The Hustler's Daughter {DC Bookdiva Publications} (24 page)

   Emilio
nervously chuckled. “Ok, I understand that Mercedes.”

   “I’m
just kidding.” Mercedes laughed at him. “You can take me out tomorrow.”

   “Are
you serious?” Emilio enthusiastically asked.

   “Yes
you can. Just know that I have my eye on you Emilio.”

xxxxxxxxxx

   The
next evening, Mercedes stood in front of her mirror checking out her outfit for
the night out with Emilio. She smoothed down her jet black hair and it cascaded
down to her shoulders. She wore a fitted strapless black dress from Nicole
Miller that accentuated her curves. She wore black Christian Louboutin
red-bottom stilettos. As usual, she had the finest jewelry on from head to toe.
She looked and felt amazing for the first time in a long time. Mercedes took
one last look in the mirror before exiting the bathroom. She heard the doorbell
ring and went to go answer it. She grabbed her clutch off her dresser and
headed down her steps as her heels clicked on the steps.

   She
slowly opened the door to a waiting Emilio. Neither of them said anything. They
both stared at each other in amazement as the other was dressed eloquently.

“Damn
Mercedes, you look very beautiful.” Emilio was amazed.

   “Thank
you.” Mercedes blushed as he complimented her beauty and attire.

   “Why
thank you. You’re looking quite handsome yourself.”

“Thanks,”
Emilio smirked. Mercedes smiled and eyed him up and down. She never really
noticed how handsome he was. Mercedes saw a very different side of Emilio. She
smiled at the fact that he opened the door for her. She felt that it showed he
knew how to treat a woman. Emilio entered the driver’s side and they both drove
to their destination.

They
arrived at the restaurant and Emilio took her hand. He opened the door for her
to enter. The restaurant was crowded and Mercedes was worried that they
wouldn’t be able to get in.

“Emilio
Pouche.” Emilio stated his name to the waitress as she quickly acknowledged him
and grabbed a menu.  She simply said, “Right this way sir.” They both followed
behind the woman as she guided them upstairs to a private area.

As
they sat at the round glass table, the restaurants lights were low. It provided
a nice ambiance and a very classy look. She noticed Emilio staring at her as
her eyes scanned the menu. She glanced up still with the menu in reading
position and asked,

“Is
there something wrong?”

“You
have really beautiful eyes Mercedes.” Emilio complimented her.

“Why
thank you.” Mercedes blushed. She briefly looked away but glanced up and caught
Emilio staring yet again.

“I
never noticed the color of your eyes, I thought they were hazel.”

“Well,
you have never actually been this close to me to notice.”

“That’s
true, well I’m getting close enough to you now.” Emilio placed his hand on top
of Mercedes’ and a quick shiver went down her spine. Before either of them
could say anything else, the waitress came over and asked them if they were
ready to order.

“I’m
ready, are you?” Emilio asked Mercedes as she still perused the menu.

“Yes,
I’ll have a Pina Colada.”

“I’ll
take a Long Island Ice Tea.” He told the waiter.

“I
would love to try the Serrated Shrimp and Chicken with the lemon cheese and
mashed potatoes please, thank you.” Mercedes ordered and closed her menu.

“And
how about you sir, what would you like?”

“I’ll
take what my lady is having.” Emilio smiled at Mercedes and handed the waitress
the menu. Mercedes looked at him and smiled.

   “I
thought you would go for the steak or something.” Mercedes chuckled.

   “Nah,
I mean I love steak. But I’d rather have what my lady is having.”

   “Oh,
is that so?” Mercedes mischievously smiled. He called her his lady twice
already.

   “Very
much so.”

   “Question,
how come you asked me to go out on a date with you? What do you want from me?”
She asked frankly.

   “I
mean, isn’t it obvious Mercedes? Ever since the first day I saw you, I’ve been
amazed by your beauty and wanted to whisk you away. You have such swagger for a
young woman your age. It’s attractive to me and I like it a lot.” Emilio winked
at her.

