Single Ladies 2 Read online

  “A’ight, y’all, it was fun, but I gotta run,” Falisha said, taking one last pull of the weed. “And don’t forget, we’re going to Flake’s tomorrow night. All drinks are two dollars,” she said before disappearing into the house, and leaving Carol and Ernie on the steps.

  * * *

  Lisa picked up Naomi from school, went straight home, and got into the shower. She sat there, allowing the water to rain down on her head, thinking about how Nate always hit the spot when she paid him a visit. She also wondered if she was being too hard on him for not entertaining the thought of them spending a little time together, or maybe even trying to start some type of friendship.

  It had been well over a year since Ralphy’s death, and many of her friends and family members told Lisa that it was time for her to move on. But the truth was, she wasn’t ready. That’s why her outer shell was so hard, making it impossible for Nate to get through. She didn’t just love Ralphy, she was still in love with him. Hell, even having sex with Nate was hard at times, but Lisa kept going back because it was the only thing that made her feel human. It made her feel like a woman, and that’s all she wanted to feel.

  * * *

  Lamar looked down at his son, Jordan, resting ever so peacefully in his playpen. It had been seven months since Falisha gave birth to him, and Lamar was still in awe about having a miniversion of himself existing in this world. He never got tired of spending time with his son, and he loved Jordan more than anything and anybody, especially his son’s crazy-ass mother.

  “Come on, Falisha,” Lamar mumbled to himself as he looked down at the watch on his wrist.

  She knew he had to be at work in less than two hours, and these weren’t like the days when he worked at the strip club, where his hours were flexible. Lamar had a real 9 to 5, so being late could cost him his job, and as of late, it seemed like Falisha couldn’t care less. Her main priority was going out to the bar and getting drunk every night with her girlfriends. That was just one of the many problems in their relationship.

  “Bitch, we goin’ to Max’s tomorrow,” Falisha told her girlfriend, Carol, as they both came stumbling through the front door, loud and drunk.

  Lamar could hear them from upstairs, and if they got any louder, they would be sure to wake up Jordan. He stormed downstairs, and it was apparent he had an attitude for more than one reason.

  “Damn, Falisha, keep it down before you wake my son up,” he said when he got to the kitchen. “And how da fuck do you plan on watching Jordan while you’re drunk?” he snapped. “Damn, who does that?”

  He could tell that both Falisha and Carol were way over their limit. Falisha’s hair looked sweated out, her clothes were stained with God knows what, and her speech was so slurred that Lamar could barely understand what she was saying. Carol had passed out at the kitchen table almost immediately after she sat down.

  “Don’t worry about me and my son. All you need to do is go to that dumb-ass job you got,” she said, all the while trying not to laugh. “Come on, you wanna strip for Mama tonight?”

  Falisha danced her way over to where Lamar was standing. She thought that it was cute and funny, but Lamar wasn’t laughing one bit. No way in hell was he going to leave Jordan in the house with Falisha while she was like this, and it was too late to find a last-minute babysitter. His only option was to call out of work, something that he hated doing, but he knew was necessary. When it came down to his son, nothing else mattered to him, including his job.

  Chapter 2

  Tammy lay in the bed next to Darious watching TV, trying to enjoy some alone time with him while the kids were gone. Chris’s mom had taken them down to the halfway house to see him, and after that, they were going to stay with her for the weekend. Tammy had some free time on her hands, but unfortunately, it really hadn’t been all good at home ever since Chris’s visit. Things were changing, and Darious was starting to feel the slight wedge that was coming between him and Tammy. Instead of the normal laughing and joking that occurred during the day, things had been quiet, and the talking was to a minimum. In the past week, even the sex had changed. It wasn’t as wild and passionate as it used to be, and the back-shot position was the only way Tammy could get off.

  When Darious tried to make love to her, he saw nothing but emptiness when he looked into her eyes. Tammy wasn’t into it like before, and Darious could see it plain as day.

  “Yo, we need to talk,” he said, rolling over to face Tammy.

