Caught Up (16 page)

“H
ope, I need a big favor from you.”

“Okay. What is it?”

“If my mom says anything to you about being glad that you're back home with your parents, I need you to just go along with it, okay?”

Hope raises a brow. “Why would she say something like that?”

“Well . . . I kind of told her that you had a big fight with your parents and ran away.”

She shoots me an incredulous look. “You did
whaat?
”

“Sssh. Keep your voice down. If I wanted a live broadcast I would have just shouted it out.”

“Are you kidding me right now? You told your mom that I ran away from home? Why on earth would you tell her something like that?”

“I'm sorry,” I say apologetically. “I know I shouldn't have put you in the middle of it. But it was the first thing that came out of my mouth.”

“Well, why would you need to go to that extreme?”

“Well, uh, I kind of, sort of, snuck out of the house and got caught.”

Her eyes pop open. “You did
whaat?”

“Will you keep your voice down,” I say, putting a finger up to my lips. “All I need for you to do is go along with the whole fight with your parents and running away thing. She might not say anything, but just in case she does. Can you do that for me? Please.”

She narrows her eyes. “And what exactly am I supposed to say to her? You know I'm not good with fabricating stories.”

I suck my teeth. “I'm not asking you to invent a full-fledged news report. All you have to do, if she asks, is say you feel horrible about what happened and that you're glad you're home to work things out. That's it. End of story.”

She shakes her head in disbelief. “I don't believe this.”

“Will you do this for me, please?”

“Yeah, I guess. But don't think I like it one bit either.”

I reach over and give her a big hug. “You're a lifesaver. I owe you one.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “Oh, believe me. Yes, you do. Big time.”

“Oh, and one more thing. Can you please not say anything to Jordan about this? I'd rather you keep this between us.”

She blinks. “Why? I thought we didn't keep secrets from each other.”

I shrug. “Well, we don't. Not always.”

She tilts her head. “No. You mean,
you
don't, not always. I share everything with you and Jordan.”

“I know you do. And I do, too. But just not this; not right now.”

She gives me a long stare. “Oh, like how you didn't want Jordan to tell me about those wild banshee girls chasing y'all through the mall with butcher knives the other day?”

“Ohmygod! I promise you. That is sooo not what happened.”

She shrugs. “Doesn't matter. Jordan told me you didn't want her to say anything to me about it so what do I care what really happened?”

I can tell her feelings were hurt by it. And now I feel bad. “It's not that I didn't want you to know. I just didn't want Jordan to be the one to tell you since it had to do with me. I wanted to be the one to tell you when all three of us were together.”

She rolls her eyes up in her head. “Uh-huh. If you say so.”

“I'm sorry, Hope.”

“No, no. Don't apologize. It's fine. So, who were you out with?”

“Malik,” I say casually as if he's someone I've known forever, and she's just as familiar with him.

She frowns. “Malik? Malik who? Wait a minute! Is he the same guy those girls were trying to kill you and Jordan over?
That
Malik?”

I frown. “They weren't trying to
kill
us. Besides, it wasn't Jordan they were after. They wanted me.”

She blinks. “Why?”

“Because this girl Hennessey, who supposedly has a baby with him . . .”

“
Hennessey
? What kind of hot trash name is that? And Jordan did say she was looking real hot trash, too. All of them.”

“Yeah. And she has a really nasty attitude. Malik says she's real jealous and crazy.”

“Ohmygod, Kennedy! Why would you want to be bothered with a boy who went out with something like that? What is wrong with you?”

I tell her nothing's wrong with me. That he never really dated her. They just fooled around—as in had sex multiple times, that is. She wants to know where Malik's from and how I met him. I give her a recap of how we met, leaving out certain details like the night he had that guy who tried to force himself on me beat up.

“I guess you must really like this boy if he has you sneaking out of the house like that.”

I huff. “He didn't have me sneak out. I snuck out on my own.”

She gives me a blank look. “Okay, if you say so. So what y'all do?”

I shrug. “Nothing really; we just drove around in his truck.”

Well, of course that's not so. But I can't tell her that we ended up parked on a one-way street in front of an abandoned house. She'd lose it. And I know for sure she'd collapse if she knew I've smoked weed, too.

