“Do we really have to go over there? I mean, I think Shayla can manage to clean that party shit up by herself,” Steele replied, almost begging. He sat back against the bathroom counter and gently pulled on my shirt, which ended me standing in between his legs. “I have months’ worth of not gettin’ to touch you to make up for, and I wanna get a lot of it done as soon as possible.”
“I know how you feel, believe me, all I wanna do is rip your clothes back off, but I promised her I’d come over this mornin’ and help her. It’s probably pretty trashed after all those people were there last night.” He let out a small grunt in protest, but didn’t say anything else about it.
Shayla’s yard was trashed. There was paper and cups scattered all over the place. I walked over to the steps leading up to her door, when I heard something in the bushes that made me stop dead in my tracks.
“Ahhhhh … damn, I drank wayyyyy too much,” the voice sounded like it was still intoxicated. A pair of colorful Nikes stuck out of the bushes. I moved the limbs away and found Payne. He was naked with the exception of a pair of girl’s bikini bottoms. “Don’t hate me cause I’m beautiful …” he sang to me. I reached down and grabbed his arm, pulling him up.
“I don’t hate you, Payne. I know you’re beautiful, and that’s just somethin’ I’ve learned to cope with,” I told him. His dark brown hair was full of leaves and grass, so I swatted them off, trying to clean him up.
“It’s a curse, but I’m glad you’ve learned to manage it.” He looked between Ollie and me and gave us the thumbs up. “I knew you two would get back together. Ollie, you better be glad you came back … cause … I was smooth about to put my sugar up in that … that … peanut butter?” He cocked his head as if questioning what he had just said.
“I think you mean put your sugar up in that Kool-Aid, but I hate to break it to you, dude. I put my sugar all up in that multiple times last night, so I think I got it covered. Don’t I, babe?” I ignored his question and motioned for him to help me get Payne to the downstairs bedroom Lance stayed in.
“Y’all wanna see me dance? Reese, I know you like it when I dance … I could do a little shake for you right now.” Payne obviously didn’t care that Steele was hearing everything he said. Steele didn’t seem to mind. He just laughed everything off. “That Johnny Paycheck is my fuckin’ hero! I know he went home with like six chicks last night.”
“And he just left you in the bushes, huh?” I asked. Payne puckered his lips in an absolutely adorable way.
“Hey! … You’re right. He told me he was gonna come back for me. I was his wing man.”
“He probably just forgot or somethin’. He was pretty drunk,” I said. We put him down on the bed, and he curled up toward the wall. Within a few seconds, he was snoring loudly. We walked back out, shutting the door behind us.
“So, you were thinkin’ about movin’ on with Payne, huh? I didn’t know his crush on you was that bad. I mean, I knew he thought you were hot and all, but damn. I don’t guess I’m gonna be able to keep you around any of my friends.” He poked me in the side and jumped back to avoid my retaliation.
“No, but that’s just the price you have to pay for dating one of the most awesome chicks ever. Who wouldn’t wanna put a little sugar in this?” I dropped down and slung my leg out, taking his out from under him. He fell to the ground, and I crawled on top of him. “The thing is I don’t want anyone else’s sugar but yours.” I gave him a kiss and pushed his messy blond hair away from his eyes.
“Not even the guy on the motorcycle?” The color drained from my face. I hadn’t seen him since that night, not in person. I couldn’t say the same thing about my dreams. I had seen his face … his smile several times since that night on his bike. I didn’t know what it was about him. This was the first time Steele had mentioned him. Up until this point, I wasn’t sure he saw me on that bike.
“No, not even his. I’m with the one I love and wanna be with. That guy was just tryin’ to make me feel better because he knew I was havin’ a shitty night. But if you wanna bring that night up, what about you and the brunette?” I moved off of him and sat back on my heels.
“Those were some girls Jace talked into gettin’ a drink with us. We literally bounced after you walked out. Nothin’ happened.”
“Harley just took me on a ride. He said that’s what he always did when he needed to clear his head, and he dropped me off at my apartment and left.” A look of relief flooded his face.
“Let’s get this yard clean, shall we?” He jumped up and reached down to take my hand. We pounded on Shayla’s door for about ten minutes with no response. “I can break it down, if you want.”
