Pretty Kings Read online

  When she finally comes out of the kitchen she’s carrying a hot drink in a red coffee mug. The moment the smell slithers up my nose I know what it is. My favorite …Colonial Hot Buttered Rum. I can see the white whip cream just oozing alongside of the cup. I’m afraid the cream will fall onto the Italian carpeting until she takes her pink tongue and laps it off. My pussy jumps. Why does it jump?

  She walks me to the plush pea-green sofa. I sink into it, and it feels like my grandmother who passed when I was ten years old is wrapping me in her arms again. When I’m comfortable she hands me my drink, and I sip it slowly. The heat burns my upper lip, and I’m about to cool it with my own tongue until she runs her wet tongue over my mouth instead. I’m shivering.

  “You always burn yourself whenever I make this drink for you,” she rubs her hand over my face and looks into my eyes. “Honest, Race I don’t know how you drink such a high calorie drink and not gain weight. You’re so fit and in shape.”

  I’m tingling all over. I’m stunned. I can still smell the scent of the watermelon Starburst she ate earlier on my mouth. I wonder if her tongue is sweet. Carey is not doing anything different. She’s this way every time I visit, which is why I make it my business to see her twice a week. But each time I come here, and she treats me like this it feels new. It’s sorta like my favorite movie A Girl’s Love Story. I can watch it a hundred times and it never gets old. She…never…gets…old.

  “Thank you,” I look down at my brown boots again. “You’re so sweet to me.”

  “Tell me where you’ve been,” she sits so close to me, her right titty is rubbing against my arm. “And, why haven’t you or Ramirez called? Don’t lie, Race. You know I can see right through you,” she places a warm hand on my breast.

  “You haven’t spoken to Ramirez?” I ask.

  Her hand drops into her lap. “Race, in the years we have been playing this game together, name one time I’ve spoken to Ramirez, or have seen Ramirez when you weren’t aware?”

  I couldn’t recall. “I don’t know,” I tell her, for fear of sounding dumb.

  “Listen, beautiful,” my pussy jumps again. “I love Ramirez, and I’ve never lied to you about it, but I will drop him dead if he tried to have a relationship with me that didn’t involve you. I fuck Ramirez, and see to it that his needs are met, but I need you in my life.” If she’s running game on me she’s the best.

  Since Kevin has had a baby on Bambi, I have to ask, “Has he ever tried to have a relationship without me?”

  “Never,” she says running her fingers through my hair again, “and if he had, I would send him on his way. I don’t play that shit. My position is to keep your marriage together, not pull it apart.”

  I think about when she made my drink earlier in her kitchen. At some point, when she was opening and closing the cabinets I noticed all of my favorite foods were stocked up in her house. My favorites…not Ramirez’s.

  “Thank you for your loyalty,” I say. “If I told anybody about us they would call me dumb or stupid.”

  “Then don’t tell them about us,” she says. “Why we gotta be validated by what other people think? You love me and I love you both,” she smiles. “And don’t worry about my loyalty, because it will always remain with you,” she kisses me on the nose and this time I can feel my syrup leak out of my pussy. “Its just important for me to make things clear. Your place with me is firm, and I put you first.”

  I can feel her riding for me like the steering wheel to my Porsche. So I feel comfortable. Comfortable enough to tell her about Ramirez’s death. After all, she’s part of my family too. No she doesn’t bare the Kennedy name. And, no she won’t be welcomed into the Kennedy home. She’s still a part of me and Ramirez’s world, and I love her all the same.

  “Carey, I have something to tell you,” I say firmly like I heard Ramirez do many times before. Look at me rising to the occasion, and being all strong and stuff. Ramirez would never believe it if he didn’t see it with his own eyes. I’m sure of it.

  “What is it?” She looks worried, and I feel bad for her.

  “Something terrible has happened to Ramirez. When he was out of town—,”

  “What are you talking about?” Her eyes widen when she cuts me off. “Was he in an accident or something?”

