by Nicety
“No never!” Lexi cried.
“Why Diamond?” Kojack asked curiously.
Diamond’s palms filled with tiny droplets of sweat, afraid to tell them for fear of them treating her like a leper. Her heart could not bear that, as she looked deep into the eyes of the man she once craved and that of her seemingly naïve little sister. There were no words that would be able to prepare them for that kind of news. Her thoughts were as heavy as her heart as she looked deeply into her sister’s inquisitive eyes and then cut away to the window, staring out into the white snow. For some reason she felt the truth would set her free right at that moment.
“Because I have AIDS lil’ sis.”
“Oh my God!” Lexi gasped. “Are you sure? How do you know?”
“I just know okay. Don’t bombard me with fifty questions; just know that you need to be more careful lil sis. It can happen to anybody.”
Kojack exhaled deeply, fixing his mouth like he was about to blow a whistle but only air came out. He sat back in his chair devastated by the news she had just dropped on them and it felt like a building of bricks. Lexi could do nothing more than hold her hand over her mouth to keep from giving Diamond the inquisition. The looks on both of their faces was more than she could bare as Diamond snatched her coat from the back of the dining room chair and headed for the door.
“Where are you going, Diamond? You just gonna leave like that?” Lexi asked feeling guilty that they might have been a little harsh in their reactions.
“I’m just going to get some air.”
Chapter 3
“But it’s my birthday.” — Lexi
It was 4 pm. Lexi walked around Kojack’s freshly cleaned house checking everything to make sure she had gotten dirt from every nook and cranny. She was becoming accustomed to being a little housewife and had virtually no complaints. It was everything she did not know she could be, but she knew that she wanted to keep Kojack happy. It was also her way of showing him that she and Diamond were appreciative of him letting them stay at his place until they got on their feet.
Lexi was not much of a cooker seeing as though Pandora used to handle all of that when they were living with their dad. But she was slowly coming into her own, learning to cook tacos, baked chicken, and fried cabbage, which were recipes she looked up on YouTube. Today was a special day, though. She sought out a bunch of recipes fit for a king and decided to whip them up like nobody’s business. Kojack would be home from work at 6 pm and she wanted to make sure that dinner was piping hot and on the table by 5:55 pm and not a moment later.
All of the burners on the stove were lit high and the oven, along with the steam from the pots made the kitchen feel like a sweltering jungle. She smiled to herself realizing her meal was almost complete, baked macaroni and cheese, cornbread muffins, baked barbequed ribs, corn on the cob, and Glory greens. Even though she had not seen Diamond all day she made enough for her to eat as well. It was weird to her how Diamond was always up and out of the house by the time she woke up in the morning, but she brushed it off figuring she was out looking for them an apartment with the money they stole from Pandora. Lexi did not know a good way to tell Diamond that she was not going to move with her feeling like Kojack needed her more. The longer she could postpone the talk the better.
“Hey babe, I was just calling to see how much longer it will be before you get home,” Lexi exclaimed when Kojack answered the phone.
“Uh, I got at least a few more hours here. Some shipments didn’t come in today and we have to do a few things with what we got here so…it’s a bit rough right now,” Kojack’s voice was dry and uninviting.
“Okay, I’m sensing some issues on your end. You having a rough day at work and need someone to talk to or what?”
“Naw Lex. I’m just working right now, okay. When I’m done I’ll be home.”
“Kojack…it’s 5:30 pm though. I mean, how long do you think you’re gonna be?”
“If I knew I’d tell you but right now, I don’t know.”
“Okay listen, I feel the hostility flowing through the phone. I ain’t done anything wrong so I’m trying to figure out why I’m being punished. I should be happy today babe, but for some reason I don’t feel happy,” Lexi whined.
“Look we can talk about this later alright. I gotta go.”
“Kojack, why can’t we fucking talk about it now? You obviously have some issues that you need to air out so why not do it now so when you get home everything will be good. Cause all I’m trying to do tonight is eat good and damn sure fuck good.”
“Bye Lex. I’ll be home when I’m done,” Kojack was stern as he hung up the phone.
“Kojack! Kojack!” Lexi looked at the phone in disbelief that he had hung up on her when she clearly was not done talking.
She knew that he was a little uneasy after Diamond’s confession of her illness yesterday but what she did not know is how badly it had affected him. Lexi was not about to let it mess her day up, though. It was her birthday and she was seventeen now, which meant she was one year closer to being a full grown woman. She was one year closer to Kojack not having to worry about what people thought of their relationship and gossiping about her age. As she removed the homemade cake from the stove that she poured blood, sweat and tears into, because Kojack was nuts about homemade sweets, she was determined not to allow his funky demeanor on the phone to deter her from thinking about celebrating tonight.
All of the burners and oven were off and the cake was frosted with caramel. She made sure to cover the food properly so that it retained its heat. The time seemed to escape her but she knew that no matter how late he said he had to work, Kojack would never let her down knowing that today was very special for the two of them. She whisked up the stairs and into the shower for the second time that day, posthaste. He liked a fresh kitty cat to nibble on and wanted to make sure she served him just that. Once she was done, she decided to let her bobbed hair air dry to give it a curly look. The heat was so intense in the house that the droplets of water on her body nearly evaporated immediately.
