A Black Chick & An Asian Chick Walk In A Bar...........

I sat in Josie's on this particular night, practically crying in my beer...I was frustrated and angry at myself. I had just witnessed a man die. Maybe he wasn't the best man in the world, but he certainly wasn't the worse...and he certainly didn't deserve to die in the horrible way he died. I kept going over and over in my mind if I had missed a clue...anything, anything that could have stopped this from happening. I couldn't believe that I was blaming myself for this. In just three days,Three people were dead...Three people...maybe two that I could have saved if I had picked up the clues that were staring me dead in the face...Clues that HE was still alive and has apparently gone mad..Dr. Leonard Culpepper...a spurned lover..a man who was in love with the wrong type of girl..had finnally suceeded in wiping out his cheif rival...one Eric Derricote! Ex jock,ex playa...recently deceased. In order to do it...an innocent man on a ship , a beautiful woman who probably aided him in poisoning Eric...and a down on his luck lawyer who acted as a middle man in the purchase of a deadly drug all have lost their lives....

It wasn't worth it...Not one bit...Not one lost life...not over a woman that didn't want him in the first place...Eric Derricote...a guy, who if he had been drowning, I would've thrown a cinder block to make him sink was dead....and a lawyer , a micro-biologist and an annoying ship guest were dead... too..and all for what? What ? I kept asking myself. I might have liked Leonard Culpepper once but now he had gone wrong and he had crossed a line...I owed it to all of the unjustly dead...to stop him..make sure he never kills again!

"Hey Kevin...you gonna drink that or take it home with you?" asked Gus.

"Oh, uh, hey...I...I ..I was deep in thought.." I said.

"Yeah, I see...You aint yourself tonight...Where are all your friends? " asked Gus.

I didn't really know...It was a rainy Wednesday night....No one was in here that I knew.. No Sean, No Clerow, No Cock Robbins....Not even 88 or Reed Nelson and the boys. Not too many women either...It was dead..just the way I felt inside..

"Hey Kev...Look at the front door...Hot damnnn...aint she sayin a taste?" laughed Gus.

A beautiful Asian Girl walked into the bar...She had a body that was simply out of this world for want of a better description and long black hair. She had on a short mini skirt with a split in the side and some very nice shapely legs... I was actually glad that Sepia wasn't here...I couldn't fully
look at this gorgeous woman and appreciate her the way I wanted to..Hell, the way any man with good sense and two working eyes would want to unless he was alone..and I felt more alone right now than I had in a long time.

She walked up to Gus and whispered something in his ear...He had a look of surprise on his face and then he pointed to me...He looked at me funny and then winked. I had no idea what this was all about and why this gorgeous woman wanted tio talk to me.

"You are Kevin...Kevin Morris correct?" she said

"Yes...and who are you?" I replied.

"I'm Kathy Oh." She said...And then it hit me...She was one of the girls on Eric's list that he told me to talk to...I had forgotten all about her.

"I heard that he's dead.." she said.

"If you mean Eric Derricote..you're right...He is...I'm sorry for your loss." I said.

"He had huge penis you know.." She said.

"Uh ,er no...I didn't know that." I said, somewhat taken aback by her forthrightness.

"Yesssss....He loved me so good....so long....I will miss that so much...I didn't care that he was loving that Black chick too...just as long as I had him.." she said.

"Who, Lolita?" I said.

"Lolita?? I don't know no Lolita...I meant Odessa...Odessa Mason." she said.

"Huh...What??? Noooo...Odessa was Leonard Culpepper's girl...She liked him...She helped him
poison Eric.."

"You got it all wrong....Leonard was like puppy dog..running and sniffing behind Odessa...She dated him...but she thought he was a nerd....She initially didn't like Eric, but once she dated him and sampled that huge penis..she became hooked....She knew that Leonard was really in love with some chick at his job and she kept Eric a secret for awhile...Then Dr. Culpepper returned from his cruise and he was different...changed...He start seeing me and then he start seeing her
and he talk her and lawyer into buying poison.....I don't think she know it meant for Eric...She do it as favor and to get him off her back...but then he find out about her and Eric and Eric must have called her and told her that he was sick....Then she realized what she had done and threatened to go to the police." said Kathy Oh.

"Hold up...wait a minute....How do you know this and why are you telling me this?" I said.

"Eric told me some of the story before he got really sick, but he never knew about Leonard...he just knew that Odessa's house was the last place he ate before he got sick...I went to Odessa a few days ago and we compared notes...She told me her part and told me she was going to call the
cops...I told her not to do it, but she wouldn't listen...She called that white lawyer, told him to watch his back." said Kathy.

"So why are you looking for me?" I asked.

"Because I'm scared...This man, This Leonard Culpepper is crazy...He's killed everybody that knows about it...Odessa, the Lawyer, Rubin and even that guy that sold it to them!"she said.

"Who ?? Chemical Ali Brown?? I just talked to him a few days ago." I said.

"He was found shot to death yesterday morning.." she said.

"What the hell?" I said.

"Yes...he's covering up his trail....Nobody will be left alive that knows about this.." she said.

"Well, he doesn't know you...He doesn't know about Eric and You, you've got nothing to worry
about." I said.

"I'm not sure....but I'm scared....You should be too.....There is a cab waiting for me outside..I just
called to warn you...I'm headed for Airport..Me not coming back here...too dangerous." She said.

Just like ,Kathy Oh was gone...She jumped in the cab outside and was gone into the night. I suppose when Leonard found out that Eric was sleeping with yet another of his girls..that was just too much to take...He had to go...

Within minutes, another attractive woman entered the bar....This one I knew..It was Lolita...Lolita from the cruise...The same Lolita that Leonard wanted to marry, that was using him spitefully and sleeping with Eric on the side...Seemed like I was on the wrong side of this whole deal...Seemed like these people deserved to die for what they had done to a otherwise good man who had now lost his mind.

Gus looked at me-

"Dang Kev...Usually it's a dull night...Now two foxy ladies done come in here and they both want to talk to you...What you got going on? You wearin a new cologne or somethin?" he asked.

"Yeah Gus...that's it...a new cologne!" I added shaking my head.

"Kevin!!! Oh Kevin ,I'm so glad to see you...I heard that I might find you here...I need your help
and I need to tell you something.." said Lolita.

"Okay, what?" I asked, already knowing what she was going to say.

"Leonard!! He aint dead.....He's still alive and he's here in Philly....He's killed Eric...oh my god..."
she said.

"Really? and how do you know this?" I asked.

"He called me....Oh my God...It was like hearing a voice from beyond the grave...He asked me to marry him and said that if I didn't I was going to end up like Eric." she said.

"What? He said that on the phone?" I asked...

"Yes..I've packed a few things and put them in my car and left....I'm scared Kevin...You've got to
help me." she said.

This was the second frightened woman I had talked to tonight...Leonard had now killed five people because of this woman...I felt like telling her to take a hike and leaving her to him..and then I got an idea...That was exactly how I was going to get Leonard...I was going to give him what he'd always wanted. I had no way to prove he'd killed any of these people.. I could tell my story to the cops...but I had absolutely no proof of any of it and there was no one living who could verify my story...but I wasn't going to let him walk free again, so that he could kill some more...
This was going to end...and one way or another ,Leonard Culpepper was going to be flushed out and stopped.

(Conclusion Next.......)

48 Hours Before...

Sepia and I stood over Eric's hospital bed...The same doctor we spoke to three days before was talking to us now and his prognosis was not good.

"He's on life support right now...He's lost consciousness and his vitals are weakening by the minute...I have never seen anything like this before in my life...He has lost all of his body hair and he weighs about ninety seven pounds..He's still sweating like nobody's business...and now he's lapsed into a coma....This is just a horrible way to die...I can't imagine another human being doing this to another human being...I can't imagine a reason.." said the Doctor.

Sepia began to weep and I held her tightly..We both had distaste for Eric Derricote, but not the kind of distaste that would make us wish this kind of suffering on him...The only man who I could think of that might hate him this much was dead....His bones probably shifting in the sand at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

48 Hours before we got to the hospital...the chance of catching whoever did this seemed a lot more hopeful...

We met up at Josie's bar as planned. Gus opened it early for this meeting and I arrived with the two ex-Marines, Eddie Martin and Albert King, who were armed to the teeth. I called on my old friend, Patricia "Big Nasty" Porterhouse, who was armed with a sawed off shotgun...Chris Thompson and Chess arrived with Donald "Smooth" , the man who handled their security at their card game and who was their most trusted gun..

Gus fixed us heaping plates of eggs, bacon and hash browns , along with Orange Juice and Tumblers of Hot steaming coffee...Then he left us to our business. Chris looked everybody up and down and then gave me the okay.

"You look like you got good people's Kev...the right kind of people for this caper...Now check it out. I had some of my people do a scope on your boy...Chemical Ali Brown.. Here's the skinny...
This is his address and a detailed map of his house. He's a creature of habit...He visits his accountant every day, at 10:00am sharp...Before that..he visits this Russian Tea House in Northeast Philly....My bet is..it's not to drink tea...but to turn in his skim to the Russian boys he work for. If I'm you..I wait until after he turn in his money to the Russians...Then you take him..
That way, they aint gettin an idea that someone is tryin to make a move on them..He's got a driver and two guys who ride with him... He keeps low key muscle on his block, just walkin up
and down at all times.. We got a few photos of who you should be lookin for...You got just the right amount of muscle to do the damn thing Kev...But you gotta do it right and do it fast..else, a lot of bullets will be flyin and a lot of people will be missin Christmas this year..These boys don't play...Sure you wanna do this?" said Chris.

I just looked at him...Chess looked at me, then shrugged his shoulders, then looked at Chris...

"Sure you do...Okay...Let's eat and then you guys do your thing...Take these cell numbers Kev..
Don't give em to nobody else...If it gets too hot for you..You Hit my man Chess up,He'll know how to get in contact with me and I'll have Fathead send you some re-enforcements...if you do the damn thing right...Chess won't get that call...but still I want to know how everything turns out okay?" said Chris.

