Ratchet Bitches 2 (2 page)

“That’s what you get for shacking up with a girl fresh out of high school.” Kerry grinned. “She doesn’t know any better.”

“She’s a Junior in college.” Justin attempted to correct her.

“Well, what was she when you started fucking around with her?” Kerry asked, giving him the side eye.

Justin paused for a minute as he lay on top of Kerry, staring down at her beautiful face. He didn’t want to talk about Shannon. If he wanted her to be the topic of discussion, he would’ve kept his ass at home.  

“You thought that was a man for me, didn’t you?” Kerry laughed; liking the jealous side that Justin had just showed her.

“You so damn funny,” Justin joked while running his hand up Kerry’s shirt, massaging her perky breast. “Shit, I’m gonna make this worth it. If that crazy broad is throwing my clothes out the house then I’m gonna enjoy this steamy session.” As they lay under the cover, feeling and kissing all over each other, the bedroom door swung open.

“What the fuck?” Kerry whispered as Ciara entered the room rubbing her eyes and crying. Justin swiftly rolled out of the bed and onto the floor. He and Kerry had been creeping for the past couple of months, so letting Ciara see him there was not a good idea. She was already a daddy’s baby and wanted nothing more than for him to come back home.

Kerry jumped up. She was glad that Justin hadn’t taken her clothes off yet, even though he was hiding on the side of the bed in the buff.  

“Come here,” Kerry said, calling Ciara over. “You okay?”

“No ma’am,” Ciara responded in her tiny voice. “My tummy hurts, mommy.”

Kerry rubbed her daughter’s head. “You don’t feel warm. Come on sweetheart, so I can give you some medicine for your tummy.” Kerry got out of bed and walked Ciara into the bathroom.

“Mommy,” Ciara cried out, holding her stomach. “It hurts.”

Kerry picked up the five year old and held her. “Okay, it’s gonna be alright.” She said, gently rubbing her back, and then she opened the medicine cabinet to grab the children’s Pepto Bismal. “You got to take this for mommy.” She said, feeling like her baby may have contracted a virus of some sort.

Ciara cried. She hated taking any kind of medicine. “I want Daddy,” she cried. Kerry rocked her in her arms.

“Come on, C. Just take it for me.” She said, knowing that Justin was the only one that could get Ciara to take any kind of medicine.

“Noooo Mommy,” she cried. “I don’t want it.”

“C, if you want to feel better you have to take it. Otherwise, I’m gonna have to take you to the doctor. We both know what the doctor may do.”

“I don’t want no shots,” she cried.

“Well, you have to take the medicine.” Kerry insisted just as Justin came creeping around the corner, feeling sorry for his baby girl. Kerry quickly shooed him away with her hand before Ciara could see him.

What the fuck is he thinking? He knows that Ciara will have a fit if she knew that he was here. He’d never be able to leave without breaking her heart again.   

An hour later, Kerry was making her way back into the bedroom. Justin was still there, lying on the bed. She walked over to him and lay down beside him.

“How is she?” he asked.

“She’ll be fine. She finally went back to sleep.”

“Good,” he whispered, feeling bad that moments like this he’d miss, because he wasn’t living there anymore.

“I think you should go now,” she said.

“Why?” Justin asked out of curiosity.

“Because, that was a close call with Ciara catching you here; plus you have other issues you need to tend to at your own house.”

“I know but-”

“It’s already after two in the morning. Even though I actually enjoy doing this; I know how Shannon feels. Hell, I was once her. I don’t want to keep doing this.” Justin disappointedly shook his head. “Don’t act like that. You know I’m right. I have a long day tomorrow, anyway. Lauren will be here in the morning to micro braid my hair.”

Justin looked over at her; his feelings were exhausted for the night. The fight for a good time was over. Shannon already had him feeling some type of way, but Ciara had definitely blown any chances of him getting any. He knew that Kerry was right. So, he eased out of bed and grabbed his pants while putting them on. He pulled his plain white t-shirt over his head and started putting on his white Air Force One’s. Kerry just watched him dress in silence. She really didn’t want him to leave, but honestly it was for the best. Once he’d gotten himself together, he stepped over by the bed where she was sitting and kissed her softly on the forehead.