Lexi had never gone back to their downtown condo ever since the day Pandora was arrested, so she had virtually no clothes at Kojack’s house and Diamond seemed to be hoarding the money tightly. Nonetheless, she figured what better way to ring in her birthday than nearly in her birthday suit, adorning only a pair of lace black thongs she had on hand. She waltzes back down the stairs swaying her hips and bouncing her breasts practicing how she would greet him when he came through the door. She twirled around in circles enjoying how free she felt as the air caressed her curvy body. She glanced over at the cable box to peep the time, 6:58 pm.
To occupy her time she went to set the dining room table with a romantic setting. Lexi grabbed two China plates from the cabinet of dishes that were on display in the dining room. Kojack obviously only used those for exhibition purposes, but tonight was so extraordinary that she knew he would not care. She removed two sparkling glasses from the cabinet as well and placed them neatly in front of the plates. Unfortunately Kojack did not have any expensive silverware so she just folded some paper towels for napkins and used the standard forks and knives from the kitchen drawer to complete the table setting.
When the table was perfectly set to her liking, Lexi sauntered over to the stereo in the corner behind the sofa, pressing the power button before turning the volume up loudly.
At last
My love has come along
My lonely days are over
And life is like a song
Oh yeah yeah
At last
The skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped up in clover
The night I looked at you
Etta James seemed to be speaking straight to Lexi’s soul as if she had written the song specifically for her and Kojack. She danced like a stunning ballerina around the living room miming the words as if she were Etta herself, performing her own little concert with her eyes closed. Once the song was over, the radio DJ
spoke about various concerts in the area toning down for his commercial break while an out of breath Lexi plopped down on the sofa. The clock read 7:50 pm as her patience slowly began to wear thin from waiting to celebrate another year of life with the one she loved. She moved towards the kitchen popping the chilled Chardonnay she had on ice for the both of them to enjoy. It was the only thing of substance that she had to calm her nerves.
Meanwhile, Kojack sat in front of his house staring at the light shining through his living room curtains. He looked over in the passenger seat at the small neatly wrapped gift box with a curly shimmering gold bow on top of it. The wrapping paper was red with gold celebration dots. Lexi loved the color gold but that was the only paper they had left to wrap the two carat diamond tennis bracelet that he had bought for her. He purposely did not wish her a happy birthday all day because he was waiting to whisper it in her ear after she had opened her gift. But for some reason his legs could not move out of the car, his arms could not grasp the handle and pull the door open, and his fingers could not allow him to turn the key to the ignition shutting the car off.
He knew she would be in there; waiting for him in some sexy lingerie hoping for him to pummel her ass something wicked. He licked his lips at the very thought of her sweet juices. But even though he yearned to touch her, hold her, something deep down inside of him held him back from the act. The lump in his throat did not seem to go away no matter how many times he swallowed but he took a deep breath and closed his eyes picturing the train wreck ahead. He exited the car slowly and quietly looking around at the near darkness of the street. The cold air slapped him in the cheeks and the brisk tickled his nose as he sniffed hard to keep the snot from leaving his nose in a drip.
“Ahhh!” Kojack exhaled as he muscled up the courage to head towards the house and walk up his own flight of stairs to the front door.
He took out his house keys fiddling with them for a few minutes before setting the box down on the step in front of the glass screen door. His eyes stared down at it as if it would magically unlock the door and walk into the house on its own. It was a bitch move, a cowardly move and he knew it but was too afraid to fight it. It felt as if there was not a chance in hell that he would survive the night with her knowing what he knew. As painful as it was for him, he raced down the stairs and jumped back into his car. His legs shook but not from the cold as he revved up the engine. He took one last look at his house, feeling nothing but guilt mixed with a smidgen of relief as the car slowly rolled away from the house.
“Kojack?” Lexi called out coming from the kitchen to the living room.
She thought she had heard a noise and hoped it was him coming in the door. On her third glass of wine and trying not to guzzle it like she did the first two, she sauntered over to the dining table with the Chardonnay bottle in tow. She placed it down in front of her plate and stared into the flowered centerpiece as she sipped from her glass. With every sip she could feel her soul crush into many pieces. Never before had she loved someone so deep and cared about someone so much, not even Pandora. She grabbed her cell and dialed his number already knowing he would not answer the phone. He proved her right. She tossed it out of her sight hearing it land on the coffee table behind her and thankful that it did not shatter. After that scare, the thought of wrecking something entered her brain but she feared it might be premature since he could walk through that door at any given minute.
‘Just calm down Lex he’ll be here. He loves you,’ Lexi recited to herself over and over again as the tears fell one by one allowing her eyes to glance over at the time, 9:15 pm.
She stood walking over to the window hoping to see his car parked out front with him in it or see him just pulling up but it was to no avail. Her eyes drifted over to her left noticing that the screen door was slightly open. It was never open like that, leaving her with a bit of suspicion in the back of her head, enough to make her go check it out. The cold air brushed against her half naked skin roughly, sending chills and shivers throughout as she tiptoes her bare feet into the short small hallway, opening the wooden door. Graced at her feet was a tiny shiny box with a beautiful neatly tied bow on top. As she picked it up it was then and only then that reality kicked in informing her that no matter how optimistic she was about their relationship, one thing was clear, he was not.
