His Love Was All I Needed

by T. Friday

Genres: African American Urban

Synopsis

When two women are involved with the same man, they’ll stop at nothing to prove their love.

Camy has what you’d call a hopelessly in-love soul, so falling for the smooth-talking, laid-back playboy, Malik, is so easy for her to do. But now, she’s faced with the problem of getting him to recognize her true love for him and taking claim of her heart, not just her bed.

Malik loves the ladies, but he loves being single and free to do as he pleases just as much—if not more. He never wanted to settle down with just one, but he never wanted any of his girls to have options. With Camy and his forever sidekick, Shay, fighting for his love and affection, Malik is burned out by all the drama.

He eventually tries everything in his power to prove to Camy that he only wants her. Cutting Shay off for good seems to be easy, but Shay is not the type to play fair. With one last trick up her sleeve, will Shay finally get her man?

Publisher: Urban Books

Print pages: 288

Sample

“Malik, you gonna help me with these bags or not?”

“Yeah, Ma,” He answered with his attention still on the girl across the street.

Ms. Patt took a seat on the porch while her son brought in her groceries.

“Ma, why you ain’t tell me you got a new neighbor?”

Ms. Patt shook her head. Her son, Malik, had always been a ladies’ man. “Leave that girl alone, Malik. You don’t need her mixed up in your foolishness. You have broken plenty of hearts before. Don’t even go over there.”

Malik stood in the doorway before stepping completely outside. “Ma, chill on me. Who all stay over there with her? I know you been on that porch, minding her business.” Anyone that knew Ms. Patt knew that she stayed in everyone else’s business.

Camy had no idea what she was getting herself into, moving on Cortland Street, but she knew it was time for her to be on her own. Camy once thought that she was in love with her high school sweetheart, Jason; he, on the other hand, felt differently. Jason had become a serial cheater, and after finding bitches’ panties and earrings in their house multiple times, Camy had had enough and ghosted his ass.

Camy took her last bag out of her trunk.

“Good afternoon. You need some help?”

Camy turned around to see who was talking to her. She had only been on the block for a few days and hadn’t paid anyone any attention. She smiled when she saw the handsome guy standing on the porch across the street. “I got it, but thanks anyways.”

“Please leave that girl alone. She not even your type.”

Malik laughed. “And what’s my type, Ma?”

“Boy, now you know you like those wild, big-mouth girls. She seems to be quiet and more into herself.”

“How you know that?”

“’Cause she ain’t had nobody over there yet. How many females do you know move into a new house and don’t celebrate with a few friends?”

Malik soaked up everything his mama said, thinking maybe she was onto something. Malik took a seat, staring across the street, hoping that his mama’s new neighbor would step back outside. No matter his mama’s warnings, he knew he had to have her. In his eyes, she was too cute not to want her.

“Malik, go ahead and head home.”

“Damn, Ma, how you gonna use me for a ride and groceries then try to get rid of me? I ain’t even do shit.”

“But I know what you are thinking. What you gonna do with Shay ratchet ass if you start getting that girl over there attention?”

Malik shook his head. One thing about his mama was that she would be in your business no matter what.

“Ma, I’m not in a relationship with Shay or anyone else. She ain’t got no title to say shit about my business.”

Ms. Patt shook her head. She knew all that playboy shit was going to catch up with him eventually, but he was grown and at the age that you couldn’t tell him shit.

Malik looked down at his phone to read the text message that popped up on his phone.

Shay: Come fuck me before you leave the hood.

Malik stood up. “All right, Ma, I’m headed out.”

“See you, son. Call me later if you are around. I’m about to put this food on.”

“All right, I’ll be back to get a plate.”

Instead of going home, Malik drove around the corner to cater to Shay’s request.

“Hey, baby, come on in,” Shay said, greeting Malik at the door.

Malik walked in, admiring her frame in the bra and boy shorts that she had on. “You look good today.”

Shay made her booty cheeks jump. “Stop acting like I don’t do this shit on the regular, nigga.” Shay snatched his hand. “Come on, Daddy. Come stretch me out.”

Malik let her lead him into her bedroom. They quickly undressed after entering the room. Shay then dropped straight to her knees to show Malik just how much she missed him.

“Damn, girl.” Malik moaned, just a little above a whisper.

Shay made his dick disappear in her mouth, knowing that shit drove him crazy.

“Fuck!”

Malik enjoyed the sloppy-ass head that she was putting on him, but his mind was on the new girl on the block. His mind was on hooking up with her. He wasn’t worried about shit that his mama was talking about.

