by Nicole Reed
“Look...,” I start to say.
“You know, the times I have had a chance to have a conversation with you, I could tell I was judged before I even opened my mouth. So, if you want to say that I wasn’t overly friendly, maybe you need to look in the mirror first.” Standing, he looks down at me, “I’ve seen you with that Nick Andrews. And I know what that punk-ass white boy wants. You can tell him that she’s with me. For good. And I suggest you watch where you’re steppin’ if you get what I’m sayin’. It didn’t have to be like this, but you only have yourself to blame.”
Wait, now who’s judging who? “Are you threatening me?” I ask in amazement. This conversation can’t be happening.
“I don’t make threats. Only promises,” he answers back. Before turning away, he adds, “I’m sure you can see your way home. I got Mads.”
I’m shaking from his words, not because I’m scared, but because I’m pissed. How dare him! I’ll own up to my own stupidity, but damn, give me a chance to repent. Looking around after he leaves, I don’t see Dray, but Jason Silas is now sitting with his teammates, and he is still staring at me. Figuring it’s time to leave, I go to retrieve my jacket. I retrieve my phone and cash from the interior pocket and head downstairs to hail a cab. Glancing back once more, I see Madison leaning against Lil Rip laughing. I want to walk over to haul her away from him, but what do I say. Your asshole boy-toy just threatened me? Some things have a way of working themselves out. I can only hope he is one of them.
Between my schedule and Dray’s, by Friday morning, I still haven’t heard from him. Some weird part of me, that I wish would go away, suffers from a tiny bit of disappointment when he doesn’t at least call or text daily. Damn me. As I step out of the shower, I hear my phone buzzing with an incoming text.
Dray – Tonight?
Me – I have a benefit to attend.
Dray – The Children’s Hospital?
Me – That would be the one.
Dray – Just out of ???....who’s taking U?
I smile at his question. Now who’s jealous, otherwise, why ask? Madison is my date, well, I hope she still is. I asked her months ago, but we haven’t spoken since the other night. I’m not telling him that. Let him wonder after that lap dance.
Me – Who’s jealous now???
Dray – Who?
Me – I’ll text you when I get home.
Dray – WHO
My phone instantly rings, and, surprise, surprise, it’s Dray. I send him directly to voicemail and turn my phone off so he can’t bother me the rest of the morning. Serves him right.
Before getting dressed, I take Jonsie out and let him do his business. Rushing back up, I finish with my make-up and head to work. Martha is my oldest sales rep who actually worked with my aunt for years. She was my first choice to run the shop, but she didn’t want the responsibility and only wanted to continue to be an associate. Her grandkids are visiting today, so I’m taking her shift until Jess comes in around eleven this morning.
Opening up, I look around, and again, I can’t help but be proud that I’ve continued something that my aunt loved so much. I need to call her today and see if we are still on for lunch on Sunday. Maybe I can spend the day and night with her on Saturday. Dray would hate it because it’s an off week for him, and I bet he’s planning on us spending some time together. All the more reason to see if I can’t work it out to stay with her. I’m in a mean mood this morning.
As the morning progresses, I have several customers and make quite a bit of sales. It feels good to be on the floor once again and to watch people find one-of-a-kind fashion. My favorite shoppers are my men who know their fashion, and in Atlanta, there isn’t a shortage. They are so much fun. It’s like dressing up my own Ken doll. That’s one reason I love that Leo has taken an interest in procuring men’s wear for me. He has a great eye for women and men’s clothing. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but if I do take a partner in the future, he is becoming more of the clear choice. Not that I financially need a partner, but as much as I love the store, the truth is, it was my aunt’s dream. I don’t think I could ever sell it, but bringing someone in so that I can be in the background may appeal to me one day. At least it might get me out of the limelight.
When Jess comes in, I smile at her. Big sunglasses cover half of her pixie face, and she wears a sixty’s wraith dress that compliments her petite frame. Pulling her frames down to the bridge of her nose, she stares over the top.
“When are you going to pop those babies out your cooch?”
“Classy, Jess. Real classy.”
She smiles back at me and goes in the back to clock-in.
“Hey Kylie,” Leo says as he walks in from the back of the store.
“Hey. I didn’t think you were scheduled today? In fact, Jess just walked in.”
“No, I’m not. I forgot my jacket in the back the other day.”
I start to reply back when I see him freeze in place. His mouth drops to the ground, and I swear his already white skin goes translucent. Turning to see what he is looking at, I glance over to see Nick Andrews walking into Decadent Darling. Even though I spent all day yesterday planning out tonight’s events, I still have to shake myself to totally digest that Nick is standing two feet in front of me. He looks like any other twenty-something guy walking around in his blue jeans and a light blue Polo shirt with tennis shoes. A baseball cap, with his sunglasses resting on top, covers that signature hair, but if you are a super-fan like me, and obviously Leo, you can spot who he is from a mile away.
