Grown Woman Read online

  Grown Woman

  Sakia D. Speights

  Copyright © 2020 Sakia Speights

  All rights reserved

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  ISBN-13: 9781234567890

  ISBN-10: 1477123456

  Cover design by: Art Painter

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2018675309

  Printed in the United States of America

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  CHAPTER 1:

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3:

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  CHAPTER 25

  CHAPTER 26

  CHAPTER 27

  CHAPTER 28

  CHAPTER 29

  CHAPTER 30

  CHAPTER 31

  CHAPTER 32

  CHAPTER 33

  CHAPTER 34

  CHAPTER 35

  CHAPTER 36

  CHAPTER 37

  CHAPTER 38

  CHAPTER 39

  CHAPTER 40

  CHAPTER 41

  CHAPTER 42

  CHAPTER 43

  CHAPTER 44

  CHAPTER 45

  CHAPTER 1:

  Coach Jay and I were running a scrimmage with our teams at the gym. We stood on the sidelines and evaluated the new players. There was a good deal of talent out on the court. One player, in particular, stuck out.

  “Who’s she? Number three.” I asked Jay.

  She drove the ball straight down the paint, then raced to the other side and guarded the point guard.

  “Oh,her? That’s Summer; she’s on another level. I worked with her last summer. Coach Ty is looking at recruiting her for AAU season. I think she would be a good fit for you, honestly.” he explained.

  After the scrimmage, I found Summer and talked with her.

  “Hey Summer, you did great out there. I’m Skylar.” I introduced myself after practice.

  “I’m Summer; it’s nice to meet you. I look forward to the season. I’m new to this church. I haven’t played much organized basketball.” She told me.

  “How old are you?” I asked.

  “I’m nine. Do you have kids?” She asked.

  “No, I’m still in high school. I’m eighteen years old.”

  “Summer, let’s go!” A booming voice called.

  “I will see you next time. I have to go now. My dad is here.”

  Her dad was tall with a light complexion. He wore a dark grey suit with a light blue dress shirt and tan dress shoes.

  I went home to an empty house. My mom wasn’t around much; she was a travel nurse. I searched the refrigerator for something to eat, but nothing caught my eye, so I went to bed hungry.

  CHAPTER 2

  The next week, I got to practice earlier and ran into Summer.

  “How’s it going, Summer? You’re here early.”

  “My brother is practicing. Maybe we can play one on one while we wait.” she suggested.

  “Summer.” a soft voice called. “I need you to go to my car and get my wallet.”

  I turned my attention to the lady who was speaking with Summer. I completely zoned out.

  “Hey!” she got my attention.

  “Hey, I’m Skylar. I coach one of the older teams. Summer and I met last week.” I told her.

  “I’m Jennifer, her mom. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “You must be her sister.” I responded.

  She smiled.

  “Summer is very talented. Out of my four years of coaching, she has to be the best I've seen so far.” I told her.

  She talked, but I wasn’t completely listening. I studied her body which curved in all the right places; she was tall and slim, her eyes were hazel and she was a shade lighter than caramel. Her hair, long and black, flowed down her back; her smile was perfectly aligned and her face was shaped so perfectly.

  “Skylar?”

  I snapped out of my trance. “Yeah, I’m listening.” I lied.

  “How old are you?” She asked.

  I thought about lying, but then I noticed the ring on her finger and suddenly the vibe was dead. “I’m eighteen. How about you?”

  She laughed. “You never ask a woman her age.”

  “But you asked me?”

  She walked away as her son finished practicing.

  During practice, I would casually glance over at Jennifer and turn away when she looked my way.

  After practice, I hit up the Onyx, a local strip club, to see my girl. I snatched my whistle from around my neck, changed shirts, and freed my dreads from the tight bun.. I sprayed some perfume, then locked my car and made it through security.

  I pushed my way through the horny old men and made my way to Angel, my female friend.

  “Hey pretty girl. It’s been a while.” She said when she saw my face.

  “Hey you. I’ve been tied up lately. I kind of needed to see you.”

  “You want your private show?” she asked.

  I smirked and walked over to the bar.

  “Sky? It’s been a minute. How’s it going?” Mike, the bartender asked.

  “It’s going good. Can you fix me some Henny on ice?”

  He poured up my drink and told me about the last two weeks at the club.

  “Angel thinks you’ve been blowing her off because you’re seeing other girls.” He told me.

  “She knows what it is,” Angel grabbed my hand before I could finish my sentence.

  We walked to the back room, locked the door behind us and pushed me back into the chair.

  She straddled my lap and kissed my neck, then danced for me. Angel and I had met three years ago. I snuck into the club at 15 and ran into her. At the time, she was 20. She gave me my first everything. She fell for me and unconsciously, I fell in love with a stripper quite literally. Even though she wasn’t the only one, she was the most important woman in my life. I slept at her place most nights.

