Aftermath

by Tracy Brown

  Archie rose to leave and Dominique wasn’t sure why she was sad to see him go. This was the most they’d ever talked before, since their conversations thus far had been limited to idle chatter whenever they saw one another. He seemed smart and compassionate. And she had been so focused on being faithful to Jamel that she had barely noticed how cute Archie was. The full, thick head of hair, the accent, his eyes, and sexy lips all came together in perfect synchronicity and resulted in a one beautiful man. Dominique stood next to him and he towered over her, his hair hanging past his collarbone. She was staring at him without realizing it, completely unaware that she was practically undressing him with her eyes as she imagined what he looked like underneath his winter clothes.

  He smiled at her and moved in closer. “Why’re you looking at me that way?” he asked, his accent casting a spell over her.

  She blushed a little and looked away, but Archie stepped toward her and turned her face back toward him. Leaning down, he kissed her lips and was pleased that she kissed him back. Their tongues danced together and he pulled her body roughly toward his. Dominique was aware that this was crossing the line. And for one brief, fleeting moment, she thought of Jamel and considered pulling away. But Archie’s kiss had her stuck. He held her face firmly within his hands—firmly and yet so gently that she felt secure. She clung to him, his T-shirt fisted in her grasp. She had never been kissed like this and she wanted Archie more than ever.

  The music coming from the speakers did little to quell the fire that burned between them. Aaliyah’s “Rock the Boat” seemed to only intensify their passion. Her inhibitions completely gone, Dominique led Archie to her bedroom.

  “Stroke it for me … stroke it for me,” Aaliyah sang and Dominique had never wanted anything more in her life. Boldly, she climbed up onto her bed and Archie eagerly climbed on top of her, roaming her body with his hands while kissing her in a way that made her feverish. He made her feel alive, the way he touched her, his hands so unyielding and so tender at the same time. Archie undressed her and she eagerly stripped him out of his clothes. Through clenched teeth, she sucked in her breath as he put on a condom and entered her dripping wetness.

  Dominique felt like she’d gone to paradise. His long, thick penis slid in and out of her, his hair shrouding her face as he ground into her.

  “Oh…” she moaned. “Shit!”

  “Yes,” he panted in her ear. He kissed her and she faded out of this reality and into a whole new space and time. Dominique was aroused in ways she’d never imagined by his hunger for her. Archie touched a part of her that had gone undiscovered until then. For more than an hour he made love to her, stroked her, bit her, sucked her, licked her, kissed her, and entered and exited her, driving her to the point of no return. His rhythm was something magical that swept Dominique up into a frenzy of ecstasy she had never known. Her legs began to tremble from the sheer magic she was feeling. Her moans intensified and he knew that she was nearing her climax.

  “Come,” he whispered to her, his face mere centimeters from hers. “Come on.”

  “Ohhhhhhhh,” she breathed as she came so viciously that her pussy pushed him out of her.

  He held her close to him and resisted the urge to reenter her. Instead, he hugged her body tightly next to his as she panted breathlessly. When her breathing steadied, he looked at her. They stared into each other’s eyes, silent except for the music playing during this lull in the nonstop sex they’d been having.

  “Weak” by SWV played and Dominique had to smile. She indeed felt weak from their lovemaking. They just lay there in silence, nestled together, their limbs intertwined, and stared at each other. They looked into each other’s souls and saw the possibilities that lay there. They kissed, giggled, touched, and held each other and soon came back together once more. Tossing and turning, they alternated in their hunger for each other. Dominique rode him and watched his face contort in rapture. Archie made her purr, feasted on her, fucked her until she came again. He felt empowered then, she could tell. His facial expressions matched hers and his intensity increased. He could feel her constricting around him, every part of her tensing and releasing in a way that squeezed his dick into a volcanic eruption. He came and it felt wonderful.

  Lying beside her, Archie propped a pillow up on his arm and pulled Dominique closer to him. He snuggled her so close that she could feel his heartbeat and he could feel her breath falling steadily on his body. It felt like they were one, and evening faded into morning.

