While the lyrics were a little questionable, the sensuality of the beat always did something to me, my eyes avoiding Guy’s wishes to look at him and deciding to close instead as I grinded in his hold.
“Oh, that’s how you doin’ it?” Guy asked, a hint of amusement in his voice as he matched my groove before flipping me around so that my ass was against him, the new position only making me grind even harder as I brushed my ass against his strong thighs and everything in between.
Clearly I wasn’t the only one feeling the moment.
The DJ must’ve been on a roll when it came to slow jams as that song was mixed out for another one equally slow, equally sensual, “Freak in You” by PARTYNEXTDOOR. Guy draped an arm against my waist as we continued our easy groove, the lyrics catching my attention as the artist sang, “This time is your time… I need to know if you're down… 'Cause if not, I know there's more around…”
I could pretty much assume that was exactly where Guy stood, no matter how much attention he was paying me in the moment. If I didn’t make my move, he was going to move on, had to move on. But then the artist continued into the chorus, “There’s a room full of beautiful women but I want one…” and with perfect timing, Guy’s lips were against my bare shoulder, giving the slightest graze with his teeth on my blade to let me know he was there, to claim me as his for the night, to clue me in on exactly what our plans were going forward since I apparently wasn’t moving fast enough. And I was more than ready, more than thrilled about finally seeing what he was all about in the bedroom, or wherever we’d end up.
I was already wondering how private the balcony was when I heard a familiar voice say my name. The liquor I had downed earlier had my reaction time slower than reasonable, allowing me to continue grooving to the music for a few beats until I heard my name again paired with Guy releasing me from his hold.
The cold rush of air that came in when Guy pulled away almost made me angry since I didn’t understand why he had done it. But then I heard that voice speak again. “So it’s like that?”
Wait…
“David? What are you... doing here?” I asked frantically, more confused than anything since he had supposedly been on the other side of the country just a few hours earlier according to his Snapchat posts.
His smirk was annoyingly arrogant as he reached out for my wrist, pulling me towards him as he replied, “I can’t come visit my wifey on her little girl’s trip?”
My face scrunched. “Wifey? How did you even know where I was at?”
While David knew where I was geographically, him showing up to the same club as me was almost too coincidental. But it made sense once he explained, “Well the plan was to surprise you some time tomorrow. Then I saw all these club videos on Kaylin’s Snapchat, so I decided to just… show up.”
There was a lot of irony in him watching Kaylin’s Snapchat even though he claimed to hate her. But I assumed that was his way of keeping tabs on me the same way I still, for whatever reason, found myself keeping tabs on him.
He gave me an appreciative glance, licking his lips as he continued, “You lookin’ good, baby. Real good. Miami must be treatin’ you well.”
“Yeah. It is,” I replied shortly, looking around the crowd for Guy who was suddenly nowhere to be found.
Kaylin and Lamar were missing in action too, forcing me to continue an interaction that was beyond awkward; at least to me. David, on the other hand, seemed completely unfazed by the circumstances, giving my wrist another tug as he asked, “So what’s up? You tryna get out of here? I got a room for us down at the Fontainebleau. Maybe we can catch up on lost time, make up the right way.”
An arrogance I used to find attractive only made me roll my eyes. “David, you’ve been ghost since I’ve been down here. And hell, even before then. Now you show up on my trip unannounced, and I’m just supposed to, what? Run off to some hotel room with you so we can fuck?”
“Uh… yeah. Ain’t that what couples do when they missed each other?” he asked as if there was no validity to my point.
In an attempt to make myself clear, I crossed my arms defiantly and fired back, “Who said I missed you?”
He brushed me off, pulling my arms apart as he gushed, “Well I missed you, baby. Doesn’t that count for something?”
The words that used to make me weak in the knees only made me more angry as I snapped, “Missed me by making kissy faces with other bitches for the last few months? That’s not how this works.”
“Yet you steady in here making kissy faces at other niggas,” he challenged as if he already knew there was more to whatever he saw when he approached Guy and I dancing.
But the truth was, the only reason I could engage in something so intimate with Guy was because, “I don’t miss you, David. I don’t miss… this. Any of it. Not anymore.”
I could remember the nights I would cry myself to sleep because I couldn’t figure out how to make David love me harder, couldn’t figure out why he despised what I saw as self-improvement and what it was that he found in other women that he couldn’t seem to find in me. I could remember trying new things I thought would make him happy, only to be shot down and embarrassed time and time again. I could remember being faced with the realness of his infidelities, only to have him deny it long enough for me to get over it.
But the more I interacted with Guy, the more he appreciated me for the person I already was instead of the person he pretended he wanted me to be, the more I realized just how detrimental my relationship with David had been.
There had never been anything loving about it.
As usual, he only downplayed my words, tugging at me again as he insisted, “Come on, Nova. I know you in your feelings, but let’s just… get out of here. So we can talk.”
I snatched away. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
He chewed at the inside of his lip as if my combativeness was irritating him which was honestly the goal. Still, he found it in him to suggest, “Nova, quit making a scene. We need to talk this out.”
“The only thing I need to do is tell you this “relationship” is officially dead. I really don’t even know why you wasted the time coming out here.”
