You're the One I Want (7 page)

I never told anyone what I had done. I didn't tell Edrick until much later in life when we were in our twenties. I told him what I did and we never discussed it again after that.

•  •  •

Edrick finally got fed up when I started pawning his things in the house to get money for drugs.

“I'm done with you. Get the fuck out, Ray. I told you what I would do if you stole from me. I love you, but you have to go. You can't stay here. I will do what I can for you, but I can't do this shit anymore.”

“You just going to throw me out like that? I'm your family. We're brothers. What was all that shit you were saying about family over everything?”

Edrick wasn't going to be a passenger on another one of my guilt trips. He really was done. “You have until the end of the week to find somewhere else to stay.”

I left with nothing but the clothes on my back and a small bottle of Jack Daniel's in my back jeans pocket.

“If you're not out, I'm calling the cops.”

“I can't believe you're doing this. I'm your goddamn blood.”

Edrick didn't have anything else to say.

The day that I left, Edrick was at work, working part time fixing cars at Carter's Garage on South Adams Street.

It took me six years to get my shit together and when I finally did, it was too late to make amends to my baby brother. I found out from Yvonne that Edrick had died. Edrick, Danita, and my baby, Joelle, were gone. But instead of picking up the bottle this time, I vowed to spend the rest of my life making it up to Ed by being there for Liz and the boys.

Family over everything, baby brother.

F
uck this! I knew I shouldn't have come back here. Ain't nothin' changed, all that favoritism shit just like when we were kids. Kashawn got the pat on the back for being Mr. Perfect, while I got scolded and beaten with a belt. Her prodigal son. Everything that has gone down tonight only reminded me why I got out of Dodge in the first place. I thought I was going to throw up the honey bun and beef jerky, watching Bree hang all over Kashawn's nerdy-ass like a fake fur coat. Yeah, uh-huh, a real match made in heaven. I almost can't believe how good she looks still. Big titties, firm ass you could sit a glass of wine on, with juicy, dick-sucking lips.

That was the first thing I noticed about Bree when Kashawn brought her to the dinner Ma had thrown for them. My mouth dropped to the living room floor when I laid eyes on her. Kashawn couldn't stop talking about her, but I didn't pay much attention, seeing as how his taste in honeys has always been for shit. The first thing I thought was,
how in the hell did you snag a sweet potato like her?
I knew she was way too much woman for Kashawn, considering his track record of fingering ugly, simple-looking librarian bitches. When he told me that she danced at Risqué, it made sense. Bree was out for a pay day. Dollar signs were all she knew.

I stared at her across the dinner table the whole night. Ma went all out too, making some of my and Kashawn's favorites: baked chicken, mashed potatoes, black-eyed peas, and Dutch apple cheesecake
for dessert. Bree's titties were practically spilling out of the low-cut blouse she wore to dinner that night. I could look at Ma and tell that she disapproved, but baby girl had my dick on swole. I kept tugging at it under the table. I thought I had nutted in my pants until I went to the bathroom to rub out a quickie before Ma served the apple cheesecake. I thought about Bree with every stroke, wondering what she looked like naked. She'd have her knees in her ears, fucking with me.

Ma kept going on about how pretty Bree was, and Bree ate that shit up. Ma always could lay it on thick.

“Well, would you settle for a daughter-in-law?” Kashawn said. “I asked Bree to marry me.”

“And I said yes!” Bree modeled the blinged-out ring for everybody to see.

Ma was fawning all over her like she was the Queen of damn Sheba.

“Congratulations, bro,” I said, giving him a fake, half-assed hug.

Fuck 'em and leave 'em blowing up my cell for more is my motto. I grinned a little bit, thinking about the two of them having sex. Bree instructing him on the finer points of eating pussy. I wanted to fuck her silly that night, smear her apple bottom-ass across the dinner table of baked chicken and black-eyed peas, deep-dick her right there in front of Ma, Uncle Ray-Ray, and my lucky brother. I wanted to smother my mug between those cantaloupe titties, lick giblet gravy from her cooch until she sprung a leak like they all do once I've tamed that kitty cat. I was drooling at the dinner table like some horned-up mutt. That night I caught her in Kashawn's old room, messing around with some of his old toys that he had long left behind.

