“You’re going to kill yourself, Em,” Ethan, his cousin through marriage said, shaking his head pathetically. Although white, Ethan was Ethan had been across the room weight training, but anyone could see how much pain Emperor was in.

            Casting a black look, Ethan’s way, Em continued pounding the weight bag, this time going faster focusing more and more on the pain. He needed it so bad to keep his mind off of what the real problem was. He really needed the pain right now.

“I don’t see why you’re doing this,” Ethan said sitting on the weight bench and wiping his sweat off. “Just go out right now and find anything, dammit, Em. Eartha won’t know.”

Em hit the bag harder and faster concentrating on his breathing and wishing Ethan would shut the fuck up.

Ethan clicked his tongue pitifully. “You know you’re back is going to start bleeding and then you’ll die.”

Em hit the bag so hard the leather finally gave way and burst. Sand shot out, but Em stepped back in time before he got any on himself. He wasn’t satisfied. He never would be until he got to the real problem out of the way.

“Lethal’s going to bust you open a new one when he sees that,” Ethan said.

Turning around, he narrowed a glare at his cousin. Anyone else would have run from the room, but Ethan wasn’t intimidated and it wasn’t because he was white and Emperor was black. Ethan just didn’t have a bone of good sense in his body. He could make a num want to punch his lights out, but he could also give as good as he could get. Ethan knew Em was looking for a fight, but Em wasn’t going to satisfy the young muskrat’s sick joy. “Shut the fuck up,” he warned.

Ethan chuckled and walked out the room knowing he wouldn’t get much out of Em today. Once he was alone, Em sat slowly down on the weight bench feeling the hot course of lightening pain shoot up his spine. Closing his eyes, he tried very hard to just concentrate on that, but the minute he relaxed he could feel the uncomfortable hardness between his legs.

How long had it been? Three months? Yes, three months, one day and twelve hours. If he wanted to get really technical he could say seven minutes and twenty-five… twenty-six…twenty-seven seconds. Fuck!

What the hell was he trying to prove to himself? No, this was for Eartha, his daughter. She won’t know if you got some real quick.

Yes, she would. Although the child was just fourteen, she knew her old man like the back of her hand. Em couldn’t hide the shit either. Eartha could read him like a book, just like her mother.

The thick muscle twitched irritably between his legs growing. He wasn’t consciously even thinking of sex and his manhood was standing at attention. Shit. Leaning forward despite the ache in his back, he covered his face with his large hands and let his elbows rest on his knees.

Eartha would know and then what? Buy why go through this torture? He asked himself. He already knew the answer, but he just hated remembering what he did to that fucker who was trying to take his daughter’s virginity.

If Em had decided to stay over night in New York, he knew his little girl wouldn’t have been his little girl anymore. So after they argued about how wrong it was to have sex as a teenager, she backfired and said how wrong it was to have sex out of marriage.

“You’re a hypocrite, Daddy!” she screamed angrily.

That word had rubbed him the wrong way and Em had few morals, but just being called that mad him feel so wrong in every sense of the word. Every sexual encounter had flashed through his mind and even though it took a long time because of so many, he just didn’t feel any better when he responded, “I’m grown.”

“So am I,” she retorted. “Or at least that’s what you

So Em crazily agreed to maintain celibacy if Eartha did so too.

Except he hadn’t realized how addicted he was until he stopped cold turkey.  Sure a lot of people said he was a sex addict.  He knew this about himself, but never took it that seriously.  Until now.  Even when he was married to Eartha’s mother, Karen, he dipped in every honey pot on the block then started with Karen’s friends.  It wasn’t until he slept with Karen’s mother did she decide that she couldn’t take it anymore.

His sleeping with many women always bothered Eartha, but she never said anything because she loved her dad.  Eartha figured he wouldn’t always be like this, but as time rolled on and new women constantly were seen leaving his home when she made her “surprise” visits, they often argued about his ways.

“There’s a word called AIDS, Daddy, have you heard it?” she would say.

He didn’t like when she sounded like her mother, so on these occasions he would try to ignore her.  Most times Em kept his mouth closed, but unlike Karen who could be ignore easily, Eartha could not.  He loved his daughter dearly and would move mountains for her.

Looking down now at his manhood, he wondered how could he take back this promise.

Pulling his wallet out of the anklet strap, he laid five hundred dollars on the weight bench for his cousin, Lethal.  Em was positive Lethal would understand and just get the bag fixed.      

