AFRICAN AMERICAN ROMANCE: A Thug to Remember (Hood Alpha Male Pregnancy Romance) (African American Urban Contemporary Short Stories) (62 page)

He had his eyes closed, but I was well aware of my surroundings and this was sending off all sorts of alarms in my head. I saw the window roll down and then a weapon poked out. On instinct alone, I pulled Jerome from his seat and down onto the floor. The glass shattered and a young man with a courier jacket on got caught in the crossfire. His body jerked around under the force of bullets and then landed not more than a few feet away from us. He was bleeding profusely and I acted quickly and grabbed a tablecloth and placed it tightly against his wound.

While I was doing this, I noticed that Jerome had raced out the doorway. He wasn’t thinking about his own safety and he was following an instinct that was ingrained into him. I heard metal striking metal. Outside the window on the other side of the coffee shop, I saw him lift the post office mailbox and heave it with everything he had. It landed heavily on top of the car. The vehicle careened to the side and smashed into a nearby truck that was parked across the street.

I didn’t dare move, or this man was going to die, but I was fascinated by how Jerome was taking charge. He wasn’t running or showing any kind of emotion whatsoever. He was walking in a straight line, right at the vehicle that now had smoke pouring from the hood.

“Somebody call an ambulance!” People were now scrambling out of their seats with their cell phones snapping pictures.  One guy with a flip phone dialed 911 and then came over to render aid.

“I used to be a medic in the army. Let me see what we’re dealing with.” I lifted my hand and was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn’t gushing out like a dam that had burst from its seams. “He’ll live. He’s going to need surgery. At least two of the bullets went clean through. It’s the one in his stomach that concerns me, but with the right attention and the right surgeon, he should come out of it.”

I wasn’t even sure if I was listening, as I got on my feet with blood on my hands and walked in what felt like a trance over to the window.

I saw Jerome reach into the window and pull out a man with a black do rag on his head. He slammed him down onto the pavement, knocking him completely out cold, before turning his attention to the other one that was coming around from the other side with gun in hand. He slapped it out of his hand, punched him square in the nose and then drove his knee into his stomach, so hard that he was actually lifted off the ground.

It was fascinating to watch him work. It was like he had a way to think without worrying about what would happen if things went terribly awry.

I went outside and I heard him say, “I told you, but apparently you don’t listen. Ramon doesn’t have any hold on me and for him to think otherwise only makes him look like a fool. Take your friend and go before the police get here. If I see your face again, trust me things are not going to go so easily.”

The man was holding his nose with blood pooling between his fingers. He grabbed the other guy with his other hand and they began to make a run for it. I could hear the sirens in the distance and there was no doubt in my mind that the police would want to have a very detailed conversation with everybody in the coffee shop. There wasn’t much that anybody could say, but they would be able to confirm that Jerome had acted in the best interest of everybody. They would see him as their savior, having no idea that he was the cause of their misfortune in the first place.

“I’m sorry that you had to see that, Natalie.” He walked over to me and took my hands. “These guys really are a piece of work. I don’t think they would have come here unless they were under the marching orders of Ramon. I might have to have a very discrete conversation with Ramon. I really don’t want to do that, but I don’t think he’s giving me much of a choice.”

Chapter three

I didn’t tell the police anything about Jerome’s past, but he decided that it was probably best that he lay all of his cards on the table. They took him down to the station and I arrived an hour later to see that he was walking down the steps a free man.

“You really didn’t have to come here, Natalie. If you never want to see me again, I think that I would understand.” He really didn’t know me well enough to presume anything. Not yet. “They talked to me for some time and I gave them everything I could on the driver and the passenger. You can imagine that they weren’t very sympathetic to my cause. For the most part, they told me to keep my head down low and not to be in contact with anyone from my past.”

“I would say that’s easier said than done. Jerome. Perhaps you need some kind of mediator. Somebody that’s unbiased to try to negotiate some sort of peace treaty.”

“I know you’re trying to help,” he said, “but the only thing that they understand is either violence or cold hard cash. I can try to pay them off, but I don’t think that I have that kind of money lying around. I guess I’m just going to have to wait and see if my message was received and what kind of reception it’s going to get.”

That wasn’t any way to live. He deserved so much better. “I could help. I want to help, but I’ve really never done anything like this in the past.”

I brought him down to my black eclipse. He got in and I gunned it away from the city and away from his problems. I had this secret spot on the outskirts of town that not a lot of people knew about. Growing up, I was a bit of a tomboy and I found myself getting into enough trouble. One day, I was out and I’d gotten a little lost. I’d found this spot with a waterfall and I sat there and looked at it and knew that I was just a small cog in a bigger machine.

“Where exactly are you taking me, Natalie? Should I be afraid that you’re kidnapping me to ravage my body, until I have nothing left to give?”

I knew that he was only teasing, but in the back of my mind that was exactly what I was thinking. He was a work in progress, but with enough patience and time, he could be the man of my dreams.

“I just want to get you away from your problems. You need time to reflect and I have this spot that will allow you to think clearly without the chaos in your head.” I still couldn’t get over the image of him pulling that man from the car like it was nothing. If that wasn’t bad enough, then him slapping the gun out of the other guy’s hand was almost like he was some kind of superhero. “You have to think about what you’re going to do next.”

“You really don’t have to do this, Natalie. We hardly know each other. It’s like you have a piece of me and I think from the moment that I met you we were destined to be friends.”

I wanted more than just friendship and the way that I was ogling him should’ve been enough for him to know that I had ulterior motives. “You should feel honored. I don’t normally take anybody up here. It’s very rare that I even reveal this secret spot to anybody. I can count on my hands how many people know about it.” I was trying to make him see just how poignant this gesture really was. It’s not every day that I find a man and it’s even rarer that I allow him to step into my oasis from the real world.

