Page 17

“Sorry about that, Unique.” My agent, Audrey, walked into her office, closing the door. “My husband acts like he cannot watch our daughter for an hour while the nanny is at the dentist.” She shook her head, and I laughed as much as I could.

Usually, meeting with Audrey meant good shit on the horizon, but with all this shit going on with the show, I couldn’t see anything good coming. My career and personal life had been in a fucking tailspin. The only highlight had been Kabrina, and though I liked her ass, a lot, the shit was frightening.

I’d seen love, marriage, and relationships destroy people—namely my parents. It was a long ass time ago, and though I didn’t remember every waking moment, I remember the dread and the sour ass mood—the cloud hanging over our household twenty-four hours of the day.

I remember my mother and father bickering often because my mama was struggling with us, and he couldn’t help. I remember wondering how we’d gone from being a happy ass family to Khari and my mama beefing, my parents beefing, Khari knocking our father on his ass, and the rest of us trying to navigate our new life. And it was all because my parents decided to come together and be in love. Or what I assumed was love.

By saying that, this shit I was starting up with Kabrina was bittersweet. But I’d rather take a risk and have her than let a fear keep me from a good woman. Fears were for bitch ass niggas anyway.

“It’s straight. How you been?” I asked, leaning back in the chair.

“I’ve been okay.” She sat down. “So a couple things; Tamira is out of town, but she emailed me to say she is figuring something out with you and AJ as far as filming. I even reached out to his agent to try to rectify the situation, but as you know, your little pop-up at his home and threats ruined that.”

“Yeah.” I stroked my beard. “My bad.” I gave a subtle smile as Audrey shook her head.

Most niggas had male agents, but I particularly wanted a woman. Women were feistier and worked harder when it came to deals and shit. I noticed men tended to fold and give up when it came to shit like that. Audrey was proof of my theory, and a plus was that she stayed on my ass even when I didn’t want her to. She was only forty years old but reminded me of my mama sometimes.

“It is your bad. So now that he has proof and exposed to the world that you and your brother Cemone aren’t that different, the show has to find a solution. Until then, the show will remain on hold.”

“Man, I should’ve beat his ass.”

“No, Unique. That is not the way.” She clicked around on her computer. “I mean it. You touch him, and I will drop you as a client. I like you, but we’re here to make money and get you to superstardom. That won’t happen if you get in your own way.

“Your brother is already an NBA superstar, and people don’t care how he acts so long as he shows up on that court. You, on the other hand, are not there yet. Once you get to the top, kick all the ass you want. Understand?”

“I got you.” I smirked, watching her light skin become flushed with a bit of annoyance.

Sighing, she said, “Alright, onto the good news. Prevail Studios got in contact with me—calm down.” She smiled when she saw me sit up with my mouth agape. “They want you for their new superhero movie series Night Walker . You’d be the main hero named Wraith.”

“Oh shit.” I put my fist to my mouth, eyes wide. Everybody knew once you became one of Prevail’s superheroes, you’d officially made it. And though I was excited, I knew there was a catch. I didn’t have a long ass resume, and it made me wonder why the fuck they wanted a nigga. “But why?”

“Well because you have chops, Unique. But other than that, the writer says that he saw you when he was putting the script together. He’s a big fan of Dough Boyz, and the whole movie series came to him when he saw you.”

“That’s fucking crazy.” I grinned, lacing my fingers and still in shock. “How much?”

“That’s the other thing. You’re gonna get a one-time payment of $400,000.”

“Wait, what?” I frowned. “I make $390,000 per episode of Dough Boyz and $500,000 per episode for the upcoming season. Why the fuck would I take time away from that type of money for a one-time payment when that movie is gon’ take at least a year filming time, Audrey? Make this shit make sense to me.”

“It makes a lot of sense because it’s going to put you on the map, Unique. This is just the first movie, and depending on how it does, which will be great, the pay will increase, and every film you do after that will pay you millions. I can promise you that.” She sighed when I didn’t say anything, continuously shaking my head. “Plus, Dough Boyz is on hold. You’re not getting that paycheck until you can film and the network can release the episodes.”

Fucking AJ. I was low-key itching to smoke that nigga.

“Do I have to audition?”

“Not for the Wraith role, no. But there is a new movie coming, and I want you to audition for it to keep you afloat while the show is on hold.” She handed me a packet most likely containing the script. “You get that part, get that check, and film that while Night Walker does the rest of its casting and Dough Boyz figures things out. Let me worry about your schedule. Any questions?”

“No, ma’am.” I eyed the script of the movie titled The Players .

“If you wanna audition, let me know, and I will put it in your schedule. Let me know in forty-eight hours though.”

“Aight. Thanks, Audrey.”

“Always. Stay out of trouble, Unique.” She kept her focus on her computer as she talked.

