Love Me Deadly

by Linda Verji

  The realization brought her to a screeching halt at the door to Reggie’s bedroom. It smacked her hard and left her reeling in shock. She was jealous. She didn’t want to share Reggie’s affection with any other woman because she was beginning to think of him as her man. No. No. No. This was bad. This was really bad. Her blood began to warm in alarm as her heartbeat sped up in panicked denial.

  She didn’t even realize that Reggie had come up behind her until his arms snaked around her waist and he propped his head on her shoulder. “It’s okay to be jealous.”

  No, it’s not. Jealousy was for people in relationships. Not for friends-with-benefits. Jealousy meant feelings – feelings she couldn’t afford to have. Panic pressed on her lungs, squeezing the air out of it. Reggie’s arms around her were worsening the suffocated feeling. In a breathless daze, she extricated herself from Reggie’s arms. “I have to go.”

  “Go where?” His confusion was evident in his voice as he followed her into the room.

  “I have to go.” She crossed the room to his closet and grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. Too disturbed to even consider changing out of his jersey and her sweat pants, she turned towards the door again, but Reggie was there blocking her exit.

  “Baby, where’re you going?” His gaze scanned her face worriedly.

  “I have to go home.” She tried to summon a smile but only managed a slight tilt of her lips which dropped almost immediately. “I…I promised to help Kendra with something.”

  “Don’t go,” Reggie inched closer. When he reached for her, she took a step back and he let his hands fall. “Let’s talk about this.”

  Erica shook her head violently. “Maybe tomorrow.”

  “Erica.”

  “Reggie, please.” Erica begged, tears already building at the back of her throat. “Please let me go. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

  He must have seen something in her expression because he observed her for a few moments before he stepped aside. “Okay.”

  Erica hurried out of the house. By the time she started her car, her breath was coming in short fast huffs and her pulse was running fast in a bid to escape Reggie. She didn’t have feelings for him. She couldn’t have feelings for him. It was just sex. The panic that soared in her veins belied her denials.

  On her way home, she noted Reggie’s car behind hers and it only tightened the knot in her stomach. What if he insisted on coming into the apartment? What if he insisted on them talking about her abrupt exit from his house when she couldn’t even explain it?

  Fortunately, after making sure that she was safe home, Reggie drove away leaving her still whirling away in her confused emotions.

  CHAPTER 17

  “I never figured you for a coward,” Kendra pronounced a week later.

  “I’m not a coward,” Erica returned. “I’m just being…careful.”

  Kendra’s laughter rang out, echoing in the living room and reverberating through the whole apartment. Her amusement was enough to make Erica regret bowing to the pressure and telling her why she and Reggie weren’t talking – or rather why she wasn’t talking to Reggie.

  “Honey, the careful train passed you weeks ago,” Kendra said in between chuckles. “You’re in deep.”

  “I’m not,” Erica insisted even as she stared determinedly at anything but Kendra. Her gaze centered on the sliding doors that led out to the patio. Sunlight streamed in through the glass as cool air swirled around the room.

  Days like these didn’t happen often in November. A nice Saturday like this should’ve found Erica doing something with Reggie. Instead she was stuck here curled up on the couch, listening to Kendra ragging on her love life as a serial drama played on the TV.

  Lord, she missed him!

  “Don’t kid yourself,” Kendra said. “You’re in love with Reggie, but you don’t want to admit it.”

  “I’m not in love with him.” The vehemence in Erica’s voice would’ve intimidated any other woman.

  Not Kendra. “Then why are you avoiding his calls?”

  “My phone’s been having problems.” Erica tensed, not looking up at Kendra as she added, “It can be temperamental.”

  “Mm hmm,” Kendra mocked.

  “It’s true.”

  “Mm hmm.” Kendra repeated. There was a long pause before Kendra said, “Ri, he’s not Quin.”

