Novel-novel oleh Shamar Phillips

The first time I ever made a move on Brielle was after a late night study hall in college.A few of us huddled in the library to debate a topic from an earlier class, and she just so happened to be one of the few.I thought she was the sexiest girl at U.C. and even though Draya and I fooled around a few times, I couldn’t keep my eyes off Brielle.Her smile was infectious, and her energy was light and bubbly, which, ironically, made it easier for me to focus on the assignment I hated to be tied up on that night. I would’ve had more fun club hopping and drinking with the guys, but because of her, I was content.By the end of study hall, I was hungry as hell and not ready to go home, so I invited her to a pizzeria not too far from campus.She was skeptical at first—I think Monty was waiting for her to get back to her dorm, but I had other plans for her that night.“What’s your major exactly?” I asked. “I know your dad is the big dawg in Chicago, so how does he want you to live up to his

The year I met Monty was the first time I ever felt so alive.The first time we had sex was when I knew what love felt like.He took care of my mind, my body, and spirit—made me feel like a woman and not just some gorgeous flesh ready at a man's disposal.He was kind and romantic, gentle and nurturing. I had my first real orgasm right there in his bed—my nails snug in the skin on his back while I convulsed and squeezed his throbs with a muscle I didn’t even know I knew how to use.And he didn’t stop there.No.He turned me over and inched his way in from behind, making me feel like his entire being had climbed inside me.My back arched involuntarily, and he held onto my breasts and rocked with my reaction to a sensation so lovely.My hips swayed, and my pussy purred like a sleepy kitten after a delicious bowl of milk.And the more she purred, the harder we collided, until his milk refilled my bowl again.“Wah we jus do?” He fell onto the bed, out of breath but still erect. “We cyaan d

Sitting in the hospital waiting room felt like I was doing a life sentence.Doctors, nurses, and enraged patients scattered the halls like patrons of a chaotic high school.Telephones, intercoms, and room lights rang and chimed, but it was all a blur to me. Every voice I heard, every question I was asked, it all sounded like the teacher from Charlie Brown.Womp. Womp. Womp.I was too worried that Monty wouldn’t make it out of surgery to pay attention to anything. Not even Detective Morris and his lapdog asking me fifty million questions.“What’s your relation to Montclair? Are you two married, friends with benefits? Or just hanging out?”“I’ve known him since college. We’re good friends,” I replied numbly.“Does he have any enemies, or do you have any enemies that would have done this?”“I know who shot him.”Detective Morris looked surprised by my answer; like he expected me to lie or make him jump through hoops to pull the truth out of me.Remembering how he reacted when he found ou

“Why did you shoot him! He wasn’t supposed to die!”“I thought he was gonna kill you! He went for a gun! You didn’t see it because you were too focused on scaring Brielle.”“Fuck! Shit! Fuck!”I paced back and forth with my hand on my head, trying to figure out what to do next.It was by pure luck that Kannon and I got out of Monty’s house before the police came, but none of that mattered to me if he was dead.Not freedom, not luck, not Brielle’s heartache.I wanted to be with him in the end. To show Brielle that two could play the game she mastered so long ago. But if he was dead, that meant we both lost.And if we both lost, then everything was for nothing.“You think anybody saw us?” Kannon asked, peeping through his blinds like a peeping Tom.“Yeah. Brielle,” I replied smugly.“Besides her.”“No, Kannon. I don’t know. Why were you there anyway? Did you follow me?”For a minute, I thought he might’ve been jealous that I was going to see another man in the middle of the night. But n

A death as quiet as a whisper and as gentle as a feather.Brielle and Monty, always and forever...The ringing in my ears silenced the world around me.I couldn’t hear anything except the poem he wrote me years ago.I didn’t hear Draya screaming and panicking. I didn’t hear the blurry figure that rushed in to drag her out of the room before the cops came. I didn’t even hear the sirens.That poem was the only thing I heard while auto-piloting what I remembered from a CPR class I took as a freshman.Blood soaked my hands while putting pressure on his wound, and I felt like my lifesaving measures were useless.But just when I was about to give up and die right next to him from a broken heart, the paramedics rushed through the bedroom door to take over.“Ma’am, we got a call about gunshots. Are you hurt?”“Do you know who did this?”“Is the person still in the house?”“Is this drug or gang related?”“Where’s the gun?”“Did he make you do this?”Their questions fogged my brain like a car t

It was an awkward time, but I couldn’t ignore how sexy Brielle was sitting in my passenger seat.She asked me to take her home after talking to her mama and Draya, and I was happy to. Even though the family was in a state of emergency.A lot went down that night.Some things came out that I would’ve never guessed went on under Percy’s roof, but I didn’t speculate what was true and what wasn’t.I just wanted to be there for Brielle.“How yuh feeling?”I put my hand on her leg and gave her a quick glance.She moved my hand closer to her inner thigh and let her head rest against the seat.I took it as a sexual gesture, but Brielle was all about the comfort of having something strong in her power.“I feel bad for Draya,” she said. “That’s all I can feel right now.”"Wah she seh when yuh talk to her?"Brielle rolled her eyes and let out a heavy sigh.I got the hint—she didn’t want to talk about her family drama.I was curious, though.There were a lot of things said that night; a lot of in