Cougars (28 page)

“Oh, now he has a nice body,” Jasmine said to Lauren as she admired the sensual way he moved.

The fourth guy danced to “Whatever You Like” by T.I.

“Yeah, baby, work it!” Lauren screamed out for the fourth guy who actually had mannerisms like the iconic rapper. His chest and shoulders were filled with tattoos and he was very skinny.

It was clear that the third guy had the sexiest chest. He had smooth chocolate skin, a six-pack, strong shoulders and defined biceps. The third guy won the contest with ease.

“Okay, what's your name, man, and how old are you?” asked DJ Boogie Child before placing the microphone in front of the young man's lips so he could answer.

“My name's Paul and I'm twenty-four,” he answered.

“Now, Paul, I've got a can of whipped cream in my hand.” The DJ held it up to show everyone. “I'm going to spray some on your chest and I want you to pick a woman out of the audience that you think will lick it off of you.” The audience exploded with a loud roar.

“I can choose anybody, right?” asked Paul as he searched the crowd.

“Yeah, but it has to be someone who you think is freaky enough and bold enough to do it.”

“Right there. I think she'll do it.” Paul pointed into the crowd.

“Who? The one wearing the blue top?” asked DJ Boogie Child.

“Nah, sexy right there with the long hair and green eyes,” Paul said, pointing directly at Jasmine.

“Oh, shit girl, he's talking about you?” Lauren laughed and then pushed her forward.

“Yeah, her,” Paul said.

“Go on up there, girl, and show him a thing or two.” Lauren laughed out loud.

“Do I have a sign on my back that says ‘Freak of the Week' or something?” Jasmine asked.

“Will you do it?” DJ Boogie Child asked.

Jasmine looked at Paul who looked like he couldn't wait for her to agree.

“Young guys. Always ready to take on something that's a little too much for them to handle,” Jasmine said aloud as she approached the stage.

Lauren and the rowdy crowd cheered loudly.

“What's your name, baby?” DJ Boogie Child asked.

“Jasmine.”

“Okay, Jasmine. I'm going to spray your name on his chest, and I want you to lick it all off before he cums in his pants and before the whipped cream slides all the way down his belly.”

“I want to lick it off of his stomach,” Jasmine said.

The crowd cheered. Paul spread his legs, placed his hands behind him and arched his back so that his chest pushed forward. The whipped cream was sprayed on and Jasmine took her time and traced the letters with her tongue. Paul was clearly enjoying the erotic moment because Jasmine noticed that he was trembling with delight. Jasmine, who had gotten hot, had decided to increase the intensity by rotating the palm of her left hand in a circular motion around his crotch. By the time Jasmine got to the letter “M,” Paul's knees buckled under the titillating pleasure of Jasmine's tongue. DJ Boogie Child made fun of the young man for not being able to handle it and then gave them both tickets to an upcoming concert.

Jasmine left the stage laughing and then rejoined her sister at the bar.

“You are so crazy,” Lauren said, shaking her head.

“I'm having such a good time. Thanks for getting me out of the house,” Jasmine said.

“I need to run to the bathroom,” Lauren said.

“Okay, I'll come with you.”

As they made their way toward the restroom, Paul grabbed hold of Jasmine's hand.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Paul asked, licking his lips.

“Lauren, I'll be there in a second.”

Lauren acknowledged her and then continued on her way. Paul pulled Jasmine over toward a corner of the room. He leaned his shoulder against the wall and looked at Jasmine lustfully.

“Can I help you, Paul?” Jasmine knew that he was undressing her with his eyes, and she got a kick out of knowing he desired her.

Paul licked his lips. “Do you think we can hook up?”

“When?” Jasmine asked.

“Tonight. I don't live too far from here.” Paul was moving in for the kill.

“Paul—”

“Wait a minute.” Paul shivered a little bit. “I can still feel your tongue on me. I want to experience that again.”

“We've just met and—”

“Shhhh,” Paul interrupted and then leaned in closer to her ear. “I've got some Viagra and I've got some Cougars for you. Come on now. I know that I want you and I know you're just dying to have a little fun.”