  “Wassup, boo?” she responded, not taking her eyes off the TV.

  “So, is this the way it’s gonna be now? We don’t talk, we don’t go anywhere, and every time I go to hug you or kiss you, you twitch as though I’m not supposed to be touching you or something.”

  “Baby, you trippin’. We are good,” Tammy said, turning to face him. “Everything’s fine.” She hardly believed the words she’d just uttered.

  Ever since Chris had walked up on her, Tammy couldn’t stop thinking about him. He had thrown a monkey wrench in the game with his untimely arrival. Although she and Darious were about to get married in less than a month, she still wondered what her life would be like if she was back with Chris.

  “You still love him, don’t you?” Darious asked, looking Tammy in her eyes. “And please don’t lie to me.”

  The question caught Tammy off guard; she was surprised he would ask her something like that. She knew that Darious loved her, and until now, she thought that she loved him the same way, but the truth was, she didn’t. The love that she had for Chris was different from the love she had for Darious. Chris was the father of her children and the person who practically raised her since the age of fifteen. The love she had for him was stronger and more powerful than any love she could have for anybody. She just didn’t want to hurt Darious by telling him that.

  “Why would you ask me something like that?” Tammy asked, hoping that Darious would change the topic.

  He wasn’t about to let up. “Come on, Tammy, just be real with me,” he shot back.

  Tammy shook her head. “Look, Darious, I’m in love with you, and I hope that you feel the same way. But, truthfully, when it comes to my kids’ father, I’m always going to have love for him. We got a lot of history together, including two children. What kind of woman would I be if I sat here and told you I didn’t have love for him? We broke up on the account of him going to jail, and not because of the way he treated me, which, by the way, was good.”

  Darious started to say something about her last comment, but Tammy stopped him so she could finish. “But in four years, a lot has changed, and we grew apart. I found out he had another baby out here, which means he cheated on me at some point in our relationship, and then his family disowned me. I was at a messed up time in my life, then out of nowhere, you showed up.” Tammy smiled. “We are about to get married, and if that’s not enough to prove my heart belongs to you, I guess this would be the perfect time to tell you that I’m pregnant,” she said, climbing on top of him.

  “You’re pregnant?” he asked, excited and visualizing Tammy having his first child.

  “It’s kind of early on, so I didn’t want to tell you yet. I had an early miscarriage before, and I wanted to make sure I would be able to carry it this time.”

  “Damn,” Darious said, reaching out to rub Tammy’s stomach.

  “Are you ready to be a daddy?” she asked, leaning in to kiss him. “It’s a big responsibility.”

  “Promise me that you’ll never leave me.” He cupped the sides of her stomach. “I don’t want to lose you.”

  “Babe,” she said, looking him in his eyes, “I love you, and I promise you that I’m not going anywhere.”

  Darious rolled Tammy onto her back, positioning himself between her legs. This called for a celebration, and a few kisses to her soft lips did the trick in making his dick hard. Before Tammy knew it, her night shorts and panties were off, and Darious was pulling his dick through his boxers and pushing it right into her pussy. Normally, Darious would lick t
he pussy a little to make it wet, but today, there wasn’t any need to. Although it was Darious inside of her right now, Tammy’s mind had once again drifted off, and this time she was imagining that it was Chris on top of her instead of her soon-to-be husband. That alone made her box overflow with the sweet nectar that was only produced when Chris was at the forefront. She knew she was out of pocket and down out wrong, but in that moment, it felt so good.

  * * *

  “You all ready for bed, Naomi?” Lisa asked, walking down the hallway toward her room.

  Her cell phone ringing in the bathroom got Lisa’s attention. When she reached it, she threw her head back in frustration as Nate’s number popped up on the screen. He knew that there were selected times he could call, and at night wasn’t one of them. He was really trying his hand today, but just like before, Lisa had to enforce the rules upon him. She decided not to answer the phone, and just in case he decided to call right back or shoot her a text, she turned the phone off altogether. Nate was going to learn one way or another, and Lisa was going to make sure of it.