“That’s okay. I guess we can just come back later. Maybe she’ll be up.” A grunt and a giggle came from inside. Ollie and I shot each other questionable stares, so we knocked again.
The door opened, and Zane greeted us. He looked us over without the slightest bit of interest. “Yeah?” he answered.
I tried to peek around his shoulder, but once he noticed, he shifted in front of me. “Where’s Shayla?” My voice rose slightly, due to him thinking this was his house.
“She’s taken care of. You probably need to go tell her little boyfriend that.”
“You fuckin’ dick …” Steele said. I pushed him back when I noticed his fist clenched. He already went toe-to-toe with one guy from this group, I’m sure it would have made no difference to fight another one.
“Well, that’s all good, but where’s she at?”
His eyes flickered for a moment, and the pupils elongated like a snake. “Yo! You got some friends out here that won’t leave until they see you. So bring your ass over here, and pacify these losers, so we can go back to bed, shawty.”
“Oh, she’s landed the jackpot with you, hasn’t she?” I asked him sarcastically. His tongue ran across his gold tooth and made a sucking noise.
“She don’t know nann nother man like this. I’m the realest she ever gonna meet. If you wanna get up in this, I got a friend that’ll gladly help you out, tame that fuckin’ mouth of yours.” I bit my lip to keep from saying anything else. Shayla stumbled up to the door wearing panties and a sports bra, her hair sticking up on one side and makeup smeared down her face.
“What’s up?” she asked.
“Can we talk, just the two of us?” I asked while eyeing him. He rolled his eyes and walked to the back. Ollie walked back down the steps, toward the car. “So what’s goin’ on with you and white Flava Flave?”
“I called him back over here once everyone started clearing out last night. I couldn’t get him outta my mind. His taste is just incredible!” Her eyes clouded over, a lot like last night when she was dancing. Something wasn’t right here. Not to mention his weird, goofy eyes.
“Okay, that’s good.” I was trying to reason with her, but I didn’t want to piss her off. “He didn’t give you anything, did he?” Her eyes narrowed at me and her eyebrows pulled together.
“No, he didn’t give me anything. This is purely love I’m feelin’. All I know is I don’t want him to ever leave me. I don’t know what I’d do without him.”
“You just met him. What the hell? How do you know you love him? That’s just stupidity talkin’. Did you forget you’ve been whining and crying over Jace for the past several months? He was here, ready to get on his knees, and beg you back to him last night. You blew him off for that thing.”
“Don’t talk about him like that. Jace was too late for us. I found someone else, so I think it’s time Jace moves on without me. If you can’t accept me with Zane, then I think you can go on about your way, and consider us not friends anymore.” Before I could say anything back to her, she slammed the door in my face. I could feel the heat broiling within me. I pounded on the door with my fist until it flew back open. Once again, I was staring at Zane, only this time he was wearing a snide smirk.
“I think she told you her decision, boo. Maybe you should just take yo’ ass on down them steps, get in yo’ car,
and drive off like a good little girl.” I turned my back on him, but then hearing him laugh made me stop in my tracks.
“Oh shit,” Steele said from beside the car. He knew what was coming next and was already laughing about it. He felt my wrath when he thought he could be a dick to me and my friends just because he was mad about me going out with one of the other trainers. I turned back around to Zane. He seemed to be getting a kick out of me getting so worked up.
“The thing is, Zane … I’m not a good little girl …” I threw a right hook connecting with his mouth, knocking his gold tooth out. He spit it on the porch along with a mouth full of blood. “I’m gonna be your worse motherfucking nightmare.”
I desperately tried to hold my shaky hand steady as I applied the black eyeliner to my top lid. “Ughhhhh!!!” I screamed and shook both hands, trying to get this feeling to go away. I managed to finish my makeup job before the familiar stomach pains started which caused my face to scrunch in agony. They were getting worse. Much worse. I bent over and held onto my midsection as if it were an infant I was cuddling. I needed Zane. All these horrible feelings seemed to melt away when he was around me. Over the past few days, he had really become my rock. I didn’t need anyone else as long as I had him. As if on cue, I heard a knock at my front door. I struggled to stand up straight. As I made my way closer to the front door, the pain seemed to melt away. The intoxication radiated off of him. His smell, his voice, the way he moved, all seemed to drive me crazy.
