No More Mr. Nice Guy (5 page)

“I win!” Keisha's friend Tanya proclaimed happily as she slammed her shot glass down on the table just before Willie did his. This was their second round of shots, and I was pretty sure Willie was letting her win. The two of them were getting along like old friends.

“Damn, that was close. Three outta four?” Willie challenged, signaling for the waitress to bring them another round. He draped his arm around Tanya's shoulder and turned to me and Keisha. “You two want some of this?”

Keisha rubbed up against me. “No, I'm pretty much a lightweight. I drink any more and I might not remember what happened in the morning.”

“And we definitely want you to remember what happens tonight.” I eyed her flirtatiously.

“So what are we doing here? Let's blow this Popsicle stand. Shit, I got a bottle of white Hennessey I been waiting to crack open for just such an occasion. Y'all wanna go back to the house?” Willie asked.

Keisha glanced over at her girl as if Tanya was the real decision maker. Tanya leaned her head against Willie, giggling. “Sure. Sounds like fun.”

“Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout. Let's get the hell outta here.” Willie smiled so wide I could see every tooth in his mouth.

We stood up and were about to head out the door when a thuggish young dude shouted at Keisha.

“Yo, Keisha! What the fuck you doing here? You supposed to be at home watching MJ!” he barked. He was about fifteen feet away, flanked by two other wannabe gangstas who were at his side, and they were closing ranks fast.

“He's home with my mother. Don't come in here acting like you got ownership on what I'm doing, Rodney,” she snapped at him. She was giving him attitude, but I was close enough to sense the fear his presence had brought.

“Is there a problem?” I whispered to Keisha. The last thing I wanted to do was to get in the middle of other people's domestic issues, but I stepped in front of Keisha just in case something jumped off.

“No, there shouldn't be,” she whispered. I sensed that if this asshole hadn't been glaring down at us, I could have gotten the full story. “But let's get outta here before he starts drinking and makes it one.”

“And who the fuck is this nigga?” Rodney asked, jerking his head in my direction.

“He's a friend of mine, and let's get something straight. I don't report to you. Now, you need to take your ass and sit it down somewhere,” Keisha said.

“I don't know who you think you're talking to, but you wouldn't be talking this shit if Majestic wasn't locked up.” He reached for her wrist. “Come on. I'm taking your ass home.”

I snatched his arm before he could put a hand on her. “Don't touch the lady,” I said, my voice laced with the threat of violence.

“You got a motherfuckin' problem?” He snatched his hand back. His shouting had caused the entire bar to fall into a quick silence in anticipation of some action. Wouldn't be the first beat down this bar had ever seen.

“No, I got no problem, but you will if you try to put your hands on her again.”

Keisha placed her hand on mine, trying to stop things before they got out of control. “Come on, Niles. He's not worth it.”

“Who the fuck is this nigga? Sir Lancelot? Keisha, you better tell him something before his ass ends up pushing up daisies.”

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling myself ready to snap. People like Rodney always had to make things difficult for themselves. Willie saw that I was reaching my breaking point.

“Look, why don't you fellas go over to the bar and have a drink on me? Ain't nobody looking for trouble. Trust me. Y'all don't wanna get hurt,” Willie said calmly.

Rodney wasn't backing down. “What you trying to say, nigga? You bitches wanna take it outside?” He laughed with his boys like it was the funniest shit they'd ever heard.

“Trust me. You don't want to do that,” I warned him.

“The fuck I don't. Bring your ass outside,” Rodney yelled, jumping around all pumped up by his backup.

“Yeah, that's right. Take his ass outside and fuck his ass up, Rod.” The thug on his right egged him on.

Well, damn, if these dudes weren't going to give up, I decided, then they left me no choice but to give them what they were asking for. I gestured to the back door.

Keisha took hold of my arm. “Niles, don't. He doesn't fight fair.”

“It's all right. We just gonna go out there and talk like gentlemen. Isn't that right, fellas?” I leaned over and gave her a kiss, partly because I had wanted to do that since I saw her, and also because I knew it would send Rodney over the edge.

“Yeah, we gonna talk all right.” Rodney slammed his fist into his palm.

“Okay, gentlemen, let's go outside and have our talk.” I took off my jacket and started walking toward the back door.

“Aren't you going with him?” I heard Keisha ask Willie.