  I wish I could tell her that was the case, but it isn’t true. “No, it’s much worse.” It’s ironic, my being strong for her forces me to be stronger for myself. I don’t feel as weak as I usually am. I feel like a protector.

  “Race, you gotta tell me now, or else I don’t think I can hold up my body. What is going on with my sweet Ramirez?”

  I certainly don’t want her falling forward, or shitting on herself like I did the first day I found out he was killed. So I take three deep breaths and say, “He was murdered.”

  Carey’s eyes widen larger. At first I’m afraid that her eyelashes will get tangled in the soft curls that surround her face. But, then she falls forward, and presses her face into the palms of her hands. I’m supposed to do something. I’m supposed to protect her right? So I put my hand on her right shoulder. It’s only there for a minute before she falls into the center of my lap. I can’t hear what she’s saying at first, although she’s clearly speaking. Instead I focus on the way her body jiggles, causing her breasts to dance. The heat from her body causes my pussy to warm up like a Crock-Pot. I’m horny during the worst time in my life. Something is wrong with me for being turned on by her vulnerability. Something is terribly wrong with me.

  And, then it all makes sense. I’m taken back to the period when I first met my husband.

  ****

  8 Years Earlier

  Race was on her knees sucking Diamond’s clit in the stall of the girl’s bathroom in high school. Diamond belonged to Ramirez in public, but Race behind closed doors. Diamond was gripping Race’s hair so hard as she sat on the toilet while getting her button flipped, that Race’s eyeglasses were smeared with Diamond’s pussy juice. Race had eaten pussy in the past, but she never tasted a button as sweet as Diamond’s in her young life.

  “Flip that tongue you nerdy, bitch,” Diamond supervised, gripping Race’s hair so roughly she was snatching it out by the roots. “Yes, yes, yes, you doing that shit, girl.”

  As Diamond dropped all of her cum into Race’s waiting mouth, she received a page from her boyfriend Ramirez on her beeper. Having gotten her rocks off, she pushed Race’s face back and spun the toilet tissue roll. Taking a heap of tissue in her hand she wiped the syrup from her clit knowing that since school was almost out, Ramirez would be pounding her back out within the hour.

  “You can leave now,” Diamond said since Race hadn’t made an exit.

  Race stood up and wiped her knees. “You coming to my house later right?”

  “I don’t know,” Diamond shrugged. “It depends on what Ram wants to do with me.”

  “But, I haven’t seen you in—,”

  Race’s sentence was cut short by the grip Diamond had on her throat. “Let me tell you something, bitch, what we do in here stays in here. If I ever find out you told Ramirez about us I would deny you and then kill you? Now get the fuck out of here. It’s too crowded.”

  Race opened the stall door and trooped to the sink to wash her cum soaked face. She was tired of Diamond fucking with her feelings. Race didn’t even understand what was going on with herself. Race had feelings for Ramirez and Diamond and both of them seemed to treat her the same way, like she didn’t exist. Was she gay or not? She didn’t know.

  When the school bell rang, Race went to the school’s office for a letter she was told was waiting on her. She learned she was valedictorian and was so proud of herself. When she came out of the office she accidently bumped into Diamond. Diamond decided to make fun of Race in front of Ramirez, to conceal how she really felt about Race. Race’s tongue was the only bath Diamond’s pussy had seen for the day, yet she acted as if they were strangers.

  Diamond, slapped the books out of Race’s hand with R
amirez standing right next to her. Then in a rage filled fuel, she kicked her repeatedly in the stomach. Race was hurt and devastated at her actions. Why was the girl who she treated so kindly in the bathroom trying to kill her now?

  Race vowed to never mess with a female again. Of course that was before she met Carey.

  ****

  After crying for what seemed like two days in my lap, Carey raised her head. Her brown cheeks were red as my favorite lipstick and she looked distraught. “I’m so sorry, Race,” she tells me. “I’m sitting here crying my eyes out, and here it is you are the one who has lost your husband.”

  “We both lost, because we both loved him.”

  She sighs and wipes her face with the back of her hands. “So what are we going to do now? I mean, who is going to take care of us?”

