by K. S. Adkins
Rome and I had to wait, pay our dues but this was our time. Deep down I was always waiting for something to cut our time short, like he was mine temporarily. I hated that uneasy feeling.
Unfortunately, my grand plans to sing to my man were tossed out the window in a matter of seconds. Protecting him was my priority now, a due diligence even. A rush of fury filled me when I saw a threat to my relationship. I could feel my blood pressure spike and my endorphins kick in the closer she came to what was mine by right.
When I saw her I knew immediately she came here to see Rome. Her eyes were darting all over the club trying to find him. Why she showed I didn’t know…yet. But if I had to guess, she heard he was out and came up here on purpose. Grabbing Bishop, I tell him exactly who’s here and to distract Rome until Jules says otherwise. Tracking Jules down, I let her know the situation by pointing her out. She assured me I was covered.
Then sending Venessa a text, I asked her to block entrance to the bathroom door. To which she said, fuck yeah. Grabbing a half empty drink off a table, I run into Michelle coating her in someone’s vodka cranberry. Squealing and trying to shake it off, I beg her to come to the restroom so that I could be a good person and help her clean up. Blabbing that I owed her a drink and offering to pay her dry cleaning bill, I literally drag her giving her no room for argument. Again, my height and strength did me a solid. Once inside, I usher her to a sink and that’s where my apologies stopped. Looking up into the mirror, she turns red and growls, “You.”
“Hello,” I offer with a pinky wave then lean against the door blocking the exit.
“You’re her,” the venom in her voice pleased me. Michelle perceived me as a threat and she’d be correct, I was.
“I’m who?” I ask checking my nails for dirt.
“The bitch from the party, the one he wanted.”
All I heard was the one he wanted and my heart leapt. Rome had been telling me the truth, he was totally getting thank you sex later. “You remember me being there?” I ask genuinely shocked because girlfriend was as blitzed then as she was now.
“How could I forget?” she says narrowing her eyes. “You, the amazon, the fucking bookworm, the fucking nobody. He told me I could suck his dick but the only bitch he’d be fucking was you.”
“He’s sweet like that,” I offer smiling. It was fucked up this made me happy but I am a girl and girls like hearing shit like this. I could do without the dick sucking visual but the past was the past and the bitch looks ninety. My self-confidence however was soaring like a phoenix.
“Did you know he worked here? He’s working tonight, did you see him? He looks good, right?”
“You spilled a fucking drink on me before I had the chance!”
“My bad,” I offer pretending to give a shit. “It’s hard for me to believe he threw you over for me, I mean look at you… then look at me! It’s a no-brainer!”
“I had to wait for him to forget his own name and pretend to be your nerdy ass before I could get near him,” she says wiping her hands aggressively. “He fucked anything with a pulse until you. Once he passed out I got what I wanted, I always get what I want. No one dismisses me!”
“The hell you say,” I say feeling it come over me. “Sounds like you taught him a lesson, huh?”
“Do you have any idea how long I waited to fuck him? What I had to do to get his attention?”
“Don’t you mean become his victim, Michelle?”
“That’s what I meant,” she says back peddling when she realizes I’m not team slut.
“Put on your big girl panties,” I tell her moving away from the wall.
“What why?” she sputters looking wildly around the room.
“You and I are about to have ourselves a Motown throwdown. Well I am anyway, pretty sure you’re just going to stand there and bleed.”
“Just wait!” she says putting her hands up.
“I waited ten years,” I growl moving in. “But while he was serving his time for a crime he didn’t commit, I became a doctor, a good one. So when I tell you that I’m going to deviate your septum, bust your mouth open, snap your collar bone and severely blacken both eyes, we’ll just call it doctor’s orders, kay?”
“Please,” she begs with her arms out.
Adrenaline, anger and a lot of other shit was beating at me and it needed an outlet. And no, it wasn’t of the musical variety.
“You came here to violate the restraining order and thus, his probation. I know your type, bitch. The second he was within ten feet of you, you’d have called the cops. Momma’s here to make sure baby girl doesn’t make it to the phone.”
