The following morning, Rich opened his eyes after a peaceful night of rest. Vanessa was
staring at him, as she sat on the bed beside him. She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. “I
love you, Rich.”
“I love you more.” He grinned.
Vanessa kissed him again, then left the room.
Rich went into the bathroom, brushed his teeth and took a shower. He stepped back into
the bedroom, thinking of Vanessa. He had awoken to her staring at him before, but that morning
the look on her face was different. He left the bedroom in search of her and found her
on the terrace, gazing over Manhattan. He hugged her from behind and kissed her on the neck. “What's up, baby?” he whispered in her ear.
She turned around. “You know I love you, right?”
“I question a lot of things in life, but that's not one of them.”
“I didn't get to sleep until four o'clock this morning.”
Rich remembered turning off the lights and cuddling with Vanessa, before he fell asleep
at around midnight.
“And I woke up at five,” Vanessa continued. “I came out here to the terrace for an hour,
and then watched you sleep for two hours. The whole time I was thinking about what you said
last night.”
Rich's eyebrows rose. “Refresh my memory.”
“The other woman.”
What other woman? Oh, I know she ain't talking about that threesome conversation. I wouldn't mind a threesome, but I was just fucking with her.
“Is that really what you want?”
“What?”
“A threesome.”
“What I want you to know first and foremost is that I love you. I'm completely satisfied
with you on every level. That means mentally, physically, spiritually, sexually, emotionally, intellectually and every other thing with a L-L-Y at the end of it,” Rich said.
Vanessa's face lit up with a smile.
“But I want both of us to share something different. And I
know we'll both enjoy it,”
Rich said. “This ain't gotta be no permanent affair, just a one-time adventure.”
“Only under one condition,” Vanessa said.
Oh shit, I got her.
Rich refrained from smiling. “What?”
“I choose the woman.”
“Now, baby, you know I'm allergic to bearillas.”
“Bearilla?” Vanessa's face was puzzled. “What's that?”
“A woman that looks like a bear mixed with a gorilla,” Rich said.
Vanessa burst into laughter. “You know if I bring a woman into our bed, she’s gonna be clean, beautiful and down for whatever.”
Rich kissed Vanessa and she walked off the terrace. He envisioned them having a
ménage a trois. He had been in a few, but each with women that he hardly knew. Now he would
be in a threesome with the woman he knew better than any other female. He
was certain she would choose a woman who would meet the level of attractiveness he desired. He felt it would be good that he had no ties to the other woman. That would assure
that he was emotionally attached to only Vanessa during their sex session. He was trying hard to be faithful, and the last thing he
wanted was to become attracted to another woman.
* * *
Later that day, Rich parked a Lincoln Navigator in front of Chase's Harlem home on
Striver's Row. He honked the horn. Seconds later, Chase came down stairs and climbed inside the SUV.
“What's good, Rich?”
“You tell me.”
“We gonna have to go check the connect. The spot in the BX is damn near outta work.
Shit pumpin' over there way more than usual.”
Rich nodded. “Yo, some funny shit happened to me the other day.”
“Holler.”
Rich told Chase about crossing paths with Ted Stevens.
“New York City ain't as big as people think it is.”
“Vanessa couldn't believe that this rich-ass white dude was praising me like I was the
second coming of Christ.”
“Next level. You always say that's where we gotta take shit.”
“We already there. That's what that situation showed me,” Rich said.
“What you mean?”
Rich turned to Chase. “The cards been playing my way for a long time and I got a nice
stack of chips. I'm ready to cash 'em in before the Feds or one of these fools on the street stack the deck on me.”
Chase was silent. After a few seconds, he strained his eyes to see beyond Rich's face and into his mind.
“This ain't no poker face. I'm sitting on a full house. The game is over, but we still hanging around the table.”
“So you actually serious about this shit?”
“I couldn't bluff you if I tried. It's only two people in these streets that really know me,
and both of ’em is sitting inside this truck.” Rich had never told Chase, but he felt he owed
Chase something that he could never repay him. Killing a man to save his life and losing five years of his life in prison was priceless.
“You sure?” Chase asked. “You really wanna leave all this behind?”
Rich said he was certain that Chase should consider leaving the game also. He stressed that they had been on top for years, watching hustlers come and go, entering the game with ambition and leaving in caskets and handcuffs. “It's only a matter of time before karma catch up to us.”
“We sitting on a empire that generate more paper than
The New York Times.
