With This Ring

by Allison Hobbs

  In the apartments overhead, she heard people speaking in foreign languages, children squealing in delight, rock music pumping, and babies crying. There was so much life above her, yet she’d never felt more alone and terrified.

  Otto pushed her into a raggedy chair that was covered with cigarette burns and then went through her purse, removing her wallet and sticking it in his back pocket. Then he popped the battery out of her cell phone and tossed it onto a cluttered table.

  “Why’d you bring me here?” she asked Otto, though she had already deducted that he was involved with the men who had kidnapped and tortured Lucio.

  “If you wanna keep that pretty smile, you need to shut your trap. Ask another question and I’m gonna knock some teeth out when I stuff your mouth with my fist.” He held up a beefy fist. Harlow recoiled, noticing that his fist bore the ominous tattoo of a spider caught in a web.

  This couldn’t be happening. Drake had promised they were safe and now not only was her life in danger, but also the lives of her unborn babies.

  Otto’s cell phone rang and he flinched at the sound. Jumpy and nervous, he obviously wasn’t a seasoned criminal. Maybe she could talk him into letting her go.

  “Yeah, can you hurry up. I gotta get rid of the car. The driver’s in the trunk.” Otto listened for a moment and then barked, “I don’t know if he’s breathing or not. The last thing I heard him say was, ‘Please don’t shoot me; I have a pregnant wife.’ Right now he’s covered with a bunch of grocery bags and I don’t know if he’s dead or alive. I couldn’t hang around the Whole Foods parking lot, so excuse me if I didn’t have time to check his fuckin’ pulse. Just get here as soon as possible. I’m not feeling good about this.”

  The original driver with the pregnant wife was in the trunk of the Town Car, possibly dead. This situation was not looking good at all.

  As Otto spoke softly into the phone, his eyes constantly darted at her, making sure she didn’t try to escape.

  “Nah, she’s not wearing a diamond. I don’t know what kind of stone it is. Something pink.”

  Harlow’s frightened eyes shot down to her ring finger. Were they going to cut off her finger and send it to Drake or did they simply want her ring? She twisted off her engagement ring and wedding band and held them out. “This is pink sapphire. It’s worth a lot. Here, you can have it,” she said in an urgent voice. “And…and my wedding band is platinum. Please take them both and let me go.”

  “She said it’s pink sapphire, whatever the fuck that is. I don’t know if it’s worth anything or not.”

  “It is,” Harlow shouted. “You can pawn it and get a lot of money.”

  Otto ignored Harlow and continued his phone conversation. “He instructed us to snip off her finger and pack it together with her wedding ring.”

  Oh, my God, no! Harlow pictured herself trying to change diapers with a missing finger and she didn’t like the imagery.

  “We should keep the sapphire ring and tell the boss she was only wearing the wedding band. He won’t care as long as the husband gets the message loud and clear. Look, man, I did my part; now hurry up and get here so you can do the cutting. I get dizzy when I see blood.”

  Oh, Jesus! I’ve got to get out of here.

  “All right; I’ll go check the dude in the trunk, but that’s it. I need to get paid for all the work I put in so far.”

  Otto walked toward the front door and then looked over his shoulder. “The front door is made of solid steel. There’re bars on every window, so don’t even think about trying to get out. I’ll be right outside and if you even think about yelling, I’ll come back in here and staple your mouth shut if I have to.” Otto said something in the phone and then said, “Tape her mouth shut with what? This was a spur-of-the-moment assignment. The bitch got in the Town Car and I followed like I was told to do. I didn’t have time to stop at Home Depot and pick up duct tape. All I have at the crib is a staple gun.”

  Harlow shuddered and was crying softly by the time Otto slammed the heavy door and locked it. Trapped inside the ratty basement apartment, she tried to figure a way out of her predicament, but no sooner had Otto left than she heard his key turning the lock.

  Otto looked more agitated than before. “So what if he saw my face! That driver doesn’t know me from a can of paint,” he said into the phone. “If you want to finish him off, then come and do it. And hurry up; I’m tired of babysitting this broad.” Otto looked at Harlow with disgust.