  “I know. I just…” Erica’s words drifted off into silence. Of course Reggie wasn’t Quin. Any woman with eyes could see that. However, the realization that her feelings for him had gone way past friendship had surprised and scared her. She didn’t want to be in love with Reggie. She didn’t want to be in love with anyone. She’d been in that position one time too many and didn’t want to end up holding the bag again when Reggie inevitably betrayed her.

  “You just what?” Kendra asked. “Don’t close yourself off to a good man because one man hurt you.”

  “That’s just it,” Erica said. “It’s not just one man. It’s all of them. They can’t keep their pants zipped up and I don’t want to be caught in the crossfire again.”

  Kendra was quiet for a while then she propped her hand under her chin and asked, “So you’re a gold-digger?”

  “What?”Erica was confused at the abrupt turn in conversation.

  “You’re a gold-digger,” Kendra repeated. “I mean there are women who won’t date a man unless he is seriously loaded. So, if we’re generalizing here then since all men are cheaters then all women are gold-diggers.”

  “That’s different,” Erica protested. She sure wasn’t a gold-digger.

  “Do tell.” Kendra arched her eyebrows. “How?”

  “Well…” Erica’s words drifted into silence because as much as she wanted to protest, Kendra’s words pricked at her. Was she throwing them all in the same box? Was it even possible for one man to be different?

  Reading her friend’s mind, Kendra said, “Reggie’s a good guy.”

  “You’re biased because he’s your brother.”

  “True.“ Kendra smiled before she added quietly, “But you’re like my sister. I wouldn’t try to hook you up with some ho even if he was my brother.”

  Erica giggled.

  Kendra asked, “What are you laughing at?”

  “You said Reggie’s a ho.”

  “You’re stupid.” Kendra laughed. A smile lingered on her lips as she said, “A relationship isn’t the worst thing that could happen to you. You might even enjoy it.”

  Sounding doubtful, Erica said, “I don’t know. What if he turns out to be a mistake?””

  “What if he does?” Kendra shrugged. “Reggie’s your Schrödinger’s Cat.”

  “My what?” Erica threw a pillow at Kendra. “What’d I tell you about throwing your college education at my face?”

  “Ow.” Kendra yelped. “Bitch.”

  “Just get on with your cat story already.”

  “Think of men like gifts. They all come wrapped up in glittery paper, but they carry different contents,” Kendra explained. “Some come carrying ugly sweaters, ex-baggage, mother’s who won’t let them go, heartbreak…”

  “Mm, I know those.”

  “…Other carry the nice stuff. Caring, security, love-”

  “Don’t forget money,” Erica reminded her.

  “I thought you said you weren’t a gold-digger.”

  “That don’t mean I don’t like money.”

  “Hear, hear.” Kendra laughed. “You don’t know what Reggie’s carrying and if you’ll like it or hate it unless you unwrap him.”

  Erica made a face. “Or I could just toss him.”

  “You could, but what if he’s got what you’ve been waiting for.”

  What if he was? Erica had never been much for the concept of soul-mates and she’d thought that Quin had destroyed any hope in her that there was such a thing as The One. But when she was with Reggie she felt safe, protected and sheltered like she’d never been with anyone.

  It was easy to let herself slip into dream
s of a future with him; love, babies, marriage, old age…But then inevitably the doubts came flooding in. It could all be a pipedream. Reggie might be another mirage that reality would soon crush.

  Why couldn’t love be easy - like business? People thought she was a risk-taker because she ran her own business. But the truth was that as long as she managed Strippers & Heels well and marketed right, the business would continue thriving.

  But relationships were so complicated.

  Getting into one was the epitome of risk-taking.

  It didn’t matter how many thing you did right, you had as much chance of success as well as of failure. She’d risked falling in love twice already, despite having her father as a blueprint for flawed men, and each time she’d failed. Was she willing to do it again? Was Reggie worth it?

  Choices! Choices! Choices!

  Erica sighed. “Why can’t my gift be that Louis Vuitton leather dress we saw last week?”

  Kendra laughed. “You’re hopeless.”

