Page 22 of Nobody Praying for Me

Kalm was a professional when it came to my body and never took long to bring me to the point of no return. I grabbed on to the headboard, barely able to speak, think, or function as I felt my orgasm slowly building. Then he inserted two fingers that sent me over the edge. He moaned in tandem with the waves of pleasure coursing through my veins. Black spots appeared at the edges of my vision, and I knew I was about to sleep good tonight.

I fell backward on the bed in a heap when I noticed my phone was ringing on the nightstand. I picked it up to see I had a series of texts and calls from Zuri.

Zuri: Girl, Dice is DEAD!!!!

Zuri: And Bryaire is fucked up. Might never walk again. Call me asap!!

My mouth popped open in surprise as I read the messages over and over again. I lifted on my elbows and glanced at Kalm, who was too busy getting butt naked to notice me watching him.

“Baby, guess what?” I asked, trying to catch my breath.

“What?” he asked, turning toward me while expertly stroking his thick and long dick. I had to close my eyes to stay focused on the matter at hand.

“Did you know the guy who owned the club I worked at died?”

I only opened my eyes to see his reaction, but all he did was lick his lips, staring at the mess he’d made between my legs with his tongue. “Nah, why would I know?”

I wasn’t sure what made me suspect him. Maybe it was him constantly reassuring me that he was going to handle him and Bryaire, but he seemed completely oblivious. Maybe karma had finally spun the block on them, and they got what they deserved for mistreating so many of us.

“Hmm, well Zuri said Bryaire⁠—”

He cut me off by grabbing my ankle and yanking me to the edge of the bed. “You wanna talk about them niggas, or you want Daddy to fuck you to sleep?” Seeing the bead of precum ooze from his tip had me spreading my legs as far open as they could go. He chuckled darkly, and desire churned in his eyes. “I know that’s right. Fuck them niggas. Whatever happened to them, they deserved it the same way you deserve what I’m about to do to your pussy.”

15

KALM ALEXANDER SAVAGE

All I could hear was my heavy breathing. All I could feel was the heat from the spotlights zooming around the arena in preparation for my walk-out. The air buzzed in anticipation, and it was mostly because my opponent wouldn’t shut the fuck up, with his racist ass. From the day the fight was announced until we weighed in, he tried his best to intimidate me with his words. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t know what this fight meant for me. He didn’t know I would kill him to ensure I walked away with the prize money. I didn’t like to do a lot of talking, because I preferred my fists to speak for me.

Thinking of my brother being locked up for defending himself against a pack of racist hillbillies only added fuel to the flames licking beneath the surface of my skin. Kaos never caused any trouble, but he knew how to defend himself. The crackers surrounded him with the intention to jump him, and if he wasn’t lethal with his hands he would’ve been the one dead instead of one of them. Instead of seeing it for what it was, he was arrested for murder because one of the guys had a parent with connections. This fight would determine whether or not he got to come home so my mind was already made up. I was winning tonight.

The words of Pretty’s prayer from when I was getting ready bounced around my mind, giving me an anchor. She was sitting near the front, waiting for the fight to begin. Her ass was more nervous than me, but this was her first time seeing me in action. There was no way I’d be embarrassed in front of my baby either, so no matter how the coin was tossed, I was knocking the nigga out.

Yo Gotti’s “Put a Date on It” began to play, and I slowly made my way toward the ring. “Pussy ass niggas always talking that tough shit. Nigga, put a date on it,” I rapped to myself with a point to the camera trailing me. My head bobbed to the music, helping me to zone out and focus on the fight. Before I entered the ring, I looked for my baby and found her sitting there with a wide grin. I simply winked at her then climbed between the ropes.

Hopping on my toes, I tilted my head from side to side to get the kinks out of my neck. The referee called us to the center of the ring. My redneck opponent had a cocky smirk on his face while I remained stoic. They didn’t call me The Kalm Storm for no reason. Tonight, he was going to learn what it felt like to be caught up in the high winds and violent thunder that came with fighting me.

When the bell rang, I didn’t even waste any time. I immediately started pummeling him so badly that he ran into his corner to recuperate when the round was up. The referee made me go back to mine, and I did, but I was still laser focused. While he was struggling to catch his breath, I wasn’t even winded a little bit. I finally cracked a smile because I could tell this would be over quickly. I thought about all the racist shit he’d said over the last few weeks and how racism was the reason my brother was currently in prison, and it filled my body with white-hot rage.

The second the bell went off to start the second round. My opponent tried to come at me full force, but he was being sloppy. Keeping my eyes on him, I patiently waited for my opening. During one of his wild swings, he left his face completely exposed, and I channeled all my force into a right hook that made his jaw snap from the impact. I saw his eyes roll to the back of his head before he hit the mat. “Night night, bitch,” I spat with an evil grin.

Stepping back, I waited for the referee to do the countdown, but we all knew he wasn’t getting back up. Relief washed through my body when I was named the champion. Some people in the crowd weren’t happy—because they just knew I would lose against him. It felt good to prove everyone wrong and secure the payout I needed to live a little more comfortably.

I opened my arms when I saw Charisma racing toward me. Seeing her smile brought tears to my eyes. She crashed into me, and all I could do was breathe in her caramel scent. I never expected to find a woman so beautiful and loving to walk through this life with me, but now that I had her, I never wanted to let her go.

“You did it, baby,” she cheerily repeated. I didn’t even realize I was crying until she began to wipe away my tears. I tried to fix my mouth to say something, but no words came out. Suddenly, I realized the weight on my chest had finally lifted, and now I could breathe. “I’m so proud of you, and I love you.” She palmed my cheeks and stared deep into my eyes. “You deserve this.”

I shook my head and grinned. “Nah, I deserve you.” I knew this moment wouldn’t have been nearly as impactful if it wasn’t for her presence. Since coming into my life, Charisma was my support in every way possible. I never would’ve been able to focus on training without her help, and now that I’d made it to the top of the mountain, I couldn’t wait to express my gratitude and do something for her she would never forget.

“Tell me, would you love me like you never loved?” Glancing to the right, I studied Charisma in the passenger seat, singing at the top of her lungs. The little bounce she did was so cute, and I could tell she was feeling the lyrics. “Touch me like you never touched?”

Reaching for her left hand, I intertwined our fingers before I lifted her hand to kiss the back of it. Her eyes sparkled with a trillion stars of joy that illuminated every dark corner in my heart. I felt so full of life and love I knew that every hard day was worth this feeling.

“Pretty,” I called out to her, interrupting her concert. When she glanced at me, I used the steering wheel to turn the music down. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course, you can.” She leaned closer to the console and patiently waited.

With a grin, I asked, “I’ve been wondering what was going through your mind that day when you walked up to me at the gas station?”