  An hour later, three soft bumps followed by two hard bangs sounded on the door. Otto went to the door that didn’t have a peep hole and pressed his ear against it. “Who is it?” he said in a hushed voice. Again, there were three knocks and two thumps.

  Harlow realized it was some kind of code when Otto opened the door, admitting a big guy with a Russian accent. He had a deeply etched, crescent-shaped scar on his right cheek. The big guy was carrying a canvas bag. Harlow didn’t even want to think about what the bag could possibly contain. She wasn’t in suspense very long.

  The big guy unzipped the bag and took out a roll of duct tape. Harlow let out a frightened whine. The big guy’s eyes glimmered as he tore off a piece of the tape and swiftly covered her mouth. He took out plastic zip tie cuffs and Harlow went into a panic, struggling to prevent him from securing her hands.

  “Cooperate, bitch!” he barked and gave her a hard slap across the face.

  Harlow’s body went rigid and tears spilled from her eyes. After he cuffed her hands, he put another zip tie tightly around her ankles.

  “You’re lucky the boss has a soft spot for you,” he said to Harlow. “He says we don’t have to remove that pretty little finger for now. But your husband has exactly one hour to drop off the money.” He turned his attention toward Otto. “Give me the rings.”

  “Both of them?”

  “Yeah, both of them.”

  “I thought we were gonna keep the sapphire.”

  “If I leave it with your junkie ass, you’ll run off and pawn it and I won’t ever see my cut.”

  “You can trust me; I wouldn’t do you like that, man.”

  “I’m not foolish enough to put trust in your word. No honor among thieves; haven’t you ever heard that expression? Now, let’s go dump that body and get rid of the car.”

  The body? Was the poor driver dead? Harlow wondered.

  He eyed Harlow and pulled a large, menacing knife out of the canvas bag. “Sit tight, pretty lady. If you so much as move a muscle, I’m going to give you a scar exactly like mine.”

  “His and Her scars; that would be a riot,” Otto said, laughing. “But I couldn’t watch you do it.”

  “Yeah, I know, a little bit of blood makes you woozy. You’re such a pussy,” the big guy spat.

  Suddenly, there was the familiar pattern of knocks at the door. Three soft raps and two more forceful knocks.

  “Oh, shit; it’s the boss. He’s probably pissed about the car,” Otto said with fear in his eyes.

  The pattern of knocks occurred again and Otto fixed a wide-eyed stare on the big guy.

  “Let him in, man. You have to answer for botching up the job. I didn’t have anything to do with the car or the driver,” the big guy said.

  Looking apprehensive, Otto unlocked the door and pulled it open, and to Harlow’s utter surprise, Drake walked in.

  VANGIE

  Vanilla ice cream trickled down Vangie’s right butt cheek. Positioned on her hands and knees, she held the bizarre pose while Zenith, standing directly behind her, aimed her camera and clicked.

  “Beautiful,” Zenith exclaimed and then used Handi Wipes to remove the ice cream trail. “Let’s try a smudge of strawberry ice cream for the next shot. That’ll look hot.”

  Vangie had been nervous about the idea of posing nude even though Zenith promised not to expose her face. In the beginning of the photo shoot, she was trembling so badly, Zenith couldn’t get a good shot. She offered Vangie a joint to calm her down, and after a couple puffs, Vangie was relaxed enough
to hold still while she poked her ass out.

  A few minutes later, the dread and mortification that caused her body to quake began to morph into a wondrous feeling similar to empowerment. Vangie’s ass was photographed with drippings of ice cream, syrup, and in some shots, her ass was decorated with pieces of candy that were held in place with body glue.

  “That’s it; we’re finished. Thanks for posing for me,” Zenith said as she wiped sugary residue from Vangie’s buttocks.

  “It was fun in a weird way,” Vangie replied, lying on her tummy on Zenith’s bed.

  “Would you mind if I include your photos in my show?” Zenith sat next to Vangie on the bed.

  “What show?”