And all we do is pick up bricks from our connect, drop 'em off with the lieutenants and we done. This shit is
a goldmine that run itself. Even the money get delivered to us. The whole operation is a money
making machine. All we do is push buttons, damn near risk-free.”
“
Damn
near.
That's the key word. A lot of things done happened to hustlers in the streets on them trips to drop off and pick up work.”
“You really serious about this shit, ain't you?” Chase said.
“Dead ass.”
“So you comin' with me to get these bricks tonight, or what?”
“Of course. You don't just desert your suppliers without saying good-bye after years of good business relations. But this is my last dance.”
* * *
Rich returned home that night after he and Chase met with the connect. He walked through
the door and found Vanessa sitting Indian style on the couch. She was tapping away at her
laptop. On the coffee table in front of her, were a dictionary, thesaurus and a manuscript marked with notes for revisions.
“Hey, baby.” Vanessa puckered up and kissed Rich as he sat down.
“You serious about this book, huh?” Rich picked up a few pages of the manuscript.
“Best seller,” she said. “Although writing is not really about the money to me; it's about creating. But the more people who enter the world I create, the better.”
Rich read two pages and handed them to Vanessa. “Some of this is not adding up.”
“What?” Vanessa asked, analyzing the pages.
“First of all, this little freak got the pastor eating her pussy and a drug dealer dicking her down.”
“What's wrong with that?”
“Be easy, baby.” Rich rubbed her leg. “Let me fuck this cow, you just hold the legs. Now this little freak's boyfriend is slinging dope, right?”
“Ump humph.”
“Well, you can't have him calling dope 'girl',”
“Why not?”
Rich laughed. “Because dope is called
boy
.
Girl
is coke.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Now you also got this drug-dealing boy loading up ten shots in a three-fifty seven
revolver.” Rich shook his head. “Now, baby, this type of gun only holds five or six shots, depending on the model and brand.”
Vanessa sighed. “Mimi was supposed to do a fact check on the street stuff, but she let all of this slide by.”
“Mimi may be from the projects, but that don't make her no expert on the 'hood. Most
cats creeping through the streets on a regular never seen the half. I know dudes who killed people, but never seen a dead body.”
“That makes no sense, Rich.”
“Makes plenty sense.”
“How?” Vanessa asked.
“You put three bullets in somebody's head in broad day, you don't need to check they
pulse to see if they breathing. Before they hit the ground, you stepping off, looking for cops,
witnesses and the quickest route to a getaway. You don't got time to see what the dead body looks like.”
“I never looked at it like that.”
“That's a good thing. Because knowing this stuff from firsthand experience ain't nothing
to be proud of. A lot of pain and regrets and bad memories come with being educated on street corners and back blocks. That's one of the reasons I walked away from it all today.”
“What do you mean?”
Rich explained to Vanessa that his days in the drug game were over. She had previously
expressed to him that she had heard the stories of him selling drugs. But she wasn’t interested in the details, because she was confident that Rich would eventually leave the streets behind. He
had told her he appreciated her attitude. Her sentiment was that a man would be a man. Part of
that motto meant that she was in no predicament to dictate how a man lived.
“What does Chase think of your decision?”
“Doesn't matter what he thinks.” Rich held back the truth that he and Chase had an
extended argument after leaving the connect. Chase felt that Rich was abandoning him. He said
what made him upset most was that he felt Rich's decision to leave the game was based on
Vanessa. He accused Rich of siding with a woman he had known only for a few months instead of standing firm with a comrade he’d known for years. Truth was Rich’s decision was based largely on seeing Ted Stevens again and realizing Ted’s wealth and prestige was something Rich was worthy of. Chase and Rich settled their debate
before Rich left, but Rich had a bad vibe about Chase. He knew their friendship had taken a
blow that had changed it permanently.
Vanessa set her laptop and the manuscript pages on the coffee table. She turned to Rich.
“I'm really proud of you, baby.” She kissed him.
“I understand I'm not just living for me no more.”
“We should be celebrating.”
“I got a better idea. Put some shoes on.” Rich stood. “And bring your laptop.”
Within minutes, Rich was driving Vanessa down Lennox Avenue in a Bentley Flying Spur. He
pointed to the housing project they slowly drifted by. “That's Foster Projects. I got shot in
there over a dice game when I was thirteen.” He pulled over. “Open your laptop. I'm gonna take you to school. Give you some inspiration and facts for that book.”
“So this is a 'hood tour?” She grinned.
