Yeah. I should have left that alone.
“Not job but—”
“Why did you have to be in this crazy arrangement then? What the hell was going through your mind?”
“I don’t know.”
“Yes. You do. You know. Why did you drag my daughter into that sinful ordeal?”
“Because…”
“Say it.”
“Because I could. Because they were both gorgeous, and they loved me, and I couldn’t believe I could have them both at the same time, and then one night I realized I could, and I went with it.” I exhaled. Water filled my eyes, but no tears spilled. “I just went with this crazy possibility of having my cake and eating it too.”
“And this is why your name is on these bullets. Do you love the other one?”
Do I?
I cared for Cynthia. We shared the same interests and hobbies. I enjoyed being around her like any other person. Love existed between us, but nowhere near the same heat or intensity of what I possessed for Evie. Just the thought of Evie’s name set my flesh on fire and triggered mounting pressure in my chest.
“Do you love this other girl, Jay?”
“No. Not like Evie.”
“Then why have this threesome thing?”
I sighed. “I was being selfish.”
“Yes. You were. There may be hope for you yet. Perhaps these bullets will be used for target practice one day.”
I wiped the sweat off of my forehead. “Evie won’t give me another chance.”
“You think you deserve one?”
“No, but I can’t leave her alone.”
“Need I remind you about my bullets?”
“I would take a few bullets to have her back.”
She laughed. “You may want to rethink that statement. I love you like a son, but my daughter is my life. You’ve done your damage. Now let her heal and then, if she wants you back, maybe you should see if you have my approval.”
“I can’t,” I muttered.
“She’s not for you anymore. You had your chance.” No hint of humor laced her words.
“I don’t care. I won’t just stand to the side.”
“No?”
“Never.”
“Then how are you going to prove to my daughter and me that you’re worthy of her love?”
“I…”
“You had better figure it out and use your brain instead of that organ in your pants.”
My face flushed with embarrassment. “Yes, ma’am.”
“You lost my trust, Jay, and broke my heart as well as hers. You’ll need to sell us both.”
“I know.”
“Don’t go near my baby unless your heart is pure and you’re ready to love her like she deserves.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“This is my first and final warning. The next time you hurt me and mine, you won’t see me coming. You know why?”
“Yes, ma’am. Bullets are so fast they would barely be a blur of movement.”
“Do me a favor this weekend. Go to church and pray. God is good to those who are considerate to others.”
Chapter Thirteen
Cynthia
Half-naked men crowded the night club. And not just any group of men. Sexy gods. Lush muscled creatures emitting horniness into the air. It was weird, but my body came to life as these men wound their hips and grinded into each other.
Great. I’m not asexual or broken because I’m definitely turned on. I just want to have sex with homosexual men. Can I get more strange?
Hot guys surrounded me. They dangled from swings hanging from the ceiling. They threw silver confetti from the club’s second level balcony. Those sparkling pieces rained down on me and stuck to my skin. One hottie squeezed my behind as he strolled by, and a few tousled my hair with a few chuckles.
There was no denying that Tropic Cancer night club was where Pipe truly partied. When we first walked in, many people pointed his way. Many stopped and yapped with him as our group stood by. Others tried to drag him away, but one look at Evie’s face made them all edge away and make an excuse to go off.
My phone buzzed. I pulled it out of my pocket and checked the screen.
Uncle Kevin: Please talk to me.
My hand shook as I held the phone.
Why? What did you have to say? What else was there to say?
Jay beat him up. Uncle Kevin had to know Evie knew what he did. There was nothing else to say after that. Mom hadn’t called. I wouldn’t have answered, but it would’ve made me feel better if she’d called or gave me some signal that she cared.
Music boomed around me. Pipe and Evie danced on the center floor like insane people. When we first came to Tropic Cancer night club, they’d disappeared into one of the many bathrooms and remained gone for close to an hour. It left Jay and me in this awkward, one-worded conversation as we sat by the bar. When Evie and Jay returned, red tinted their eyes. Wicked grins spread across their faces, and neither one of them would stop moving for a few seconds.
