Page 7 of I Need It

I didn’t fall asleep until almost six thirty. When my alarm went off at nine, my body wasn’t having that shit. Had I known Mya was gon’ say the shit she said, I would have carried my ass to sleep. Pussy came a dime a dozen. It wasn’t worth losing sleep over. I had her number. If that was all our encounter was gonna get me, I could have gotten some much-needed rest.

Once I finished cleaning the unit, I went and turned the breaker back on and cranked the unit up. Hopefully, that helped. I didn’t want to be here longer than necessary. “Aunt Aspen, I’m gonna go to my other appointment. It’s gonna take some time to cool off, even if it is working. By the time I come back, if it isn’t cooling off, then I’ll know it’s something else. It’s not leaking freon or anything, so Unc’s negligence could have cost y’all big time.”

She slightly rolled her eyes. “Okay. Thanks, Christian. I really appreciate you, baby. Don’t forget to leave the invoice for him.”

“Oh, here is the real invoice. Leave this one for him though.”

She looked at it and giggled. “Five hundred dollars for being a rude jackass? Oh, you want trouble.”

I chuckled. “Don’t I always?”

She slowly shook her head. “Between you and Jacob, I don’t know which one gives him a harder time.”

“Jacob is just like him though. Just rude for no reason at all.”

I kissed her cheek as Remy came down the stairs rubbing his eyes. I was glad I missed his bad ass. Nigga was like twelve years old now and always stayed in people’s business. Before he could even notice I was there, I got the hell out of dodge. SS was probably still asleep. That nigga partied more than we did. He was only seventeen, about to be eighteen, but looked like he was twenty-five. Old looking ass.

When I got to my truck, my phone chimed with a text. After getting inside and cranking up, I checked it to see a message from Mya. Hey. I’m not going home today. I started bleeding. SMH. I’ll be here at least until tomorrow… maybe longer.

While I almost didn’t even want to go visit her now, something was nagging at me to go anyway. She was gon’ have to tell me what was up with her though. I wanted to believe that she’d had a baby, but why wouldn’t she want to share that? She was on the labor and delivery floor. She just seemed too young for any other issues. St. Elizabeth didn’t do tubal ligations or unnecessary hysterectomies.

Who was I to question her though? I knew she was lying about why she didn’t want a relationship. A woman without trauma didn’t just one day decide she didn’t want to be with a nigga. That shit stemmed from something, whether it was her own personal hurt or having a front row seat to someone else’s. Was I willing to settle? I wanted to be in a relationship again. I supposed I was.

I texted her back. Hey. A’ight. See you later.

I took off out of the driveway and headed to China to my next customer. Before I could get there, my phone rang. When I saw Uncle Storm’s number, I chuckled and sent him to voicemail. That would piss him off more. When it chimed, letting me know he’d left a message, I clicked on it to listen to it.

“I’m gon’ fuck you up when you get back.”

That was all he said, and I couldn’t help but laugh. I was in a better mood than I thought I would be on a limited amount of sleep. Having the upper hand when I was fucking with Uncle Storm always put me in a better mood. He thrived on being a bully. When you beat him to the punch, he would be salty for days. I chuckled, thinking about it.

When I got to China, I checked the address to make sure I was turning into the right driveway. Before I could even kill my engine, my classmate walked out on the porch. I had no clue she was living here. I looked at the name on the ticket, and it said Hazel Carrier. I frowned slightly and got out of the truck. When she saw me, she smiled big. “Christian!”

I chuckled as my mind went down memory lane. We’d fucked under the bleachers in the gym once. That was some of the best pussy I’d gotten when I was in school. After that, we constantly found ways to fuck. Once she left for school, that was the end of our sexcapades. She was fucking around as much as I was, so neither of us expected anything to come out of it.

I grabbed my bag and made my way to the porch. I smiled at her, and she hugged me. “Damn. You still got it, baby,” she said as she scanned me from head to toe.

I did the same to her and said, “So do you. What’s been up, Courtney?”

“Not too much. I just moved back a couple of months ago. I’m renting this house from Ms. Carrier until I can find a house. What about you?”

“Shit. Went to school for H-VAC. Been doing this for nearly fourteen years. I’m part owner of the company now.”

“So you didn’t go into business with the family?”

“Well, somewhat. I have a contract with them to maintain everything, along with my cousin Jacob. I’m not in the office though.”

“Oh, okay. Well, come on in. It’s making a lot of noise, and it isn’t blowing cold air.”

I nodded and went to the stairs for the attic. I hated climbing stairs to get to the inside units. I was too tall for this shit. I was glad Uncle Storm’s unit was in a storage closet. It made it super easy to get to. Most of the older and smaller houses were built this way. When I set my bag on the floor, I turned the unit on, and sure enough, it was making a lot of racket.

I turned it back off then asked where the breaker box was. As I was about to walk outside, Courtney asked, “You still single?”

“Yeah. You?”

“Mm hmm.”

I already knew what that shit meant. She licked her lips, and I bit my bottom one as my dick came alive. “Let me get this unit fixed, and we can talk more about that.”

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