The bitch let out a heartfelt help and then I went to work.
It was over before it started and I knew Jules was up there enjoying every second of it like I was. Fingers crossed she recorded it.
She always had my back. Twice now I’ve caught word that she gave a verbal beatdown and threatened a physical throwdown if a notch had anything nasty to say about me. If they did, I probably deserved it because at this point I didn’t know if a bitch was first or seconds. No matter what I did she defended me but I knew there would come a day when I crossed that line and she wouldn’t anymore. It was only a matter of time…
Kandace was literally pulling someone into the bathroom and I wanted to see what was up but Bishop said we had an emergency to handle. Bringing me into the office, he locks the door and has me take a seat. Seconds later, Jules comes in and starts fiddling with the joy stick to the security system. We have cameras everywhere. Jules refuses to have any shadows in or around the bar and she even has eyes and ears in the bathrooms.
“If I let you see something awesome, you’ll be a good boy and let me handle the logistics correct?” she asks but was really telling me.
“Yeah,” I offer because she’s the boss and the sooner I agreed the sooner I could leave.
“Good answer,” she says motioning me over. “Bishop is here to make sure you behave, now let’s enjoy the show. Dammit I didn’t bring any popcorn.”
“What the fuck?” I ask leaning in when I see Kandace cracking her knuckles. “Who’s in there with…”
“Let it play out, Rome,” she says firmly. “She’s waited a long time for this.”
“That bitch is here?” I barely manage. “Let the Doc do her thing, Rome,” says Bishop securing me with his body. With the volume up and a crystal clear picture, I watched Kandace corner Michelle. Like a lion stalking her prey, she appeared at ease but she wasn’t and as I heard the convo play out even if I never voiced it, I wanted Kandace to kill the whore.
She admitted, fucking admitted to lying and hearing it in real time did something to me. Like a nuclear bomb went off, I exploded but Bishop got a hold of me and refused to let me cause damage.
“Pay attention!” he yells punching me in the gut. “Watch your woman, Rome. You want retribution? You’ll get it through her. No way could you get close to her and had she got close to you, you’d be back in prison.”
Bishop no sooner voiced it that Kandace repeated it and like cold water was dumped over my head, I understood it. Had I so much as looked at her, I’d have violated the order and my parole. Kandace knew that and that was why she pulled her away and that was why Bishop was distracting me.
The room fell silent when Michelle yelled for help that no one would hear because before her next breath, Kandace had round housed her into the stall, hard. Like in a movie, the kick was delivered so flawlessly it picked Michelle up off the floor sending her crashing into the stall. As any human would do when faced with an opponent they fear, Michelle squared off. Dropping her arms and exposing herself, Kandace taunted her to let one fly. Michelle did and Kandace wiped the blood from her mouth then smiled. “That’s my biotch!” yells Jules. “The girls will love this!”
“You really shouldn’t have hit me first,” says Kandace cracking her neck.
“Fuck you, bitch, you kicked me first!” she screams and cries at the same time.
; “Are you certain? Because, yeah I don’t think so,” she says turning to look up at the camera and winking.
“Oh she’s good,” says Bishop high fiving Jules. “Lucky fucker, that’s your Doc, right there.”
To say she fucked her up would be an understatement. She abused her face first, then brought one elbow down hard on her collar bone which sent her crashing to the floor again. Struggling to stay conscious, Kandace pulls her back up and then sweeps her legs sending her back to the concrete where she used a close fist to destroy her.
Michelle’s face was beaten to a pulp, which in my opinion, was an improvement. The bitch was never good looking, just easy to fuck. Blood was flowing freely and when she went down for good Kandace was there, checking her pulse and then looking satisfied she pulled her into a stall propping her up on the toilet. Like nothing happened, she washed her hands, knocked on the door and was let out.
“I really need to go back to class with her,” says Jules moving the joy stick. “I’m going to call her Sensei Sexy Ass from now on.”