Earlier, Pipe had on a well-fitted tux with that crazy hat, sneakers, and cane full of fish. Somewhere between the bathroom break and now, he’d slung off the jacket, undone the tie, unbuttoned his crisp white shirt, and had Jay holding his cane.
I watched them rock back and forth with the fast-paced beat. A new song came on. It looked like they didn’t even notice. I turned to Jay. “What did they do in the bathroom? Something more than marijuana?”
“No way. It was a joint or two.”
“I thought marijuana made people lazy.”
“Not Jay and Evie. When they’re in a club, they smoke and then dance all night long.”
Placing his hat on Evie, Pipe took off his shirt and tied it around his head like a turban. Muscles decorated his arms and chest. I always forgot how built Pipe really was even though he tended to give off this odd androgynous vibe with his crazy fashions.
“He must work out a lot,” I said more to myself than Jay.
“He does. His weight lifting routine is crazier than mine.”
Sweat gave Pipe’s skin a shiny appearance. His muscles flexed as he yanked Evie from behind, pulled her into him, and rocked his hips into her ass. Jay stirred on my side. Evie hooted and pumped her fists in the air as Pipe continued to do naughty things to her body. His hands roamed every inch, every curve. It was insane. He squeezed her breasts and kissed both sides of her neck. He caressed her thighs and slipped his fingers along her flat stomach. The whole time, she wound her hips to the rhythm as if the entire sensual display was no more than two people dancing.
I cleared my throat. “What’s going on with Pipe and Evie right now?”
“Don’t worry. You’re not confused. Pipe still loves men. It’s just something about Evie that makes him go crazy. They’ve been like this since the first time I introduced them.”
“When was that?” I yelled over the music.
“We were ten I think.”
Pipe twisted Evie around, lifted her up, and carried her to the other side of the dance floor. She straddled his waist and kissed him. Oh my god. It was an actual kiss, quick and barely any tongue, but still it shocked the crap out of me. My mouth dropped open. Jay gently pushed my chin up to close it.
“That kiss means they’ve both smoked too much.”
“Clearly,” I muttered.
“If you tell them that they kissed tonight, Pipe will deny it. Evie will laugh it off like it wasn’t anything.”
I looked at him. Fury edged his eyes, but other than that, he appeared calm.
“So they kiss a lot?” I asked.
“No. Just when they’re high off their asses.” He gritted his teeth. “Evie was Pipe’s first kiss.”
“Excuse me?”
“Yeah.” He rolled his eyes. “When my parents died, I lived with my grandparents. Pipe and Evie hung out a lot more. They both would write me letters. One fall, Pipe’s letters started to become weird. I mean, for as long as I’ve known him, he’s loved guys. I’m talk
ing when we were six years old, he admitted that. He would spend hours talking about how cute superman was.”
I covered my mouth and giggled. “So what was different about the emails?”
“We were all fourteen that fall. I received an email where he tells me that he thinks he likes girls now. Next week, he says he’s in love with Evie. Of course, he didn’t know how I felt about her. He guessed, but I always denied.”
“Uh oh.”
“They were both there. At that age, distance seemed like impossibility to my mind. So, I egged him on but every damn day I checked my inbox for another email. Meanwhile, Evie is saying nothing about Pipe. She’s just updating me on her week like usual.”
“That’s so Evie. Oblivious and chilling,” I said.
“Then Pipe writes this ridiculous poem about her. It’s fucking insane because by now he’s started smoking a little. But he spent too much energy trying to discover worlds that rhymed with Evie. So you have lines like ‘you’re totally not heavy.’”
“Oh God.”