  I shrug and look into my hands. I don’t have a solid answer. Although we had a plan of action to meet The Russians, I’m not sure where life would take me from there. I’m not even sure if the plan will work. I mean dressing up like men? It sounded far-fetched to me.

  “I don’t know,” I tell her picking back up my drink. “For right now Bambi says we can’t tell anybody that the guys are dead. Pending this meeting with some important people on Saturday,” I sigh. “But, I might have to take on more work from independent movie companies who hire me.”

  “Independent movie companies,” she frowns. “You still doing that shit?”

  Her comment stings a little but I let it slide. The movie makeup and props I make are my life’s work. It’s something I adore and always wanted to do. “That’s what I’ve always done even with Ramirez taking care of me.”

  “But, what about me?” She points to herself. “Who’s going to take care of me? I stopped dancing at the club for you guys. My rent alone is $1,400, Race”. And, that’s not including my car note, my clothes and stuff like that. Ramirez gave me an allowance of ten thousand dollars a month…minimum.”

  My eyes widen. “Carey, I’ll do what I can, but I can’t afford that type of money a month right now. I spend most of my cash on my supplies, because Ramirez always had me financially.”

  Carey gives me a look that can kill. I saw it one other time in the bathroom in high school. When Diamond grabbed me, and threatened my life.

  Carey wipes the tears off of her face again and her entire demeanor changes. “You are going to have to take care of me, Race. I…I can’t do it by myself. I need your help.”

  “But I can’t afford this lifestyle,” I tell her looking around her home.

  Carey stands up, walks to the door and opens it. “Race, I love you, but if you deny me the exact same lifestyle I am accustomed to now, I’m going to be your best enemy. I’ll also tell your little friends and family about our arrangement. Now you get in your little pink Porsche, and find me some money. And, don’t come back here until you do.”

  SCARLETT

  Bunny is sitting in front of me with a knowing expression on her face. I hate this woman, but I also realize we are connected forever. She owns me now and it’s all because of what I’m about to tell her. As her big lips move, I run my hand over my stomach. I’m trying to see if the baby is still inside of me, even though I tried to kill it after I hurt Jasmine.

  I sat in the car after dropping Jasmine off at the hospital, and slapped myself over and over in the stomach with a piece of plywood. That’s how I got the horizontal mark across my belly. Can a baby live inside of a monster? I hope not.

  “Why did you hurt your daughter?” She crosses her legs and smirks at me. “I mean what would make a woman do something so callous to a child?”

  The shame washes over me like quicksand. No matter what I say, I won’t be able to take back what I did. And, as long as people like her know about it, I won’t be able to forget either. “She wasn’t a baby,” I clear my throat. “She was four-years old.”

  “She was still a child,” she grins. “So why would you do it?”

  “Because I couldn’t stand the sound of her crying,” I look into her eyes. “I couldn’t stand the annoying ring of her sobs. So I wanted her to stop.” I’m filled with anger and I look around the room to see what I can hurt Bunny with. But, her home is so bland, and drab that there is nothing in view to pick up.

  “Is that what you did to Denim’s baby?” Bunny persists. “Did you stop her from crying too?”

  Changing the subject I say, “How long have you been fucking your own nephew?” I sit across from her and cross my legs. “Has it been all of his life, or just most of it?” Bunny isn’t smiling anymore, but I am.

  “You don’t know what the fuck you are talking about, little white girl.”

  I laugh. “It’s funny how people claim that whites are racists, when I’ve been called out of my name more times than I care to remember by blacks this week alone.”

  “Blacks,” she laughs. “That may be true, but that’s because we welcome you into our homes, and you hear our personal business. We are real green that way. But, I can only imagine the evil things whites say behind our backs.”

  “You’re hilarious,” I laugh.

  I think laughing in her face upsets her. “If you knew me, I mean really knew me, you wouldn’t be chuckling so hard.”

  “How long have you been fucking Kevin?” I repeat. “Or maybe you’ll understand me better if I say, how long have you been fucking Bambi’s husband?”

