The Pleasure Trap (3 page)

“Missing my son,” she answered smoothly, as if it had been sitting on the tip of her tongue just waiting to be used.

“I'm coming this weekend,” he said. “I just been looking for a job.”

“Well, that's good to know. Let me talk to your daddy.”

He raised his head to look over at the closed bedroom door. With the volume so low on the TV, he could already hear the familiar squeaking of the bedsprings. If Missy was lucky, she'd get to stay the night. If she was like the rest, she would be tiptoeing past the couch and out the door in two hours, tops.

“He's not here,” Graham lied, picking up the remote and raising the volume.

“You're home alone?” she shrieked in disbelief.

“He had to work late,” he lied again, shaking his head.

“What garbage is he picking up at nine o'clock at night?”

“Ma, I'm a'ight.”

“Probably laid up with some woman.”

He frowned at the sound of the downstairs doorbell. Rising to his feet, he walked to the window to see if he recognized any cars parked down on the street.
If this another one of my daddy's—

“Ma, I was about to watch a movie and then go to sleep,” he lied yet again, walking back across the floor and reaching behind him to pull up his sagging shorts.

“You do that,” she said. “Love you.”

“Love you too, Ma,” he said, distracted, as he opened the door.

He hung up the phone and turned to toss it back on the chair before he made his way back down the stairs. Graham paused at the sight of Ms. Nunez standing on the porch with her foot holding the front door open.

At the sight of him, she lifted her finger from the doorbell and stepped inside the hall, closing the door. “Come here,” she ordered him.

Graham shook his head. “My dad's busy. His insurance lady—”

“Don't lie to me,
joven amante
,” she said in a soft voice that was just as chastising as a mother to her child. “Come here.”

The head on Graham's shoulder said no, but the one below his belt wasn't in agreement.

Ms. Nunez climbed the stairs instead. The closer she got, the more he could smell the scent of her perfume. The same scent that clung to her skin that afternoon. He liked it best in the valley between her breasts.

“You think I care about your daddy?” she asked, stopping on the step just below the one where he stood. “You changed all that today, baby.”

He licked his lips. “Ms. Nunez, we can't—”

“Essie,” she insisted, reaching up to stroke him. “Like you did this afternoon.”

He closed his eyes as he brushed her hand away.

“You think your daddy care?”

Her question brought forward the memory of that constant squeaking from his father's bedroom. The last thing on his daddy's mind right about then was Ms. Nunez.
Or me.

And for the first time, Graham had a way better idea of just what his father was experiencing. He wanted to feel it again.

When she unzipped his pants, freed his hardness as she got down on her knees, and took him into her mouth, Graham didn't offer one single protest.

Essie

 

 

G
raham dived into the pool and swam the length of it with his arms slashing the water. He felt like he was in a cocoon and the silence was a blessing. At the wall, he turned and pressed his feet against it to launch himself forward for another lap. He had a lot on his mind, but beneath the water, nothing mattered at all.

The last place he wanted to be was back at his mother's, but he had to admit it was a relief not to play referee in his father's female drama. The weekend was almost over and he was headed back to dramaville, but he was ready to leave the 'burbs.

He allowed himself a few more laps before he finally pulled himself up out of the water and sat on the edge to wipe the chlorinated water from his eyes and nose.

“So you were too sick to go to church but you're swimming?”

But he didn't say that out loud. Instead, he gave his mother his best smile and looked up at her as she stood over him in a pretty orange dress and matching wide-brimmed hat. “Dad doesn't have a pool. I just wanted to enjoy it before I go back home today,” he said.

Her face saddened. “This is still your home too, Bear,” she said, using her childhood pet name.

“I know, Ma,” he said, sounding as aggravated as he felt.

“Come on, get dressed so I can take you home,” she said, turning away from him.

“Daddy not coming for me?” he asked, rising to his feet and grabbing his towel from the lounge chair where he'd tossed it earlier.

“Nope.”

“I don't think he's home,” Graham offered quickly, as he followed her up onto the deck and through the open French doors into the kitchen.

“Tylar sent me a text. His car is in the shop, but there's an afternoon program at the church, so I gotta take you back this morning... or you can catch the train,” she offered, pulling on an apron over her church clothes and then oven mitts before opening the oven door.

“We leave right after we eat?” he asked over his shoulder as he headed up the stairs to his room to shower.

Cara laughed as she pulled a roaster from the oven. “I thought so,” she teased.

Graham quickly showered off the chlorine and changed into a T-shirt and shorts before packing his bag. His stomach grumbled at the smell of food from the kitchen. His Mama could cook, and her food topped the takeout dinner they usually ate at his father's. Still, good food couldn't touch the goodies Ms. Nunez was giving him every chance she got, and he was ready for some more.

