Page 1 of Follow Me to Your Heart

“Mmm, shit. Just like that, girl.” I coached Lorie as I watched my dick disappear then reappear in and out her mouth.

Her misty, brown eyes gazed up at me while she slowed her pace, taking her time sliding me into the back of her throat.

My head shot back at the feel of my lower head tapping the back of it.

She held it there and hummed. The vibration shooting through my shaft made my balls tighten.

One long slurp and Lorie had me busting all down her throat.

She drained me.

Sucked up every drop of my nut until I was dry.

“How you want me?” Lorie asked, rising to her feet and slowly removing her bra. My mouth watered at the way her breasts lightly bounced when they were freed. She tossed her bra at me before sliding her panties over her slim hips and legs.

As badly as I wanted to be deep in her guts, I had other obligations I had to go handle.

“I would love to see you ass up, face down, but I gotta bounce.”

Lorie snapped her head back with her brows dipped toward her eyes and her nostrils flared. “Excuse me?”

I stood up and used her bra to clean my dick before shoving it back in my boxers. “You heard me. I gotta bounce, but I’ll get up with you later.”

“You’re going to do me like that, Cage? Get what you want and then go?”

“It’s nothing personal, Lorie. You know I’d fuck you senseless if I had time. And you also know what it is between us. That’s the only explanation you’re going to get from me. If you want this dick, you’ll answer when I call.”

“It’s her, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know why you asked when you already know my answer,” I replied.

With that, I left before Lorie snapped and shit went left.

I wasn’t in the mood for all the extra nonsense, especially when I was no longer tied down to her.

We no longer had a title, but it didn’t stop me from fucking her from time to time.

It wasn’t the smartest thing to do, especially since she felt as if I owed her an explanation on what I did and how I did it.

We weren’t on that type of time anymore.

The only person who could get the most out of me was the girl I was headed to.

“Fuck. I hope I’m not late.” I groaned as I hopped into my car and peeled out the parking lot.

I was on the other side of Harley Grove. It would take me at least fifteen minutes to get to Korren’s apartment then another ten to get her to class. She would be in my ass if she wasn’t early on her first day so she could get familiar with the campus. Korren had always been a stickler for time.

My phone vibrated in my lap. I glanced down at it to see it was a notification from my work app. Immediately after, my friend Red called me.

“What’s good, Red?”

“We got a problem.”

I shook my head. “Fuck. That’s the last thing I want to hear right now. Is it a problem I need to be present to handle, or you got it on your own?”

“You think I would’ve called you if I could?”

“What’s the problem?”

Red paused. I heard some rustling in the background before he came back on the phone.

“Some shit ain’t adding up with the money at the southwest house.

I’m not trying to go back to O’Shea short for him to take it from our pockets.

One of these niggas is hiding their hand.

We need to figure out who it is in a reasonable manner before I get trigger happy. ”

“How long you been there?”

“About five minutes.”

Silently, I calculated the time, trying my hardest to figure out a way to still make it to Korren.

It was a big day for her, and I didn’t want to let her down.

The last thing I wanted was to be on her bad side where she gave me the silent treatment.

That shit could last for days. As badly as I didn’t want it to happen, I believed it would have to.

I swiped my tongue over my lips and expelled a sigh. “I need twenty-five minutes, Red.”

“You ain’t got that. Tell Korren this one is on me, but I need you.”

“A’ight. I’ll be there in seven.”

My hands slammed against the steering wheel. I hit a U-turn in the middle of the street and instructed my phone to call Korren. The phone rang four times before she finally answered.

In her usually chipper tone, she asked, “Are you almost here?”

It bothered me knowing I was about to kill her joy. The churning in my stomach made me stall for a few seconds.

Fuck. I hate disappointing her.

“KoKo. I’m not going to make it. I had some shit come up that I need to go handle.”

“Of course you did, Cage. Of course. You would have something come up the morning of one of the biggest days of my life. You know how important this is to me. You know I don’t have anyone else in this city but you. What am I supposed to do? Call someone through the Journey app?”

“This is out my hands. You know this day is just as important to me as it is to you. I’m proud of you, KoKo. Real shit, but you know what it is when business is calling.”

The line went silent. The churning in my stomach felt as if a knife was being slowly turned when I heard Korren sniffling.

I had the right mind to turn around and go to her, but if I was being real, my life was on the line.

It wasn’t my money that was missing, but I was solely responsible for it.

I needed to do everything in my power to get it right before going to O’Shea about it. All options needed to be exhausted.

My grip tightened on the steering wheel. “Don’t do that to me. I’m sorry.”

“Whatever.”

Korren hung up on me. I tossed my phone to the passenger seat and turned my music up. There was no point in me calling her back. She wouldn’t answer, but I planned to pop up on her ass later.

When I turned on Twelfth, I opened my glovebox and put my piece in my lap. I bobbed my head to Kodak as I observed the chaos of the hood. There were rundown houses with wannabe dope boys, fiends, and bad ass kids. It was the environment I grew up in. The environment I wanted to change.

Red was standing outside waiting for me. He swaggered over to my car as I parked on the curb and got out. I dapped him up, and he quickly gave me another rundown on everything. With my gun tucked in my pants, I followed behind Red into our biggest money-making house.