While the gesture might’ve meant something early on, I was far too removed - and thankfully so - to not see it for exactly what it was; an effort to restore the control he knew was slipping away. But now that it was becoming more obvious to him that that wasn’t going to happen, he went into offense mode as he groaned, “Wow. This nigga must really be pumpin’ your head up if you talkin’ shit like this. You know you ain’t shit without me, girl. I made you.”
My head snapped back as I repeated, “Made me? The only thing you made me was more insecure about the things I should’ve always loved about myself! The only thing you made me do was question myself, question my instincts, question my worth! You emptied me, David! I was already giving you everything I had, and you still had to drain every last drop while giving the minimal in return! You ain’t sh…”
A tiny arm that was a lot stronger than it looked wrapped around my waist to pull me back just as I was jabbing a finger David’s way. “Nova, calm down, boo. He doesn’t deserve your energy,” Kaylin stated as calmly as possible as she dragged me through the crowd towards the bathrooms.
Even though we had cleared most of the people standing around us, I was still angry enough to shout, “No, fuck that! He needs to hear this!”
I wanted him to hear every word of my wrath, wanted him to watch me shed every angry tear over his stupid, undeserving ass. But I was also grateful that Kaylin had saved me from making a complete fool of myself, damn near throwing me into the bathroom before locking the door behind us.
My anger didn’t allow me to stay still, pacing back and forth in front of the line of sinks as I rattled, “I look way too cute tonight for this shit. I can’t believe I let him get me that mad. And in public too.”
Kaylin was still calm and quiet, resting with her back against the door as she r
eplied, “I… can’t either. I’ve never seen you so passionate, especially with him.”
The reason behind it all stopped me dead in my tracks as I explained, “He said he made me, Kay. He made me. And I know he really believes that shit too.”
I was grateful to see she was just as surprised by his comments, her eyes wide when she replied, “Oh wow. His bitch ass has always been a bold one. But you know what? You kind of needed that cleansing, sis. You know, so you can really move forward now. And I’m not just talking about Guy like you’re probably thinking. I just… you’ve been holding onto that toxic energy for so long that you deserve to finally get it out of you. So you can breathe again.”
Her words had me doing exactly that, releasing a heavy breath just as someone began to knock on the door. I assumed it was a woman who needed to use the bathroom until I heard Lamar’s booming voice ask, “Yo, y’all good in there?”
Kaylin’s eyes shot back my way as if to ask me the same question. And after taking a quick peek at my face in the mirror to make sure my makeup was still intact, I gave her the nod she was waiting on to open the door, releasing another sigh once I laid eyes on Lamar who looked legitimately concerned and Guy who looked… indifferent.
While I wasn’t sure how much of the fallout he had seen, I could only imagine what he was thinking now that he was at least a little versed on the situation. And considering he had been right there when David showed up in the first place, I had a feeling that was all he needed to see to go back into the shell he had been in for the past week and change; exactly what I didn’t want.
But before I could really address anything, Lamar said, “Cas, I thought I was about to be in here throwing hands for your ass. That nigga must’ve really said something slick to have you of all people snapping back like that.”
I nodded, still a little embarrassed by it all as I told him, “He did. But I’m glad you didn’t throw hands. Like your wife said, he doesn’t deserve that energy.”
Lamar wrapped a proud arm around Kaylin’s shoulder, bending to give her a kiss on the forehead before leading us back through the crowd towards our section. But the whole time, I couldn’t help but notice how quiet Guy was, as if the whole thing really had him lost for words.
And maybe he was. Maybe he didn’t understand what it was that I could’ve ever saw in David. Maybe he had already identified the stark differences between the two of them and decided my taste didn’t align with his existence. Or maybe seeing me out of character had him shook, turned off now that he knew there was some underlying crazy.
Instead of worrying about him, I poured myself another drink, hoping it would bring me the relief I was desperate for. A little alcohol plus a few rounds with Trevante later would just have to do the trick.
Guy
I should’ve knocked his ass out.
That was all I kept thinking the rest of the night at the club as Nova drank herself stupid, and Kaylin and Lamar turned into their own special version of Drunk in Love.
Seeing Nova’s man in person had caught me off-guard, and obviously her too considering the way she reacted to his presence. And even though I had fallen into the background of the scene, I had still watched it all go down, watched Nova go from uncomfortable, to upset, to downright pissed. What I thought would be a joyous reunion had turned into everything but as Nova ripped into him with reckless abandon before Kaylin dragged her to safer grounds.
So now I wanted to beat his ass.
But since that wasn’t an option with ol’ boy disappearing like a thief in the night, I focused my attention on Nova who was way too drunk to make it out of the club without assistance. I kept an arm around her waist for support as I led her towards the Uber that was our ride back to the condo, Kaylin and Lamar catching a ride with their personal driver. And once we were secure in the backseat, Nova wasted no time wildin’ out the way she had been doing the whole last half hour at the club.
“I can’t believe I spent so many years with that clown! He didn’t deserve a woman like me!” she shouted, catching the attention of the driver who nervously peeked back at us through the rearview mirror.