It was all he thought about as he finished packing his bag, ate dinner with his mother, and sat quietly in the passenger seat of her Mercedes SUV as she drove him back to Brooklyn. As soon as she double-parked on the street that was packed bumper-to-bumper with vehicles, he climbed out and moved to the rear of the gold vehicle.

“Hey, Graham.”

He looked over his shoulder at the pretty shorty from next door, LeLe, waving to him from her front porch. He smiled and waved back but snatched up his duffel bag and kept it moving onto the sidewalk. Pre–Ms. Nunez, he would've been sweating the cutie. But after working up the nerve to chat it up with her, the whole innocent vibe made him want to protect her, not fuck her. Now they were in a nice friend zone.

He still liked her—but he liked sexing Ms. Nunez more.

She came down off the porch as he gave his mother one last wave over his shoulder. He eyed her. She was all caramel pretty with straight, thick hair that almost reached her waist. She was slender but there was promise of a curvier shape in her hips.

“I'm glad you're back,” she said, walking up to stand before him.

Graham smiled at her, liking how she looked in her bright yellow sundress. “Missed me?” he asked.

“It's boring 'round here without you,” LeLe said, reaching up to playfully swat his head.

“Let me put my stuff up and check in with my pops, and I'll be back down later, a'ight?”

LeLe nodded, her eyes all soft and flirty, as she reached up to tug at his collar. “I wanted to ask you something,” she said.

Uh-oh
. He laughed nervously as he backed away. “A'ight,” he said, before turning to jog up the stairs.

His eyes went down the hall to Ms. Nunez's door, but he fought the urge to go to her and instead continued up the stairs, already reaching in his pocket for his house key. He paused, hoping like hell his father wasn't “entertaining” and he wasn't about to walk in on a live porno set. Being sure to rattle the doorknob as he unlocked the door, he finally entered.

Thankfully, the living room was empty.

“Pops,” Graham hollered out, dropping his duffel bag by the closet where he had to stash most of his clothes and shoes.

The bathroom door opened and Tylar walked out wearing nothing but a towel and a smile on his face. “I thought I heard you. How was your weekend?” he asked, strolling into the kitchen and leaving damp footprints on the hardwood floor.

Graham shrugged, his eyes darting to the ajar bathroom door. “I can go downstairs, if you want,” he offered.
Maybe I can go knock Ms. Nunez boots real quick . . .

Tylar opened a bottle of water and shook his head before taking a deep swig. “Nah, I'm done,” he said afterward.

“Hey, Graham.”

His eyes widened as Ms. Nunez strolled out of the bathroom. She was dressed in a tank and sweatpants, but her hair was damp and it was clear she didn't have on a bra as her nipples nearly poked through the thin cotton material. His heartbeat quickened and his gut clenched in surprise. An image of her riding his father flashed and he swallowed over a lump in his throat. A lump symbolizing the guilt, anger, and jealousy he felt before he finally spoke. “Hi, Ms. Nunez,” he said awkwardly, forcing his eyes away from her as she strolled over to his father.

“See you later, Ty?” she asked.

Graham scowled as he slumped down on the couch and turned on the television. He hated the thought of his father and Ms. Nunez. He thought they were done.
I thought I was enough for her.

He glanced over his shoulder at them just as his father soundly slapped her ass and then gripped one fleshy cheek in his hand as he pressed a kiss to her mouth. “Let me spend some time with my boy, a'ight?”

Graham pressed his eyes shut and turned to face the TV when her hand eased down the front of the towel.

“Bye, Graham,” she said as she passed him on her way out the front door.

He forced himself not to look her way.

“Graham, wake me up in an hour,” Tylar said, headed toward his bedroom.

“You got plans?” he asked, even as his jealousy made his throat tight.

“Later. Yeah,” his father answered over his shoulder. “You can tell me more about your weekend when I get up.”

“Nothing to tell,” Graham said, keeping his voice more calm than he felt. “What about yours?”

Tylar just chuckled deeply. “It was . . . quite a ride, son.”

Graham forced a laugh.

“Glad you're home, son,” Tylar said before entering his bedroom.

Graham said nothing. For the next hour his eyes were locked on the television; his thoughts were locked elsewhere.
Man, fuck her
.

He snatched up his keys and left the apartment. As soon as he reached the bottom step, he looked back at Ms. Nunez's door. It was closed. She usually left it open when she sat on the front porch.

He was glad because it wasn't her that he was looking for.

LeLe was sitting on her porch watching her younger brother play with his remote-controlled monster truck in the driveway. She looked up and smiled as soon as she spotted him.