I was surprised when he offered me some as soon as I got in the smoke-filled car and strapped my seat belt on. He handed it to me. “Here,” he said, eyeing me. “I'ma help you get ya mind right.” He started laughing. “Nah, let me stop effen wit' you.”

I took the blunt from him, remembering how I'd watched Blaze and Sasha and her friend smoke it. I took a pull. I'm not going to lie. I was real nervous being with Malik, but happy and excited at the same time. After about the fourth pull, I felt real relaxed. Like I could take on the world.

“Mygod, Kennedy, what has gotten into you?” Jordan says, shaking her head. “And I still can't believe how could you lie to your mother like that. And sneaking out of the house like that to be with some boy you barely even know. Have you no shame? Anything could have happened to you. What if that boy would have kidnapped you and held you for ransom? Or worse, raped and killed you?”

“Ohmygod, Hope! You're starting to sound like Jordan. Both of you need to stop watching all those
NCIS
episodes.”

“Well, it's true.” She shakes her head. “But what I want to know is, how long have you been sneaking out of your house?”

I shrug. “I've only done it twice before.”

“What? Really? To be with that Malik boy?” I tell her no. Not the first time. Tell her about Hazel Eyes. She gives me a blank stare. “Hazel Eyes? What kind of name is that?”

I shake my head. “It's not his real name. It's what I call him.”

“What's his name then?”

“Blaze.”

She raises her eyebrows. “Like that's any better.” She shakes her head. “All these boys with them ridiculous names. Geesh. You sure know how to pick 'em, don't you?” She doesn't give me a chance to respond. “And how did you meet this Hazel Blaze boy, anyway?”

“It's Hazel Eyes. And I met him one day at the mall. He came to my job with two of his friends.”

“Let me guess. And he's one of those thug boys, too?” She quickly puts a hand up. “On second thought. You don't even have to say it. I already know.”

I frown.

Her phone buzzes and she pulls it out of her bag, glancing at the screen. “Oh, my mom just text saying she's outside,” she says, texting back.

“Oh, okay. Remember what I said, keep what I told you between us.”

She sighs. “Okay, I will. This time.”

“Thanks.”

“Just do me a favor,” she says, getting up and slipping her feet into her sandals.

I take a deep breath glance at the clock, then stand up as well. “Yeah, what's that?”

She walks over and gives me a big hug. “Be careful.”

I bite my bottom lip. The way she says it sends a chill down my spine.

I shudder, laughing nervously. “Girl, you said that like Dracula's out to get me, or something.”

She shrugs. “He might be.”

I wave her on, walking her out of my room. “You're overreacting.” She follows me down the stairs.

She turns her lips up and shakes her head. “Maybe.”

I open the front door, waving out at Mrs. Taylor. She sees me, and waves back.

“For real, Kennedy,” Hope says, placing her hand on the doorknob. “Be careful. I know you think you like that Malik boy. But he sounds like he has a lot of drama going on around him. Watch yourself. Okay?”

I open my mouth to tell her okay, but I end up nodding instead.

“I'm serious, Kennedy. I don't think you know what you're getting yourself into.”

I give her a half smile. “Don't worry. I'm not going to get myself into any trouble. I'm only having a little fun.”

“I sure hope you know what you're doing,” she says, shaking her head as she walks out the door. I shut it behind her, more excited than ever before to know everything there is to know about the sexy, dark chocolate boo named Malik.

G
iving myself to him is like magic...

“You mine, Kennedy,” Malik says in between the soft kisses he is planting along my neck, then on my collarbone. I feel myself heating up in ways I never thought possible. My heart is beating so fast I think I'm going to faint. I feel myself getting caught up in the way his lips glide along my skin; every so often he flicks his tongue against my flesh. The warm wetness causes tingly sensations to shoot through my body.

I have never wanted to be with anyone . . . like this. In Malik's arms, his body grinding against mine as Trey Songz's sexy voice floats around the room from the iPod docking station. He slips his arms around my waist.

“You mine, ya heard?”