"You got it man...and thanks...thank you too Chess...Thanks for your help." I said, shaking both their hands.

"Anything for you baby." said Chess.

We got in a Black suburban and pulled off as Chris, Chess and Gus stood outside Josie's Waving.

It went like clockwork..We followed Chemical Ali Brown and his two men to his accountant's house and then to the Russian Tea House. Then we stayed at least a block behind them as they
parked on his block. Chris and his people had done a great job of logistics... We knew everyone
to look out for.

Eddie Martin and Albert King worked with military precision and quietly got the drop on the two
guys across the street who just happened to be walking around...We knew them from the photos.
Before the driver could make a move...Big Nasty put the shotgun to his temple..and Donald "Smooth" disarmed the other two guys by himself.

I grabbed "Chemical Ali Brown" and put my .45 in his ribs and told him to open the door to his house. He did as he was told and we hearded the entire crew inside and tied them up.

"You guys must be new players...you obviously don't know that I'm connected." said Chemical Ali Brown.

'We obviously don't care" said Big Nasty.

"Look, I don't keep no money in here..not enough to pay all you guys." he said.

"I don't want your money..I want information and I don't have time to jockey with you, so I'll
make it quick..Agent Purple...I hear you're the man to talk to and I hear you sold it to someone."
I said.

"You guys cops?" he asked.

"Do I look like a cop? Just answer my question?"

"Okay..Okay...yeah..a babe had me order that stuff on line for her....and I did...About two weeks ago...but man, I don't deal with that kind of stuff on the regular...I push X and Viagra and Cialis
...you know...sex stuff...I occassionally order poison when somebody wants a quiet hit...but this stuff she wanted was heavy duty...I had never heard of it...But the babe and the shyster knew
what it was." Said Chemical Ali Brown.

"Who was this babe? You say she come here with a lawyer?" I asked.

"Yeah..her name was ..uh..er uh....O..oh....Odessa..yeah...Odessa Mason...She was a sister, man she had a body on her, you had to see her..tits all in ya face....I couldn't believe she was some kind of scientist....She knew her stuff...and her and that lawyer..His name was Rubin Dowell came here and ordered it and paid me handsomely too." he said.

"Odessa Mason...She came here with Rubin Dowell huh? Well he's dead...You wouldn't happen to have had anything to do with that would you?" I asked.

"Look man...he owed a lot of people money...He was doing this transaction to make enough money to pay off his gambling debts...Guess he didn't make enough in enough time huh? I didn't kill him...but you know how that goes...?" said Chemical Ali..

"Well what about the babe...did she say why she wanted this stuff?" I asked.

"Come on man..she wanted to off somebody ..why else would you order some nasty crap like that? She aint give me the details..I didn't care..She paid me and I was happy, that's all." he said.

I believed him.......but just as we were getting ready to go he said -

"Oh yeah, one other thing...It was three of them that came here...Another black guy, real nerdy,
corny lookin guy....with horn rimmed glasses....I thought he might be muscle..cause he had some big ass hands...He sat in the car the whole time....didn't say nothing."

My head was spinning...That guy sounded familiar, but it couldn't be...he was dead..there was no
way he could still be alive and here in the city....This third guy had to be somebody....it couldn't be who I thought it might be...but who? Maybe the third guy wasn't important at all!

We freed Chemical Ali and his men and we left. I called Chris and Chess to thank them once again for their help and then I paid Eddie, Albert, Patricia and Smooth and cut them loose.

The next night...I got Clerow and Cock Robbins and we located Odessa Mason's house. Just like
with Rubin Dowell...the door was open and the house was dark....it smelled like hell...and once inside...we saw why...It looked like a terrific fight had taken place in the house...The furniture was turned upside down and several things were broken...and laying on the floor ,with her neck broken and very dead was Odessa Mason...A beautiful Black woman , who also was a Micro-Biologist...Like I said she was a micro biologist...she was dead now.

So that leads me to today, when my wife and I are watching them take Eric off of life support and watching him take his last gulps of breath on his own...He turned his head toward us and opened his eyes one last time....then he just stared into space......He was gone.........................

The doctor pulled the cover over his body and they wheeled him to the mortuary...He looked at
Sepia and I and said...

"We did everything we could...I'm sorry....I just never saw anything like that." he said.

"Doctor...you said you and several US Doctors attended a World Peace Conference last year in which Agent Purple was discussed and banned right?" I asked.

"Why yes...I did." He said.

"Do you remember an Odessa Mason....a young Black woman...a Micro-biologist?" I asked.

"Yes....Everybody remembers her....She was just so....so...dynamic..." he said.

I looked at Sepia-

"She bought the poison....Chemical Ali told me it was her and the lawyer...Eric must have been
dating her and cheating on her and she discovered it and she poisoned him." I said.

"Eric...who this guy?? Noooo...I understand he was a jock...Not her type at all..She liked intelligent , somewhat nerdy guys...in fact...her boyfriend was there at the conference with her.
He was a Doctor too....Yes...I remember him...a Leonard ...Leonard Culpepper...I remember him,
hell of a nice guy too." said the doctor as he walked off.

"Kevin....He's dead...It can't be him...He's dead." said Sepia.

"No , he's the third guy that Chemical Ali saw that night...The good Doctor is still alive and he's somewhere in this city Sepia....We've got to find him and stop him." I said.

"Yeah, well how are we going to do that Kevin??...We don't even know where to begin." said
Sepia.

"I know....I know...Well, let's go home....I gotta think on this....I swear, it was right there all the time and I just couldn't see it...because I didn't care to..and because I thought he was dead...."
I said...angry at myself....

"How'd he survive that fall into the ocean?" asked Sepia.

"When I find him, I intend to ask him that." I said.


(To be continued......)

Fever Pitch

Sepia
and I drove to the bus station. We had no trouble at all finding Locker 99 or getting inside of it. We found two large photo albums. One Photo album had photos of , well what else...Eric Derricote playing football in High school and in college...and photos of him at tryouts for the Giants ,Redskins and Patriots. There was a surprising photo of Him and Cock Robbins and someone both of us knew...Jean Cokely....Sepia's mother....now imprisoned for masterminding a series of murders last year. This photo was taken when Cock Robbins and Sepia's mother were dating. This was the same time that Sepia and Cock Robbins were also dating. Not surprising that both men, so alike..would know each other!
Other photos included Eric and Lolita and several other women, some now deceased, who Cock had also been dating. The two men went through some of the same women also.

"Sepia...you were dating Cock around this time...He never mentioned Eric?" I asked.

"No...never...but I see he mentioned him to my mama.." she said derisively.

Knowing how she still felt about Cock Robbins dating her and her mother at the same time and being partially responsible for her mother's murderous plot and imprisonment, I decided to change the subject by opening the second book..The one that was on the bottom.

This book had photos of Eric and Lolita, Eric and the Asian chick, Kathy Oh and another voluptuous Black woman who I guessed was Odessa Mason, nude and in various sexual positions. Sepia turned her head in disgust, but I kept peering through the pages...It ,uh was part of the case!

There was a small black book that had names and phone numbers and addresses in it of people of interest that I guess , Eric wanted me to talk to. The first of whom was a guy named Rubin
Dowell. A white guy and an attorney.

Sepia drove , while I peered through the photographs again and again. She looked at me and seemed to just shake her head in disgust. I hope she understood that this was part of the case.
When we got to Dowell's house...the first thing I noticed was that the door was wide open....This didn't look well and when we entered....both Sepia and I could see that the place was a mess...Someone had been here before and had tossed the place..The safe was empty, his drawers were opened and empty, contents spilled all over the floor and in the back room ,laying on the floor with a nice neat round bullet hole in his temple was a white man ,who I suppose was Rubin Dowell. Very,very dead.

I didn't have to tell Sepia..She followed me and we both got the hell out of there, making sure we wiped down anything we had touched. What started out as a simple poisoning, possibly done by a jealous lover had turned into something a little more. We headed to the hospital to talk to Eric.

"That's not going to be possible , Mr...uh what did you say your name was?" said the head Doctor.

"Kevin...Kevin Morris." I said.

"You his next of kin?" He asked.

"Yes ." I lied.

"Well, his fever is off the charts...he should be dead...high as that fever is and he's sweating so profusely that we have had to change the sheets three times...Every last bit of his hair has fallen out and he has lost weight at an alarming rate." said the doctor.

"What is this? How did he get like this? " asked Sepia.

"Well, I haven't seen anything like this ever...Not here..Not in the United States.. Your friend has been poisoned by a chemical agent known only as "Agent Purple" ..but here is the funny thing.
The Russians used to use this ,in fact, they were the only ones...and it was one of the weapons of mass destruction, banned by the UN at the World Peace Conference , which I and several U.S. Doctors attended last year." he said.

"So you're saying this guy here was poisoned by the Russians?" I asked.

"No..No..but when they banned it..we suspected that a rogue part of the old KGB might have put it on the Black Market to be sold. Somebody could have ordered this on line...but they would have to be a Doctor...someone who knew just what they were ordering...No Street punk would even know of it's existence." He said.

"How did this get into Eric?" I asked.

"It could have been cooked into his food....or slipped into his drink....and it had to be done within the last four days.....the last week..." said the Doctor.

"We were all on a cruise together about two months ago....it couldn't have happened on the ship or in the islands ?" asked Sepia....which was a very good question, I question I was thinking of asking myself.

"No...this was done by somebody within the last week...If it had been done two months or two weeks ago, he'd be dead by now." said the Doctor.

"Can I see Him, can I ask him some questions?" I said.

"No, not until we break this fever....We are using anti-biotics and other medicines to halt the speed of the chemical and we have him in a deep freeze unit right now, trying to stabilize him...
but he's in bad shape...whoever did this to him wanted him dead and wanted him to suffer..your
boy here must have really pissed somebody off." said the Doctor.

