“You’re who I dreamed I would marry.”
“Stop saying that word, please. It scares me.”
“When Pipe and I would smoke in his bedroom on those summer trips, when his dad would leave us there in that mansion due to business, we would talk about our future. Pipe would marry Michael Jackson. I always said you.”
“You’re kidding me.” She shook her head. “Pipe could never marry Michael Jackson.”
I nudged her. “Very funny.”
“You really did picture us at an altar?”
“Yes. You dressed in white. Me in a New York Giants’ full uniform.”
“Excuse me?”
“You know how much I loved the Giants back then.”
“You’re not wearing a football uniform to our wedding.”
I couldn’t stop my grin. “No? What will I wear?”
“A suit. Wait. We are not talking about this. We’re barely back together. Focus. We are just dating again.”
“Exclusively.”
“I’ll think about it.”
I slid my hand farther up her shirt and then to her breasts, where I toyed with a nipple. “Definitely, think about it.”
“We have to take our time, Jay. No rushing to anything like last time. We have to think about everything, so neither one of us gets hurt.” She sat up.
“I can take my time, Evie.” I removed my hand from her breast and helped her take off her shirt. “I missed you.”
Placing the shirt to the side and wearing her bra, she lay back down. “I missed you too.”
“I’m not sharing.”
“We’re just dating, Jay.”
“Exclusive.” I tugged at one breast, slowly pulling it out of the bra’s cup, and tweaking the nipple. “Someone touches this, and I’ll go crazy.”
“You don’t own my body.”
“No?” I leaned down and lapped at the hard nipple. “I don’t own you?”
Her bottom lip quivered as I toyed with the chocolate point some more.
“Evie?” I nipped at her chest.
She groaned against me and pulled out the other breast as if begging me to play with that too.
“I don’t own you?” I sucked on the other chocolate nipple. “This isn’t mine right here?”
She panted. “Maybe.”
“Maybe.” I licked around the hard point.
“Jay.” She writhed under me.
“These aren’t my nipples?”
Her chest rose and fell. “Maybe.”
“Hmmm. It looks like I’m going to have to work hard right now to make sure the maybe shifts into a strong yes.”
“Yes.” She arched into me.
And then a banging boomed at the door.
No! Whoever it is better go away. This moment will not be ruined.
“That’s the pizza.” Evie tried to move away from me.
“Fuck the pizza. Let me devour you, and then when I’m done, we can just go somewhere and eat.”
“Move so I can get this pizza.”
I groaned. “Really? You’re stopping this for melted cheese over bread?”
“And bacon.”
“You asked for bacon on there?”
“Hells yes. You said you were trying to gain weight, so I figured, let’s go for it.” Again, she tried to move from under me.
I wouldn’t let her. “I’m trying to gain weight not welcome a heart attack. Don’t move.”
“Excuse me?”
“You stay here. I’m getting the pizza, and then I’m coming back to do really bad things to your body as we celebrate our oncoming marriage.”
“We’re just dating, Jay.”
“We’re picking out rings next week.”
Shock hit her face. “I don’t mind picking a ring or two, but we are not getting married or even discussing an engagement.”
“But we can check out some rings?”
“Yes, I support that activity.” She laughed.
I rose up off the bed, my cock pushing out from my jeans.
She glanced down at it and grinned. “Maybe I should go so you don’t scare the pizza guy.”
“Fuck the pizza guy.”
Another bang sounded.
“He hits the door again, and he’s going to miss out on a good tip.” I dove my hands into my pocket, pulled out my wallet, and headed to the door. “How much is it?”
“Thirty-five dollars.”
“Goodness. Is it five pizzas?”
“No, it’s Miami.”
The dumb ass knocked again.
“Eh!” I yelled out. “Don’t be a dick. I’m coming.”
I pulled out two twenties and opened the door. The sight before me turned my body into a statue. I lost my breath. My ears rang. My heart stopped.
Pipe stood in front of me, scarred and gashed. I guessed it was him because the hooded man had Pipe’s eyes. Those big brown ones that girls always talked about when they sighed in dread and complained about how they wished he liked women.
