Paul just won the motherfuckin’ lottery, y’all!”
By the time he finished screaming, everyone in the room had surrounded me.
“Stop lying. He ain’t hit that shit,” Rodney snapped.
“Yeah, he did. Show him the ticket, Paul.”
I handed Rodney the ticket and he checked it against the newspaper.
Rodney looked up with the same astonished look that Jordan had when he first realized I’d won. “Goddamn, this motherfucker really did hit the lottery,” Rodney exclaimed.
Everyone was congratulating me and shaking my hand. Everyone but Rodney, that is. He was still holding my ticket like it was his.
“Hey, Rodney.” I stuck my hand out.
“What?” Rodney looked like I snapped him out of some serious daydream.
“Can I have my ticket back, please?”
He looked around at all the people staring at him, and then sighed as he handed it over.
9
Kerri
I looked at the clock and decided it was time to make my move. I took a quick shower and made sure I smelled good in all the right places. I applied some gloss to my lips and then slipped on the kimono that Paul was checking me out in the other night. I still couldn’t believe he’d won the lottery. After doing a quick mirror check, I eased my door open and crept across the hall. I gently tapped on the door and posed in the hallway. It took him a few a seconds to answer the door.
“Kerri? What’s up?” he asked.
“Nothing. I couldn’t sleep so I decided to see what you were up to. You weren’t busy, were you?” I asked him innocently.
“No, I was about to watch a movie I rented.”
“Can I watch it with you? I can’t sleep.”
“Sure.”
I walked into the dim apartment. I knew all of the units had the same layout and size, but for some reason Paul’s seemed much bigger. His living room held a black African-print sectional with a coffee table shaped like a panther. The walls were covered with masks and African artwork. The brother had taste. There was a mahogany entertainment center holding a big-screen TV and a stereo, and instead of lamps, he had what looked like lanterns burning candles instead of light-bulbs. I was impressed. Maybe I should have got with this brother a long time ago.
“This is nice. I like it,” I told him.
“Thanks. I’m glad you do. I didn’t think it would impress someone as high maintenance as yourself. I know how you hate to be disappointed.” He smiled smugly.
“Touché. Look, I’m sorry about everything I said earlier. I’m just used to getting my way.” I sat on the sofa and rubbed my hand across the sleek material. “So, what movie were you about to watch?”
“Red Dragon.” He sat near me, but not too close.
“Oooh, scary. I wouldn’t dare watch that by myself,” I said. “I get afraid of the dark.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you from the bogey man.”
“I’m sure I’ll be safe with someone like you around.”
He picked up the remote and hit Play on the DVD player. I eased closer to him and put my hand on his leg. He didn’t move. I knew he was playing hard to get but I was about to play even harder. I had one goal and one goal only: get the money! I also had the advantage in knowing how bad he wanted to get with me. There was no way he was gonna miss out on an opportunity like this, and neither was I.
“Have you seen this?” I looked up at him and let my hand linger on his thigh.
“Yeah, I rented it a couple of times,” he answered and let his arm touch my shoulder.
“Is it good?” I touched him a little more firmly.
“That’s why I keep renting it. You always return for more if it’s good. That’s true about everything in this world.” He was no longer looking at the TV, but at me.
“Is that true when it comes to you?”
“I’ve had no complaints. Women always seem to come back for more.” He began to finger my earlobe. The light from the TV cast a sensual aura in the room. For some reason I was getting turned on, and I wasn’t sure if it was the fact that he was gonna get all that money or if it was just him.
“So you think if you hit it once you can hit it twice, huh?”
“I got the magic stick! I know if I hit once, I can hit twice.”
“Okay, fifty cents. You talk a good game, but it’s results that matter.” I positioned myself so that he could see my breasts through the thin robe. He responded exactly the way I wanted him to. I could feel him getting harder as I rubbed his crotch. Get him, girl. Get him.
“Yeah, well. I got skills to back it up.” He tugged at my belt and let my robe open. I raised myself up and straddled his lap. I had my moves planned carefully as I looked into his eyes.
“Prove it,” I whispered into his ear, and licked his lobe. I could feel his fingers running across my breasts and my nipples hardened. He kissed along my collarbone and leaned me back slightly. I thought I was about to fall and I reached to brace myself.
“I got you. Chill,” he said, and smiled as he cupped my breast with one hand and braced my back with the other. I put my hands around his head and shivered as he gently sucked one nipple, then the other. I arched my back and a moan escaped from the back of my throat. I looked down and saw him looking up at me, smiling. “See. And I’m just getting started.”
Wait a minute, Ker, you’re supposed to be the seducer here, not the one being seduced. I regained control of the situation and remembered the game plan. I put my hands on his ears and tilted his head toward me. I kissed him with such fullness that it seemed like our mouths were made for each other. I slid out of my robe and his hands began to stroke my back. I was dripping by this time, which surprised me. Not a lot of guys were able to get me this wet this quickly. I knew that if his bedroom skills were anything like the foreplay, I was gonna have to pull out all the tricks. But as desperate as I was, I wouldn’t care if he wanted to tie me up to the bedpost and flick sunflower seeds at me. I was down for whatever.
“Let’s go to your room,” I said and stood up.
He took my hand and led me down the hallway. His bedroom was just as nice as the living room. It had a jungle motif with zebras, tigers, leopards, and such. He had a huge four-poster bed in the middle of the floor. I turned around and faced him as I climbed in. I sat right in the middle and wiggled my finger at him. “Come here.”
“No, you are gonna come here.” His arrogance turned me on even more. He stripped his clothes off and my eyes widened at the size of his manhood. The brother was hung, and somehow I knew I was not gonna be left short. Goddamn, I was turned on. Get the money, get the money, don’t forget to get the money.
He climbed onto the bed, and before he could do anything, I was sucking on him like a super-sized bomb pop. He began to groan and tell me how good it felt. So he’s a talker, I thought. I decided to spice things up and see if he was kinky. I stopped what I was doing and crawled in his face.
“Paul, where’s the ticket?”
“Huh?”
“I wanna touch it. I want to rub it on my breasts while you’re doing me.”
“Don’t play, Kerri. You’re blowing my high,” he sat up and told me.
“Come on, Paul. Let me see it,” I begged. He reached in his nightstand and handed me the ticket. I looked at the numbers and smiled.
“Don’t smile at that bullshit. I got something