Professor X

by Kiki Leach

X pushed his brows together and blinked, then glanced at the building before turning back to Pugh; he glowered. "Thought we were supposed be gettin' my papers signed and all that? Thought that's why you had my ass rollin' through here so goddamn early?"

  "You'll be signing everything that's needed soon enough, but my assistant has yet to show and it was her job to prepare your information before the weekend in order for us to be ready by this morning; my apologies."

  "No big deal, but there ain't a way for me to do this shit on a computer?"

  "I would've suggested first thing, but the system is overloaded and unable to handle each student or teacher at once; your information would take weeks to be approved. Printing papers from a single operation for you to look over and sign is much easier."

  He stared at him curiously, remaining skeptical, but bobbed his head and continued. "Yeah, alright."

  "In the meantime, I thought it might be a good idea to show you a bit of the school? Let you develop a personal feel for the students, campus and other teachers."

  "Nah, thanks." He waved his hand and looked aside. "Think I'm good on that shit for right now. If we're goin' somewhere out here, why don't we just head into the buildin' I'll be teachin' so I'll know where the fuck to go on my own?"

  Pugh eyed him with slight interest to push further, but pulled back when he realized it would not be the best idea as intended, and tipped his head. "Let's head on."

  After making their way across a fairly quiet campus and into the Family and Consumer Sciences building, Xavier followed Pugh into an unoccupied classroom on the second floor and flipped a light switch near the door.

  "Fuckin' Christ." His eyes expanded as they roamed between rows of steel tables and chairs; his ears rang as an echo of his own voice filled the room. "Shit."

  Pugh looked over at him and grimaced. "Is there a problem?"

  "Nah." X rolled his eyes toward the ceiling and wagged his head. "Only the fact that nothin' in here looks like anything I was actually expectin'."

  "What were you expecting to see in this room, Mr. Stevenson?"

  "Don't know." He shrugged. "Maybe somethin' that didn't look as if I was gonna start performin' surgeries on lab rats instead of bakin' a few goddamn cakes and explorin' the anatomy of pus--"

  "The classroom was designed with the mind of a kitchen."

  "Hm. Guess that shit makes some sense." He dropped his briefcase on top of a desk near the fridge at the back of the room, then dragged his hand along the edge of a sink and brushed a light sheen of oil from the tips of his fingers. "This shit's been cleaned, yeah? I won't have to do any of that 'fore I get started?"

  "The rooms are cleaned every night and morning before staff arrives. You'll have to do as much as you can between classes to minimize cross contamination, however. The directions of what to do and use for product are inside the top drawer of that desk."

  "Shit -- am I gonna get paid for bein' a goddamn maid out here too?" His eyes narrowed. "By the way, don't recall too much of us talkin' 'bout my salary last week? I've read up on the manual what a teacher like me would earn out here, but maybe there's some kinda negotiatin' with the exact dollar amount that can be done."

  Pugh chortled. "A salary is set in place for every incoming professor, Mr. Stevenson -- Home Economics or otherwise. We're not allowed to bend the rules at your will or that of anyone else"

  He grunted. "Maybe we can see 'bout that shit; maybe with some time and a little more talkin' on your end, yeah?" As Pugh's phone rattled inside his front pocket, Xavier leaned against the sink and soured. "That your girl callin' from the UC?"

  Pugh stared at the face of his phone for a few seconds and locked his jaw. "Emergency text message," he said. "She just showed up a few minutes ago and is having a problem with the printer. Probably out of ink, but I'll need to see what it's about before she throws a fit and alerts another Dean to give me a headache. You're free to come back with me to get started or stay in here to explore the room for a few more minutes. Students won't be showing up for another few hours."

  "Yeah, thanks -- Think I'll stay back 'til you get the shit down there figured out; need to make a phone call or two of my own."

  After Pugh agreed with a quick nod and hurried out of the room, Xavier opened his briefcase and snatched his burner from beneath a pile of papers. He dialed the club and lifted it to his ear as it rang, then slammed it shut as an unexpected guest eased inside the room and closed the door behind himself.

  T-Bone.