“Hey, Kylie.” He flashes those dimples at me. “You ready for lunch? I’m starving.” He rocks on the balls of his feet as he looks from me to Leo. “Hey,” he nods to Leo.
Taking no mercy on Leo, I decide to play it up as I reach over to Nick and do that half hug thing as I say, “Yeah, let me grab my jacket.”
“Sure,” he replies back, looking strangely at me.
Once I’m behind Leo, where only Nick can see me, I point towards Leo and shake my head. Nick gives me a slight smile, seeming to get my evil plan.
“Hurry up, Baby. We might can squeeze in a quickie.”
Okie-dokie, that is a little extreme, but it works. Leo turns towards me and opens and closes his mouth like a fish out of water. I nod my head and wink at him, mouthing, “oh...yeah”. Nick is about to bust a gut behind Leo as he tries to hold in his laughter. At the same time, Jess walks back in holding her Coach shades, which she proceeds to drop and break when she sees who’s standing here. Wow, we must all be die hard Nick fans.
I feel the need for divine payback after her little comment earlier. “I’m out to lunch with my new boy-toy if anyone should call.” Deciding I don’t need my jacket or my bag since I already have my phone and some money in my pants pocket, I step forward to link my arm through Nick’s and lead him out. “Laters, Y’all,” I call back.
Once we round the corner, I let go of his arm, and we both die laughing.
“Sorry to use you for my own personal gain,” I tell him unapologetically.
“Since I’m doing the same, I say we are even.”
“Deal.”
I lead him to a local deli, where I know we can actually sit in a booth way in the back, and hopefully, not get noticed. He puts his sunglasses on and pulls his hat down low, just in case. Once we enter, I proceed to take him to our seats in the back that I have already reserved. Finding out what he wants, I go to the front to order after fighting with him over me paying for lunch. I explain it has nothing to do with feminism and everything to do with not having our pictures splashed over national gossip magazines because I like my privacy. He is down with that.
Placing our food on the table, I open my salad and bottle of water as he takes his sandwich and chips.
“So here is the plan,” I say in between bites because I really am starving. “The gala tonight, which benefits the local Children’s Hospital, is being held at the Museum of Natural History downtown. Your name is on the list as Andrew N
ick, and your price of admission is a hefty sum that you are going to donate to the hospital.” I look up at him to make sure he knows that is not optional.
Seeing the look on my face, he says, “Kylie, I would have done that anyway.”
“Good. Then you are not a total douche-munch.” He shakes his head and takes another bite of his sandwich, so I continue. “The head attendant has been instructed to lead you to one of the lower offices which has four walls, no windows, and only one door to come in or out. What is great about this door is that it locks from the outside. So once I’ve been apprised that you are in place, I will lead Madison to you and push her in before locking the door.”
“Smart,” he says in between bites.
“Five minutes is the longest I can allow. I have to tell you that we are risking life and limb here. Not just from Madison, but I was kind of warned from her boyfriend that I should keep you away from her.”
This gets Nick’s attention as he sits his food down and looks at me.
“What do you mean by that?”
I tell him verbatim what Lil Rip said the other night.
“That bastard,” he mutters and looks at me. “Look, I’m not afraid of him, but if you are, I totally understand if you don’t want to be involved. I’m still keeping to the plan, but I’ll find a way to get Madison to that room without your help.”
“Actually, to be honest, I hope you and Madison are made for each other, but if you are not, I have to say that, at this point, I would set her up with Satan himself to get her away from the asshole she’s with.”
“Okay, what’s the backup plan if anything falls through?”
Looking over at him and smiling sweetly, I say, “The backup plan is that there is no backup plan. So don’t fuck it up.”
“Works for me,” he replies, going back to eating his sandwich.
We part ways after lunch, and I walk back to the shop solo. I barely notice the nice fall weather we are having. Usually, in Georgia, we only have two seasons, summer and winter, if we are lucky. Anytime we actually get fall or spring, I’m normally ecstatic, but this year, I guess too much is going on. Right now, I ask myself for the millionth time if I’m doing the right thing with Madison and Nick. She’s been with Lil Rip longer than most of the other guys in her life. Should I respect her choice since, let me be honest with myself, it is none of my business and said boyfriend may try to cut me?
As soon as I walk into Decadent Darling, I see Leo and Jess standing in almost the same place I left them. Silence follows my return which has never happened. Wow, this is nice. Smiling, I swing my hips and stroll right past them and into my office, shutting the door behind me. That’s right people. Show me some respect. I do a private happy dance only stopping when I see that I’m not alone. Dray Savage is propping his big-self back in my chair with his fingers forming a steeple under his chin and his feet sprawling across my desk.
