by Angel Lawson
Nick leaned against the refrigerator, arms crossed. He was handsome, smart, and caring. He was everything she should want. But he wasn’t. And right then, there was too much going on that he didn’t fit into.
“I don’t know what my problem is. I just…”Ari paused. She held the plastic container tight in her hands. “I just think we should take some time apart maybe. I’m not sure we’re a good idea.”
He dropped his arms. And seemed shocked. Ari’s fleeting hope that he might have felt the same were dashed. “Wait, you want us to stop seeing each other?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Is this because of tonight? Because I know I can be argumentative—it’s in my nature.”
“No, it’s not that. Things are crazy for me right now and I just need some space,” Ari said, lamely.
They stood across from one another for a short, tense moment.
“It’s that guy isn’t it?”
Ari swallowed the lump in her throat. “What guy?”
Without responding, Nick turned on his heel and stormed out of the kitchen. Ari didn’t follow but heard him gathering his coat and keys. She picked up a rag and started wiping the counter, continuing when the front door opened. He must have stood there waiting for a solid minute but Ari didn’t budge. She knew she was right, even if she wasn’t being honest with him. With no other recourse, Nick slammed the door and walked out.
EIGHTEEN
Ari entered Glorious, pushing past the group of people standing at the door. The DJ’s music vibrated across her skin and thrummed with her already excited heart. Davis said he’d meet her there at midnight.
A guy stopped in front of her and smiled. “Can I buy you a drink?” He was cute. A spikey fauxhawk crowned his head and four rings gleamed down the side of his ear. He lifted an empty beer bottle. Forward, much?
Before she could reply, a heavy arm slung over her shoulder and the guy’s eyes darted next to her. She offered a weak smile of apology and turned her head to inhale Davis’s scent. He hadn’t absorbed the sweaty, dank club smell yet.
“Hi,” she said.
He kissed her in reply.
She kissed him back, right in the middle of the club. Not in the back hallway, or behind the closed door of his office, or in her dark bedroom. It was public—for everyone to see.
She liked it.
Davis led her to the dance floor, stopping in the middle under the cracked hazy lights. Unlike that last time, the first time, when they kept an electrically charged distance, they danced. This time his hands traveled everywhere. Down her bare arms. Flat across her belly. She pressed close to him. Song after song. Until Ari couldn’t stand it any longer. When she was about to burst out of her skin, she looked over her shoulder and beckoned him with a finger.
He followed.
* * *
“I broke up with my boyfriend tonight.” Davis halted his kisses at her confession. Both their shirts were off and for some reason, Ari felt like it was the right moment to tell him about Nick. “I couldn’t do both. Not this and that. Especially since I didn’t really want that. Him. Not anymore.”
“But this?” he finally asked.
She touched the fine hair under his belly button. Her thumb grazed the ragged scar left by his brother.
“I know I promised. I made the deal. And you can turn me away if you want. I just wanted something…better than what I have with him. Even if it’s less.”
Davis rolled on his back, the back of his hand draped over his eyes. “I know the feeling.”
“What does that mean?”
“I guess it means that things are about to get complicated.”
Ari stared at the ceiling. She thought about those glow-in-the-dark stars she stuck on the ceiling over her bed in her parent’s house. Back when the only other person sharing her bed was her dog, Jerry, or one of her girlfriends having a slumber party.
“Complicated how?” she asked.
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Ari. Not all of it is good. And like I told you before, with my brother on the hunt, getting close to someone is dangerous. You saw what he did to Oscar.”
“Well, Davis, there’s a lot you don’t know about me, too. I’m not going to be scared off.”
“Really? Because I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the one behind Jace Watkins coming after you.”
The thought made her blood run cold.
“I’m not afraid,” she lied. Then she rolled toward Davis and placed a series of kisses on his neck. “If it’s worth it.”
He slid one hand under the covers and between her legs, stroking the spot where she’d showed him the two tattoos the other day. Ari’s own hand traveled past the soft hair on his belly.