I stood up, went to hug her, and dipped.

My mind was far from empty as I drove home, but once I got there, I pushed everything to the back so I could talk to Aurora.

I hadn’t been able to sit her ass down yet because I had a few out-of-state interviews and had been worrying about Kabrina getting a new number, planning our date, and sitting by the fucking phone wondering when filming would resume for Dough Boyz .

But during that time, it became even more obvious that Aurora, just like Daisy, wasn’t the one for me. I hadn’t thought about her ass one time while busy, but Kabrina had taken up permanent residence there.

Every moment I wasn’t with her ass, I was scouring my schedule to see when I could be, resulting in random pop-ups on her. If this was the shit my brothers were feeling, it made a lot of fucking sense why they’d turned into some simps. I couldn’t get that girl off my mind for shit and could only imagine how shit would be once I got her.

Knocking lightly on Aurora’s cracked door, in case she was filming a video, I peeked in. “You busy?”

“No.” She turned away from her computer that held footage from whatever video she had filmed. “Never too busy for you.”

As I went to take a seat on her chaise, I already felt bad as fuck. I felt like I’d wasted her time, promised her shit I hadn’t made good on, and was now about to pull the fucking rug from under her. Essentially, the same shit I once feared I would do to Kabrina.

“I wanna be honest with you, love. I know I haven’t been doing the best job at that shit as of late, and I guess it was because a nigga was struggling with figuring out what I was feeling. But regardless, the relationship between us ain’t gon’ work.”

I watched the shock register on her face as she studied me like she was waiting for me to crack a fucking joke.

“Why? Is it because of Daisy? We can find another girl. Did you ask Kabrina?—”

“It’s not that.” I shook my head, glancing down for a bit. I felt like I’d ruined this girl. “Got nothing to do with Daisy. Before all that shit even went down, I was planning to sit with y’all individually and say this exact same thing. She just caused shit to go a different way.” Exhaling, I continued. “This situation just ain’t what I need right now. But it’s not even just about me, it’s about you too. When I explained this situation to you, it was because I wanted to be real, keep shit honest, and live an alternative lifestyle, but that shit has changed.

“I’m seeing the value in being with one woman. I got a lot of shit going on right now, and my focus needs to be on my career and one person, not multiple. I can’t really connect when it’s multiple women.”

“So then it can just be us.” She reached for my hands, and I let her, not wanting to be standoffish with her in this moment.

“It can’t, because I got feelings for somebody else.”

“Daisy?”

“Hell nah.” I frowned, removing my hands from hers. “She and I will never happen again. Ever. Certain shit you can never come back from, and trying to not only fuck my brother but during the celebration of his birthday and his son being born is some wild shit.”

“I agree.” Aurora nodded, then shook her head at the thought of Daisy I assumed.

“I been dodging real relationships and being in love for a long ass time,” I admitted. “Love makes you vulnerable to another person, and that don’t sound appealing to me at all.” I let out a half-hearted laugh as she smirked sullenly. “But I guess love got tired of me dodging that shit, and it caught up with a nigga.”

“You didn’t even give us a real chance, Unique. It’s been the three of us longer than it was ever just us two. Of course, this other girl seems like the right one because you got alone time.”

“I had just as much alone time with her as I did with you pre-Daisy, love. I don’t need years or even months to know what’s for me, as crazy as the shit sounds. My stepfather used to tell me that shit, and I never believed it, but it’s true. I knew the first time we kicked it you weren’t the one, and I knew the first time I kicked it with her she was.” I stared into Aurora’s eyes, hating that she was about to cry.

“But just maybe see if?—”

“No.” I shook my head. “And we got married—by accident, so don’t even go there—but I think I want shit to stay that way.” I stood up, taking advantage of her astonishment. “Since all this shit is last minute, you can stay here until you find you a spot, and I will go to a hotel.”

“How do you marry someone on fucking accident?” She looked up at me, tears on full display at this point.

“Got drunk and it just happened. I was intoxicated, so I can’t give you too many details, but we been trying to have it annulled and… it’s been difficult as fuck, but I think that’s just God.”

“How the fuck do you go from not wanting anything conventional and having two women to being married and wanting shit to stay that way?” Aurora shot up from her seat irate, and as she should be.

“Shit just happened.” I shrugged. That was the truth, and it was no other way to explain it. Leaning down to kiss her forehead as she stood there in shock, I said, “I’ll holla at you.”

“Unique!” she called to my back, but I didn’t turn around and just kept it pushing until I was in my car and speeding off.

* * *

DATE NIGHT…

Standing on the other side of Kabrina’s apartment door, I shook my fucking head at myself. I’d been over plenty of times and kicked it with her just as many, but tonight, I wasn’t gon’ lie; a nigga was nervous.