"Yeah..seems like he had a knack for doing that." I said as Sepia and I turned and walked out of the hospital.

"So what do we do next?" she asked.

"I'm going to drive by that lawyer's house again.....see if anybody is stirring around..then I'm gonna call Chess." I said.

"Chess? What for?" she asked.

"You'll see." I said.

I called Chess and he and Chris drove up behind me, about a block from Dowell's house. The Police had already discovered the body and had the place blocked off, while they pulled the body out and Homicide detectives surrounded the place. I walked over to Chess's car.

"Hi Chess...What's happenin Chris?" I said as we greeted each other.

"Man, can you set up a meeting between me and Fathead?" I asked.

"Yeah,I suppose we can, but what's this about?" asked Chris.

"I need to find a guy... a Black Market kind of guy who might be peddlin a foreign substance..a deadly foreign substance."I said.

"Aww man, you talkin some James Bond type stuff...Fathead don't know nothing like that." laughed Chess.

"Yeah man, He thinks the KGB is a new cable network...You need to be talkin to me..Cause when I was in the game, I was aware of everybody and everything Kev." said Chris Thompson.

"Here's the long and short....A guy I know has been poisoned....He aint dead yet, but he's fadin fast and the Doc at the hospital told me that it's WMD that only the Russian's used...and that it was ordered on line or purchased through the black market by someone well connected or a doctor." I said.

"So what does that poor dead shyster have to do with this?"asked Chess.

"Him? He was the poisoned guy's lawyer...Somebody tossed the joint...they were looking for something..I don't know what." I said.

"You need to find a guy we call "Chemical Ali Brown" He deals in that stuff...He's connected to the Russians...He don't roll with us like that. He won't talk to you Kevin, We'll send Smooth over to help you...and some more muscle if you need it." said Chris.

"Send him...I got a tight crew that can help me out too." I added.

"I hope you aint talkin bout Clerow and The Deacon and Cock Robbins...They aint the ones for this kind of caper...Kev, Chemical Ali Brown is a stone cold killer..." said Chris.

"I aint talkin bout them either..I got two ex-Marines and another person who's pretty good with a gun that I use for heavy lifting." I said.

"Oh cool...okay..I'll send Smooth over in the morning...We'll meet up in Josie's, okay?" said Chris.

"Cool beans...now get out of here...cops are all over this peice." I added.

"You aint gotta tell us twice...Peace out Kev." said Chess as he and Chris pulled off.

I got back in the car...Sepia looked at me....

"Well , what now?" she said.

I rubbed her legs, smiled at her and said-

"We've done all we can do today....right now, we are going and get something to eat..then we are going home and get some rest...Tomorrow I'm gonna see a man about a WMD." I said as Sepia took the wheel and we pulled off.


(To Be Continued.......)

Cold Sweat

I liked to watch my wife ,Sepia wash my ..I mean our car....She was wearing a pair of tight denim shorts that showed off her very shapely legs and a nice white blouse with no sleeves...She dipped the brush into the soapy water and began to gently soap and scrub the sides of the car...While I playfully pretended to lose control of the hose and squirt her gently....

"Kevin, stop it...okay...keep it up, you're going to pay for my next hair appointment" laughed Sepia.

"So what else is new ?" I laughed...

"Kevin !!! Look!!! Don't we know that guy?" said Sepia as she pointed to a guy across the street
from us.

He was tall, six foot four to be exact, but very guant.....almost as though he hadn't eaten in years.
Patches of his hair had fallen out and his face and legs were ashy....His clothes were hanging off of
him , yet..he was sweating profusely. It was a 90 degree day, but he was sweating far more profusely than he ought to be....I looked into the face...that sunken face and realized that this man I was looking at was none other than Football player and Number one draft pick of the New York Giants...Eric Derricote!!!

Just a few weeks before , he had been on a cruise with Sepia and myself... He had pretty well kept wavy black hair...He was built like Adonis with muscles rippling off of muscles and he was well kept and healthy...a far cry from this disheveled man I was looking at with patches of hair falling out of his head at a rapid pace , with sweat just running down his body like a faucet and with an incredible weight loss...

Sepia put her hand over her mouth.....She looked horrified , as did I. Eric saw me and walked across the street towards us....

"Hey man...Kevin....I am so glad to see you....I had to find you man, you're the only one who can help me." he said. I wondered why he needed my help. I forgot for a minute that I had despised this arrogant, egotistical weasal from the time that Sean and I had interviewed him for our magazine in New York. I didn't like the way he had taunted a good man, Dr.Leonard Culpepper into a murderous rage by humiliating him in front of the woman he loved and how that rage had led to Dr. Culpepper's suicide upon the ship ,after we discovered that he had murdered an innocent man....a man who had thought was Eric Derricote....A man who perhaps should have been Eric Derricote!

"Eric...what in God's name happened to you man? " I said...Not trying to hide my shock at his appearence.

"That's why I come here to see you Kevin...On the ship, I didn't recognize you at first...but then it come to me...you're the dude that did ther story on me when I was a first round draft pick..and you're the cat that solves all those murders on his spare time...Once I realized who you were..I knew I had to come to Philly and find you." he said.

"Eric, sit down over here...can I get you an aspirin or something?" said Sepia weakly...


"Uhh no...aspirin aint gonna help me now.....Look Kevin, long story short...I'm dying man...I've been poisoned...I don't know who did it or why...but I've been poisoned...My hair started falling out, I started losing weight and strength and then I started sweating, sweating profusely, all the time and everywhere...man....Somebody put something in my food.....Ever since I've been back from that cruise..I aint been the same...The New York Giants got me the best doctors money could buy and they said that they've never seen anything like this kind of poisoning...and they said that day by day..I'm just withering away...." explained Eric.

"So what do you want me to do?" I asked.

"Kevin, here is a key....I've got a locker at the Bus station downtown....Locker 99...In it, I've got
a book with a list of people you might want to talk to....two women I was seeing..One's name is as Odessa Mason and the other's name is Kathy Oh...she's Asian....I don't know if either of them had anything to do with this.....Ah don't think they knew about each other, but you might want to talk to them...Kev....find out who done this to me...make em pay...nobody deserves this...and look after Lolita for me....she's here in Philly." he said.

"What? I thought she was from North Jersey?" I said.

"She was...but she moved here after the cruise...I don't know why..I came to see her a few times,
but she wouldn't talk to me...Tell her..tell her I'm...I'm so sorry , for everything.." he said as he began to weep...

I couldn't believe he was such a drama queen...but indeed he was....I called 911 and an ambulance came and got Eric and took him to a nearby hospital..

'Well, what are you gonna do ?" asked Sepia.

"What should I do? I don't exactly like that guy and you saw on the ship,I didn't get too involved
in that case..." I said.

Sepia breathed heavily and gave me a look. I looked at her, hung my head, then said-

"Well, he is a human being and he's very sick and down on his luck and like he said...nobody should die like that..." I said.

Sepia took the hose and sprayed the soap off of the car....

"Come on hero...let's go check out that locker." she said.

"You know...Sepia...I was just getting ready to suggest that." I said.

Sepia frowned, then looked at me, then opened the passenger side of the door and got in!


(To be continued.....)

Inger

Fathead Newton sat in the back of his nephew, Chick Peter's restaraunt and talked with the attorney, Robert Foxworth. While talking he watched everything and everyone...especially the very voluptuous Assistant Manager...Inger Evans.. Evans was tall like a model, had the hugest breasts he had ever seen and a slim waist to match. A cute little figure and a sassy little walk about her that just captivated the men who did see her. She was his nephew's Assistant Manager and Bookkeeper. Knowing his nephew as he did, Fathead guessed that although she was quite capable....Chick didn't really hire her for her book keeping and managerial skills. If he knew right, Chick was screwing her and more than likely, head over heels in love with her.

"Okay Mr. Newton...you want the divorce proceedings to begin when?" said Robert Foxworth.

"As soon as possible....pay that broad 200k and tell her to get to steppin..." snapped Fathead.

"Just two hundred thousand? She's going to ask for more than that?" said Robert Foxworth.

"I don't give a merry damn what she asks for.....Throw in a new car with the 200k and that's it.
She had considerably less when I met her...She was nothin but a cheap five dollar lap dancin ho when I met her...She's makin out good...and impress upon her how it would behoove her not to make any trouble for me after the divorce...She does have a mother and several other relatives here in the city...it would be a damn shame if somethin should uh ruh...happen to any one or all of em.." said Fathead.

Robert cringed after that...He knew what that implied threat could mean...He cleared his throat and said-

"Mr.Newton this is a more than generous offer and I'm sure I can persuade your soon to be former missus to except your terms." he said.

"Yeah,well uh...see that you do." said Fathead, who was still watching Inger Evans...He noticed that a well dressed, yet compact young black guy came to the door...He looked like a wanna be hood in training...The way he and Chris Thompson had looked years ago when they were just starting out in the game. They had made a little money and had gone to New York and bought some dark silk suits, some italian leather shoes and a lot of Black silk shirts...He laughed about that and those days.

Fathead noticed how Inger and the guy laughed and talked and touched one another...How she looked around and how the guy slipped into the back room. She closed the door and locked it and pulled the shades...

"Okay counselor...you got anything else?" asked Fathead.

"Nah ...uh I mean..no, this just about settles everything...I'll speak to your wife and her attorney." said Robert Foxworth.

"Who is her attorney?" said Fathead.

"A guy named Sharkey...Nick Sharkey." said Robert Foxworth.

"I know him....tell him I said hello...ask him how his wife and kids are doing?" laughed Fathead.

'Will do Mr. Newton." said Robert Foxworth as he grabbed his legal material and made his way out the door.

Chick Peters was in Miami, attending to some business for Fathead...Inger was minding the shop
so to speak...She had no idea who he was...Just some fat guy ordering a lot of food. Fathead laughed..he thought of his friend, Chris Thompson......A low profile could be a good thing, he thought.

He walked into the back hall and listened at the wall near the office door....