Following the feed in the hall because I gave a fuck about Michelle, I watch Kandace fist bump Venessa who apparently guarded the door for her. Pulling out her phone she dialed one number, looked up at that camera and waved.
“Now watch the master,” says Jules nudging me. As for me, I had shit to say. Honestly, I was in shock.
“Need to see her,” I demand but breaking free of Bishop wasn’t happening.
“No can do,” she says playing on the keyboard. “Cops are coming and you’re safest with me. This is one of the bennies of working under the table, you’re welcome.”
“She called the cops,” I say dropping my head in my hands.
“Of course she did! She was assaulted! Were you sleeping? It’s all right here, Rome, Jesus we’re lucky she’s alive.” She finishes smiling.
“Altering the feed,” I mumble.
“It’s my feed,” she says proudly. “I do what I want.”
Several minutes later, the cops do show up and were charmed by her like everyone who met her was. Sitting in Jules chair, I watch as she hands over video proof that a very drunk Michelle Porter assaulted an innocent Dr. Kandace Kane. When asked if she wanted to come in and press charges, she said she wanted to think about it.
Then of course the ambulance showed so I was stuck up here even longer, but when my woman came in and climbed into my lap to watch her get loaded up, all was right in my world.
“Hey, Rome?” she asks looking up at me.
“Yeah?”
“I waited ten years for that,” she giggles and right then the feelings I had for her as a young clueless guy vanished. I fell in love so hard as a man, I almost tipped out of the chair taking her with me.
My relationship, or rather sometimes friendship, with Roman made me a fucking head case. When it was just us, the world took a backseat to rules and routine. When it was just us, I felt like I could say anything, be anything and he would support it. However, when it wasn’t just us, Roman was a prick and the dual persona was getting old. I know I didn’t deserve the brush off and the snide remarks but I wanted to know why he felt the need to deliver them.
Deep down he was a decent guy but more and more he suppressed that side of him. I knew it was a matter of time before our non-classified relationship was going to fade away. For some reason I was seriously protective of him. If I heard (and I did, often) girls talking shit I would get right in their faces and threaten all sorts of pain I knew better than to deliver on. Would he do the same for me? No fucking chance.
But there were times I had to wonder if he would…
After leaving the office with my hand in his, I kiss him hard on the mouth and let Venessa know I’m ready to sing. Taking the stage, I was caught off guard when her tech wizards Cory and Blue used spotlights to highlight my presence. At that moment, I was thankful I wore makeup.
The crowd gathered near the stage and the floor was packed. When my nerves threatened to steal my voice, I searched the crowd and found him watching me. He looked so proud that I told my nerves to suck it, that this was for him. Holding the mic gingerly because my fists were swelling up, I give a brief introduction and was floored when the place went wild, for me. No one went wild for me, I was a wallflower, the quiet one.
They wanted to hear me sing which was amazing, but I sang for one man and one man only. Clearing my throat I start off with one of my favorite tracks of all time. A track that spoke of empowerment, acceptance and moving on. A track that says I’ve seen some shit, dealt with some shit but here I am, invincible.
Maybe the crowd knew the track personally, maybe they didn’t. But when I was done he would know it, he would memorize it, live it and I would be by his side while he did. Pat Benatar does not fuck around and for that, she’ll always be a favorite of mine.
Singing slowly, drawing him in and hoping he took the lyrics to heart I closed my eyes and sang my favorite parts with emotion. As the end neared and the chorus hit, I stood up, kicked my stool over and belted it out louder and deeper than I ever have. When it hit for the last time, I locked eyes on him sang the hardest I possibly could without sounding broken. But I was far from broken, I was whole.
With our eyes still locked, I saw him swallow hard and nod. Ending the song with the crowd handling the chorus, he stormed the stage, dipped me back and shoved his tongue in my mouth.
All fired up indeed.
She looked different today, she looked like she’d just gotten fucked. She had a glow, her eyes were dreamy and the reminder that she hadn’t been fucked by me, hurt. “Plans tonight?” I ask suddenly.