  All Rise!

  The telephone rang at four-thirty in the morning and stirred Dominique awake. Her home phone seldom rang, since most people called her cell. So the shrill sound shook her from her blissful slumber with a jolt. Her abrupt reaction roused Archie, as well, as Dominique scrambled for the telephone.

  “Hello?” she stammered, realizing she was still naked. She pulled the sheet closer to her body.

  “Ma?”

  Dominique wanted to cry with joy. “Oh my God!” she exclaimed. “Octavia, where are you?”

  It sounded like Octavia was crying. “Brooklyn.”

  “Are you okay?” Dominique was already out of bed and halfway dressed. Archie watched her, surmising that her daughter had finally gotten tired of running. He climbed out of bed himself and gathered his clothes.

  “Um … yeah.” Octavia sounded so unsure. “I’m at my friend Holly’s house … Holly, from school. Her mom wanted me to call and tell you that I’m here. And I’m okay.”

  Dominique was so confused. Holly’s mother wanted Octavia to call. “You’ve been there all this time?”

  “No…”

  Before Dominique exploded and demanded to know what the fuck was going on, someone took the phone away from Octavia.

  “Mrs. Storms, this is Holly’s mom, Rebecca. Octavia came by our house tonight and spoke with my husband and me about her situation. We’ve persuaded her to call you so that you can come over and talk with her. I’m sure you’ve been worried sick.”

  Dominique sat down on the bed and Archie sat, too, searching her face for clues. “She just came there tonight?” Octavia had been away from home for seven days.

  “Yes,” Rebecca said. “I think that once you come over here and talk with Octavia, everything will make sense.” The woman paused. “I think she’s sort of scared. I assured her that you would be happy to hear from her, but she’s still very nervous.”

  Dominique didn’t want to curse or yell or do anything to scare Octavia or the white woman on the other end of the phone. She calmly asked for Holly’s address and wrote it down with her hands trembling the entire time. Dominique hung up and was aware of Archie’s hand stroking her back. She turned to him, shaking.

  “I have to go.”

  “Where is she?” he asked.

  “Brooklyn. Williamsburg. I have to get there now.” Dominique snatched her sneakers out of the closet.

  “You cannot drive like this,” he said. “I’ll come with you.”

  She shook her head. Was he crazy? “No. I have to go and see about my daughter. I like you, Archie. But I don’t need you coming with me at a time like this.”

  Archie tried to explain. “I understand—”

  “Thank God she’s okay!” Dominique threw her hands up in praise. She looked toward the ceiling as if truly grateful to the Almighty. Looking at Archie again she shook her head. “But why hasn’t she called me in seven muthafuckin’ days? I’m gonna kill her!”

  He had to resist the urge to laugh as he listened to her rant. He understood her being this upset, but he found it amusing that she was happy her child was alive and eager to kill her at the same time.

  “Calm down,” he said firmly. “Listen, I will drive you there in your car and take the train back to the city. I’m not going to stay there with you. You can handle your business with your daughter and bring her home. Call me whenever you get the time.” He kissed her trembling hand and rubbed it gently. “But you can’t drive like this.”

  She nodded.
He could have told her that he was going to drive her to Jupiter and she would have gone along with him as long as he kept touching her the way he did.

  Together they got dressed and Dominique grabbed her car keys off the dresser. She turned around and faced Archie once more. She wondered how she’d gotten herself into this situation with him, yet she was grateful he was there with her at a time like this. It felt so good not to be alone for once.

  He pulled her close to him, holding her tightly at the small of her back. His pillowy lips pushed into hers and he lingered within a breath of her. “Ready?”

  She nodded and he took her by the hand, leading her out the door.

  * * *

  Toya had known that peace wouldn’t last for long.

  “What are you saying?” she asked Dominique as she sat up in bed cradling her BlackBerry in her palm.

  “Octavia is in Brooklyn, Toya!” Dominique was nearly breathless. “Can you go there and make sure she doesn’t try to run away again before I get there?”