I should’ve killed Malcolm.
Scarred lines slashed against his face. It was so unreal. It was almost like he’d dressed up for Halloween with elaborate make-up and forgot to take it off. It was Pipe, but my friend after a dangerous knife fight that he hadn’t won. Cuts started at his chin and traveled up to his nose. Others went from his forehead and slanted to his ears. Some cuts looked close to healing, almost like minor scratches. They were small and black with pink tinging around it. They would probably be nothing more than faint marks on him years later. Others appeared deeper. Those would leave scars.
But the worst part was that it didn’t stop at his face. Jagged lines journeyed along his neck and down into his shirt. I guessed that more would be on his arms and chest, maybe even his legs and other parts.
Yes. I’m going to kill you, Malcom Ward. First, I’ll ruin you somehow. Make sure you lose your family and kids, make sure that you know I did it. Then I’ll kill you, but only after you say sorry to Pipe.
I dropped the wallet and money. It fell to the floor.
Evie’s voice sounded behind me. She must’ve still lain in the bed. “Jay, is that the pizza guy?”
“No.” Pipe walked around me and adjusted his black hood. “It’s Batman.”
“Pipe!” Evie screamed.
I’m going to kill Malcolm Ward.
“Pipe?” Evie said again. She must’ve spotted him.
I picked up the money, closed the door, and turned around.
“It’s not as bad as it looks, Evie.” Pipe kept his hands in his pockets.
She didn’t say anything else, but the tears came as she covered her mouth and walked further. Her plump breasts lay exposed and propped over her bra cups. Pipe’s lucky red panties shielded the beautiful space between her thighs.
If it had been anyone else, I would’ve nicely asked her to put some clothes on first.
“Pipe?” Step by step, she walked over to him.
And he remained as much as he could within that odd black hooded jacket. “I’m fine, Evie. Don’t cry.”
Her hands shook as she wiped tears away, but it was a wasted action. More tears came. “He did this?”
“It’s not that bad, Evie.”
“He cut you like this, and left you there?”
Pipe tugged at his hood. “I just need time to get myself together. You know, caterpillars are...eggs and...Evie, don’t cry. I’m okay.”
She got to him, rose on her tippy toes, raised her hands to the top of his hood, and pulled it down. A gasp left her lips.
The cuts I thought weren’t too deep were in fact even worse. The shadows had hidden the severity. Malcolm had sliced at Pipe’s flesh. He’d tied my friend up and tortured him.
I’m going to spend the rest of my life ruining yours, Ward.
“I’m fine,” Pipe whispered as Evie unzipped his jacket and pulled it off of him. A stream of tears decorated her face. My heart broke, and I didn’t know if us three could ever survive this. Pipe didn’t deserve
torture and pain. If a man like him could be brutalized with no feeling, what else could happen? Was there any hope left in this world?
Pipe’s jacket fell to the floor. “Maybe you should put some clothes on, before you undress me.”
Evie’s voice sounded harsh. “Stop making jokes.”
Pipe raised his hands and tucked her breasts back into her bra.
She put his hands back down, grabbed the bottom of his shirt, and pulled it over his head. I couldn’t even move from the door. I wasn’t sure if I could deal with what was under that shirt.
“Evie, don’t.” Pipe stopped her hands before she reached out to touch his skin. “And didn’t I say to stop crying?”
“I’m not crying.” She waved his hands away, pulled off his shirt, stared, and traced a huge scar on his shoulder. “You shouldn’t have left the hospital.”
“I didn’t like it there.” He watched her every movement on his skin.
He wasn’t the same. I could tell that right away, and it wasn’t just the scars. Something about him was off. Not in a scary way, but in a very dark way. It wasn’t Pipe, but then again, it sort of was.
Evie never touched the scars with her fingers, but she did brush her tips against the pinkish areas. “We should take you to a doctor and make sure you’re not infected.”
“I’m not.”
“How do you know?”
