Insatiable

by Allison Hobbs

  “My shit?” Terelle asked, her eyes enlarged with disbelief. They stopped walking and stood at the next bus stop, which was directly in front of a deli that sold more malt liquor than cold cuts.

  “Dig, I don’t know whatchu talkin’ about, so tighten up. Aiight?” Marquise smiled condescendingly.

  “You know exactly what I’m talking about. Every damn morning I gotta put up with the same crap—a bunch of slimy women skinnin’ and grinnin’—all up in your face like my ass is invisible. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve been slippin’ you phone numbers while my back is turned.”

  “Chill! Damn! Ain’t nobody tryin’ to hear this shit all early in the mornin’,” Marquise said with much animosity.

  “Oh, I’m talkin’ shit…. you think I’m crazy? Okay, I’ll tell you what…let another bitch disrespect me this morning and I’m gonna show you crazy.”

  Marquise responded with a loud, exasperated sigh, then stepped off the curb to look for the bus. “Where’s the fuckin’ bus?” he muttered as he angrily flicked his cigarette into the middle of Girard Avenue.

  “Why do you let them bitches disrespect me like that?” Terelle asked quietly; pain lined her face.

  “Please let that shit go. You gonna drive yourself crazy.” He shook his head, then spoke in a gentle tone, “Who’s wearing my ring—you or that jawn on the bus?”

  Terelle didn’t have a quick comeback, but refusing to allow Marquise to diffuse her anger with his brand of logic, she emitted a loud disgusted sigh.

  “Why you actin’ like it’s my fault shorty was all up in my grille? See, that’s why I gotta hurry up and get my own ride. Ridin’ the bus and listenin’ to you bitch every morning ain’t gittin’ it.”

  “Oh! So, now…you’re gonna buy a car? When you were locked up, we were gonna buy a car.” She hated the sound of her own voice; she sounded insecure and unreasonable, but she was too angry to stop ranting.

  “Where’s the fuckin’ bus?” Marquise bellowed, refusing to respond to Terelle’s accusing comment.

  “Now, you’re gonna ignore me?” she asked with an uplifted brow.

  Marquise nodded his head defiantly. “Do you know how crazy you sound? At first you was bitchin’ ’bout shorty on the bus; now I make a simple statement about our car…”

  “Our car! I didn’t get it twisted; you were talkin’ about your car.”

  “What the fuck is your problem?” he asked in a booming voice that everyone at the bus stop could hear.

  “All right, calm down, Marquise,” Terelle said in a whisper. “Don’t make a scene in front of all these people.”

  “Don’t tell me to calm the fuck down—you started this shit,” he said, shouting even louder, while furiously pointing at Terelle.

  There was an empty forty-ounce bottle of malt liquor leaning against the base of a stop sign. Furious, Marquise kicked the bottle; it set sail, then smacked the asphalt, and shattered into crude, jagged pieces. The crowd of onlookers gasped in shock, then quickly looked away when Marquise jerked around and glared at them.

  “Man, you makin’ me mad,” he said, poking out his lips. “Don’t nothin’ satisfy your ass. You expected me to fuck up while I was on house arrest, but I didn’t. And as bad as I needed some dough, I stayed outta the game. Are you satisfied? Hell no! Now, I’m tryin’ to play my position; I’m workin’ on that funky-ass job—workin’ doubles damn near every day and I still gotta hear your mouth.” Marquise was working himself up; he was so angry, the veins in his neck stood out. Terelle knew she had to calm him down.

  “Quise, lower your voice or let’s talk about this later.” She spoke in a hushed tone.

  “Fuck no! I ain’t lowerin’ a mothafuckin’ thing.” His voice grew louder. “You got the raps all early in the fuckin’ morning, so let’s rap.”

  Terelle shot a mortified glance at the crowd, and then looked at the ground in silence.

  “For your information, females be tryin’ to hollah at me all the time. Yeah, it’s like dat,” he responded to Terelle’s shocked expression. “They be tryin’ to throw pussy at me all day long…on the bus—at work—everywhere I go. But I don’t give ’em no play ’cause I know how to handle myself.” Marquise started pacing and breathing hard.