  “My agent has connections and she strong-armed somebody into giving me a show next month. It’ll be my first exhibit.” Zenith beamed and Vangie realized she’d never seen her smile so brightly.

  “Congrats. That’s fantastic.”

  “I know, but I’m so nervous.” Her long fingers fluttered to her chest. Zenith was usually overly confident and such a badass, it was refreshing for Vangie to see her vulnerable side.

  “What are you nervous about; your work is fabulous.” Vangie gestured to the numerous photographs that adorned the walls.

  “I have a lot more. My apartment was overflowing with my work, and I had to put most of my pieces in storage.” She lit another joint, puffed on it and passed it to Vangie.

  She blew out a cloud of smoke. “Do you only take pictures of pussies and asses?”

  Zenith laughed. “No, I’m going through a phase right now. If you want to see my other stuff, you’ll have to come to my opening.”

  “I’d love to. And in response to your question, I’d be honored if you added my ass to your collection…as long as it remains anonymous.”

  “All my asses are anonymous,” Zenith said, and then she and Vangie both broke out laughing. Laughing hard and unable to stop. The weed had Vangie acting stupid. She hadn’t smoked the stuff in years. She took another puff and the feeling of relaxation, happiness, and overall peace with the world that engulfed her was so pleasurable, she wondered why she’d given up smoking pot. With all the recent turmoil that had occurred in her life, she felt she deserved to unwind. A little bit of ganja never hurt anyone.

  “Tell me about yourself, Vangie. When did you become interested in women?” Hovering over Vangie, Zenith rubbed the back of her neck.

  Vangie blew out a thin stream of smoke. “It wasn’t something I’d ever given any thought to, you know? It wasn’t like I had a secret attraction toward women that I’d been trying to hide. I’ve always been into men. This is a brand-new experience for me.”

  “So, how’d you find your way to The Merry-Go-Round?”

  Vangie shrugged. “Looked it up online. But, for all I know, this could be a phase I’m going through. Anyway, it all started when I had an argument with my best friend…well, my former best friend.”

  “What happened?”

  “I was being a cranky bitch and said something mean that I couldn’t take back. I said something about her husband. A thoughtless remark that hit below the belt. There’s a little more to it than that, but that’s the gist of it. Now she won’t talk to me. Won’t accept my apology or take my calls.”

  “An argument with your friend led you to a gay bar?”

  “No. There’s more to it than that.”

  Zenith gave Vangie a look that encouraged her to go on.

  “Well, she was angry and at the last minute, she canceled a spa date we’d planned. I went alone, and this freaky masseuse gave me a “happy ending,” if you know what I mean. It was like the most intense orgasm ever, and a few weeks later, I found myself wanting to have another sexual experience with her. I couldn’t get her on the phone, and so I looked online for a gay bar. I was only looking for recreational sex. Wasn’t trying to get emotionally involved with another woman or anything like that.”

  “That’s a pity.”

  Vangie rose up on an elbow and looked at Zenith. “Why do you say that?”

  “Because I like you. I want to see more of you, and I was hoping you felt the same.”

  “You’re nothing but a player. I’ve seen the way women throw themselves at you. We both know you can have your pick of sex partners, so why are you trying to act like you’re looking for something more than a quick fling?”

  “I’m not a player; I’m far from being that. The way I act at the club—it’s all a front. Hard exterior but soft and mushy right here.” She touched her heart with one hand and reached for Vangie’s with the other.

  Vangie started to bring up the subject of the girl who had tried to commit suicide over Zenith, but she didn’t think it was the appropriate time to dig into her past. Needing to feel connected to someone, she gave Zenith her hand. With their fingers intertwined, they were both quiet for a few moments as if silently agreeing to a pact.

  Vangie squeezed Zenith’s hand, tightly, as if holding on to a lifeline. She could feel her eyes becoming glassy as they began to well with tears. “There’s so much going on in my life right now, and I’ve been trying to escape the pain.”

  “You wanna talk about it?” Zenith’s voice was low and compassionate, barely above a whisper.

