Chapter Twenty-Five
Rhythm
“You better be careful out here, Rhythm,” Nique warned me as I drove to pick Channing up. “I can see that fool trying to confront you, too, at some point.”
“I promise, I’ll be aware of my surroundings. If I have to get a restraining order, I will.”
“Good. All I know is he better not show up here again. I’ve got a gun and bullets with his name on it.”
“I don’t think it will go that far, Nique. He’s just mad without being justified. He’s making things worse for himself.”
“Right. If him and ol’ girl keep acting out, both of them are gonna get dropped from that label.”
“Well, that’s on them. Karma is a bitch.”
I couldn’t believe that Raheem showed his ass the way he did. At this point, we’d been broken up for almost three months now. I’d made it clear that there was no us, and we were never getting back together. I’d made it a point to return the money and the gifts he’d purchased me after our breakup because I wouldn’t have that shit lingering over my head.
Nique told me I was crazy to give the money back, and maybe I was, but I didn’t want anything tying me to that man any longer. My car and my business were both in my name, so he could never take that from me. Everything else was disposable.
I said goodbye to Nique as I pulled up in front of Channing’s work building. It was around twelve, and he was waiting outside. A deep frown had embedded itself on his face. I could tell that he was livid, and he had every right to be. I was sure he wanted to know exactly who told Raheem about us. Then again, knowing him, he didn’t care who told him. It was probably the car that had him pissed.
When he looked up to see me, his face softened a bit. He stood and came to the driver’s side and opened the door.
Immediately, I cupped his face and kissed him softly. He seemed like he needed a little love, and I was happy to give it to him. When I pulled away, I unhooked my seat belt and climbed across to the passenger seat so he could drive. The moment my ass was in the air, he smacked it.
I squealed as I looked back at him. “Ouch!”
He grinned as he climbed in. “How long do you have until your next appointment?” he asked.
“Actually, my last appointment got canceled. I’m done for the day.”
“Great minds think alike. I’m done with this shit for the day, too. How about we head to my place, and we can cook lunch together?”
“I’m down for that.”
I strapped myself in and relaxed into the seat. He pulled into traffic, and we made our way to his home. For most of the ride, he held my hand. Every so often, he kissed my knuckles or the back of my hand, all while keeping his eyes on the road. I could tell he was in deep thought.
I still felt bad that Raheem had fucked up his car. It wasn’t a cheap car either. He drove a custom black-on-black Aston Martin DB12. Between the base price of the car plus the customizations, it was worth well over a half million. That was a lot of money gone to waste now.
I couldn’t make up for his loss, but I wanted to at least make him feel better. Unbuckling my seat belt, I climbed to my knees and leaned over the armrest. The way he was sitting with the seat back gave me the perfect angle.
“What are you doing?” he asked as I undid his pants.
“Just drive and don’t make us wreck.”
I pulled his dick from his pants and spit on the head, using it to lube him up. He hissed as I took him in my mouth to the back of my throat.
“Fuck!”
His hand wrapped around my ponytail, and he gripped it tightly as my head and hand bobbed up and down his shaft. My mouth was so wet that he slid in and out with ease.
“Goddamn, baby… Suck that shit.”
He reached over and smacked my ass, exciting me. I knew once we reached his house, the seat of my panties would be ruined. As if that was his goal, he slipped his hand into the back of my scrub pants then between the elastic of my panties and cupped my pussy from behind. His fingers teased my clit, causing a moan to spill from my lips.
I was already slick with desire when his fingers entered my wet center. I was thankful that I had tinted windows or else someone riding beside us would see the show we were putting on. As his fingers stroked my middle, I sucked his dick with all my might.
My hands and jaws worked overtime to please him. I knew sucking him off wouldn’t make up for the damage done to his property, but it would at least relax him. I felt the car come to a stop and the sound of his garage door opening. We slowly rolled inside, and the car shut off.
Again, I felt his hand on the back of my head. He held it in place as he thrusted his big, beautiful dick into my mouth repeatedly.
“I’m ’bout to nut,” he warned me. “You gon’ catch that shit?”
I didn’t answer. Instead, I sucked and jacked him faster. When his balls drew up, I knew he was about to cum. I took him deep into the back of my mouth, and he shot his load down my throat as I exploded all over his fingers.
“Shiiiit!” he yelled, yanking my mouth away.
He eased his fingers out of me, and I sat up. Reaching over, he gently grabbed me by my throat and placed those saturated fingers to my lips.
“Open.”
I smirked as I opened my mouth. He slipped his fingers in and slowly moved them in and out.
“That’s my nasty girl,” he praised. “Savor that good pussy.”
Once I’d sucked his fingers clean, he crashed his lips into mine, devouring the taste of me on my tongue.
“Lunch can wait,” he said, opening his door. “I need you.”
I smirked as I wiped the corners of my mouth. Who was I to deny his needs?
After a rendezvous right there in the garage, Channing and I headed inside for a quick shower and to put something on our stomachs. He’d given me a pair of his boxers, socks, and a shirt to change into so I could be comfortable. Currently, we were in the kitchen making a quick lunch of beef and chicken tacos.
While he cooked the meat, I cut up the vegetables. R however, none of them mentioned Channing. We knew he was released when he got on Twitter making subliminal tweets.
“Pussy ass niggas always be plotting.”
“The same muthafucka that smiles in your face will stab you in the back.”
“Hos be crying and cappin’ like they ain’t for everybody, too.”