  Work! Did he just say the bitches on the job were sweatin’ him? Terelle was stunned. There were no secrets at The County Nursing Home; her co-workers knew she and Marquise were engaged. So, who the fuck was hittin’ on Marquise at work? Melanie would know; she knew all the gossip and she’d be more than happy to share that juicy information with Terelle. But there was going to be hell to pay the second Terelle found out which triflin’ hoe had the audacity to try to fuck up her relationship.

  “You need to start playin’ your part, Terelle,” Marquise advised, breaking into her thoughts. “Think about it—who do I come home to every day? Who do I go to bed wit every night? And who’s wearin’ my ring?”

  She wanted so badly to feel reassured that their relationship had a solid foundation, but knowing that women were coming at him from every direction, she found little comfort in his words. Her mind had traveled to the nursing home, roaming every floor, trying to figure out which back-stabbing bitches required a Southwest Philly-style ass-whoopin’.

  “You gotta stop lettin’ these lonely-ass smut-jawns drive you the fuck crazy. Now, I’m through wit this subject.” The moment Marquise fired up another cigarette, the 15 bus pulled up.

  All the seats on the bus were taken; Marquise stood behind Terelle. He held onto the back of a nearby seat with one hand and placed the other hand lovingly across Terelle’s shoulder, keeping her anchored as the bus rumbled along Girard Avenue.

  Soothed by his touch and enjoying his public display of affection, Terelle leaned comfortably against Marquise and closed her eyes. Sensing suddenly that something was amiss, her eyes popped open. She instantly noticed a young woman sitting in the seat that faced the aisle. Long sandy-colored hair hung over her face, which was buried in a book. The alarmingly attractive young woman wore a short skirt that indecently exposed long, perfectly shaped legs. She was causing a commotion on the bus. All the male passengers were craning their necks to ogle her. Marquise was facing the woman, and Terelle figured he was also sweatin’ the hussy.

  It was irrational, she knew, but she was furious with the sexily attired woman.

  The woman looked up. But her eyes went past Terelle’s hateful gaze. She looked up—way up—in Marquise’s direction. And then her eyes sparkled—danced in delight. She blushed and looked back down. Fidgeting flirtatiously, she crossed her legs and looked up again. This time she smiled and moistened her lips provocatively.

  Terelle wanted to fight! She swung around and gave Marquise an accusing scowl. He gave her a blank stare. The young woman, looking ever so innocent, uncrossed her legs, lowered her head and resumed reading.

  Was it her imagination or were Marquise and the woman openly flirting? Constantly plagued by jealousy, Terelle was at her wit’s end. Somebody was going to get hurt if Marquise didn’t figure out a way to ensure Terelle’s peace of mind.

  The woman closed the book, tugged at her skirt. She stood up at 29th Street.

  Terelle peeped the title: All That Drama by Tina Brooks McKinney. Terelle sucked her teeth. Let that bitch flutter her eyelashes up at Marquise one more time and she’d give her more drama than she could handle!

  The behavior that Marquise regarded as harmless flirtation, Terelle considered blatant disrespect. And she had endured more than enough for one morning. Gritting on the woman, Terelle silently informed the heifer that if she made one false move, if she even cracked a hint of another smile in Marquise’s direction, she should prepare to get her ass kicked up and down the aisle. And neither Marquise nor any other well-meaning passenger would be able to pry Terelle’s hands from the bitch’s neck.

  Taking Terelle’s unspoken advice, the woman shot to the front of the bus, pulling nervously on the hem of her too-damn-short skirt.


  Feeling victorious, Terelle watched the hussy hastily depart the bus.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Braving the elements in style, Kai returned to work on a snowy Monday morning draped in dark blue braided chinchilla. She looked stunning, clearly out of place in the nursing home. Her mission, however, required her to look sensational.

  Her sense of self-importance was boosted by her large bank account. Kai did not bother to confer with her supervisor in the Social Services department; she would deal with her later. Right now, she had to attend to more pressing business. Taking the stairs to the second floor, Kai swished down the carpeted hall that led to Kenneth’s office.

  She tingled with excitement as she quickly ran her fingers through her curls, then breezed into his office.

