Chapter 26

26

N eko

On the Other Side of Town…

"Damn! You pulling up on her?" David asked, taking my phone to get a better view of the video Daisha had sent me. "If not, I certainly will."

I didn't mind him taking the phone at all. Normally a video of Daisha would have turned me on, but tonight, it pissed me off. This was the first time I'd gotten with the crew since Monday. All the free time I had went to reading Malorie's letters and decompressing afterward. I still wasn't done with them all, but I only had like a handful left.

One thing I could no longer question was how she felt during our time apart. She made that perfectly clear in her letters. It wasn't as easy to be away from me as I thought. Reading her pouring her heart open reopened mine like I figured it would. My assumption was that she'd been living her best life while I was struggling without her but that hadn't been the case. She'd been missing me as much as I was missing her. Regardless of how many women I'd dealt with over the years, I connected with none of them the way I did Malorie.

Daisha and I hadn't been spending time together either. We'd been having sex for the last six months, at least three times a week. This was the first week I didn't see her at all, and it wasn't because it was her time of the month. She'd been calling and texting, and even though I didn't ignore her, I made it clear I wasn't in the headspace to desire sex right now. I guess tonight she didn't want to take no for an answer because she sent me a video of her in lingerie making her ass clap.

"Aye, gimme that shit back," I said. "I feel like I'm violating her privacy letting y'all see it."

"Shit, she should have thought about who you'd be around when she sent it," David said, handing me the phone back. All I could do was laugh at his ass as I texted her back and told her we needed to talk. "You see that shit?" he asked Malik, whose face twisted in disgust.

"The fuck I look like looking at another woman when I got Lydia at home?"

"Ain't none wrong with looking," David reasoned, to which Malik sucked his teeth and shook his head.

The changes within him should have been studied, because he showed the power of not love but fear—fear of having a good woman and losing her because of something stupid. I never thought I'd see the day that Malik would be the faithful, committed one of our group, but that time had come, and I was truly proud of him for it.

We continued to talk shit and chill at Puff for another hour or so before I left and headed to Daisha's house. Now that Mal was back, I couldn't pull myself to have sex with another woman. It felt like I was cheating on Malorie even though we weren't in a relationship. Truth was, all the women I'd been with over the years were substitutes in my quest to find someone to replace Malorie. Even the closest artificial copy of her that I'd found couldn't compare to the real thing. Even if we never had sex again, my dick would not get hard for another woman.

A Short Drive Later

When Daisha opened the door naked, it was clear what type of time she was on. I assume because I pulled up on her she thought I was finally about to give her some dick but that wasn't the case.

"Get dressed, love. We need to talk."

Her smile dropped as I passed her and entered her home. Even the sight of her naked was doing nothing for me. The hold Malorie had on my heart and dick were fierce, and if Daisha couldn't arouse me, no other woman stood a chance.

Before Mal left, I'd never been the type of man to value quantity over quality. Pops instilled in Elias and me when we first started becoming sexually active that pussy was often the poison of the most powerful men. He stressed how it could be in our nature to want literally every woman we could have, but that we had to have self-discipline, respect, and control. So when the time came for us to choose the woman we'd spend the rest of our lives with, that urge to have a variety of women wouldn't consume us.

I was grateful for the way he raised us to be men of honor and integrity. I was grateful for the way Mama raised us to be gentlemen. Looking back, I regretted not being upfront with Leek back in the day. I should have been man enough to approach him about my feelings for Mal before I even kissed her, but that was a lesson learned. I was just glad we were able to rebuild our bond and respect each other again.

It took Daisha a little while to get dressed, but after she tossed on her robe, she met me in her living room. When she tried to sit on my lap, I set her next to me on the couch.

With a scoff, she sat on her leg and crossed her arms over her chest. "Okay. What the hell is going on with you?"

"I can't do this anymore. This arrangement we have… it has to end."

"Why? It's just sex. Consistent, good sex, but sex. What reason could you possibly have to cut me off?"

"There's someone else."

Daisha blinked twice before smiling. "So? You can't be married this fast, so I don't care." She straddled me, and before she could wrap her arms around my neck, I gripped her wrists. "You can't tell me she swallows that dick better than I can."

