She whispered, 'Why in the hell do you still have these shorts on?"

  "I dunno. I'm a little nervous."

  "No need to be nervous. Calm down. Mama is going to take care of you."

  "Is that right?"

  "Take 'em off. Now!"

  He removed his boxers. His dick was now pointing at her, a long dark chocolate stick—a huge muscle with hundreds of veins and capillaries. It was a beautiful tool for an even more beautiful man. She shoved him back until his head rested on the pillow. She wanted him to sit back and watch her perform. She knew guys were visual and they enjoyed watching women perform oral on them. She took his dick in her mouth and stared up into his eyes. A smile was covered his face as she licked the shaft and sucked his balls. She pulled his shaft and licked it at the same time. It felt so good to him that he had to stop her.

  "What's wrong?" Jada asked.

  "Nothing."

  "Why did you stop me?"

  "I want to be inside you."

  He ripped open a Gold Magnum packet. Jada wondered where it came from. Perhaps he'd had it in his hands. It was obvious that he'd come prepared for action.

  She smiled and turned her ass toward him and he inserted his dick inside her as she lay on her side. He spooned her for about ten minutes before she hopped up on top of him. She could feel him deep inside her stomach. She hadn't felt like this in a very long time. He gripped her ass and it felt so damn good to her that she went into convulsions. Multiple orgasms.

  Damn, she'd been wrong about him having a tiny dick. He had a monster and he knew how to use it. Hallelujah. Seconds after she came for the last time, he released inside her. She sprang from the bed and darted into the bathroom. She returned with a towel and tossed it to him.

  He stood, towel in hand and made his way to the other side of the bedroom. Her eyes stayed on his dick and his ass. She noticed that he had a nice ass. She would have never imagined he had an ass like that since his clothes were never fitted.

  "Can I take a shower?" Fresh asked.

  "No." Then she burst out laughing. "What kind of question is that? Of course you can take a shower. What am I going to say? No."

  "Hey, I don't just be assuming shit."

  "I'll get you another towel and a wash cloth."

  "Get a brother some lotion too. "

  She disappeared and came back out with the towel, a washcloth, some soap and some watermelon lotion from Bath and Body Works.

  "What the fuck is this?"

  "This is what I had on."

  "Oh, hell no! I ain't wearing that."

  She laughed. "It was just a joke, man. I'll get you some Nivea or some coconut oil. Or maybe some Vaseline for those ashy-ass ankles."

  "You got jokes."

  She laughed and said, "Which one? Nivea or coconut oil?"

  "Either one, I just ain't wearing that watermelon shit."

  After they showered, they watched some more Netflix and then she dozed with her head lying on his chest. It was eight a.m. when her phone rang. She answered it without checking the ID.

  "Jada?"

  Jada was half-asleep, trying her best to focus on the name on the caller ID.

  "Jada?" the voice said again.

  She placed the phone to the side of her face. Still not knowing who was on the other end. She glanced at Fresh who was still asleep, lightly snoring.

  The person on the other end said, "Hello?"

  "Hello," Jada said.

  "Jada, this is TeTe."

  "Who?"

  "TeTe. We met the other day. Remember you brought my car back for me?"

  Of course Jada remembered her, but what the fuck did she want. Why was she calling her this early in the damned morning? They weren't friends.

  Jada stood up from the bed and was about to make her way to the other bedroom, trying not to awaken Fresh, but it was too late. He stood up from the bed and she glanced at that dick. His morning erection was full and thick. She wanted to hang up on TeTe's ass and get some morning dick.

  He said, "Good morning, babe." Then he headed into the bathroom to pee.

  She waved and whispered, "Good morning." Then she stole a peek at his ass before she disappeared into the other bedroom.

  "TeTe what can I do for you?"

  "I just called to tell you that I've handled Eli's bitch ass."

  "Huh?"

  "I got him for what he did to me."

  "What do you mean? What did he do to you?"

  "He was unfaithful. Do I have to spell it out to you?"

  Jada was so confused. Why did she think that she gave a fuck about her and Eli's relationship?

  "Just know that he paid the price. I'll tell you when I see you again."

  Jada hadn't planned on seeing TeTe again. For what? They weren't besties. Hell, they weren't even worsties. Jada sighed and thought it was too early in the morning to be listening to this.

  "Do you really want to know what I did to him?"

  Jada really couldn't care less, but she said, "Yeah."

  "Let's just say one of his fingers is gone."

  "What are you talking about?"

  "I chopped his goddamned finger off."

  "You're joking, right?"

  "Jada, I don't lie."

  "And he's still with you?"

  "Hell, no! I don't give a fuck where he is. Probably back at his mama's house. I really don't know."

  "You cut the man's finger off? Why did you do that?"

  "Anybody that plays with my heart has to pay."

  "Ok, can I call you back?" Jada said, knowing damn well that she would never call this bat-shit-crazy bitch back."

  "Jada, I need a man."

  Did this crazy bitch really think she was going to set her up with a man after she'd just told her she'd cut her last man's finger off?

  "I just need a real man to fuck me from time to time. I don't want another serious relationship."

  "I can't think of nobody off the top of my head."