  Realizing the unsettling effect her beauty and obvious prosperity had on the have-nots who worked like slaves for their meager pay, Kai greeted Kenneth’s secretary with a humble smile that she manufactured to put the woman (whom she needed on her side) at ease.

  “Hello. I’m Kai Montgomery. Would you please tell Dr. Harding I’m here?” Kai’s words dripped with saccharin.

  Startled by Kai’s unexpected appearance, the secretary knocked over a container of paper clips. The way the woman gaped, one would have thought J.Lo had taken time from her busy schedule to grace the facility with her presence. Amused by the woman’s discomfort, Kai chuckled to herself.

  “I’m sorry. Dr. Harding’s not available; he’s on vacation,” the secretary finally said, shaking her head regretfully.

  “Vacation!” Kai blurted, forgetting her humble role. “Again?”

  “Yes, he takes several trips a year,” she explained. “Was he expecting you?” The woman’s eyes squinted with concern.

  Kai shook her head. Her impulse was to smack the silly secretary for relaying such disturbing news. Restraining herself, she took a deep breath and exhaled; her lips formed into a polite smile. “When will he be back?” She managed to keep her voice calm.

  “Next week—Wednesday.”

  “Thank you,” Kai mumbled as she exited the office.

  Feeling forlorn and off kilter, she rode the elevator to the fourth floor. The heavy heels of her boots rapped the tiled floor as she hurried past the nurses’ station to her office.

  The underlings gathered near the nurses’ station cast admiring glances at her coat.

  “Her coat is sharp,” muttered a woman pushing a cleaning cart. “What kind of fur is that?” a nursing assistant murmured inquisitively. Slighting her co-workers by ignoring their presence, Kai whisked past wordlessly.

  Walking toward her office, she approached two cleaning men engaged in the massive task of carbonizing one of the rooms. Complete opposites, one was young, extremely tall and muscularly lean; the other—middle-aged, short and squat. The tall man pulled heavy furniture out of the room, while the short man went behind him sweeping debris out into the hall.

  Not wanting even a speck of dust to land on her shiny blue boots, Kai stopped suddenly.

  “Do you mind watching where you fling that dust,” she said disgustedly to the undersized man.

  “I see you, baby,” he said in a raspy voice. “I ain’t gonna mess up those pretty shoes.”

  Kai thought for a moment, then tsked and moved on. The runt, with broom-in-hand, was not worthy of her response. However, when he uttered a suggestive guttural sound, Kai stopped walking, whirled around in indignation and advanced toward the man.

  “Excuse me…Is this a work environment or did I mistakenly wander onto some street corner in the ’hood?”

  “Naw, baby, this ain’t no street corner. I apologize,” the man said with uneasy laughter.

  “Don’t refer to me as baby!” she snapped. “It’s offensive and considered sexual harassment, you know.”

  “What?” The man looked around in disbelief. “I ain’t sexually harass you. I ain’t say nothing about sex…I called you baby…just tryin’ to be polite!”

  “Well, I heard those vulgar sounds you made…and I don’t appreciate being called baby by the likes of you.” She looked him up and down, turning up her nose the way she did when she unwittingly traversed the corridor while the nursing assistants changed the diapers of residents who were incontinent of their bowels.

  “I ain’t mean nothin’ by that. I was just playin’ with you.”

  “Oh please,” she said disgustedly. “What’s your name?” She stooped slightly to read the name on his employee ID badge. “Spencer Blake…Hmm. I think you’d better make a call to your union representative, Mr. Blake, because I’m definitely going to file a sexual harassment complaint.”

  “What!” Spencer Blake recoiled visibly. “I can’t believe this shit. Yo, big man,” he said, turning his attention to the tall worker. “Wasn’t I just playin’ with her?”

  “Man, I’m not in this. I’m still on probation; I don’t want no trouble.”

  “But this is bullshit.”

  Aware of the friction, which was taking place in the corridor, the nursing assistants and other support staff, their faces creased with curiosity, started slowly progressing toward Kai and the two men.

  “You makin’ it worse, man. Stop arguing wit her. Don’t say nothin’ else; just call your union rep,” the tall man counseled, shook his head and went back inside the room to resume working.

  “Good advice,” Kai agreed. Then she pointed a finger at Spencer. “If you’re not out of here by tomorrow, the administration will be hearing from my attorney, and I don’t think they’re going to enjoy hearing what he has to say.”

