Fly on the Wall (20 page)

“Me too.” I thought about the previous night. “By the way, I'm sorry about after the game.” Mom had, at the last minute, taken off from work to attend the game, and afterward, Coach insisted that the entire team go out for pizza, and he, of course, had his eye on me. “When we got home I was drained. I showered and fell asleep naked.”

“Hmm,” she whispered sexily. “Really? Sounds like I need to move in next door.”

“That's still too far.”

She asked, “Then where should I be?”

“Right on top of me.” My most sensitive muscle quickly stiffened as the words left my mouth. I thought of how she often got on top of me and rode me like a bicycle. She would position her hands on my shoulders like they were handlebars, sit on my seat, kick the kickstand back, and begin the uphill journey. Sweating, cussing, pulling, pushing, and biting . . . she enjoyed the ride. I allowed her to handle me, or let her believe that she was handling me. She sped up, faster and faster, deeper and deeper. Then she got cocky with it and started to ask questions like, “Whose dick is this? Is it all mine? How good is this pussy?”

At precisely that time, I put her in check. I, the bicycle, came alive. I grabbed a hold of that plump, bronze ass and held her down on my dick while I ground into her, using slow and seductive circles. That's when she realized who had control all along and began to tell me, without me asking, whose dick it was, that it better be all hers, and how good I made her pussy feel. She tried hard to be a strong woman, and I respected that, but women must understand that sex is a male-dominated sport.

“. . . so I told her that I couldn't do it. I don't like when people assume that I won't mind doing something.” Paige had been talking, but I was wrapped up in the bicycle thought. “Anyway, I can't wait to see you,” she finished up. “Anything in particular you want to eat tonight?”

I didn't answer the question the way I wanted to because nosy Eva Lakewood had walked past my door for the third time in ten minutes. “Actually, leave the food up to me.” I added, “But you know ya boy ain't old enough to buy liquor, so you hook that up.”

“Ain't?” She giggled, questioning my English again.

“There is no school today, so my good English is on vacation.”

“That's funny, it was there yesterday, too,” she said. “What time should I expect you?”

“I should be there . . .” I paused and I thought about it, “by eight.”

“Great.” Then I heard the short shriek her classroom door made when it was being opened.

“Good morning, Mistress Wellington.” I could tell that she was giving old Mrs. Wellington a counterfeit Kool-Aid smile. “Listen, I'll call you back when I get off, all right?” she said to me.

I whispered, “Damn, I was just about to tell you how deep I wanted to go tonight.”

“Oh?” She was probably shocked. “Okay, we can certainly get deep into that later.”

I teased, “With my tongue or my dick?”

“Both would work just fine.” She tried to uphold her innocence with company around. “The job is always handled properly.”

“Let me come and have you right on top of your desk.” I was enjoying myself. “I fantasize about that a lot, your legs on my shoulders and your head hanging backward over the desk.”

“We can work on that arrangement,” she said. “That could be done almost anywhere.”

“But I wanna do it on your desk so that I can—”

She interrupted, “Wow, you are so creative. I'm very excited about being teamed up with you.” She couldn't take it anymore. “I have a visitor. I'll call you later to continue brainstorming.”

“Chicken,” I joked.

“Thank you.” She smiled into the phone. “Bye.”

 

 

I mowed both of my neighbors' lawn and earned fifty dollars, just enough for me to buy dinner like I promised. Will and his little brother Lovell came over. Lovell was Kevin's age, so whenever he was over, Kevin wouldn't be so irritating and full of questions. Will, as always, was in front of my computer as I ironed my outfit for the night.

“What are you doing?” my mom asked as she walked into the room in her beige bathrobe.

“I think that's pretty evident.” I gave her a hard time.

“Boy, don't screw with me.” She had her hands akimbo. “Where are you going?”

“Out,” I said.

She asked, “Where?”

“Just out. Why?”

“Because I'm working tonight and I start that new job in the morning. Kevin can't be here by himself.”

I had forgotten all about her working tonight. “Ah, man.” I was upset. “You need to hire a babysitter or something.” Damn, why did I say that?

“Babysitter?” She twisted her head to the side. “I'm busting my ass to see that you get the best of everything there is, and you tell me that I need a fuckin' babysitter? I don't need this shit. He's at Julia's every day after school when you're at practice and I'm at work. I'm not bothering my sister any more than I need to when I have a grown-ass son that can watch his younger brother.”

“I didn't mean it like—”

“Yes, you did. Yes, you damn did.” Tears welled up in her eyes and she wasn't about to let me say anything. “I'm about to start working a second job just so you can be prepared for what's ahead. You ungrateful—” She stopped herself. “Excuse me for not being able to afford a babysitter while I shower you with two-hundred-dollar basketball shoes and shit at the same time.” With that said, she walked out of my room and down the hall to hers, where she slammed the door.

“Damn.” Will laughed. “You know you shouldn't have said anything like that.”

“I know.” I sighed. “It just came out.”

“She's pissed.”

“Ya think?” I asked sarcastically.

The last thing I wanted to do was hurt my mom or make her think that I was ungrateful. Especially since my sperm donor was nowhere to be found, I believed in praising her as often as I could. I moved the ironing board aside and made my way to her room. I opened the door and saw her standing in the mirror, brushing her hair into a ponytail.

“Ma, I'm sorry.” I closed the door and approached her slowly. “I didn't mean to hurt you.” She didn't stop brushing her hair, and as I got closer, I realized that she was crying.

“I'm only one person, Theo.”

“I know, I know. It was a stupid thing to say.” I continued. “It just came out.”