“Damn, Malik. If you not feeling it, you could have just taken your ass home.”

“Fuck you talking about? Come on, Shay. Get that nut out of me.”

“I just asked you if you wanted me to ride it, or did you wanna hit it from the back?”

“Toot that ass up, girl. You already know what I like.”

Malik’s mind wasn’t completely there, and Shay knew it, but with him serving those hard back shots that she loved, she decided not to bitch about it.

“Damn, Daddy, this your pussy!” she yelled out, enjoying every last bit of dick that he was giving her.

“It better be,” Malik muttered as he pulled the rubber off and nutted on her left ass cheek.

Shay instantly jumped up to run the water for their shower. After fucking around for three years, everything was so routine with them, and Malik was ready for a change.

Shay gave Malik a peck on the lips. “What’s wrong, baby?”

“Nothing.”

Malik tried to get his mind back in the game. Picking Shay up, he placed her back against the shower wall. He drilled deep into her pussy, making her dig her nails into his back as she screamed out.

“I love you, Malik!”

Like any other time, he didn’t respond. She knew what tip they were on and was trying to cross that line.

After stepping out of the bathroom and getting dressed, Malik texted his brother, Rell.

“So, I guess you about to go?”

“Yeah, I got to go meet up with bro, then go handle some shit.”

Shay rolled her eyes before flopping down on the bed. “What are we doing, Malik?”

“Fuck you mean? We doing what we been doing.”

“That’s the problem, nigga. I’m tired of the same shit with you. You come over and fuck me good, cash me out, then get up and leave like I don’t matter.”

“And what’s wrong with that, Shay?” Malik asked, putting his shoes on.

“What’s wrong with it? Really, nigga? We’ve been fucking around for almost three years now, and I want more.”

Malik dug in his pocket. “What you want some more of? How much more do you need?”

“Stop fucking playing with me, Malik. You know what the fuck I’m talking about, nigga. I want us to be more than just fuck buddies,” she yelled.

Malik shook his head. “Don’t do that shit, Shay. You already know how shit is. Don’t try to fix shit that ain’t broke.”

As Malik started to walk out the door, Shay jumped up. Crying and all, she expressed her feelings. “You keep saying fuck me like you don’t know how much I love you. Why you gotta be like that with me? I proved that I’ll do anything for you, and you know it. Why can’t we just be together?”

“You knew what type of nigga I was when we first hooked up. I’m not changing for shit. You want dick, I give it to you. You need cash, I got you. Fuck wrong?”

Malik kept walking out the door, not paying her tears any attention. He didn’t feel bad because he had told her that he didn’t do relationships from jump, and she still fucked with him. Now, damn near three years later, she was trying to switch the game up, and he didn’t like that.

Malik jumped in his truck, telling himself that he was done fucking with her. She was making his life difficult, and he didn’t do drama. Malik then drove toward the east side to drop some weed off to his homeboy. It was just his luck to run into a few more niggas that needed what he had.

Before driving off, he texted his brother to see if he had picked up the new shit because he was all out. After receiving a text back saying everything was in play, Malik drove right back to his mom’s crib to see what tip his brother was on.

“What up, bro? Where you coming from?”

Malik took a seat on the porch next to his brother, Rell.

“Shid, I was around there with Shay ass. Then, I had to shoot a move.”

Rell then pulled out a large Ziploc bag full of weed. “Check this shit out, nigga.”

Malik opened the bag then gave it a good sniff. “Oh, yeah, that’s the shit right there. I hope that shit blow good like the last shit we got from that nigga.”

Ms. Patt walked out on the porch. “Get off my porch with that shit. I don’t need my friends riding up the street seeing this shit.”

Rell stood up. “All right, Ma, chill out. We about to leave.”

The brothers took their goodie bag into Rell’s car. They were eager to test their new product out.

“Aye, bro, have you seen that bitch that just moved over there yet?” Malik asked Rell.

“Hell yeah, that bitch bad as hell. I wouldn’t mind popping that li’l bitch.”

Malik chuckled. “Nigga, now you know Tiffany would beat your ass if she even thought you were thinking about talking to another bitch. Besides, that’s gonna be me, bro.”

“How you claiming a bitch and you ain’t even talked to her yet? And while you talking, Shay would fuck you up.”

Malik laughed. “That ain’t my damn girlfriend. I’m free to do as I fucking please. You the one that’s tied down with two fucking kids and one on the way and not even thirty yet.”

