Read The Face That Launched A Thousand Bullets (The Cartel Publications Presents) Online
Authors: T. Styles
“Get in.” Cray said pulling up on the curb.
She couldn’t prevent the smile from shining on her beautiful face. Her long hair bounced as she jogged toward his car. Since he met her he always seemed elusive. It was like he wasn’t allowing himself to get close to her and Tiara hated it. All she wanted was to be in his company.
“Why you wearin’ that shit?” He looked her over disapproving of her gear. If she was going to ever be his girl, she had to look the part. “Where the clothes I got for you?”
“I couldn’t wear them, Cray.” She stuffed his clothes in her black book bag to conceal it from her father, sat back in the seat, and put her seat belt on. “You know my dad was supposed to pick me up today. So I had to change them before he saw me. It’s like lately he’s starting to trip about me hanging out. I don’t think he trusts me anymore.”
“Why should he? You lie to him right? You still afraid to tell him about me aint you?”
Silence.
“I don’t want to make him angry.”
“What about me?”
“I don’t want to make you angry either. I’m confused.”
He stopped his car and said, “Get out! Go be with your father then.”
“No. Please! Don’t do this to me. Please.”
She closed the door and he continued down the road. Tiara couldn’t help but feel like Cray wanted her to choose between him and her father sometimes. And that scared her.
“If you gonna deal wit me, you got to stand up to your pops.” He said looking at her seriously.
His once gold hair now back to it’s original color of black. He had a little length on it so now it curled up.
“I will, Cray! I promise. Just give me some time.”
She told him that many times before and sometimes, he just set her off to hear her say it. It sounded so sweet coming from her young lips.
“Yeah whateva! You betta start actin’ like it then.”
When she saw him past her house she wondered where he was taking her. She couldn’t go too far because her father would be pulling up at the school in about fifteen minutes. It was bad enough her car was still left up at the school so when Kavon rode by, he’d definitely see it.
“Where we going?”
“Why? You don’t’ want to roll wit me?!” he shot back.
“Cray are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?”
“I’m just tired of playing games with you, that’s all. Now you rollin’ wit me or not?”
“I’m going with you.”
“Than fall back and relax.”
The Hotel
It took them twenty minutes from leaving her school to pull up at the Embassy Suites in Linthicum heights. He guided her right past the receptionist desk and right toward the elevator. Her heart beat rapidly as she stood in the corner looking at the buttons light up.
“You okay?” he smiled.
“I’m fine.” She was still trying to get over how he treated her earlier.
She didn’t understand how to deal with his mood swings, but she was willing to learn.
“I’m sorry, Tiara. I just wanna take care of you and I get frustrated when I can’t. You understand what I’m sayin’?”
She nodded yes.
“And don’t worry, baby, just cause we’re here don’t mean nothin’s goin’ down.”
She knew he wouldn’t do anything sexually she didn’t want. He’d been dodging her since they met. The moment they walked out of the elevator and to room 288, he slid his key in and she caught a glimpse of him from the side.
Damn he’s fine.
She thought.
The moment the door opened, she saw boxes everywhere. She wondered when he had all the time to do this. Rose peddles filled the room and the scent of vanilla candles teased her nose.
“I hope you like some of the things I bought. It’s for your birthday. Open ‘em up and tell me what you think.”
“All of this is for me?” her eyes wide with surprise.
“Every last box.”
Tiara ran through the room touching everything at first before she ripped open the boxes. He bought her Gucci outfits, Louis Vuitton purses and a few labels she didn’t recognize. She immediately rushed up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“What are you doing to me?” she asked kissing him all over his face.
“I’m trying to take care of you. You gonna let me?”
“Yes!” she exhaled! “Yes I will!”
She gave him a sweet kiss. This time it lasted a bit longer. He pushed her away.
“Not like this.”
“What? Why?” she was confused.
He had gotten the hotel room so why not make love.
“I thought that’s what you wanted.”
“I’m not here to have sex with you, Tiara.”
His rejections made her want him even more.
“Can you just hold me?”
He wrapped his arms around her waist while she lie against his chest. He’d succeeded at winning her over.
“What you want from me?” he asked her in a deep base voice.
“I don’t know.” She said hunching her shoulders. “I just know I got to be around you. I’m sick when you don’t call. Can you tell me what I need to do? To make you want only me?”
He kissed her a few more times on the forehead, before taking her over to a table.
“I’ma be honest with you, your father is in the way of what I’m tryin’ to do. I mean, I respect the dude cause he’s your pops, but it’s time I took care of you now. I already know if I do the things I want, he’s gonna be in the way. And with everything goin’ on in my life, I don’t need that kind of drama.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Tiara, I’m a hustler.” He said looking up at her. “I don’t feel like lyin’ to you no more cause that’s not even me. Plus I think you know already. I’m everything your father warned you about and more.”
“I know.” Her voice low and weak. “And I don’t care. I just want to be with you.”
She gripped his hand softly and saw something in his eyes.
Is this all a game to him
? She wondered. Something whispered, walk away. But she was in too deep.
“What my father don’t know won’t hurt.”
“Tiara, that ain’t good enough for me. It’s all or nothin’. I’m not runnin’ hidin’ from your peeps no more.”
Just as he was waiting on her response his cell phone went off.
“Give me a second.” He said throwing a finger at her answering the phone. He was silent before he said, “He still there? A’ight, I’ma get wit you lada ‘bout that. One.”
“I got to take you home, shawty.”