“Daddy got him that train track for his sixth birthday.”

Bree jumped, startled by my presence.

“My bad, baby girl. I didn't mean to scare you.” I finally got her cute ass alone.

“No, it's my fault. I shouldn't be in here being nosey anyway.”

Her teeth were so pretty and white when she smiled. I doubted they were falsies. She was too young to have them. I didn't notice any track marks on her arms, so she didn't seem like she was on smack or nothing.

“Forget about it. I don't think Ma cares anyway.”

“It's nice that his mom's reserved all of this stuff for y'all,” Bree said, admiring the collection of old toys Kashawn had accumulated.

“All the stuff I had I sold, lost or tore up.”

“Yeah, he's never been about throwing anything away. I'm not surprised that he still has all this stuff.”

Bree smelled good as fuck. I wanted to lick her like a chocolate-dipped cone. “Were you all close growing up?” She looked at me cautiously, like a frightened rabbit that was waiting to hop off if I made any sudden moves.

“We were about as close as brothers could ever be,” I lied. The truth was that we were as different as night and day.

“What were you all like growing up?”

“Kashawn kept his face in a textbook while I ran the streets trying to make a dollar, if not prowling for pussy. Kashawn worked with Daddy at the office, but not me. That shit was for suckers.”

Bree looked at me, unimpressed by my frankness.

“We had a normal childhood, I guess you could say. We fought and argued, typical brotherly shit.”

“Your mom looked like she didn't play.”

“Oh, she didn't and she doesn't. If we got out of line, she was quick to get the belt.”

Bree took my hand and sat it on my knee when I started to caress her hand with my index finger like I was some child who couldn't
keep his hands to himself. “So Kashawn tells me you're a rapper.”

“A little. Acting is more my bag. I guess you could say I'm more of a Tray Pain than Case Briggs.”

“Ugh, don't mention that brother's name.”

“Who? Tray Pain?”

“No. Case Briggs. That shit he did to my girl was fucked.”

“Well, you know why she went back to him, don't you?”

“No, why don't you enlighten me,” Bree said, rolling her eyes, like she knew I was going to say something she wasn't going to like.

“She couldn't resist those long strokes she was getting from that dick.”

“Damn, is that all you brothr's think about, fucking?”

“What else is there?”

“How about love?”

“Can't have love without fucking,” I said. I started to run my hand up along her thigh. She pushed my hand away. Bree wasn't fooling me with that hard-to-get shit. I knew she liked it. “So you still strip down at Risqué?”

“Kashawn told you?”

“He doesn't keep nothing from his family, baby girl.”

“I quit the life when Kashawn proposed. He saved me, to be honest. You gotta watch your ass in that line of work. There's always somebody out here trying to take advantage. They flatter you, talk all pretty, promising you the world when all they want to do is fuck.”

“So what makes you think my brother's so different?”

“I wasn't sure how Kashawn would take it once I told him I danced. I knew I would risk losing him, but knew if I wanted a future with him, I had to be straight with your brother from jump.”

I was already half past bored hearing her run her mouth when I could think of one or two things she could be doing with it instead.

“Kashawn treats me with respect, you feel me? He's the first man that has ever done that. That's shit I can't even get from my damn no-account daddy.”

“It seems like you and I have more in common than you and my brother.”

“I doubt that,” she said as she leaned into me. “I've seen countless men like you roll in and out of Risqué. Y'all act all big baller with a wad of cash, but don't amount to much.”

“So you've known me all of twenty minutes and you think you know what's up? You think you the only bird who's tried to get in Kashawn's pockets? Get in line.”

“Think what you want, Deanthony, but I love your brother. I don't care about his money. He could be dirt-poor and I would still love him.”

“Uh-huh, I've heard that shit before.”

“You should be happy for him,” Bree said.