  "Come on, Jada. You must know plenty of men."

  "You're a freakin' madam. You must know plenty of men."

  "Never mix business with pleasure. I don't want a man that is or used to be a client."

  "I don't know anybody."

  "You think I'm crazy, don't you?"

  "Why do you say that?"

  "I dunno. I guess I would think I was crazy if I were you. First, I wanted to befriend the girl who my man tried to cheat with. I hid the car and made him think it was stolen. Then I tell you I cut his finger off. You can tell me, Jada. You can say I'm crazy. I've been told that plenty of times and I know I throw people off a little bit."

  Jada was thinking that she needed to hang this phone up and get back to the bedroom with Fresh before he got dressed.

  "It's okay. You can say I'm crazy," TeTe said again.

  "Look, I don't think you're crazy. Do I think you have issues? Yes. But we all have issues."

  "Ain't that the truth."

  Someone was buzzing in on the other end of the phone—Black.

  Jada had never been so glad to see Black's name in her life. She could now end the call with TeTe.

  "Look, I'm glad you listened to me without judging me. And if you think of someone you can introduce me to, just give them my number," TeTe said.

  Black hung up.

  "Hey, TeTe. I gotta go. Can I call you back later?"

  "Yeah."

  She ended the call and called Black back, only to get his voicemail.

  She made her way back into the bedroom and then slipped into the bathroom. Fresh was brushing his teeth with his finger.

  "There's an extra toothbrush in the cabinet," she said.

  "Thanks, babe," he said before opening the cabinet and ripping into the toothbrush packet.

  She noticed that he'd gotten dressed. Damn. She had been hoping for more dick. She tugged at his belt, trying to loosen it.

  He took hold of her hand. "Not right now, babe."

  She made a sad face. "So, I can't get any more?"

  "I gotta go, babe."

  "Where you gotta go? You ain't even from Atlanta."

  "I got a few friends here."

  "You never told me."

  "What black person in America don't know someone in Atlanta?"

  She laughed and said, "I guess you're right."

  "I know I am."

  "Well, can I give you some head? Something to remember me by."

  He smiled and said, "Maybe I can work that out."

  The doorbell rang.

  "You expecting someone?"

  "No."

  She disappeared into the living room and peeked throughout the blinds. She spotted Black's white Porsche in the driveway. What the fuck did he want?

  She opened the door.

  "Why ain't you pick up the phone?" Black said.

  "Look, Black, you're going to have to come back."

  Fresh eased up behind Jada. Black made eye contact with Fresh and said, "My bad, partner."

  Jada said, "Come in, Black."

  Fresh was breathing hard as hell. His nostrils were flaring.

  Jada said, "This is Black. Shamari's friend."

  "Whose friend?"

  "My ex."

  "Look, partna, I ain't trying to start shit. I was just checking up on Jada," Black said.

  "For her man," Fresh said. "Look, I'm out."

  "You're making a big deal out of nothing," Jada said to Fresh.

  "Jada is like a sister to me, bruh, and I'm friends with her man, but Jada is her own woman. One thing about me is, I mind my motherfucking business, and what you and her got going on is between you and her."

  Jada said to Fresh, "Don't go anywhere, let me speak to him for a second."

  Fresh really didn't know what the fuck was going on, but Black seemed like he was cool, so he decided to stay put.

  Jada stepped outside and was face to face with Black. "What the fuck is going on, man?"

  "Look, I'm sorry about all this. I called first. You didn't answer so I drove over and since I saw your car, I rang the bell."

  "But you saw another car. Why the fuck did you ring the bell? The extra car should have let you know that I have company."

  "Yeah, but I thought it was a chick over here. Hell, it's a Toyota Camry. It never even occurred to me that you would fuck with a nigga driving a Camry."

  "It's a rental car. He's not even from here."

  "Look, I ain't here to judge you, and I ain't going to tell Shamari shit. He don't need to be worrying about this while trying to do his time."

  "I agree. So what are you here for?"

  "I'm just here to drop off some more bread for Shamari." Black peeled off a thousand dollars

  "This could have waited. You know he hasn't spent the money from the last time, and you know I got money."

  "I know. I was in the area and I thought about it." Black threw his hands up. "No harm, no foul."

  "No problem, Black."

  "Good that you've moved on. You gotta live your life. I wish I could get over Lani." Black said as if he hadn't fucked anyone since Lani's death.

  "Black, would you date an older woman?"

  "How old? I ain't dating no goddamned grandma."

  "Mid-forties."

  "Does she take care of herself?"

  "Yeah and she makes her own money. Has a Jag, a Tesla and a mansion in Cobb County."

  "That shit don't impress me."

  "I'm just saying, she got her own money. Ain't you tired of taking care of bitches?"

  "What does she do?"

  "I'll let her tell you."

  "What's her name?"

  "Theresa, but they call her TeTe."

  "TeTe? She hood?"

  "Yeah, but, nigga, you hood."

  "Hey, you know I don't care if she hood."

  "This is her number."

  "Give her mine."

  "Yours change so much."

  "Have her call me."

