by Elbie Dee
Five minutes of blow drying, and my hair had lost its damp texture. I let the electromechanical device onto the sink’s countertop for it to cool. As it sat, I reached for my hair serum in the corner between the countertop and mirror. Once I had a pea sized amount dropped onto my palm, I rubbed both hands together before running my fingers through my hair. After sitting my hands under the faucet to remove the oil, I ran my bristled brush through my hair strands until the frizz was settled.
Without being in a mood to get dolled up, I chose to rock my natural glow. Makeup wasn’t necessary for my beauty to flourish. Factually, it was better for my look and my pores. Besides, since seeing me at the hospital with my face beat, James already had an idea of how bad I could get. Him being an older man, I assumed he would appreciate my look more as a natural one.
The hair dryer was back in its place before heading into my bedroom. Choosing not to wear undergarments because of the material, I lifted the dress over my head, and reached my arms into the sleeve holes. Pressing my arms onto the silk material underneath my armpits, I slid my head through the top before sliding the dress down my torso. I tied the ribbon at the back of neck once the dress was at its endpoint in the middle of my thighs. I took my Red Bottoms from my mattress and slid my size seven feet into them. After standing and glancing at myself through the dresser length mirror, I applied antiperspirant to my armpits and was ready to head for me and James’ first date.
Thirty minutes had passed since I agreed to James. Approaching my nightstand, I pressed the home button to activate my screen to light. Just as I suspected, James messaged back with an address. He told me to meet him there by eleven. With only thirty minutes to spare, I entered the address on my GPS. Luckily, the restaurant was only twenty minutes away from my house, and my battery had enough charge to last a few hours at the least.
Quickly, I removed my phone from the charger and darted across the house. Once I stood in the living room, I grabbed my keys from the coffee table, before setting the alarm and heading out the front door. By the time I got down the deck steps and across the stone pathway to reach my vehicle, I noticed my hangover symptoms had lessened.
“Thank God,” I whispered to myself while opening the driver’s side door. Needing to be up on my game, I sighed in relief.
I started my ignition and waited for the vents to fill the vehicle with the sixty-eight-degree temperature it was set on. Only five minutes left to leave and be on time, I sat my phone in the passenger’s seat after memorizing the directions to the restaurant. Letting out a huff from my nervousness, I placed my gear into reverse and left from my driveway.
You can’t get enough of me, yeah
Well, I guess it’s lookin’ like you stuck with me
‘Cause I got you sprung off in the spring time
Fuck all your free time
You don’t need no me time
Playing Jhene Aiko’s song, Pussy Fairy, seemed to be the perfect melody to get me into a flirtatious mood. Needing to cut the edge of shyness and ease my lightened hangover symptoms until they vanished, I reached for my phone once more, after stopping at the sign at the end of my street. Once the song was pulled up on Apple Music, I turned the volume to my stereo midway after the Bluetooth was connected and returned my phone back to the passenger’s seat.
During my ride, Bayleigh crossed my mind. The last thing I remembered was her laying down in the guest bedroom I had awoken in. Forcing the music to become blocked from my hearing, I started to retrace the steps on everything that happened the night prior.
Bayleigh was settled in bed after experiencing her withdraw symptoms. Once I went back to the room to give her a glass of cold water, she was knocked out. I placed the water on the nightstand before heading back toward the kitchen. After making enough Strawberry Hennessy cocktails for a few rounds, I poured my first glass and went to the living room to relax. Drink after drink, it didn’t take me long before I was drunk. After walking to the car to get the doctor’s number from the prescription paper he had written it on, I re-entered my home and shot him a text. Once the conversation started to get a good flow, I passed out. I had awoken to a banging sound alerting from my front door.
“Uhhh!” I gasped after remembering that Chris had approached my door.
