RedBone (30 page)

“You got a man?” he asked Farah. “Because if you do, you don’t anymore.”

Glad I didn’t wear that ring.
“Naw ... I’m single.” She grinned. “I use to deal with Randy from Southeast. You know him?”

“Naw. His name don’t sound familiar.”

“Good ... Well, I been single for a while and could use some company. You got a girl?”

Lesa shook her head at the thirsty way Farah was acting. Now she wished she never agreed to allow her to tell people they were related.

“Let’s just say I don’t have any attachments.” Whatever that meant was good enough for Farah. She could see him hanging over at her house and cooking for him. And judging by the Rolex on his arm, she could tell he had a little change in his pocket, too. “What’s your name, pretty lady?”

“Farah Cotton.”

“Cool-ass name. Why do I think I’ve heard that somewhere before?”

“You probably have. My family grew up around these blocks. We got a rep, if you know what I’m saying.” She was smiling so hard both rows of teeth and her pink gums were showing. “People know not to fuck with us around Southeast.”

“Well, my name is Gary.” He smiled as he put his arms around her waist and pulled her into his body, as if they’d been together for years. He was so close to her lips that it looked like he was going in for a kiss. If he did, Farah would have let him. “What you doing tonight, Reds? Being with me or what?”

Farah was cheesing up in his face until she saw the man who infiltrated her dreams every night roll past in his truck. Slade wasn’t driving a designer ride, but he sure made the one he had look official. Slade looked her way, and something about his expression told her he wasn’t feeling what he was seeing with his eyes. Suddenly she was blown thinking he wouldn’t reach out again, whether it was to approach her about the murder or to talk to her. She was still in Slade World when Gary turned her chin so that she was looking into his eyes. “You a’ight? You know that nigga or something?”

Shaking Slade out of her mind she said, “Uh ... no. I thought that was my cousin at first but it was someone else.”

“So what you doing tonight?” he asked, uninterested in innocent matters.

“I ain’t doing nothing. We were about to go to the store to buy some stuff to cook dinner.”

“You gonna cook for me?” Gary asked, licking his lips.

Lesa was eavesdropping so heavily she couldn’t hear shit Roth was spitting. The driver was mad he chose her, since it was apparent that she wasn’t as easy as Farah. “I can cook for you, baby. What you like to eat?”

“Before I tell you what I want for dinner, I want you to tell me what you gonna give me for dessert.”

Farah grinned, knowing what he meant. “You can’t handle my sweets,” she replied as if she could fuck. “You better stick to dinner, boy, before you get yourself into trouble.”

“You that good?” Gary smirked. Farah was hot and horny and within the hour, she was positive that she would give him the access granted to bang her back out. “You talking a lot of shit, Farah Cotton.” He groped his dick. “I hope you can handle it.”

“I can.” She rubbed his thickness, all while outside in the open. “So when you coming over?” If Randy rolled past, he would snatch her face off.

“Shit, we ain’t doing nothing now. We can come chill with y’all while you cook. I would love to see that sexy ass in the—”

Before he could finish his sentence, Lesa yanked Farah up so quickly her neck snapped. Moving her out of earshot of the fellas Lesa said, “You wanna go to 7-Eleven instead of Lucky 7?”

Farah frowned, not understanding her question. “Naw ... why you say that?”

“I figured you’d want a Big Gulp since you being so thirsty.”

Farah frowned and snatched her arm away. “I’m not thirsty, but I know what I want.” She looked at Gary. “I figured we could have some fun, since I been in a bad mood for the past couple of days. I mean, didn’t you tell me earlier you wanted to meet some new niggas? Here we go.”

“You don’t see nothing wrong with picking a nigga off the streets and taking him home?”

“And you don’t see nothing wrong with taking Diamond D to your room at my party and fucking him? While you were on your period?” Farah wanted to fuck Gary so badly she was making herself look terrible.

Lesa threw her hands in the air. “Whatever you want, cousin. Do you.”

“Good! And just so you know, I’m not gonna take a lot of you grabbing my arm out in public anymore. Be careful, Lesa. You don’t really know who I am or who I can be. I can snap if pushed.” Farah dismissed everything Lesa was spitting back and walked over to her new friend to discuss their plans for the evening.