“Because they don’t hurt. It’s an ache every now and then, but it isn’t painful. And I keep them clean.”
Evie sniffled.
Pipe’s voice came out shaky. “I said to stop crying.”
“I’m not.” She wiped away the tears and then kissed the small cuts on his pecs. “I’m not crying, Pipe.”
“Good.” He turned away from her and looked at me. “Hey, Jay. Maybe you should get your girl before I take care of her.”
I couldn’t even mouth a smart reply. I didn’t have it in me. Someone had hurt him, and he did his best to play it off, but he couldn’t. It reminded me of his mother’s death. He’d made so many jokes that day, laughing and singing as if nothing had ever happened. It wasn’t until we took him into the shadows of his attic, just me and her, to witness his tears.
Evie let out a long breath and slipped her fingers along the cuts going down his arms. “You’re not going to press charges, are you?”
“Only if he presses charges against you two,” Pipe admitted.
“So he gets away with it?” Evie asked.
“No.” Pipe moved away from her hands, walked around her, headed to the bed, and plopped down on the mattress as if it was his. “I’m sure he’ll get his. Just not from me. Karma is a bitch.”
Evie followed him over to the bed and got right next to him. “Pipe, you can’t just—”
“Let’s talk about you two being on national news,” Pipe suggested as he got on his back and placed a pillow over his bare, scarred chest.
Is he trying to hide them? He’s hurting. He’s embarrassed. I’m going to kill Malcolm Ward.
I stayed glued to the door, and no one said anything. It was good because I didn’t think I had a reply. In one moment, I’d planned to make love to Evie, a woman who had finally taken me back enough to date. In the next moment, I discovered my friend had been used as a pin cushion.
Evie snatched the pillow away and threw it on the floor.
“Stop.” He grabbed her hands. “You’ve already seen them.”
“Did it hurt, when I touched them?” She caressed his hands.
A tiny bit of jealousy rose in my heart. I swallowed it down. This was always their way of communicating. When things got too hard, they talked with their fingers. Sometimes, I thought Pipe’s hands lingered too much. Other times, I realized it was stupid to think that it could ever be anything more than friendship between them.
“No, it didn’t hurt when you touched them,” Pipe said. “But I don’t want you to touch them anymore.”
“Okay.”
“Just...” His voice cracked. He closed his eyes. “Just hold me.”
“Okay.” She lay down next to him and wrapped her arms around his injured frame. “I love you.”
Turning over to her, he burrowed into her center, his mouth pressing against the lace of her bra. “I love you too, Evie.”
A knock banged against the door and made me jump out of the moment.
“Pizza!” someone called out on the other side.
“Oh goodie,” Pipe said. “I hope you got pineapples and ham.”
“No. Bacon.”
“Jesus, Evie. Are you trying to kill us?” Pipe chuckled. “Who the hell eats bacon anymore?”
I got off the door to get ready to open it, but stopped as Evie’s smile broke away, and more tears came.
“Evie, don’t...” Pipe sat up. “Don’t cry, Evie. I love you. I’m okay.”
They held each other, and I no longer had the ability to eat. All I wanted to do was stop the pain in both of their hearts and make it all better again.
Chapter Eighteen
Evie
Night lathered the sky.
After we filled our stomachs with pizza, Jay turned off all the lights, lit a few candles, rolled a joint from Pipe’s stash in his pockets, and lay down on the bed. Jay didn’t smoke, but he watched as we both kept Pipe between us. I could’ve sworn that Pipe trembled against my body when we finally finished smoking, and both held him.
“I’m not a damn teddy bear,” Pipe whined in the darkness.
“Get over it.” I held him closer to me.
Jay embraced him from behind. I wondered what the media would do with that. They’d probably twist the story. Men weren’t supposed to love each other in this way. But Jay did. He hugged Pipe, whenever possible, and even kissed him on the cheek to the point that Pipe blushed.
As if reading my mind, Jay crossed his arm over Pipe and snuggled into him. “Don’t ever ignore my phone calls again.”
Irritation laced Pipe’s words. “Must you be so close, Jay?”