"Ohhhhhhhhh, Henry....put it in mee.....ohhhhhh babyyyyyyyy..."

"Come here girllll, ummmmph.....ohhhh you feel sooo goodddddd..ohhhhh..."

"Oh Henry..give me morrrre..ouuuuuuuu, I need all of you inside me..ohhhhhhhhh..."

"Ohhhhh,ummmmmmph.....ohhh baby..."

Fathead laughed.....He had figured out exactly what was going on...She was giving Henry the credit card numbers of their customers and he had some type of fake card making scam going or an identity theft racket. They were careful just to ring up enough stuff on someone else's card that it didn't get immediately noticed...but sometimes, they got greedy...and that's when a few observant customers began complaining and that's when the credit card investigators began breathing down his nephew's neck. It was a great scam he reasoned...but they couldn't be doing that to his nephew's legitimate business. He could have just made them disapear, but he remembered Chris's teachings and thought better of it. No he'd handle it a different way. A way that wouldn't shed a bad light on him.

"Ohhhh Henry.....give mama some more......ouuuuuuuuu...."

"You've got me so hot baby,I'm about to explode..."

"Ouuuu..not yet..not yet...don't cum yet baby..ohhhhhhhhhhh....it's sooo good."

Fathead laughed...then he went to a phone booth and made three anonymous phone calls.

One week later.......

Fathead and his nephew, Chick Peters stood outside the restaraunt as FBI Special Agent in charge, Frank Cotton and his men arrested Inger Evans and the young tough, identified as Henry Wiggins... The two had been stealing people's credit card identification and making purchases on line over state lines for a few months...Inger was the brains of the operation. Henry was ,just like Fathead's nephew, hopelessly in love with her and willing to go along to please her and to get that good lovin...Fathead reasoned. He looked at Inger one last time. He couldn't blame Henry, he thought...She was certainly worth it.

"Wow ,Unc....I can't believe Inger was involved in something like this...I really,really liked her." said Chick.

"Yeah, well never trust big tits and a smile" said Fathead.

"That's never trust a big butt and a smile" said Chick.

"Butt, Tits...what difference does it make?" said Fathead.

He and his nephew looked at each other and burst into laughter!

"Wow...thanks for taking care of that for me Unc.....and our friend from Miami says that he'll do business with you...He wants a face to face with you first." said Chick.

"Good work nephew...set that up for me." said Fathead.

'Sure thing Unc......Man...I really loved Inger...I was gonna ask her to marry me...She loved me too..I don't know what lie that Henry fella told her .I think if she had known that I was planning to marry her and make her a partner in my business, she wouldn't have been stealing from me." said Chick as he walked inside.

Fathead looked at the front of the restaraunt then looked at his poor mis guided nephew and smiled wryly, shook his head and then walked towards his car.
That boy still has a lot to learn ,he thought to himself!


(For Soloman)

The Fish Fry

Skillet Jackson and Gus, the bartender at Josie's had gone fishing and had brought back more fish than they could possibly eat. Chris Thompson and Chess joked that the two old men had hijacked a boat belonging to Mrs. Paul's. At anyrate...With help from Fathead Newton, who used
his "private" boat out at Penn's Landing....Gus and Skillet invited the patrons of Josie's to a Fish Fry one gorgeous Saturday Morning and everyone came to his boat to relax, enjoy the cool breeze and enjoy the Fried Fish and other seafood as well as an assortment of other dishes.

Lawyer,Robert Foxworth was there with the voluptious Alice Pinkston...This woman had broke his bed and sent both of them through the ceiling into Skillet's apartment just months before. Robert had become enamored with her and her lovemaking skills ever since.

Cock Robbins and His wife Vanessa was there as well as Sean Jackson, his girlfriend Sheila, Kevin Morris, His wife Sepia , Blake and his friend, Cherish and his room-mate Paris. Conrad and his wife Jill and Deacon Larry Weatherford and his wife Victoria were also amongst the crowd on the ship.

Mabel Jenkins and her sisters, Cora Beth and Anita were helping with the cooking and preperation of the other foods , While Chess and Chris Thompson were actually helping with the preparation of the fish. Chess's girlfriend, Rell and his little boy, sat with Kevin and Sepia.

Reed Nelson and his quintet, featuring 88 on keyboards provided the entertainment as the crowd enjoyed the hot food and great music on the ship.

Fathead had surprisingly not told his wife about it...she was nowhere to be seen. This could have been because he expected Cherry Johnson to be on hand to see her boyfriend, Reed Nelson perform. They waited at least a half an hour and she never showed up. Finnally, the boat took off.. Both Fathead and Reed Nelson looked disapointed about Cherry not being there. One person who was releived was Chess...He didn't want to see Cherry and certainly, not with Rell and his little boy around.. Seeing her would just bring up too many bad memories.

Fathead's nephew...a rising young player named Chick Peters was also on board...He motioned his uncle over to a table. With nothing else to do now, Fathead sat down with his nephew.
The two had platters with Fried Fish, collard greens, macaroni salad and candied yams on them,as well as Fried Chicken.

Fathead tossed his nephew a beer !

"Thanks Unc" said Chick.

"So Chick..Did you talk to our friend in Miami ?" asked Fathead.

"Yeah, I did...he said he'll see what he can do...but he's got the feds all over him." said Chick.

"Damn...I hated seeing Allejandro take a fall...He was my main man for years and he was Chris's
main man when he got started." said Fathead.

"How's business otherwise?" said Chick

"Man, I had a surplus....so I'm still able to supply most of my customers...but it's running low
and that guy you sent me from Atlanta is horrible...His product is weak....I put some of it out on
the street and lost half of my customers." scoffed Fathead.

"What does Chris say?" asked Chick.

"Chris? Chris Thompson?? He's out of the game completely...He don't even discuss that kind of thing no more. Plus, Allejandro and the New Yorkers was his connect..He don't know anybody else." said Fathead.

" Wow Unc. Chris made his money and got out the game quick....You ever think about doin the same?" asked Chick.

"Nah..there is still a lot of money to be made." said Fathead.

"You made more money than you can ever spend Unc." said Chick.

"Yeah and I want to make more...so let's drop that discussion....Go back to Miami and talk to that guy for me okay? I need that connect." said Fathead.

'Okay Unc. Hey listen...I need you to stop by restaraunt...I'm having problems and maybe you
can help me out." said Chick.

"What kind of problems?" asked Fathead.

"With some investigators from American Express and from Visa and Mastercard....some of my
customers have reported having things charged on their cards after they have left my spot...you
know,kind of an identity theft type of thing." said Chick.

"You runnin some kind of scam Chick?" asked Fathead.

"Nah Unc..Nah...I remember you told me to keep legitimate business's legit..no monkey business
,but somebody that works for me is doing somethin..I just don't know who." said Chick.

"Okay...I'll stop by and check it out." said Fathead.

Skillet Johnson walked over to their table....

"You're Fathead right?"

"Who wants to know?" asked the gangster.

Skillet pointed towards the irate woman headed his way....

"She came in a little boat that docked alongside of this one and she boarded just now...askin for
you." said Skillet.

It was Fathead's wife....

"Fathead, you fat bastard, you purposely didn't tell me about this...I hate you,I hate you, I hate you...I want a divorce...." she screamed.

Fathead shrugged his shoulders..Looked at Chick and Skillet....

"You think YOU got problems nephew?" he said.

(To be continued..)

After You've Gone

The deeper I looked for something in you
the deeper I fell
I felt as though I was falling deeper into a
bottomless well..
you never could seem to face your demons
and I had demons too..
but had you of talked to me ....

I would have faced them with you./

but baby now that you're gone
life has opened up to me in a way
I never imagined..
now that you've gone..
a light is shining in my window
and I've discovered a strange new passion..
After you've gone..
After you've gone../

All I ever wanted to do
was love you until the cops came knockin..
like Maxwell said in his song..
but all you ever seemed to do
was drink and snort until your head was rockin..,
then tell me that everything I did was wrong../

/and honey
now that you're gone
I've met somebody else who makes me feel
alive again.
and sugar, now that you're gone
I've got a woman on my arm
who's both a lover and a friend..
After you've gone
After you've gone...
bye bye aint so bad baby..
After you've gone./

I've found love
after you've gone
I've found peace of mind, after you've gone./

And If

Baby, you've got skin that's softer than a rose petal
and a smile that's warmer than the sun that made
the petal grow..
and after the first time we made love
I just had to let you know...
that, you were more than I ever expected..
and I think it's high time that you and I got
connected../

And If..
it feels like heaven to you
the way it feels to me...
then we are destined to be together.
You see
just you
just me
And if..
this feels like heaven
and my mind is telling me so..
Then it also feels like forever
and by now I hope you know.../

Girl, I remember when I used to watch
you walk down the street
back in the days before I really got to know you
There was never a question in my mind...
I wasn't going to waste another minute of my time..
I was sold on you..
I knew positively that this was a very special feeling
that you were giving me../

And if
this feels like heaven
the way it feels ,when you're with me...
then we are destined to be together for a long time,
you see...
Just you
Just me..
And if
it feels like heaven
I hope your heart is telling you so.
Then it also feels like forever
and by now ,you ought to know../

Escapades Is 1 Year Old Today

290 posts completed to date!

Dry Dock

Paris and I sat on the side of the pool watching all of the fabulous bodies walk by in bathing suits
that were dripping with water and stuffed with curves,Kevin Morris and Sean's lawyer Conrad sat next to us...They had just gotten out of the pool....

"So Blake....you say you had a sexual relationship with your landlord that stated as long as you provided your uh..ahhh..services...you and Paris here didn't have to pay any rent...is that right?"
asked Conrad. Kevin ,Paris and now Sean Jackson, who had just gotten out of the pool were snickering as I told my story....

'So let me get this straight sands...Your landlady...and I seen her...stone cold fox mannnn...was given you some and allowing you to live rent free and now you've stopped and she wants all the
back rent...what's wrong with him Paris?" laughed Sean...

