by Lena Skye
“Would you like another?” The bartender asked.
“Yeah,” Reggie murmured.
He could hardly stand to look at the bartender. He was a young man in his mid-twenties. He looked like he had the entire world at his feet. He looked so happy and he wouldn’t stop smiling, it was annoying as hell. Dude was trying to ruin his buzz with all of the smiling customer service. The bartender, whose name was Monty, gave him another Jack on the rocks. No matter how much he drank, he couldn’t find the solace that he was looking for at the bottom of his glass.
Reggie wished that he could have spoken to his dad in times like these. He and his dad had a love and hate relationship. His father went to prison when he was 13 years old and he was still there. Drugs and murder carried a heavy sentence. Reggie would be 50 before he ever saw his father again outside of the prison system. So if his dad ever made it to the age of 68, then they would have had the chance to hug.
His father sent him letters at least once a month but they almost always went unanswered. Dealing with his father stressed him out. Other people may have had it in them to go to jail to see their loved ones but seeing his dad in there like a caged animal only hurt him. Sure, it may have been selfish but they were his feelings and there was nothing that he could do to change them. He wanted to write his dad back but he never knew what to say. Did he tell him about his life on the outside? Did that depress someone on the inside? He couldn’t imagine wanting to hear about someone else’s joys and problems if he was inside of prison.
He could still remember the day that his dad was locked up. It was without a doubt the worst day of his life. He and his dad were enjoying themselves riding around the neighborhood. The similarities between the two of them were uncanny, people would always call Reggie his dad’s ‘mini-me’.
“Boy, you got a girlfriend yet?” His dad Larry asked when he turned down the radio.
Reggie half blushed, “Not yet.”
“What’s taking you so long, son?” his dad asked playfully.
Reggie shrugged, “I don’t know, I just haven’t been trying, I guess. There are girls that like me but I don’t do anything about it.”
“What’s taking you so long? Are you gay?” his dad asked while stealing a glance at him as he turned the corner.
“Naw, I’m not gay, I just don’t care about any of that stuff.”
“Dude you’re 13, it’s time for you to care about that stuff,” his dad laughed.
Reggie heard his dad but he wasn’t truly listening. Girls seemed like more trouble than they were worth. He knew that he was supposed to be all over them, but all he wanted to do was play football. It was one of the few things that he enjoyed and they all wanted to cut into his playing time. When he wasn’t playing football on the field or in the park he was playing his video games. His friends were spending a lot of time worrying about girls but it just wasn’t his thing.
“I know, dad,” he murmured.
“Give one of those girls a chance, trust me. Once you start dating you’ll understand what I’m talking about.”
He already knew what his dad was talking about but he wasn’t about to ask him to go into detail. There were plenty of days that he heard his father and his friends talking. They spoke around him as if he were one of the adults. It was clear that women were only good for sex. Reggie swore to himself that he was never going to be like that. When he finally got a girlfriend he was going to treat her good, and she was never going to have to struggle the same way that his mom did.
“Damn, I forgot. I have to make a stop real quick,” his dad said as he made a U-turn. “I’m not going to be long; I just have to pick up some products.”
The products that he was referring to was drugs. Reggie’s stomach sank. He hated going with his dad to pick up drugs. His father treated him like he didn’t know what was going on. Any kid with half a brain knew what was happening. He was just happy that his brother Paul wasn’t with them. There were plenty of times when he heard his mom and dad arguing over his dad’s profession.
Five minutes later they pulled up to an apartment building. There were at least five shady looking men standing in the front. He recognized a couple of them; they were friends of his dad.
“Alright dude, I’ll be right back, stay here.”
“Okay,” Reggie replied. Where else was he going to go? He damned sure wasn’t going to get out of the car.
Reggie sat in the car for 15 minutes before his dad returned. It felt more like an hour but he was just being dramatic.
“You ready to go?” his dad asked.
“Yep.”
His dad placed the brown paper bag beneath his seat and pulled off. Five minutes later there were sirens behind them. Reggie’s stomach dropped, he looked over at his dad, it was one of the few times he ever saw fear on his father’s face.
Watching his dad get handcuffed was a horrible feeling. Getting taken to the police station and having to wait for his mom to pick him up was even worse. Not knowing what was going to happen to his father killed a piece of him on the inside.
Reggie adjusted his weight on the bar stool and drained his glass as he tried to shake off the memories. He was lonely, and the only thing he wanted to do was forget for a little while. He pulled out his phone and dialed Janet’s number. She should have been out of the office by then, it was past seven o’clock. Janet was the co-worker that had a thing for him or so Reggie assumed. If his wife could kiss her boss, then he could have drinks with a co-worker.
“Hello?”
“Hey Janet, how are you?”
“I’m doing okay,” she said with a smile in her voice, “How are you feeling? I heard that you weren’t feeling well.”
“It’s been one of those days. I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to take you up on your offer for drinks the other day, I want to make it up to you if you don’t mind.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“How about you meet me at the Harlem Public?”