  * * *

  “Damn, boy, give it to me,” Kim moaned, looking back at her ass clapping against Brian’s lower abdomen.

  She was taking his long, deep thrusts, but Brian had stamina, and that’s where he was getting the best of her. Kim was tired, holding on to the headboard and trying her best to throw it back at him. Her doing so only intensified his strokes, and by this time, she wasn’t even concerned about coming. She just wanted this young sex maniac to come from out of her.

  “Take it like a big girl,” Brian said, grabbing a handful of Kim’s hair and pulling her head back. “Damn, this pussy is good,” he uttered, feeling himself about to come.

  Kim couldn’t take it anymore. She’d been in the doggie-style position for the past twenty minutes and could barely feel her legs. Not wanting to be the one to give in first, she held her ground, but tried a different tactic in trying to make him come.

  “Oh my God, I’m coming. Come with me,” Kim screamed, reaching back and spreading one of her ass cheeks apart so he could go in deeper.

  It worked, because in seconds, he reached his peak. His thick, creamy come squirted into the condom until there was nothing left inside of him. When he finally pulled out, Kim was relieved and flopped down onto the bed. She was so worn out that she couldn’t even talk, nor did she have enough energy to roll over and check to make sure the condom didn’t break. All she wanted to do was lie there for a minute to get herself together, but from the looks of how hard Brian’s dick remained, and him grabbing another condom from the nightstand drawer, round two was right around the corner.

  * * *

  “Hey, bitch,” Falisha greeted when Lisa exited her house. “You know Tammy wants us to go and get fitted for our dresses tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Lisa said, walking across the street. “What are you doing out here by yourself, and where is my godson?” Lisa asked, taking a seat on the steps.

  “Ya godson is in the house with his daddy. I just came outside to get some air,” Falisha replied. “Oh, did you hear Chris was home? And, did you know him and Darious had some words? I’m not sure about this upcoming wedding. You know how Chris got that girl wrapped around his finger,” Falisha spoke, fired up and ready to gossip about everything she’d heard.

  “Girl, Chris ain’t gon’ want that girl after what she did to him while he was locked up. You know men have a memory like elephants when it comes to their hearts being broken. I just hope he doesn’t do anything stupid,” Lisa said as she put her hair in a ponytail.

  Right in the middle of their conversation, a black SUV turned onto the block. Lisa looked at it, and then put her head down, furious, because Nate had been bold enough to come to where she lived. He had definitely crossed the lines with this one, and it might be the final straw.

  “I can’t believe this nigga,” Lisa said as Nate’s Yukon Denali stopped right in front of Falisha’s house.

  “Who da hell is this?” Falisha asked. “It better be for you,” she joked.

  Little did Falisha know, it was for Lisa. Nate climbed out of the truck looking rather handsome, rocking a pair of 501 jeans, a short sleeved button-up Polo shirt, and some Jordans. He had a fresh set of dreads, with a nice line-up, and on his wrist was a watch that almost blinded Falisha when the sun hit it.

  “Damn, he can get it,” Falisha whispered out of the corner of her mouth, giving Lisa a little nudge.

  Nate shut his door, and then leaned against it, standing a few feet away. “Wassup, Lisa?” he spoke, not at all concerned about the angry look in her eyes.

  “Oh shit, he is here for you,” Falisha laughed. “Damn, girl, he fine.”

  “Falisha, shut up and go check on Jordan,” Lisa said, shooing her away so she could talk to Nate alone.

  Falisha got up and went in the house, but she didn’t go far, crouching down by the front window so she could see and hear what was going on. It was in her nature to be nosy, and she didn’t care one bit.

  “How da fuck do you know where I live? And what possessed you to just stop by like I gave you—”

  “First off, you need to watch how you talk to me. I didn’t disrespect you, so don’t—”

  “You did disrespect me by coming to my house,” Lisa snapped, cutting him off. “You all the way outta pocket.”

  Nate looked off and shook his head. “You know what? You’re 100 percent right,” he said, digging into his pocket.

