I'll Be Down for You: A Bay Area Saga (9 page)

Of course, Desiree had an attitude when I called to let her know that I wasn’t coming, but I wasn’t really worried about it. After talking to Khalil, I started to think that maybe a block party might not have been a good idea anyway. Knowing Desi, those same dudes from the block would probably be there too, and I really didn’t need that crowd. Besides that, hanging out with Khalil was where I wanted to be. I was enjoying myself. It took me a minute to realize that it was even a date that we were on. He was funny as hell, fine as hell, and smart as hell—everything I had ever thought about having in a man—whenever I thought about having one. And he was a little older so that was a huge plus too.

“This is the best food, ever. They really need to build one of these out my way.”

“Or, you could just come out here as much as you want and I’ll bring you.”

Shit, why he gotta say sexy shit like that to me when all I’ve been wanting to do since I pulled up and he was standing on his grass, was fuck him. Why?

“Like that?”

“Straight like that.”

“Okay then. Maybe I’ll take you up on that.”

“I think you should.”

My leg was bouncing underneath the table. It wasn’t nerves, it was hunger. And not for the clay pot that I was fuckin’ up…but for the dick that I had been wondering about for years. He didn’t even know that all he had to say was ‘
Open says me
’ and a bitch’s legs was gonna spread like full splits.

“I think I will…”

“Well, what about tonight? You wanna spend the night with me?”

Hell yeah!

“I didn’t bring clothes, Khalil.”

He looked at me for a few seconds, and then commented, “Bra, panties, a fit, some shoes…is that the stuff you need? Whatever you’re gonna sleep in…is that everything?”

“Yeah…” I dragged. “I think so.”

“Okay. So, we leave here and we go to Macy’s and get what you need. That’s easy.”

“I see you tryin’ to get me all sprung and stuff. A man I can talk to, lean on, who feeds me, caters to my needs. Damn, Khalil. Is this what I was missin’ out on? You are all kinds of three-hundred-sixty-degrees of man.
Where is your woman at
? I just know you have one somewhere—or a few.”

“I’m single. I’ve been single for eight months. I’m choosing carefully,” he remarked, looking dead into my eyes without so much as a blink.

I licked my lips before I even realized what I was doing and smiled at him. “That’s a dumb broad. She never tried to come back and claim you?”

“When I’m done, I’m done. Wasn’t nothing to come back for.”

“Oh okay. So you’re one of those ‘One and done’, types, huh?”

“Yep. Gotta be. I don’t really see a reason to get back to something that failed. It failed for a reason.”

“You are
hard
! I hope that if we ever make it to relationship status that you don’t just throw me away at the first sign of distress.”

“Nah, I don’t think that would happen.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure that if it gets to the point where I’m making you my woman, expectations will already be in place and talked about. That’s first and foremost before that leap; that way neither one of us is jeopardizing anything we might have for bullshit. So, after that, if either of us do something to fuck it up
after
we already put our shit on the table, then it wasn’t something we wanted for real.”

“Khalil, you know it’s not as black and white as that. I ain’t even had hella relationships, and I know that it’s more to it than that.”

Khalil was sounding like one of those ‘no grey area’ people who didn’t see shit in the middle. He had to get rid of that because everybody needed room for error.

“That could be,” he said. “Maybe you could show me something that I don’t know. Maybe I missed something along the way.”

“Yeah, well, if I’m the one to show you, it ain’t so you can go reclaiming old bitches from your past; it’s so you can know what’s good for whatever
we
might have at that time.”

He nodded in agreement. “I got you.”

~*~*~

After we left from our late lunch, we did just what Khalil said and went to Macy’s to get the stuff I needed. I was glad too because what I didn’t want was to be going back home from his house with the same shit I came over with. So we got everything, including, toiletries from the Walgreen’s near his house.