  "Shit." Xavier stared as his chest tightened; he nearly snapped his phone in half and grumbled. "Fuckin' Christ, asshole--"

  "Not exactly, but I think many a bitch would say I come close to Him right before she let loose on my cock." He walked further into the room as X tossed his cell back into his briefcase and rested against a table in front of Xavier's desk, then wrapped his hands along the edge and grinned. "You know, I gotta hand this shit to you, brother -- man to fuckin' man. Bra-fuckin'-vo--"

  "What the hell is your ass talkin' 'bout?!"

  "This shit here," he replied. "Damn near blowin' your head off in the middle of your own goddamn compound couldn't keep you from makin' it back on this very fuckin' campus just a few days later. Guess you really are determined as fuck to win the shit out of this war."

  "Ain't no goddamn war between us, motherfucker -- Not when your club stole from what the fuck we earned." He paused and sat back. "Who the hell even let your ass on this campus -- One of those cocksucks that don't know 'bout us yet? Some pussy that saw you in this ugly ass, green hoodie and was lookin' for a friendly fuck? Maybe the motherfucker that just left outta here--?"

  "I've got my connections just like you and the Devils, X. And in my connections is a motherfucker eager to see your club flattened beneath the weight of the Kings more than even myself or the club."

  "Didn't think anybody else could be eager enough for that shit to happen outside of the asshole you had put to ground--"

  "All thanks to you for lettin' us know how much of a goddamn snitch he'd become for pussy," he interjected. "Which fuckin' reminds me, how is your girl doin' with all this shit right now? I know she was at the club that night and I'm sorry if the bullets put a scare to her -- really wasn't meanin' to do that kinda shit, not at all, not to Mariah. A bitch like that..." He sucked his lips into his mouth and dropped his hands in front of himself, folding one on top of the other as he covered his cock. "She's too goddamn valuable to lose -- too goddamn special and sweet. Especially when the Kings are lookin' to broaden our range on pussy; bitch has always been one of the best I'd ever seen and tasted."

  X clinched his fists and snarled. "Mariah ain't workin' for your goddamn club."

  "No, brother, she'd be workin' for our club." He bent forward and pointed between them. "Or at least part of what still belongs to the Devils 'til we get that small bit straightened out with Rocka's 2%. See, we made a side agreement after those original papers were signed that if he ever fucked up with the Kings by becomin' a snitch, I'd get that portion in conjunction with the club's 49. Your little confession has made that shit possible now."

  "Jesus." Xavier swiped his forehead as sweat suddenly poured from his hair, and grit his teeth. "You two wrote that shit down?"

  T-Bone nodded. "All in his second contract."

  "And that's why you showed up to Trac's place -- you think he's got some shit sayin' as much layin' 'round out there?"

  "Thought so, along with the originals statin' our 49% ownership."

  "Your stupid ass never made copies?"

  He glared. "Wouldn't trump the originals in a court of fuckin' law even if I had 'em. Look, I know the club found your boy the same day my prospects had to pay him that goddamn visit; I know they went through his shit and found as much as I need for the Kings."

  "And how the fuck do you know all this shit? Another motherfucker you tried to force on his knees?"

  "Her," he replied. "Shauna."

  Xavier shut his eyes as aggravation set in, and dee
ply exhaled. "Shit."

  "That bitch started spillin' like an overflowin' fountain last week with the head of a pistol shoved up her ass and a cock pourin' down her goddamn throat; even gave me shit I wasn't lookin' for but could use on down the line for another club if need be."

  "Jesus Christ, asshole."

  "You know that bitch likes to bite? She's a goddamn biter nibblin' the tip of a fuckin' popsicle accordin' to LapDog. Speakin' of that asshole, you know anything about where the fuck he might be right about now? Wondered if he'd taken off with those other two pricks after the shoot out, but he wouldn't just leave his shit behind."

  "No fuckin' clue. Maybe he got tired of livin' up to his name and is somewhere out there seekin' better for himself; better pussy, a better club and Prez."

  T-Bone smirked. "Listen, aside from lettin' you know that I'm aware of the contracts missin' and pattin' you on the goddamn back for makin' it out here today--"

  "Who the fuck alerted your ass to all this shit to begin with?" asked X. "How the fuck were you so goddamn certain I wouldn't change my mind?"

