Pink Lips, page 19
“You need a ride?” Craig asked as he pulled up beside her.
Willow stopped; her feet became frozen as her body jumped from the voice beside her. But once she realized it was Craig, she kept walking. She was reluctant at first to converse with him. All she could think about was Choice being pregnant as she looked at him. All she could think about were the murders she was just a part of. She wanted to stop, but being around him was a constant reminder to her that she would never have him, and after losing so much, she couldn’t handle that.
“No,” Willow said and then continued walking.
“I was just going to pick up something for Rock at one of his spots down the street,” he said, driving along at her speed as her legs never stopped walking. “But, I can take you home first.”
“You not going to let me walk, are you?” she stopped.
“I can’t,” he said as he hit the unlock button, “just get in.”
Willow got inside of the car as she put her gun that she held while walking on the dashboard. She didn’t say a word; she sat there as the buildings changed in her view. She was feeling a certain way about Craig and he could feel it.
“What did I do?” He turned away from the road for a second to look at her.
“Kail is annoying the fuck out of me,” Willow said.
“That’s what little sisters do.” He smiled. “I got one, so I feel you.”
“Choice is pregnant,” she blurted out.
Craig couldn’t process what she had said quick enough. His mind didn’t understand what she was saying; he never thought he would hear those words together in a sentence. When it finally hit him, out of shock, he swerved to the other side of the street.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Willow grabbed the wheel.
“She’s pregnant?” he asked with a serious face as he swerved back into the correct lane.
“Yes, she’s pregnant.” She shook her head. “So, whatever we doing, that shit got to stop.”
“Why?”
“It’s bad enough I’m fucking you behind my home girl’s back, but it’s even worse if I fuck you while she’s pregnant and carrying a child by you.”
“It’s the same.” He pulled up in front of Willow’s condo.
“No, it’s not; trust me, it’s not.” She got out of the car. “I’ll talk to you later.”
Craig sat there for a minute as he watched Willow sway inside of her building. He never had a thought in his mind to be a father. He didn’t think he could be one with the life that he lived. He shook off those thoughts as he headed to Rock’s biggest stash spot to go pick up the two million dollars like he did every month. Little did he know the money was long gone.
• • •
Kail dropped Choice and Elysia off at their homes as the two briefcases full of money sat side by side on the floor of the passenger seat. She promised them she would give them their cut later that night but fot now, she had some unfinished business to handle. In the meantime, she would quickly stash the money at the condo.
She headed to the police station after leaving the condo to drop off the tape recorder that Vinny had given her personally. She was told to take it to the station and make sure someone named Detective Hall received it.
Kail pulled up in front and parked. She got out of the car as she took the tape recorder out of her pocket and walked inside of the public entrance through the double glass doors. To her left she saw the dispatcher room with a large glass sliding window.
She walked to the desk where a cop was sitting as she waited for him to acknowledge her. She stood there for five minutes, her blood boiling at the fact that she was being ignored. Already hating them, Kail slammed her hand down on the desk as he looked up at her from the paper that he was reading.
“May I help you?” he asked with a smirk.
“Of course you can, fat ass,” she said as she folded her arms. “You think I like to just sit here and look at you, Mr. Three Hundred Pounds? Of course, I would be standing here for assistance.”
“You better watch your mouth.” The cop stood up.
“I don’t gotta do shit but stay black and die.” She leaned in closer to him. “Now, tell me where the hell Detective Hall is.”
“Wait here.” The cop sat down and got on the phone.
Kail stood there and watched the little hand on the clock pass the big one. It had only been a few minutes, but she was about to leave. Just as she was about to go, the sound of heels clicking behind her made her turn back around. A woman slowly approached her.
The woman had the kind of legs that needed stilettos, although any man worth his salt would have taken a second look. Her legs were long and lean and made a man want to rub his hands along them from bottom to top and back again. The two-inch heels were all she needed.
She was of mixed descent and her hair was in a short pixie cut. Her hair was long at one point and from how her head moved, you could tell she had recently gotten it cut off. Her eyes were the color of the sky at the peak of a Sunday morning.
“You got something for me?” she asked Kail as she stopped in front of her.
“Detective Hall?” Kail looked her up and down.
“Yeah, it’s me, toots, Philly’s finest. You can take a picture later and I’ll even sign your shirt, but the only question I need you to answer is, do you have something for me?” She raised her voice.
“Here.” Kail put the tape recorder in her hand.
“You can leave,” she said as she started to walk off. “Oh, and Kail, the next time you show up at my precinct, you talk to my cops like you got some damn sense.”
Kail walked out of the door of the precinct and got inside of her car. She started the car, pulled off, and rolled a window down to let the breeze cool off her face as she drove with a clear mind. She had no idea, but she had just given the cops something that could destroy not only Rock’s life, but Willow’s. She had just helped drop a dime on her family, and she didn’t even know her involvement in it.
