Free Moth to a Flame by Ashley Antoinette Page B

wrapped a towel around his waist and then held one out for her. She fell into his embrace and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. She couldn’t stop tasting him. Every time he touched her she felt special, and she lowered her head to her chest as she thought about what had just taken place.
    “I’ve never done this with anybody, Mizan. Please don’t put my business out there to all of your friends. I know how dudes can be,” she whispered.
    He lifted her chin and replied, “You’re my li‘l mama. I don’ t want another nigga to know what my bitch got. I’ll have to kill a nigga for coming at you, trying to take what’s mine.” He put his hands between her legs and caressed her lips. “This my pussy?” he asked.
    She pursued her lips, raised her arched eyebrows, and replied, “It’s yours.”
    He pointed his finger in her face. “Then don’t ever give away what belongs to me, Raven,” he answered seriously. She grabbed his hand and kissed it as she looked into his eyes.
    “I won’t,” she replied honestly. She had never felt the way Mizan had made her feel, and she had no idea that she had just given her heart away. She was too young to recognize that Mizan was a bad seed. All she saw was his hood swagger and good looks. She was blinded by the idea of being wifey, and the fact that he came from nothing appealed to her even more. Her parents had worked hard to keep her away from the streets, but Mizan’s soul was lost in the streets and as long as she was with him, hers would be too. Young and naïve, Raven did not know that she was merely a pawn in Mizan’s chess game, and his goal was to take down the king of the streets: her father, Benjamin Atkins.

    Mizan pulled into Raven’s subdivision at six o’clock in the morning. After staying up all night with him and getting to know one another, she wasn’ t ready to say good night, but she knew that her mother awoke at 7:00 A.M. sharp. She had to get in before someone discovered she was gone. He let her out at the corner and reached over to open her car door. He kissed her cheek and she exited the car. She headed for her house at the other end of the block. She noticed that all the lights were still out in her house and she sighed in relief. Just as she was approaching her driveway she heard someone call her name.
    “Raven!”
    She jumped out of her skin and turned around, knowing she was busted. She put a hand to her chest and exhaled in relief when she saw Ethic sitting in an apple red Benz. She stepped over to the car, not too excited to see him.
    “What are you doing out here this time of night?” she asked with her hands on her hips.
    “I could be asking you the same thing,” he commented condescendingly.
    “I live here so I don’t owe you an explanation, she shot back with a snotty attitude, leaning down so that she could talk to him through the window.
    “Get in,” he said in a low tone as he unlocked the doors.
    She opened the door and plopped down in the passenger seat.
    “Your father asked me to watch the crib. After what happened at the fish fry he’s a little paranoid,” he explained. He stared at her intently, making her feel uncomfortable. She felt as if he could see right through her.
    “Why are you staring?” she asked.
    He ignored her question and posed one of his own. “Why you fucking with a nigga that can’t drop you off at your doorstep?” Ethic asked, his calm demeanor not revealing any emotion in his tone.
    “Why do you care?” Raven asked in confusion. Her body was beginning to feel sluggish as she came down off of her cocaine high, and she did not have time for Ethic to be butting into her business.
    “I don’t ... I just think that you should,” he responded bluntly. “Your man is a jack boy. I had my people check him out after what went down at the party.”
    “You’re going through an awful lot of trouble for someone who doesn’t care,” she commented, and folded her arms across her chest. “I don’ t