“There you are!” I said excitedly as I threw myself at him and pulled his face to mine for a deep kiss. The taste of his lips and saliva sent a warm sensation all over my body, making me want him uncontrollably. My hands found his leather jacket and pushed it off his shoulders. It hit the floor with a soft thud. He stepped over it, pushing me against the back of a chair while he used his foot to push the door close behind him.
“That’s how I like to be greeted. You want this hard dick, don’t you?” he asked as he walked over to me like a lion stalking his prey. He stopped in front of me and grabbed a handful of my hair, pulling my head back while his other hand slid under my short skirt. I let out a soft moan. “Do you want me to fuck you?” he hissed.
“Yes … please. It’s yours, all yours, so please take it.” That seemed to satisfy him.
“Turn around.” I turned and felt his hard-on against my backside. He entered me with such force it knocked me forward. I quickly regained my balance to take every bit of what I wanted from him. It ended entirely too soon, but I suppose him giving me three orgasms would do until later. After all, we did have a party to get to.
“We need to get goin’. Tonight is a special night,” he said as he put his jacket back on. I adjusted my skirt and ran a hand through my hair to smooth it over.
“What’s goin’ on that’s so important?” I asked as I followed him out the door.
“It’s just somethin’ my crew does every few years. We only allow certain people to witness and partake in. I don’t wanna give it away, so you’ll just have to wait and find out. I don’t think it’ll be somethin’ you forget.”
I climbed on the back of his bike and put the helmet on he handed me. It was indescribable the way Zane made me feel. No one else existed but the two of us, and that didn’t matter to me as long as I had him.
I wrapped my arms around his slender, muscular waist as we sped along Highway 69 on his midnight blue Kawasaki Ninja crotch rocket. The wind beat across my face as the speedometer needle continued to climb higher and higher. Normally, I would have been a little terrified snaking through this curvy road at such high speeds, but with him, I knew death wouldn’t dare touch me. He barely slowed as downtown came into view.
We took a sharp right onto a tiny road that lead to the community pool and then veered off on a beaten road that was almost completely covered by the overgrown trees. It was surprisingly steep and took my breath away as we went down it. He made a deep, throaty laugh and put his hand on my arm, rubbing it, ever so slightly, with his fingers. We stopped and parked with a line of bikes as we reached an old shabby building that’s peak could barely be seen by the road above. A group of guys, wearing Depot Demon jackets, and a few girls stood around a small bonfire. They paid us little attention as we climbed off the bike. “Is this Devil’s Den?” I asked, eyeing the place cautiously.
“Yeah. Why you ask it like that?” he replied, giving a head nod to the group at the bonfire.
“Well, I’ve always heard about this place, but I really didn’t think anyone was stupid enough to come down here. I’ve been told some crazy ass stories. I’m not about sacrificing Fido and dancing in his blood. That’s some shit that ain’t happenin’ with this girl.”
He turned his attention back to me with a serious and cold expression. “That’s what people say goes on down here? Please … that sounds like somethin’ these Jackson rednecks would come up with. Can’t they get a little more creative with these stories? Nothin’ like that happens here, so you don’t have anything to worry about, babe. We just like hangin’ here because it’s quiet and secluded. Basically, no one knows we’re here to mess with us.”
I thought about what he said and decided it made sense, even though the place still gave me a weird feeling. He put his arm around my waist and guided me toward the building covered in spray painted symbols. Trash was scattered around, there was a cross hanging by a rope in the corner of the awning, and a sinister face staring at each person as they entered the broken down doorway. I followed him into a cold, stale smelling, empty room and was greeted by loud music coming from upstairs.
“Come on, the party is up here.”
“You mean I gotta go up them raggedy, old stairs?” I asked. This night was going to end up with me in the emergency room with a piece of wood jammed up my asshole.
