Sugah & Spice (16 page)

             
Sugah opened her eyes, looking around. She was alone but her body was craving. She wanted Coffee, Khalil, Professor Love
or
whoever he called himself. She would have him again and again and again. Sugah got up and went into the bathroom to pee. When she returned to her empty bed, she closed her eyes again and drifted off into a peaceful slumber. She and Coffee made love all night long
in her dreams
. She couldn’t wait until her dream
s
became a reality. And if Sugah had her way, it would be sooner rather than later. The things they did to each other felt too good to be true. When
Sugah
woke up the next morning she smiled, stretching in bed. Her sheet was wet and her love juices stuck to her hand. But Sugah was well satisfied, beyond belief. She only hated that
it was only in her dreams. The way her body felt, she knew that day would be a good day. Sugah couldn’t wait to get to school, get i
t
over with and then spend some quality time with her mother. She had so much to share with her. She also couldn’t wait to see Khalil.
Her life was getting better with each day. Sugah didn’t want it to end anytime soon.

Chapter 12

             
While Sugah got dressed for
t
he day she heard her cell phone buzz. When she answered the unknown call, she wasn’t prepared for what happened next. Thinking it was Espresso or Coffee, she didn’t use her better judgment to let it go straight to voicemail
like she usually did to unknown callers
. “Hello,” she said.

             
When no one said anything, Sugah suddenly got an eerie feeling in the pit of her gut. She couldn’t put her finger on it but she knew that something weird was about to happen next. After a few more seconds passed and the caller still hadn’t made his or herself known, Sugah said hello again.

“Good Morning. You don’t know me but I want to warn you about the company you keep. Little
girls
,
who play with fire, always
get burned. If I were you, I would disassociate myself with people who just hand out random business cards. If you don’t listen, you will get hurt. Your new friends don’t care about anything but money, through any means necessary. Trust me, I know. Get out while you still can before you end up broken in every sense of the word.”
The way the person sounded, Sugah could tell that they were disguising their voice. Why, was the question lingering in her head?

             
“Who is this? How did you get this number?” Whoever on the other end of the phone laughed and then hung up. Sugah held the phone to her ear in a daze. What was happening? Was she really in danger? She had to tell someone about the call but whom? What if the caller was right? Sugah
decided to
keep the call a secret for now. Maybe when she talked to Espresso, she could see whether or not she could trust him enough to say something
to him about it
. Her intuition had never failed her yet nor led her down the wrong path. If the
organization
tried to burn her, she would have something hotter for them. No one would ever hurt her again. The last person to hurt her was in a place
that only dirt and worms resided. Sugah wouldn’t hesitant putting anyone who tried double-crossing her
,
there too.

The rage and darkness hidden deep within her began to stir but
Sugar
refused to become that person again. Those days were over or at least she thought they were. All she wanted to do was
to b
e happy and enjoy her new life. Nothing was going to stand in the way of that, Sugah concluded checking the contents of her phone for any sign of who the caller might be. There was nothing.

             
She finished getting dressed, grabbed her things and headed out the door to school. Traffic was light and parking was a breeze. Sugah was able to find a spot right in front of the building of
each
of her classes. As she got out of her car, she saw Mark waiting for her. He looked handsome dressed in khaki shorts, a polo shirt, with the collar flipped up, flip flops and dark sunglasses. His shirt was tucked in and he was standing with his hands in his pockets. He looked very debonair. When he saw Sugah walking near him, he smiled like the luckiest man on earth.
The colorful maxi dress and matching headscarf probably had something to do with it. The dress showcased all of her curves, while the scarf accented her frizz
ed
natural
curls. Her metallic sandals looked amazing next to her perfectly sun-kissed skin, making her look like she had just got back from a tropical vacation. Her toenails were polished in a bubblegum pink color that matched her nails. The big silver hoops in her ears looked hypnotic. Several heads turned when she graced the sidewalk. Many of the people watching would have easily thought she and Mark were the perfect couple. They complemented each other in every aspect of the word.
Sugah heard a few of them ask amongst themselves if she was a model or actress, shooting a movie on their campus. Mark could have easily passed for her leading man, in any genre of movie.

             
“You look amazing, Sugah. Damn girl! Do you have to dress like that everywhere you go,” Mark teased. He admired his new friend even more. She always looked well put together and with such class. “Thank you Mark, you don’t look so bad yourself. I am meeting my mother for lunch after class, so I wanted to look my best. She would do me bodily harm if I left the house looki
ng any kind of way. Why are you,
all dressed up today? Usually you just have on jeans and a t-shirt. You must have a date or something,” Sugah teased Mark. He blushed. She was paying attention to him. He didn’t want anyone to know who his family was and the fact that he
came
from old money was neither here nor there, for as
he was concerned. Mark didn’t get along with his father much and his mother left him when he was little
,
or so his father told him.
Mark didn’t have any memories of his mother but he longed to know her and have her as a part of his life. Without her presence, most days he felt lost, empty, like something was missing.
He didn’t have any brothers or sisters, just butlers and maids and nannies,
that
raised him
,
making
sure
he
got a hot meal, read him bedtime stories and came to see him when he had a game, play, debate or any other event.
His dad was always busy with something or someone. Mark didn’t know exactly what line of work his father did but he had his suspicions. Too many beautiful, superficial people in one spot
,
at a time were trouble, he always told himself.
Up until he met the only girl he had ever loved, he was a loner.
And even she betrayed him.