“You wanna write about a hustler, the best place to learn about the game is Harlem. And
I ain't talking Nicky Barnes, Frank Lucas and these other lames in the game that was getting
bread but snitching to the Feds. I'm talking 'bout the Rich Porters and Fritzs.”
Rich pulled off. He stopped at a few drug spots, old crime scenes, restaurants and gambling
spots where thousands of dollars in drug money had circulated. He told Vanessa stories from his
personal experience and mythic tales of street legends that were talked about everywhere from
project halls, jail cells and rap songs to street DVDs and magazines. He answered Vanessa's
questions as she typed away on her laptop.
While they rode home reality set in. Rich realized he had actually given up the streets
that raised him. He was feeling the bittersweet dynamic of transcending the drama that had
nearly cost him his life, while the same drama had given him life. His very being had been
molded by hustlers, crime, street wars and fast females.
His actions and
achievements were based on his observations. Careless drug dealers had inspired him to become
an investor in an effort to avoid their downfalls. His image, molded by the streets, is what
attracted Vanessa. And it was Vanessa and the day outside of her agent's office that sparked the
end of the game for Rich. His life had come full circle. The factors that led him into the game
had led him out of the game. And he had picked up wealth and a woman he loved in the process.
But in the back of his mind, Rich felt he could not escape karma. He was certain that a new life
came with new drama.
CHAPTER EIGHT
It was almost closing time at the shop. The scent of hair scorched hair was
everywhere. Candy was putting the finishing touches on a weave of one of her clients. She had been getting hot all day as she stared at Vanessa's butt clenched by a pair of white spandex. She could see Vanessa’s panty line beneath the thin fabric. Vanessa was the first
woman Candy had been with who made her horny while she was clothed.
She's so small, but she sure knows how to work that body
. Candy looked at her watch.
Fifteen minutes 'till closing. I gotta
get her home with me tonight.
“Vanessa,” Meisha called out. “How the hell you manage to tame Rich? I been meaning
to ask you that shit. I don't see no more broads in his whips. I don't even see him driving through Harlem too much no more like he own the motherfucker. What, you got him a job?”
“His job is selling drugs and breaking hearts,” Chanel interjected.
Vanessa rolled her eyes at Chanel. “My man always had a job. And these materialistic
divas,” she cut her eyes at Chanel, “that was trying to get laid in one of the cars he drives, didn't
,
even know they were company cars.”
“Must be a pharmaceuticals company,” said Chanel. “Distribution and sales or import-export.”
“But how did you transform his ass?” Meisha said. “That's what I need to know. 'Cause I watched him chase pussy like a linebacker going at a quarterback.”
“I just gave him what I know for a fact he couldn't get from any other woman…me.”
Candy watched as Chanel sucked her teeth. The more Rich showed his face in the shop to pick up Vanessa
, the more jealous Chanel had become. For weeks, she
had been making sarcastic remarks about Rich in the presence of
Vanessa. Most times, Vanessa simply ignored Chanel.
The shop began to empty out, as closing time neared. Candy turned to Vanessa. “I need to speak to you in the office, if you got time.”
“All right,” Vanessa said.
Chanel was the last person leaving the shop. “Chanel,” Candy called. She caught up with her and they stepped out of the shop together.
“What's up, Candy?”
“You gotta be easy with Vanessa.”
“What?” Chanel's hazel eyes squinted. “Who you? Captain Save-A-Ho?”
“You got clients looking around at you makin' a scene. And you know I'm business over bullshit,” Candy said.
“You got a point.” Chanel shook her head. “Shit, I thought you was takin' that heifer side
over me. I been knowing you too long for that shit.”
“Just be easy in the shop.”
“All right,” Chanel said. She walked off to her car.
As Candy stared at her, she thought about the years she had known Chanel and all they
had been through. Chanel had been a friend after Dez was murdered and Candy became
trapped in an emotional whirlwind from being disowned by her conservative Christian family. Chanel had been there for her.
Now, Candy had just lied to her for a second time because of Vanessa. The first lie was about
the video she made of her and Vanessa. Now, she lied about not taking Vanessa's side over Chanel's.
Business was definitely a priority for Candy. But sometime between when Vanessa first made
her cum and the last time Vanessa made her laugh, she had become Candy's top priority. Unlike
Vera, Vanessa was someone Candy could talk to about a range of topics, and she enjoyed
her presence even when they weren’t having sex. The work week at the shop had given all of
the employee’s time together to bond. But what Candy and Vanessa shared was
something that exceeded what the rest of the women shared with Candy.