  After our session, she finished up and we headed to her apartment.

  Outside of the club, no one would have guessed she was a stripper. She was a pretty light skinned woman with brown hair down her back. Everything went down at her place; it was the one place where I didn’t have much to worry about. I could touch her, make love to her, and have her all to myself. She treated me so well; I just wish I did the same for her.

  CHAPTER 3:

  As I sat in the locker room before the game, I read over Psalm 115:1. Today was the first game of basketball season. My team was up against Coach Jay's competitive team.

  I gathered up the team in the locker room fifteen minutes before the game for a short devotion.

  "Psalm 115:1 tells us to not give glory to ourselves, but to God who loves and is faithful to us." I explained. I prayed before the game started.

  After warming up, I chose my starting five and matched them up. By the end of the first quarter, Jay's team was up by six points.
r />   Jennifer was arguing with her husband in the hall which took my focus off of the game. We locked eyes, then she turned away angrily.

  Even though my team had won, -57-60- I was so unfocused, I didn't remember anything from the game. Everything was a blur.

  Summer found me after the game and asked me if I would take her up under my wing and work with her outside of practice. She wanted to better herself and I was honored.

  "Summer, daddy said we have to go." Her younger brother tugged at her shirt.

  "This is Hakeem, my little brother." She introduced him. He hid behind her leg.

  "It's nice to meet you , Hakeem. I'm Skylar." I held my hand out and shook his little hand.

  "I will see you next week. Good game." She ran over to her parents.

  Jennifer waved at me.

  My phone kept vibrating in my pocket. I had 4 missed calls from Taylor and 2 messages from Angel.

  "What's up?" I called Taylor as I walked to my car.

  "I want to see you. I have the house to myself." She told me.

  Taylor stayed only a few minutes away from me, but she worked and went to school all of the time; she only wanted to see me on her time. She was 21 and we met about 2 years ago at a party in Tuscaloosa.

  "Hey baby girl. It's nice to see your face." She grabbed my waist and pulled me into the house.

  While we were watching a movie, she started kissing on me and things escalated quickly. We ended up naked, up under her sheets.

  Angel had called multiple times, so I went to the bathroom to take her call.

  "What's up?"

  She questioned why I didn't answer the phone.

  "I was busy." I half lied.

  "I want to go to dinner tonight."

  "Okay.."

  "Just come over, I'll drive." She told me.

  I made sure Taylor was asleep before I left.

  Angel took me to a nice restaurant in Uptown, an upscale part of town. As she was talking, I drifted off into my own thoughts. Jennifer popped up; her soft hazel eyes. Angel's touch took me out of my trance.

  "Sky, you're not even listening to me. I'm talking about us."

  "Angel, you already know how I feel about us. I love you , I really do; but this dancing thing, I can't...Go to nursing school like you've always wanted." I told her.

  While she kept talking, I was eating and her food was getting cold.

  CHAPTER 4

  During practice one night, Summer strolled in thirty minutes late with jeans on. I figured something was wrong, but I continued with practice. I stayed after practice and worked on some new drills with her. No one came to pick her up and no one answered the phone.

  “Do you stay around here?” I asked her.

  “Yeah, I stay about five minutes away.” She said.

  “Get your things; I’ll take you home.”

  “Why were you so late for practice?”

  She hesitated. “Um..”

  “You can trust me.” I assured her.

  “My mom and dad got into a fight. My aunt picked us up from school and I didn’t have a change of clothes for practice.” She told me.

  “What kind of fight?”

  She nervously explained what had happened between her parents as we were pulling into her driveway.

  Jennifer met us at the front door.

  “Oh my - I’m so sorry. Thanks for bringing her home. It’s been a hectic day.” She said.

  “It’s no problem. Is everything alright?” I asked as Summer walked into the house.

  “Everything is fine.” I could tell she was lying by the mascara running down her face.

  “I was just checking. Summer wasn’t herself today and -”

  “She was late for practice. My sister picked her up from school, so things ju-”

  “She talked to me about what happened. I don’t mean to pry, but if you need a friend or somebody to talk to…”

  She was silent for a moment, then welcomed me into her house.

  I sat at the bar and she offered me a drink.

  “Water is fine.”

  She poured herself a glass of wine and handed me a cup of water.

  “Tell me about yourself. It’s only been a couple of weeks and I don’t know much besides your name.” She said.

  I took a sip of water and figured out what to say. “That depends on what you want to know. I’m eighteen, a senior in high school and I’m at the top of my class. I stay with my mom; no siblings and my dad died some years back. I played basketball for about ten years until I had an injury that ended it. I’ve been coaching for four years now and I love the kids.”

  “Do you go out with your friends much?” she asked.