He quickly took a shower and let himself out of Lethal’s home.  Lethal ran a security investigation business and usually employed his family to assist him on assignments.  Em was not one of them because Em ran his own business around Metro Detroit.

Getting into his new Jag convertible, he drove over to Eartha’s school and waited for her to come out.  There were several women who gave him an appreciative eye, but he ignored them releasing in the old back injury pain, that had been aggravated again from all his working out lately.  He knew he needed to see a masseuse or chiropractor, but he kind of needed this constant irritation in his life to keep him on track with Eartha’s promise.

Sex addict?  Yes, he admitted to himself.  He was definitely a sex addict.  He’d been like that since fifteen years of age.  One woman could never satisfy him and one time was just ridiculous.  Karen had been about the only woman that could take the sex, but after three months of just Karen, he needed to release himself to the world again.  So when Karen took a job that had her flying out of town a lot, how was a man suppose to sleep?

Lisa from across the street came over to warm up his dinner and seeing her bend over the counter like that did something to him.  Next thing he knew his dick was inside Lisa and the chicken casserole was on the floor, while Lisa’s naked ass was on the counter.  He could remember every stroke, every moan she made, and relished in having her take his love juice deep inside of her.

Shifting uncomfortable in his seat, he found a jacket to put in his lap not wanting Eartha to see the large bulge in the front of his pants.

The final bell rung for the day an Eartha came bounding to the car, but she didn’t run on the other side like usual and wait for him to get out and let her in.  This time she stood by the driver door.

“Get in,” he insisted.

“Dad, I need you to come in so that you can meet my teacher,” she insisted with doe black eyes just like her father.

Em really didn’t feel like being bothered today.  “Let’s do this tomorrow, Eartha.”

“Daddy!” she said impatiently as if he were wasting her time.  “This is important.”

Em threw his head back forcing his hard-on to calm the fuck down, while he dealt with this situation.  Getting out the car, he was able to walk behind Eartha and into the school building muttering under his breath about how he bet Karen never gets dragged around like this.

Of course people moved out his way easily but that was because he was six feet nine, and three hundred pounds of muscles.  Who would want to stand in his way?  Eartha was never intimidated because she knew she had him wrapped so tight around her pinky finger, he wouldn’t dare hurt a hair on her head.

“Oh Lord,” someone gasped as he stepped into the classroom Earth led him to.

This was a normal reaction and when he found the person who said it, he immediately knew this was the teacher.  Her hair was pulled back so far in a bun, her thick eyebrows looked permanently arched.  There were thick bifocals that framed as slim face and she had a blouse that was buttoned all the way up to her neck and a black skirt all the way down to her ankles.

“This is my daddy,” Eartha said proudly.  “Daddy, this is Ms. Carver.”

He stuck his hand out, despite the pain in his back.  “Emperor Heart, ma’am.”

“Who?  Emperor?  That’s your first name?” she asked flustered, looking up and down at him.

“Yes, ma’am, but most people call me Em.”  He always had trouble with people believing his name, but that was his loony mother’s doing so he couldn’t darn well question it.

After people accepted the name, the teacher did what everyone else did, took him in visually.  By now he was use to the inspection, but why did he have the feeling this prudish looking woman was trying to smolder his clothes off with her eyes.

Impatiently, he looked at his daughter for answers.

Eartha nodded to a desk across the room, where a girl was sitting with a large black eye in the back of the classroom.  He would swear the girl was trying to copy the teacher’s dress style and she was rather tall to be in the ninth grade, but he had been a tall boy at this age too.  Her hair was pulled back in a bun, but it had somewhat come a loose and she wore this large glasses that were very unattractive for her face.  Her long legs were under the desk with her knees tightly together and she didn’t bother to look his way, but instead stared out the window looking quite distraught.

“It was a mistake, Daddy,” Eartha implored.

Ms. Carver cleared her throat as if she had been lost for words.  Em looked down at the teacher as she explained what happened.

“Eartha and another student were arguing in the hallway over something.  Reese went out there to break it up and in turn…well, your daughter’s fist missed its target and knocked Reese clear down the hall.”

Em shot a dark look to his daughter, who snorted in amusement.  Eartha immediately straightened up and looked innocence.

“I said I was sorry, Daddy.  I really was, Reese just got in the way,” Eartha explained.

Ms. Carver handed him a blue piece of paper.  “I’ve called for an immediate suspension-“

“But it was a mistake!” Eartha cried.  “Daddy, tell her it was a mistake.”