“No,” she says, “You?”
“No,” I say swallowing hard. This was it, I needed to ask her out before someone took her from me.
“Hey gorgeous,” I hear behind me. Turning to see who it was and let them have it for interrupting, I see a decent looking notch who is all but drooling over me. Glancing over at Kandace I see she’s already braced herself for it, she knew me so well she knew what was coming next. Yeah, I wanted to be her guy, the one she showed off, but the bitch behind me…. I knew how to handle. The stunner in front of me, I did not.
“How can I help you?” I ask her, winking.
“Hmm,” she says coming to stand next to me putting her tits directly in my face.
“I’m lost,” she pouts. “I can’t find my room, how ‘bout you show me yours?”
Pushing away from the table Kandace throws her bag over her shoulder, looks straight at me and shakes her head. “Looks like you have plans after all,” she says quietly. “Lucky you.”
Two days after shit went down at Lush, Kandace chose to drop the charges but did file a restraining order of her own. She told the cops that Michelle was stalking her and her boyfriend for months and needed help. They were more than happy to assist and I was more than happy to get the label of boyfriend. Fuck, just knowing I belonged to her was enough but now everyone else would know it too.
Tonight I’m taking her out so everyone could see her, see that’s she’s mine. A real date, the two of us.
Getting semi-dressed up for a date was nerve racking. Ex-con goes on first date, news at eleven… Although we haven’t gone out on a date officially, it felt like we’d been doing this for years. Jumping in my car, my phone rings and I see it’s my grandma checking in and answering I bring her up to speed. She stayed silent when I relayed the bathroom brawl but seconds later she started laughing and said, “I love that girl.” She wasn’t the only one.
Promising to call her soon, I hang up and haul ass to Kandace’s place. Pulling in out front, I see two cars in her driveway and decided to knock versus walk in.
“There he is!” says Dick hugging me extremely hard.
“Hello handsome!” says Peter fixing my collar.
“Hi, Baby,” says Kandace pushing through and kissing me right in front of them. “You look perfect.”
Struck mute, I watch the men smile at the two of us and couldn’t thi
nk of anything to say. But Peter being Peter spoke on my behalf. “This would be a great time to tell Kandy Girl she looks beautiful, Rome,” he says nudging me.
“She always looks beautiful, nothing compares.” I mumble taking her hand and forgetting her dads.
“Okay boys out, shoo! We’ll see you Sunday.”
“What’s Sunday?” I ask pulling her to me.
“I spoke with Clara and she’s coming in early and we’re having a family BBQ,” she says smiling. “Oh and we’re cooking! Yay, right?”
“I don’t cook much,” when I should have said I didn’t cook at all.
“I’ll teach you,” she says on a giggle then kisses my neck.
“You set up a family BBQ?” taking her perfect face in both hands I look her in the eyes.
“Family is everything,” she says shining bright. “Plus, my dads haven’t seen Clara in an age, it’ll be fun having all of us together.”
It would be fun and leave it to her to plan it all out, God this woman was something. Seeing the guys off from the door, she closes it then tackles me. “We could stay in you know,” she says rubbing my bulge. “Maybe plan our menu, dick sounds yummy.”
“Taking you out,” I groan thrusting into her hand. “You can finish me off later.”
“Fine,” she pouts backing off of me but never stopped shining.
A half hour later, we’re at Vinsetta Garage with Kandace snuggled up to my side with a glass of wine. Small talk was easy. Mostly I asked her questions about her family who were open books. I wanted to know what she’d been up to while I was gone. Did she date? Travel? She was honest with me. She did date though nothing stuck (this made me happy). She travelled some but not as much as she would have liked. For the first time I spoke openly about my time behind bars, the struggles I faced and what being cut off from the world felt like. She held my hand, listened and never took her eyes from mine. Finally, I asked why she put herself in the line of fire with Michelle, she didn’t even hesitate.