“When?”
“Now,” he said.
“Hmm, I planned on getting some work done but I can go for a drink, it’s been a long day. I’ll be there in about twenty five minutes.”
“Cool, I’ll see you soon.”
“Another?” the bartender asked.
“Keep them coming,” Reggie replied.
Almost 30 minutes later Janet arrived and she took the empty seat next to him.
“Heeeey, Janet,” Reggie slurred.
“It looks like you got started without me,” Janet said in disappointment. She liked him but she wasn’t a fan of men being sloppy drunk and it was clear that he was intoxicated.
“Yeah, I had to start the party early, I hope you don’t mind.”
“I guess not. You didn’t drive here though, right?”
“No, I took a cab,” Reggie said. He stared at her, she was prettier than he remembered and her body was smoking hot. He wondered why he didn’t give her more of a chance before. She was smart, young, beautiful, and she liked him. She met him at a bar when his wife wouldn’t even answer one of his damned phone calls.
“Good, now I can relax.”
“Let me buy you a drink,” Reggie said as he motioned for the bartender to come over.
After she ordered a drink she said, “We missed you today, I’m glad to see that you’re okay.”
“Yeah, I’m good. I just needed a personal day, I hope you don’t mind.”
She shook her head, “We all have those days. I probably need to take one every now and then. God knows I need it. The firm is keeping us plenty busy.”
“It sure is,” Reggie replied with disinterest in his voice. The last thing he wanted to talk about was work. He called off because he didn’t want to go to work, so talking about it was low on his list of things that he wanted to do.
“Oh my goodness, you have to let me tell you all about what Simon did today…”
He stared at her blankly as she went on and on about her day at the office. The only thi
ng that Reggie could focus on was her lips. She had great lips, they were the perfect shape. His dick twitched when he thought about them being wrapped around him. He was willing to put money on her being an outstanding head doctor.
“Reggie, are you listening to anything that I said?” she asked.
“Uh, yeah,” he lied.
“What did I say?”
“You were talking about work, I’m listening to you.”
“Sure you were,” she laughed, “Since you don’t want to talk about work, how about we talk about something that you’re interested in. What’s on your mind? Where was your head as I babbling on?”
“I was thinking about your lips being wrapped around my dick,” Reggie said plainly.
It was as if the music stopped. “Excuse me?” she asked.
“I was thinking about those pretty little lips being wrapped around my big dick,” Reggie said as he leaned into her, his breath hot against her ear.
“You’re a disgusting asshole!” Janet said as she rose to her feet.
“Sorry, I was just being honest sweetie,” he said. What the hell was her problem?
“You should have kept those thoughts to yourself. I’m getting the hell out of here. Never speak to me again. I don’t know what kind of person you think that I am, but I don’t tolerate that kind of disrespect.”
Reggie shrugged as he took another gulp of his drink, “Whatever, there are a lot more of you out of the factory that you came from.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“You have that whole ‘Becky’ vibe going on.”
“Screw you!” she said before she headed towards the door.
As he watched her leave, it dawned on him that he probably didn’t make the best decision to invite her to meet him at the bar. Speaking to her the way that he did was going to make things extremely awkward at work, but he would have to cross that bridge later. He decided that it was going to be his last drink of the evening. Mimi’s words to him replayed in his head as he closed out his tab. He truly was going to destroy himself.
As he thought some more, he couldn’t get her words out of his head. That bitch was really starting to get to him.
After paying for the drinks a short while later he was in a cab and he was seething. The Jack Daniels and his misery weren’t mixing very well. He pulled out his phone and texted, “I warned you, and now I’m coming for you.” He stared at it for a little while longer and the Jack Daniels told him to push send, so he did. Mimi probably wouldn’t be too scared about his threat, but he didn’t care. People didn’t have to be scared in order for horrible things to happen to them.
#Chapter6
“Are you fucking serious right now?”
Kalena
Kalena sat on her couch in complete silence. She could have turned the TV on, but watching her favorite shows without her friend seemed odd. It only made her miss him more, and there was no one to talk to about when people did stupid stuff. None of her friends watched reality TV and it was her personal guilty pleasure. It was one that she shared with Tommy, but now she wasn’t speaking to him. She didn’t want to hear his bullshit explanation about why that girl was at his house again. They clearly liked one another and it didn’t take him long to move on from her.
So instead of putting on her TV, she tried to read Octavia Butler’s short stories that were just released. She was one of her favorite sci-fi authors and she died way too soon. They found some of her short stories that she’d written far before she became famous and released them. Hell, she pre-ordered the series on her Kindle and couldn’t wait to dig in, but now everything fell flat. She couldn’t even enjoy Octavia, that’s how she knew that things weren’t going too well.
