Chapter 9
Iwoke up, my vision slowly clearing as I blinked the room into focus. My neck ached from the floor, and my back wasn’t much better. I rolled onto my side to stretch, forgetting all about my unwanted guest until I noticed him moving across the room, naked, heading straight for my bathroom.
I pushed myself up, ignoring the pull in my shoulders. “What the hell do you think you doing?”
“What the hell do it look like?”
“It looks like you’re violating my space. I didn’t tell you to make yourself at home.”
“You ain’t got to, but one thing I know about you is that you don’t like no nasty ass nigga. Didn’t think you’d trip about me washing my ass,” he replied without breaking his stride.
A few moments later, he shouted from inside my bathroom, “Get up and come take a shower with me. Let me work that kink out ya’ body. I know that hard ass floor got your back hurting.”
“I’m good. Just handle your business. I’ll get in after you,” I replied, though seeing him naked made me want to jump his bones.
I shouldn’t want to do that, but I do. I loved Booda-
I heard him, but my mind was elsewhere as I sat there, looking at the spot he’d just crossed, trying to make sense of his presence. I didn’t remember offering to let him spend the night. Barely remembered him coming here, or our conversation.
“Koko,” Booda dragged my name. “Get yo’ fine ass in here. Don’t make me come get you.”
I rolled my eyes and simultaneously cracked a slight smile.
The way he said that took me back to a time when it was us against the world.
Booda had always been demanding, but he was never loud and never begged.
He said something once and expected me to fall in line, and most of the time that was what I did.
I didn’t mind following his lead because Booda protected me, spent bags on me like it was nothing, and made sure I never had to ask for anything twice. He knew how to take care of me, mentally, physically, and emotionally.
If I got mad, he knew how to calm me down, and when he was wrong, he knew how to fix it in a way that made it hard to stay upset with him.
Booda had an effect on me that I couldn’t shake, nor did I want to. I listened, even when I wanted to be stubborn, and even when I had doubts. Because Booda… he was all man. No imitation. No flake. I knew without a doubt that he wouldn’t lead me astray.
Sitting here now, hearing him call me like that again, I felt that same pull trying to reel me back in.
Before I realized what I was doing, I was on my feet and inside the bathroom.
Booda stood just outside the shower, his dick hanging mid-thigh, with a smirk on his face. He knew I would come whenever he talked to me like that. I was pathetic.
“I like that you listen. That’s what kept a nigga going hard for you,” he said, and inside I swooned like a little bitch.
But I didn’t show it.
Instead, I stripped out of my clothes and said, “Whatever,” as I passed by him to turn on the shower.
Grabbing my hand, he guided me into the tub and stepped in behind me.
Steam rose around us. The water was hot enough to sting, but it didn’t touch the heat building in me when I felt Booda’s chest press against my back.
Next thing I knew, his hands were everywhere.
He started at my shoulders, fingers working in slow, deliberate circles as if he knew exactly where the tension sat.
A breath slipped out of me before I could catch it, and I clenched my jaw, annoyed at myself for giving him that.
“Relax, Momma,” he murmured, thumbs digging deeper along the base of my neck. “I’ma take care of you like I used to.”
His touch slid lower, working down my back, and I closed my eyes, enjoying the moment a little too much.
“Damn,” he said under his breath. “You still fine as fuck.”
I rolled my eyes, but he kept going, his hands spreading across my sides, taking his time.
“You were fine back then, but now…” he went on, lips close to my ear. “You even better. This chocolate skin is even softer. Yo’ back smooth as hell… and you still got the kind of curves that make muthafuckas break they neck to look at you.”
His hands traveled lower, kneading and exploring as if he was trying to learn my body all over again.
“That ass still sits just right. It ain’t big, but it’s enough to fill my hands. I love that shit,” he said, cupping both cheeks as he used his thumb to massage them. “You perfect, baby.”
I swallowed hard, staring straight ahead as tears of longing filled my eyes.
“You cut your hair,” he added, fingers brushing the side of my head. “Fits you. Shows off those high cheekbones.”
His hand moved to my chin, and he guided my head his way to get a better look.
“I love every part of you,” he said, taking me in.
My heart pounded, and I felt my clit thump, but I held firm. I couldn’t let him talk me out of my panties. Well, technically, they were already off, but I couldn’t let him get inside me.
At least not yet.
“Don’t start,” I whispered.