Once night fell, we were nice off of some Cognac and watching television on the big screen in the den,
slash
pool room,
slash
game room. I had on a tank and some pajama shorts and Khalil had on a white tank and some Raiders pajama pants. I swear I felt like wifey up in there. I had never dated a dude with his own spot; let alone his own fuckin’ big ass three-bedroom house. The shit was a bachelor pad, but a bachelor pad with some style to it. Khalil hadn’t said anything about the sleeping arrangements for the night, but even if he suggested that I sleep in one of the spare bedrooms, I was determined to end up in his bed with him. I wasn’t gonna be a hoe about it, but I did have intentions on lying wherever he was.

But with all the thoughts I had, and all the plans that I’d made, hours later I ended up waking up under sheets and in a bed . . . by myself. I slowly stirred while I tried to open my eyes to focus on where the hell I was. I didn’t remember even leaving out of the den. But the truth of the matter was that I hadn’t really slept in weeks. I had just kind of been taking naps, so I probably dozed off after some more drink and from being relaxed in a relaxing environment.
Shit
!
Missed my damn opportunity
. I looked around the darkness and managed to find a bit of light illuminating on the other side of the room in the form of a clock, with large numbers that read 2:56AM. So then I figured that I had to be in a spare bedroom.

I threw the covers from over me and sat up. I had to pee. Now I had to find my way around the house in the semi-dark. But it wasn’t so bad because the bathroom in the bedroom had night light action, so I walked right in there and emptied out my bladder of all the wine, and sighed with relief. I wasn’t so sleepy after I washed my hands. I was feeling like it was eight in the morning and my day was just beginning. I walked across the room to the bedroom door, determined to find Khalil and wake him up if necessary, but I didn’t need to because I could hear the treble of his voice in the distance. I had a huge smile come across my face. I was rested, I was wide awake and I was gonna try to seduce this man.

The closer I got, I could hear that at three in the damn morning, this man was talking business! But just as I was about to turn back around and just go wait for him in the living room, something triggered my nosiness and I couldn’t leave the spot I was standing in.

“…That’s exactly my position. We
suspected
, but now we got more to go on so I say we start moving…Yeah as soon as possible…Who you tellin’! Muthafuckas on bikes! They need to know they fucked with the wrong squad…I’m with you on that! We strike! Yep, it could really be any one of those parties this weekend…It’s almost three in the morning my dude so I’ll let you make contact tomorrow and let them know that this weekend we got somewhere to be and we kill two birds with one stone.”

When I heard Khalil about to end his call, I tiptoed my way back upstairs and got back in bed—without my pajamas—purposely leaving the door open. Not even twenty minutes later, I saw his shadow peeking in.

“Hey…” I whispered. “What you looking for?”

“I was just checkin’ to see if you were good. You fell asleep on me earlier so I took the opportunity to get some business done.”

“Yeah, my bad. That wasn’t supposed to happen,” I admitted. “But I’m good though.”

“Okay, cool. I’ll let you—”

“I’d be better if you were in here with me though.”

“You sure about that?” he queried.

“I’m so sure. Come here,” I said, extending the invitation.

~*~*~

“
Shit
…” he uttered, once he was beneath the covers with me. “All this soft ass chocolate. This is what we’re doing?”

“This is what we’re doing,” I answered, sliding my thigh over his and scooting my body closer to his. I was on my way to getting lost in this fine ass man. Especially after hearing him on the phone and now knowing that he really did have things under control, and that they could begin coming together the way they were supposed to.

Even before his tongue grazed my nipple, my body began to react with tingles that travelled from my neck down to the heels of my damn feet. I’d dreamed and fantasized about what being with him would be like since I was sixteen. And now I was here…with him…the man I had lusted after for so long. My body and mind had been captured. My back arched, and my toes curled beneath me as I surrendered to his everything. He firmly held my hands above my head while his tongue commanded each of my nipples to attention. My areolas throbbed at the sensation that travelled through them, begging for their turn. I felt every single feeling and emotion—while headed toward ‘sprung’ at the same time. I was mesmerized by how much control he had over my body—but I knew that it was because I hadn’t had a real man’s touch before now. Experience was showing up and showing the fuck out and my body was loving every damn minute of it. Thing about it was that he wasn’t fucking me either. What he was doing was making love to my body—and penetrating my soul.