“Have a good night, Buttercup. I’ll see you later on when I pick up the kids for the weekend.”

“Okay,” she whispered. She loved him, but watching him leave a home where he once lived was starting to take a toll on her. Either he was going to start showing her that he wanted his family back or she was going to stop fucking around with him altogether.  “Lock the door behind you.”

“I got you,” he said then unhappily made his exit.

Chapter 1

Around seven that morning, Lauren woke up next to her new boo, Rich. She looked over at him and smiled as he slept peacefully. He was certainly one hot catch. His smooth brown skin always looked like the perfect tan, and it matched his deep brown eyes that seemed to stare into her soul. His hair was cut short with an ocean of waves. He had a slight overbite, but it didn’t take away from his handsome smile.

Lauren reached over and touched his face as her fingers traced his neatly trimmed goatee. “Hey babe,” she called out to wake him. His eyes slowly opened as he stared in her sweet face. “I’m gonna get on up so I can head over to Kerry’s. You know I’m doing her hair today.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that.” He said in a tired tone. “I’m just going to chill out here while you’re gone.”

Lauren definitely didn’t mind him chilling at her crib since he’d been practically living there for the past two months. However, in the three months that they’d been seeing each other all he wanted to do was eat up her food, chill out in her house, and hadn’t paid not one bill. If it wasn’t for the way he hung dick up in her, or the way he kissed her and complimented her, then she would’ve been gotten rid of him. He was good to her in other ways, but
other ways
was starting to not add up when her thousand dollar rent was due and he couldn’t help with it.

Meeting him three months earlier at Bianca’s wedding reception seemed to be the perfect timing, since Jamal had left her broken hearted. A part of her still loved her lying, cheating ass baby daddy, but another part of her was trying desperately to shake him. To all of her sisters, Rich was just a rebound and a distraction of how she really felt, but a good distraction he was. She didn’t care what they said. As long as he was good to her then that’s all that counted at moment.

“You know mom and dad’s anniversary is coming up soon. I was hoping that you’d come with me.” She said as she sat up in the bed next to him.

Rich smiled. “I’d love to come, but you know your sisters don’t like me much. I’d hate to intrude.”

“It’s not that they don’t like you. They just expect more from you.”

“Why should they expect anything from me?” He questioned, leaning up on his elbow as he spoke to her. “I’m your man, not theirs. I think they be concerned about the wrong things.”

Lauren disappointedly shook her head. “It’s not like that. They’re just used to me dating someone that has his own.” She tried to convince him.

“I do have my own.” He said.

Where at?
Lauren quickly thought, trying her best not to roll her eyes from his oblivious attitude towards anything that she tried to tell him to better himself.

“I’m just going through a rough patch right now and I need you to stand by me.” He added.

“I don’t have a problem with standing by you, but it comes a time Rich when I’d like for you to pay the tab sometimes when we go out to eat or buy the movie tickets. I’d like for you to hand me a hundred dollars here and there towards the utilities and or to be able to help me pay the rent. I mean, I just got my oil and brakes changed on my car.”

“Aaaah here we go,” he cut in, grabbing his head with his hand like he was tired of having these conversations. 

“I’m sorry you feel this way, but you know I don’t even drive my own car anymore, because you have it more than I do. But, I was the only one paying for the services done to it.”

Rich smacked his lips a little. “Don’t act like you don’t have money, baby. Your bank account ain’t slacking for nothing.”

“You said the magic words, Rich… MY BANK ACCOUNT,” She reminded him with an attitude. “I love you, but you got to start stepping up to the plate. I need you to do better.” She sincerely said with a pout on her face.  “You have so much potential. You just don’t want to do anything with yourself.”

“I do whatever I need to do to take care of me.”

“And, I guess that would be leaching off of me?” Lauren pondered like she was appalled at that comment.

“I didn’t say that, so quit putting words in my mouth.”

“Well, you aren’t saying much of anything this morning that’s making sense. I honestly think that anything I ever say to you goes in one ear and out the other.”