  "Cool. Talk to you later." Black passed her the cash for Shamari then turned and walked back to his car.

  The door to the house opened and Fresh called out, "Black!"

  Black turned and faced him. "Yeah. What's up, partna?"

  "What's there to do tonight?"

  Damn, Jada thought. She didn't need him hanging out with Black, but what could she do to ease his suspicions.

  "It's Monday. You can hit a strip club but that's pretty much it. If you're going to be around during the weekend, you can hit up Opera. That's where I go. You need somebody to hang out with, hit me up. Jada got the number.

  "Okay, I'll get it from her."

  Damn, Jada thought. She didn't want to give him the number. Maybe after she gave him some amazing head, he would forget about it.

  But after she sucked his dick until he exploded, he cleaned himself off and asked, "What's Black's number?"

  Reluctantly, she gave it to him.

  Chapter 3

  Starr dropped T.J. off at school and then went to her parent's house for a few minutes before arriving at Q's penthouse. She was dressed in Uggs and sweat pants with her head still wrapped. She wasn't looking her best, but hell, it was breakfast and if he couldn't accept her at her worst, he didn't need to see her at her best. He'd texted her and asked if she could stop by for breakfast. He hugged her when she walked in and led her to the dining room where breakfast was prepared—turkey sausage, grits, eggs, pancakes, Greek yogurt, orange juice and fresh melon.

  "Who cooked all of this?" Starr asked.

  Q laughed and said, "What do you mean, who cooked it? I did."

  "Oh, I thought you had all of your meals prepared for you. You know you're Mr. Bigtime with chefs and shit."

  "Oh, you got jokes. My mama did teach me how to cook, you know?"

  Starr bit into a piece of melon. "Mom did a good job."

  He smacked Starr on her ass and said, "Looks like your Mama did a pretty good job herself."

  Starr was smiling and she said, "Damn. I'm really impressed that you cooked all of this."

  "Yeah, when you said that you were going to stop by, I thought the least I could do was prepare some food."

  Starr disappeared into the bathroom to wash her hands. When she reemerged, she grabbed a plate and added some turkey sausage, grits and fruit. He had some of the melon, sausage and toast on his plate.

  "You're not eating grits and eggs?"

  "I can't stand them."

  "Are you sure you're from the South?"

  "Born and raised in Houston."

  "But you don't like grits?"

  "Weird, I know. My brother and sister love grits and eggs, but I can't stand them."

  "That is weird. What's even weirder is that you know how to cook them but don't eat them."

  "Didn't have a choice. My mama showed me how to cook them and told me she didn't give a damned if I liked them or not. I had to learn to cook them for when it was my turn to cook."

  Starr scooped up a spoonful of grits and tasted them. "They're good."

  "You sound surprised."

  "Trey never cooked for me."

  "I'm not Trey."

  "Definitely not. I didn't think a man could ever make me like them after Trey. But you are proving me wrong."

  "I'm glad."

  She kept eating her grits and savored their flavor. He stopped eating and sat watching her enjoy her food. He could watch this woman forever. He loved her and he had loved her for a while from afar.

  She said, "What's wrong?"

  "Nothing."

  "You stopped eating."

  "Just watching you."

  She laughed and stopped eating her grits but still held onto her spoon. "You're making me self-conscious."

  "That's a good thing. We should all be conscious of our self."

  "You're right." She scooped a spoonful of yogurt.

  He kept watching her and she didn't seem to be bothered by it. It was a little weird, but she felt good that he was admiring her so much. She felt special.

  When she finished her grits she asked, "So what are you doing today? What are the plans?"

  "Well, after you leave, I'm going to get dressed and go meet up with Fresh."

  "He's still here?"

  "He came back a couple of days ago, but I haven't had a chance to see him yet."

  "Oh, okay. Why not?"

  "He's been hanging out with your girl Jada."

  "Oh really? She didn't mention that to me, but then again, I haven't had a chance to speak with her lately."

  "I think he likes her."

  "She's cool."

  "But you said that ya'll were opposites. She don't strike me as the kind of girl that wants to settle down."

  "Maybe Fresh can change that. Anyway, they're both adults. I'm sure they will sort everything out."

  "Maybe."

  "So you're going to meet with Fresh and then what's next?"

  "Nothing much."

  "So why is Fresh here so much?"

  He avoided eye contact with her.

  "You don't have to tell me," Starr said.

  "I know what you think."

  "Look, it don't matter what I think. We're not getting married."

  "It does matter what you think because you matter to me."

  "Then why is he here?"

  "We have a big problem in Texas. I told you the cartel is holding one of my friends and they're not going to release him unless I start back working. I don't think you understand how much I meant to them."

  "I have an idea."

  "You have no idea."

  "I guess I don't."

  She finished her food and she made her way through the double doors that led into the living room. He followed her, admiring her perfect body.

  Her tight outfit was like a second skin and her Uggs dragged on the floor. She was so damn feminine and he liked everything about her.

  Before she could walk out the door, he said, "Hold up."

  She stopped and leaned her back against the door, toying with her hair. She looked so much like a girl.

  He said, "So do I get a hug before you leave?" He leaned toward her and she pushed him away.