Instantly, I felt a sense of embarrassment approach. At a party, we had fucked up and messed around during his time with Bayleigh. Somewhere in my drunken mind, I wanted to feel him again. After guiding him to the room Bayleigh fell asleep in, we mutually noticed she had left. I read her note aloud before trying to take a shot at Chris again. He stormed out of the room before the alarm system sounded, and alerted me of the door opening, and then closing. Thinking about him, I dropped my jeans and thong to the floor… before masturbating from my memory with him.
Hopefully, he doesn’t say shit if him and Bayleigh get together again, was the only thought grazing my mind as I pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. Bayleigh would kill me.
7
Ocho
“I don’t want to go to rehab,” Bayleigh announced, once we were out of Walgreens and began to head back in the direction of my house.
“That’s not an option,” I scoffed, causing her head to jerk toward me.
“What the fuck do you mean? You already fucking kidnapped me and shit! It’s not like you’ll let me out of your sight!” she defended.
Without wishing to further engage in the conversation, I chose to remain silent. She huffed before folding her arms as she sat in the passenger’s seat, but kept her silence as well. Already voicing what I wished to endure with her, I didn’t feel the need for further explanation. All I needed was for her to get clean completely, without the urge to relapse again.
Zaiya crossed my mind as we rode in silence; not even the music played. She was never the desperate type of chick, and what she had done to me was out of her character. Something in the pit of my stomach warned me that it was a bad idea to meet up with her. In a way, I took partial blame for going against my instinct. Hopefully, it was the last I had to see of her.
“Ocho Spinks,” I answered the call from a number which wasn’t programmed in my phone. Me being a business owner of my athletic company, I didn’t hesitate to answer.
“Yes. I received a referral from someone in regard to your coaching,” the voice, of what sounded to be a younger woman, replied from the other end of my line.
“I appreciate the referral, but I won’t be able to accept any new clients for at least a few weeks. I can’t give you a date and time until I have my schedule in front of me. Is there any way you can wait at least two weeks before calling to schedule?” I asked.
The potential client agreed. She told me she would reach out at a further date, but truthfully, I wouldn’t care if she didn’t. With my organization remaining active, professionalism was a must. Honestly, I had no planned sessions. Money wasn’t an issue for me seeing I had been able to save enough during my time of hard work. My sole focus was on Bayleigh.
Never had I ever been the type of man to force someone upon me. Without bragging, pussy was pressured toward me and I still didn’t grab it. Between my look and the line of business I was in, getting a woman wasn’t an issue. In fact, I probably could get any female I wanted without having to kidnap them, or even forcing help upon them. Even Zaiya, after years of her cheating on me, drugged me into fucking her… and went crazy when I woke up and left her dumb ass.
“Can’t we just do this without rehab?” Bayleigh turned in her seat to face me and whispered, after arriving to my place and pulling into the garage.
Gathering my thoughts, I placed my gear into park and turned the ignition off. After unfastening my seatbelt, I opened my driver’s side door before placing a foot on the concrete of the garage floor. She probably thought I was ignoring her as she got out of the passenger’s side, but I wasn’t. For the first time, I lost my speech.
I walked around my Audi and met her at the stairs leading to the interior door. With
the plastic Walgreens bag in her hand, and one foot on the bottom stair as she waited for me to unlock the door, she kept a stare glued to me. Her downturned eyes looked like they were about to burst into tears. The frown on her face had grown, and her broad shoulders sat in a slouched position.
“Look,” I paused to give myself a breath before continuing, “Why are you opposed to rehab?”
After entering the house, I decided to ask before settling on a decision. My heart for her wouldn’t allow me to ignore her about the subject. She wasn’t pressed to leave me anytime soon. The possibility of her staying for shelter could have been a reason, but I doubted it. Based on the way her Asian friend was dressed the day I showed to the hospital, Bayleigh had shelter options she chose to decline.
“I don’t want to be locked into some building with people who don’t give a fuck about me. I tried checking myself into a five-day treatment center and hated the vibe. Honestly, it made me want to do drugs more. Fake feelings aren’t for me. Once I checked myself out after three days, straight to the street I went,” she confessed.