Farah was trying to breathe as Gary dug in and out of her pussy raw. She hoped he’d like her enough to stick around, but the way he was acting, she couldn’t be sure. Sweat poured off of his face and entered her eyes, and all she thought about was how cute he looked panting heavily in her face. The bed rattled as if she were Celie from
The Color Purple
and he were Mr. She focused on the light above her head and would sporadically try to move her body to please him. But the only things that moved were her shoulder blades and if he were fucking them, he’d be straight.

“Bitch, is you dead?” he said out of nowhere, looking into her face. He wiped the sweat off of his brow. “What happened to all that shit you was talking outside?”

“Huh? What happened?” His comment came out of left field, and she felt a piercing jolt of unease in her stomach.

“For starters, you not moving right. It’s like I’m fucking a corpse or something.” He was straight giving her the business. “And your pussy dry. What, you a dude or something?”

She didn’t know how he wanted her to operate her hips, but she could certainly get her own pussy wet. “Move for a second. I know what to do.” He lifted up and she took a glob of spit, put it in her hand, and slapped it over her pussy, the way Randy would ask her to do sometimes. Then she lay on the bed with her legs open. “Come on, you should be able to get into it now.” She smiled.

After seeing that mess, Gary rose up and sat on the edge of the bed. He wasn’t about to fuck Miss Spitty Puss, he didn’t care how bad her body was. “Can you at least suck dick? Since it’s obvious you can’t fuck?”She was too afraid to say the wrong thing, so she nodded instead. “Good ... Get on your knees and open your mouth.”

Farah dropped, and he stuffed his dick into her mouth. She moved her neck the way she thought he wanted, and pretended to be enjoying it as she bobbed awkwardly from left to right. When she looked up at him, his brows were creased and he looked madder than before. It was as if he was growing more irritated with each lick. Grabbing her cheeks he said, “Open your mouth wide.” He demonstrated. “Like this.”

When he released her, she bobbed her head so ridiculously again that he was about to hit her on top of the head, like the Hungry Hungry Hippo in the children’s board game. She thought things were cool until her teeth bit down on him and he pushed her off. Farah was overcome with embarrassment, and immediately felt lightheaded. Standing up, holding his dick he said, “You did that shit on purpose.”

She shook her head. “No ... I didn’t! I promise.”

“Yes, you did.” Gary grabbed his clothes and quickly got dressed. It was as if a bomb were about to detonate and he only had fifty seconds to get out alive.

“Is everything cool?” Farah sat on the bed and looked at him move about the room in a hurry. “Did I do something wrong? I tried to do it the best I could. Maybe I can try it again.”

“You bit down on my dick! Of course you did something wrong!” He paused. “Put your shit on and go in the kitchen and cook,” he told her as if he were an abusive husband. “Because after what you just did to me, the least you could do is make me something to eat. After this shit, I gotta grab a drink from Riley’s.” He put his hat on and left.

Farah got dressed and walked to the mirror. She couldn’t find her panties and from where she stood, she looked around for them. This was the most mortifying thing she’d ever experienced in her life. Second only to the day Brownie put shit in her face. In the beginning, when she first got with Zone, he asked her if she’d ever had sex. He told her that something was wrong with the way she moved her body and she never knew what he meant until that night. Standing in front of the mirror, with a closed fist, she hit herself in the face once. And a second time. And a third time, until tears poured out her eyes. She could only imagine what Gary was saying to his friend, or Lesa in the living room. Finding her panties on the floor, next to her mirror, she noticed his dirty footprint in the seat of them. Mad at herself for even being bothered with him in the first place,“ she put them on as a form of punishment against herself.

Picking up her cell, she decided to call her grandmother. “Farah.” Elise had just woken up and was trying to get herself together. “Is everything okay?” Farah started weeping. “What’s wrong?” Talk to me!” Her voice was heavy with concern. “Are you hurt?”

“Grandma, I know you’re not a priest, but if I confess my sins to you, and try to be a better person”—she sobbed harder—“do you think God will forgive me? So that people will like me more?”

“God will always make things better when you trust in Him, but you shouldn’t worry about other people.”

“But that’s what I want. For people to like me,” she said seriously.

“Okay, Farah ... I do believe when your soul is in order, all things will fall into place. Including the people in your life. And no matter what you say to me tonight, your secret is safe with me.”