‘But it’s my birthday,’ she whimpered.
*****
“Damn, Ox. We ain’t gotta fuck every night. You proved your point last night and now I’m yours but cool it tonight. Will you?” Pandora turned over punching her pillow before dumping her head down on it.
“Now we was good all day and all of a sudden you trippin’. You need me to munch on that thang to put you in a good mood or what?” Ox said running her hand inside of her pants, massaging her ass cheeks.
“I just don’t wanna fuck tonight. Is that cool with you?”
Pandora’s words cut through Ox like a box cutter as she abruptly exited her bunk returning to the top. She crossed her arms balling up into a tight ball with a shitty look on her face. It was weird for her to feel emotionally abandoned knowing that Pandora did not love her the way she did, but her feelings were strong and she could not fake them.
“You mad now?” Pandora asked feeling like she may have been a little wrong.
“It’s her isn’t it?”
“Ugh,” Pandora sighed, “She’s my sister, Ox and it is her birthday. I’m just thinking about her, that’s all.”
“That bitch doesn’t care about you, not the way I do.”
“I know that, Ox. It’s just—”
“Pandora, either you love her or you fuck with me. It’s your choice. But I refuse to live in the shadow of some young broad you ain’t supposed to be fucking with in the first place.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Choose. It’s me or her.”
“Why you gotta make it like that? She’s always going to be my sister and nothing’s going to change that. So your ultimatum is pointless.”
Pandora rose from her bed smiling at Ox’s jealousy. It was cute, the way she was protective of her feelings, cute yet scary. She climbed into the bed gently tickling Ox’s legs with her fingertips along the way before connecting, spooning with her. Their bodies fused together effortlessly as if they were meant to fit together, like they were the two missing pieces to a puzzle. For the first time since she met Pandora, Ox felt like she was hers and no one else’s. She feels like Pandora knows who she is and could sense why she loves her so. They were reading each other’s minds without even uttering a word and yet so much was spoken. It was the first time that Ox was that close to a woman and was not even thinking about planting her waist on her face.
“I do love her but you are my bitch and that’s all that matters. I only think of her when I think of how those bitches fucked me over. I just want what they have,” Pandora spoke sweetly, stroking her hair.
“Oh yeah, what’s that?” Ox mumbled.
“Freedom,” Pandora paused allowing time for the message to sink in, “Ox, you gotta help me baby.”
“Help you do what?” Ox inquired in a dry manner.
“Help me escape. I can’t rot away in this jail cell knowing these motherfuckas are out there living the good life,” Pandora whispered casually licking the back of her left ear, “I deserve better.”
“I know you do boo,” Ox replied patting her hand softly.
“So how we gon’ get out of here?”
“Pandora, I ain’t got a way of getting out of here. That’s crazy talk.”
“We got to figure something out, you know. We can’t get married in jail.”
“Wait, what?”
“You heard me. I think you’re the bitch for me, Ox. But I can’t marry you in this hell hole.”
“Oh my God Pandora, you just made me the happiest bitch in the world!”
“Shh! Calm down before they hear us. Don’t go getting all excited and we ain’t even free yet.”
“Okay, okay
. I’m gonna think of something. I don’t know what yet, but you best believe that I’m gon’ think of something,” Ox turned over squeezing her ass as tight as could be, never wanting to release it.
“You do that.” Pandora grinned slyly.
Chapter 4
“Like I said bring it on bitch!”–Diamond
The next morning Lexi awoke in Kojack’s bed cold and alone. The sheets grazed her naked body as she sat up looking around the room hoping to find signs of his presence. When there was none, she grabbed his old large white t-shirt off the floor and stood sliding it over her head letting it drape to her knees. Once covered, she heads out of the room to search the house for signs of life but found only silence. It pained her, feeling empty inside thinking that Kojack had slipped in last night and out this morning without a trace. She picks up her cell from off the coffee table, and then fumbled through it discovering not one missed call. Her head hung low, she slew footed into the kitchen to snag some breakfast and was startled, jumping back by Diamond’s face.
“Damn girl! Why are you sitting in here quiet and shit? I thought everyone was gone,” Lexi said reaching for a bowl out of the cabinet as she tries to erase the disappointment that had fallen on her face.
“I couldn’t sleep. I know I won’t have much time on this earth so I need to get some affairs in order before I leave,” Diamond spat as she took a bite of the toast on her plate then sat it back down next to the eggs, rubbing her fingers together relieving them of excess crumbs.
“Ugh!” Lexi groans slamming the box of Apple Jacks down on the counter, “I wish you would quit talking like that. I’ve only known of your condition for twenty four hours and already I want to cry every minute for you. You saying shit like this ain’t gonna help me.”
“It’s the truth, Lex. The sooner you come to that realization the better off we’ll both be.”
“But D, there’s plenty of medications out there that can help you and the baby live a long and healthy life.”