Rell laughed right along with his brother. “When you gonna tell Shay that she ain’t your girlfriend?”

“She know what tip I be on, and being cuffed to a bitch ain’t what I want out of life. The pussy good, the head fire, but I’m forever single.” Malik told his brother before taking a pull from the blunt.

“So, what? She gonna be a forever side chick?”

“If that’s what it’s called, then that’s what she gonna be until I say so.”

The brothers continued to smoke while talking shit to one another.

Rell and Malik were only two years apart, but they were best friends, and nothing could get in between them. Rell, being the oldest, tried to give his baby brother the best advice, but Malik was the type who had to fall and bump his head before he learned.

After smoking up the car, the brothers walked into their mama’s house, ready to eat.

“Don’t think y’all about to go into my damn kitchen and eat up all that food in there.”

“Ma, stop all that,” Rell told her. Rell was irritated and prayed that she didn’t blow his high.

Being serious about them eating up all her food, Ms. Patt got up to fix her boys’ plates, so they could eat and go the fuck home.

After a while, Tiffany started blowing Rell’s phone up, so he was the first to leave.

“Ma, I’m gone. Can Tiffany get a plate?”

Ms. Patt got up to fix her daughter-in-law’s plate. She always cooked more than she needed, knowing that somebody would want to eat.

Once Malik walked off the porch, he saw Camy taking her trash out. “See, that’s why you need my number. You could have called me to take that trash out for you.” He yelled.

“Thanks, but I got it,” Camy replied, blushing.

Malik watched as she went back into the house. He didn’t care about the games that she was playing. He could tell by her smile that she wanted him.

Camy woke up early, getting ready to hit the gym up. With moving and trying to unpack, she had been eating a lot of bullshit and neglecting her workout schedule. As she climbed in her car, she could see that someone had pulled her trash can out to the front. She didn’t think too much of it as she drove off.

Early morning traffic had her pulling up half an hour later. She shook her head, remembering when the gym was a ten-minute drive from her old place.

Camy turned on her AirPods then got on the treadmill. The treadmill had always been her favorite, and the way she was stacked up, it did her body good.

“Excuse me.”

Camy’s music had taken her to another world, preventing her from hearing Malik trying to get her attention. It wasn’t until he tapped her that she stopped the machine to see who was tapping her.

“What?” she snapped before turning around and taking her AirPods out.

“My bad. I didn’t mean to bother you.”

Camy calmed down, seeing that it was the guy from her block. “I didn’t mean to snap like that. It’s just that guys be mad weird, seeing a woman work out. It’s like they think that means she’s single and looking.”

Malik chuckled. “I understand, but it’s cool. Anyways, my name is Malik. What’s yours?”

“Camy.”

Malik reached out to shake her hand. “Nice to meet you, neighbor.”

Camy tried not to blush, but his sexiness made it hard. Not only was he good looking, but he also had the prettiest smile, showing off his perfect white teeth. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

Malik wanted to hang around, but not wanting to look desperate, he excused himself. “I’m gonna let you get back to work, but I might see you later on the block.”

Camy smiled as he finally let her hand go. “All right.”

Malik walked away feeling good, knowing that he was right about her wanting him. Her smile told on her.

Camy continued her workout but couldn’t stop herself from thinking about Malik. She had to admit that he was the shit, and watching him work out turned her on. After seeing him with his shirt off, she secretly wanted to rub on his sweaty chest. Feeling foolish, thinking so hard about a dude that she had just met, made her leave the gym earlier than she had planned. She wasn’t ready to jump out of one toxic relationship to start up anything new.

After a long, hot shower, Camy sat on the couch, waiting for her bestie, Mona, to pull up. She had been in her new house for a few days now and hadn’t had company yet. A good laugh and wine were needed.

Mona knocked on the screen door.

“Hey, boo,” Camy said, opening up the door for her bestie.

The girls took a seat on the couch.

“What’s good, bitch? How have you been?”

“Oh, my gawd, Mona, this move has me tired as hell, but I’m so happy to be on my own.”

Mona laughed. “You ain’t let Jason come over and break in the new house yet?”

Camy was irritated by her question. Mona knew that she wasn’t fucking with that dude anymore after the way he played with her heart. “Fuck Jason! The whole purpose of moving out of his house was to get away from him. He had me all the way fucked up, cheating on me then constantly lying. I checked him plenty of times, and he wanted to keep lying and playing in my face. I couldn’t stay with him any longer. I needed my own space to get my life back in order.”