With that he put everything he bought for her in the bags. But Tiara couldn’t take her gifts home, not right now anyway. The bags would make too much noise.
“Can you keep my stuff for me? Until tomorrow. I don’t want my father seeing all of this before I tell him about us.”
“See that’s the shit I’m talkin’ about!” he yelled. “You know what…fuck this shit! I know plenty of bitches who would kill to be in ya shoes right now and here I am wastin’ time on you! This thing…between me and you…not workin’ no more. Let’s go.”
Her heart ached hearing those words, and although he was rushing to leave, she didn’t want him to go like this. She wrapped her arms around his tensed body and felt his muscles loosen.
“Move…” he pushed weakly. “I can’t do this with you. Your mind too young to be with a man like me.”
“Cray, I’m sorry! I’ll tell him I swear! I’ll tell my father about us. Hold me. Don’t leave like this.” He could feel her young heart beating against his chest. “Please…make love to me.”
Silence.
She knew she was a virgin and wasn’t ready for a man like him, but she had to have him.
“I can’t….” he whispered. “I got to handle somethin’ anyway. I ain’t ‘bout to fuck you and then run out on you like you some fuckin’ whore.”
“Well stay…and make love to me right.” She said seductively.
Her words were bold and with promise and even though she was inexperienced, she was ready.
He lifted her off the floor and took her over to the bed. She stared into his eyes as she undressed herself. He looked at every inch of her body. Tiara didn’t mind him staring because she wanted him to see that every inch of her was his and that she was untouched.
“You’re beautiful…I never seen a woman look like you before.”
“Because I’m not a woman until I’d been with a man. Making love to you will make me one.”
He rubbed his rough hand over her stomach, her bare legs, soft perky breasts and lips. She shivered. Reaching down he gently kissed her. Not knowing what to do, her lips pushed into his prematurely. She was trying hard to do the right things and hoped he could tell. Their lips remained connected for the next minute before he looked at her once more.
“You sure about this?”
“Yes. Please make love to me, Cray. I wanna show you that I’m real about you.”
Cray stood up, removed his clothes and exposed his tattooed chiseled body. In all of his splendor, what got her attention was his stiff large penis. Cray slowly crawled into bed without putting all of his weight onto her. His hips went fishing for the right spot, and when he found her dampness, Tiara’s eyes widened.
“I’ll be easy with you, I promise.”
All the things her father talked to her about entered her mind but she pushed them out. She trusted Cray and needed to be with him. And the moment he eased inside of her, she tensed up and a tear fell from her eyes.
“Want me to stop?”
“Nooooooo.”
The pain was borderline unbearable as he slid in what was left of his thickness. Instead of pumping her like she was a professional, he stayed inside of her for a second, motionless. Still it hurt so badly she wanted to tell him to stop. But how could she? It was she who encouraged him in the first place.
And then he said, “I think I’m fallin’ in love with you.”
It was all she needed to hear. Slowly his body moved again widening her tight whole.
“Relax, baby….relax.” he whispered.
When she obeyed she noticed the pain started to subside and was mixed with pleasure. She smiled when she heard him moan knowing it was all because of her. For five minutes he stroked her slowly looking into her eyes periodically. But she noticed whenever he stared at her, his strokes would stop before starting again. And she wondered, did staring at her bring him closer to ecstasy. While her mind thought about if having sex with him would keep him, she felt his strokes speed up. And his head fall back, and just like that, he pulled out of her, and came all over her stomach.
“Oh shit…I’m soooo sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
She didn’t want him thinking that she was so shallow that she’d be worried about how long it last. In his defense, he’d never had a tight virgin pussy in all his life. The only problem for her was that she didn’t reach the orgasm she heard so much about from Felecia.
“Stay right there.” Cray got up and walked to the bathroom naked. He returned seconds later with a warm washcloth.
She smiled when she felt the warmth from the washcloth against her exposed flesh. Cray, a murderer, and a monster, was gentle as he cleaned up his love juice between her legs and on her belly. .
“Girl, you tryin’ to make me fall deep.”
“I just want you to stay with me.”
And she proved it, she gave him what she cherished the most, her virginity. And unlike a lot of things in life, it could only be given away once.
Before he could respond his phone rang again. He answered and listened to the caller.
“Where you at?”
“We waitin’, man.”
“Meet me at the drop in Bladensburg in an hour.” When he hung up he said, “We have to go Tiara.”
Sensing the urgency, they both jumped up to get dressed. She would’ve loved to have stayed with him after a moment like this, but knew it was not the time or the place. They jumped in his car and headed down the road.
As Tiara looked at him while he drove angrily, she couldn’t help but feel as if having sex with him meant nothing. He didn’t even address her. Pulling up at the corner of her house, he parked and put his hands on the steering wheel. She wanted him to say something. To tell her he still cared.
“I’ma pick you up here every morning so leave your car. You need a flyer one anyway. We’ll talk to your pops together cause he needs to know about us. And he needs to know about me.”
She threw her arms around his neck and smiled. As mad as he was, he made it clear that they were official. She got out.
“Bye.” She waved excited about their relationship.
He pulled off.
It wasn’t until he left that she realized she left her car at the school. All of that quickly left her mind when she opened the door and saw her father waiting.
“When did we get here, Tiara?”
“Get where?”
“To the place in which you start lying to me.”
Her head hung low.
“I came to your school to take you out for your birthday and you weren’t there. ” he said standing up from the couch. “Why the lies?”