“Then he kisses her. I mean it’s insane. Suddenly my inbox is flooded with emails from both of them. Evie is freaking out. They’d been listening to Tupac on her bed.” He shook his head. “Pipe has a freaky fascination with Tupac. Anyway, they’re listening to him and Pipe decides that the violent and threatening hook of the rap song “Hail Mary” is the perfect moment for a first kiss.”
“What did Evie do?”
“You know.”
I grinned. “Punch him?”
“Yep. In all fairness, that was kind of a natural reaction for her. I’d just taught her how to punch. So what happened was, Pipe took the punch, told her he was sorry, and kissed her again.” Jay frowned. “According to them both, there was no magic with the kiss, so they stopped and awkwardly said goodbye. The rest of the month, they avoided each other. I had to fix the craziness one email at a time.”
“Wow.”
“A month later, Pipe returned to liking boys. Evie went back to being available, but…both of them kissing when they were high sort of became this normal thing that happened.”
“Did Pipe ever say why?” I asked right as Evie and Pipe approached us.
“Say why to what?” Pipe held a giggling Evie close to him.
“I’m trying to tell her why you and Evie kiss all the time,” Jay offered.
Pipe shrugged. “I don’t know why. Sometimes I’m just around her and need to put my lips on her mouth.” He pulled off his makeshift turban and ran his fingers through his damp hair. “Cyn, you ever been around somebody that you loved so much you just had to consume them?”
My uncle’s face flashed through my head. I cringed. “No.”
“No way. I don’t believe that. You look like you had someone in mind.”
“I didn’t!”
Pipe flinched. “And now, this is awkward. Sounds like your answer would be fucked up.”
They all studied my face. Their gazes judged me with pity, or maybe it was all in my head.
“Are we all going to get wasted and party tonight as we ignore the big fat twisted elephant in the room?” Pipe asked.
“Leave it alone, Pipe,” Jay said.
“There’s no elephant in here.” Evie did a big show of scanning the space. “Let’s just continue with the partying.”
“There’s an elephant right here.” Pipe pointed to the floor in front of me. “He’s huge and has really big balls.”
“You’re done drinking.” Jay held out an open hand. “Give me the flask.”
“But—”
“Give it to me, Pipe.”
“Fucking kill joy.” Pipe dove his hands into his pants and pulled out a silver flask with Marylyn Monroe’s face carved on the front. Diamonds served as her pupils. “Here.”
Evie seized my hand. “Let’s dance.”
She pulled me away without waiting for a reply. I checked over my shoulder and spotted Pipe towing an aggravated Jay onto the dance floor. A few guys winked at Jay as he bopped to the new song blasting out of the speakers.
My phones buzzed again. I checked it real quick.
Uncle Kevin: Just give me a few minutes. Please.
No. You’ve taken enough.
I shut the phone off. Evie twirled me around. “Who was that?”
“Him.”
“The sick bastard?”
“Yes.” I pulled her into me and we swayed together.
“What does he want?” she asked.
“To talk.”
“Don’t.”
“I know.” I sounded much more sure of myself than I really was. Now that Evie was near, I felt stronger and not alone in this fucked up situation. The song’s rhythm slackened into a slower pace, sort of like a melodic interlude.
“You want to talk to him?” Evie asked.
“Yes.” It was getting easier and easier to tell her the truth. In her eyes, judgment or disgust didn’t flow, just concern.
“What would you say if you did talk to him?”
“I would ask if he’s still with my aunt,” I said.
“Why?”
“Because…I wonder if he confessed. I know he probably didn’t, but I wonder if he finally decided to own up to it all.”
“Does it matter?” Evie said into my ears as she held me closer to her. “Would it change anything?”
“No.” I held her closer to me, breathing in her haunting scent. How strange everything had turned out. Evie of all people rushed to my rescue, and with her efforts, everyone else jumped in to save the day.
A slow song came on. A woman sang in a smooth voice about dreams that kept unfolding into intertwined bodies and faces hidden in shadows. Evie wrapped her arms around me. “We’re still roommates. If you ever need me, I’m here.”
