part0025

She was sucking like her life depended on it, but he really wasn’t into it like he should have been. Erica was one of his side chicks that he dealt with from time to time when Keller was on her bullshit. He met her through her cousin, Rich, who he met when he was locked up once. He used Rich to do some of his dirty work from time to time, but that was about it. Leo tried to put Rich on to make some money with him, but it just wasn’t in his blood. Rich was a jack boy, but he wasn’t even good at that. Leo let him make drops for him every now and then, just to keep money in his pockets. His cousin, Erica, was cool for sex, but that was about it. She had a few kids and that was a turnoff for Leo. Living in a run-down trailer park was not what he envisioned for a woman that he wanted to be with.

Besides, Erica and any other woman that he was with only served as a distraction when Keller wasn’t around. She was the only woman who he wanted to be with. She had his heart in the palm of her hands. He knew that he was pushing her away with his erratic behavior and he promised himself that he was going to do better. He knew that Keller was fed up, anytime she left him in jail without bothering to get him out. He was furious at first, but he calmed down once he thought things through. Keller had just found out about him having a son, so that was a lot to take in. She was probably making him suffer for lying about it all that time. She swore that she was coming to get him, but she never made good on her promise.

After spending three nights behind bars, Leo had to beg and plead with Erica to get a loan just to bail him out. He paid back every penny of the loan when he was released and he appreciated her being there for him. She even waited outside of the prison until he was released. Erica was pissed because the first thing he did when he did get out was go straight to the shop to look for Keller. He even sent her inside to see if she was in there because he didn’t want to run into Jaden. He was sure that Keller had told him and her sister what was going on and he wasn’t in the mood to deal with it. When Erica came back and told him that Keller was on vacation, he didn’t know which way to turn. Neither Kia nor Mo liked him enough to give him any info, and he didn’t know Tessa’s number or where she lived. He decided to give it some time and wait for her to return.

“Get me a towel and go wash yourself up.” Leo frowned once he came all over Erica’s face and neck. He tried to drop his load in the towel that was on her floor, but she had other plans. She liked that nasty shit, which was another reason that he didn’t want to be with her. With his babies dripping down her chin, Erica retreated to the bathroom to do what he told her to do. She came back a few minutes later with a clean face and soapy towel in her hand. She tried to clean him up, but Leo snatched the towel from her and did it himself.

“You want something to eat?” Erica asked, trying to get him to stay longer. Usually, Leo would be fucking her brains out by now, but she was on her cycle.

“Nah, I’m about to get going. I need to see if Keller went back to work yet,” he replied while fixing his clothes.

“I don’t know why you’re still chasing after her. She’s obviously not worried about you. She wouldn’t have left you in jail if she was,” Erica spat angrily.

“Stay the fuck out of my business. Whatever happens with me and Keller don’t have shit to do with you.”

“I’m just tired of you constantly shittin’ on me for Keller, when I’m the one that’s always here for you. I’m not beneath her and you need to stop making me feel like I am,” Erica said.

“I’m not making you feel like nothing. You already know what it is. You got three babies with three baby daddies, but you want a nigga to treat you like a queen. You live in a fucking trailer that your mama died and left you. You don’t even keep this bitch clean,” Leo said, turning his nose up in disgust.

“What does the condition of my house have to do with anything?” Erica said, sounding stupid.

“It has everything to do with it. Every time me and Keller break up, you always beg me to be with you, but you don’t even handle your business. Every time I come here, your house and your kids are a fucking mess. What I look like leaving my girl alone for good to come to this shit? You don’t have a job or nothing else going for yourself. Being a freak ain’t enough.”

“It’s not like I’m getting a prize with you either,” Erica pointed out.

Leo had confidence through the roof, to say he wasn’t the best-looking man that she’d ever been with. His swag was on one thousand, but his face was nothing to brag about. He could dress his ass off and she was sure that other females noticed him because of that.

“You talk a lot of shit for a bitch who still got my dried up cum in her hair,” Leo laughed sarcastically as he walked to the door.

“I don’t see what’s so funny. You’re gonna need me one day and I won’t be here when you do,” Erica swore.