He shot her a darker look, which shut her up immediately.  Taking the paper from the teacher, he looked back at “Reese,” who paid more attention to what was going on outside the window, rather than what was happening at the front of the classroom.  “Apologize,” he ordered gruffly.

Eartha looked at Ms. Carver.  “I’m sorry for interrupting you, Ms. Carver.”

Em growled low and Eartha pouted, already knowing what her father wanted her to do.  Reluctantly, she walked to the back of the classroom and leaned down to Reese.  Em couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Reese never looked his way.

He didn’t know why that bothered him, but it did and he wanted to walk back there and say something to her.  Maybe the punch had knocked her blind, but he knew his ass was big and he was very use to people staring at him like he was the fucking eighth wonder of the word.  This “girl” didn’t even give him the time of day.

Eartha kissed the girl’s cheek and then returned to her father.  “Reese said it didn’t do nothing, but make her face fatter, but she knows it was just a mistake.  She said you need to enroll me in boxing lessons to perfect my aim.”

Em couldn’t believe the girl had actually said something like that and he really did want to go back there and talk to her, but she didn’t look like she wanted company.  He cursed her distance because he couldn’t make out her features well.

“Shouldn’t I speak to her parents?” he asked Ms. Carver.

The teacher looked affronted.  “Reese doesn’t need representation, Mr. Heart.  I am her mother.”

“Pity.”  Em wanted to bite his tongue for letting that remark slip out.  “Okay, is there anything else I need to do?” he asked quickly, as the teacher looked very insulted.

“No, just sign this to let them know we had a conference and Eartha will be able to return to school in two days.”    

“What about the work she missed?” Em asked.

“You or her mother may come and pick it up.  We ask that you do not bring the child with you.”

“I’m not a child,” Eartha pouted.

He signed the form in a hurry and walked out the room with Eartha giving the girl in the back one more glance.  She was looking at him now, and a smirk creased her lip slightly.  Ms. Carver cleared her throat and the girl immediately blushed and looked back out the window.

“Good bye, Mr. Heart,” Ms. Carver said.

Em left out the room not understanding exactly what had happened.

“She’s a bitch,” Eartha said almost reading his thoughts about Ms. Carver.

“Don’t curse,” he ordered.

“That’s what mom calls her.  Ms. Carver doesn’t understand it was all an accident.  Reese understood and I don’t think I should have got suspended.  It was an honest mistake.  You should have fought it, Daddy,” Eartha said, as he opened the passenger door to his car.

He was still trying to figure out Reese.  “Are you and Reese friends?”

Eartha shrugged.  “She’s cool.  I’ve only known her since this year though.  She just started this year.  She really helped me out in my Algebra stuff.  Mommy likes her too.  She says I should be nice to her, because with a mother like that, a girl needs as many friends as possible.”

“You can’t go around swinging those fist of yours, Eartha,” he said, making sure he got in his word of discipline knowing Karen was going to shit bricks about this.

“We were just playing around in the hall, Daddy, and Reese just walked in at the wrong moment.  She knows she’s clumsy; it happens.”  Eartha started playing with the radio.  “You know Mommy has no intentions of getting back with you?”

Eartha always had a knack for suddenly changing the subject.  Em wanted to speak more about Reese.  “What does this have to do with you getting in a fight today at school?”

Eartha rolled her pitch black eyes so much like her father, but with a softer glint.  “It wasn’t a fight, Emperor Daddy.  I swear!  We were playing in the halls and Reese just got hurt.  She’s forgiven me.”

He knew when she used his name like that, she was being very honest with him and her temper was about to flare about the subject.  “Well, you make sure you can convince your mother of that.”  He handed her a copy of the suspension notice as they stopped in front of the townhouse Karen lived in.

Karen ran a home medical billing business and was very protective of her daughter.  She waved from the doorway as Eartha ran up to the porch.

Em decided to shut his phone off and drive away quickly, before Karen saw the suspension notice.  He’d let her work it out.  As he drove, he was kind of glad of the distraction at Eartha’s school because his “addiction” had left him alone for that moment, but now that he was by himself again…

*      *      *

Soft, dark chocolate skin layered with sweat smelling so sweet to his nose.  He buried his face in her neck lifting the satiny brown hair out of his way.  She purred her delight and wrapped her long feminine arms around his neck.  He couldn’t tell who this was, but he was having fun pleasuring her, tasting her, kissing her all over.  She was so receptive to his tongue as he found her secret valley and delved into her confection.

