BIANCA
The three of them were here. Catch had no idea what he’d done. Man-Man wasn’t the only person with power on the South Side of Chicago.
HQ (Harold Quincy) the high school basketball star of our neighborhood, hung around Darius and Marquis. HQ went on to play college ball at Northwestern University.
They were two years younger than the girls and I. Age wasn’t a factor for them. They had the height and muscle thing working for them. They could overpower us.
Whenever you saw HQ, you knew Darius and Marquis weren’t far behind.
HQ was the type of guy who didn’t believe rules applied to him. If he wanted something, he got it.
A couple of years ago, the girls and I were hanging out at the local pizza joint one Friday night.
After selecting a song on the jukebox, I strolled to my table. Laughter kicked up from HQ and his friends' table. I hated getting into arguments with HQ. So I ignored him and his friends. HQ grabbed my hand and pulled me into his lap, kissingmy lips. Eyes wide, I jerked back. My hand flew across his cheek. A heavy whack hung in the air. Gasps left the mouths of everyone at his table. This wouldn’t end well for me. He didn’t like being embarrassed.
HQ laughed it off, then blurted out, “She likes to get physical. Makes it fun.”
More laughter erupted. I jumped out of his lap, then joined the girls across the restaurant.
After that incident, I hadn’t seen him around much. He’d gone away to college. I thought that was the end of our encounters. Well, I was wrong.
One night at the club, he followed me into the bathroom.
“Bianca, we need to talk?”
I peeked up from my makeup bag at the counter. “We have nothing to talk about. You need to get the fuck out.”
HQ locked the door behind him and stalked toward me. “That shit you pulled at the pizza place a while back was embarrassing. You’re lucky I had important things to do. Like go off to college.”
My eyes narrowed as I turned to him. “HQ, I’m not attracted to you. Your ego has an entire zip code. Find another woman who wants you.”
His brows lowered as his brown eyes darkened. “It turns out my uncle Glenn works at the company where your brother is a college intern.”
My stomach dipped at his words.
HQ traced his long finger along my bare arm. A shiver shot down my back.
I pushed my chin in the air, staring him down from my spot. “So. What the fuck does that have to do with me?” I bit out.
He leaned into my ear. “My uncle is the director of Human Resources. He has enough clout to kick Jacquel out of the program. All he has to say is Jacquel harassed a few womenaround the office. The company frowns on sexual harassment.” He smirked.
The fucker was getting a kick out of this.
“Funny. You’re harassing me right now,” I huffed.
My fist curled at my sides as his big hands squeezed my waist.
“I want to fuck that sexy mouth and tight pussy,” he said. His words were raw and laced with desire that I wanted no part of. His voice grated on my nerves, and I felt a wave of nausea wash over me.
My heart beat erratically as anger surged through me. He stood before me, tall and proud, lips curved in a seductive smirk. His broad shoulders tapered to lean hips; a body sculpted by hours of playing ball on the court - the type of body many women would find appealing.But something about him made my skin crawl.He had the confidence of an athlete, clearly believing his status should make me swoon.
Why did guys from the hood think once they became basketball or football stars, all the women were supposed to fall at their feet? We weren’t all built the same. I wasn't interested in his advances. I just wanted to be left alone with my books and computer.
Tears stung the back of my eyes, but I wouldn’t let the fucker see the pain he brought. He had me in a tough spot.
“What’s the name of the company where your uncle works?” I asked.
“Grey’s Engineering.”