“Natalie, you are something else. Being a headhunter must be very demanding and rewarding work.”

He didn’t know the half of it. Most times my day started at five AM in the morning and doesn’t end until I go to bed at ten PM, or later. I don’t work for just one time zone. I have several clients that are overseas and the difference can sometimes be taxing on my sleep pattern.

“I think I serve a purpose. I do something that not a lot of people can do. I make sure that the best candidate is right for the job. They don’t have to choose who I send them, but more often than not that is the case. It’s the reason why they keep coming back and asking me for more candidates. I know that being freelance does make it a little bit difficult to have that kind of stability that most people have with nine to five jobs. I like it this way. I thrive on not knowing where my next paycheck is going to come from. I love the freedom of making my own hours, even if most of those hours are long and tiring.”

The hustle and bustle of the city was now in the rearview mirror. He was actually closing his eyes and breathing in the fresh air of country living. I had a glance towards his crotch and I noticed that he was definitely not lacking in that department.

We arrived at the spot and it was going to take a bit of a trek to get there. Most people would give up after the first half an hour, thinking that it wasn’t worth the effort, but it was to me.

“I have to tell you, Natalie, that I’m not much for the great outdoors. I was born and bred in the city and I guess you really can’t take the city out of the boy.”

I had no intention of taking anything away from him and I just wanted to add a new dynamic. I knew that he was staring at me and most likely undressing me with his eyes. I changed before going to the police station and now I wore a pair of blue jeans that were cut to my frame like they were made for my body. I had on a red and black plaid shirt that was tied at the waist to show off a healthy amount of my mid drift.

I heard the rushing water and then we walked out into what could only be described as paradise. The sun was beaming down through the trees and you could see the birds circling the area.

“I think that you can agree that this is a place that should be left out of the hands of developers. It should be untouched and should be appreciated for what it is.” He was behind me and then his arms circled me and I felt this heat coming up from my chest. I didn’t try to stop him, as he massaged my shoulders. He got a little bit more brazen by cupping my breasts.

“I see what you mean, Natalie. I have to say that the view standing right in front of me is a whole lot better than anything else.” He was a sweet talker and the fact that his chest was huge and pressed up against me was not lost on me. “It’s a wonder that the police didn’t hold me longer, especially with my affiliation with the gang in the past. They don’t usually let sleeping dogs lie.”

He was rubbing his fingers in a circle and my nipples were now hard enough to cut through glass. “Um… I really don’t know…how I’m supposed to say anything with what you’re doing to me.”

I didn’t say that to make him stop, and apparently he didn’t take it that way. He reached down and untied the knot just below my breasts. My shirt came undone and he expertly undid the buttons, until I was exposed to the elements. I could feel the breeze across my skin and then the hot breath of his mouth on the back of my neck. I fell into it and let him manhandle me.

“You have no idea what you’re doing to me, Jerome. The excitement of wondering what you were wearing underneath those pants and seeing you beat up on those thugs was enough to make my panties melt. Not a lot of people would’ve stepped in. I was afraid for you, but also, um, kind of turned on.”

“Being in a gang taught me a long time ago that it was useless to walk away from trouble.”

He was kissing my neck and now squeezing my naked nipples. His right hand slipped into the waistband of my jeans, grazing the surface of my panties.

“Jerome, you’re driving me crazy.”

I was breathing heavy and I was almost begging him with my mind to take it a step further. I think that he was reading my thoughts, because the buttons on my jean shorts suddenly came loose and I could hear the zipper as it was pulled down. He now had free access to my black panties. He easily insinuated his hand into the waistband, until he was tracing a line from my clit all the way down my wet slit.

“I can feel your body. This doesn’t happen for you very much, does it? Haven’t found the right guy, I’m guessing.”

I wasn’t sure if he was telling me that he was the right one, or if he was just here to feel a need. If he got to know me any better, he would be inside me already. He walked away and left me wanting more, completely spellbound and unable to speak for a few moments.

He stripped off his shirt, pulling it over his head and letting me see the scars on his back. He followed that up by pulling down his pants and his underwear in one smooth motion. Those cheeks were good enough to eat and then he glanced over his shoulder with a smirk, before diving into the water below.

I took a few steps forward, while at the same time taking off my pants and underwear. I laid them carefully on the rocks and I took a deep breath before allowing my body to follow his into the serene and calm waters below. It was a good thing that I was a good swimmer and I came back up with my hands pulling back my sodden locks.

“I needed that, but I need this even more.” He grabbed me and pulled me towards him. Our feet were touching the bottom and we were neck deep in the water. This was my way to recharge and I would come up here practically every weekend, until it was too cold to do so. “You are a firecracker, Natalie. I feel lucky that you came into my shop and introduced yourself. I didn’t even mind giving you ten percent off. Maybe next time I will give you a better rate than that.”

His hands were around my waist and then he took a deep breath and dove under the water. I could see him, as clear as day, and then I felt his hands on my thighs as he pushed them apart.

I knew exactly what he was doing and I allowed it to happen, despite my misgivings. “Talented, aren’t you? It’s too bad that I couldn’t use you in my clientele. I just don’t think that I would have a position…for you.” I could think of several positions for him, actually. One of them was what he was…doing to me…right now…

Chapter four

I had no idea how long he was down there, but I think he really had a road map of my anatomy that most guys didn’t even bother to look at. “I know that you’re doing that on purpose.” Each time that he came up for more air, he would smile and then do it all over again. “If you want me to cum that badly…thing you can fucking have it.” I came and I was slapping the water with my hands, letting this man’s tongue take me to a place that I had not been to in some time.