  There was a chorus of gasps from the nursing staff. Their eyes glimmered with excitement. “You gonna sue this place?” asked one of the women.

  Kai ignored the question. “See you later, Spencer,” she said, then whisked down the hall to her office.

  It was hot and stuffy inside her small office. She ripped off the chinchilla and carelessly slung it across the back of an empty chair. Sighing, she collapsed in her swivel chair.

  Whom she should call first, she wondered: her supervisor or the director of Human Resources to report Spencer Blake. Better yet, perhaps she would call Kenneth’s Bala Cynwyd office and attempt to connive the dippy secretary at that office into disclosing his whereabouts. An unexpected visit to his vacation hideaway was an option she hadn’t considered. The thought brought a wicked smile to her face.

  She reached for the phone, but withdrew her hand when someone knocked on the door. It was probably the runt, she surmised. He had to be nuts if he thought he could convince her to change her mind. There wasn’t a chance in hell she’d reconsider filing the sexual harassment complaint. Kenneth was somewhere in the Caribbean, carousing no doubt with his black whore. Someone was going to pay dearly for Kenneth’s transgressions and it may as well be the runt, Kai reasoned.

  She swung the door open and was momentarily taken aback to find the tall man standing there. She hadn’t realized how good-looking he was. Her anger at the runt had blurred her vision. His looks, however, didn’t matter, she told herself. He was just a cleaning man and a black one at that.

  “If you came to plead your friend’s case, forget it. I don’t have anything to say. My attorney will speak on my behalf,” Kai said huffily.

  “Naw, naw. It ain’t like that. I don’t even know dude that well. I’m tryin’ to make sure you ain’t plannin’ on gittin’ me all caught up in this mess.” The tall man’s even white teeth grazed against his lower lip. “Check it…I just started workin’ here and I make sure to mind my own business. I don’t need my supervisor comin’ at me all crazy with no questions ’bout sexual harassment. Like I said, I’m on probation…I got a little daughter and I’m ’bout to git married. I’m just tryin’ to maintain…ya know what I’m sayin’?”

  The man used gestures with practically every word. For some strange reason, Kai enjoyed watching his long body dip and bob as he spoke. It was an interesting sight. Sexy.

  She’d disapproved of p
eople who spoke in jargon; it sounded like a foreign language and listening to it was painful. Yet, listening to this young thug speak did not invoke revulsion. She was intrigued, actually. The man had a powerful presence. He was rough around the edges, but handsome and possessed an animal magnetism that she found oddly appealing. Sexually stimulating.

  Yes, despite the glaring cultural differences, she felt drawn to him. Aroused by him. Without a doubt, she wanted to fuck him. Damn! She’d just been hit by a severe case of Jungle fever! The thought caused a hint of a smile to play at the corners of her lips. It didn’t matter that she was part black. She didn’t feel black, didn’t know anything about being black, and had never been sexually involved with a black man. She wondered if there was any merit in that saying: once you go black, you never go back. Hmm. She had a sneaking suspicion she would soon find out.

  “What’s your name?” she inquired, eyeing his employee ID badge, straining to read his name. The badge, however, was clipped backwards to his shirt pocket—concealing his image and name.

  The tall man frowned. “Why you wanna know my name? I told you I ain’t tryin’ to get all caught up in this shit!”

  She shrugged. “I just wanted to attach a name to your face. Is that a problem?”

  “Oh, aiight,” he said, obviously relieved. His dazzling smile lit up her gloomy office. Kai was deliciously enthralled.

  “My name’s Marquise…Marquise Whitsett,” he offered as he turned the badge around for Kai to inspect.

  “Kai Montgomery,” she said, offering her hand.

  Marquise took her hand, squeezed it lightly and released it quickly. “Well, nice meeting you…uh, Miss Kai…”

  “Hey, you don’t have to be that formal. Call me Kai. Please.”

  “My bad. Okay. So…we’re straight, right?” Marquise asked, biting on the corner of his bottom lip.

  “Sure. And you can tell your little friend that I’m going to give him another chance. But in the future, he’d better watch how he speaks to me. I won’t tolerate his disrespect.”