This Can't be Life (40 page)

“Take notes, big bro’. Take notes.” He laughed and got inside the limo.

“You must be Tyson,” Shelly said, sticking out her hand for him to take. 

“Wow, I didn’t know you were such a big boy. My goodness! How old are you? 12?” She asked, knowing he was only 10.

“In two years, I’ll be 12. But you know what?” he asked, still holding her hand.

“What’s that?” she asked smiling.

“I’m taller than a few 12 year olds I know. I’m the tallest in my class and I’m going to be able to dunk by the time I turn 12!” he said excitedly, making us all laugh.

“I’m sure you will. Hey, maybe even before 12. Who knows?” I said as Shell, Tyson, and I got inside the limo.

“Hey, Deon. Where’s Simone?” Tyson asked innocently once we were all seated and heading toward our destination.

“I’m not sure, Ty,” I answered honestly, looking over at Shelly for her response. She just smiled. There wasn’t any worry, doubt, or insecurity in her eyes, and I liked that.

“Can I call her, please?” Tyson asked.

“Yeah, but not tonight. Tomorrow, okay?” I said, hoping that, come tomorrow, he would forget.

“Cool. I want to tell her about my basketball team. I’m starting and I make the most points on the team!” Tyson began excitedly.

“Yeah, ‘cause you’re always ball hoggin’,” my little brother, JR, laughed.

“Well, they can’t play and every time I pass the ball to one of them, the other team takes it! I want to win!” We all laughed. I knew that I needed to spend more time with him and I’d have that problem knocked out in no time, if my father didn’t handle it before then.

After we all got checked in, we decided to have dinner. As we ate lobster, shrimp, fish, and an assortment of rice and vegetables, we talked nonstop. My mom and Shelly really seamed to be hitting it off. They talked and laughed as us guys talked about sports, of course. There was talk about my little brother going to the NFL after only being in college for a couple years, which I was completely against. I knew that it was his choice, but I thought he should get as much experience as he could on the college level first.

At 6’5” and 225 pounds, JR is a phenomenal quarterback with the speed of a young Jerry Rice. His build is similar to mine, but I’m still a couple of inches taller than him at 6’7”. I was 6’5” at his age, so he has a good chance to meet me at my height, if not, surpass me.

“You know you can’t get that Heisman if you leave now,” I said, trying to discourage him in any way that I could.

“I don’t need no Heisman if I go to the league. I may never make it to the league if I get hurt. College ain’t goin’ nowhere. I can go back to college at 40 and complete my degree. I can’t go to the NFL at that age,” he huffed, trying to make us see his point.

“Ultimately, the decision is up to you, lil’ bro’. You know I’ll support you in any way possible, but you can’t replace your college years by going back to college at 40. Those were some of my best years. You can get your game even tighter these next couple of years in college, win that Heisman, and be one of the highest paid in the league. Come on, man. Just think about what I’m saying.”

“Yeah, I hear you. You know Pops tells me the same things. I have some time to think about it.”

“That’s all we ask, that you think about it,” Pops said, popping a piece of lobster in his mouth.

I watched my mother and Shelly as they talked and laughed for a couple of minutes. I looked over at Tyson sitting next to me, who was stuffing shrimp in his mouth and, finally, looking across the table at my brother and my father. Sitting at this table with my family and Shelly, I felt content with the picture I was looking at and hoped it could stay this way.

Talise

I awoke yesterday morning and the first two thoughts that came to my mind was the fact that Malachi was coming home tomorrow, and my period was late — very late. I immediately went to Rite Aid on the corner of Sunset and
Fairfax
and bought two home pregnancy tests and a bottle of water. By the time I got home, I had drunk all of the water and was ready to get my EPT on. I opened the first box, which had two individually wrapped tests, and unwrapped them both. I unbuttoned my pants, sat on the toilet, and proceeded to take both tests. Waiting for the pink line to show up, or not, was the longest three minutes of my life. But when that pink line began to emerge on both of the tests simultaneously, I couldn’t believe it. I opened up my back up box and took the other two tests, praying for urine to come. They were both positive as well.

I begged my doctor’s receptionist to squeeze me in that same day so I could confirm the positive results. Although I knew there was no way four tests could be wrong, I just needed my doctor’s confirmation. After peeing in a cup and a quick vaginal exam, the doc confirmed that I was preggers. I really didn’t know how to feel as I numbly left her office and headed home to return to my bed. I had to figure out how I was going to tell Malachi. I really didn’t know how he would react. Just getting out of rehab and me throwing this on him, didn’t seem to be the right thing to do. I was debating on not telling him until he was home at least a week so I could feel him out, but didn’t know if I’d be able to keep this from him.

When I awoke the next morning, after lying in bed all of yesterday, I felt invigorated. Nothing could overshadow the happiness I felt knowing that I was going to see Malachi today. I rented a limo to pick him up and had a wonderful weekend planned for us out in
Santa Barbara
. He always seemed to be the most relaxed when he was at his beach house. As I sat in the back of the limo on the hour and a half drive to pick him up, I knew that there was no way I’d be able to keep my pregnancy from him for any amount of days. Whether he was okay with it or not, I knew it needed to be discussed sooner rather than later.