“Before things get complicated, can we just have one last night? Complication free?” Ari swung a leg over his waist and pulled herself on top of him, easing her body against his. Feeling how hard he was. His need. “Just one more night where this is enough?”
In the shadowy dark of her room Davis brought her to his chest. Ari closed her eyes and braced herself for him. She expected him to be rough—intense like the other times. She loved the way he rocked her hard, unafraid that she would break. He knew she could take it—loved it, even. He entered her slowly, the furor gone. Surprised, she moved with him, rolling her hips languidly. His touch seared, making her skin burn. Making her feel wanted. Worshipped. He licked the star between her breasts where he’d bruised her. He moved to the two under her collarbone and his mouth felt like a salve, healing her loss. Ari’s fingers traced the jagged and rough scar on his side, wishing his wounds away. Both had reminders of how much they’d suffered. This time they marked one another differently, with desire and affection.
Davis’s movements were so caring, so attentive, that when Ari finally felt herself spiral to that place, she allowed her heart to go along with her body—even just for this once. In the darkened room, her eyes met his and he breathed her name, and she knew he felt the same.
* * *
Davis left the way he had the other night. Like a ninja through the back window. Before he left, he leaned back in, easing over the windowsill. Over his shoulder, she saw a movement and pulled away. “Davis,” she whispered.
He looked and said, “That’s just Boyd.”
“Did he follow us?”
Pushing her hair out of her face he said, “I’m never alone, Ari. That’s how serious this is.” He kissed her so hard she felt it in her toes. “I’ll be gone for a couple days. Oscar’s funeral and everything. I’ll be in touch, okay?”
“Okay.”
She watched as he and Boyd both easily climbed the fence.
“Good grief,” Ari mumbled, latching the window and walking out of her room for the kitchen. Leftover Thai sounded perfect after a night of dancing and sex.
Three microwaved minutes later, Ari banged her hip into the dining room table almost losing the bowl of rice and massaman she carried over a glass of milk. “Don’t fall, don’t fall,” she whispered. It didn’t matter, though. She saw the faint glow of the television from the living room and stopped in her tracks. “Oliver?”
“It’s me.”
Ari spotted Veronica curled up on the love seat, her face lit from the blue screen. “Oh, hey,” she said. “What are you doing up?”
“Light sleeper.” She smirked at Ari.
“Oh, geez.” Ari sank into the armchair. “Really?”
Veronica nodded and covered her laugh with her hand. “Sounded fun, though.”
Ari glanced at the TV and saw an apocalypse survival show. Oliver’s girlfriend was certainly an enigma. With her long, dark hair and a perfect nose, she had that beauty-queen thing going on, but she kept seeing Oliver and she was into the apocalypse. She couldn’t be that bad.
“Do I look like a whore? Dumping Nick and then bringing home another guy?”
“Well,” Veronica said, looking away from the TV. “When you put it that way, yes. But, I’m not judging. I think
you had to make a choice—and you did.”
“I guess.” Guilt pressed down on her for the first time that night. Was it wrong? And what did she choose? Certainly not a relationship. Was it just sex? Davis had only said things would get complicated. They already were. “Have you ever been with a guy that makes you just feel…alive? Like when you aren’t with him you kind of crave him? Like you just can’t wait to get another…hit?”
“Sure.”
“Yeah?” Ari asked. “I haven’t. Not until now. Not until this guy. I mean, he just left and I want more.”
Veronica raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like you made the right choice then—over Nick.”
“Yeah, but sometimes, it feels like it may consume me. At least what I felt for Nick was controllable. This? I feel like chasing him down the street.” Ari blushed after saying it. Why was she telling Veronica about this?
“Does he want to chase you back?”
Ari thought about Davis’s public kiss and the way he moved against her. She thought about how his hands parted her legs, pushing her knees to the side. The way he counted her stars, lingering over the new one, in the center of her chest. Like he knew. Like he knew she got the ink because of him. “Kind of. Yes. He’s always there. Like he needs it, too.”