“I ain’t started nothing,” he replied, voice steady. “I’m just calling it like I see it.”
His hands went back to my shoulders, working the tension out again, slower this time, more intentional.
“You’ve always been pretty,” he continued. “You knew it, but I love how you always remained humble. That made you even more beautiful in my eyes. Superficial bitches be pretty on the outside, but ugly inside. You were never that.”
He looked down at me and grinned. “I lucked up when I found you. You have beauty, sex appeal, and have always been the realest nigga on my team. Never forget that.”
My knees buckled when his lips grazed my ear, and I had to lean into him to keep from falling.
“Thank you,” I said, truly appreciating him saying that.
His hands stilled for half a second as if he were shocked, then started moving in again.
“You never have to thank me for honoring you. That will forever be my job.”
I shut my eyes, letting the water hit my face, because I didn’t have a response for that.
For a second, I stood there speechless. His hands, the heat, the way everything felt familiar. It was too easy to fall back into.
Then I caught myself.
I straightened up and pulled away to break the spell he had me under.
“Aight,” I said, reaching for the soap. “That’s enough. Thank you for the massage.”
His hands fell to his side. He wasn’t expecting that.
“That’s it?” he asked, sounding amused.
“That’s it,” I replied, quickly soaping my body.
I hit every crook and crevice, then rinsed off as fast as I could, not giving him another chance to pull me back in.
With that done, I stepped out of the tub, grabbed a towel, and shut the water off. He finished just as fast as I had.
My skin was still buzzing, my body still remembering everything I was trying to forget, but I kept my face straight as I wrapped the towel around me.
Behind me, I could feel his eyes on me.
“Keep acting like you don’t want me. You just prolonging the inevitable,” he said.
I glanced over my shoulder, meeting his gaze so I could make my point clear.
“I don’t want you. This was fun, but it’s still over,” I replied.
Even if my body was telling a different story.
“We will never be over,” he chuckled as he followed me into the bedroom.
I grabbed my luggage out of the closet, rummaging through what little I had. After finding a t-shirt and a pair of tights, I moisturized my body and pulled on the clean clothes. Then, I went back to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and combed my hair.
By the time I finished, Booda was dressed and was just standing by, watching me.
“What?” I snapped, snatching my shirt down.
He tilted his head, eyes narrowing as he studied me. “When was the last time you ate?”
That caught me off guard.
“What?”
“When was the last time you ate?” he repeated, stepping closer to crowd my personal space. “You got to take care of yourself.”
I sucked my teeth and brushed past him. “I’m fine.”
“You always say that,” he said, following behind me.
Knowing it would do no good to argue, I went straight to the kitchen, opened the cabinet, and grabbed bread and chips, then a pack of lunch meat from the fridge.
I made two sandwiches, one for him and one for me, then went to the living room and sat on the floor. Booda took his seat across from me, and I slid one plate his way without looking at him.
“You don’t have to do that,” he said.
“Do what?” I asked, looking up.
“Take care of me before you take care of yourself.”
I rolled my eyes and took a bite of my sandwich. “It’s just food. Don’t read too much into it.”
He didn’t say anything for a long while. Just watched me eat.
“You remember how bad shit got not long after we met?” he asked.
I kept chewing and didn’t answer.
“The feds hit that shipment,” he went on. “The biggest one I had at the time. Shit was gone in hours.”
He let out a breath through his nose.
“One minute I’m up. Next minute, I’m barely staying afloat.”
I glanced at him but stayed quiet.
“I thought you was gon’ leave,” he admitted. “Swear I did. I had already made peace with it.”
He shook his head, a faint smile pulling at his mouth.
“But you ain’t go nowhere. You stayed. Held me down when I couldn’t even get out of my own head.” His hand fisted in his jeans before relaxing. “That loss fucked with me.”
He leaned back, eyes drifting for a second.
“The plug was on my ass about that money, but I wasn’t even thinking about that. I was thinking about you.”
His gaze came back to me.
“Niggas could’ve killed me, I would’ve been fine with that. But if anybody had touched you…” His words trailed off before he huffed a short laugh. “I was ready to wipe out whole families behind you.”
A beat passed.
“Then you came to me, talking about robbing the city like it was nothing.” He shook his head, a real smile breaking through. “That’s when I knew. I said, yeah… that’s my wife.”
He rubbed his jaw, thinking back.
“Man, we were different when we were broke. We paid attention to everything. Who had it, who didn’t, and nothing got past us.”