“Where have you been, Kylie?” he asks a little too calmly.
Crossing my arms across my chest, I smartly lean back against my door and commence to a staring competition. After several long seconds, I realize I’m not going to win, so with a big sigh, I answer his question with a question of my own.
“Now, Dray. Do I question where or whom you go out with? No, I don’t. That’s the beauty of our...,” again I‘m at a loss of words at what to call our situation, “compact.”
Dray places his feet heavily on the floor while bracing his arms against my desk. Looking a little too determined for my taste.
“Have you ever been spanked, Kylie?”
“No, and I’ll think pass.”
“You may like it.” Then he finishes with, “You may not. Either way, I’m sure I will.” This time, his smile doesn’t look like the friendly Dray I’ve come to know these past couple of months.
For some reason, I do believe that running screaming back into the store would probably ruin my street cred that I just earned with Jess. Damn my pride. So I opt to call Dray’s bluff.
“You wouldn’t.” I narrow my eyes at him.
“Come here, Kylie.” Here we go with the commands that plain out just do it for me. He rolls the chair back where I can fit between him and my desk, motioning for me to stand before him.
Here goes my body again with a mind of its own. Not scared of anything like a big bad Dray Savage. I go to stand where he commands. I’m glad that I wore a very professional looking pant suit today, because if he’s serious about that spanking, it’s not going to be easy access to bare skin.
“Turn around.”
Obeying his command, I wait for what he says next. I can’t help the smile on my face. This is kind of fun. I hear the chair slide back as he stands behind me, pressing against me until my legs hit my desk. At this point, he starts to press me forward, bending me over the slick mahogany. The verity of what we are doing and where we are doing it finally dawns on me.
Trying to raise my body, I explain, “Wait, Dray. This is my office, and the door is not locked. Anyone can walk in or hear what is going on. Damn eavesdropping employees.”
Holding me down on my desk with his strength while his body traps me from behind, he states, “You should have thought about that before.”
“Before what?” I turn my head to the side to try and look back at him.
“Before you went out with that fucker. How long have you been seeing him?”
Maybe it’s the position I’m in causing the blood to rush to my head, or it could be because the tone of his voice is freaking me out, but I have no idea what he is talking about.
“What are you talking about? I’m not seeing anyone. Including you,” I point out.
“Wrong answer, Babe.”
I feel him tug my pants, and then, I hear the unmistakable sound of them ripping. Gasping, I can’t believe what is happening, including seeing my shredded panties thrown in front of me. I try to fight, quietly, the best I can, but it’s no use against his brute strength.
“Are you kidding me, Dray?”
“Did you fuck him today?” His voice shakes from the intensity in it.
Now, I’m pissed. This isn’t part of the mutual agreement, and this situation just went from sexy to scary.
“Let me up. I’m done.”
“Again, wrong answer.”
The first smack sounds loudly in my office and has to be unmistakable to anyone listening outside. My ass stings from the pain. I’m shocked. He hit me! No, he spanked me! I’m going to set his apartment on fire.
“Don’t you dare do that aga...,” I start to say.
WHACK!
“OW!” This one hurts worse than the last, but this time he actually rubs the sting away, and my traitorous slut of a body gets wet at what he is doing. His breathing is coming faster behind me. Something is wrong, and now, I’m getting really scared. I start to ask when...
WHACK! WHACK!
The pain actually takes my breath away, and I don’t care if the whole boutique is filled with customers or not.
“I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU SPANK ME ONE MORE TIME, I WILL GO ALL LORENA BOBBIT ON YOU AND CUT YOUR SHIT OFF,” I scream.
He massages my backside like he doesn’t even hear me. What is wrong? What did I do? Tears leak out of the corners of my eyes. Not from actual pain, but from whatever is happening here. Something is breaking between us. The first sob racks my body before I even realize I’m crying hard. I feel his hands on my arms moments before he pulls me up, turning me around so he can wrap me securely in his arms. I nestle my face into his chest and sob.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what I did,” I repeat over and over.
“God, what have I done? I’m so sorry, Kylie. It’s just eating me alive, and I can’t take it,” he says against my neck where his mouth rests.
Pulling back, I look into his sorrow-filled eyes. “Tell me what I did. I’ll be honest with you.”
“I know about Nick Andrews. I know you’ve evidently been seeing him and that you were with him earlier today. I even
called to confirm that his private jet landed this morning, which it did. Then, I went and confirmed that he is your date tonight.”
“Madison’s my date for tonight,” is the first thing I clear up.
Looking down at the floor then back at me, he continues, “No, I verified that Andrew Nick is attending tonight. I’m not stupid, Kylie.”
“Damn, that is confidential. Who told?”
“I have connections all over the city, Kylie. Does it matter? You just verified it.” He starts to pull away from me.