“Nobody wants to hire a convicted felon, babe. I put in applications all the time. I’m trying here. You don’t want me back out in the streets, so what else am I supposed to do?” he questioned, feeling frustrated.

“I don’t know,” she said, getting out of bed. “But, you need to do something or I’m gonna start second guessing our relationship. I ain’t built to take care of no grown ass man that’s thirty-six years old. Hell, when my son turns eighteen, he’s gonna be on his own, too.”

“Yeah right,” he uttered. “You spoil him rotten.”

“Well, that is MY CHILD and it’s also MY MONEY. Plus, what the hell do you expect? He’s a three year old, my God.” She shook her head with a roll of the eyes as she stepped inside of her closet to find something to put on.

Rich was starting to feel some type of way. “You got a real foul mouth, you know that? You need to watch how you talk to me sometimes. I’m still a man, baby.”

“And, I’m still independently taking care of my own. So, until you can help out a little, you can continue to expect this attitude.”

“Yeah whatever,” he said and turned back over like he was going back to sleep.

Lauren didn’t say another word to him as she searched through the rack of clothes hanging up in her closet. She did love Rich, because he came in her life at the most vulnerable moment and put a smile back on her face. A smile that she thought was gone forever. The only problem was that his good looks and good dick was running off of time that he was about to lose if he didn’t get his shit together. She was tired of hearing the backlash from her sisters. Even her parent’s had started questioning her judgment in men. She’d left Jamal, a confused married man that had no problems taking care of her and their son, but his wife cut that short when she realized that he might leave her to be with them.

“This shit is for the birds,” she whispered as she grabbed a plain pair of denim jeans and a pink fitted Aeropostale t-shirt. She wanted to be comfortable since she’d be standing on her feet most of the day doing Kerry’s hair.  She started out of the closet and into the master bathroom to wash up just as her cell phone rang. Rich looked over his shoulder towards the ringing of the cell phone then put the cover over his head like he had an attitude.

Why the fuck is he mad? He should be good.
She thought as she walked over to the nightstand and grabbed her phone to answer it.

“What’s up, B?” She asked, realizing that it was one of her younger sisters.

“Nothing much, girl,” Bianca responded. “What are you doing?”

“I’m getting ready to head over to Kerry’s house. I’m micro braiding her hair today.”

“She did tell me that you were gonna be doing that today. I think I’ll make my way over there later, because you’re gonna be there all day fooling with that thick ass hair of hers.”

“Tell me about it,” Lauren said, but she didn’t mind. Any time spent with her sisters was always time well spent. “So, what’s up? Why are you up so early? It ain’t even eight o’clock, yet.”

“Yeah, I just had some things on my mind and needed someone to talk with.” Bianca said.

“Is everything good with you and Tory?” Lauren asked as she stepped inside the bathroom and closed the door. She knew that
nosy
would be trying to listen even though he was acting like he was going back to sleep.

“Everything is good with us. I can’t complain. I love my husband and he’s very good to us.”

“I thought so,” Lauren said, thinking about the big three seat 2014 Cadillac Escalade that he’d just brought Bianca for her birthday the week before. He unveiled the vehicle at her surprise birthday party. The party was lavish and definitely expensive.

“You know my husband is the best. He has to be heaven sent.” She said, thinking about Kory, her ex-boyfriend and the father to her one year old daughter. She sometimes still struggled with his untimely death about ten months prior, but Tory was there to lessen that pain. “Anyway, Tessa called me and needed a favor.”

“What kind of favor?” Lauren asked with a frown on her face as she sat on the side of the garden tub, turning the bath water on. She wasn’t one of Tessa’s biggest fans even though that was Bianca’s best friend.

“Well,” Bianca started. She was unsure if she should even bring it up, knowing how hard her sisters could be on poor Tessa. “She has lost her apartment and wants to move in with us for a month or so.”

Lauren’s eyebrows furrowed with a million thoughts running through her mind about that situation. “B, I don’t think that’s a good idea. You and your husband have only been married for three months. Y’all are still newlyweds. I don’t think you should move anyone in your home. I don’t care if you do have an extra guest room. You have five children and a husband that needs all of your attention. You don’t need Tessa moving in and turning things upside down.”