he stepped and clapped. Jah was a huge man, like six-four and over three hundred pounds huge, but he was so light on his feet and so damn sexy and handsome and…shit, was I in love? I really wasn’t sure, but I knew I was proud to call him mine. I felt so fortunate that I’d be lying under him that night.
After they finished, Jah returned to me, and I excitedly wrapped my arms around his thick neck and kissed him all over his sweaty face.
In return, he grinned down at me. “You liked it?”
“Hell yeah! Where did these clothes come from?”
“One of the bruhs brought them for me. I wanted to surprise you.”
“Well, you succeeded. I loved it, and I love you!” I blurted. Shit, I hadn’t meant to say all that, but fuck it. I did love him. I became resolute about it at that very moment.
He dropped the smile he’d been wearing, giving me a look of pure adoration, and then he leaned in and kissed me like my mouth held all the secret treasures in the world. As we ended the kiss and hugged one another, I wondered to myself how I managed to fuck into a real, reciprocated love. Life was nuts.
I squeezed my eyes shut, kissed his salty neck, and then opened my eyes to see TK’s mom staring at us. What the fuck was her problem?
11
Jah
“That’s all you lifting? How you own a whole gym and you this weak?” I asked.
“Fuck you. I ain’t tryna be the Incredible Nigga like you. Your ass literally stays in the gym back home.”
“Yeah, because I’m tryna stay my ass outta jail. If I don’t put that energy into something or someone, you know I’ma get in trouble.”
“Yeah, kicking asses.”
“And any ass will do.”
Set chuckled. “You know I know, but uh, you been slacking since you been here. I was shocked you wanted to come to the gym with me today.”
I shrugged as I continued to spot my big brother. “I wanted to talk to you.”
“About?”
“Marriage.”
Set stopped in the middle of his rep. “Marriage? You tryna marry Tricia?”
“I love her, man, more than I ever loved Genesis, and you know how I felt about her.”
“Yeah, but don’t Trish got a man?”
“Other than me? Not anymore.”
“Damn, y’all moving faster than a motherfucker.”
“I know. Look, how you making it work with Kareema?”
“Me and Kareema…we just…shit, I don’t know. I love her and she loves me. I don’t think I could be fucked up enough for her to stop loving me. That’s how we make it work. We love each other, and shit, she understands me. You think you got that with Trish?”
“Man, this thing between me and Trish…it’s spiritual. We’re connected in a crazy way. I can’t explain it, but I know it’s real. She’s why I ain’t been in the gym, why I ain’t needed to be in the gym. She…”
“Calms you? Makes it easier to deal with the bad shit?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Just being around her does that.”
“Then she’s the one, man.”
I smiled. “Yeah, she is.”
Sitting in the passenger seat of Set’s car holding the breakfast trays we’d picked up for us and our women, I asked, “You expecting more company?” as he pulled into his driveway.
He frowned as he looked at the car parked in front of us. “Naw, looks like a rental. You think Shu done popped up on us?”
“I don’t know. The way that nigga works all the time, I doubt it.”
We both hopped out of the car, and as we got closer to the house, we could hear voices shouting. I recognized one of the voices as Tricia’s. The other was a man’s voice.
“You need to leave!” I heard Tricia shriek. “We are over, and nothing is going to change that! Nothing!”
I dropped them damn trays and was about to kick Set’s front door in, but he grabbed me and showed me his keys.
“Then unlock the door, nigga!” I thundered.
As soon as he did, I sprinted inside, saw that motherfucker all up in my woman’s face, and punched him in the side of his head. He stumbled a little and then fell, so I got down there with him, was about to beat his nose into the back of his brain but stopped when I got a good look at his face. “Saul Sharpe?” I asked.
Holding his head, he said, “Big Nigga?”
12
Jah
Saul Sharpe was well known in our city, the king of his hood with his hands in a little of everything, but giving out personal loans, i.e., loan sharking, had become his biggest hustle. He dealt with drugs and gambling too, though. Saul was a little older than me, and after seeing me beat the brakes off a nigga at a house party for basically no other reason than I felt the urge to fuck somebody up, he hired me to be his enforcer. The job paid well and kept my college dropout ass from being homeless or having to bunk with Set or Shu. Saul was a cool dude, and this position also gave me the opportunity to fight under the protection of his name.