Veronica yawned and stood up, stretching her arms wide. “I guess you’ll have to ride this out then. See where it goes. If the burn fades or if it turns into something else.”
She stepped over Ari’s legs and handed her the remote control. “What else would it turn into?” Ari asked.
Veronica gave her that same smirky grin. “Love.”
NINETEEN
Standing at the heavy, metal door, Ari waited for a guard to open it with a key. She’d gotten a call from Ms. Cox on her way into work. She turned her car around, stopped at the coffee shop, and headed to the detention center. Sometime last night, Devon had been arrested. After a ten-minute wait, someone finally came to unlock the door.
“Ms. Grant, awful early for you to be here.”
“Tell me about it. I figured I should just get it over with,” she said to the guard whose name she’d forgotten. Tall and thin. He had a weary look about him just like everyone else in this building.
They parted when they passed through the next locked door. Ari knocked on the open door of Ms. Cox’s windowless, basement office. “Morning.” She offered her one of the cups of coffee. “Thanks for the call. What’s going on?”
Ms. Cox accepted the coffee and placed it on her desk next to a large, looming pile of files. “I get emails at home when the kids are processed. I shouldn’t bother, but it makes me feel better knowing what’s coming at me during the day. I saw Devon’s name pop up and the associated charges. I knew you’d want to know.”
“Thanks. I’ve got a ton of work to do today and a staff meeting at ten. What were the charges? I’m assuming she’s not listed as a runaway. I just saw her and her mother hasn’t called.”
Ms. Cox thumbed through the files and slid one out near the top. “Says here disorderly contact and resisting arrest, but the notes mention her talking about witnessing an abduction.”
“An abduction? Does it say anything else?”
“Not really. I doubt the police believed her, and since she already had a record they just brought her in. I’ll call her up.”
Devon arrived with a guard fifteen minutes later. She wore the standard blue jumpsuit and paper slippers. Ari saw a thin cut down the side of her cheek, partially covered by a bandage. Her eyes lit up when she saw Ari. “Ms. Grant, you come to get me out?”
“No, not yet. You’ve got a hearing sometime later today or tomorrow. Do you want to tell me what happened?”
The girl eyed Ari and Ms. Cox suspiciously. “You won’t get mad?”
Ms. Cox rolled her eyes. “Girl, you’re in lockup. This is beyond mad. You better tell us what happened so we can try to help you. The uncensored version, too.”
“Okay, last night I went out with some friends, looking to score some weed.” Her eyes lowered when she admitted that but kept talking. “So we went down to the park, you know, where everyone hangs out. There was a pretty big crowd. Everyone was passing around forties and my friend Big Sauce said he had some weed to sell us.”
“Big Sauce?” Ari asked.
“Yeah, I don’t know his real name. He’s huge, though.”
“Okay, keep going.”
“Well, everything was okay and then I saw Shanna. I hadn’t heard from her since that last group.”
Ari was mildly surprised. And more than a little annoyed. “So she was down there?”
“Yeah, dressed to the nines. Heels and short shorts—even in this cold. I asked her if she was freezing and she said no, that she felt great. Then she got all giggly. I think she was high.” Devon took a deep breath. “She flashed her nails, sparkly and painted with leopard spots. Then she told me she could help me make some money. That Reggie, her sugar daddy, was looking for some new girls.”
“Reggie?” Ari felt like she’d heard that name before. “Who’s that?”
Devon shrugged. “You know, her boyfriend or whatever. A guy who pays her to have sex with him, but not a pimp. He buys her all that stuff.”
“So he has more than one girl, though? She’s okay with that?” Ms. Cox asked, glancing over at me.
“I thought it was weird, too. Anyway, I sure as hell don’t want no sugar daddy. I mean, gross. Screwing some old guy for nice nails? I’d rather have my chipped nasty ones.” She held up her hand in proof. “Plus, even though she looked good, she had some nasty bruises on her arms. I don’t know, maybe she likes it like that.”