  “My son’s father took him from me, and I’ve been trying to stay strong while I fight to get him back…but it’s so hard. I’m almost at my breaking point. You know? Fighting this battle all by myself is wearing me down. And the idea that I might go back to jail…” Vangie’s throat tightened, and she couldn’t speak.

  “Jail? What are you talking about?”

  Vangie told Zenith about her fight with Jojina and the short but traumatic time she’d spent behind bars. “You wouldn’t believe how much money I’ve spent on lawyers, and I don’t have any idea how this is going to turn out.” There was a lump pushing at the back of her throat that seemed to grow larger by the second. Unable to swallow it down, she succumbed to tears.

  Displaying an unexpected rush of compassion, Zenith gathered her in her arms and murmured in her ear. “You don’t have to be alone anymore. I like you, and I want to be a part of your life—let me.”

  “I want to. But I don’t want to lead you on. I don’t think I’m gay, you know what I’m saying? I’m still attracted to men. I want to get married one day. Have a big wedding and the clichéd house with a white-picket fence. I can’t see myself involved in a serious relationship with a woman. I’m sorry, but I’m not that way.”

  “I understand.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes. You’re tripping on the labels. Straight, lesbian, gay. Those terms don’t define us. You feel me? We’re two human beings who like spending time together. Two people who enjoy experiencing the beauty of making love with each other.”

  Zenith’s words struck a chord and Vangie nodded her head in understanding.

  “I don’t want to rush you into something you’re not ready for, so I’m gonna fall back and let you set the tempo. Okay, sweetness? I’m not trying to pressure you. Take your time and let this play out at a pace you’re comfortable with.”

  “Okay,” Vangie said, sniffling and crying softly.

  With her thumb, Zenith wiped away the tears that rolled down Vangie’s cheek. That tender gesture touched Vangie’s heart and made her cry harder. She dropped her head on Zenith’s shoulder and openly wept.

  “Don’t cry, baby. It’s gonna be all right. I won’t let you down; I promise,” she whispered, stroking Vangie’s hair. “Put your fears aside and give us a chance. Don’t be afraid. Be with me. Let me show you that I’m more than a man.”

  Vangie lifted her head and through teary eyes, she gazed at Zenith, leaning toward the idea of getting into a relationship with her.

  “Like you, I’ve been hurt before. Hurt down to my soul. And the cavalier attitude that you saw at the bar—I’ve already told you—that’s a fake persona. Pretending to be cold and hard is my way of putting a protective fence around my heart.”r />
  The words she spoke resonated within Vangie. She could relate to every word Zenith had spoken. She stared at her for a long time, struggling with the idea of taking a chance with a relationship that would alter her entire identity.

  As if reading her mind, Zenith said, “You’ll always be safe with me. I’ll take care of you and treat you like the queen that you are.” She lightly brushed a hand over Vangie’s breasts. “I love these pretty titties,” she murmured.

  Vangie blushed and shook her head. “You know my breasts look a mess. They’re all saggy and unattractive. I wish I could get a breast lift.”

  “You better not change a thing about those beautiful titties.” She lowered her head and kissed each nipple. Vangie shivered and released a soft moan.

  “Tell me what you want, baby. What do you need me to do?”

  “I only need you to be on my side. I’m so tired of feeling like it’s me against the world.”

  “That goes without saying. It’s me and you.” She aimed two V-shaped fingers at her eyes and then flicked them in Vangie’s direction. “From now on, we’re on the same side.”

  Comforted by her words, Vangie smiled.

  “What else do you want?”

  “I only want you,” Vangie admitted shyly in a voice that cracked.

  “Do you want Daddy to go get his dick and fuck you?”

  Vangie’s eyelids fluttered closed as she nodded her head. Too embarrassed to look Zenith in the eyes and expose her shameful, burning desire.

  Zenith rose from the bed, and Vangie cracked her eyes open, delighting in the sight of her paramour’s long legs striding across the room. Zenith stripped out of her clothes and stood magnificently naked, toned and strong like an otherworldly sex goddess. She opened a drawer and retrieved the plastic penis, and Vangie gawked at her with raw lust brimming in her eyes as she watched Zenith strap on her dick.

  HARLOW