“Where the fuck you going, Pain? Did I give you permission to leave?” Red yelled with his arms outstretched as we entered the house. He walked up on Pain who appeared to be slipping out the back door. Red sized him up, placing a blunt in his mouth and smirking. “Oh, you ain’t got shit to say?”

“Man, you’re tripping. I was going to the bathroom.” Pain didn’t back down. He looked Red up and down, then turned his attention to me. “What’s good, Cage?”

I leaned against the wall with my arms folded. “You tell me. What’s up with the money?”

“What you mean? Everything is good. I counted that shit by hand three times before Red got here.”

“Then why are there ten g’s missing?” Red interrogated, and the room fell silent.

I sat back and waited for one of the three men in question to answer. Pain frowned as he glared at Lee and Nigel. They side-eyed one another; a clear sign they knew what happened. I pulled my gun from my waist and held it in front of me.

Pain noticed and demanded, “One of you better speak. I’m not the last one who touched the money. I counted it, then passed it to Lee to count. There were forty g’s when I counted it. This shit ain’t on me, so I need one of y’all to explain before I lose my cool.”

“No need in doing that,” I informed Pain, lifting my body off the wall and thumbing my nose. In one long stride, I was at Lee’s side with my gun to his temple. His body shook as he kept glancing over at Nigel. “Let me ask y’all a question.”

“Ye-yeah?” Lee stammered.

“Is ten g’s worth your life?”

“N-nah, man.”

“Oh, for real? If it’s not worth your life, then why risk taking it?”

Nigel spoke up. “We ain’t take anything. Red needs to count it again.”

Red laughed obnoxiously, which meant he was about to turn up. He stormed over to Nigel and punched him in the nose. Lee acted as if he was about to defend Nigel, so I pressed my gun deeper into his temple.

“Pain?”

“Yeah, Cage?”

“The money is somewhere in this house. Find it for me.”

Pain smirked. “Bet.”

Lee and Nigel stole glances. They knew if anyone would find it, it would be Pain. Pain had been working the house for years, so he knew it inside and out. It didn’t take long before he returned with Nigel’s old high school sports bag and dumped the money out in front of them.

I clicked my tongue and pulled the trigger. Lee’s body fell over just as Red popped Nigel.

“Have someone come clean this shit up. Pain, count the money in front of Red while I hit up O’Shea.”

“Heard you.”

I headed to the bathroom to clean myself up and inform O’Shea on what happened.

That was the part of the game that was the hardest for me.

Taking a life was never easy. It would haunt me for days, but I would continue as if the shit wasn’t eating at me on the inside.

My mother and Korren were the two people who could read me like a book and would allow me to shut down how I needed to.

Once I got off the phone with O’Shea, I checked Korren’s location to see she’d made it to class safely. I sent her a text, knowing she wouldn’t reply. It was all good. After what happened, I needed my best friend and refused to let her give me the silent treatment.

The door swung open, and Korren’s stormy irises flitted upward toward her brows as she popped one hand on her hip.

I held out the bouquet of white lilies, watermelon Sour Patch Kids, and red sweet Moscato as a peace offering.

She looked me up and down before staring into my eyes.

Her expression softened as she stood to the side to allow me entrance into her small apartment.

For her apartment to be small, it was cozy.

The vibe she had made it feel like home, which was one reason I often preferred to be there instead of at mine.

The sweet scent of her favorite butterscotch candle greeted me along with the low R&B music playing in the background.

Her kitchen and living room were connected, so I set the offerings on the counter and turned around to face her.

“I apologize about earlier, KoKo. Real shit. You know I would’ve been here if I could. Money wasn’t right at one of the houses and . . .” I paused and raced my hands down my face. “Just know I’m sorry.”

Korren twisted her plump, pink lips with her arms crossed. “You really fucked my morning up, Cage.”

“I know. I know. You don’t think it didn’t mess mine up either?”

“Then why did you go?”

I blew through my nostrils, hard. It was tough not to get frustrated with Korren when she was one of the people who knew how demanding my lifestyle was.

“You think I had a choice?”

“Life is all about choices. I should be used to you choosing the streets over everything, right?”

“Fuck this.” I threw my hands in the air and started toward the door.

Korren was stubborn. The last thing I wanted to do was argue with my best friend when I needed her. It was probably the same way she felt about earlier, so I paused and gathered myself before I made things any worse than they already were.

All the ill feelings I felt were released the second Korren’s arms wrapped around my torso.

She laid her head on my upper back and gave me a light squeeze.

I craned my neck back to where the back of my head rested on the top of hers.

Korren was only about four inches shorter than me, standing at five feet nine.

Despite her height, she always fit perfectly against my frame.

“I’m pissed at you, Cage. I am because I needed you, but it’s obvious you need me right now too,” Korren softly spoke.

“I do, KoKo. I do.”

Korren released me and walked over to her black sectional.

I trailed behind her, watching the way her ass jiggled with each step she took.

The only thing covering her body was an oversized T-shirt I had given her long ago.

She’d never been a fan of clothes whenever she was in the comfort of her home. Some things never changed.

She plopped down and patted her thighs. I kicked my shoes off and lay across the sectional, resting my head on her lap. My eyes closed as I inhaled her natural scent mixed with her fresh shower one. Korren’s hands skillfully massaged my scalp, running down my locs occasionally.

If I never felt safe in my life, I always did in her presence.