I could tell she wanted to transform her life back into a sober state without drugs. The pain in her voice as she spoke sounded as if it were coming from the pit of her soul.
After taking a seat at the bar stool of the kitchen island, I rested my fist underneath my chin after placing my elbow on the countertop. For a few moments, I doze off in my own thoughts as she stood at the vertical edge of the island.
“Come here,” I stated as I kept my sitting position, but took my hand from my face and laid my forearm onto the countertop.
Hesitating, she walked over to my stool after a few seconds. Instead of holding my demeanor as a roughneck as it were her first impression of me, I switched it up. Once she stood a foot away from me, I latched my hand which rested on my leg to her hand before bringing her closer to me. Sitting sideways on the stool, I parted my legs and inched her forward until we were body to body.
“How do I know you won’t run your ass from here?” I asked in a low tone, after welcoming the fingers on each of her hands into both of my palms… and stared her in the eyes.
Her eyebrows were brought to the bridge of her nose. Knowing what was coming next, I dropped her hands from mine before wrapping my arms around her waist. Just as suspected, whimpers and gasps for a breath of air came from her as she hysterically bawled on my shoulder.
“I wanna change! I do!” she screamed in between each cry. “Please help me without rehab!”
She obtained a soft spot in my heart from her ballistic pleads for help. I sat there holding her, as her face was buried into the crease of my neck and shoulder. Losing track of time, I wasn’t aware of how long we had remained in the position. With rain on the forecast for the day, we kept in our places until the sunlight beaming in from the kitchen window grew dim. Instantly afterward, drops of rain bouncing from the roof were heard from inside of the house.
After lifting herself from my shoulder, while keeping both hands pressed against my upper chest, she shot her vision toward the window. Releasing my right arm from around her, I grabbed her chin with my thumb and index finger before she was able to turn to fully face me. Staring at each other for seconds after motioning her face toward mine, I leaned forward.
Her small, pink lips fit perfectly with mine. The tenderness of hers made my thicker lips sink in from the touch. As soon as pecks turned to French kisses, I slid my hand that was kept around her waist. Inching my hand downward as our tongues collided, I gripped the fuck out of her ass cheek… once I got to the crease leading from her upper thigh.
“Not yet,” I said. My touch on her ass must have led her to think I wanted to fuck her.
“What do you mean not yet?” she sounded offended while replying and shot her head back.
“I told you. We gotta get you clean first,” I reminded her.
I didn’t want to offend her, so I kept the comment to myself when I thought about calling her out. No way will I ever fuck an active drug addict. Hell! It surprised the fuck out of me upon getting this bright idea to help her! Blocking myself from my normal thoughts was her staring back at me. From there, I snapped from the negativity roaming around my brain. Instead, a form of instinct kicked in. Fate brought us together and she’d be the one I marry.
“How long do I have to wait if I’m not going to rehab for thirty days?” she asked.
“Who says you aren’t going? I didn’t decide. Let’s remember the reason you’re here in the first place,” I said with confidence. I was falling for her charm, but I couldn’t make it noticeable.
“Well?” It was obvious she was annoyed by my answer from the way she held her palm open next to her cheek, before snapping her neck as she spoke.
I chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“Get your razors and shit out of the bag. I’ll make this detox while you’re in there,” I instructed. “We’ll talk about it afterwards.”
She sucked her teeth, giving a light tantrum as she broke free from my embrace. Instead of reacting to her immaturity, I kept my giggle as she scrambled through the Walgreen’s bag. Honestly, I thought the shit was hot as fuck. Not only had she accepted me being her kidnapper, but she hoped for my comfort as opposed to anyone else’s.
The two pack of five blade razors were in her hand before she stormed toward the den. With it being the room she took a shower in the night prior, she knew the exact location of the bathroom located in that specific room. Once she opened the door to the den, I listened for her to enter the restroom before getting up from my stool.
