Ricki smiled as he held her. “You’d better give me some coins,” she said.
“Oh I got your coins right here,” he said, pulling her closer, and she laughed.
But when he lifted her chin with his hand, and she looked up at his handsome face, she realized his smile was gone, his penis was expanding, and he looked as serious as a man on a mission. Then he leaned his head slightly down and kissed her squarely on the mouth.
Ricki was not the kind of girl that was that easily manipulated. But it had been a minute since she felt a man’s arms around her. And he tasted so good. She didn’t object.
But what she assumed would be a little make-out kissing session turned into something completely different when he kept moving her backwards toward her bedroom and kept kissing her more and more aggressively. Too aggressively.
“Alright Bryon, pump your brakes,” she said as she leaned her head back to get a look at him. “It’s not that serious.”
“Oh girl,” he said, nothing but pure lust in his beautiful eyes, “I’m about to rock your world. You ain’t never gonna forget me.”
And just like that, they were in her bedroom. He pushed her down onto the bed and without hesitation got on top of her. And then he was kissing her aggressively again.
“I thought you said you were running late,” Ricki said as he began kissing her neck.
“This won’t take long.”
“But wait.” He kept going. “I said wait a minute, Byron.” He kept going. “Didn’t I say wait, bitch?!” She yelled at him and pushed him on his chest hard enough for him to stop kissing her and lean up and look at her.
And he was frowning again. “What’s your problem now?”
“Stop acting like some dog in heat for one thing,” she said. Then she calmed back down. “Why don’t I go to the club with you and catch your set? I ain’t got shit to do. Then we can come back here afterwards.”
But he was already shaking his head. “Nope. Can’t do it that way.”
That was an odd answer, Ricki thought. She was promising him a roll in the hay, but he couldn’t wait that long? Was he for real? “Why can’t we do it that way?”
“Because my old lady gonna be there tonight and none of y’all hoes gonna mess that up for me.”
“Hoes?” Ricki was floored. “Who you calling a hoe?”
“My side piece then. That’s more respectable to you?”
It was Ricki’s time to frown. “Side piece?” Then she realized something else he had said. “Your old lady? Did you say your old lady? Are you telling me you’re married, Bryon?” She asked it with shock in her voice. “Are youmarried?”
He didn’t respond. Which was a response in and of itself. She even looked down at his ring finger and saw no ring. But what cheating husband would wear one? She pushed him off of her so hard that he hit the floor. “Get your ass out of my apartment!” she yelled at him.
“You don’t have to get so violent,” he said like he was Mister Respectability as he began getting up from the floor.
“Violent? You call that violent? Oh I’ll show you violence,” she said as she grabbed her hairbrush off of her nightstand and threw it at him. He had to duck to avoid getting hit.
“Still crazy as ever,” he said as he began hurrying out of her apartment.
“Crazy?” She was hurrying right behind him. “Oh I’m crazy now because I don’t wanna sleep with a married-ass man? How could you sleep around on your own wife?”
“As long as they’re thirsty women like you in this world, it’s easy.”
She picked up that brush she had thrown at him, and threw it at him again she was so angry. This time she hit him in the back of his head. “Just get out of my house and get out now!”
“I’m going dammit!” He was getting angrier too. “Your mean ass. I see why you ain’t got no man. You ain’t worth it!” Then he opened that door, hurried out as she picked up that brush and threw it again. But the brush hit the door, denting it, as he slammed it shut.
Then Ricki, exhausted, laid her forehead against the door. How could she be so stupid when she knew Byron wasn’t worth a damn? Was she that desperate for a man? Thirsty was what he called her. So thirsty for a man she’d do anything to have one. Was she that girl now? Was shethat?
She remembered a time when she used to have to beat’em off of her. Now they had to beat her off of them? She felt so ashamed.
But when she turned and leaned her back against the door and surveyed her apartment, looking at all of his nappy hair she had to clean up, she suddenly stood upright. “That motherfucker didn’t pay me!” she said. And she was about to sling open that door and run him down to get her money.