  “Where?” Toya switched her bedside lamp on. “Give me the address and I can meet you there.” She glanced at the clock. It was just after 5:00 A.M. She loved her friends, but they were definitely some early-in-the-morning and middle-of-the-night bitches these days! She took down the address and warned Dominique to drive carefully.

  Dominique glanced over at Archie in the driver’s seat of her MKX and decided that Toya didn’t need to know about this. “I will,” she said, before ending the call and holding on for dear life as they sped to Brooklyn.

  Along the way, Dominique looked at Archie in a new light. He had ravaged her and made her feel things she’d never felt before. She wondered if it was his passion for her or if it was the fact that she’d gone so long being faithful to Jamel during his incarceration. She had been without sex for close to three years as she waited patiently for the man she loved to come back to her.

  And now she had been intimate with Archie—intimate in a way that she had never been with any man before him. She knew that she should feel guilty. But as he looked at her and smiled, laugh lines creasing his handsome face, she felt nothing short of joy.

  They arrived at Holly’s house at precisely the same time as Toya. She made Archie turn the engine and headlights off, and Dominique watched as Toya climbed out of her Benz, hurried toward the front door, and then as she was ushered into the house. She was thankful that Toya hadn’t noticed her car.

  Dominique turned to Archie. “Thank you,” she said.

  He nodded. “You’re welcome, Dominique.” Her name rolled off his lips like music.

  For a few silent seconds, he looked at her. “You’re so pretty,” he said, gazing at her with a smile spread across his face.

  She was wondering whether or not she should promise to call him. She wasn’t sure that she ever would. She didn’t want to lie. As she battled within herself, he leaned in and brushed his lips against hers one more time. Then he handed her the keys to her car and climbed out. Dominique got out, too, and watched as he crossed the street and walked toward the subway station two blocks away.

  “Don’t kill the poor girl, ya heard?” Archie called over his shoulder.

  She laughed, blew him a kiss even though his back was turned, and walked up the walkway to greet her prodigal child.

  * * *

  Octavia sat on the sofa, tapping her foot nervously on the marble floor in Holly’s living room. She may as well have been facing the guillotine, her fear of her mother’s wrath was that great. Her heart beat so rapidly in her chest that she wondered if it was possible to have a heart attack at her age. Holly and her family had been tiptoeing around her for quite a while now, everyone anticipating the moment the doorbell rang and the festivities began.

  Octavia kinda wanted to kick Holly’s ass. She had gone to her classmate in confidence, since the two of them had gotten to know each other while working together on a science project. Holly had always talked about what pushovers her parents were; how they never went in her room and let her friends stay the night without question. Octavia had remembered that and had hoped they would be lenient enough to let her stay there until she could figure out what to do next. But Octavia—Holly’s only black friend—would’ve been hard to conceal. So, Holly had gone to her mother in confidence and asked her if Octavia could stay there for a few days. Holly had persuaded Octavia to tell her parents the truth about why she was there. Instead of understanding, her mom had filled her husband in on everything and together they had forced Octavia to call her mother. Octavia’s entire plan had crumbled before her eyes and now her back was up against the wall.

  When the eerie, doomsday-sounding doorbell finally did ring out, it sent chills up Octavia’s spine.

  She heard voices at the door and knew instantly that it wasn’t her mother. The person at the door sounded downright pleasant, and as the voices came nearer Octavia didn’t hear her mother. When Holly and her mom Rebecca came into view, followed by Toya, Octavia breathed a huge sigh of relief. Until then she’d been lamenting that the only person capable of preventing her mother from killing her that day was her late grandfather. Toya suddenly seemed like a good stand-in.

  “Well! Hello, Octavia,” Toya said, locking eyes with the teenager. Her voice said so much more than just “hello.” It said, Where the fuck have you been, Octavia?

  “Hi, Miss Toya.”

  Holly’s mother, Rebecca, offered Toya a seat near Octavia, which she happily accepted. “May I get you something to drink?” Rebecca asked.

  “Yes, please.” Toya nodded. “Do you have any wine?”