“What is Cougars?” Jasmine had never heard of that.

“Oh, you haven't heard?” Paul asked.

“No, I'm afraid that I haven't.”

“Cougars is like…” Paul searched the heavens for an answer. “It's like a mind-blowing stimulant that just makes sex seem like an out-of-this-world ride.”

“No thank you, Paul. I think I want to stay
in
this world,” Jasmine said as she stepped away from him.

“Hey, don't knock it until you try it. It's the best shit out here,” he spoke loudly which caused Jasmine to move away at a quicker pace.

She went into the bathroom and freshened up. Once she was done, she and Lauren decided to go to another club. They drank some more, danced to a few more songs, and flirted with men. Even at the new club as Jasmine danced with another guy, he mentioned that he had Cougars if she wanted to have mind-blowing sex with him. Jasmine declined and wondered if she'd gotten too old for the game because she had no idea what Cougars was.

By the time Jasmine got back to her house, she insisted that Lauren stay for the night.

“You know that I am,” Lauren said as she walked into the house. “I'll see you in the morning. We'll go out and have breakfast.”

“Girl, by the time we wake up, it will be dinnertime,” Jasmine joked.

“You're probably right. We'll just have to play it by ear,” Lauren said and then walked toward the guest room.

Jasmine got out of her clothes, relaxed on her bed and turned on the television. As she adjusted her head on her pillow, she turned up the volume to catch the rebroadcast of the evening news. A reporter Angela Rivers was standing outside of Stroger Hospital giving her report.

“There is a new drug out on the black market that's causing quite a scare among health officials. It's a sexual enhancement pill called Cougars and ingesting it can lead to serious health problems and even cardiac arrest.”

A news clip of a woman being rushed through the emergency room doors appeared on the screen.

“It's three a.m. and this woman is fighting for her life after someone at a nightclub slipped Cougars into her drink, took advantage of her and then left her on the street. Health officials across the country have been reporting an alarming rise in the number of cases involving the new street drug. Experts are classifying Cougars as a toxic poison that works swiftly once it has entered the bloodstream. There have been at least ten deaths nationwide linked to the poisonous drug. Overworked narcotics agents are trying to locate where the pills are being manufactured and who's responsible for creating them. They're spreading rapidly and are difficult to track. ‘The drug seems to have come out of nowhere,' said one narcotics agent, a twenty-year veteran. ‘This drug is powerful and is rapidly becoming more popular than cocaine and heroin.'

“Despite the life-threatening dangers and complicated health risks, both men and women from all walks of life are said to be using the drug in the hopes of achieving the optimum sexual pleasure. Both authorities and health officials say that if something isn't done to stop the widespread usage, the number of bodies lying on the streets will rise.”

“That's what that young boy was trying to give me. Damn, what is wrong with people?” Jasmine said, getting upset about
the young man wanting to take advantage of her. Jasmine clicked off the television and then checked her cell phone to see if Travis had called her for a late-night booty call, but he had not.

“Damn, my pussy is in need of some attention,” Jasmine whispered. She wanted to phone Travis, but didn't want to sound desperate. She exhaled, placed a pillow between her thighs and fantasized about Travis.

T
HE
NEXT MORNING JASMINE AWOKE WITH A HANGOVER. She lazily walked into her bathroom, opened up the medicine cabinet and removed a bottle of aspirin.

“Jasmine, girl, you've got to slow down a little,” she said to her reflection. She filled a Dixie cup with water and took two tablets. She walked out of her bathroom and down the hall to the guest bedroom. She peeped inside the room and noticed that Lauren was flat on her back and snoring.

“She's getting louder in her old age,” Jasmine whispered to herself as she stepped away. She went back to the bathroom and freshened up. Afterward, she headed down to the kitchen where she decided to cook breakfast. She turned on a nearby countertop radio and listened to an old school cut by Stevie Wonder, “Living for the City
.
” She sang along with the melody as she prepared their food.

Thirty minutes later, just as she was pulling the butter-flaky biscuits out of the oven, Lauren dragged her tired self into the kitchen.

“What did you cook?” Lauren asked, still sounding sleepy.