  Reggie dialed Erica’s number again. The phone rang, and rang, and rang, but no one picked up. He tried again with the same result. She wasn’t picking up his calls. Sighing deeply, he tossed his phone on the pillow on her side of the bed (as he’d come to think of it) then lay on his back. Propping the back of his head on his arms, he contemplated the corkscrew patterns on the ceiling illuminated by the soft glow of the bedside lamp.

  He knew Erica was scared. He just didn’t know how to make her understand that he wasn’t going to hurt her. Until the watch blowup he’d only hoped that she was starting to feel something for him. But her reaction to the thought that someone else might be after him had revealed that her feelings went far deeper than she’d been letting on.

  He was torn between elation and frustration; elation because this meant that there was hope for something more than friendship between them and frustration because Erica was running from it. He wasn’t surprised that she was running. It was what she did when she felt threatened. But as much as he understood it, he was still exasperated with her.

  He hated being punished for the sins of men before him.

  For a moment he toyed with the idea of letting her be and finding a less complicated woman. He wouldn’t have to work so hard to prove that he was worth her time. He wouldn’t have to deal with histrionics every time a female called him. And he sure as hell wouldn’t have to deal with her thirsty-ass housemate.

  But then he wouldn’t have the woman who called him just to find out how work was even if she didn’t know what he was talking about. The only woman who responded to his touch like it was her elixir. He wouldn’t have her razor-sharp humor in his life or her ringing laughter. He’d lose the only woman who’d drop anything for he and his siblings if they asked, without hesitation.

  He didn’t want a less complicated woman.

  He wanted Erica.

  Jealous dramatics and all!

  He’d give her the time she needed to figure herself out, but that didn’t mean he was giving up on them. This was a tactical retreat until she figured out for herself that they were right for each other. And if she didn’t, then he’d have to shake some sense into her.

  Switching off the bedside light, Reggie dragged Erica’s pillow towards him. He turned on his stomach and buried his nose in the soft cotton. He drifted into sleep with her scent teasing his senses.

  He didn’t know what woke him up, just that sudden chill pricked at his subconscious. He came awake abruptly, his eyes snapping open as he lifted his head off the pillow. His heart thumping at almost double its usual speed, he turned his head right and left but saw nothing beyond the shadowy darkness. Yet he couldn’t shake the prickling at the back of his neck that whispered someone was in the room with him.

  He reached over and switched on the lamp immediately bathing the room in its soft light. A cursory glance revealed that except for him, the room was empty. His pulse began to slow down and his breath evened out. He checked the time (two a.m.) then leaving the light on, he sank back onto the bed. He tried to drift back into dreamland but sleep evaded him.

  Feeling a sudden thirst, he threw the covers off and stood. His bare feet moved soundlessly over the carpeted floor as he made his way towards the kitchen. Running some water into a tall glass, he gulped it down. He poured some more water into the glass then carrying it in one hand exited the kitchen. To reassure himself, he walked to the front door and tried the door. It was locked as securely as he’d left it.

  Relieved, he walked back towards his room. The door was wide open - wider than he remembered leaving it - casting a sliver of light across the dark hallway floor. His senses flared in alarm and the hairs at the back of his neck rose in warning.

  There was someone in his bedroom.

  He didn’t know how he knew, he just did.

  It was the same certainty that guided him towards the door even though the rational thing would’ve been to go get a bat or something. He stepped into the room, his gaze unerringly drawn to the bed.

  And there she was, seated on his bed and naked as Eve.

  “Hi, Reggie.” Brooklyn smiled.

  CHAPTER 18

  Reggie blinked once, twice, before his brains agreed with his eyes. Yup! Brooklyn was definitely in his house.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” he asked as he carefully set the glass of water on the table next to the door.

  Brooklyn’s smile widened. “Did you like the watch? I thought you might want to thank me. Personally.” Gone was the stuttering stumbling façade she usually put on for everyone. It’d been replaced by a confident seductress – a naked confident seductress.

  Keeping his eyes determinedly on the wall above the bed, he said, “You need to leave.”