The visual with the pressure of her sitting on my lap did cause my dick to harden, but I still wasn't going to take it there with her.

"Regardless, I said there's someone else."

"And you coming that hard behind someone you're just now mentioning to me? You expect me to believe things are that serious already?"

"Yeah. And I'on play about her." I pushed her off my lap and stood. "Do you really want to try me and find out?"

"This has to be a joke." She scoffed and stood. "Niggas out here ain't loyal. Are you really about to turn down my pussy?" When I didn't respond, she looked away. With a huff, she waved her hand dismissively. "Whatever, Neko. Just get out."

As peaceful as I wanted things to end between us, I knew rejection made things hurt a little more sometimes. I took it for what it was and left, hoping Daisha wouldn't hit me up again.

The Next Morning

After finishing the last of Mal's letters, I decided to share with her my truth. I pulled up on her at her apartment and told her to come with me. When we made it to the building I used as my art studio, I took her down to the basement. She was oohing and aahing over the art and sculptures that were in the front room, but that wasn't my concern right now. I'd give her a more thorough tour later. Once we made it downstairs, I turned the light on and let her go in first.

It took her a second to realize what she was looking at, but when she did, her knees trembled, and she whimpered as she covered her mouth. Walking behind her, I wrapped my arms around her and buried my face in her neck. For years, I'd wanted this closeness with her, and I finally had it. Once I had my fill, I pulled away and took her hand into mine to lead her around the room.

"You wrote me letters, and I drew or painted you when I thought about you," I admitted.

The basement was filled with drawings and paintings of her in various sizes. There had to be over a thousand.

"I thought of you daily, sometimes multiple times a day. I kept them here because I figured it would be some out of sight out of mind shit, but regardless, you were always in my heart and on my mind."

As she wiped her tears, Malorie turned to face me. "Regardless of the roles we have in each other's lives, I will never intentionally leave you again."

I could admit I didn't really trust her as much as I used to, but I respected the sentiment. With a nod, I led her out of the basement.

"Are you hungry?" I asked, not really wanting to be away from her so soon.

"A little."

"You wanna get food?"

She looked up at me with a smile. "Yes. Can we get Korean barbecue?"

I chuckled and nodded. "Whatever you want, mama."

We'd been together for the past six hours and I still didn't want to get rid of her. After lunch, we went to the beach and walked and talked and rode a few rides at the boardwalk. Now, we were sitting on the sand eating hot dogs talking about our hobbies and interests, getting to know each other all over again.

"You still watch anime?" I asked before taking a bite of my hot dog.

"Oh, of course. Even more now. Mangas too. And K-Dramas."

"You got me on that shit. I started watching after you left to get the appeal, and I got hooked."

She gasped and squeezed my knee. "Really? What's the last thing you watched?"

"Actually, I'm currently watching Monsters and reading Erased . I like the dramas and heavier shit."

Her mouth opened before she snapped it shut. Clearly, she was surprised. "I've been wanting to read the manga for Erased . I tried to watch it but couldn't get into it."

"Are you watching it subbed or dubbed?" When her mouth dropped again, I chuckled. "I heard that makes a difference."

"I'm sorry but who the hell are you and where is Neko?"

At that point, I was unable to hold my laughter in. "Why are you so surprised?"

"I mean…" Her head shook as she eyed me. "You just don't strike me as the type to be watching anime let alone reading manga, but I really like it. It makes me feel like I finally have someone I can watch with and talk to."

"Yeah, you do. Do you ever go to the anime-cons?" Her animated expression almost made me choke on my food. "Malorie!"

"I'm sorry! It's just going to take me some time to get used to this."

We continued to talk, and I locked in her likes for future reference. She still loved books, plays, and wanted to experience Broadway. She was obsessed with tattoos, which led to us showing each other our tats… well the ones we could in public. When she mentioned having two on the sides of her breasts, my dick bricked up and didn't go down until I walked her to her apartment. I didn't know how this whole friendship thing would work this time around, but I was just glad to have her back in my life.