   “That’s
interesting.” The waitress came back and placed her food and drink down.           

“Mhmmm,
this looks delicious.” Mercedes licked her lips as she eyed the steamy plate.

   “Yeah,
so do you.” Emilio was clearly enchanted by her and was making it known.

   “I’m
not the dessert menu.” Mercedes teased while batting her eyes at him. He loved
the flirting and she had a habit of biting her lip. Emilio found that sexy.

   “Girl,
if you keep biting your sexy lips like that you will be my dessert. They
continued to laugh and drink. They were getting tipsy throughout the evening.
Mercedes began to feel closer to Emilio and he knew he had her in the palm of
his hands. They decided to leave the restaurant get to know each other a little
more.

   Mercedes
invited Emilio up for a nightcap and he graciously accepted. During their
conversation, Mercedes kept bringing up Chino and how much she missed him. Emilio
didn’t like that at all, but Mercedes was so intoxicated that she didn’t notice
his displeasure.

   “Thank
you Emilio for taking me out tonight.” Mercedes words were slurred as she
talked.

   “No
problem Ma.” Emilio smiled, “I think I need to help you get out because you
aren’t okay to walk.”

“Shut
up.” Mercedes giggled at him and playfully nudged his shoulder. Emilio hopped
out the car and quickly walked around the passenger side. He opened the door
for Mercedes. She handed him the key and he opened her door. He took her the
bedroom as she directed. He plopped her down onto the bed. She grabbed her
pillow and began to cry.

“Good
night Baby Girl, Emilio stopped in his tracks when he noticed she was crying.
She began to sob harder and he walked over to the bed. 

“What’s
wrong Mercedes?” Emilio asked.

   “Just
everything,” she said between tears.

   “Aww
Ma, please don’t cry on me now.” Mercedes wrapped her arms around his neck and
cried in his arms. He felt sorry for her; he never had a woman cry in his arms.
He felt awkward watching her cry, but she eventually cried herself to sleep. He
held her tightly as his shoulder became her pillow. 

   The
next morning, she awoke to his hands tightly gripping her waist. She looked
over to see Emilio staring at her. She didn’t remember much due to her drunken
state. She wondered if they had sex.          

“Good
morning beautiful lady.” Emilio smiled.

   “Did
we have sex?” Mercedes wanted to get right to the point. She didn’t want to
assume and go about her day like nothing happened. Emilio loudly laughed at her
question.

   “Nah
Ma, we didn’t have sex. You’re still fully dressed. If we had sex, your clothes
would be on the floor.”

   “Whatever.”
Mercedes smiled as he grabbed her hand and began caressing it.         “So you
don’t remember us going out to eat. We laughed, talked and drank.”

“Of
course I do, but after a few drinks I was done. What happened later in the
evening?” Mercedes seductively asked. Emilio pulled in closer and whispered in
her ear.

 “You
were looking so fucking gorgeous I wanted to eat you up. You told me you
weren’t on the dessert menu, so I guess you got a free pass.”

Mercedes
listened to him speak and began to get aroused, but Emilio’s phone began to
ring and interrupted the moment. He removed himself from her grasp and went to
speak privately in the bathroom. Mercedes wanted him now more than ever. She
would have to wait for another time. He returned from the bathroom with bad
news.

“Sorry
Baby Girl. I wish I could stay longer, but I got some business to handle.”
Emilio slid his phone back into his pocket.

“I
understand.” Mercedes sadly replied. She watched Emilio put on his jacket, then
walked him to the door and opened it.

“Thank
you for letting me take you out last night.” Emilio said with a wink.

“No!
Thank you, and thanks for staying with me last night. I really appreciate it.” 

“Anytime,”
their eyes connected and Emilio leaned in for a kiss. She turned her head and
his kiss landed on her cheek.

“I
guess I’ll see you later.”

   “Alright
Ma, until then.”        