Walking over to the end of the island to get to the fridge, I pulled out to whole lemons from the produce drawer, once I had the appliance door open. After closing the bin, I reached for the top shelf before lifting the gallon of Dasani water from the rack. One item had its own hand as I closed the door with my foot. After walking over to the island and rinsing the lemons off in the sink, I turned and pulled two glasses from the cabinet in between the fridge and stove.
I pulled a sharp knife from the silverware drawer and cut each lemon in half. After squeezing juice from one whole lemon into each glass, I tossed the peel in the trash can in the cabinet below the sink. Thinking about how effective my detox method may be as I placed the knife into the stainless-steel sink, I was confident. With my exercise routine and an abnormal taker of drugs, it wouldn’t surprise me to know that the toxicants had already left my system. Bayleigh, on the other hand, would probably have to hydrate for at least two weeks before even a gram exited her system.
Ring! Ring!
I pulled my phone from my pocket as I poured the water into the glasses over the fresh lemon juice. Noticing it was Cezar, I slid the button on my lock screen to the right to answer.
“What’s up man?” I answered, feeling a bit confused.
Cezar and I were tight back then but had lost contact. Assuming he was checking on me after dealing to me the day prior, I lessened my thought of something being wrong.
“Nothing man. It’s all good. I just wanted to ask you something,” he informed me on his intention before continuing, “Your old girl fucks with white boys now?”
“Fuck that bitch,” I said in agony.
Just the thought of hearing about Zaiya set my soul on fire. Once I made my statement, Cezar and I got off the line. She moved on quick, I thought as I put the gallon jug back into the refrigerator. Jealousy wasn’t the emotion creeping upon me; she was dead to me. Instead, disappointment entered with the thought of being with such a dirty ass how for all those years. I couldn’t gather what I seen in her back then. She was still the same nasty ass slut she had always been.
“You want me now?” I heard from behind me as I was in the process of closing the door to the fridge.
I turned around to stare at Bayleigh’s bare body. She was bad was as fuck! And I changed my mind about waiting… especially hearing about Zaiya. At least, Bayleigh was someone I was yearning for; not one who forc
ed themselves onto me.
I bit my lip as I stared across the kitchen before demanding, “Come fuck me now.”
8
Chris
Seeing Bayleigh happy with another man humbled me. After trying to get her to forgive my past mess-ups during our relationship, she declined my offer. Instead, she was busy bothered with another man. From the looks of it, he seemed to have his shit together. His Audi and name brand clothes could have meant he was a drug dealer, but he looked way too clean for it. Besides, with Zaiya informing me of the job she kept as a nurse, I doubted she would ruin her career chasing after a man who was being looked after by the F.B.I.
“You ready to go now?” I let slip from my mouth, once we mutually noticed our past lovers exiting the lot together.
“Yeah,” she forced herself to say.
Slowly moving from the slouched position as she stared out of the window, her chest pressed against the steering wheel before starting the ignition. Without saying a word, she crept from the parking lot and headed toward downtown. After seven minutes of riding in the silent car, we located my vehicle which was parked parallel beside the curb.
“Right there,” I broke the silence as I pointed to my Camaro.
With an empty space behind my car, Zaiya swerved into it. My ass glued to the seat when I tried to budge to get out. I didn’t want to leave her in the condition she was in. Even as a man, I understood the emotion from the heartbreak she was going through. As much anger as I felt toward Bayleigh, I had to let her move on.
“Take my number,” I blurted, after I reached for the door handle and paused my movement.
“I’m not really in the mood for anyone else,” she admitted before she allowed her head to fall to the headrest behind her.
“The fuck you mean?! How the fuck are you gonna watch your ex be happy with mine and not want to move on? You think I’m not hurting too? I just watched the love of my life get into a car with him after I offered her help already! And she fucking declined my offer! Not to mention, did you forget about the time we had last night? I bagged plenty of bitches without emotion. Do you really want to be added to my list of one-night stands?”