Nothing made me nervous, and I was one of those muthafuckas who was hard to embarrass—something my brothers hated because I could easily embarrass them but they couldn’t do the shit back. So the fact that I had to keep drying my fucking palms on my jeans because I was so anxious was mystifying.

Usually when I saw Kabrina, it was friendly, platonic, with the occasional flirting or deep conversations, but tonight was different. Tonight, I needed to impress her enough to not only want to keep fucking with me, but to want to stay married to my ass. I think the latter would be the most difficult though.

“Hi!” she answered, beaming with her pretty ass as she took in the roses I was holding onto for dear life. “Are you nervous, Unique?” She grinned, taking the roses from me.

“Hell nah.” I felt my forehead wrinkle as I took her in.

She was wearing a tight ass red dress, high ass heels that showed off her pretty ass feet, and her dark hair was hanging down. I noticed she had on the Van Cleef I’d bought her. She legit didn’t wear the shit until our situation changed. I fucked with how steadfast with her beliefs she was.

She smelled good as fuck, like always—sweet with a hint of grown woman. Her light skin was covered with makeup, and though she didn’t overdo it, I could tell because her cheeks weren’t that rosy for real. I paid way too much attention to this woman.

“Then why are your hands damp?” She gave a closed mouth smile, embarrassing the fuck out of a nigga.

“Just washed ’em. You ready?”

“Yes, I’m ready.” She put the flowers down while I held the door ajar and then came back outside with me. “You know I think it’s cute that you’re nervous.”

“I’m not, love. Sorry,” I lied, refusing to look her way as we stopped by the elevator, waiting for it to come up. When I did finally look down at her, she was cheesing like a fool, making me chuckle. “I’m not. But you look beautiful.”

Couldn’t believe little ass Kabrina had me bashful and shit.

“Thank you. You look handsome, just like always.”

We rode down on the elevator, then I led her to my Range Rover, helping her inside. Once I got in, I said, “We got a little bit of a drive, but it’s worth it.”

“I hope you’re not taking me back to Vegas.”

“Save that for the honeymoon.” I winked and she giggled.

“Where are we going? You didn’t even ask what I like to do.”

Pulling out into the street, I replied, “Only people who don’t pay attention ask questions, baby. I know what you like.”

“Okay then, what do I like?”

“Comedy movies—the slapstick kind—chips, cheese with crackers, Diana’s Mexican Food, and Sephora,” I ran off easily. When she didn’t say anything, I took a moment at the red light to glance her way. She was surprised.

“Hmm. Well, that’s all kind of obvious.”

We laughed in unison.

“Yeah, aight.” I turned on some music. “You also love Jill Scott.” I turned it up, and she didn’t say anything. “Oh, you ain’t got no smart-ass response?”

“Nope. Everyone knows I love Jill Scott.” We chuckled again before she said, “Have you always liked me?”

“You mean like since I met you?”

“Yes.”

“I always thought you were beautiful, but that’s a given. Some people are just attractive, and you one of ’em, even though you be mean as fuck sometimes.” I smirked.

“Shut up.” She giggled.

I thought for a moment on her question, then answered. “I always liked you as person and thought you were pretty as fuck, but it wasn’t until we started to spend time together alone… and it was like being hit with a freight train.”

“Freight train?”

“Yep.” I nodded, speeding down the freeway. “One minute I was living life with two women, and the next, I was consumed by thoughts of you. I kept thinking the shit would pass, but it only intensified as the days went on, almost like a fucking obsession.

“I used to be on my brothers’ asses about that shit until I became the next victim of love. I understand it now, seeing the woman you know is for you and not having her yet. You get obsessed with making the shit happen.”

I felt her watching me but could only look her way briefly since I had to drive.

“You think I’m the woman for you?”

“Nah, I know.” I let her think on my words for a bit, then asked, “I wanna know if we can put the annulment on hold for a little bit, just to see if we wanna stay married.”

“For how long?”

“Not long, because I don’t need the time, but I know you do. We got four years anyway, remember?”

“Okay, I can do that.” She nodded, and I loved seeing the smile linger in her soft, pretty face.

We ended up at this charcuterie place that I’d hunted and sourced for over a week. Kabrina had mentioned that she wanted one but was too lazy to put it together and didn’t want to pay someone for such a simple task. So I knew she’d enjoy this shit and the fact that it also came with wine plus dinner.

After parking, I helped her from my whip, feeling myself due to the look on her face.

“I’m guessing I did good.”

“How did you know I like this?” she quizzed.

“Because you talk a lot, and I actually listen.” I shut the door behind her, then led her to the entrance.

“Welcome, Mr. And Mrs. Compton.” The host grinned, already prepared for our arrival since I’d bought the spot out for just us tonight.