Twenty-three
Talvin sped down the dark Philly Street with malice in his heart. He hadn’t slept since he’d seen Willow and Craig kissing. It had been three days and his eyes were the color of blood from the insomnia he was experiencing. The only thing on his mind was vengeance and he was about to serve it to Craig fully.
He fixed the fitted cap on his head as the hemi from his truck roared and vibrated the tar covering the street. He pulled in front of Craig’s apartment as he cocked his gun. He hopped out of the car like a madman as he made his way into the building. He was going to end it once and for all. If he couldn’t have Willow, no one could.
“May I help you, sir?” the door attendant asked as Talvin ignored him, passing through the tall glass double doors.
Talvin was prepared to die for his love for Willow. He couldn’t help but feel disrespected by Craig, and one of them had to die. He pushed the button for the elevator and as the lights above flashed the number one and opened, his whole plan changed in his mind as Choice stood before him.
“Where’s yo’ nigga, bitch?” he asked her as she entered the elevator and stood behind her. He raised his shirt and took out his gun.
“I don’t know,” Choice said as the elevator closed behind her with Talvin’s gun pressed against her head.
“We gon’ wait for him together.” Talvin grabbed her face. “Now, what fucking floor is it?”
Choice pushed the button to the floor that she and Craig now shared and called home. She regretted moving in with Craig earlier that day. Had she known that a gun would be against her face when she woke up and packed her clothes, she would have stayed asleep.
“Where is he?” Talvin asked as the elevator doors opened.
“I’m pregnant.” Choice’s eyes started to water. “So, whatever beef you have with Craig is between you and him.”
“It’s between me, him, and Willow,” Talvin said while Choice pulled out her keys and walked to a door, the gun still pressed against her body.
“Willow?” she asked, opening the door.
“Yes, Willow.” They walked into the apartment. “You didn’t know Craig and Willow was creeping behind yo’ back?”
“Do you fucking think I knew something like that and I just moved in here with this nigga?” Choice said, plopping down on the couch.
Choice wiped the pink lipstick off of her lips as she sat wondering if there were any truth to what Talvin was saying. She wasn’t naïve, she knew Craig and Willow were cool, but she never thought that they would hurt her like that. She felt like an idiot for putting her trust in them. If she made it out alive, she promised herself that she would have nothing to do with either one of them again.
“Call him,” Talvin said as he pushed his gun into her. “Tell him to come home now.”
“He doesn’t listen to me.” Choice put her hand on her stomach.
“You better make him,” Talvin said with conviction.
Choice pulled out her cell phone as her hands started to tremble. She dialed Craig’s number in hopes that he would pick up the phone. She could see in Talvin’s eyes that he would kill her if he had to. She just hoped that Craig would care enough to come save her.
• • •
“This isn’t right,” Willow moaned, looking down at the top of Craig’s head as he slurped up her wetness from her pudding cup.
“Just lay back.” Craig flicked his tongue in a snake-like motion, making Willow lose control of her senses.
Willow knew what she was doing was wrong. She would have killed someone for doing the exact same thing to her. She felt trifling for sneaking with Craig at the presidential suite that had become their hiding spot. But, as the orgasms continued to take over her body, she let go of those thoughts.
Craig continued to lick as Willow dug her nails into his scalp from the pure pleasure. Her legs shook like she was having a seizure after someone flashed electronic lights in her face. She fed Craig every drop of her ecstasy as she came repeatedly.
“I love you,” Craig said, looking up at her; the juices from her clitoris dripping from his goatee.
“I love you, too,” Willow said with honesty.
Craig’s lips met hers as he entered inside of her. They slowly kissed as he went in and out, touching the bottom of her opening with each stroke. He continued to stroke as he kissed her neck, then her chest while he kissed and bit at her light-brown areolas.
Willow was at heaven’s door from the way she was feeling. Her body moved back and forth as the tension between her thighs built up, sending a tingling sensation all over her. She moved her hips in a circular motion as Craig picked up his speed. They moved off of each other as their hearts beat together and made music.
“I’m about to cum,” Willow moaned as she came on Craig’s pole as he continued to stroke.
“Cum again,” he whispered, biting her ear as he felt the warm cum that had just escaped her run down his legs. “Cum again for me.”
They could feel their body heat from how close they were to each other as Craig went deep in her. He gazed into her eyes, as he kissed her nose and then her lips. His hands wandered down until they met hers, and he held her hand while he continued to make love to her.
They sunk down into the cool sheets of the king-size bed, and Willow waited for the sensuous storm to envelop her, and teased out every little corner of passion from her secret places. When she saw Craig’s face glow and his body tighten, she knew he had found the map and her passion had been found.
“I haven’t been fucked like that ever,” Willow said as she basked in the silk sheets.
“That’s because I didn’t fuck you.” Craig rolled over next to her and kissed her cheek. “I made love to you.”
Willow couldn’t deny it; she was in love with Craig. No matter how many different ways she tried to slice it, there was no other way to explain it. There was no excuse for her actions. She was in love with her best friend’s man.
“Your phone is ringing,” Willow said as she saw it vibrating on the television mount.