  The anger rolls down her face and is replaced with strength. “I didn’t fuck Kevin, I made love to him. It was me who taught him how to kiss a woman. It was me who taught him how to hold a woman, and it was me who taught him how to eat pussy. Bambi needs to be on her knees and thanking me for the boss I am.” She rubs her arms. “Before Bambi came along Kevin, and I had an understanding. I would continue to love him in private for as long as he kept me first. He violated that when he married that bitch.” She points at me. “He belongs to me!”

  I laugh at her. “Bunny, you’re eight feet tall and shaped like a bullet.” I giggle harder. “Kevin was never yours. All you did was brainwash him into thinking that he owed you something. That’s the only reason he kept you around.”

  “How did you know about me and Kevin?” She places her hands on her hips. “I never told anyone. Did he?”

  I can’t be sure, but something tells me via the looks in her eyes that she hopes that he did tell somebody. “I didn’t know before now. It was a guess that you just confirmed.”

  She isn’t smiling anymore. “Where is Kevin?” She asks firmly.

  “Kevin is dead,” I say trying to get comfortable on her sofa. “Camp, Ramirez and Bradley are too.” I swallow trying to wash the deceit down my throat with my own spit. “Bambi didn’t want to tell anybody, because we have to take care of something first.”

  Bunny is quiet, and I can’t read her facial expression. Instead of saying anything to me, she gets up, and walks over to the breakfast nook. “Did she have anything to do with it? Did Bambi kill my sweet baby?”

  I frown. “Of course not. Why would you think something like that?”

  “Well why did she lie?” She yells at me. “If she didn’t have anything to do with his death, why not tell me the truth?”

  I sigh. “Bunny, please just drop it.”

  “Bitch, don’t tell me to drop shit! Why would she lie?”

  I get up and walk closer to her. “I told you why already. We have a meeting with The Russians on Saturday. Bambi thought it would be a good idea to keep their deaths a secret, until after the meeting is over.”

  “For what?”

  I’m quiet, because what Bambi wants us to do sounds so ridiculous it’s hard to articulate it to another person. “Because we have to go to the meeting, and make a drop. Plus we don’t know who has a stock in the money. The plan was to divide it four ways.” I leave the most embarrassing part out.

  “And,” she continues. “I know there’s more.”

  “We have to dress like men,” I swallow. “We have to be our husbands.”
/>   She laughs so hard a silver button pops off of her shirt and drops to the floor. The funny thing is, she doesn’t seem the slightest bit sad that Kevin is dead. She seems like she’s in revenge mode more than anything else.

  “I don’t know what’s going on, Scarlett, but I can assure you that you won’t be able to pass for men.” She wipes her tears. "So if Bambi has convinced you all to do that, it will be a great mistake."

  "Since you know now, I guess I'll tell them that I told you," I sigh, throwing myself into the sofa. "They're going to kill me anyway." I close my eyes, and think about how life will be without my sisters. "This is the ultimate betrayal."

  "Stop the fucking violins, Scarlett. Because if you thought there was a one hundred percent chance that I would tell them about you, you wouldn't have told me. You told me because you are hanging on to the hope that I won't tell them about your life. Right?"

  "Bunny, you told us that Bambi was drinking again, even though she didn't want you to. Why wouldn't I think that you'd do the same thing to me?"

  "Because I want that deal to go down on Saturday," she points at me. "As a matter of fact, if the meeting goes down, I can get my cut and we will benefit. How much is the package worth?"

  "One hundred million dollars," I say.

  I could have sworn I saw diamonds gleam in her eyes. "Kevin left her in hold of that much cocaine?" She asks with raised brows.

  "I don't know how Bambi plans to pull it off." I can hear the money machine going off in her head from here, and it’s making me mad. "Do you even care that Kevin is dead?" I ask in disgust. "To me it seems that the only thing you are worried about is money."

  "Little girl, let me tell you something sweet. Bambi will pay for lying to me about my nephew. But first she’s gonna pay in cash." She points at me and says, "And if you keep your mouth closed today, tomorrow you'll be a very rich white woman. Free to steal another black man."