“Like what?” Ms. Cox pushed.
“Rough.”
That information settled in Ari’s stomach like a brick. “So, what happened? How did all that end up with you getting arrested?”
“I told her ‘no thanks’. That I wasn’t interested. Which was fine with her, or at least she seemed fine. Then this black car rolls up. It’s nice and flashy. Too nice for the park. Shanna got this big smile on her face and said, ‘That’s my man. Don’t be jealous of my ride.’
“So, he rolls down the window and waves her over. He doesn’t get out, but I can see part of his hand and face. He’s a white dude. Which again, isn’t real typical down at that park late at night, bus Shanna’s part white, too, I guess. He sees me looking and waves me over, too. I shake my head no. I’m not about to get caught up in this craziness.”
“Did Shanna leave with him?” Ari asked, trying to keep Devon focused. She suspected the girl was just happy to be out of her cell and would’ve talked for hours.
“Not then. Shanna came back over and flashed me a Benjamin. She said it would be mine if I came with them.”
Ms. Cox interrupted. “Did you take it?”
“Didn’t get the chance. I wasn’t going to, but I wondered what else he may have up in that car.” She looked to the side. “Didn’t matter. The po-po came and everything got crazy. He whistled at Shanna and she ran over to the car like a dog and they took off. I was so confused and distracted that I didn’t even think to run ’til it was too late.” She touched her face. “That’s how I got this cut. I tried to climb over a stupid fence. The cops thought I was carrying or selling. I was just in the wrong place.”
“Right. Not at home. In bed, like your contract says.”
“I know, Ms. Grant. I was just looking for some fun. I ain’t no old lady,” she argued. “You gonna help me out in court?”
“Maybe. I’ll see what Judge Hatcher says, but the charges seem fairly minor.” Ari looked Ms. Cox. “I think we’re done here. She can go back up.”
Devon stood up when the guard came in to escort her back to her room. She stopped and said, “You need to find Shanna. That guy seemed weird. What’s he doing sniffing around ghetto girls? I don’t like it.”
“I will, Devon. Thanks for telling me about it.”
“She’s my girl. I don’t want anything to happen to h
er.”
Ari put on her most assuring smile and said, “Me, either.”
“What do you think of this Reggie guy?” Ms. Cox asked after she left.
Ari shook her head. “I think he’s trouble.”
* * *
Oscar’s funeral took place that afternoon. Ari didn’t go. Making out in a smoky, dingy club was one thing, but attending the funeral for a boy she didn’t know because she was mixed up with his mentor seemed to push the boundaries of their teetering relationship. She wasn’t really in the mood to see him, anyway. Well, she was, if only to feel some heat on her skin, but not emotionally. Everything had become so confusing.
She’d worked out a plan for the night. Devon gave her just enough information to finally do something for her girls. Ari found Oliver sitting by himself in the living room. For once, Veronica wasn’t over.
Ari blocked Nick’s view of the television and said, “So, no work tonight? Or Veronica?
“No,” he said. “I thought I’d chill a little.” He craned his neck to see the screen. “Umm…I can’t watch crappy reality TV though your ass, Ari. Could you move a little?”
She stood her ground and took a deep breath. “I’m about to do something reckless and possibly stupid. Do you want to come with me?”
Oliver furrowed his eyebrows for a moment. “Scale of one to ten, ten being the highest, how reckless and stupid?
“Seven.”
After a moment of consideration he smiled. “I’m in. Let me get my coat.”
Ari drove since she had a vague idea of their destination. Oliver sat in the passenger seat dressed in full black. He fiddled with the heat and buttons on the front panel, trying to warm up the car. The car’s windshield wipers scraped against the barely wet window. It wasn’t exactly raining. More like an obnoxious spitting from the sky.
“You picked a great night to go out and...what are we doing? Something risky?”
“I’m spying on my clients.”
“What exactly does that mean?”
“It means I’m going to spy on them and see what they’re doing. Or if I notice anything strange. My girls keep going missing and I want to know why.”