Paris laughed and shrugged his shoulders....Kevin seemed to be the only one not laughing...He just sat by the pool thinking..Even lawyer Conrad was snickering a bit.

"You know Blake...it is her word against yours...you can't prove that there was a sexual relationship." said Conrad.

"There was....I mean ,I seen him going up there....she used to page him all the time...I seen one of the pages." said Paris.

"Yeah, but you didn't see them havin sex." said Conrad.

"I heard em once." said Paris.

"You what?"I asked. Paris smiled shrugged his shoulders and said-

"One night I was bored and I wondered if yall was doing it for real or not ,so I followed you up
to the room..and I heard that babe hollerin outside the door....I thought..my man Blake is layin some pipe...I was proud a ya bruh!" said Paris as Sean rolled on the ground laughing.

Kevin walked over to me and said-

"Let me see your Blackberry Blake"

I walked to the locker room and came back with it...Kevin opened up my messages....and there they were...at least 27 or more messages that hadn't been erased....and they were all from her-

"I need your big cock inside me now."

'get up here...mama is horny"

"I need U 2 Cum inside me."

"Please,Please,Please me..."

"I need some...get up here Blake."

Kevin looked at Conrad and smiled-

"There's your case right there...that and Paris's testimony....That proves there was a sexual relationship."

"Yes, but it still doesn't prove that there was any agreement not to pay rent." said Conrad.

"Yeah, but his room mate wasn't sleeping with her and he wasn't paying any rent either..He had to have bought into this too...Why would he if he was getting nothing out of it. It's slim I know
Conrad, but that's all you got...go with it man." said Kevin.

"Kevin, you'd have made a great lawyer or a cop." laughed Conrad.

"I hear that all the time." said Kevin.

A week later we were all in court....Conrad was brilliant....He printed my messages and read and showed the jury all of the lurid text messages I had gotten...They heard Paris's testimony as well
as Chess's testimony that he had been with me and seen one of the texts. Cherish, the new object of my affection testified that she had been with me in class and seen one of the texts. Even Reverend John Struthers testified that he had seen me being texted in church!

Cheryl and her lawyer, Robert Foxworth didn't have much of a case...and when the case went before a jury...They ruled in my favor.. They beleived that we did have a sexual relationship and arrangement that went on over several months in lieu of rent. The Judge said that all Cheryl was due was the next month's rent and that we could not be evicted! Thanks to Kevin's quick thinking and Conrad's brilliant legal expertise...I was vindicated. As we were leaving the court I heard the lawyer Robert Foxworth say to Cheryl

"Uh Ms. Starks...I'll be expecting my fee within the next few weeks."

"Fee? Fee? For what? Your dumb ass sat up there and lost the case for me..I aint payin you a
red cent...besides..I already "paid "you. I gave you some in your office the other day...I gave you some last night...and I gave you some this morning before trial...you dog...way I see it.I don't owe you a damn dime." she said as she walked off.."

"Cheap ass...the pussy wasn't even that good." said an angry Robert Foxworth as he stormed off
the other way....Kevin, Clerow, Sean,Paris, Conrad ,Chess,Chris and myself all busted out in gales of laughter and went to Josie's where we celebrated in style with Gus.

As a matter of principle though, I no longer wanted to live in her Apartment complex, so within two weeks..Paris and I moved into a property owned by Clerow that he had just furnished.

That night I drove over to Cherish's house and rung the bell. she came to the door in a pink sheer nighty.

"Oh ...oh hi Blake...how are you doing? What are you doing here?" she asked, looking like she was in a hurry.

"You said that when I handled my business to give you a call...Well, it's handled.....We won the case, I live in another apartment building now and I'm free." I said triumphantly.

'Well unfortunately....I have company......You know that guy I told you about a few weeks ago..
my friend?? Well he's a friend with benefits now.....Sorry honey...but I told you to call before you come over here." she said.

My heart sank to my shoes.....what had I done? Paris would never let me hear the end of this...
I got ready to turn around and walk away and then she said to me-

"Hey Blake?"

I turned around.....

"GOT'CHA.....I don't have any company...I was getting ready for bed ,that's all." she said.

"Bed?? at 10:00 pm??" I asked.

"Got a job interview in the morning..." she said.

'Oh snap....you got jokes....I thought I was out the game....don't stand there,let me in."I said.

"Not tonight....I'm going to bed.....alone!!!! Don't look so sad loverboy...I didn't say I was going to bed alone every night..Call me this weekend...I might have some time for you." she laughed.

"You always go to bed looking like that?" I asked.

"Play your cards right and I won't have to answer that question...you'll know....Good night Blake." she said as she closed the door.

I stood there for a few minutes and watched as the lights went out...There was no car around..
I suppose she was telling the truth...I walked back to my car and got in....I sat there a minute and just laughed and laughed at my good fortune!

(For Carlene...)

Cherish

She was drop dead gorgeous...Honey Brown skinned, with the most gorgeous legs I'd ever seen...
Baby making hips ,as my room mate Paris would have said...and a cute round little face with a dimple on each side..She wore her hair in a long pony-tail and always came to class with the shortest of skirts on. She was driving me and most of the guys in my class crazy. Since I could see that I might have a lot of competition, I made my move early. I made a couple of humorous comments in class that even made the Professor smile a bit...and I looked over at her to make sure she was smiling too..She was.

One night after class, I asked her if she wouldn't mind having some ice cream with me. She said okay and so we left school and walked a few blocks over to a small place on the corner that served the best Banana Splits in the city.

"So, what is your name? My name is Blake?"I said.

"Mine is Cherish...Cherish Watkins.." she said.

'Oh...like in the song...Cherish is a word I use to describbbbeeeee..." I sang jokingly...

"You have a nice singing voice. I'm used to people singing that song when they hear what my name is." she joked.

"Really? You think so?" I laughed.

"No...I just didn't want to hurt your feelings." she laughed.

'Oh, you got jokes." I laughed.

She laughed too...She was so easy to talk to...and for the first time in months, I felt relaxed around a woman...I did want to sex her something feirce , but I didn't feel any pressure to try.

"So I don't see your car in the parking lot.....How did you get to school tonight?" I asked.

"My car is in the shop...my friend is picking me up as soon as I text him." she said.

"Is this "friend" uh , a guy?" I asked.

"Yeah as a matter of fact ,he is." she said.

"Oh...er, uh...well...you know...I, uh..." I was at a loss for what to say next.

"Is this your way of trying to ask me if I have a man?...No, he's not my man...I suspect he wants to be...just like you probably do...but he 's not presently my man...he's just a friend." she said.

"A friend with uh, benefits?" I asked.

"God, you're newsy to be a guy.....No, he hasn't had any benefits yet...but anything is possible."
she said.

"I'd like to be a possibility in the near future...." I said.

"You just met me tonight" she said.

"Yeah, but I've been watching you all semester...." I said.

"Just got your nerve up to step to a sister near the end of the semester huh?" she said.

"No....I've been kind of obligated." I said... Just then my Blackberry went off. Cherish looked at it
and said...

"Ohhhhh, I see....Now it's my turn to ask the questions...Is that your woman?" she asked.

"No....she's kind of like what you would call a "friend with benefits." I said.

"And you want to get with me why? If you got a "friend with benefits"? she asked.

"I don't want her...at least not anymore....I was attracted to her at one time....and then we entered into this arrangement...it's kind of complicated.....see, she's my landlord..and she was attracted to me...and I was kinda attracted to her and well, we started seeing each other-"

"You mean you started doing each other" she added.

"Yeah somethin like that....and now it's just gotten out of hand. I wanted to take her out, wanted her to meet my friends...but she wasn't havin it...she just wanted to have sex." I said.

"And your problem is? " she asked.

"You got it all wrong sister....The sex was cool for awhile...but after awhile, you know...you want a little somethin more out of a relationship...I mean ,I do.."I said.

"Wow...you are different..I don't meet too many guys like you Blake.....You got your Blackberry?
Here's my cell number and my home address....Call me when you've taken care of your problem." she said.

"Word? For real?" I said.

"Yeah..you sound interesting to say the least....and you got pretty hazel eyes...I like that..maybe we can go out...but I don't want no drama...so don't call me until you've handled your business"
She said.

I paid for our ice cream and I walked her back to the school and waited with her for her ride...

"Why don't you call dude and tell him you found another ride home? I'll take you home..my ride
is right over there?" I said.

She thought for a moment then she smiled and said-

"You just want to know where I live.....Against my better judgement, I'm gonna let you take
me home..but don't come by my house just yet..not until..."

"Yeah I know, not til I've handled this..." I said. My Blackberry went off again...Another text!

"You gonna answer her text?" said Cherish

"Nah, screw her....Get in the car...I'l drive you home." I said.

She lived in East Oak Lane on a beautiful tree lined street with nice neat little houses that had just enough room in between them that you could breathe without your neighbor hearing you.
The whole time I drove..I felt as light as a feather, like a burden had been lifted off of me, as though I could do anything I wanted...Like a whole new world had opened up to me!

As I parked my car and walked into the apartment....I got a phone call, it was Cheryl.

"Blake, where have you been...I've been texting you all night?"

"I had class, you know that." I said dryly...

"Well, get up here..I need you inside of me right now...." she said.

"Nah." I said.

"What do you mean no? I'm wearing a black mesh thong and not much else..." she said.

I was no fool...I went up to her apartment and did it until I was satisfied.....as I was putting my clothes on I informed her that that was it.

"What do you mean Blake? You breaking up with me?" she said mockingly....

'We really wasn't never together.....What I'm saying is...I'm ending this...I'm not doing this with you anymore...I'm done...and besides, I've met someone." I said.

"That's kool..but you know what that means right?" she said.

"I know...I'll have the rent to you on the first of the month." I said.

'Nah bruh...not just this month's rent....I want what is it now, seven month's back rent from both you and your room-mate next Friday or you're both outta hereeee!!!" she said.

'What? You can't do that?" I said.