No one could craft a story the way that Ms. Butler did, she created entire worlds and sucked her reader in. Once you were in her hold, you couldn’t put the book down. There were so few black women in the science fiction world, and she’d truly been a gem. She could still remember the feeling that went through her when she read The Wild Seed. One of her teachers in high school gave her the book and she finally picked it up over a winter break out of sheer boredom. She read the book in three days. She wouldn’t put it down, and it only got better and better. The characters Anyanwu and Doro were so vivid that they seemed real. Every few years she re-read the book and it was just as good as the first time that she picked it up.
She sighed and put the book down onto the coffee table. She lay on the couch and stared at the ceiling. Sure, she could have called her friends but they each had their own lives to worry about. Also, calling them at the last minute to hang out usually never worked out unless it was an emergency. That was the cost of having friends with amazing careers.
Soon her buzzer rang. She got up from the couch and walked over to her intercom.
“Hello?” she asked.
“Umm, hey, it’s Tommy.”
Butterflies began to flutter wildly in the pit of her stomach. What was he doing at her condo?
“What’s up?”
“Can I come up and talk to you,, please?” he asked.
She stood there for a few moments and weighed her options. Should she let him upstairs? Was she ready to hash out their differences? Was she truly ready for what he had to say? Would their friendship officially be over after this? She wasn’t ready for what they had to end. It was easier to stay away from him without having any closure, to live in the realm of the unknown. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to mentally cope if they severed all of their ties. The buzzer rang again. Instead of talking anymore she let him upstairs. She unlocked her door and went to take a seat in her dining room.
Her door opened a couple of minutes later.
“Kalena?” Tommy said tentatively when he opened the door.
“I’m in the dining room,” she said nervously. Suddenly she wished that she’d opened a bottle of wine before he came up, or that she’d at least taken a shot of the bottle of Grey Goose vodka that she’d purchased the day before.
“Hey,” Tommy said when he stood in the doorway of the dining room.
He had a look of uncertainty on his face; it helped to ease her nerves. He was just as nervous as she was.
“Hi,” she said, “Please have a seat.”
“Do we have to sit in here? It feels really formal, like we’re at a board meeting or something.”
“Okay, where do you suggest?”
“The front room, I guess.”
“Alright,” she got up from the table and returned to the couch.
He took a seat next to her. Neither of them said anything, the silence was loud, and she felt like her ears were ringing. He nervously tapped his fingers on his knee and let out a loud sigh.
“Okay, so why are you here?” she asked.
“I wanted to talk to you.”
She looked at him with a smirk on her face, “For someone that wants to talk, you sure are pretty quiet.”
“I was sure that I knew everything that I wanted to say, but now that I’m here with you, I’m drawing a blank.”
“Well, what did you want to talk about?”
“I wanted to talk to you about how things have been between us lately, I don’t like it.”
“I don’t like it either.”
“I miss my friend,” he said.
“I miss you too.”
“Really?” he asked, “I sure can’t tell. When I call you don’t answer.”
“I don’t know what to say to you,” she admitted. “I wasn’t ready for the awkwardness between us just yet.”
“I’m sorry for what happened when you came to the house. I didn’t expect you to come by. If I knew that you were coming, then I wouldn’t have invited Sydney over.”
Kalena listened to him as he apologized but it felt wrong. He didn’t owe her an apology, they weren’t in a relationship. He wanted to patch things up with her but she rejected him. It was naïve for her to believe that he would not date with the hopes that she eventually came around
. Her rational mind knew all of this but her feelings were still hurt. However, it was time to put her ridiculous feelings on the backburner.
Damn, she missed him. Having him beside her was surreal and he smelled so good. All she wanted to do was wrap herself in his arms, it was where she belonged. He was so much more than her friend now, he was her lover.
“You don’t have to apologize to me.”
“I do, the things that I said to you were out of line. I was so upset with you over what happened and I know that you didn’t have any control over it. I lost my cool in a public place; it’s just that I don’t like anyone disrespecting you. Hearing that guy talk to you the way that he did it made me flip my shit,” he admitted.
“I know,” she replied, “I shouldn’t have gotten so mad at you for being upset. He was really disrespectful.”
“He wasn’t the only one that was disrespectful, so I was I. I shouldn’t have thrown your relationship with him in your face. I understand why you didn’t tell me about it now, a friend should have never done some shit like that.”
His full apology without making any excuses for himself made her like him even more. Not many men would be willing to take full responsibility for their actions and the actions of others. He wasn’t like most men, and she’d known that for a very long time.
“I appreciate the apology. You don’t have to do it anymore, I’m just glad that you were able to get out of the police station without catching a case,” she laughed.
“Also, about Sydney,” he started.
Kalena didn’t want to talk about that horrid woman anymore. She didn’t know the girl but she couldn’t stand her. Everything about her got on Kalena’s nerves, from her red hair, to the ridiculous smirk that was on her face when she opened the door. To put a stop to the chatter, she acted on pure instinct and pressed her lips against his. His lips were warm and inviting. He froze at first because it was unexpected, but he quickly got comfortable and placed his hand on the back of her neck to pull her closer. They lost themselves in one other. Hands roamed, moans were exchanged, and silent apologies were given all over again.