“You'll be gone soon, then I won't have a choice about leaving him with Julia or getting a sitter, but right now,” she turned to me, “you're all I have.” I was extremely moved, but I wouldn't dare walk back into the room where Will was with bloodshot, watery eyes. “This basketball thing, the thing I wanted most for you, is the thing that is about to tear you away from me.”

“Ma, don't you get it?” I smiled. “Because of basketball, you won't need to leave Kevin anywhere when you go to work because you won't have to work. You won't have to live in this house. Ma, you won't have to do anything that you don't want to anymore.” I looked her in the eyes. “I know that I haven't been the perfect son, but you've been the perfect mother.” I pulled her toward me. “I love you, and I'm going to take care of you . . . believe that.”

“I love you, too, Theo.” She wiped the slowing tears away. “I'm so proud of you.”

“I'm sorry about what I said.” I hugged her. “If I was still a shorty, I would allow you to whoop me.”

She smacked me on the butt. “It can still be done.”

 

 

An hour later, things were back to normal. “I get off at seven in the morning, but I have to be at the clinic at eight. It's only fifteen minutes from the hospital, so I'll just hang out in that area instead of driving back here. I leave there at two o'clock.” She looked at me and begged, “Please feed Kevin.” Before leaving for work she kissed Kevin, Lovell, Will, and then me.

When the front door closed, I looked at Will. “I need a favor, man.”

“What?” he asked, never truly looking my way. He was in a chat room.

“Can Kevin hang out with you and Vel tonight?”

“Yeah,” he said and typed something, then realized what I asked. “What?”

“Can he hang out with you and Lovell for a while?” I was gathering things to take into the shower with me. “I have to be somewhere at eight.”

“Man, your moms is gonna kill you.”

“Who will tell?”

Will joked, “Kevin's mouth runs like pantyhose. He'll tell.”

“Not if I give him ten dollars.” I smiled. “But make sure he gets something to eat with it and not no bullshit.”

“Where is
my
ten bucks?”

“I'm serious.” I grabbed a clean pair of boxers. “Will you or not?”

“First tell me where you're going.”

That was simple. “To hang out.”

His questioning continued. “With?”

“A friend.”

“Male or female?”

“Why in the hell would I go through all of this to hang out with a dude?”

“I don't know. I saw the way Mike London patted you on your ass during the game last night,” he joked. “Maybe
y'all
hanging out tonight.”

“Ay, fuck you, man.” I never liked his humor.

“I'll take him and Vel to the movies.”

“Man, that's the whole ten dollars right there,” I whined.

“I'll get his ticket.” Will was a fool, but I could always count on him.

“Thanks, man.” I picked up the phone and dialed Paige's number. “Hey.”

“How could you do that to me in my classroom?” she asked instead of saying hello.

I smiled. “I wanted to get your blood boiling.”

“You did.” She giggled. “It's still boiling.”

“Good.” I had to watch what I said in Will's presence. “Ribs all right with you?”

“Yes,” she said. “Is white wine all right with you?”

It sounded like a contradiction. “Barbecue ribs and wine?”

“Yep.”

“I guess.” I couldn't argue.

“Will you still be here at eight?”

“Yeah, but I had a little problem with my mom, so I won't be able to stay overnight.” Will shot me a what-the-fuck look. “Maybe next weekend.”

“No problem.” I knew that she was disappointed. “You take up too much space in the bed anyway.”

“And you love every inch of it.” I laughed. “I'll see you at eight.”

“Can't wait.”

“I know.” I smiled. “Bye.”

Will stared anxiously at me, expecting to know everything from A to Z about the person on the phone.

“What are
you
looking at?” I asked.

He broke his silence. “Spending the night?”

“What?” I put the phone down and started gathering my things, again, for the shower. “What?”

“You can spend the night at her house?” The computer was, for now, in second place to me. “Was that Trese?” he asked.

“Hell naw.” I frowned. “You know I don't play with that psycho anymore.” I added, “Plus, her and her moms sleep in the same damn bed.”

“Angie?”

“ No. ”

“Yes it was.” Will jumped out of his seat. “Yes it is. Her dad is out of town on business again.”

“Man, whatever, man.” I smiled. “That was not Angie.”

“Who was it then?”

I avoided looking directly at him. “No one that you're thinking.”

“Does this chick have a sister?”

I laughed. “Nope.”

“Her parents on vacation or something?”

“Nope.” I walked out of the room while Will went on and on about who “she” could be.

I took a long, hot shower. I was drying off when Will banged on the bathroom door. “Hey, Theo, does she make you call her ma'am?” he asked from the other side.

“What do you mean?” I stared at the door and wondered.

“She called your phone and I answered it.”

I felt caught. “Shit.” The feeling that ran through me sucked the water from my body inward, drying me completely. I wrapped the towel around me so tightly that it hurt to breathe. “What did you say?” I snatched the door open.

The smile on his face dissolved when he saw the anger on mine. “Your phone rang and I answered it.”

“And?”

“I wasn't pretending to be you or anything. She just started talking.” Will walked backward into my bedroom.

“What did she say?”

“She said that she's leaving her garage door open and for you to pull inside of it instead of parking behind the house because she's beginning to see a problem with her lawn or something.”

“What else?” I reached for my deodorant.

“That was it.”

“What did you mean about me calling her ma'am then?”

“Well,” he joked, “I can tell that she's not our age. Shit, she has her own goddamn house.”

“And that was all she said?”

“All right, all right.” Will looked guilty. “She said that she wanted you to tickle her tonsil.” He smiled.

That was her code phrase for a blowjob. “What did you say?”

“I told her that I needed to call her back.”

I asked, “Do you know who she is?”

“No, but she wants some tonight.” He cracked up. “Handle your biz, big dawg.” He made a barking sound.