I had to laugh at his response, the last thing I heard before I walked out the back door.

“Nah, he can handle this. Trust me. I'd just be in the way. ”

We walked outside into a dimly lit ally. Rodney, who was standing between his two friends, didn't waste any time. He rushed at me wildly, telegraphing his punches from a mile away. It didn't look like I had to worry about any formal training on their part.

I side-stepped him, sending my fist crashing into his stomach and knocking the wind out of him.

“Had enough, punk?” When he couldn't answer, I taunted him with, “Oh, I'm sorry. It's kind of hard to talk when you can't breathe, isn't it?”

I was tempted to hit his ass again, but there was really no need. His ass should have gotten the message. Besides, dude still couldn't even catch his breath. I almost felt sorry for his weak ass.

“Now, I don't know what the fuck is going on between you and Keisha, but while I'm around, you keep your hands to yourself. We clear on that?” I said.

One of his boys grabbed me from behind. Big mistake on his part, because I hit him twice with a bolo punch aimed at his throat.

“Damn, I know that's gotta hurt,” I said.

He grabbed his throat and fell to his knees.

“But not as much as this.” I gave him a swift kick to his jaw, and he fell backward.

I spun around to check on Rodney and came face-to-face with the third dude, who had picked up a pipe of some sort. I'd been nice to the first two, but I wasn't going to play games with this guy holding a weapon.

Wait for it,
I told myself as he came closer.
Wait for it.
As soon as he was close enough, I dropped to the ground and swivel-kicked his legs from under him, grabbing the pipe out of his hands before he hit the ground.

“You deserve this shit,” I told him, smashing the pipe into his ribcage three times. I heard something crack, so I was sure he wasn't getting up anytime soon.

I froze for a second when I was caught off guard by the distinct sound of a bullet being slid into the chamber of a 9 Glock. I turned around cautiously to see Rodney pointing a gun at me.

“Yeah, motherfucker,” he said cockily, pointing the gun at my chest. “Let's see what that Bruce Lee shit does against this nine. Now, drop the pipe.”

“I guess Keisha was right. You don't fight fair.”

“Ain't no such thing as a fair fight. Either you win or you lose. Now, I said drop the fucking pipe.”

“You ever kill anyone, Rodney?” I asked.

I think my question confused him, because instead of spouting off at the mouth, he went silent. “I only ask because the gangsta way you're holding the gun sideways gives you a thirty percent less chance of hitting your target, even at this range.”

He tried to straighten out the gun, which gave me just enough time to whiz the pipe at him and duck to my left, in case the gun went off. Instinctively, he raised his hand to protect himself. I was on him like white on rice, landing a swift kick to his chest that allowed me to wrestle the gun from his hand and point it at his head.

“So, Rodney, what d'you think? Is it a good day to die?” I took out a piece of gum and popped it in my mouth to calm my nerves. Now it was my turn to show him exactly who he was fucking with.

I hit the button on my phone, ignoring my mother's call as I took one last look at myself in the bathroom mirror. She'd been blowing up my phone for the past half hour like she knew exactly what I was doing and who I was about to do it with. Normally I answered her calls, but I didn't feel obligated this time, because she had refused to watch my son when I told her I was going out. I knew she was pissed when I dropped him off at my grandmother's house and kept it moving.

“You all right?” Niles asked as I stepped out of the bathroom.

I nodded, suddenly too nervous to find my voice, especially since the only man who had seen me naked in the last five years was Majestic.

“'Cause we don't have to do anything,” he said. He looked at me with kind eyes, and it just made me more sure that I wanted to do this.

“No, I'm all right.” I giggled nervously, feeling like a virgin standing so close to him.

He wrapped one hand around my waist and brought me closer to him, all the while searching my face for answers. “Talk to me, Keisha.” His voice sounded so earnest; deep and sexy, like something out of a movie. If I had been wearing panties instead of my birthday suit, they would have been sopping wet by now. That's how much he turned me on.

“It's just that I've only been with one person for the past five years, and well . . .” I trailed off, and he waited patiently for me to gather my nerve to continue. “I can count all the men I've slept with on one hand and still have a finger or two left.” I was worried that he would prefer someone with a whole lot more experience.