“You ain’t going nowhere. But, I got a few other bitches on my team, just in case you do.” He shrugged uncaringly and walked out of her front door. He dialed his brother’s number as soon as he got into his car and pulled off.

“Yeah,” his brother, Jamal, said when he answered the phone.

“Did you get your girl to do it?” Leo asked.

“Yeah,” Jamal drawled.

“What happened?” Leo questioned.

“Keller’s back, but she wasn’t there when she called,” Jamal answered.

“Alright, cool. Tell your girl that I said thanks,” Leo said before hanging up the phone.

He’d been having his little brother’s girlfriend calling the shop every day for the past few days, asking for Keller. She hadn’t been answering his calls, so he knew that she was still mad with him. He was excited to know that she’d finally made it back from wherever she had gone off too. Leo was curious as to where she had been, but he was just happy that she had returned. It was time for him to get his girl back and make things right. He knew that a lot of niggas would have been happy to have Keller on their arm and he couldn’t have that. Keller was his heart and he would die before he let another man have what was his.

“Shit baby, I’m about to cum!” Tigga yelled right as he pulled out and came all over Keller’s round ass. They both collapsed on the bed, drenched in sweat.

“We have to stop this. I was supposed to be back at work days ago,” Keller panted.

They had come back from Florida three days ago, and she’d been relaxing at Tigga’s house since they returned. He hadn’t had a chance to enjoy his own place because Keller had been their every day. It was his idea, so he really didn’t mind.

“We ain’t stopping shit. I’m paying you for my time,” Tigga chuckled.

“I told you to stop saying that. You make it seem like I’m a prostitute,” Keller fussed.

“Get out your feelings. I’m just fucking with you. But, seriously, you know I got you if you need anything. I know that you’re missing out on money by being here with me,” Tigga replied.

“It’s not just about the money. I don’t like disappointing my customers.”

“Didn’t you refer them to somebody else until you come back?” Tigga questioned.

“Yeah, I did,” she replied.

Shanti was a girl that Keller graduated from cosmetology school with. She was a pretty decent nail tech who worked in a salon a few blocks away from Bryce’s shop. Whenever either one of them were unavailable, they referred their customers to each other.

“I’m trying to get my phone. I need to know what time it is,” Keller replied.

“You sure that’s the only reason why you want your phone?” Tigga asked with raised brows. Leo had been blowing Keller’s phone up like crazy, but she never answered for him.

“Don’t start Tigga. I don’t say nothing when Anaya calls your phone all day and night,” Keller replied.

Anaya had become a straight up pain in the ass since they got back from Florida. She called all day and night, claiming that the girls wanted to talk to him. Most of the time, it sounded like they were sleeping when they got on the phone. If it wasn’t that, she was calling to ask for stuff that they probably didn’t even need. Tigga tried his best to handle things the right way. He sat down and explained to his daughters about their new living arrangements as best as he could. They were young, but they were also very smart. Their first day back home, Tigga had taken them to his new place to show them were he would be living. They were excited to know that they would have two rooms at two different houses. He made sure to let them know that they could come to his house to sleep or visit any time they wanted to. Things went over smoothly with them, but Anaya was another story.

“You know I don’t want no damn Anaya,” Tigga said after a long pause.

“And you know I don’t want no damn Leo,” Keller countered.

“You’re not starting to have doubts again, are you?” Tigga asked, just to be sure.

“No, we talked about this already. If there were any doubts, I wouldn’t have taken it to the next level with you. I wouldn’t even be here right now,” Keller said honestly.

“I’m just making sure. I don’t want to put myself in a position to get my feelings hurt.”

“I’m putting myself in the same position. Both of us are just coming out of a relationship. That’s why I told you that we need to take it slow,” Keller replied.

“You should have said that before you gave me the pussy. It’s too late for taking things slow now,” Tigga said seriously.

“I can’t with you,” Keller laughed as she got up from the bed.

“Where you going?” he asked her.

“You know I have be at the dealership at four. My mama is coming to get me. I won’t be that long. The paperwork is already done. I just have to pick up the car,” Keller replied.

She’d finally decided to go with the Lexus truck, but they had to order the color that she wanted. She paid more to get the truck in bronze, but it was well worth it.

“I could have taken you to do that. You want me to come with you?” Tigga offered.