Smiling back at her, he made his way down the steps and next door to look up at her as he braced himself against the wrought-iron banister. “So what you wanted to ask me?”

LeLe looked surprised as she pushed her hair behind her ears. “Who said I'm ready to ask?”

“A'ight. My bad,” Graham said, his eyes on her slender, pretty face before he shifted them to look at her little brother instead.

“You got a girlfriend?”

The eyes went back to her face. A heated memory of Ms. Nunez undressing him flashed but he shook it away.
She probably did the same to my father today.
“No,” he finally answered.

“Oh,” LeLe said softly, her voice shy and soft as she looked down at her hands.

Graham glanced over at his apartment building just as Ms. Nunez stepped out onto the porch. She released a stream of cigarette smoke through pursed lips as she eyed them openly. He ignored her and looked back to LeLe. “You want to go to the movies?” he asked.

“LeLe! Nikko!”

They both looked to the front door of LeLe's home at a woman's shrill cry.

“My grandmother,” LeLe explained. “Time to eat.”

Nikko snatched up his toy and raced down the short distance of the sidewalk and up the stairs past them into the house.

“The movies?” he nudged.

“I want to,” she said quickly, rising to her feet. “I just have to ask my dad.”

“That's cool.”

“I'll be back out after we eat,” she assured him as she made her way across the porch to the open front door.

“A'ight.”

He watched her until she gave him one last soft smile and disappeared inside the house. As he made his way back next door he felt Ms. Nunez's eyes on him, but he ignored her as he jogged up the stairs and walked past her. He thought she would have something slick to say to him and was surprised when she said nothing at all.

Eventually entering the house, he headed straight for the bedroom door and knocked twice on it with his knuckles.

“I'm up,” Tylar called out to him.

Graham walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. He was pulling a can of soda out when his father walked up to him. “Where you headed, Pops?” he asked, taking in the white linen suit he wore.

“An all-white boat party with a friend,” Tylar said, snapping his fingers as he two-stepped and then spun.

Graham smiled and shook his head.

“I saw you talking to the little honey next door again,” Tylar said. “You getting anywhere?”

“I asked her to the movies,” he admitted.

“My boy,” Tylar said proudly, holding out his fist.

Graham pounded the top of it lightly with his own. “Your
broke
boy,” he stressed.

Tylar eyed him. “My
unemployed
boy,” he returned even as he reached in his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. “But it's for a good cause, so . . .”

Graham smiled broadly as his father handed him a crisp fifty-dollar bill. “Thanks, Pop,” he said.

“Wrap it up. No baby mamas.” Tylar pushed a condom in his hand as well. “You need more?”

“Nooo . . . no. I'm good,” he said, pushing the money and protection into his pocket.

“You ain't got no choice. Like father, like son,” Tylar said, striking a pose before smoothing his hand over his mouth and chin.

Graham shifted uncomfortably at the thought of him and his father sexing Ms. Nunez.
Like father, like son
.

“A'ight. I'm out. Don't be out too late,” Tylar said, pulling his son close for a quick hug and a brief kiss to his temple. “Love ya.”

Graham knew that was true. Guilt reigned heavily. His father had plenty of women, and Ms. Nunez was just one of many, but she was still his father's friend, and no man liked another man pissing on his territory. “Me too,” he answered.

As soon as the front door closed, Graham walked into the bedroom to enjoy the feel of the air-conditioning. He eyed the disheveled sheets on the bed and opted to sit in the club chair on the other side of the nightstand instead.
I'm not lying up in their dried-up sex juices.

He checked out the window to see if LeLe was back outside before settling in to watch a
Martin
rerun.

Frowning, he dropped the remote and left the bedroom headed to the front door.
Maybe it's LeLe or—

“Ms. Nunez?” he asked even as he looked at her pushing past him to walk into the house smelling like cigarettes and something fruity. “My dad's not here.”

“I saw him leave,” she said, turning to face him as she pulled her T-shirt over her head. “I wanted you.”

Afraid a neighbor would happen down the stairs and see her, he shut the door. “I don't want you,” he told her, his hand still on the doorknob as he fought—and won—not to look at her breasts.

“Liar,” she said, bending a little to push her pants over her hips and down her legs. “I missed you.”

Naked, she came across the room and pressed his body against the door with hers. He closed his eyes as she pressed her lips to his neck.

“You don't want me?” she asked mockingly as she stroked his hardness and then freed it from his shorts.

Graham hissed at her touch.

“Come and get this pussy, little boy,” she said, tugging on his dick to lead him behind her into his father's bedroom.

Graham followed her, not caring in that moment how she hurt him or that she was leading him to the same bed where she'd lain with his father.