  Rebecca smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. “Absolutely! I was just about to have some myself.” She needed to take the edge off after talking to Octavia. “Red or white?”

  “Red, please.”

  Rebecca scurried off to pour the wine and Toya turned her attention to Octavia. The only other person in the room with them was Octavia’s friend Holly. Apparently, Holly’s dad had fled the scene since Octavia’s surprise visit.

  “Where’ve you been all this time?” Toya asked her. She kept her voice low, so as not to alert any of the adults in the house. She spoke loudly enough for only the teenagers to hear. She glared at Octavia.

  Octavia and Holly looked at each other. Toya saw that they were having a silent conversation and she mushed Octavia, shoving her roughly in the forehead with her hand. It caught both Octavia and her friend off guard, and Toya’s smile faded into a sinister snarl.

  “You better start talking, Miss Thang. ’Cuz when your mother gets here, she is going off! You’ll want to have me on your side then, pleading your case. So what the fuck is going on, Octavia? And where have you been?”

  Holly didn’t look at Octavia, but prayed silently that she told the truth. This Miss Toya seemed like she meant business.

  Thankfully, Octavia needed an ally so she started talking. “I’ve been staying uptown … in Harlem at my boyfriend’s place.”

  “Your boyfriend?” Toya asked. “What boyfriend?”

  Octavia shrugged. “I’m not supposed to have one so I was keeping it a secret.” She shook her head, feeling like a complete fool. She looked at Toya, hoping for some sympathy as she spoke about her plight. “Then … I got pregnant and now I’m not sure what to do.”

  Toya had been praying all along that this wasn’t Octavia’s big secret. She was all too familiar with this story, having seen it happen again and again to friends of hers back in high school. She sighed. “Octavia…”

  The doorbell rang again. Surely, this time, it was Dominique. Rebecca rushed in, Toya’s wine in hand, and gave it to her before rushing back out to answer the door. This time, the voices that mingled in the foyer were far more subdued and Octavia looked to Toya for consolation. She found none.

  Toya shook her head at her and said, “This is the last thing your mother needs.”

  Dominique walked into the room and the oxygen seemed to escape all at once. The air was thick with tension and Octa
via glanced sheepishly in her mother’s direction. Rebecca went and stood behind Holly and together they watched something better than reality TV.

  “Octavia.” Dominique’s tone was flat and held no emotion. She was happy to see her daughter but scared to death of what she was about to reveal. In light of Shane’s recent revelation, Misa’s first-degree murder charge, and Toya’s newly uncovered past, it seemed that anything was possible. Numbly, Dominique walked toward her daughter and hugged her, happy to see that she was in one piece.

  Pulling away, she looked at her closely, scanning Octavia from head to toe. “Have you been hurt?” she asked. “Why haven’t you called?”

  “I … w-was…” Octavia began to stutter.

  “Dominique, why don’t you sit down?” Toya suggested. Dominique was small in frame but was somehow looming large over her daughter at the moment. Toya gestured to the empty seat across from her. “Come sit down.”

  Reluctantly, Dominique did as Toya urged. She took a seat and stared at her daughter, eager to get to the bottom of this.

  “I can’t keep tap-dancing around this,” Dominique said. She was perched, literally, on the edge of her seat. She looked at Octavia. “Tell me where you’ve been, why you haven’t called, and why we’re all here instead of at home where you belong.”

  All eyes were on Octavia.

  “I have a boyfriend.”

  Toya looked at Dominique to see her reaction. Dominique didn’t budge, her facial expression shifted only slightly. Toya looked back at Octavia. “Continue,” Toya urged the youngster on.

  Octavia swallowed hard. “I was meeting him after school instead of going to dance class. We would go to his house … he lives in Harlem … and we would talk and get to know each other.”

  Toya noticed that Dominique’s breathing was getting heavier. She touched her reassuringly and smiled. “Just listen, Dominique.”

  Octavia was so glad that Miss Toya was there. She looked at Holly and her mom and saw their rapt expressions. She had never been more embarrassed and ashamed in her life.