I swallow. Look up into his face. I want to be his. Only his. I
am
his. And now I want him to have the one thing I've proudly held on to. The one thing I've waited to share with someone like him. But I have to be sure first. I know what's in my heart.

Love.

But a nagging voice in the back of my head keeps telling me that I should wait. That Malik isn't the one. That all the drama from the last few days is only going to get worse. But his hands, his lips, the way his eyes roam all over me mixed with what I already feel in my heart for him is all the reason I need to dismiss the nagging voice in my head.

I look up and gaze deep into Malik's beautiful brown eyes. “Am I really all yours?”

He presses his lips against mine, then lightly nips my bottom lip. “You mine, baby.”

“But are you mine, Malik?”

He leans his head in and kisses me again. “No doubt. I'm all yours, babe.”

The way he says “I'm all yours, babe” causes me to melt inside. I want him. And I want him to want me, too. Only me. I don't want to share him, or have his crazy exes and psycho baby mommas trying to fight me every time they see me; especially that Hennessey chick. She seems like she's the craziest of them all.

“What about your baby mother, Hennessey?”

He eyes me, raising a brow. “What about 'er? That bird was a bad mistake. A one-night stand I can't erase. All she is is the mother of my seed. That's it. I'm not beat for her. Word is bond.”

I want to believe him.

“But . . .”
Are you still sleeping with her?

“She doesn't matter, a'ight?” His mouth covers mine, not allowing me to finish. We kiss until I lose my train of thought, then he slowly pulls back. “No buts . . . this is me 'n' you, babe. This is our night. So don't make it 'bout that nutty broad or nobody else. It's me 'n' you, a'ight?”

I nod.

His lips curl into a sexy grin. “Am I ya man?”

I swallow.

I feel the tears coming. I try to blink back the burning. I try to shake the taunting voice.

“I want you to be,” I say breathlessly as his hands glide effortlessly over my curves.

“Then let me, ma.”

He kisses me again.

I pull back. “But what about all those girls who keep threatening me?”

Malik speaks against my lips. “I tol' you, babe. Them birds ain't 'bout nuthin'. I ain't checkin' for none'a dem like dat, word is bond, yo. So stop sweatin' dat dumbness, a'ight?”

I blink back the faces of the girls chasing me through the mall. I swallow back every bit of my senses feeling Malik's excitement pressing up against me. He wasn't a boy. He was a grown man.

With his own car.

His own money.

And a kid.

And baby mother.

And a bunch of ex-girlfriends.

And lots and lots of experience being with girls sexually.

And probably more drama than what I've already experienced.

Still . . .

I like him.

I want him.

Malik is kissing all over my neck again. Clouding my head with heat and need and want. My heart is pounding a mile a minute with each kiss. Then his lips are on mine again. Our tongues are doing a romantic dance to the smooth sound of Trey Songz belting out his latest love song, crooning the words to what I am feeling right now as Malik lifts my shirt up over my head, then unsnaps my bra, releasing my desires and inhibitions.

I take a deep breath. “Malik, don't hurt me.” My lips quiver. “If you are going to be with other girls, tell me now.”

I feel myself on the brink of tears.

“Nah, I tol' you. You da only one I'm checkin' for, babe. It's all you.”

A lone tear slides down my face.

“I got you, ma.” He stares into my eyes. “C'mon, babe. Don't cry. It's me 'n' you. Word to mother.”

No other words are spoken as he lays me on his bed, removes the rest of my clothes, and then takes off his own. I drink his body in. Swallow, hard.

He climbs into his bed with me. “You sure 'bout dis?”

I nod.

He smiles, pulling me into his arms. “Am I ya man?”

I look up into his eyes. See the only guy who has ever made me feel like this. And for me, nothing else even matters. Not the roaches I see crawling along the wall and know are probably scrambling around my clothes trying to find a way inside of my pockets for a trip home with me, or the pile of dirty clothes he has piled high in the right corner of his bedroom. Not the fact that he has a kid with some crazy girl. Not the fact that he has ex-girlfriends who still call him and stalk him and threaten me and want him back. No. None of those things matter. Nothing else means more to me than being here, in Malik's arms, where I want to be.

“Yes,” I finally whisper against his lips. “You're my man.”