Candy left Chanel and walked inside of her office then locked the door. Her first sight was Vanessa's butt. She was bending down lacing her sneakers. Candy's nipples instantly got hard. She stepped over to Vanessa and hugged her from behind, as Vanessa rose. Her hands
explored Vanessa's breasts.
Vanessa let out a slight moan, as Candy began sucking her neck. “Feels so good,” Vanessa whispered. She began fingering herself and stimulating her clit
at the same time.
Candy's tongue rolled into Vanessa's ear. “Damn, you taste good,” Candy mumbled, as
Vanessa fingered herself quicker, moaning louder by the second. Candy slipped her hands underneath Vanessa's shirt and began gently caressing her breasts.
“Ahhh,” Vanessa moaned with pleasure.
Candy could feel Vanessa's body sink back, her knees buckling and her legs wobbling.
She held Vanessa up, as she let out an extended moan while she came.
Vanessa slowly turned around, finding Candy coming out of all of her clothes. She slipped her
tongue into Candy's mouth. Vanessa back peddled, as Candy led her to the couch.
“Sit down,” Candy instructed. Vanessa complied. Candy laid her back and spread her
legs. She sat facing Vanessa. Slowly she inched toward Vanessa and slid one of her legs between
Vanessa's.
Vanessa moved forward until their wet pussies were touching.
“Yeah,” Candy instinctively responded to the tingling sensation that jolted from between
her legs throughout her body.
Candy and Vanessa began grinding their pussies together. Their bodies sensually swerved together like a couple dancing to reggae music. They were panting and moaning harder and louder until they climaxed simultaneously.
Candy laid back, her eyes closed. She had come so hard that she did not have the energy to move. She sat still until Vanessa began to sit up. “You wore me out,” she told Vanessa.
Vanessa wiped the wetness between Candy's legs, and then reached up and began stimulating Candy's nipples.
“Don't start me back up,” Candy warned.
Vanessa leaned over and kissed Candy, before lying on top of her.
Candy slowly caressed Vanessa's butt, staring into her eyes.
“How far would you go to please me?” Vanessa asked.
“I'll suck your pussy 'till you come right in the middle of Times Square,” Candy said, laughing.
“Stop playing.” Vanessa kissed her, then ran her hands through Candy's hair.
She gently sucked on Candy's neck for a second, before planting kisses on her neck and cheek. She
gazed back into Candy's eyes while stroking her hair. “I'm serious. How far would you go to
please me?”
“You know it's no limits between us.”
Vanessa stared at her for a few seconds. “None?”
“We did everything together.”
“Not everything.”
“Name it.”
“I wanna have a threesome,” Vanessa whispered in a sexy voice.
“I knew you had your eye on Vera.”
“Not with Vera,” Vanessa said seductively. “With Rich.” She eased her tongue into
Candy's mouth before she could respond.
The passionate kiss felt so good that it lessened the impact of Vanessa's words. Candy
opened her eyes as Vanessa's lips left hers. Her hands were still on Vanessa's ass. The office
was so quiet that Candy could hear the clock on her wall ticking. Every thought she had of
men raced to the front of her mind. Dissatisfaction, anger and frustration were only a few of the
feelings that men had stirred within her.
“Talk to me,” said Vanessa.
“I can't do it.”
Vanessa's eyes grew sad. “Why?”
“You know why.”
“I thought you cared about me. What happened to there being no limits between us?”
The hurt etched on Vanessa's face made Candy want to cry. “I care about you more than anybody I've ever been with, man or woman. But—”
“There is no buts. The most precious thing I have is between my legs and I gave that to
you. Something I never dreamed of doing. I've never been with another woman and you're the
only woman I'm gonna be with. But I love Rich just as much as I love myself. And I'll do
anything I have to in order to make sure he's happy. All I'm asking is for you to do something
for me one time.”
“I can't—”
Vanessa silenced Candy with another kiss. As her tongue left Candy's mouth and she
pulled her face away, she placed her index finger over Candy's lips. “Just consider it and get
back to me later. Please.”
Candy watched in silence as Vanessa stood up and got dressed. She reminisced on all of the
comments that Vanessa had made about how good Rich was in bed. Then she remembered the
day with him in the elevator and how hot Rich made her. “Vanessa.”
Vanessa looked at Candy. “What?”
“Did Rich tell you to ask me this?”