With my head tilted back and my eyes pointed toward the ceiling’s darkness, it was a welcomed surprise when Khalil brought his warm lips into the curve of my neck and sucked his way along the trail of my collar bone, while pressing his dick against my cove’s exterior.

Oh, I see, Sir
.
You wanna take your time with me
.

I relished in that moment. I already knew that when he made me cum it was going to be epic. I just hoped with every fiber of my being that I didn’t end up blinded by this man because that’s always mistake number one with women—getting stuck off the stick. Even when they can’t live with it…they can’t live without it either. Yeah, I wasn’t trying to be there in that place at all.

Whatever the case, when he spread my legs and entered me with the whole of his thick and very impressive manhood, all I could do was moan at the surprise of how much my walls filled. Dick for days had slid into me and claimed my galaxy as its territory. I opened as wide as I could while he explored me with precision, reaching my tip top and causing me to quiver to the point that I almost started begging.
Hell naw!
His dick had reached a point where no dick had reached before.
Shiiiit
…long and thick! Yeah, I was about to serve him all the pussy that I could.

I wrapped my legs around him tightly and fucked him like my life depended on it, hungrily meeting his thrusts as my ass lifted from the bed to crash against him. I was on a rollercoaster and not interested in getting off that bitch anytime soon. I didn’t want to go too caged beast on him so I held back a little. Because he had me feeling so good, I just wanted to dig my nails into his ass as far as I could and lock him in. I pulled his face to me knowing that once he kissed me, my desperation for him would calm. Not that I wanted it to, but I sure as hell wasn’t ready for him to see how starved I was for him.

I kissed him as long and as hard as the monster strokes he was gifting me with. It was like crashing waves, with the love splashing any and everywhere. This was about to be a long ass night and I was all the way there for it…

“Jada Pinkett! Come here, baby!” I yelled out to my puppy. “Come and eat, lil’ mama.” I usually didn’t have to call Jada so many times, but for some reason, her little butt was taking her sweet time showing up.

I stepped away from Jada’s food bowl and walked to the door to look into the backyard. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw the blond-haired white dude holding and petting Jada Pinkett. I was immediately shaken. I looked from left to right and saw that the gate on the side of my yard was open. And not just that, there was another guy standing at the gate’s opening who I locked eyes with. I was scared. Something told me that they weren’t there to play nice. They didn’t even look nice. Cute? Yeah…but nice, not so much. And why the hell was my dog so comfortable with this dude like he was some kind of fuckin’ dog whisperer and shit?

The man holding my puppy finally looked up at me standing on the stoop and commented, “Cute dog you got here.” I never responded. I just stood frozen. I knew that I probably should’ve taken my black ass inside, bolted the doors and called the police. But I also knew by looking at them that I probably wouldn’t have made it far. But I did make subtle attempts to back myself into the house. I took a quiet step backwards and attempted to get on the safety side of my door. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the guy said, walking toward me. His friend who was previously at the gate was moving in my direction now too.

Oh fuck.

Once we were all inside my unit, the guy sat Jada Pinkett down on the ground and she instinctively went toward her kibbles to eat.

“Sit down,” he ordered, while hovering over me. His friend remained pinned against the now-closed door to my backyard. He then spat out another command to his sidekick. “Go make sure the front door is locked.”

My heart was pounding furiously through my chest. They still hadn’t stated their business and all I could think of was nobody finding me for days because the way Jada was so comfortable, she sure as fuck wouldn’t be doing any barking on my behalf for anybody to wonder what the fuck was going on. When the sidekick returned from the front of my place, he took his position at the door again.

The guy who was the leader said to me, “I’m gonna ask you a question, and I just expect for you to answer it succinctly and without hesitation. Because I don’t like hesitation since it makes me think the person is lying. And that won’t be good for you. Do we understand each other?”

“Yes,” I whispered in compliance, through the fear.

“Where did you get the dog?”

Without missing a beat, I answered. “From my boyfriend.”

“What’s your boyfriend’s name?”

I hesitated for a split second, but then his threat came rushing me. “His name is Nick.”

“And where is this Nick person?”