  “Friends? What are those? I only have one friend; Bj. We don’t hang out much. I’m more of a loner. Tell me about yourself, Ms. Jennifer.”

  “Please don’t call me that. Jennifer or Jen. I’m not that old. I went to school for accounting and economics. I work as an accountant at a firm off of 280 and I also do some consulting for new businesses. I graduated from Howard at 21, married Matthew at 20 and had Summer a few months later.”

  “Howard? That’s impressive, so I’m guessing you are 29? If I did my math correctly.”

  “Sure.”

  “What do you do for fun?” I asked.

  She sighed. “I’m a mom. That’s all I do. Drop the kids off, work, pick the kids up, cook, clean and that’s about it. Matthew’s never home.”

  “That sucks. We’ll have to get you out of the house soon. I’ll watch the kids.”

  “I’ll hold you to that.” She smiled.

  I glanced around the enormous house and she offered to show me around, then we both sat at the bar.

  “I’m sure Summer told you her dad and I got into an argument this morning. It just threw me off today. Excuse my running makeup.” She finally addressed the elephant in the room.

  “I understand. I’ve never been married, but I know married people fight. I’m just glad you opened up.”

  “Thanks for being here. I guess I did need someone to talk to.” She admitted.

  “Do you care to elaborate?”

  “It’s complicated. Our marriage wasn’t built off of the strongest foundation. It was more of an arrangement by our parents.”

  I sat for another hour and talked, then headed out.

  “It was nice talking to you. We’ll have to do it again sometime.” I said as she walked me to my car.

  “I’ll see you Saturday.” She gave me a friendly hug.

  That night, I laid up and thought about Jennifer. She was more of a woman than anyone I’d met. She was sweet and sexy. I had to keep it professional though; for Summer’s sake.

  CHAPTER 5

  “How’s basketball going, Skylar?” BJ asked while we were at the mall one evening.

  “It’s going well.” I grinned devilishly.

  “Spill.”

  “Oh, it’s nothing major.” I half lied.

  “How’s the mentoring going?”

  “It’s going good. I’ve developed a decent relationship with her mom too.”

  “We’re wrecking homes now? How are the girls? Angel, Taylor, Kayla and Kailee, right?”

  I laughed. “You didn’t have to call roll. I’m not wrecking homes. I don’t condone that behavior.”

  Kayla and Kailee were sisters whom I met at a party a few months ago. Kayla was twenty and Kailee was nineteen. I hit it off with the both of them, but they didn’t know about each other. BJ knew about all of them. We had grown up together.

  I was zoned out during practice. I ran some drills with Summer after practice. Jennifer watched from afar. I glanced at her every so often. There was something about her that I couldn’t quite figure out. If I hadn’t met Summer, I wouldn’t put having kids past her.

  She had a nice body; I could tell she worked out quite often. Her eyes were a death wish if you stared too long; they were hazel like, like coffee with a little cream.

  “Skylar.” Summer interru
pted my thoughts.

  “Yeah...uh, good practice.” I mumbled.

  “Hey, I bet I could beat you in 2k." She shot a three.

  “You’re on.”

  “What about tonight? I already did my homework. I’m sure my mom won’t mind.”

  “Hmm. I don’t kno-” Before I could even answer, she had already asked her mom.

  “Skylar, you’re welcome to come over if you’re not doing anything.” Jennifer said as we were walking out of the gym.

  I thought for about ten seconds and decided I would go. I was sure a nine year old wouldn’t beat ME in 2k. The boys in my class couldn’t even beat me.

  After I locked up the church, I followed Jennifer to her house.

  I sat at the bar and talked with Jennifer while Summer showered and got her things together for school the next day.

  “I appreciate what you’re doing in Summer’s life. She looks up to you and for her to invite you over is a big deal; she’s more to herself.” She told me.

  “Anything I can do to help, I’ll do. How’s your week been, Jennifer?” I asked.

  She kicked off her shoes and hopped onto the counter. “Please, call me Jen. And I’m doing much better since last week.”

  Summer showed me her game room where she had every gaming system there was hooked up to a 60 inch television on the wall.

  “This is nice. You must really be into video games.” I said.

  By the second quarter, I was up 45 to 36. I was quite impressed with her competitiveness. Hakeem came in and rooted for his sister. During the last quarter, Jen came in and offered me something to drink. I was completely thrown off and Summer caught up with me. I had the chance to catch up and beat her; 90-77.

  “Thanks again, Skylar. Maybe you can teach me how to play next time.” Jen walked me to the door.

  “Maybe. I’ll see you later.”

  She winked at me.

  CHAPTER 6

  Time seemed to get away from me over the past few months. It was December already; Christmas was a week away. I had last minute shopping to do for all of my...girls. They all wanted to see me before the break was over. Talk about stressful! Four gifts, four dates; and two of them lived in the same house.