When we pulled into the driveway of the treatment center and the limo came to a complete stop, I jumped out of the car and tried not to run toward the entrance. As I made my way up the porch, Malachi walked out looking like a breath of fresh air. The butterflies in my stomach stopped me cold as they began fluttering uncontrollably. I found myself stuck in the spot where I was standing, just watching him as he approached me. When we were finally face-to-face, he picked me up by the waist and held me as he placed kisses all over my face and neck. Neither of us said a word nor unlocked our embrace as we took in the scent and feel of each other. My heart felt light and my eyes began to tear. I was so happy. In Malachi’s arms, everything was okay.

“I missed you so much, Tali. You have no idea,” Malachi whispered in my ear. I couldn’t do or say anything. I just cried silently and held onto my man.

“I love you,” I whispered when I finally got my voice.

“I love you more,” he said and brought his lips to mine, kissing me softly over and over.

“Talise Miles, I can’t wait for you to be my wife!” He all but shouted as we walked hand and hand toward the limo, where the driver waited with the door open.

“Where’re we going? Not that I care. We can ride in the back of this limo for the next 24 hours and I wouldn’t even notice,” Malachi laughed after the limo took off.

Malachi pushed the button to raise the partition so we could have some privacy.

“Come here, baby,” he said, bringing his face to mine. Then we kissed like teenagers in heat. I missed every inch of this man. I never wanted to be without him again and I told him just that.

“Tell me about it. I missed you like crazy. You got me through that, babe. Although it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be,” he said, kissing my forehead.

“That’s because you have a very strong mind and wanted to stop. Oh, we’re going to your house in
Santa Barbara
, to answer your earlier question,” I smiled at him. By this time, I was sitting on his lap with my hands clasped behind his neck.

“That’s a perfect idea, but I have a better one for now,” Malachi whispered into my ear. He began kissing me gently around my neck and ears, which he knew were two of my many spots.

I removed myself from his lap and got on my knees in front of him. I took my clothes off piece by piece, taking my time. I wanted him to sit back, relax, and watch until I was completely naked, aside from the yellow lace, thong panties I wore. I rubbed his hardness through his pants and knew that he was ready for me. I unzipped his pants, pulled out what was all mine, and worshipped him like this was my last time. I had missed him so much that even the taste of him, the feel of his skin in my mouth drove me crazy — I couldn’t take it anymore. I sat on top of him and eased him inside of me slowly. I took my time, savoring, remembering, and becoming reacquainted with him. I had never loved a man so deeply. I trusted Malachi with my life, and I felt safe knowing that he held my heart in the palm of his gentle hands. I knew he would never cause me harm.

“I love you, I love you, I love you,” I said over and over again in his ear. His hands went from squeezing tightly around my ass to fondling my breast and caressing my back. His touch felt so good. His breath on my neck sent chills through my body. I knew that I was on the verge of cumming.

“Cum for me, Talise,” Malachi whispered in my ear. He could tell that I was ready. He could always tell.

“I want you to cum with me,” I replied, increasing my pace. He grabbed my ass with both hands and rammed his hardness into me. He knew I loved it when he was rough. He also knew that would make me cum faster than it would make him. My body began trembling and I let go. I knew that the driver had to hear my moans, so to save the man some embarrassment, I turned up the radio loudly to muffle our remaining sounds because Malachi wasn’t done with me yet.

He turned me around — my knees on the floor, my breast pressed into the leather of the seat, and my ass in the air — and entered me from behind. Doggy style was one of his favorite positions, and I loved obliging. I worked my hips round and round matching him stroke for stroke. I enjoyed the feel of him going in and out of my wetness. He fit perfectly and I welcomed all of what he had, which was a lot. I knew it wouldn’t be long before he came, and I wanted to cum with him. As his pace slowed down and then began to increase, I knew the time was near. I worked my hips like I was hula hooping, and we came together.

I rested in his arms the rest of the way to
Santa Barbara
, inhaling his scent and listening to his heartbeat. There was no heaviness in my body whatsoever. I felt so light that I could have flown. I was soaring on love!

Stacey

Sittin’ in first class on a Delta Airlines flight, headin’ to
Las Vegas
to meet Tyron, I questioned my sanity. I didn’t know if I could give
myself
a rational explanation for leaving the state to be with him, so I won’t even try to give you one. It’s probably just as simple, or complex, as me not wantin' to let him go.

It has been only two days since I discovered that Tyron and Banks were fuck buddies, and to tell you the truth, I wasn’t dealin' with it. I had my proof in a safe deposit box securely tucked away within the iron confines of Bank of America. Whenever I even think about that video and what I saw, I feel like throwin' up. To help myself deal with it, I tried not to think about it at all. This was very difficult because every time I turned on the damned radio or the TV, I saw Banks’ face or heard his damned voice. Man, I can’t stand that motherfucker! If I had to let his ass know that I knew what was up, I was fine with that. But he would not get Tyron. Especially fuckin’ my best friend! He can’t have them both. Once I tell Simone, he won’t have her at all, but I can’t even bring myself to tell her yet. Since he left to go on tour, I felt a little less guilty about not telling her immediately. I did call her the next mornin', but she didn’t answer. So she can’t say I didn’t try, although I know could’ve tried harder.