I couldn’t, for the life of me, understand how he had the audacity to be mad in a situation he started. It had to be his ego and pride because nothing else made sense to me. I wondered how long he was going to drag this shit out. I didn’t have the energy to devote to him or this situation anymore.
“Drive safe and let me know when you make it home,” Channing said, pulling me into his arms. “Keep your location on and share it with me.”
“I will.”
Cupping my face, he kissed me softly, then opened my door. I climbed in and strapped myself in as he opened the garage. I backed out and down the driveway. With a blow of my horn, I pulled onto the street.
I turned on some music to vibe to while I drove. As I bobbed my head to “BPW” by Jazmine Sullivan, I noticed the bright lights in my rearview.
“Fucking asshole,” I mumbled, speeding up.
To my surprise, the car sped up too. I switched lanes, and so did they.
“What the hell!”
I decided to make a left turn to see if they were really following me or being an asshole. The car followed. I made three additional left turns, and they followed those too. I knew it had to be Raheem. I was livid at this point. Reaching into my armrest, I pulled out my gun and loaded the clip.
My father had gifted it to me when I first decided to move out here. He told me that if I were ever in trouble and needed to protect myself, shoot first and ask questions later. Because of him, I had killer aim. I wouldn’t miss. I would hate to have to shoot Raheem, but if he was going to act crazy, I could stoop to his level.
I pulled into the empty parking lot of a grocery store and threw my car in park. The car tailing me pulled in behind me, and the door opened. I flung my door open and got out with my gun raised. My eyes met Raheem’s angry face.
“Why the fuck are you following me!” I yelled.
“What the fuck are you doing with that nigga, Rhythm? My fucking producer?”
“It wouldn’t matter if he was your damn brother. It’s not you!”
“When did you start fucking with him? Huh? You had me introducing you and shit at my listening party, and you knew who he was?”
“Did I ask you to introduce me to anybody? No.”
“That ain’t the point!”
“No, Raheem. You wanna know what the point is? The point that has been made repeatedly to you? You. Aren’t. My. Man! I never cheated on you. I didn’t fuck anybody you knew behind your back. Channing was a one-night stand that happened to go past one night. I’m not sorry about that, and I don’t regret it. You know what I don’t get, Raheem? You lied and cheated on me. You got your side bitch pregnant, and you’re upset because I moved on.”
“You moved on with him, somebody I work with.”
“You moved on with somebody you work with. What’s the difference? Imani has been to the home we shared together. Before she started acting funny with me, I’ve fed that bitch at my table. You’ve flaunted your whore in my face so many times, and I knew nothing of what you were doing with her.”
His jaw clenched as he remained silent because he knew I was right. I lowered my gun.
“Just tell me why? Why couldn’t you just tell me you didn’t want to be with me anymore?”
“Because I did want to be with you. You just… You enjoyed the fruits of my labor but acted like you wanted me to be the same nigga you knew in high school. I grew into the person I needed to be to change my circumstances.” He laughed as he raised his hands. “I love this shit! This is the life I was meant to have. I was on my grind and working my ass off to get here.
“I needed more than you were willing to give, too, baby. Why would you agree to move out here if you knew you couldn’t keep up? Imani understood this lifestyle. I didn’t have to beg her to be with me the way I wanted you to. I’ve had a thing for you since we were kids, Rhythm. I wanted you so fucking bad, and I had nothing to offer you back then. When I finally got you, I thought we would be on some turning up, lavish living, taking trips around the world type of shit.
“I just knew that once I got you out here, you’d see how good we could have it, and you didn’t. I love you, but you’ve been fucking boring me. I thought Imani might have lit a fire under your ass to finally get with the program.”
I scoffed. “Bastard. You must be smoking that good shit for that to be the kind of logic that makes sense in your head. You should have left me where the fuck you found me. I blame myself for thinking I’d get an adult version of the boy I crushed on in high school. That’s my bad. I won’t ever make that mistake again. Leave me the fuck alone, Raheem. And while you’re at it, leave my man alone, too. Neither of us owe you a drop of loyalty. You come at us again, and I’ll have my father pay your ass a visit, and you already know how he’s coming.”
I backed away from him and went to climb in my car.
“And if you follow me again, I’m shooting your black ass.”
I got into the car and slammed the door. Putting the car in drive, I sped out of the parking lot, leaving him behind yelling obscenities. As I sped down the road, I called Channing to tell him what happened.
“Hey, you home already?”
“No. I had a little detour.”
“Detour?”
“Raheem. He followed me from your house.”
“Son of a bitch! Did he touch you?”
“No. I had my gun. I’m guessing since he’s blocked on everything, he tracked my car. Channing, I’m so sick of him. Why can’t he just leave me the fuck alone?”
I began to cry. This whole thing was frustrating and overwhelming. He was doing the most for a nigga that couldn’t be faithful to me.
“Calm down, love,” Channing said softly. “I want you to get home safe. I’m coming to get your car on my lunch break tomorrow and have my guy at the mechanic shop take that damn tracker off. Ain’t no reason for him to be on you like that. If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll lay his ass low.”
“I almost want to let my daddy get at him.”
“Me and Pops can always pull up on his punk ass.”
I sniffled. “Karma will get him. I believe that. Just stay on the phone with me until I make it in the house, okay? I left him in the grocery store parking lot, but who’s to say he won’t show up at the apartment?”
“Do you need me to come there?”
“No. I’m gonna call security and have them wait to escort me up.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
He sighed reluctantly. I said a silent prayer that this didn’t turn into a thing with Raheem. Enough was fucking enough.