  “Why?” Brooklyn said. Even with his eyes away from her, Reggie sensed her own gaze on him. It pricked at him reminding him that he was only wearing knit boxer briefs and socks. The bed creaked drawing his attention to the woman who was now crawling like a cat atop it towards him and inevitably to her breasts. She grinned. “You like what you see?”

  Mortified at slipping, he quickly shifted his gaze to the floor where he noticed her clothes bundled up on the carpet. He repeated, “You need to leave.”

  She kept coming. “Don’t worry. Erica will never find out.”

  Erica. Shit.

  This time his voice was more authoritative. “You need to get the fuck out of here.” His eyes skidded back to her face.

  Drawing her lips into a coquettish moue, Brooklyn sat on her hunches with her tits thrust forward. “But I don’t have any clothes.”

  Reggie moved like he was being paid to run. He rushed to the foot of the bed and threw her clothes towards her. “There. You can leave now.”

  She looked at the clothes as they fell to the covers beside her. She made no move to pick or put them on. “But it’s so late.”

  “I’ll call you a cab.” Doggedly avoiding looking at her, Reggie strode to the bedside table and grabbed his phone. “I’ll call them from the living room while you dress up.”

  With quick steps he exited the room, closing the door behind him as he dialed a cab company’s number. He didn’t even want to know what Brooklyn was doing here at two a.m. or how she’d gotten into his house. He just wanted her the hell out.

  “We’ll send someone within fifteen minutes,” said the switchboard operator before ending the call. Rather than go back into the room, Reggie propped his back against the now-lit living room wall and waited. Early morning cold bit into his naked torso and legs, but he stayed put. No way in hell was he going anyway near that crazy lady.

  Not a peep came out of his bedroom.

  His emotions bordered between confusion and anger. What the hell was she playing at? He mulled over how she’d even gotten in. Moving from his position, he inspected the door for signs of a break in. There were none and it was firmly locked. All his windows were barred. Either she could walk through walls or she had his key.

  He was sure he hadn�
�t given her…no wait…both his sisters had a key to his place. She’d only met Ailea once and his little sister hadn’t hidden her distaste of Brooklyn, so she hadn’t gotten his key from there. And there was no way Kendra had given Brooklyn his key either. He’d find out tomorrow. Right now ‘Operation Evict Brooklyn’ had his full attention. Finally fifteen minutes later to the door, car lights flashed across the windows and his phone rang.

  “Give me a minute,” he said to the cab driver before heading back towards the bedroom. He rapped his knuckles on the thin wood. “Brooklyn, your cab’s here.”

  No answer.

  “Brooklyn? Your cab’s waiting for you outside.”

  Still no answer.

  “Brooklyn?” Reggie reached for the doorknob. It turned easily in his hands and he peered around the door. She was tucked underneath his covers, her body rising and falling evenly with her deep breaths.

  Asleep. Of course!

  Reggie sighed heavily.

  He stood at the threshold mulling his next step. He could wake her up and insist – but he’d already tried insisting and look where that had gotten him. He could drag her out by force, but he didn’t relish the idea of throwing a naked and pregnant woman out of his house at two in the morning.

  Now he regretted not telling Erica that it was Brooklyn who’d sent him the watch. If he had, there is no possible way this situation would be happening. But if he’d told her, she’d have rain hell on Brooklyn – and most likely him too for not telling her sooner. He’d hoped the situation would sort itself especially with him not replying to any of Brooklyn’s messages. Obviously he was wrong.

  What the hell was he going to do?

  He couldn’t keep avoiding Brooklyn, and her gifts and messages. He was going to have to talk to Brooklyn and set her straight. Then come clean to Erica and get his just deserts. But not right now. It’d have to be when Brooklyn was awake and listening to prevent any misunderstandings! Tomorrow morning, he resolved, right before he sent her packing.

  After grabbing a pair of sweat-shorts and a t-shirt from his closet, he closed the bedroom door behind him. He dressed up in the living room then went outside to make his apologies to the cab driver. The cabdriver wasn’t happy, but the hefty tip Reggie gave him more than made up for any inconvenience.