I knew she wasn’t a real threat, but I still didn’t want to give her too much more to get hyped up about, telling her plainly, “I agree.”
“You wanna know who does deserve a woman like me?” she gushed, my eyebrow piquing as she slid across the backseat towards me and answered, “You.”
Her hand was latched to my thigh, way too close to my dick, as she leaned in to run the tip of her tongue against my ear, forcing me to tell her, “Nova… chill.”
No matter how much I appreciated her finally coming onto me the way I had done to her on several occasions, I knew the circumstances had her a little too emotionally vulnerable, not to mention how faded she was. And that was only made even more obvious when she asked, “What? You don’t want me now? You said you wanted me, Guy.”
I grabbed both of her wrists with one of my hands to keep her frisky ass still as I replied, “I do, but not like this. So chill.”
Instead of responding to that, she went back to the place she couldn’t seem to escape when she snatched away from me and rattled, “Can you believe he called himself surprising me? Like, for what? You can’t even surprise me with a fuckin’ phone call!”
I shook my head, peeking out of the window to see we were almost back to the condo before telling her, “Yeah, he was trippin’.”
“No. I was trippin’ for ever giving him the time of day. I’m so much better than that, so much better than him.”
“That you are,” I agreed as the driver pulled into the circle drive, a smirk on his face as if Nova’s rant had been the funniest thing he heard all night. And maybe I would feel the same way if I didn’t know the ins and outs of the situation, if I didn’t have to deal with the aftermath once all the effects of the alcohol wore off and Nova was faced with the reality.
But for now, she was still torn between horny/goofy Nova and sad/angry Nova, latching onto my arm to help her out of the car and into the building before asking, “You really like me, don’t you?”
I nodded, once again keeping my answer plain when I answered, “Yeah, you’re cool peoples.”
“So why did he… why did he do that to me?” she asked, her voice cracking in a way that stabbed at me no matter how much I had already been expecting it to happen.
Since there was no use in getting angry at ol’ boy knowing he wasn’t around for me to take it out on, I tried to be as clear as possible when I explained, “He’s a fool, Nova. Fools do foolish shit. It’s all they know.”
“Well I’m just as foolish for taking his shit,” she muttered more to herself than me as we rode the elevator up to our floor, her head hanging low as if the tears were next to come.
I crossed the space between us and lifted her head to meet my eyes, ignoring the thick layer of sadness in hers so that I could tell her, “Lesson learned, sweetheart. We all have to take one on the chin every once in a while.”
Her expression read as if she was trying her hardest to take my word. But just as quickly it changed to something else, an interesting something else, as she inched closer to me, licking her lips before she asked, “You know what else I like to take on the chin?”
A laugh slipped from my lips when I dropped my hand, shaking my head as I climbed off the elevator and headed into the condo - aka, as far away from her as possible before I took full advantage of her chin. But to no surprise, she stayed right on my heels, forcing me to toss over my shoulder, “Nova, for real. You gotta relax, baby girl.”
“Well help me relax, Guy. I mean, you couldn’t have possibly been all talk, right?” she challenged, leaning against the kitchen counter for support as I got the glass of water she didn’t realize she needed considering how crazy she was talking; a sign that she surely wasn’t in her right mind.
As I shoved the glass into her hands, I also got close enough to whisper, “Woman, you better quit.”
“What
are you gonna do about it?” she fired back, the usual innocence in her eyes exchanged for a hot, passionate gaze, practically daring me to touch her.
Of course I wanted to touch her.
But before I could get too wrapped up in what I knew was just a disaster waiting to happen, I pulled away and answered, “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not with you like this.”
“Guy, I’m not even that drunk. I mean, I did have a lot to drink; maybe too much to most standards. But I’m not slurring my words, I’m not stumbling… anymore, and I consent. What else do you need to hear?” she asked, a hint of desperation in her voice as if me taking her to bed was something she really wanted, no… something she needed. And she only doubled down on that theory when she crossed the kitchen to run her free hand against the zipper of my pants, bringing to life everything she was asking for.
Still, my conscience wouldn’t allow it. I didn’t want her to regret her alcohol-induced decision, and quite honestly, “Fuckin’ with me is an experience, baby. And I want you completely sober so you remember every second of what I’m gonna do to you.”
The response made her gasp as I pulled away once again, this time heading down the hall towards my room and passing Jaxson’s empty one on the way since he had spent the night with Lamar’s mother who lived in the guesthouse on their property. I made quick work of exchanging my club clothes for the basketball shorts I would sleep in before hopping into bed. But I hadn’t even gotten fully settled under the covers by the time there was a soft knock at the door.
“Nova… what do you want?” I yelled loud enough for her to hear on the other side, already bracing myself for whatever she was getting ready to throw my way.
The door cracked open just slightly, her head pushed through the space she had created as she answered, “I just… I really don’t wanna be alone right now. Not yet.”
The innocence in her eyes had returned along with the makeup-free face I was used to; not that seeing her all dolled up didn’t have me ready to drag her ass back into that bathroom after her little blow-up at the club. But I thoroughly enjoyed both versions of her.
If Only for the Summer Page 13