I was twenty when I started working for him, remained his employee for ten years during which I went back to school and trained to be a mechanic before taking the money I’d saved while working for him and opening my shop. Sharpe was good to me. More than an employer, he was a friend, one of my best friends. “Big Nigga” was his nickname for me. Mine for him was always Sharpe. I knew if I needed anything in the world, I could get it from him, and in return for his friendship, I gave him deep discounts when fixing his cars.
We were boys! Hell, I’d texted him and told him about Genesis trying to fuck me, because I thought she was his girl. She was, wasn’t she?
Frowning with my fist still in the air, I looked from my old friend to Tricia and back. “The fuck you doing here, man? And why were you in my lady’s face?”
“Your—what?!” Still holding the side of his head, he looked up at Tricia. “You been fucking Jah Mitchell?! One of my best friends?! This is the nigga Amanda was talking about? That’s why you stopped fucking me? You got-damn bitch!”
I involuntarily punched him in the nose. I think it was a reflex or something because he called my woman a bitch. Tricia and Kareema, who I’d just realized was in the room, both yelled. I growled, “Watch your mouth, muhfucker.”
“Damn, Jah!” Sharpe yelled. “How you gonna hit me over what I call my own damn woman?”
“Genesis is your woman, nigga.”
“No, she’s my side chick. I ain’t fucked up about her. I mean, thanks for the heads up, but I’m done with her ass. Trish got my heart.”
“So you are still cheating?! Wow!” Tricia yelled. “And here I was feeling all guilty and shit!”
My eyes found their way to Tricia on their own, and I finally asked her, “So this is your nigga?”
The answer was obvious, but shit.
She shook her head. “Not anymore. You are.”
Looking down at Sharpe, I said, “Man…shit!”
“Look, man…I don’t know what’s been going on, but she’s my woman, been mine for seven years. She thinks it’s over, but it ain’t never gonna be over. I’ve changed for her. Gave up having a son for her. She can’t fucking leave me! She owes me!”
“Nah, man. Look, I didn’t know you were her man, but you fucked up messing around with other chicks. How you gonna say you changed when you just stopped fucking with Genesis?”
“That ain’t your got-damn business!” he yelled at me. “I know your ass likes to fight. Shit, that’s why I hired you, but you know I like to shoot. I will bust a cap in your ass quick if you don’t let me up off this floor. Trish, go get your shit so we can go home like I told you to.”
“How the fuck you gonna
shoot me? Where’s your gun?” I asked, flipping him over and patting him down until I found it in the back of his pants. Then I pinned him to the floor with my knee, facedown this time. “Sharpe, I know this is all fucked up, but she’s mine now. I ain’t letting her go. I wouldn’t if I could. I love her.”
“Awwww,” Kareema sang.
“We getting married,” I added, making both Set and Sharpe yell, “What?” while Kareema let out another, “Awwww.”
“Married?! I already asked your ass to marry me, Trish! What the fuck?”
“Saul—” Tricia began.
But Sharpe interrupted her with, “You know what? Fuck this! Big Nigga, man…you need to drop her ass! To do this to me after all I did for her? I took care of her!” he yelled into the carpet. “I gave her ass everything! I can’t believe this shit, Trish! I stayed with you when I coulda left for a hundred bitches who coulda at least gave me a damn son, you broken pussy bitch! Ain’t good for shit! Cheating on me with my damn former employee…”
When I heard him call Tricia, my Tricia, a bitch again, I blacked completely out. I legit don’t remember what happened right after that. All I know is at some point, Set was basically dragging my ass out of the living room of his house, I could hear Tricia crying, and my hand felt like I’d been punching concrete.
13
Tricia
One hour earlier…
While the men were at the gym, Kareema helped me take a ton of pics that I planned to put on Instagram over the coming days. Then she had breakfast delivered, and I swear I had the best crepe in the history of crepes. Or maybe happiness just made everything taste better.
After the step show, I literally tried to suck the skin off Jah’s dick after we climbed into his rental. Seeing him step had my pussy twerking. I was so damn keyed up that I started attacking him before his ass could hit the driver’s seat good, had him squealing like an overexcited cheerleader, and when I was done—and he was damn near comatose—he weakly asked, “What the fuck I do to deserve that? Shit!”
Jah: A Novella (Them Boys Book 2) Page 5