“Plenty of people have walked over these steps. They’re sturdier than what they look like. Now move your fine ass up them, so I can watch it bounce.” I giggled at him and slowly started climbing the steps. At the top, a flood of red light and the smell of cheap liquor greeted me. “I’m about to go get you a drink. Find somewhere to sit until I get back,” he said as his eyes practically danced around.
Before I could say anything, he turned, and left me standing alone in a crowd of people I didn’t know. Normally, a party was my comfort zone, but this one felt more like a wannabe orgy. I ignored the half-naked girls doing their dirty business with guys out in the open as I glanced around, trying to find a place to sit. I spotted a girl sitting alone on an old couch, so I decided to join her.
“What up?” I asked, plopping down beside her. She stared straight ahead at Neko, who was playing an intense game of pool with a guy whose Afro was so big it literally looked like I could hide in it. I waited several minutes for her response. Of course, this pissed me off. “Didn’t you hear me?” I asked again, leaning up, and waving my hand in front of her dazed expression.
“Oh, hey,” she replied in a low monotone voice, never taking her eyes away from him.
“Maybe you don’t need to drink anymore tonight,” I replied, thinking that was the problem. I reached to take her cup, but was stopped by Neko slapping my hand away. My eyebrows rose as I glared at him. “Oh, hell nah. I know you just didn’t, you stupid penis hole,” I yelled. I started to stand to get in his face and knock his ugly ass out.
“Whoa, whoa! Everyone calm down. This is a damn party, and ain’t nobody gettin’ crunk up in this bitch. Now sit down, Shayla, and talk to me for a minute. Leave Neko’s punk ass alone,” Asher said, appearing at my side. Still burning hot with anger, he pulled me back down to the couch as he sat on my other side. “So, what up, Shayla? How’s everything been goin’?” he asked, trying to calm me down.
“Everything has been goin’ pretty good, I guess. You know, really the same old junk.”
“That’s good. So how has your fine ass friend been doin’ these days? She left that stupid prick that interrupted us in the pool?” he asked, leaning back into the
corner of the couch. It looked like it probably held a number of STDs.
“Yeah, they’re still together, I guess,” I replied, looking around for Zane. He was nowhere to be found, so I turned my attention back to him. My phone started to vibrate my leg through the purse draped across me. I reached into the bag, trying to fish it out but wrapped my hand around a small box. Confused, I shoved it back into the bag and made a mental note to see what it was later when I was alone.
“You know, if we could’ve had about ten more minutes that night, she woulda been here with me tonight,” he said. I gasped as his eyes changed. With the excitement in his voice, his eyes turned into slits and then changed back to normal. Stunned, I couldn’t speak.
“Are you keepin’ my hunny out of trouble over here?” Zane asked as he stepped in front of me and handed me a drink.
“Tryin’ to, but this girl knows she’s a handful. That should make it even more satisfying later.”
“You have no idea,” he replied, laughing. I had no idea what they were talking about, but something wasn’t right with this situation, especially with Asher’s eyes.
“Ummm, I think I’ll go call Reese and try to get her down here for you, Asher. I really don’t like Ollie anyway. He needs to get the boot. Is there a bathroom I can go in to call her? It’s kinda loud in here.” I asked, standing up. Zane pointed across the room to a door. Before I could walk past him, he grabbed me around the waist for a kiss.
“Don’t be long. I would hate to come find you because it wouldn’t be good.” I pushed my way to the bathroom, fighting to remember why I was heading there in the first place. His kiss clouded my thoughts. I shut the door to the dirty room, locking it behind me. Leaning against it, I let out a deep sigh. No time for this, as I remembered why I came in here. I grabbed my purse to get my phone out. I came in here to call Reese.
Instead, I pulled out the box I found. This time curiosity got the best of me, and I tore the wrapping paper off to open the lid. Inside, I found a silver chain with an upside down triangle pendant. A Celtic Trinity Knot was engraved on the front with little pink stones embedded in the symbol. It looked a lot like the necklace Reese wore recently. I flipped it over and engraved on the back was, ‘The things you do to me’. My heart dropped into my stomach as I realized I was holding the gift Jace tried to give me the night of my birthday party. Someone put it here, hoping I would find it.
Reckoning Page 16