“Bye.”
Mercedes smiled and waved as she closed the door behind him. She pressed her
back against the door and sank down to the floor. She knew she was falling for
him, and it scared her.

Slip & Fall

It
had been several weeks since Mercedes last saw her friends. In fact, she hadn’t
seen them since her father’s funeral. They spoke on the phone collectively, but
hadn’t had a chance to get together.

One
day they all decided to meet and chat at a diner on 125th Street in Harlem.
They sipped on Mimosa’s as Mercedes gazed from the window. She was oblivious to
the conversation going on.

   “Mercedes,”
Candy called out.

   “Huh?”
Mercedes was interrupted from her thoughts when Candy called her.

   “What
the hell are you thinking about?”

 Mercedes
quickly begin to blush, as the girls looked at each other and smiled.

   “Ohh,
is that a blush I see?” Hazel snickered.

   “I
haven’t seen her blush like that since Chino.” Shateeya joked.

“It
sure is girl. Spill the beans! Who is this new guy that makes you blush so
much?” Chamari asked.

   “Oh
shut up.” Mercedes smiled and nodded her head.

“It’s
nothing, no one.” Mercedes lied and sipped on her drink. She hoped they would
change the conversation.

“Aww,
come on Mercedes. We are girls, sisters you know. We don’t keep secrets.” Candy
opened her mouth and Mercedes wanted to stick her foot in it. She knew Candy
was hiding a secret of her own.

 “Yeah
we ALL have secrets, ALL of us that no one knows about.” Mercedes replied while
looking at Candy.

She
directed her attention to the rest of the girls and decided to tell them about
Emilio. 

“It’s
actually a guy I’ve known since I was sixteen.”

“Well,
who is he?” Candy inquisitively asked.

“His
name is Emilio, he worked for my father.”

“Oh
his sexy ass, he is a fine motherfucker.” Chamari smiled as her and Candy high
fived each other. “I remember him from your party.”

“Ya’ll
are so silly.” Mercedes said as they all laughed.

She
began to tell them about the events surrounding her date. “The other night he
took me out to dinner and we were eating, drinking, and laughing-all that good
shit. He took me home and I ended up breaking down and crying about Chino and
my dad. He just held me all night until the morning.” Mercedes beamed, showing
off her dimples.

“Get
the fuck outta here.” Shateeya smartly said.

“Aww
that’s sweet, he’s a real nice gentleman for that.” Candy implied.

“So
ya’ll didn’t fuck?” Shateeya jumped in.

“Damn
Miss Nosey Bitch.” Mercedes joked, “Nah we didn’t have sex yet.”

“Please!
So that entire night ya’ll was drinking and you woke up with your clothes on?”
Shateeya laughed. “Yeah aight bitch, now we all know that she’s lying. My
panties would’ve dropped to the floor OKAY! That nigga was definitely up in the
panties. Real recognize real.” She started hysterically laughing while everyone
looked at her in shock.

   “Well,
a wise woman knows not to fuck on the first night. And real recognize real, but
I keep it classy.” Mercedes rolled her eyes and her phone rang before Shateeya
could respond. “Excuse me ladies.” Mercedes left the table. 

   “Hello?”

   “Hey,
beautiful, how are you?”

   “What’s
going on stranger? Long time no see or hear.”        

“Yeah,
I’m sorry Mercedes. I was in Cu-I mean I was out of state taking care of some
business. I just came back this morning.” Emilio lied.

   “Yeah,
okay. Whatever.” Mercedes pursed her lips together.

   “Aww
Ma, come on now. What you mad? I apologize, I’ll make it up to you.” Emilio
didn’t want her to be mad. She was actually warming up to him. Mercedes’ teeth
were chattering due to the wind outside.

“Yeah
okay Emilio, I gotta go.”

   “Where
are you now?”

   “I’m
out for lunch with my girlfriends.”

   “Well
when you leave there, get ready and I can pick you up from home.”

   “Alright,
see you later.” She smiled at his effort to make her feel better. Maybe he
wasn’t so bad after all.

