Torn (37 page)

Boss sat back and watched in amazement as she seductively licked the fork clean with her tongue. Even though they were supposed to be just friends, Boss couldn't help but be attracted to Mo. She was everything he had always wanted in a woman - fun to be around, smart, funny and beautiful.

Everything in him at that moment wanted to jump across the table and put it on her in the worst way. But he couldn't. They were "just friends," and until Mo changed her mind, he would respect that.

"What?" she asked, catching him staring. "Why you lookin' at me like that?"

"You just don't know," Boss said, eying her hungrily with lust in his eyes.

"I just don't know what?"

"Mo ... don't play."

"What are you talkin' about?" she pretended, playing dumb.

Mo knew exactly what she was up to. Every time she was around Boss, she would do sexually suggestive things with her body to get his attention. Each time his reaction was different.

Sometimes he would ignore her and pretend as if it never happened, or other times he'd make a comment and play right into her hand.

"So what is it that I be doing?"

"You know what you be doing, man."

"Seriously, I don't know what you're talkin' about," she said with a wide grin on her face.

"A'ight, keep on fuckin' wit me, Mo. You gon' fuck around and get something you can't handle."

"Boss, please."

"Boss, please nothing. Don't let the baby face and the young age fool you. I'll have you like a crack head feenin'.

Talkin' about how much you want for the dick! Just give me the dick! Where's the dick! I need the dick!"

"What?" she gasped, almost choking on her tea.

"Straight up." He laughed.

"Whateva." She waved him off.

"Oh, so now you waving me off? Mo ... I will fuck you so long and hard ... you'll have orgasms when I'm not even around."

"Umm ... too bad you'll never get to meet Miss Pretty since we're just friends," Mo replied, referring to the little slice of heaven in between her thighs.

"That's how it always starts, though."

"How what starts?"

"First you and I become friends, then me and Miss Pretty become the best of friends." He licked his lips in a suggestive manner.

"Whateva, your mouth is foul. Why I talk to you I don't know."

"You know exactly why you talk to me." Boss crossed his arms and leaned forward.

"Why?"

"'Cause I'm funny, I make you laugh, I'm sexy as hell and Miss Pretty wanna meet Mr. Python."

"Oh my God, whateva." Mo tried to play it off like he wasn't telling the truth.

"Oh, so what you tryin' to say? You don't want me around, Mo?"

"Yeah I want you around."

"You don't find me sexy?"

Unable to lie, she rolled her eyes and replied, "I mean, you cool, but you don't look better than me."

"Yeah okay, you tryin' to play me but that's cool. What you doing next weekend?" He sat back.

"I don't know. I don't have anything planned. Why? What's up?"

"We're having a lil' fundraiser down at the carwash Saturday to help raise money for inner city families in need.

You should come down and help out."

"Of course I will. I've been meaning to ask ... how long have you been working at this carwash?"

"Since I was sixteen."

"Wow, sometimes I forget you're so much younger than me."

"You're only six years older than me, Mo."

"I know ... don't remind me." She rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "Did you go to college?"

"Yeah, I got a few college credits but I didn't finish."

"Why not? You are so smart, Boss. You should go back and finish. With a college education you could be doing so much more with yourself," she said, genuinely concerned.

"I am doing something with myself."

"Working at carwash? I mean come on, that was cute at sixteen, but you a grown-ass man now."

"No disrespect, ma, but did you ever stop to think I might own the place?" Boss responded, a little agitated.

"Huh?"

"Yeah, the carwash I've been working at since I was sixteen. I own it."

"How?"

"My ole dude left it to me in his will when he died."

"Wow ... I am so sorry ... about your father and my big mouth. I didn't mean anything by it. Honest."

"It's cool, just stop assuming all the time. You make an ass out of yourself when you do that. You ain't the only one with paper, Mo."

"Well excuse me." She rolled her neck.

"You're excused. Now come on. Let's take a walk." Boss left a tip on the table and got up.

The sun was setting as they made it outside. The cool mid-April spring air hit their skin, revitalizing their senses.

"So how old were you when your father died?" Mo asked as they strolled side by side to their own slow beat down the street.

"Nineteen."

"So he just died a minute ago. Do you miss him?"

"Yeah, me and my ole dude were mad close."

"I know how you feel. If it's any consolation, my mother died when I was thirteen."

"That's fucked up."

"Yeah it was. If you don't mind me asking, what else did your father leave you?" Mo quickly changed the subject.

"You good. Besides the carwash I own two Mobile gas stations and some real estate."

"Your father must have really believed in you to leave you all of that."

"I was always a hard worker. Even though we had money, I got my worker's permit at fourteen. I never liked asking people for money, not even my own parents."

"So I got a hard working brother on my team?"

"Exactly."

"Are you an only child?" Mo wanted to know more.

"Nah, I gotta lil' sister. She's sixteen."

"Oh, what's her name?"

"Shawn."

"That's cute."

"Yep ... it's just me, her and my ole bird," Boss said with a far-away look in his eyes.

"Yo' ole bird? How ghetto are you," she joked, trying to make him laugh.

"Shut up and don't think I didn't hear your voice change when you were talkin' about your mother. What's good? Talk to me." Boss wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer.

"Nothing, it's just that even though she's been dead for almost eleven years, I still miss her so much. I mean ... don't a day go by where I don't think of her."

"You do know its okay to miss her?"