  "I told your ass, connections. Maybe you should start lookin' a little closer within house next time you're rollin' through the Devils' Playground." He snickered. "Now I'm lettin' you know that once we've gained full control of ACE'S and outsourced the rest of that coke, plans for Mariah and a few others to be our main attraction pussy is gonna push through."

  "Why the fuck do you keep tellin' me this shit when we both know it ain't gonna fuckin' happen?"

  "You think it won't?" T-Bone stood away from the table and brushed his hands together as he casually moved across the room. "'Cause last I saw your girl, she wasn't turnin' my ass down for the gig. In fact, she seemed hesitant as fuck to leave. Even so, if she was too goddamn eager to run outta there screamin' and never come back, she coulda used my number at any time right after to just say the words." He stopped to wag his head and shrugged. "She never fuckin' did."

  "We been preoccupied with other shit--"

  "You know when I saw her walkin' through those doors at the compound again, my heart skipped a few beats in sync with the twitchin' of my cock. Somethin' about those tight fuckin' tits and that sweet, sweet face... all that knowin' the taste of her pussy and what she looks like when she's about to cum all over your tongue or cock is just enough to make a motherfucker lose his entire goddamn mind and never wanna find the shit again..." He licked his lips and nodded. "Guess you're gettin' all that shit now, yeah?" Xavier sucked in a deep, rattling breath, refusing to answer as his blood boiled beneath his skin. "Maybe when all this shit is said and fuckin' done, we can go back to sharin' as brothers from another mother charter. 'Cause I'm guessin' you still ain't actually tryin' to make her permanent pussy, but she feels good enough around your cock -- familiar and all that, and you need some shit like that right now."

  "She's my woman now, asshole -- fuckin' mine, permanent pussy; only sharin' that'll be happenin' between us from here on out is you knowin' the taste of my foot up your ass and my glock rammed down your goddamn throat in place of another brother's cock."

  He covered his mouth and laughed. "Jesus -- I don't think Mariah would be too fond of some shit like that."

  "You keep speakin' on her as if she's someone you--"

  "Fucked?" he shot back. "Yeah, plenty of times. And for a long one of those, she was contemplatin' gettin' your name removed from her back. Talked about how she didn't have good memories in seein' it back there when we'd fuck like raw dogs between her sheets. Just rememberin' how much that sweet, tasty bitch could cream around my cock like no other I'd ever had before gets me fuckin' harder than a goddamn rock; and you know, she'd scream? Motherfucker, she'd scream like a goddamn cat purrin' in my ear 'til I became damn near numb, and I'd have to shut her all the way down with the taste of my goddamn tongue--"

  Xavier flew across the desk before another word could be said and knocked his briefcase to the floor.

  As scattered papers flew into the air, as his phone shattered against the metal of his desk, he jumped in front of T-Bone and slammed his right fist into the corner of his jaw, knocking his head into a small window before slumping to the floor. With glass shattering beneath his feet, X landed on top of T-Bone's stomach and balled his other fist, pounding it between his eyes and into his nose until blood spewed from his nostrils and landed between his knuckles and onto his shirt.

  T-Bone's lips parted as the bones in his face began to crack beneath the weight of X's fist, then he turned aside and coughed a pile of blood onto the floor as the door to the classroom reopened.

  "JESUS!" Pugh threw his hands on top of his head in a panic before storming forward and throwing them into X's back. "What the hell is going on in here?!" he hollered.

  X shoved him off like an untamed animal, forcing him to land on his ass near the desk, and continued pounding his fist into T-Bone's face. "This fuckin' son of a BITCH!"

  Before he could deliver another blow, Pugh rolled to his knees and lept forward, snapping his hand around X's wrist and yanking it back. X looked over his shoulder and growled as a wildly pinned gaze landed on his face, forcing Pugh to release him and drop back.

  As his hand lowered, he rolled his eyes back to T-Bone's bruising face and crooked nose, then climbed off his stomach and returned to his feet. He straightened his clothes and wiped the blood from his hands onto his shirt, then peeked at Pugh and curled his fingers inside his palms.

  "Please... Mr. Stevenson..." Pugh pressed his back against the desk and raised his palms in fear and defense, then quickly shook his head as tears streamed his face; his entire body rattled against the metal as his eyes shifted to T-Bone, who rolled aside while struggling to breathe. "We need to call 911," he muttered as tears coated his lips. "He looks to be choking on blood and could be dying."