“So you're not easy. I know that, Keisha. You don't think I remember all those fast girls you hung out with? You and Nia were the only ones always stuck in your books,” he reminded me, staring into my eyes with the kind of desire I had only dreamt about. I don't mean the “I want to fuck the shit out of you” stuff, either. His eyes were saying simply “I want you,” and that meant something, because this was a man who could have any woman he wanted.

I shook my head, still unable to believe that I was standing here like this with him. “Look at me. It's been less than four hours, and I'm already naked in your shower, about to do all kinds of things.” I felt myself blushing. Man, I was really ruining this moment with my hesitation.

Niles didn't seem to mind, though. He lifted my chin so that my eyes met his. “Hey, we can go at whatever pace you want, Keisha. I don't need to rush this.”

I felt myself damn near melting. The more he put the ball in my court, the more I wanted him. Hell, I knew enough from my own life and from watching my single girlfriends to know that men don't just back away to check your feelings when you're both butt naked. Most of them do whatever they can to close the deal. Niles was different, and that's why I wanted to be with him.

I reached up and kissed him like I'd been imagining for all those years when I was way too young for him to really notice me.

“Unless you think I should get dressed and leave?” I teased as I pressed my body, hot with desire, against his letting him know that I would do no such thing.

“You sure?” he asked me again, although we both know he'd already gotten my answer.

“I'm not very sure about a lot of things these days, but this . . .” I slipped my tongue in his mouth and proceeded to move us past the talking stage and into the doing stage.

Niles took both my hands in one of his and raised them above my head as his mouth moved from mine to my neck. By the time he reached my ear and nibbled on it, my body had heated up like an electric furnace. He released my arms and took the soap, rubbing it all over my body until he'd worked both the soap and I into a frothy lather.

When he handed me the soap, I was more than happy for my turn. That man had the kind of chiseled Adonis body you only saw on television. This was some next level shit that I couldn't believe was happening to me.

“C'mon.” Niles swooped me up and carried me into the bedroom, where he put me down in front of the bed. First he toweled me off. Then he opened his suitcase and pulled out a bottle of lotion and began to rub it over every inch of my body until I glistened. When he turned me around to lotion my ass, he started rubbing his hands up and down my inner thighs, making me moist and sticky. Then he dropped down on his knees and began to lick and suck on my inner thighs, moving closer and closer to my horny center.

Everything in me was begging for this man to be inside of me. His greedy tongue found its way to my sweet spot, and I went weak. He proceeded to lick and suck on my clitoris until my legs started to shake.

“Oh, Niles. Niles.” I grabbed hold of his head as his tongue darted in and out, flicking across my clitoris. “I'm going to fall. Please. Please,” I begged him, but he was unrelenting as an orgasm took over my body. “No. No. No. I'm . . . oh. Oh. Niles. Niles. Please. Please.”

I knew I looked like a complete mess, but when I opened my eyes, Niles was staring at me with a satisfied grin on his face.

“That was beautiful, Keisha.”

“I've never come standing up,” I admitted, trying to contain the smile on my face. Man, he just did something to me.

“Well, I'm not done with you.” He picked me up and laid me down. “Don't move,” he said in a way that was so tender that I did just as he asked. He got a condom, and as he put it on, he started kissing me hungrily.

“Please, Niles. I need you,” I purred, writhing on the bed as he climbed on top of me.

“I need you too, Keisha,” he said, blowing my mind. Then he leaned down and started to lick and suck my pussy again, getting me wetter. He lowered himself on top of me, and I palmed his ass cheeks and pulled him toward me. I couldn't remember ever feeling as good as the moment he fully entered me. It felt like I'd been waiting for this forever.

I moaned and threw my head back as he spread my legs apart in order to go deeper inside of me. His hand cupped the back of my head as he brought my lips to meet his, our bodies rising and falling in unison.

He must have turned me every which way but loose, and I loved every moment of it. Instead of being fucked, I felt like I finally understood what it meant to have someone make love to me. This was no sex as a competitive sport, with me making sure he got his. I'd never had a man pay as much attention to my needs as Niles did, as he brought me to orgasm over and over again. When I thought it was the last orgasm, my body would surprise me with yet another one.

In between the orgasmic waves, he would stop and kiss me, staring deep into my eyes. It was as if he wanted me to know that he was present and this wasn't just fucking. I don't know how many times that man made love to me before I fell into a deep sleep, cradled in his arms, happier than I'd been in years.