“I’m…not…sure,” I said, in earnest. “I haven’t…talked to him…today.”

“Well, you’re gonna call him over here so that
we
can talk to him. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Tell Drew where your phone is so he can go and get it for you.”

When the Drew person came back into the kitchen with my phone, I sent off a text to Nick that I needed him to come by.

“Now, while we wait for your boyfriend, how about I find out just what the fuck you know.”

“I don’t know anything. I promise you I don’t.”

I was on the verge of tears because I didn’t think for one minute that these people were gonna let me live.

“I don’t know you well enough for your fucking promises to mean anything to me,” he said, pulling a pistol from inside of his jacket and sitting it on top of my kitchen table.

“But I’m telling you the truth. I don’t know anything.”

“Well, let me fill you in a little bit. Your boyfriend raped and murdered the woman that I was in love with, and was bold enough to leave her murder scene
with her dog
—a dog that I bought for her—a dog who has a microchip, so here we are.”

I choked back a gasp. “Oh my God…” was all I could make out. “Murdered…? Wait…” I said. I could feel my entire body going warm. I was beginning to shake. None of it made sense to me. I mean, of course I knew that Nick was a street nigga, but a murderer?! And to bring me the woman’s dog! I wanted to cry so bad from the fear, but I was too scared to shed tears. What if now he was gonna kill me on some eye for an eye bullshit that Nick did!

He stared at me with so much hate in his eyes. He loved that woman. I didn’t even know him and I could see that. He was calm as fuck, but he was a brewing storm, and I could tell that he meant business.

“I’m sorry, sir. I’m really sorry. Please don’t hurt me. I had nothing to do with anything. I swear to you I didn’t. I just have Jada Pinkett. She’s been well taken care of. I’m so sorry…it’s really all I can say.”

I had to use the bathroom but I wasn’t about to ask. I already knew that wouldn’t be happening. They were waiting for Nick and that was the only thing they were focused on. And the longer he took the more I was beginning to wonder if he was even coming at all. Leave it to this nigga to leave me hanging and shit. I could see that shit happening.

I know that it wasn’t, but it seemed like hours later when I heard Nick at my front door. The guy in charge grabbed me by my arm and took me into the living room and shoved me toward the front door while he sat on the couch, and his sidekick stood behind the door.

“Open it,” he instructed calmly.

Before I even opened the door, Jada Pinkett had begun her growl. She did it every time Nick came over. As soon as I opened the door, I realized that Nick had come with somebody and I knew that shit was about to get complicated. I stepped back from the door and Nick and his friend stepped inside the living room. Since my couch was situated out of the entrance’s view, they didn’t see either of the men until the door was kicked shut by the guy behind the door and he drew down on them both—a pistol in each hand. It reminded me of something out of a movie and I desperately wanted out.

“Which one of you is Nick?” the one in charge asked.

“Who the fuck wanna know?” Nick spat, not showing too much fear. “What the fuck is this shit, bitch?” he asked me, probably assuming that I’d set him up some kind of way.

“
Whoa
, my dude! The fuck is up with this shit?!” his friend asked, with his hands to the air. “The fuck kinda shit y’all got goin’ on in—”

“Shut the fuck up!” the one behind the door ordered, bringing the butt of his gun down across Nick’s friend’s neck. The dude hollered out in pain and crouched to the ground clutching the area he’d just been hit in.

“I think I know which one it is,” the guy in charge said, twisting the silencer on the end of the pistol he pulled from his jacket earlier. “Yeah, I think I know. The shit-talking one in my face. I’ve waited for this motherfucker. This here . . . I live for. I feel motherfucking born again. I think my dick might even be hard.”

“Dick hard? What you some kinda fag and shit, bruh? The fuck I care about yo’—”

“No boy. I’m not gay, but I’ll tell you what; Drew likes a little boi pussy every now and then. How ‘bout I let him make you his bitch in front of your woman?”

“Pssh, you got me fucked up, dude!” Nick spat, boldly. “Drew can try that bullshit if he wants to. Real talk.”