Her honey thickly coated his tongue and he looked up to see what he was doing to her, and gasped realizing it was…Reese, but he couldn’t make out her face that well because she looked so far away.

She opened her mouth to speak, but instead of her voice, the sound of a phone ringing came from her lips.

*      *      *      *

The phone broke the dream instantly and Em shot up in bed.  Two days he hadn’t bothered to move except to take cold showers.  He didn’t even bother with the hot water anymore.

“Hello,” he growled.

“How long were you going to ignore me?” Karen asked on the other end of the phone.

Cursing, he lay back down and rolled his eyes heavenwards as he looked down at his crotch to see his member standing straight up.  Not wearing clothes to bed didn’t help at all, because his thick manhood was lifting the heavy comforter and the middle of the bed looked like there was a pup tent around his damn waist.

“Fuck, Karen, I just figured you’d work it out,” he said.

“Oh yeah, I worked it out alright.  Went up there and almost broke that bitch’s nose.  They said Eartha needed one more day at home and that I’m not allowed on the premise for the rest of the school year,” Karen said.  She was talking on a cell phone.

Em chuckled because it sounded just like Karen.  “So what do you want me to do?”

“You’re going to have to pick up her homework.  She can’t miss it and Reese said she would gather it for you,” Karen answered.

Sitting up in bed despite his discomfort, he asked, “That’s the little girl, Eartha punched isn’t it?”

Karen laughed.  “Reese is not a little girl.”

“I mean she’s tall and all, and most definitely nice.”

“Yeah, they are all until they get around you, Emperor.  Can you be a dear and not cause any trouble in Reese’s life?”

What kind of pervert did she think he was?

“Hell, Karen, I’ll admit I’ve done some pretty shitty things to you, but I won’t let you call me some kind of demoralized ass.”

Angrily, through gritted teeth, Karen said, “I think I have the right to call you whatever I want, Em, but as always I will keep my opinion of you to myself.”  Taking a moment, before she said, “Just get the work from the girl and bring it to your daughter.”

The line clicked and Em stared at the phone for a long minute wondering what was her deal.  Karen had always been a person who kept her anger to herself.  He had apologized for his raucous behavior many times over and she forgave him every time, but she never forgot.  Matter of fact, at the divorce hearing Karen read every name of every woman he had cheated on her with.  She had asked for nothing in terms of a settlement except for child support and continued emotional support of their daughter.

“You may have not been a good husband, but I will demand that you be a good father to our daughter, Emperor Heart.”

That he had been, not because he felt guilty about what he had done to Karen, but because he really wanted to be someone Eartha could look up to.

So taking the vow of sudden celibacy was easy when he had spoken the words, because he would do anything to make Eartha happy.  He had stuck to his guns all this time, and no temptation, no matter how great it had been could make him go back on his word.  He wanted to keep it; no matter how difficult it was to do it, he still wanted to keep the promise he had made to Eartha.  No more women.  No more sex until he was with a woman he wanted to be with forever.

Now even though he was thirty-six, Em had no intentions of settling just yet.  Yes, he craved for more children in his life – especially a son to carry on his name, but he didn’t want just any woman to bear his child.  He wanted someone special and whether they stayed together or not, he wanted her to be close to him like Karen was.

Looking at the time, he knew he should get to the school soon before everyone left and he wasn’t sure how to go about finding this Reese when he only knew her first name, but if she was a friend of his daughter’s then they had to have classes together.  It shouldn’t be that hard.  Reese was a unique name for a girl and easily found if the staff had time to look.

His phone rang again, and he thought it was Karen calling back to apologize for losing her temper, but it wasn’t.

“It’s Ethan.  I need those CD’s I asked you for a week ago.  Since you aren’t using them anymore, can I come over and borrow them?”

“Yeah, sure,” Em said.  “How long before you get here?”

“About twenty minutes or less,” Ethan answered.

“I got to get in the shower and get ready, so I’ll leave the door unlock.  They’re in the living room on the top center.”

Hanging up, he immediately went to the front door, turned off the security system, and unlocked it.  Even though this was Detroit, no one was crazy enough to walk in his home as if they lived there.  Just in case someone suddenly got balls the size of New York, he wrapped his .22 in a towel.  Going back to his room, he stripped naked and went to take yet another cold shower.

ADDICTED © 2008 SYLVIA HUBBARD