Mona rolled her eyes. “So, you telling me that Jason can’t come give you some act-right?”

“You must have been sipping before you pulled up because you acting like you don’t understand. I’m done with that boy. Truth be told, he doesn’t even know where I moved and will never have the chance of pulling up.”

Mona laughed. “Damn, bitch, you really ghosted him like that?”

“Yes, love don’t live here anymore. Now, can we drink this wine and talk about happy shit?”

Mona didn’t respond, although she had a bunch of shit to say about her friend and Jason’s relationship.

“So, has your dad been by?”

“Not yet, but he sent me some money to make sure I was good. Him and his wife are out of town, so I won’t see him for a while.”

Mona heard men talking, then got up to look out the door. “Damn, bitch, why you ain’t tell me it’s some fine-ass niggas living across the street? I see why you ain’t tell Jason where you live.”

Giggling, Camy walked over to the door to see who she was talking about. “You see ole boy right there in the red shirt?”

“Yeah. What about his sexy ass?” Mona asked.

“He seems cool. I mean, we only talked for a minute at the gym, but he was all right.”

Mona took a mental note of what Camy was saying before making an excuse to leave. “Damn, bitch, I forgot I had to go by my mom’s today. Let me get out of here.”

“Really? I be so lonely here by myself. I thought we were gonna have a girls’ day today.”

Mona grabbed her purse. “Maybe next time. Besides, you wouldn’t be lonely if you wouldn’t be playing with Jason like that. You know that man still loves you.”

“How you my friend and vouching so hard for that nigga? I’m not fucking with no man that’s gonna cheat the whole relationship. I don’t care how much a ring costed. I’m not that lonely.”

“Damn, I was just playing, but I get it. You and Jason are over for good.”

“Hell yeah, and I stand on that!” Camy yelled as Mona walked out to the car.

As Camy watched Mona drive off, she could feel someone watching her. She looked over to see Malik sitting on the porch with another guy. He was staring at her with a slight grin on his face. Being friendly, she smiled back before going back into the house.

“Damn, nephew, that’s you?” Davon asked.

“She bad, ain’t she, Unc?”

“Hell yeah, and her friend that just left bad as hell too. How you pull that?”

Davon was only a few years older than his nephews, but they all were tight and could talk about anything. Davon was born a little slower than some, but Malik and Rell still treated him normally and would hurt anyone who played behind him.

Malik had no problem telling his uncle the truth. “She ain’t mine yet. I want her, though. To be honest, I’m working on it. Just give me a minute.”

Davon asked what anyone hearing that conversation would have asked. “What about Shay? Ain’t y’all still together?”

Malik shook his head. “Shay is not my fucking woman. I keep telling muthafuckas that. I’m a grown, single man and can do what I want.”

Davon laughed. “Shay gonna come around here and fuck you up, nephew. You better be careful ’cause baby girl over there too close to home.”

Malik was tired of muthafuckas assuming Shay was his girl just because they had been fucking for some time now. She knew how he got down and how to play her role, no matter if another chick was in the picture or not. Malik wasn’t worried about shit, and that was what his people needed to understand.

Malik paid him no mind as he got up from the porch to move Camy’s garbage can to the back of her house.

Hearing her doorbell ring, Camy got up from the couch. She was surprised to see Malik standing on her porch.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Hey, the garbage trucks come on Friday mornings over here.”

“So, you’re the one who took my can out to the front?”

“Yeah, I take my mom’s out, so I grabbed yours too.”

Camy smiled. “Thanks. That was very nice of you.”

Malik stood there, wondering what he could say next that didn’t make him seem desperate or like a corny-ass nigga.

After a few seconds of just standing there in silence, Camy assumed that he was looking for some type of payment or something. “So, how much do I owe you?”

Malik snapped out of his zone. “What?”

“Did you want me to pay you for taking the trash can out?”

“Hell nah. I just wanted you to know what day the truck came out.” Feeling embarrassed, Malik walked away. Malik could tell that Camy wasn’t like the easy chicks that he pulled in the hood. From the looks of things, she had her shit together and wasn’t impressed by what a nigga had.

Camy had seen him driving around in two different rides, wearing nothing but designer, with a nice chain and watch, and she still didn’t give a fuck. Even after he took her trash out, she treated him like he was a bum-ass nigga looking for change. Malik knew he would have to go harder to get her attention.

“So, what was your girl talking about?”