“Oh, I didn't cook anything for you,” Jasmine said. She waited for the disappointed look to form on her sister's face.

“I know good and damn well you didn't get up this morning and only cook some food for yourself.” Lauren was all set to be totally pissed off. Jasmine laughed.

“You know I wouldn't do you like that,” Jasmine joked with her a little more.

“Don't you have a hangover like I do?” Lauren asked as she sat down and rested her forehead in the palm of her hand.

“I did wake up with a headache a while ago, but I took some aspirin. There is some upstairs in my bathroom.”

“Good, because I certainly need some. Do you have any coffee here?” Lauren asked. “You know I can't function without my morning cup of coffee.”

“By the time you go freshen up and come back down, I will have brewed some for you.”

“Are the extra clothes that I brought over still in the back coat closet?” Lauren asked.

“Yeah, they are. I put your door key to my house in your duffle bag. You must've left it from another time that you stayed over.”

“Okay, I'll be sure to put it back on my key chain,” Lauren said as she walked away.

F
IFTEEN
MINUTES L
ATER
, Lauren and Jasmine were sitting down enjoying their meal. They talked about the wild events of the previous night before talking about their lovers.

“In all seriousness, is it really over between you and LeMar?” Jasmine asked.

“Hell yeah, it's over. Shit, he's gotten two girls pregnant. I can't date a man who's got baby mama drama, and he's got plenty of it. His stupid ass,” Lauren said with a sour taste in her mouth.

“When I came home last night, I checked to see if Travis had called me, but he hadn't. No text message or nothing. I guess I thought we could at least be cordial with one another if things didn't work out. I don't have the foggiest idea why I thought an office romance would stand the test of time. That's one of the oldest traps in the book.”

“Do you know what we need?” Lauren asked.

“No, what?”

“A vacation. We should take a trip to Europe.”

“Now that's what I'm talking about. I'll probably find myself a hot, young piece of ass over there,” Jasmine joked.

“I'm serious about that. I think we'd have a blast and I know Millie and Tiffany would love the—”

At that moment Lauren's cell phone rang, interrupting the conversation. She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was her boss.

“Hey, what's going on?” Lauren asked, wondering why she was being called on her off day. “No, I didn't hear that. When did it happen? You're kidding. Okay, give me twenty minutes and I'll be there,” Lauren said and then hung up the phone.

“What was that about?” Jasmine asked.

“Senator Yolanda Cobb has been found dead. It looks like she went into cardiac arrest. The rumor is that she was taking Cougars.”

“You've got to be kidding me. I just saw a news report on this and a strange thought—”

Lauren cut Jasmine off before she could finish her sentence. “No. If it turns out to be true, the media is going to have a field day with it. I've been assigned to the case. There goes our vacation plans,” Lauren said as she gulped down her coffee. Lauren went back to the room where she'd slept and changed clothes. She grabbed her duffle bag and then headed toward the door.

“I'll be in touch,” Lauren said as she rushed out of the house.

Travis was stunned with how quickly his concoction had hit the streets, spread and become popular. Within the first two weeks, Hatcher was able to provide him with a substantial amount of cash money that was more than double his annual income as a chemist. Travis knew that at some point he'd need to have a conversation with Hatcher about increasing his percentage of the profits. It was all too easy for Travis to fall in love with dirty money and the lies that come with it.

Travis, Alex, and Hatcher's men set up a lab in one of Hatcher's many ill-gotten properties around the city. Alex ran the pill press while Hatcher's men bagged the pills for distribution. Travis paid off an employee who oversaw ordering materials that the pharmaceutical company purchased; he also paid off Sam the security guard. Travis had the employee order extra material for his needs. The shipments would be left on the dock for a late-night pickup by Hatcher's men. Sam would open up the dock for them so they could load their truck. On the weeknights and weekends, Travis spent the remainder of his time creating large amounts of a powdered substance which would later be pressed into the Cougars pills by Alex. Travis attempted to show Alex how to create the powder one day while they were in the makeshift lab, but Alex wasn't interested. His interests were two-fold: He wanted a cut of the profits and he wanted to get away from Hatcher.