"Oh yes the hell I can......you both owe me seven month's back rent..by law,yall should have been out of here." She said.

"But we had a deal, an arrangement." I protested.

"You can't prove it..it's your word against mine..." she said.

She was right...which leads me to where this story began.


(Conclusion tomorrow!)

Texture

"I'm horny, get up here now" read the text message from Cheryl...I showed it to Paris who was lying across his bed listening to music on his IPOD dock..

"Yeah, so what are you doing showing that to me?...Why aren't you rushing out the door? In fact,why aint you up there in her room right now..naked??" he said.

"Man ,I was just up there two nights ago...I'm tired as hell." I said.

"Yeah? , Well if I had to pay my rent this weekend,I'd be broke as hell and wouldn't be goin to AC with that fly honey I met at the AKA jazz brunch last week..so GET UP THERE" he barked.

I went, but I took the elevator...Once inside her room though, all tiredness left me as we took passion to a new level. It was a good thing that this girl lived on the very top floor by herself. She was a loud lover...Her screams would wake the dead.

I returned to my apartment tired and worn out ...I laid down and caught about an hour of sleep
and then I got another text.

"I need some more...come back up?"

I ignored it....and went back to sleep. I would say that I was sleeping and that I didn't see it, which afterall was the truth. In the beginning, I would be the one to text her...That way,I controlled the action...but now she had turned the game around...She was doing most of the texting and it was getting worse. I was sitting in class one night and I got this-

"I miss you sooo much....please cum inside me as soon as possible (smile) -:)"

One Sunday,I was sitting in church and my Blackberry went off! Pastor Struthers looked at me
and said-

'Son, if that aint Jesus calling..turn that thing off.." The entire congregation laughed..I was so embarrassed and mad at the same time...When I did read the text, after church it said...

"How about having some Heaven on Earth this afternoon..."

This was getting to be too much...She was hooked on my penis like a junkie on crack and each time I did as I was told. I was beginning to wonder if she was a nymphomaniac or a sex addict or something. Her libido was higher than most guys I knew.

One afternoon we were lying in bed , after a rigorous session and I said to her-

"Hey you know...I've never taken you to a movie or out to dinner...and come to think of it, you don't know any of my friends."

She put an end to this conversation real quick-

"What? Blake..you want me to be like...your girlfriend or something??Hahahahahahaha, I don't want to go to no movies with you, I am not interested in meeting any of your friends and please
don't start catching any feelings...All I want is that big peice of meat between your legs..." she said.

For the first time in my life ,I actually knew how a lot of women must feel at times when dealing with certain types of guys..Hell, when dealing with me. I had dealt with a lot of women simply for sex and had no intention of getting to know them past the bedroom...This must have made a lot of them feel the way I felt right this minute...objectified...like a peice of meat...It wasn't a good feeling and I hoped that I'd never make another human being feel the way I felt at this minute.
I started out thinking that I was using Cheryl...and it turned out ,she was using me.

I couldn't talk about how I felt to Paris or Sean..they wouldn't understand...they would think I was soft or worse, gay...but I knew someone who I respected, who I could talk to....Chess!
I went to the diner that Chess and his boy Chris Thompson always hung out at and had a tumbler of coffee. I told Chess the entire story and he sat and listened, then he busted out laughing just like Paris and Sean would have done...After he finished..he thought for a moment then he said-

"I know how ya feel Blake....Well actually,I don't...but I applaud you for at least trying to be a human being...Most of these cats out here don't know what that is..they just fakin it. The solution
is simple....if you tired of this babe..you gotta tell her that you aint no performing circus pet and that you can't do this no more. You got the power man..the power is withing you to change this..
It always has been Blake....I bet you she'd tell you ,if she was tired of you." said Chess

"Yeah man, you right." I said....Just then ,I got another text...

" I am sooo horny it's not funny,please,please ,please get over here..I need you soo bad."

I showed the text to Chess....

He looked at it, shrugged his shoulders and said-

"And you haven't paid rent in how many months man?"

(To Be Continued....)

The Arrangement

The first time I sent Cheryl Starks a text, was exactly one month to the day of our encounter in the laundry room...It simply read:

"Are you available?"

She sent me a text back in about forty minutes that read-

"It's about damn time..I wondered if you were ever going to get in contact with me...
bring condoms and erase this message, once you read it!"

I erased the message (She checked my Blackberry) and I brought the exact condum she told me to bring...The Trojan lubricated..."pleasurable for both her and him" I didn't tell Paris...just told him I would be back soon.

I took the back stairs to her floor...Just as she instructed me to do and knocked on her door once...again..just as she instructed. She opened the door and had on a Victoria's Secret, sheer
Night gown...Sheer enough for me to see a brown leopard print bra and matching leopard print
string bikini panties... She must've worked out, because I'm telling you her body was right...just
anatomically perfect....I stood there in total awe...

'Don't stand there gawking..come inside.......then maybe you'll get to cum inside.....you know what I'm sayin..." she hissed.

She didn't have to tell me twice.....This was some of the best lovemaking I have ever had in my life. She was insatiable...One time and even two didn't satisfy her....That night , I beleive we made love about seven times and in every position you can imagine. I came back to my apartment exhausted...Paris asked me-

"Hey man, where you been?"

"Huh? I was workin out." I said...

"Workin out? You? Nigga you aint worked out a day in your life..Where you been?" he asked.

'What are you, my mom or somethin? I believe I'm grown." I answered.

Paris was no fool and it took him five minutes to put it together.

"You hittin somethin in here aint'cha? Hahahahah...awww,so that's it huh? Who is it Blake?
That white chick that moved in upstairs that always smiles at you or is that Asian babe??"
he asked.

'Nah man, it aint neither of them...man just forget it..okay?" I said.

"What you so secretive about? I always tell you when I get a hook up..who is it? Spill it bruh?"
he said.

"Alright man...but if I tell you...you gotta promise me you won't tell nobody okay?" I said.

"Okay who is it man...I won't tell a soul..it's on the sheild baby!" said Paris.

"It's Cheryl ..Cheryl Starks..." I said.

"Word? The landlady??" said Paris...

"Yeah man..I been on her since you went to the Konclave...We aint gotta pay no rent as long as we live here as long as what we doin stay on the d L." I said.

"Mums the word frat....My man..I can't tell Sean?" he asked.

"No man...not if you want to live rent free." I said.

"Hah ha....well alright.....Blake...you must be layin the good pipe....Tell me bruh, uh er ah is she a
freak?" asked Paris...

"Man like you won't beleive" I said...giving Paris the Kappa shake...

Paris was as good as his word...He didn't tell a soul and for the first month..I was visiting Cheryl at least three times a week. Just like man can't live on bread alone, Man can't live on sex alone.
I had a life. I was taking a couple of classes at community and I did have a job...So as you can understand...this cut my "visits" down from three times a week to maybe twice a month.
On top of that,Paris,Sean and I would hang out at Josie's with Kevin and Clerow and we were regulars at Chess and Chris Thompson's card game, so this took me away from her even more.

I tried to see Cheryl just enough that we didn't have to pay rent....but more and more, this little arrangement was becoming more like work....and a lot less fun than in the beginning. Don't get me wrong..the sex was off the chain..but the demands on my time was somewhat imprisoning.
I suppose if I loved her or had feelings for her it would have been better, but try as I might..I just didn't....but I needed a roof over my head.

Little did I know..Cheryl was about to change the game....

(To Be Continued.....)

Land Shark

Hi My name is Blake...and I've got a slight problem... You see I've been evicted from my apartment...That in itself would not be such a problem ,except that my eviction has also affected
my best friend ,frat brother and room-mate's living arrangements also. Paris and I are both now on the street.

Paris and I lived down the hall from each other ,when we attended Howard University....What made us friends was that we were both from Philly and in a strange town, that being..Washington DC. that was foreign to us. We had some of the same classes and hung out with some of the same guys. So, when Paris decided to pledge Kappa Alpha Psi...it was just a forgone conclusion that I was going to do it also. We pledged with another guy, a Sean Jackson, who now takes photos for Hype magazine...The three of us got initiated together and remain close to this day. Sean has done quite well for himself....Got a nice gig....working with another friend of ours, Kevin Morris...Got himself a fly ass girlfriend, named Sheila...an account executive at the magazine, who he lives with and a nice house...a few blocks from the apartment complex we were living in.

Paris and I are probably closer to each other than we are our line brother,Sean. We aren't the settling down type like he now says he is. Over the years, We have "entertained " a bevy of young ladies between us. I was still in that mode when I got involved with Shirley...or should I say Ms. Cheryl Starks. Cheryl Starks was our landlady. She wasn't the typical landlady...She was at least three years younger than Paris and myself and possesed a 36-24-36 frame on her....
Yes...to say that was a brickhouse would be an understatement.

She lived on the premises in an Apartment on the 16th Floor. A lot of people paid their rent on line, but Paris and I liked to pay our rent in person...Everytime we went up to her apartment ,she was wearing either a very sheer night gown, that just happened to be open, showing a lot of cleavage or a lacy ,frilly bra...or something else very tight and revealing...We loved the "view". Now that I think about, I think she knew all along why we would pay in person.
After we had lived in her apartment complex for about three months...she started coming down to our apartment to get the rent money. I remember one time in particular....It was last year...and Paris was out of town...He was in Atlanta at the Kappa Konclave...I had decided to sit this one out this year...I was in the basement of the complex doing my laundry....

I had on shorts and a red and white "wifebeater" with the Kappa Diamond on it....I was squeezing the water out of an article of clothing in one of the deep sinks..
" Apparently ,you didn't use the spin cycle correctly....or you wouldn't have had to do that" she said in an allurring voice.

"Yeah...I think I packed too much clothing in the one washing machine" I said.

"You always do your laundry at twelve midnight?" she asked.

"Nah...I meant to do it earlier, but I was watching a movie and fell asleep." I said.

"Oh? entertaining I see?" she asked.

"Entertaining? Me? No....I'm all alone tonight...My room mate is in Atlanta and I'm here doing laundry." I said.