Mona moved over so that Jason could walk through the door.

“She on her strong-woman shit. She says she is done for real this time.”

Jason shook his head. “That bitch trippin’. I gave her everything she wanted and needed. I spent bands on that engagement ring, too.”

Mona was tired of his whining. She didn’t see why he was tripping over a bitch that clearly didn’t want him when she had been wanting him from day one. How could he not see that she was in love with him?

“She doesn’t want to be with a cheater, but who does? You gotta take that L and move on. I’m pretty sure you’ll find someone else that would appreciate you.”

Jason buried his head in his hands. “That’s the thing. I wasn’t even cheating on her ass this time. I really loved her, and that ring was to show her that.”

While he covered his face, Mona smirked. Camy had him all fucked up behind their breakup, and for the most part, it was all for no reason. Knowing that Jason had a problem in the past with keeping his dick in his pants only made the setup even easier for Mona. She had a ball, leaving panties and earrings around Jason’s house so that Camy could find them. In her eyes, Jason was too good for Camy’s spoiled ass. Camy had a dad who spoiled her. She didn’t need a man who did just the same.

Mona moved over to the couch where Jason was sitting. “It’s gonna be all right, Jason. You’ll find the right one soon,” she repeated, rubbing his thigh.

“She was the right one for me, and I want her back. She moved and changed her number on me. I didn’t deserve all that.”

Mona tried not to snap and go off. She couldn’t take him crying over a funky bitch like Camy. “Look, I gotta go check on my mama. I’ll hit you up later.”

They walked outside together. Jason called out to her as she walked to her car. “Aye, Mona, if you talk to my baby, please let her know that I’m sorry and I love her.”

Mona rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I got you.”

“Thanks, Mona. You’re a real one.”

Before leaving, Mona could hear him mumble some bullshit about missing his baby.

Mona drove off with her attitude on ten. Her harsh reality was that no matter what she did to try to get Jason, he still had his head stuck up Camy’s ass.

The next morning, Camy got up early to go to the gym. She was actually hoping that she would run into Malik again. After thinking about what had happened the day before, she felt bad and hoped that she didn’t offend him in any type of way.

Camy was doing warmups when Malik walked in. She smiled, seeing him walk her way, but that didn’t last too long. Malik walked right past Camy, not acknowledging her presence.

“Damn? Really?” Camy mumbled, assuming that she had offended him the other day and he was pissed at her.

Malik didn’t know how he really felt about Camy. Up until yesterday afternoon, he was feeling her, but when she called herself being funny, acting like he was a begging-ass bum, he wasn’t sure. One thing he did know was that he wasn’t into chasing behind nobody, including her fine ass.

Camy tried to get into her workout, but she couldn’t stop looking around, trying to see if Malik would come talk to her. “Girl, stop tripping. You don’t even know this nigga like that,” she whispered to herself.

As time passed, Malik did manage to be in the same area as her. Camy caught him staring at her as she stared at him.

“You’re staring but not gonna speak today?” she boldly called him out.

Malik walked closer toward her. “I didn’t want you to think I was looking for some punk-ass change just to speak to you.”

Camy tried not to, but she giggled in his face. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to offend you or be rude. You were just standing there, not saying anything, and that was the first thing that came to mind. I do apologize, Malik. I’m not trying to have any enemies.”

Malik finally gave her a smile, showing off his beautiful teeth. “Maybe I was staring, admiring how beautiful you are. And just to let you know, I’m not trying to have you as an enemy either.”

Camy held her hand out so that Malik could shake her hand, ending all beef. Malik, being him, took her hand and pulled her in for a hug.

“We good, Camy.”

Even after a good workout, Malik still looked and smelled good. He made it hard to want to be anywhere else but in his arms. Camy liked having his hands around her, so she took her time stepping out of his grip.

“What you doing once you leave here?” he asked.

“The usual—going home, taking a shower, then relaxing. Why?”

Honestly, Camy lost him when she said shower. Now, all he could do was picture her in the shower with him. “You should let me take you out.”

“I should?”

“Yeah, I think if we’re going to be friends, then we should go out and have some fun.”

Camy hesitated to respond, causing him to regret asking.

“My bad if I’m out of line for asking. I should have known that someone as beautiful as you had a man. My bad, shawty.”

Malik turned to walk away, but Camy stopped him. “Malik, wait!”

“What’s up?”

“I don’t have a man, but I did recently just get out of a very toxic relationship. It ended badly, and I guess I have my guard up to pr. . .