Lighter Shade of Brown (Urban Fiction) BWHM

Chapter 1 Part 4

The ride back to the Ninth took about fifteen minutes with him stopping to grab the things Liberty sent her to the store for in the first place. True to his word C's pulled the car right in front of her building. The funked out Chevy pulled old biddies to their screen doors, hood rats to the sidewalks, and dope boys from the basketball court. Dang! You'd have thought that the Dog Pound had rolled through.  The way folks kept walking close to the car just to try and see through the window tint, embarrassed the hell out of her. What was so hard about people minding their own damn business?

"Need me to walk you to your door?" C's asked eyeing the group of dudes at the bottom of the stairs that led up to her apartment.

Cleo shook her head. That was the last thing she needed. It was one thing to come flossing around the way with a brother, but a Latino? Some things in the hood were just not done. "I'm good. These fools ain't stuttin' me. 'Sides, Liberty's sitting on the porch. Last thing they wanna do is step wrong with her."

C's gaze traveled in the direction of where Liberty sat. "Damn. Moms, ducked off in the dark up there. Like she wanna smoke my ass." He muttered with a smirk. When he spotted the outline on the darkened porch he nodded and turned back to her. Settling back into his seat, he reached over and pulled her hand into his lap. All laid back and thangs, he flipped it over and began to stroke the center of her palm. "Que pasa, when the next time we gonna get up? Holla at me." 

Cleo felt her eyebrows collide. Was he high? He knew the 411 on her. And he still wanted to be down. "You tell me. School's out. The only job I have is holding down those steps."

"I hear you." He murmured as he continued to stare at her hand like it was the best damn thing on T.V. After a few moments his gaze returned to hers. "Give me a day or two to move around and I'll get back at you. Cool?"

"Cool with me." She answered, relieved he still wanted to chill. Even if only from time to time.

Not wanting to push her luck, she reached for the door handle. C's, however not ready to let her go, wouldn't release her hand. Instead he used it to pull her across the seat to him. Once she was damn near in his lap, he released her hand to let his slide up her arm. She held her breath as his fingers crept across her shoulders to caress the nape of her neck. The feather light touches triggered a chain reaction. A wall of heat smacked her in the face, while a loud roaring noise in her ears drowned out all sound. On deck! He was the first player up to bat and he held her complete attention. Her defenses were down. Anything he wanted was his. All he had to do was ask.

Taking advantage of the hold he had on her neck, he slowly guided her face closer to his. When she was close enough to smell the sweet mint on his breath, he leaned forward and brushed his lips across her slightly parted ones. Before she could react, it was over. He'd pulled away. It had jumped off so quick, she wasn't really sure if anything had happened at all. With her ring and middle finger she touched her lips.

"Go on, before your peoples come down and blast my ass. 'Specially when she see your eye." He lifted his hand and let it hover over the left side of her face. The side she took the blunt of the blows on. When she winced from his touch he let his hand drop. "Does it still hurt?" She nodded and he exhaled an exaggerated breath. "Man I can't wait to see that bitch, Tina. Fuckin' around with her, your mom's probably won't even let me take you up the street. But I guess I'll skip across that bridge in a day or two." He murmured more to himself than to her.  "Sure you don't want me to go up there with you and explain shit to your mom's?"

"Naw." Cleo shook her head, sliding back toward the passenger door. "It'll be better if I go up by myself. She gonna flip when she see me. You don't wanna be around for that. Trust me." She grabbed the paper bag from the floor that held Liberty's items, glad C's had stopped by the store on the way back to the Ninth so she wouldn't have to see Liberty's crazy ass empty handed. But shoot, she didn't know how much good it would do when Liberty got a look at her face. She opened the door and slid out of the car. Stepping away from the Chevy she headed for the stairs.