"What...no date tonight?" She asked.


"Nah, the phone has not been ringing much these days." I replied.


"Hmmmmm...a man with big broad muscular shoulders like you should always have someone to hold on a lonely Saturday night." she said.

"Yeah,I suppose.." I said.

"I didn't realize you were a Kappa man...I'm a Zeta Phi Beta myself." she said.


"Yeah? Word! I knew a few when I was in college." I said.


"Your roomie told me yall went to Howard.." she said.



"Where did you go?" I asked



"Here, Lincoln University." she said.



"I visited Lincoln a few times..yall had some nice parties." I said.



"I came to a few of Howard's Homecomings...." she said.



The small talk continued like this until I got all of my clothes in the dryer.... Soon it was close to

1:30 and the only people in the laundromat was me and Cheryl Starks...We were sitting on one of the hard plastic benches sipping Cokes and then the next minute, she was rubbing my arms and before I knew it, I had dozed off , asleep.....



I wasn't asleep long...I woke up and she was kissing me...first my cheek, and then my lips....I must admit...her body felt good..nice and firm, yet soft in all of the right places... I suppose now in hindsight...I should have stopped her...but what could I do? She opened my zipper and pulled
out my rock hard erection and began deep throating me right there in the laundromat......

"Ohhhhh...ummmmph...uh...Ms. Starks....what ...what are you doingggggggg...ohhhhhhh..." I gasped...

'Something ,I've been wanting to do, since you moved in here.....and don't tell me that you don't feel the same way too....I've seen the way you look at me when you come to pay the rent...they way your eyes practically undressed me.....I knew all along..." she said.

"Yeah, but...shouldn't we got back to my room at least?" I gasped...


"It's after one...nobody else will be coming down here ." she said as she continued...

I lifted her up...slipped her panties down...(she was wearing a very sheer, yellow Sun dress) I sat her on top of one of the washing machines that had my last load of clothes in it and entered her....
"Ouuuuuuuuuu...you don't know how long I've been waiting for this moment Blake...ohhhhhhhhh
..ouuuuuuuuuuu..." she cooed.

Between the motion of the washing machine and my thrusting...her eyes began rolling into the back of her head..and she certainly was making enough noise to wake somebody up... The thought that we both could get caught, seemed to make me even more excited..as we continued
to go at it...kissing each other as though our lives depended on it...

It wasn't long before I turned her around and placed her stomach on the cold hard exterior of the washing machine and took her from behind...She winced and then gasped as we contined to
go at it...I kept wondering what I would do if someone did come down into that basement but no one did... We both climaxed like we never climaxed before and fell to the floor...exhausted....

"Oh my God, that was incredible..." she said. I kept thinking to myself...Paris aint gonna believe this when I tell him. Then she turned to me and said...

"Blake...take me to your room...let's do this right..." I was stunned.....I couldn't beleive my good fortune.....If only I had known then what I knew now.

We went to my room and that night, I had Cheryl in my bed. We made love this time, much slower and much more passionate than we had in the laundromat... The next morning when I woke up, Cheryl was folding my clothes...She walked over to me and gave me a kiss.. Then she said to me.

"Oh Blake, you made me feel soooo good......listen to me...you and your room mate never have to
pay rent again as long as you live here." she said.

"Awww come on stop playin...I mean, I know I through down last night..but I wasn't that good."
I said.

"I'm serious....you and Paris, don't have to pay anymore rent.....at least not as long as you can make me feel like that." she said.

"What? Are you serious?" I asked.

"Yes...I am..but the only thing is..You can't say a word about this to anybody...not even your room-mate...If I hear about this...the deal if off..."she said sternly....

"Oh Word!" I said... grabbing her around her waist... She removed my hands this time...

"No...not right now...there is plenty more from where this came from, but we have got to be discreet if we are going to do this Blake..When you want me...text me....and I'll text you back if I'm available and you just come up to my room. Don't come without calling or texting and always come alone." she said kind of sternly. (There was signs of the control freak right there that I just didn't pick up.)

Was I dreaming? Things like this only happened to guys in porn movies or lies I thought....There
is a saying that if something is too good to be true...It usually is...As I would find out. This would
be one of those times.

(To be continued)

Mabel's Proposal

ART: "Jazz Still Life" By Keith Mallett

Reed Nelson was in California, touring up and down the coast....I got this from his girl, Cherry Johnson, who hadn't seen him in close to a month. Me? My name is "88" , I play the Piano for a living. You wouldn't know it though. I toured with Reed and his band from Boston to New Haven to New York City, North Jersey, Philly and Myrtle Beach,South Carolina. Then I came back to Philly for a couple of weeks..I was missing Mabel Jenkins something crazy. She had good lovin and good cooking to boot. Only thing was ,I may have stayed a little too long. Reed and the boys went to the West Coast without me.

I owed Chess about two month's rent. He and I are kind of cool and he hasn't said anything, but you can only owe a man money for so long before he have to say something. So I put together a little group of my own. I got a local guitarist...Catfish Hawkins and his friend, Charlie Bassoline, a
Bass player and a drummer, Rib Tip Johnson and formed my own little quintet. A Funk quintet.
We played music from the 70's and the 80's and built up a small following. We got enough buzz that Gus allowed us to play at his bar, Josie's a few dates.

We brought in the crowds and he asked us back again... I made some good money..Enough to square things with Chess as far as my rent and enough to take Mabel out for a nice meal after one of my Friday night sets.
I wound up spending the night over her house and making love into the wee hours of the night.
Afterwords, neither one of us was really sleepy,so we just lie in her bed with the windows open and the night air blowing across our sweaty bodies.

"88...why don't you move in with me?" asked Mabel.

" Because, I like havin my own place...you know that Mabel..we discussed this before." I said.

I couldn't believe that I was turning down a chance to live with the sexiest and most desirable woman ever to set foot in Josie's.

"This would be your place too." she said.

"I know Mabel...but what if we got in an argument and you told me to get out...then what would I do? I'd be on the street." I said.

"I promise I won't do that." she laughed.... I rolled over on top of her and kissed her.....

"Thas what all you women say..then yall get mad and throws a brother out in the street. It would be my luck that it would be on the coldest day of the year to boot." I laughed.

Mabel began to stroke my penis, until it got hard and she began to blow into my ear softly ,while I lie on top of her... She always did this when she wanted me to cave into one of her wants..it usually worked..but now I was thinking..No seriously..my mind was wandering...pondering her latest proposal.

"I wouldn't throw you out into the cold baby...it get's cold in here too...I would be needing some warmth in the winter, just like you would.." she said.

Surprisingly enough I thought about it....I could help her with her bills and groceries and it might even wind up being cheaper than paying rent in Chess's apartments.

She continued to stroke me lightly ,while I thought on her proposal....finnally I just stopped thinking and entered her warm wetness and began to move in a purposeful motion that brought
pleasure to both of us....It was the fourth time tonight, or this early morning...but I wasn't complaining and neither was Mabel...

We moved slowly and deliberately and in that rhythmic pattern that married couples or couples who had been together for a long time found themselves in....More and more I thought about getting married too, rather than just shacking...Taking Mabel off of the market...I thought about my friend Clerow and how he would feel about Mabel and me gettin married.. She had been his woman at one time...and ,she was the reason he was in Philadelphia...to win her back..But..and there always was a but..He had gotten her younger sister pregnant and had married her and was
doing just fine for himself....and Cora beth ,like Mabel was nothing to sneeze at..She turned nearly as many heads as Mabel....As far as I was concerned..Clerow was just fine.

"Ohhhhh....88....." she moaned... I said nothing...I was a silent lover........I felt her climaxing over and over and that made me explode myself...My body shook violently as I did and Mabel held me tight until at last ,I finnally stopped moving.

"Gurl....I'm a musician...I don't make steady money like you do..but when I make money,I make good money...If you don't mind that...We can try this." I said, just before I rolled over and went to sleep.

I awoke to the smell of Buttermilk Pancakes and Sausages cooking...I walked down the stairs in my bathrobe and there was Mabel cooking breakfast for us. I went in the refrigerator and grabbed a carton of orange juice and poured myself a tall glass. Mabel opened a bottle of champaigne and added some to both of our glasses...

She had an IPOD dock on her table and we were serenaded with the sounds of Miles Davis and Charles Mingus...She knew what I liked...I sat there with her and thought, and smiled softly to myself. I allowed myself to imagine waking up to this everyday..

That afternoon, I walked into the Diner down the street from my apartment and saw two familiar figures sitting at their usual table, drinking coffee. Chess and his friend, Chris Thompson.

"Ohhh,look at what the cat dragged in...the Piano man." laughed Chris.

"What's up bothers?" I said as I walked in. I handed Chess an envelope. He opened it up and found crisp twenty dollar bills...

"What's this? You already paid me the rent for the last two months 88?" said Chess.

"That's for this month and to reserve me a spot in case I need to come back" I said.

"You movin out holmes?" asked Chris.

"Yeah...I'm gonna move in with Mabel" I said.

"Mabel huh"" said Chess with a big grin...

"Mabel?...I can't say I blame you bruh...you tryin to lock that up huh? You makin the smart move" said Chris.

"I'll have my stuff out in about two weeks" I said.

"Aww man, take your time...in fact..I got a movin van you can use...free of charge if you need it, you know how we do? You know we go back a ways." said Chess as he shook my hand.

"I'm thinkin bout maybe gettin married man...but I aint tole nobody yet." I said.

"You aint told her yet either ,have you?" laughed Chris.

"Nah...all things in time, you know?" I said.

"Well ,good luck 88 and I hope that you don't have to come back here...but I'll hold a room for you just in case." said Chess.

That night I rang Mabel's doorbell.....She answered the door and was actually surprised to see me-

"88, what are you doing here?" she said.

"I thought about your offer..I've decided to take you up on it." I said.

She smiled the biggest smile...not unlike a child on Christmas morning....