   Mercedes
hung up her phone and slid it into her Coach purse. She walked back into the
diner.

   “Well
I have to get going ladies. It was good seeing y’all.” Mercedes didn’t even
bother to sit down.

   “Where
are you headed?” Candy eagerly asked.

   “Home,
Emilio just called me and we’re going out tonight.”

   “Aww
shit, go on girl.” Candy gave her a pound.

   “Alright
you ladies be safe, love ya’ll.” Mercedes gave each of them kisses on their
cheek before exiting the diner and hopping into her car.

When
she got home, she called Emilio to let him know that he could come get her
soon. She fixed herself up shortly after heard the doorbell ring. She walked to
the door and found Emilio with flowers behind his back.   

“You
look gorgeous, Mercedes.”

   “Thank
you Emilio.” Mercedes kissed him on the cheek and Emilio pulled out the flowers
and handed them to her.

“Aww,
you’re so sweet.”

   “I
try, are you ready to go?” He asked as he took her hand.

   “Let’s
go.” Mercedes and Emilio walked down the path to his car. He helped her get in
and closed the door.

They
spent a wonderful day together. They shopped on Fifth Avenue, went to a movie
and had dinner. Mercedes noticed after the movie that he stopped in front of a
hotel. As they entered the hotel, Mercedes loved the ambiance and décor.

“This
is a beautiful hotel.” She remarked as she looked at the 16 story hotel in
amazement.

   “Yes
it is beautiful, one of the most expensive hotels in the city.” Emilio grabbed
her hand as they proceeded into the hotel. He checked them in and they rode
upstairs on the elevator.

As
they entered the hotel room, Emilio helped her take off her coat. He put on
some Jazz to set the mood and she noticed the bed was covered in rose petals.

   “I
know you had a long night, so I prepared a bath for you.” Emilio smiled as he
led Mercedes into the bathroom. 

“This
is very nice Emilio.” Mercedes smiled. He handed her a bag from one of her
favorite stores, Victoria’s Secret.

   “No
problem. I’ll be waiting for you when you get out. I’m gonna go watch TV. ”
Emilio smiled as he closed the door behind him.

As
he left, she got undressed and stepped into the bath. It felt magnificent.
After thirty minutes she decided it was time to come out and see what else was
in store. She put on the lingerie from the bag and came out of the bathroom.
She found Emilio on the bed flipping channels.

   “Damn
Ma, you look great.” Emilio lustfully said.

   “You’re
so silly.” Mercedes blushed as she sat on the edge of the bed.       

“Yeah,
I can be sometimes.  I made a little dessert for you.”

Emilio
reached over and retrieved some chocolate covered strawberries that were
waiting for her. 

“Mhmmm,
this is delicious.” she licked her lips and still had a piece of chocolate
hanging on the side.

“Well,
except for this chocolate sticking to the side of my lip.” She giggled and
tried to remove it.

   “Let
me get that for you.” Emilio moved in closer to Mercedes and he licked the
chocolate off and started sucking on her full lips. He massaged her tongue with
his and placed his hand behind the back of her neck as they kissed
passionately. Butterflies flew around in her stomach sending chills down her
spine. Emilio helped remove her bra exposing her C cup breasts. He kissed her
over her neck and leaned her back onto the bed. He slowly sprayed whip cream
all over her nipples. After making love to her breasts, he put whip cream all
over her stomach and started licking her belly button. Mercedes loved the way
he was taking his time exploring her body. As Emilio went below her panty line,
she began to moan loudly.

He
slowly removed her thong and slid it down her legs. He dropped it to the floor.
His tongue made his way down to her sweet, tight pussy. He began licking around
her fat lips. He took his time licking and sucking her pussy nice and slow.
Mercedes’ eyes rolled in back of her head as she grabbed the back of his head.
Emilio tasted and swallowed all of her juices. He picked his head up and was
licking his lips.

   “You
finally let me get the dessert.” he smirked.