  "We ain't callin' nobody out here," said X, his voice low as the corners of his eyes twitched with anger. "Not 'til I find out how the fuck this asshole managed to scale across this campus and find my ass in here undetected as soon as yours took the fuck off."

  "He looks to be a student--"

  "BULLSHIT!" he roared. "As soon as that 'emergency text' rolled through, your ass was out! And this motherfucker ain't no kinda goddamn student--! We both know that fuckin' much!"

  "I don't..." Pugh sniffed and continued rattling his head. "I don't know what you're talking about, but this man -- whoever the hell he might be -- is dying on a campus inside a classroom covered with cameras that is under my care." X's blood ran cold. "Now one of you is going to make it out in handcuffs if the other is wheeled out through a body bag."

  "I ain't stickin' 'round out here to watch this motherfucker be cared for without knowin' how the fuck he got here in the first goddamn place."

  "Then I suggest you leave quickly, Mr. Stevenson, because as of right now, a dying man has no answers for the living--"

  "What the fuck do you plan on doin' 'bout my job or those goddamn cameras in the meantime?"

  "There is no more job for you out here," he replied. "Pending a campus investigation into this incident. And if you return prior to receiving a phone call about what happened today, those cameras will be used to have you thrown in jail for assault with the attempt to murder."

  "Motherfucker." X dropped to a squat in front of Pugh as he flinched. "If I wanted that asshole dead, he wouldn't just be chokin' on a pile of goddamn blood; the shit would stop him from breathin' it in altogether. And if you were serious 'bout havin' me tossed on my ass for good -- serious 'bout my ass servin' time for rightfully beatin' the shit outta this rancid fuck, you'd be doin' a fuck of a lot more than just sittin' here talkin' 'bout it; the shit woulda been handled as soon as I knocked your ass straight down to this goddamn floor the first motherfuckin' time."

  Pugh swallowed hard and gradually blinked as his jaw twitched with fear. "You're accusing me of--?"

  "Somethin', asshole. Yeah, somethin'."

  Xavier stared into his face for a long while as the whites of
his eyes became pale, then returned to his feet and retrieved his briefcase, papers and what was left of his cell.

  As he rushed from the classroom and campus grounds while attempting to conceal his hands and clothes behind his case, he dialed Mariah and left a message for her to meet with him inside her apartment as soon as possible.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Mariah

  After sliding into a parking spot near the front of my complex and hopping out of the car, I climbed the stairs to my apartment and rushed inside.

  "Xavier?!" I slammed the door and turned the lock before moving further into the room, then stopped near the coffee table and clutched my chest as he emerged from the hallway like a quiet beast with soaked hair, wet skin and a bright red towel wrapped around the lower half of his body, hanging just above the muscles of his hips and directly below his rock solid stomach. I gulped while admiring the perfection of his frame, while tasting my own lips as the colors of his tattoos glistened beneath the lights of my room, and dropped my hand to my stomach to stop it from fluttering.

  "Hey, darlin'." His voice was low, almost poetic as he spoke. He stepped forward as our eyes met and combed his fingers through the wet curls of his hair, then sat down along the edge of my couch in a quiet panic and folded his hands. "The prospect make it down here with you?"

  "He's parked near the back of the lot to keep from being too obvious."

  "Alright, good." He sighed. "Didn't take long for you to make it back down here."

  "You called me with a scare to your voice, X. I've never heard something like that from you before and dropped everything I was doing to drive down here as fast as I could because of it."

  "What were you doin' back at my place?"

  "Redecorating between studying. The Playboy posters and pictures of half naked club whores on bikes that aren't me? Tacky."

  "Yeah..." His eyes dipped from mine as he chuckled. "You tossed the shit into the trash?"

  "I dumped them into a pair of empty boxes inside your garage to sort through later and give to someone else at your club; maybe a prospect." A slight grin crossed his lips as he bobbed his head. I moved in front of him and anxiously crossed my arms. "Your message didn't exactly tell me much of anything." He remained quiet and turned his head to avoid the questions forming behind my gaze. "What happened with Pugh and Wexley? Were the classes cancelled -- Did he find out about you and the club?"