"You won't be sorry,I promise you 88." she said.

I didn't think I would be either.





(For O.G. and Dreamy)

Today

Art: Title Unknown By Gerald Ivey

Today you told me
that you've already got a man
You said you were flattered,
but that you hoped that I would understand...
For the time, I could've approached you..
I'm now so frustrated that somebody else
noticed you too.!/

but another day
another time
maybe there is still a chance..
a chance that you could be mine..
don't blame me for dreaming baby..
because dreaming is
the only thing that keeps me from goin crazy../

Today
you told me
that I should have said something to you before
you said you used to wonder if I was ever going
to say something more.
I can't come in between you and your man..
but it never looks like he is around..
If you and he start drifting apart...
you know where to find me...
I'll still be down../

because another day
another time
he'll break your heart,then maybe you still
could be mine..
don't think bad of me for dreaming baby..
because dreaming is the only thing
that keeps me from going crazy../

Today..
I'm just lying across my bed..
with one leg crossing the other...
Today
You're the only thought in my head...
just can't imagine you being with another..
Today...
I'm still dreaming baby...
it's keeping my sanity...
keeping me from going crazy...
Today-/

Still Waters

"Heyyy Pretty mama, where have you been all my life?" said Eric Derricote to a lovely young woman at the bar.

"Avoiding guys with tired lines like that...Where'd you hear it, a 70's sitcom?" she replied dryly.

"I like em with sass like you..." replied Eric as he rubbed her arms up and down.

The sister looked at him and then asked him-

"Are you high?"

"Nah, nah baby..if I was high I'd be all over you." he laughed.

" Oh is that right? How you gon come up in my face? I saw you up on the top deck the other night lip locking with some chick and I saw you going in the same chick's cabin the night before so save the tired lines, get your hands off of me and take your little sideshow somewhere else playa." she said.

Eric's whole card had been played...He looked around and saw that Oleg Mboli and I had observed the entire thing..and were both slightly laughing...at him!!

"Yall black women always complain about yall wants a good man and when a brother try to step to you, you get an attitude...that's just why I'm gon start dating white girls."he said.

"Whateva man, now could you just date somewhere else and leave me alone." she said.

"You probably into chicks...aint you?"he asked.

"Well one thing is for sure..I aint into YOU...now beat it." she said.

With his ego bruised..Eric sulked and walked away. A little while later, Lolita entered the bar..she walked over to where Oleg Mboli and I were sitting and asked-

"Have you guys seen Eric?"

I couldn't resist it.....

"No, but she has." pointing to the young lady who had just shot him down. Mboli and I cracked up..Lolita had no idea why we were laughing, it had gone completely over her head. She just walked away and continued her search.

"Mr. Morris, between what you have told me and what one of my men uncovered in the trash can in the ship's bay...we've got to move fast." He said.

"Did you match the prints on the gun?" I asked.

"We don't have the equipment to do that on ship...We have to wait until we get to shore ,which will be soon...only..he might get away by then.." said Oleg.

"We can bluff him...he doesn't have to know that." I said.

"Bluff him, Mr. Morris?" he asked.

"Yeah,I made a career out of it back in Philly ." I said.

"Okay...Then let's move quickly." said Oleg Mboli.

Dr. Leonard Culpepper was searching the trash recepticle in the area where he had been shot the day before...

"You wouldn't happen to be looking for this would you Dr.Culpepper?" said Oleg Mboli, holding the small pistol in a plastic evidence bag.

I walked up to him and shook my head solemly-

"It was you wasn't it Leonard?"

Dr. Culpepper said nothing, he stood there looking surprisingly smug and confident.

"After Eric humiliated you on the deck the other night you were seething with rage...You went to his room with blood in your eye...Only you didn't know that he had switched rooms with Slim Giddings. It was dark, you were in a drunken rage and you beat Slim Giddings to death with your bare hands. You didn't discover you had killed the wrong man until the next morning. Then you shot at Eric three times and you missed....You're a surgeon, not a marksman....and you shot yourself to make it look good, to cover your tracks. You tossed the gun into the trash recepticle..Only it's got your prints on it..and you were coming back to get it when the coast was clear. That sound about how it happened Leonard?" I asked him.

Leonard smiled...

"Yes...that sounds right...only..you can't prove it...You don't have equipment on this ship that could process my fingerprints, whether they are on the gun or not...and that gun only proves that I shot at, but did not kill Eric.....There are no witnesses and no evidence to prove I killed Mr. Giddings..So...you got nothing..you can't detain me and by the time you check that gun on shore..I'll be long gone...It's international waters...What country will I be charged in?"He smirked.

He was right...we didn't have enough to hold him and we had to let him go...Oleg looked at me...I shrugged my shoulders....The most we could contain him for was attempted murder...We couldn't charge him with the murder of Slim Giddings, even though we knew that he had done it.

We stood there as he walked away and then we heard, what he heard coming from Eric's cabin....
A bed sqeaking loudly and moans of pleasure-

"Ohhhhhh, ohhhhh, ohhh my gawd....oh it's so big...it's sooooo hard...ouuuuuuuuuu....
Ohhhhh, ohhhh Eric, give it to me, give it to me daddy..ohhhhhhhh...give mama some more....
ohhhhhh yesssssssss,yesssss..."


"Ohhh baby, am I hittin that thang or what? "

"yesssss...yesssss....oh I like it...ohhhhhhhhh.....I like it....give mama some more....."

"Ohhhh girl, you got me about to blow....ohhhhhh..."

"No not yet..jus a lit bit longer....just a little bit longer...ouuuuuuuuuuuuu..."

"Lolita!!! ,Lolita....she's in there with him now...after all I've done...after all I've done.....I don't believe this....my Lolita..." screamed Leonard....

Before we could stop him....Dr. Leonard Culpepper ran toward the edge of the ship and dove off into the Atlantic Ocean....

"Goodbye cruel world...argggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!" he said as he leaped overboard and into the ocean. We heard a loud splash! and people came running out of their cabins looking over the side..

Oleg Mboli got on his radio and called the shore police immediately....

"Man overboard!!!! Man Overboard!!" He shouted...

In all the commotion, I saw Lolita Giles, fully clothed running toward the topside of the ship-

"Oh my God...What happened? Kevin ,what happened? Did something happen to Eric?" she screamed!

"No...No....That was Leonard!! Leonard just jumped off the ship into the ocean." I said.

"Oh my God....Oh nooooo, who will pay for the rest of this cruise?? Oh my Goddddddd." she screamed.

"Wait a minute...Wait a minute...You're not with Eric?" I asked, grabbing Lolita.

"No..I'm looking for him." she said.

'Well if you're not with Eric....who is in his room?" said Oleg Mboli.


Just then, Eric emerged from his cabin with just a towell, wrapped around him... A short brown skinned black woman with a short jheri curl type hairstyle came out behind him....She looked dazed...she had on ,only a short nighty that didn't hide her breasts or anything else for that matter. Upon seeing Lolita, Eric was startled...He tried to shove the woman back in the room....

"What is wrong with you....stop pushing me." said the woman.

"Eric, you two timing dog....I can't believe this...." screamed Lolita...

"Aww now baby, I can explain...I was drunk..I thought this was you...Now see, what had happened was..." sputtered Eric.

'Oh save it you dog, we are through." snapped Lolita..

"You can have him honey....I shoulda known that you wasn't nothing but a playa...let me grab
my clothes..." said the other woman.... Just then, the girl in the bar who Eric had initially hit on
walked by and just shook her head...

"So glad I didn't get involved with you....you dog.."

Lolita shook her head.....

"Oh my God...I'm missing for one afternoon and you're trying to stick it in every girl you see!!!
You nasty lowdown dogggg!! ouuuuuuuuu." she said as she stormed off in one direction and the
other woman stormed off in the other direction.

Eric shrugged his shoulders- "What the hell did I do? " He said. I patted him on the shoulders...

"Don't worry about it E. There are plenty of women on this ship." I laughed as Oleg and I walked off.

One week later-

"Wow Kevin, this was ,let's just say a cruise I won't forget.." laughed Sepia.

"Well coming over here was...The beach was nice and that was the best hotel service I've ever
had, wouldn't you say? "I said.

"Yeah....Shame my girl Lolita had to go home before she even got to enjoy the rest of the package." said Sepia.

"Yeah, hahahahahahahahaha...Seems like someone else was enjoying Eric's package..hahahahaha." I laughed as we continued packing and waiting for the Taxi to take us to the airport.

"What about Dr. Culpepper?" she asked.

"Well, The Shore Patrol and The U.S. Coast Guard searched for his body...but they didn't find anything....I doubt if he could have survived those deep waters for long...His body will show up
sooner or later. I did hear from Oleg Mboli..They checked the gun and the prints matched....So he was the one who shot at Eric and he did shoot himself." I said.

"Do you still think he killed Mr. Giddings?" asked Sepia.

"Oh yeah, I'm certain it was him....He didn't know Slim Giddings, but he knew that that was Eric's room...He meant to kill Eric...but it was dark and he beat the wrong man to death. It was a case of mistaken identity..he didn't know that they had switched rooms." I said.

"Will they be able to charge him with murder if in fact he is alive?" she asked.

"Probably not...but who cares? I wasn't really heavily invested in this case anyway." I laughed.

Just then the cab drove up and Sepia and I got in.....Then I heard a familiar voice....

"This is Franklin "Fearless" Fosdick at your service for your transportaion pleasure sir and madam." he said.

"Detective Fosdick???" said Sepia.

"Uh,Ruh....I used to be a detective on the ship..The S.S. Stingray.....Mr.Mboli is the house Detective now...I was let go for firing my weapon into my foot again..That's the third time it's gone off this year..I shot a passenger by accident, I shot the radio the second time and then I accidentally shot myself....They had just had enough...So I'm driving cabs and working the bar
until I can make enough money to get back to the states." He said as he drove us to the Airport.
Sepia looked at me.....I looked at her and we both just started giggling to ourselves!!

For Soloman