"Yeah I know ... it's just a lot of stuff has happened in my life that she missed out on."

"I know it's not the same, but I'm here if you need me. I got you, ma."

"Thanks, Boss. Well ... this is me." Mo turned on her heels facing him as they stood outside her building's door.

"You know you can invite me up." He pulled her into him, holding her by the waist. Mo could feel his hard dick pressed up against her thigh.

"Now why would I do that?"

"'Cause you know deep down in your heart you want me stay," he whispered, kissing the tip of her nose.

The feel of his soft lips on her skin melted all of Mo's inhi-bitions away like hot butter. She wanted nothing more than to give in and invite him up. But she had to remind herself that they were just friends, and Mo planned on keeping it that way.

"Good night, Boss. I'll call you later." She smiled and went inside. Staring out of her oversized window, Mo started to carefully contemplate just how deep her feelings really were for Boss as she watched him hop onto his motorcycle and put on his helmet. Each time they parted, a little piece of her heart went with him. She knew it was too soon to like someone else, but her heart couldn't deny the growing feelings that sprout- ed each day for Boss. He wasn't like other guys.

She could actually see them building a life and living happily ever after. He didn't tear her down to build her up again.

Every time he held her in his sweet embrace, she died a pleasant death.
He gotta have a girl
, she thought as he drove off.

But Mo wanted to be his girl. She wanted to be the one to love and caress him at night. Sometimes she wondered if he even knew how much she adored him. Checking herself, Mo remembered that Boss was just a baby and that it could never work. Besides, she needed her alone time and to jump into something else so soon after breaking up with Quan would not only be bad, but a huge mistake. Boss sped down the street thinking of Mo as he headed to meet up with his boys. He knew that he and Mo had only been friends for a minute and that she'd been through a lot, but he was sick of being bosom buddies. Boss didn't have female friends and Mo was too much of a woman to be his first. He wanted her to be his girl. His ride or die chick. The one he called mommy.

He was tired of all the faking and fronting. She needed to let him know what was up. They needed to either draw a line or take things further. It killed him how she tried to pretend as if love wasn't closing in. It was obvious to Boss that their friendship was escalating to the relationship level. From the jump they were destined to be with each other. Boss needed to know his position and where he stood in her life.

Were they friends or lovers? Should he play the field and live the single life or continue to dedicate all his time to Mo?

Boss wasn't your average guy. He was tired of different females running in and out of his life. He wanted someone special, something stable. Up until he met Mo, it had been hard for him to pick a good girl out. Dime pieces with a good head on their shoulders didn't come along too often. Boss honestly didn't think that there would be a strong enough woman out there to make him want to settle down.

But Mo, she was the shit. Homegirl was a straight up winner. She had him doing shit he had never done, like going to poetry slams and plays. His homeys would clown him if they knew, but he could see Mo one day donning his last name. She was the perfect woman to play wifey in his life. He loved everything about her, from the way she rocked her clothes to the way she styled her hair.

And when her hips swayed, any rational thinking he had went out the window. Plus, the more they spent time together, the harder it was for him to be around her. One glimpse into her onyx-colored eyes and he became entrapped. The smell of her Hershey chocolate skin heightened his senses and to see her smile was the equivalent of being reborn again.

With each day that passed, his feelings multiplied. She was perfect in his eyes. And yes, it took time to build something worthwhile between a man and a woman. He understood that.

He knew Mo was looking out for herself, but he was looking out for them, too. Boss didn't know the whole rundown on her relationship with Quan but he admired her strength and courage to move on.

He would never do anything to purposely hurt Mo. He wouldn't pitch her a lifestyle he couldn't provide. He wanted to love her more. Restoring her hopes and dreams was his goal. He would never betray her trust or bruise her soul. If they ever got together, he would tell her his deepest, darkest secrets. Lay his feelings out for the world to see. Mo belonged to him. He couldn't help himself. Boss had to have her. The only problem was that he had to sit back and wait for her to realize what he'd known from the start.

18

Naughty Girl

Since he and Mo broke up, Quan had been living the ultimate bachelor lifestyle.
His life consisted of nothing but parties, chicks and getting money. But being in a mini-mansion all by himself became boring and lonesome after awhile, so he invited Sherry over. After a little ass kissing and a good dick down, she was back on his team.

He knew it wouldn't take that much persuading to get her back. Sherry was easy. She loved Quan and he played on her weakness every time. Eventually, without notice, one night over turned into two and then so on. The next thing Quan knew, she and the kids had moved in. At first, the situation was cool.

He could see his son on a regular basis, he had in-house pussy and he could come and go as he pleased without being questioned or nagged. What more could a man want? He had the best of both worlds - a loving family at home and his life in the streets. Plus, Sherry was pregnant with his second child.

It was time for them to be a legitimate family now that he and Mo were over for good. But after a couple of weeks, all of that changed. Sherry slowly morphed into the insecure girlfriend and began questioning Quan about his every move. She stayed in his face, begging for quality time, since he was hardly at home. Jahquita never stopped calling and the kids constantly cried. On top of that, the cleanliness that Sherry once portrayed seemed to have somehow vanished and gone out the window, because the house was forever a mess.

Toys were everywhere. Dishes stayed piled up in the sink.

Sherry and the kids' clothes were everywhere but in the closet, and Quan could've sworn that since they moved in, his house had a permanent fried chicken smell to it. After washing one too many dishes on his own, Quan had enough.