Kabrina shot me a playful look at the hostess calling her Mrs. Compton.

“My last name is still Kenneth, Unique,” she whispered.

“For now.” I kissed her temple, liking the way her body felt nuzzled into mine. I liked it so much that I didn’t let her ass sit across from me.

For the next hour, we tried different wines, which wasn’t really my thing, but I kept it chill for Kabrina. This was about her. Plus, I wasn’t no picky nigga anyway. Long as she was smiling and enjoying herself, I would be good and that wasn’t the theme just for tonight, it was for life.

By the time she and I ran through three charcuterie boards and the tomahawk they’d prepared for us, she was a little tipsy, and I was surprisingly stuffed as fuck.

“Where are we going now?” she asked, grinning hard like she’d been doing all night.

“Depends. You wanna stick with me or go home?”

“The first one.”

“Aight.” I smirked, liking the sound of that shit. My dick did too, but I telepathically told his ass to relax. I wanted to fuck Kabrina but I wanted to make sure she understood I was serious about her ass more.

The charcuterie spot was all the way out in Malibu, so about ten minutes before we got back to LA, I decided to take Kabrina home since she was knocked the fuck out against my window.

She looked peaceful, and it was something she deserved after all the shit she’d been through. I didn’t know if it was the fact that we were married or what, but a nigga had a need to take care of her, keep her safe, happy, and untouched.

“Why are we here?” Her head popped up once I got out and knocked on her window.

“’Cause you tired, love.”

“No, I said I didn’t wanna go home.” She whined like a child as I helped her out.

“You tired. I’m gon’ take you out again. Don’t trip.” I smirked as she stared up at me lazily, smiling.

“Okay.” I led her back up to her studio, and just as I was about to walk off from the door, she grabbed my hand. “Stay for a little bit.”

I wasn’t gon’ argue with that shit, so I did just that, removing my shoes, while she did the same, before we lay on top of her bed.

“You look relaxed.” I smiled.

“I am.” She had her eyes closed, lying on her back. “Thank you for tonight, Unique. This was fun and so thoughtful. No one has ever cared about me like you.” She turned onto her side to look into my eyes.

“How you fall in love with AJ’s ass if that’s the case?”

She shrugged one shoulder, then said, “The only love I’d ever witnessed was my mother and father or the trifling boyfriends my aunts ran through. AJ was nice, he spoiled me, the sex was good enough, and he talked marriage. I thought that was enough, but in hindsight, it was nothing.” She touched my beard. “But you actually care about me. You think about the things I like and care about what happens to me simply because you care. I’m not used to that. You make me feel special and I’m not used to feeling special.”

I thumbed the lone tear that traveled down her nose, then kissed her face. She tilted her head back slightly so our lips would touch, and that was all I fucking needed to go for it.

Her lips were soft as fuck as I sucked on them, before she slipped her tongue into my mouth, getting my dick hard for the hundredth time tonight as I climbed on top of her.

My hands went under her dress, grabbing on the waistband of her panties and making her spread her legs wider. We kissed harder as I tore through them muthafuckas, not willing to pull away just to slide them down.

My mouth moved to her neck, sucking the soft skin as I trailed down to the tops of her breasts while pushing her dress up to expose her pussy. With her legs open, I could see her clit, unable to take my eyes off the shit.

“Unique,” she sat up on her elbows, “we should…” her sentence trailed off and turned into a moan as I started to gently suck on her clit, slipping my tongue into her opening here and there.

“Stop?” I asked, mouth full and already knowing the answer.

“No,” she moaned as I lapped at her clit, feeling her juices dampen my beard as she caressed the back of my head.

I couldn’t remember the last time I was this anxious and eager to eat pussy. The smell was driving a nigga crazy just as much as the taste, making me spread Kabrina’s legs more, pinning them to the bed so she wouldn’t deny a nigga of this meal.

“Mmm,” I groaned, feeling her body shiver a bit as she leaked right into my mouth and down my chin.

Burying my face more, I sucked, lapped, and licked repeatedly as her whimpers heightened and her legs quaked. I ignored the fact that she reached her peak, still hungry for more. I didn’t think I would ever become satiated enough to stop, real shit.

“Unique.” Her voice trembled violently as her nails scratched at my fade, knees wanting to clamp together.

When she came for the fourth time, breathing hard and sniveling, I French kissed between her hips for a little bit more, then let up on her. Pressing my mouth to her heaving stomach, I fought the urge to go back in for more. It was right there.

“I think you my favorite person in the fucking world, KK,” I spoke against her mouth before we kissed hungrily. “One more time,” I almost begged, and when she nodded, my insides jumped for fucking joy.

Making my way back down, I dove right back in, feasting until the spot on her comforter below us was soaked, and her damn legs wouldn’t stop quivering.