“He wants a threesome. He has no idea who’s coming home with me. And you know he
doesn't know about us. I asked you because you're the only woman I wanna be with.”
Candy walked over and kissed Vanessa. “Stop looking so sad. You're breaking my
heart.” She hugged Vanessa, rubbing her back, while Vanessa's hands palmed her butt. “I think I'm falling in love with you.”
* * *
“You a fucking freak,” Mimi said, smiling. “I can't believe this shit.”
Vanessa had left the shop and headed straight to Mimi's home. She told her everything about her and Candy, including their first experience and Candy's falling in love comment.
“So you told her you care about her a lot after she said she was falling in love?”
“Basically.”
“I can't believe this shit,” Mimi repeated.
“I like her a lot. I love Rich.”
“If you care a lot about somebody, you can end up fallin' in love. It's not rocket science. And you can be in love with two people.”
“You're not helping me any.”
“Remember I told you I understand how a chick can get caught up 'cause I been through it?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, ya girl Mimi recovered. You, my friend, are strung out.”
“Come on, Mimi. You gotta do better than that.”
“I can tell that you that during that three-way, they both gonna be competing for you. ol’
boy don't know that ol’ girl tongue been in your pussy for months. So he gonna want to make sure she don't turn you out. Only if he knew.” Mimi laughed. “Then ol’ girl falling in love, so she gonna wanna take you from him.”
“Impossible. I love Rich way too much. Plus, Candy respects that.”
“We'll see.”
“No, I already see that.”
“So you should be okay. You got a night to remember coming up.”
“But she didn't even agree to do it.”
Mimi sighed. “See, you on that Stevie Wonder shit again. She told you she's fallin' in love with you for a reason.”
“You're right.”
“But I'll tell you one thing, you better lay down your best fuck game. The last thing you want is Candy stealing Rich from you.”
***
The following morning, Vanessa stepped into the shop minutes after Candy did.
Ever since Leah got married, she was no longer the first person at the shop, so they were the only two inside. Vanessa entered Candy's office and found her seated behind her desk.
Candy stood and walked around to Vanessa. “About yesterday, I know you love Rich. I
respect that. I just felt I had to tell you what was on my mind. I can't control how I feel, especially when it comes to you.”
“It's okay. I'm glad that you told me.”
“And you know I'm gonna do it, the three-way.”
Vanessa's face lit up and she hugged Candy. “Thank you so much.”
“But I'm letting you know now, it better go down on that terrace,” Candy said. “I wanna see that Central Park view.”
“I can arrange that.” Vanessa looked at her watch. “But right now, I gotta go to the health
food store. You want something?”
Candy put her arms around Vanessa and palmed her butt. “I got what I want right here.”
Vanessa pecked her on the lips and walked toward the door. As she reached the door,
she heard a knock. She opened the door and spotted Vera.. “Hello,” Vanessa said, smiling.
Vera sucked her teeth and frowned, as she brushed past Vanessa.
What the hell is all that about?
Vanessa turned around and Vera was halfway through the
spacious office.
To hell with her.
Vanessa exited the shop and walked
down the street, predicting what the threesome would be like and how it would affect her
relationships with Candy and Rich.
Vanessa turned the block and met Leah on her way to work. The two women stepped into
the health food store together. Vanessa ordered a strawberry and kiwi smoothie along with a pound of
cashews. Leah purchased a fruit salad. The women sat down at one of the tables in the lounge
area.
“So how's the book coming along?” Leah asked.
“A lot better since Rich gave me some perspective on what really happens in the streets.”
“So you and Rich are really serious?”
Vanessa smiled. “Yeah.”
“I'm happy for you. Actually, more happy that he actually loves you. It proves that everybody is
capable of change.”
“He's really a good man when you get to know him. He's just very guarded. But thank God I was able to penetrate the armor and get to the real man.”
“I think you should have a talk with Chanel, privately. Everybody in the shop has a view
of Rich, which we actually need to reassess since he's growing. But we both know that Chanel is
overdoing it.”
“You can look at me and see I'm no drama queen.”
“I understand. And the last thing you want to do is get into a shouting match or a cat fight
with Chanel. You're a smart woman. I'm sure you can be diplomatic about it.”
“I'll think about it. Thanks for the advice.”
“Anytime.”
The two women chatted about Vanessa's book, then the topic changed to Leah's
marriage. Vanessa was not ready for marriage, but she had thought about it a few times. She
never discussed it with Rich, though. He had made it clear that he was still learning to love.