Black Panther Shorts

Fake Love

You used the key your boyfriend Erik gave you and opened the door to his apartment. You slowly walked into the kitchen and sat your shopping bag down on the table.

You walked behind Erik who was at the stove and wrapped your arms around his waist. You pressed your nose into the spine of his back and sniffed him.

"Aight, I told you about that sniffing shit. It's weird." Erik turned his head to reach for a kiss. You gently met him halfway.

"How was shopping?" He asked as he returned to stirring the pot containing your favorite dish.

"It was good." You gripped him tighter. "Why you cooking? I told you I'm not hungry."

"And I told you that I'm gonna feed you regardless. Now sit down, talking about iM nOT HuNgrY." He mocked you and you mushed his head to the side and that's when you noticed it.

"Erik." You stared at him anger building up in your chest.

"Wassup babygirl?" He turned his head and looked at you the smile on his face dropping when he noticed the anger on your face. "What happened?" He turned his body around to face you fully. Your eyes followed the bruise that lay subtly on his neck.

"What's that?" The venom in your voice caused Erik's face to scrunch up in concern.

"What's what?" Erik's brow raised in curiosity.

"Boy! Your neck." Your petite hand found the side of his face and pushed it to the side so that you could get a better look. "What is that?!" Your voice raises as your anger swells.

He reached up to gently caress the spot you were referring to. Then he shrugged and you stepped away from him quickly so that your hands wouldn't assault him.

"Erik. I'm going to ask you one more fucking time. What the fuck is that on your neck?" You stared heatedly at the side of his face as he continued on with his pot. The reddish purple mark staring you in your face. "Do you not hear me talking to you! Or are you just ignoring me."

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He found your anger a bit amusing.

"What the fuck are you smiling about?! I'm pissed and you're laughing? Answer my question Erik cause I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt." Your whole body was tense as Erik finally turned to face you the small smile still evident on his face.

"What it look like baby." It was a statement.

Not a question.

He was admitting to it.

"It's a fucking hickey?!" You screamed. Your throat trembled and your hands shook against your body. You couldn't imagine another woman with their hands on him. You were his and he was supposed to be yours. His eyes glazed over as he watched you calmly.

"If it look like a hickey. Then it's probably a hickey." His smirk infuriated you. Your thoughts ran together a jumbled mess. You couldn't focus on anything other than your anger. The hurt. The pain. The idea that yo nigga let some random bitch mark him.

"Well, who the fuck put it there boy? Cause when I left this morning I ain't put no hickey on you." Your mind swirled with ideas, assumptions, and accusations.

"Well maybe you should have and nobody would have marked me for you." The blank stare in his eye only made your blood boil. Your teeth clenched. Was he really suggesting that you didn't do enough. That you didn't satisfy him. Your heart clenched at the thought. You'd given him everything every bit of you and he stepped on it. You were sticking by him while he finished his school and was too busy for YOU. But now all of a sudden YOU weren't doing enough. How dare he.

"So. That's it. You're cheating on me? The most busiest, standoffish nigga in the world is cheating on me?" Your mouth twisted into a scowl as you fought the urge to let tears fall. You refused to let him see you cry. He lived to see people in pain you just didn't think you'd be one of those people he got off on.

"Listen, ain't nobody say anything about cheating." His attitude remained an attempt to shrug you off. As if the hickey were nothing but a shoe he 'left' in the hallway. Something he simple forgot about.

"Okay so if a nigga came over and we fucked aro-" Erik interrupted you.

"Cap that. That's not even a hypothetical situation I wanna talk about."

"You're such a fucking hypocrite." You couldn't do it anymore, so you walked away. Until you felt an arm curve around your waist and bring you back to his broad chest. You wanted to sink into the comfort of his warmth. But this was the same warmth he'd shared with someone else just moments ago. You struggled against him.

"Where you going?" His breath tickled the top of your ear.

"Imma go pack my shit that I stupidly leave here and get a fucking hotel." You continue struggling to get out of his arms.

"And why would you do something stupid like that." You felt his lips curve into a smile as he bent his face into your neck.

"Let me go ugly ass nigga. Always think people playing with you. You fucking cheating on me then wanna ask me why! Cause you let some bitch touch you. That's why!"

You felt him chuckling behind you, you spun out of his hold and raised your hand to hit him.

"Put your hands on me and see if I don't fuck the shit out of you with your hands tied behind your back." His threat reached your ears seconds after you realized he had your hand in a tight hold.

"Nah fam you lost that privilege when you let another girl in my spot." You tried to respond as if his words didn't affect you in the way they did.

You stormed your way towards his bedroom and opened his drawer that he had reserved for you and started stuffing them into your duffel bag that you dragged out of the depths of his closest. Erik sat on the bed and watched you amused as you yanked and shoved clothes. His body began shaking with laughter.

"I honestly don't see what's so damn funny Erik."

"What's funny is you are gonna be pissed as fuck putting that back in the drawer when you calm down."

You glared at him a fire intensity burning into his face. After a few moments of silence you spoke up.

"Why?" You swallowed quietly. "Why would you do this to me? I thought you loved me. Ain't that what you said just three weeks ago for the first time? So why would you do this to me?" Tears pricked the back of your eyes.

"Cause it's fake." He shrugged. He watched you with the same bored eyes he gave any woman that tried to hit on him.

"What's fake? The fact that you love me?" You were shrill at this point. His nonchalant attitude was tearing into your heart.

A smirk fell onto his lips as he stood up and approached you. He grabbed your hand and lead you into his bathroom and trapped you between his body and the counter. You could see Erik's eyes lustfully trailed over your body. You watched him grab a rag and wet it. He grabbed your hand and swung you around to face him. He pressed his lips to yours and mumbled against them.

"The hickey is fake, princess. Wipe it off." You squinted your eyes and rubbed at his neck and watched as the rag picked up the blush and eyeshadow mixture that was on his neck. You shoved him when you realized it was all a prank. You should have known better.

"Where are the stupid cameras." You sighed defeated. His smile spread wide and his golds peeked at you. His lips pressed into yours multiple times. He got you good for his first YouTube prank.

"There's one right there and the others are in obvious spots everywhere else but you was too heated to see them. I'm honestly surprised that you fell for it." You rolled your eyes at him and walked away.

"You were acting so much like old Erik so I didn't know what to believe. You were wrong though."

"How?" He licked his lips as he watched you enter his bedroom.

"You the one that's gonna be putting my clothes back into the drawer." You laughed as he kissed his teeth and began putting your clothes back.