  Lisa’s heart dropped to her stomach when Nate pulled out her wedding ring. “I tried to call you, and I even texted you several times to let you know that you had dropped this in my bedroom,” he said, passing her the ring. “And while I’m here,” he said, right before he got back into the truck, “you might wanna find ya’self another boy toy, because I’m moving in a couple of weeks. This thing that we had is over. I’m done wit’ you.” Nate hopped back into his truck without giving Lisa a chance to say anything.

  She looked down at her ring, wondering how she could have been so foolish and careless. This whole time, she thought the ring was in her Michael Kors bag. The ring meant everything to her, and by the time she picked her head up to at least thank Nate for bringing it, he had pulled off. If she’d had her phone with her, she would have called him, but she didn’t, and the effort to run and get it wasn’t worth it. Nate was gone, and that was that.

  “You can come back out, Falisha,” Lisa called out, knowing she was close by the door.

  She came outside with a big smile on her face, rubbing her hands together, ready and excited about the scoop she was about to get. Today, Lisa would provide all the gossip Falisha needed.

  * * *

  “I’m flying back out to Charlotte,” Kim told Brian as they lay naked in his bed. “I’m staying for about a month. After my girlfriend’s wedding, I’ma chill with the family for a minute,” she explained.

  “I thought you had that big trial coming up,” Brian responded. “Plus, you got the bar exam.”

  “Well, the bar is three months out, and I already turned in my three motions for the trial. My boss can handle it from there; plus, if he needs me, he can always call me,” Kim told him.

  Brian was, and always had been, supportive of Kim’s career. They had been dating for five months now, and everything seemed to be going fine. She never thought that she would have moved to Philly and fell for a thug, especially one whom her law firm had represented in a homicide case. In any event, she was happy. Although they weren’t using words like boyfriend, girlfriend and love, their relationship worked. He had his own place, and so did Kim, so they gave each other space, and on occasion, time apart.

  “Well, just make sure you bring ya ass back. Don’t go down there and get caught up wit’ one of those country boys,” he joked, tickling Kim’s side.

  “Stopppp,” she laughed, trying to get away from him.

  Brian wrapped her up in his arms, holding her tightly as if he never wanted to let her go. He didn
’t have to say anything in order for her to feel the vibe. She could tell that he didn’t want her to leave.

  “You don’t have to worry, I don’t think a country boy can do for me what you’ve done thus far. Best believe, I’m coming back for you,” she smiled, leaning in to kiss him on his chest, then his lips.

  They lay there for a while longer, enjoying the moment. A moment was all that Kim had anyway, because, not only did she have to finish researching several new cases, she also had to study for the bar exam.

  * * *

  It was another day in the struggle for Chris. The streets of Charlotte had gotten worse since he’d been gone, and finding a job was even harder. He’d been home for over a week, and it seemed like everywhere he went, nobody was hiring. Chris had better chances of getting himself pregnant than somebody offering him a job, it seemed. His criminal background was killing him every time.

  After the visit with his mom and his kids, Chris headed back to the halfway house. Seeing his kids was the highlight of his day. It seemed like they had grown up so fast. He walked into his dorm room, which he shared with three other parolees, Bizz, Ish, and Malcolm, some of the hardest criminals the feds had been forced to let go due to the new laws that were being passed yearly. To his surprise, Bizz and Malcolm were sitting in the middle of the room, breaking down slabs of cocaine, and bagging them up. Ish stood by the door, watching out for the police in the event they decided to do rounds. There had to be more than three bricks of powder on the small table they were operating from, and off to the side, sitting on Malcolm’s bunk, were two fully loaded, semiautomatic handguns.

  These niggas is going back to jail, Chris thought to himself, grabbing his workout clothes from under his bed. The last thing he needed was to be caught up in some nonsense that would land him right back in prison. He surely wasn’t in a rush to get back to USP Pollock, B4 pod, cell 405, and by the looks of things, that’s exactly where his roommates were heading.