Mark
shook those painful memories out of his mind. But not a day went by without him thinking of his mother and why she left him. He wanted to find her and ask her but he had to wait. If his father knew about his wanting to contact his mother, he would have a hissy fit.
He would also disown him, as he made ever so clear on more than one occasion.
So, for now, Mark continued to focus and do well in his studies. So
on
he would
be
out of school and his father wouldn’t be able to run his life anymore.
Having money wasn’t everything in his eyes but most people would kill to be in his shoes. Mark was determined to succeed as a world-renowned surgeon and he would.

Sugah waved her h
and
at him, bringing him back to the present. Her smile made him forget all about his troubles. For that, Mark was truly grateful. His mind couldn’t take much more of thinking about his mother, who she was, why she left and how to get her to never leave him again
,
once he found her.
Sugah just simply took his troubles away.
             

             
“Mark, you okay? You look like you were deep in thought. Is there anything you want to talk about? I am here for you,” Sugah said touching him lightly on the arm. Mark shook his head.

“I’m cool. Now, let’s get to class before we have to sit all the way up top. Professor Love has probably picked up more students of the female
gender. You know word of mouth travels fast.”

Sugah agreed and with the way all the females in the first class were looking at
Coffee
, she knew Mark had a point. “You are so right. Come on, let’s go,” she said grabbing his arm, pulling him behind her. Mark smiled enjoying her playfulness. When they got to the class it was still pretty empty, which they both were thankful for. This time Professor Love was there, sitting in his chair, chatting with a few of the other early comers.
When he saw Sugah with Mark, he clenched. He wanted to pull her into her arms and kiss her senseless, claiming her in front of everyone there but know that he couldn’t. They weren’t together and he didn’t have a right to be jealous. But soon that would all change. He just had to keep his composure
although
it would be hard. She looked wonderful, beautiful and when she turned to walk up the steps, he was mesmerized by the roundness of her nicely proportioned ass. He could look at it all day and never get tired of seeing it, Coffee thought trying to focus his attention on to what one of his other students had just asked.

             
Sugah saw the way
Coffee
was watching her and added a little something extra to the sway
of
her hips. Mark also admired the great piece of art in front of him. He had never seen ass like that. Not even JLo or Nikki Manaj had ass that came close to Sugah’s. Coffee saw a few of the dudes in the class admire Sugah
’s
asset, getting furious.
She had it like that.
He held his breath and counted to ten
,
to calm his nerves. He didn’t blame them, hell what man wouldn’t admire a beautiful woman and her ass? He didn’t know any, even players on the other team watched Sugah’s ass. She just had it like that.
The fact that she was beautiful inside and out, caused Coffee to become hypnotized by her each and every time he saw her.
Her spirit was amazing, refreshing and reassuring that there were still genuine people in the world. If only she was older, he thought. Then suddenly he realized that age wasn’t anything but a number
,
and they were two consenting adults. She was about to turn nineteen. He was only six years her senior.
Coffee
had been with women his age, older and a few Sugah’s age, but none of them compared to her. She was clearly the one for him. Why couldn’t he just set aside his pride, stop worrying about what everyone else would think or say and follow his heart? Coffee didn’t have time to dwell o
n
that at the moment. His thoughts were interrupted by a soft female voice, standing in front of him. His view of Sugah was blocked. When he looked up, he nearly fainted. It was Simone. What was she doing there? The last time he saw her, she was underneath his nemesis
with her leg in the air
.

             
“Hello there stranger”, she said beaming like the sun. Coffee didn’t find anything amusing, at all. He wanted her to get as far away as possible from him before he wouldn’t be responsible for his actions. He took a deep breath to calm down. A few of the students in the front roll saw the tension and annoyance in his face. Coffee put on a fake smile as he tried to maintain eye contact with the woman he once loved and ha
d
almost given everything up for. “Hello Simone. To what do I owe this surprise?”
Simone didn’t like the sarcastic tone he gave her. It had been three years already. When
would he get over what she did
? She only d
one
it to protect him
in the first place but if she told him, she would be in big trouble.

“I am in this class, Khalil. I just wanted to say hello and to let you know that I was here. I could have easily taken a seat in the back and said nothing
,
but I didn’t. Can you give me a little credit?” Simone was getting annoyed. She had been punished enough and she wasn’t about to stand there and allow him to do it again. Before he could say anything else, she was walking away. When he looked up, his eyes met Sugah’s. She was giving him a questioning look but he didn’t have time to explain. It was time to begin class.