“I did say that my mama is coming with me,” Keller answered.

“It’s cool if you’re not ready for me to meet her yet, but she’s going to wonder whose house this is that she’s picking you up from,” Tigga answered.

“It’s not that I don’t want you to meet her. Mo just has a way of seeing things differently. It was like Kia and I never could hide anything from her. She saw right through us every time. She hates Leo, but I really want her to like you.”

“Why wouldn’t she like me?” Tigga questioned.

“I don’t know, but I think I better let her pick me up from Tessa’s house,” Keller suggested.

“Hell no, Keller. We’re not even about to start that shit. I’m a grown ass man. I’m not hiding from your mama and nobody else,” Tigga argued.

“But-” Keller started before he cut her off.

“But nothing. I’m not starting our relationship off like that. That shit is childish as fuck.” Tigga frowned.

“So, we’re in a relationship now?” Keller blushed.

“Girl, stop acting like you don’t want to be with a nigga,” Tigga laughed.

“Okay, but don’t say that I didn’t warn you about Mo. She gon’ get all in your business and ask you a thousand questions.”

“I don’t have nothing to hide. I’ll tell her whatever she wants to know. I might even tell her that her daughter is a freak,” he teased as she chased her into the bathroom.

He and Keller took a quick shower together before getting dressed. Tigga wanted to drive her to Mo’s house, but Keller called her mother to pick them up instead. She was a little nervous about Mo meeting him. Tigga was one of the good ones, but Mo was going to pick him apart. She did that with everything that involved her daughters. She even gave the people at the dealership a hard time about Keller’s car. It worked out fine though because she got the car that she wanted.

“Please don’t take nothing that my mama says personal. I hide a lot of stuff from her because she’s so overprotective,” Keller said when Mo called to tell her that she was outside.

“Calm your paranoid ass down. I’m not scared of your mama,” Tigga said, right before they walked outside.

Mo was standing outside of the car, looking like a slightly older version of Keller and her sister. She looked so sweet and innocent, but Tigga was no fool. Her daughter had told him some stories about her and believed every one of them. Jaden had already told him that Mo didn’t play behind her only two girls.

“Hey baby,” Mo said, giving Keller a tight hug.

“Hey Ma. This is Tyler,” Keller said, introducing Tigga by his real name.

“How you doing ma’am?” Tigga said as he stepped up shook Mo’s hand.

“Monique or Mo is fine. Do you prefer to be called Tyler or Tigga?” she asked him.

“You can call me Tigga,” he replied with a smile.

Keller gave her mother a strange look, wondering how she knew about his nickname.

“Stop looking at me like that girl,” Mo laughed. “I got my ways of knowing what I need to know. He’s Tessa’s brother, right?”

“Yeah,” Keller replied in shock. “How do you know that?”

“I got my ways.” Mo smiled at her. Kia was so excited that Keller was dating someone other than Leo. She told Mo all about Tigga and what he did for a living. Kia seemed to think that he was good for her sister and Mo had to agree. She asked around about him and no one had a bad word to say. His father was a known junkie in the hood, but that didn’t have anything to do with his son. She knew all about Tigga’s baby mama too. Mo knew that Anaya had the potential to be a problem for her daughter, but she would deal with that issue if it were to ever become one.

“I guess we need to get going,” Keller said after a few minutes of lingering silence.

“Wait, I left my phone. I’ll be right back,” Tigga said as he jogged up the steps and back into the house.

“So,” Keller said, looking at Mo. “What do you think?”

“I think he’s very handsome.”

“And?” Keller pressed her mother to say more.

“And I think you really like him,” Mo answered.

“I do,” Keller admitted.

“So do I.” Mo winked.

“So, you don’t think we’re moving too fast?” Keller asked her mother.

“You’re asking that question to a woman who was pregnant when she went in to get her six-week checkup,” Mo said, making her daughter laugh.

“Say no more,” Keller said as she got into her mother’s car.

As soon as Tigga came out, they were on their way to the car dealership. Keller was beaming from ear to ear. She didn’t know what made her happier. The fact that she was minutes away from having her own car again or maybe it was Mo giving her the green light on her relationship with Tigga. Either way it went, she had a whole lot to smile about.