“Deal with it,” Jay replied.
Grumbling, Pipe buried his face back into my chest. His rugged skin pushed against mine. I remembered when it had smoothed against me like silk.
How could Malcolm do this? I should’ve told Pipe to stay away from him. This is all my fault. I can’t let this happen again.
“You have to press charges,” Jay said.
“I can’t. It would disappoint Dad.” Pipe tightened his grip around my waist. “I’m not going to let him find out.”
“So you’re just going to avoid him for the rest of your life?”
“No, I’m going to come up with a convincing story that will—”
“He won’t believe it,” Jay interrupted Pipe’s explanation. “And your father won’t be embarrassed. This guy wasn’t a friend. Malcolm was a shady business partner that took advantage of his son.”
“Malcolm didn’t take advantage of me,” Pipe said. “I went to him willingly.”
“Doesn’t matter.” Jay’s voice rose. As if he noticed, he returned to a lower tone. “I’m sorry. I just…I love you.”
Pipe trembled against me.
“I really do,” Jay mumbled. “You and Evie. You both are my family. If someone hurt you two, then I would want to spend the rest of my life hurting them and everyone they love.”
Pipe’s breath brushed against my nipples as he talked. “Jay, the desperado, causing mayhem due to his friends.”
“I would kill for you,” Jay admitted.
“I would kill you for killing for me,” Pipe replied, his breath tickling my flesh some more. I shivered a little, and Pipe tensed as if he’d caught it.
“You need to press charges.” Jay pushed the topic more.
Pipe groaned with annoyance.
“Leave him alone, babe.” I ran my fingers through Pipe’s silky hair. “We’re not going to make him do anything he doesn’t want to.”
A growl left Jay’s mouth.
Pipe muttered in a bored expression. “
And now, he’s apparently shifting into some sort of werewolf. Is it a full moon, Evie?”
Jay decided to express his own aggravation. “I wish I was a werewolf. I would rip through Malcolm’s chest and eat him.”
My stomach tightened. “Alrighty, babe. I think we got it.”
“Limb by limb,” Jay continued.
“So when will you both be returning to college again?” Pipe asked. “You know what college is, right? That place where you both should be right now? Who told you? Don’t tell me. Mrs. Elaine told you I left the hospital?”
“Of course, she did,” I said. “You’re lucky she didn’t come.”
“Did she call my dad?” Pipe asked.
“Not yet,” I admitted.
He grumbled some more and nipped at my breasts.
“Ouch.” I edged away from him. “Don’t hurt me. You know she thinks on her own.”
Pipe dragged me back to him. “Dad’s going to be mad.”
I put my hand on his chin and lifted his face, not sure if he could see me in the darkness or not. “He’s going to be distraught and want to hold and protect you. But, most of all, he’s not going to be mad at you. Enraged at Malcolm, sure, but not ever, ever disappointed in you for being a victim.”
“I shouldn’t have been involved with Malcolm. I should’ve known better.”
I shook my head. “You loved him.”
“I never should’ve left Mrs. Elaine’s house. He just showed up one day, saying all of the right things. I thought it was so romantic. He said he’d left his wife and wanted to be with me. I should’ve known it was all a lie. We got back to Miami and things seemed weird, but I pretended it was alright. Then he kept asking me about Jay.”
Jay sat up. “What?”
“I guess he had his men watching me,” Pipe said. “When we were down there with Cynthia. For whatever reason, he believed that I was sleeping with you. He said he had proof, but of course, there wouldn’t be any. Still, I stayed around him. I held him. I promised that it was just him. I told him how much I loved him. I let him tie me up.” Pipe’s voice screeched at the end. “I let him take out the knives, and right when he put the first blade to my skin, he told me that he knew I’d been fucking Jay and that he would never forgive me...”
Jay rose from the bed. I didn’t have to see his face to know that pain and anger blared from his pores. If he ever saw Malcolm again, someone would need to call the police.
The COMPLETE Coventon Campus Series: Books I, II, & III Page 51