He got up and walked over. “It’s Choice,” he said and put the phone back down, “she doesn’t want anything.”
“Answer it,” Willow said as she put on her best friend hat. “It could be about the baby.”
Craig didn’t feel the same way he felt about Choice as he did Willow. If it weren’t for Choice being pregnant, he would have ended things the minute he touched down from Hawaii after meeting Willow. Willow was everything he wanted in a woman. She was beautiful, independent, and could take care of herself. She was everything he had ever searched for.
He got back up and looked at it. “It’s too late. She hung up.”
Thirty seconds later, Willow’s phone started to vibrate. She got up and as she looked down and saw that Choice was calling, she felt something wasn’t right. She looked at Craig as she answered the phone with questions running through her head like a last leg at a relay race.
“Hello,” she said as she leaned on the mount naked.
“Can you give the phone to Craig, please?” Choice asked as Willow’s fingers grew numb.
“What?” she asked as if she didn’t hear her.
“Willow, please, stop playing dumb. I know you and Craig together because he’s not answering his phone and I can put two and two together.”
“Why would you think that?” Willow grilled.
“I don’t know,” Choice said with an attitude, “it may have something to do with your boyfriend Talvin standing here with a gun to my head because he saw you and Craig kissing the other night.”
Willow didn’t respond as Craig stood asking her with his mouth and hands what was going on. Their secret was out and as strong as Choice’s tone was, Willow knew it was no convincing her otherwise. She passed the phone to Craig as she went and collected her clothes.
“I’m on my way,” Craig said through the phone and slammed it down.
“Fuck.” Willow tore the sheets off of the bed. “Where is my bra?”
“Here,” he said as he threw it her way after finding it under his pants.
They both got dressed in silence without saying a word. Guilt ate at both of their consciences and by the time they made it to the car, the feeling was so thick and opaque, it could have been cut with a knife.
“This is our fault,” Willow said.
“It will be okay.” Craig tightened his hand around the steering wheel.
“I would never forgive myself if Talvin did something to her.”
“He won’t,” he said, looking forward.
Willow looked up at the inky blackness of the night sky as they got out of the car at Craig’s apartment. She saw it was deep and pristine, ice cold, and the sense of eternity that looked over her mind was spiritual, like a rare rapture that few people experienced as she prayed that Choice was okay.
The beeping of the elevator brought Willow’s mind out of the blank state that it was in. The closer they got to the apartment, a bad feeling took over her. She looked at Craig as his hand clenched around the gun he was carrying. His facial expression was serious with a hint of worry.
Craig didn’t try his key as he approached the door; he kicked it in, the frustration he had built up releasing in the heel of his Timberland boot. They entered the apartment as Talvin sat next to Choice on the couch; the gun still pressed against her in the same position.
“They look good together, huh?” he asked Choice in a sarcastic tone.
Choice looked at Willow with distant eyes. Willow knew from the glare she was receiving that they were no longer friends. The Pink Lip Bandits had lost another member. She would no longer be the child’s godmother that Choice was carrying. Willow was aware there was no mending the friendship, so she didn’t care to explain.
“This is a bitch-ass move even for you,” Craig said as he pointed the gun at Talvin. “If you had a problem with me, you should have come to me. Don’t get my bitch involved.”
“You got my bitch involved.” Talvin stood up.
“She chose, my nigga,” Craig said with a smirk. “It ain’t my fault she chose me.”
The room filled with tension as the gun moved, its weight becoming a part of Talvin’s. In his sight, quickly, he aligned his fingers into position. The world filled his sight as he glared into the expanse of the void he was hoping to create. That space and moment filled and flooded his arms.
Recoiling with a sense of dread and stopping from the refrain, he pulled the trigger and his ears filled with the explosive crack, sending mixed messages everywhere. His eyes widened to take in the echo of the hollow tunnel he was trying to create with his bullet.
Craig shot back instantly. Willow ran to Choice and they ducked behind the couch as the room filled with an angry swooshing sound. The shooters were hitting everything but each other, trying to dodge the women they loved. The bullets stopped as the sound of guns dropping to the ground boomed in the air. Willow looked over the couch to see Talvin and Craig going blow for blow, their fists meeting each other’s flesh.
“Where’s your gun?” Willow asked Choice as she shoved her.
“I thought we were girls, Willow.” Choice started crying.
“Choice, you need to stop crying and think.” Willow looked at her. “Where’s the gun that I gave you?”
“Not here,” she responded as tears fell from her eyes. “How long have you been fucking him?”
“I met him in Hawaii before I even came back to Philly. It started there and I didn’t even know he was your nigga until the day at the hospital. I promise.”
“Bitch-ass nigga,” Craig yelled as he and Talvin continued fighting.
Willow ran over as she tried to break it up, but her efforts were in vain. She was like a Chihuahua trying to break up two pit-bulls. They separated on their own and Talvin ran toward the door with Willow close behind him.
“Talvin,” she yelled as he stopped.
“Bitch, I swear I’m gonna kill you,” he said with a smile. “I trusted you and this how you do me?”