“I broke up with Jay.” It came out of nowhere, but I didn’t know if she’d realized it or not. Evie and Jay barely interacted after our roof top dinner. He’d been distant the whole night. “He loves you, and I just got in the middle of you two, because I had to feel—”
“Stop. It doesn’t matter now. I don’t want Jay.”
“What? You love him.”
“I do, but at some point there can be a huge argument for the fact that I love him too much.”
I scrunched my face up in confusion. “So you won’t be with Jay because you love him too much? That’s crazy.”
“It is what it is.”
We swayed together. I checked my right. Jay and Pipe did this ridiculous tango where they crossed the floor and then returned our way.
“They’re goofy.” I gestured their way.
“Yes. They are.” Evie rested her head on my shoulder. “Thank God Pipe prefers guys. I would be crazy in love with him too.”
“You already are. That kiss between you and Pipe was short, but hot.”
She tensed. “It seems I’m big on kissing everybody. I have slutty lips.”
I knew she must’ve been hinting at our kiss. “I think your lips are perfect. You have an extraordinary mouth.”
“Stop it, Cyn.”
“What?”
She lifted her head up and faced me. “I’m not into girls and I doubt you are either.”
“Then what am I into?”
“Being saved.”
I stopped dancing. “What?”
“Come on.” She guided me off of the dance floor. I figured we would be heading to the bar, but we passed it and stepped into a dimly lit hallway with two rows of several booths. I couldn’t see who were in each booth. A few feet stuck out from the openings. Groans sounded. The earthy fragrance of marijuana mingled with cologne.
“What’s going on in here?” I asked.
“Pipe told me this was the make-out section.” She stuck her hand in my pocket and pulled out my phone. “Call him.”
“Excuse me?”
“Call him.” She turned the phone on and handed it to me. “You’re scared and confused. You hooked up with Jay for what? Love? No. Lust? Absolutely not. Jay is a c
aregiver, a protector even. He likes to look out for everyone and at times is as aggravating as a mother hen. That was what drew you to him.”
“Maybe.”
“Not maybe. It’s a big capitalized yes.”
“I do like Jay.”
“Not as much as you think. And here’s my proof. As soon as I came to your rescue, you’re kissing me.”
“I just wanted to,” I countered, not liking where this conversation was going.
“Of course you wanted to, but let’s really think about it.”
“Apparently you’ve been thinking about it,” I huffed.
“I think you reward people with your body.”
“You’re acting like a psych major.”
“One of my best friends majors in psychology. Maybe she rubbed off on me.” She pointed to the phone. “Call him.”
“Why?”
“Because you want to and will probably do it by yourself, which would be a bad idea being that you looked like a frozen and scared kid last time I saw you in the same room with him. Now call.”
I parted my lips. The phone weighed heavy in my hand. “I do want to talk to him. But…”
“But you’re scared, so it doesn’t matter, because I’m here, and if he goes too far I’m going to go down there and beat the shit out of him. Dial his number and tell him not to contact you anymore. Enough is enough. Tomorrow, we file a report against him.”
I waved my hands in front of me. “I can’t just file a report, and it’s Sunday and—”
“Then on Monday.”
“Monday is the funeral.”
Evie placed her hands on her hips. “Then Tuesday.”
“I–I can’t file a report.” A cold shiver sliced me into two pieces of me. “It’s been forever. No one will believe me. It would ruin him and my mom and my whole family who depends on him and my aunt’s money.”
“Fuck them.” Eve held one finger up. “First rule from now on, Cynthia considers Cynthia. Rule two, what he did is not okay. He doesn’t get to have sex with a little girl and harass her for the rest of her life. Rule number three…”
“What?”
“I don’t know.” She seized my free hand and squeezed him. “Call him. I’m right here.”
Tears streamed down my face as I shook my head.
The COMPLETE Coventon Campus Series: Books I, II, & III Page 23