   “That
was just a little sample.” Mercedes badly wanted him inside of her.

   “Oh
yeah, well can I get the whole meal?” Emilio removed a condom from the package
and placed it on his stiff dick. He slid it inside of her and she began moaning
and bucking in discomfort.         

“Are
you alright Ma?”  

“Yeah,
I’m fine,” she moaned. “It just hurts a little. It’s been a while you know?”

   “Do
you want me to stop?” He stopped and looked her in her eyes. She shook her head
‘no’ and they continued making love. She bit the bottom of her lip and decided
she was going to take the dick. He continued to slide in her and finally made
it all the way inside. He hit her with the slow strokes, making her a fiend for
his dick. She tried to hold back her moans, but it was futile. She moaned
loudly and scratched his back with each deep stroke.

“Chino!”
Mercedes accidently called out her ex’s name. Emilio didn’t even stop; he kept
going. With each and every stroke he thrust a little harder. Emilio knew he
didn’t have to worry about anything. Chino was long gone and out of the
picture. He had Mercedes all to himself. As they reached their climax together,
they fell asleep in each other’s arms until the dawn.

   Mercedes
woke up with the sheets wrapped around her body. She smiled thinking about the
events from the previous night. She couldn’t believe that she and Emilio had
sex. She never thought it would be possible. She reached over the bed to
retrieve her cell phone and noticed that she missed several calls from her
mother.     

“Oh
shit!” Mercedes scurried about grabbing her clothes and getting dressed. Emilio
heard her and asked what was going on.

   “What’s
wrong Ma?” Emilio asked, with a concerned look on his face.

   “I
was supposed to meet my mother at the hospital.” Mercedes put on her coat and
slipped on her stilettos. “Can you take me there please?”

   “Sure,
let me get dressed.” He threw on some clothes and drove to the hospital.    

“Thank
you so much Emilio.”

   “No
problem Ma, is your mom okay?” Emilio curiously asked.

   “It’s
my Uncle Roy.”

“This
shit is crazy, I thought he was dead.” Emilio couldn’t believe that Roy Carter
was still alive.

   “What?”
Mercedes asked him, she did not hear what he said.

   “Oh
nothing, I didn’t know he was still in the hospital.” Emilio responded.

   “Yeah,
why don’t you come up and see him?” Mercedes insisted.

   “No,”
he yelled. “I mean, I can’t today Mercedes. I know he’s messed up and
everything from what happened. I’ll let him rest and come see him another
time.” Emilio smiled as he rubbed his hands over hers.

   “Alright,”
Mercedes shrugged.

Emilio
reached over and moved in for a kiss. This time, she kissed him back.

“See
you later.” She smiled and made her way to go see her Uncle Roy. Mercedes
talked to the nurse at the desk and she told her where to go. She made it to
the room and looked in to see her mother holding his hand and talking to him.

   “I’m
sorry I was late Ma I…..…” Maria cut her off.

   “It’s
okay Mercedes.” Maria was dry and didn’t want to hear any excuses from her.
Mercedes walked over and saw her uncle lying in bed. He was filled with tubes.
The monitors recorded his every move and the beeping sounds were continuous.      

“How’s
he doing?” Mercedes asked as she walked over and touched his hand. Tears began
to drip from her eyes as she watched his eyes flutter. At this point, that was
the only motion he could make.

   “The
doctors said he’s still in critical condition, but he’ll make it. He can barely
talk and the doctor said he can’t really remember much either. Your uncle was
shot several times. If he didn’t call the ambulance, he would have been right
there with your father.” Maria began to cry again, even though she tried to
hold back the tears.    “Aww Mama please, please don’t cry.” Mercedes rubbed
her back. “Everything’s going to be just fine.”

   “Yeah,
I hope so. I just hope your uncle makes it.” Maria said. “The bastards who
killed your father and shot your uncle need to pay.” Maria had an idea that
Vicente Santiago was behind the death of Don Carter and the near death of Roy.
She just didn’t want to say anything to Mercedes.