I was witnessing a side to Nick that I didn’t know. But from what I was seeing, I could tell that he was definitely somebody who had no problem pulling a trigger. I was looking at a murdered—a murderer that I’d fucked and sucked and slept with many times. The shit had me trippin’.

“…I’ma tell you what,” Nick continued. “If you don’t kill me, you better run fast as you can and never be seen again. You fuckin’ with the wrong one, my nigga.”

The one in charge started laughing. He laughed so hard that his face started to turn red. “You’re passing out threats, ghetto boy? You really shouldn’t do that. And you don’t have to worry about dying today, Nick. You won’t be leaving out of here alive.” He rose from the seat he was in and walked forward. “Get over there and sit down,” he demanded of Nick’s friend who sat obediently on the floor, staring daggers at me.

As soon as he obliged and was headed to my couch, a light wispy sound engulfed the air. It was close to silent, but the thud onto my floor sounded out. My hands immediately came over my mouth and that was when the tears finally flowed.

Oh my God!

The guy in charge went and stood where Nick was while his sidekick had his gat trained on Nick. “You killed my woman, Nick. So when I told you that you’d die today, I meant that shit. I meant that shit with every fiber of my being.”

“I don’t even know who the fuck yo’ woman is, dude,” Nick snarled.

“You know exactly who the fuck she is. You know how I know that you know?”

“Nah, humor me.”

“See, your sarcasm, I’m tired of it. I don’t like smug at fucking all.” He nodded his head giving permission to the sidekick who aimed his gun at Nick’s leg and pulled the trigger.

Nick yelled out in agony as his leg gave beneath him. The blood was everywhere and pouring like faucet water while he tried holding onto the wound. I didn’t care about the carpet or anything; I was only hoping that there wouldn’t be three dead bodies in here when they were finally done.

“Fuck…you!” Nick spat. “And bitch…
fuck you
!” he said to me right after. As I was looking into his eyes, I saw them roll back, and before I could wonder what had happened, I saw the one calling the shots pulling his weapon back. Nick was dead.

“That’s the kind of bastard you opened your legs to? The kind that calls you bitches? You girls have to do better.”

My heart was beating a mile a minute. I just knew that I was next, and I swear that I felt pee creeping toward my urethra. It was gonna happen. I was about to pee myself.

“Search his pockets and grab his cell phone, Drew. I have a way to find out just who he was working with, or for. He’s bottom of the pile. I could tell by looking at him. He was sent to do the job, and now it’s my job to find out who sent him because they’ll get a visit as well.”

I watched Drew pull out Nick’s cell phone and search his other pockets for whatever else might be there. Both men put their weapons away like they hadn’t just killed two people. The guy in charge reached down and picked up Jada Pinkett and held her out to me.

“Have you treated her well?”

“Yes…” I said, my voice hoarse. “I have. I actually love her. In a short time, I really do—”

“Okay. I’m gonna trust that you’re taking good care of her. I travel too much to take her with me, but having her taken care of is something I know Shayna would have also wanted.”

“So…you’re not—”

“Gonna kill you? No, we’re not. I believe that you just got mixed up with the wrong person. Try to do better about who you involve yourself with because I won’t lie; my plan was to kill you too, but I changed my mind about that.”

That was when I started balling like a newborn baby fresh out the womb! I buried my face in my hands and cried for my spared life. I had seen two murders, and while that was traumatic, I just felt blessed that I’d escaped death. In my opinion, if Nick killed that man’s woman in cold blood, he got what he deserved. I would like to think I’d do the same for someone that I loved.

“Keep your mouth shut about all this. I’ll have someone come and make this situation right for you. I’m sorry that I made such a mess of your place. Is this a rental?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, I’ll make it right for you. Don’t worry about it. Give me your information and I’ll be in touch later.” He reached into his wallet and handed me a few bills. “Take Jada Pinkett and go stay at a friend’s or a hotel for a few days and this…” he remarked, waving his hand in the direction of Nick and his friend, “…will be dealt with.”

“I don’t know what to say. I really don’t know what to say. But I thank you so much. For sparing my life and for giving me Jada. She
will
always be taken care of. I promise.”

“I believe that.”