Farah bared her entire soul in the hopes she could be friends again with Coconut, Rhonda, and even Lesa. The call lasted for thirty minutes, as Farah told her about everything vile that she kept hidden.

After dropping her murderous life on her grandmother, she pulled herself together and walked into the hallway. The moment she turned the corner, she heard two extra female voices in the living room. She saw Lesa and two girls sitting on the sofa and loveseat. Gary and Roth were also in the audience. They all seemed to be having a good conversation until she came into the room.

“Farah, come over here. I want you to meet my bitches!” Lesa said, holding a martini. Farah walked over to them and picked up one of her puppies that was clawing at her ankle. “This is Lady and this is Courtney.”

“Hi, Farah.” Lady smiled.

Farah was confused. She just confessed her sins to her grandmother, all of them, and this was how God repaid her?

“What’s up?” Courtney said flatly.

Lady and Courtney gave each other sly looks before eyeing Gary who, judging by his body language, was obviously feeling Lady. They were so close together that their knees were touching. How could he be in her pussy and mouth a minute ago, only to entertain another bitch a second later? She was growing angrier by the minute.

Thinking of Elise, and still trying to be a better person, Farah’s face produced a slight smile as she walked up to them and extended her hand. Lady accepted her gesture first, followed by Courtney, whose handshake was weak. She only hoped that Gary didn’t give them the wrong impression by saying they fucked.

“I thought you weren’t talking to them anymore.” Farah smiled at Lesa. “So what are they doing here?”

“She called us,” Courtney said. Farah looked at Lesa. All that shit about being too stubborn to call them was a lie and Farah felt played. She didn’t know that her behavior outside inspired Lesa to call her friends. She wanted to be around real bitches. “Why ... what’s wrong?”

“I guess nothing.”

“Well, did you have fun, Farah?” Lady asked, looking at Gary and back at her. Gary sipped a beer on the table and avoided eye contact with Farah. “Y’all was in there for a minute.”

“Yeah, we were about to cook dinner,” Courtney said. “Did you want a
bite
to eat?” she said louder. Everybody burst into laughter and she knew then that he told them they fucked and how poorly she performed.

“Well, come sit down, girl,” Courtney said. “I was just telling Lesa that I love your place. She lucky as shit to be living here because a girlfriend of mine was trying to get in here for two years now.”

“Thank you.” Farah wasn’t feeling her vibe. “You’re welcome over here anytime you want.”

“How did you get a place in this building?” Lady asked.

“Yeah ... who you have to
fuck
?” Courtney looked at Gary. “Or
suck ...
to move here?”

Farah was no longer feeling her energy and hoped Lesa would put them in check, but she didn’t. “What are y’all doing here for real?” Farah blurted. “It’s obvious you don’t like me.”

“And we’re not here for you. We’re here for Lesa.” Courtney made the correction.

“But why the attitude? It ain’t my fault Lesa told me about the reasons y’all stopped hanging together.” She paused. “Me and Lesa are like family now, and I’m not gonna let y’all come in the way of that because you are jealous.” They all looked at each other.

“Farah, what’s wrong with you?” Lesa questioned. “They’re just fucking with your head. Why you tripping so hard?”

“I knew that bitch was crazy,” Gary said.

“Nigga, shut up,” Roth interjected, not wanting to be thrown out before getting some pussy. “You already got put on.”

“Yeah, right,” he responded.

She looked at everyone and said, “I’m sorry. Maybe I don’t feel so good so I’m being snappy. I was just wondering why they here. I mean, I thought y’all were beefing and the next thing I know, they in my house.”

“We always fighting with this bitch, but we can’t stay away from each other forever. That’s real friendship,” Lady said.

“Everybody don’t beef with their friends over who bought whose baby shower gifts. Or who did hit and runs,” Courtney joked.

Farah looked at Lesa. She couldn’t believe she betrayed her this way. “Why would you do that, Courtney?” Lesa asked.

“Sorry, Farah.” She raised a glass. “I been drinking.”

“I hope y’all know that me and Lesa are cousins, so if you gonna be in her life, I am too,” Farah said.

Courtney looked at Lesa, who held her head down in shame. The cousin shit was cool when they were alone with a drink in hand, but in front of her friends it was embarrassing. And she couldn’t understand why Farah didn’t recognize it. She had zero swag.