“Go 'head, marry him. Once you see what a limp-dick, wet noodle he is, my door is always open. I'll have you speaking in tongues when I'm done,” I said, tracing my finger along her cleavage.

“Get off me,” Bree protested, slapping my hand away.

“What's going on in here?” Kashawn asked. He entered his old bedroom.

“Hey, baby,” Bree said, kissing her pussy-whipped husband-to-be. “I was just admiring your old room.”

“Yeah, I like to come in here sometimes when I come over.” Kashawn cut a look at me that could have slit my throat if it were a razor.

“Look, this is so cute.” Bree picked up one of the
Star Wars
Ewok figures from the dresser.

“Baby, be careful with that,” Kashawn said, gently taking the plastic toy out of her hand.

Once a nerd, always a damn nerd,
I thought.

“D, Ma needs your help with something in the kitchen.”

“I'll leave you two alone then. Just make sure you lock the door this time, bro. You don't want Ma to catch you jacking off in here like she did that time.”

“Man, shut up, damn. Go see what Mama wants.”

I gave Bree one last look-over with these baby-browns, knowing I would have a piece of her sooner or later just as soon as she got tired of playing doting housewife. Patience was mine and, before long, I knew Bree would be, too.

“B
ree!” I hollered, slamming the door behind me hard enough it damn near shook the house to its core. Blood had soaked through the bandana I had wrapped around my hand. “Bree, where are you, woman?” There were two glasses of Vodka sitting on the coffee table. I picked both up and finished them off.

I stumbled upstairs, drunk off my ass. “Bree, do you hear me calling you?” When I got upstairs, she was in bed with her back turned to me. I walked over to her side of the bed. “Baby, you awake?”

She was faking, but I knew just the thing to wake her up. I stood over her and started to undo the buckle of my belt. I thought she would open her eyes once she heard the clang of metal, but, no, she still wanted to pull this pretending-to-be-asleep shit.

“Why did you leave the party? Ma was asking about you. We cut the cake and everything.” I unbuttoned the clasp of my jeans, unzipped them, and gently eased my dick out of my underwear. “No answer, huh?”

I started to wave my dick in her face. I grazed her plump lips with the tip of my dick head. Bree eased her eyes open, shocked to the sight of my dick in front of her.

“How about a birthday blow job,” I said, laughing.

She slid away in disgust like I was dangling a pair of my dirty drawers in her face.

“You're drunk,” she said.

“No shit. How did you guess? Come on. How about that blow job? I still have thirty-two minutes left before my birthday is officially over.”

“Get that thing out of my face. What the hell is wrong with you tonight?”

“I'm adopted,” I told her as I struggled to keep my balance.

“Adopted? Baby, what are you talking about? What happened to your hand?”

“I just found out that the man I thought was my father, really wasn't, that's all.” I stumbled into the bathroom where I fell into the bathtub, taking the shower curtain with me.

Bree stood in the entrance of the bathroom, wearing a white negligée. I swear she looked like an angel as the thick flaxen weave framed her face. Damn, my baby looked good.

“Who told you this, your mama?”

“No, my fucking loser of a brother, but Mama confirmed it.”

“Not even a day, and already he's starting shit. Here, let me look at your hand.”

I felt Bree unfurl the bandana from around my hand.

“It doesn't seem to be that bad. Just some cuts, that's all. What did you do to yourself, baby?”

“Fuck Deanthony.”

“What did you all fight about?”

“I was trying to talk to him, find out where the hell he's been the last three years without so much as a damn phone call.”

“Do you really think that was a good time to bring it up?” Bree asked as she nursed the cuts on my hand with a washcloth.

“So you're taking my brother's side now?”

“Kashawn, I'm not taking anyone's side. I'm just saying that I don't think you all should have been fighting at your mama's house like that, and, secondly, it's your birthday.”

“I feel like my whole life is a lie.”

“Does it really matter? Edrick still loved you like you were his own son.” Bree retrieved a bottle of rubbing alcohol out of the medicine cabinet.

“It matters to me. I'm a doctor. I thought I was a Parker, but I really don't know who I am.”