by H. Q. Frost
"What time will you be up?"
"Whatever time you tell me to be here." He tugged her hip to get her closer and sneezed again.
"Eleven?" She plugged his nose and he nodded his head. "Thanks." Letting go, she pushed her lips to his.
"See you tomorrow." He didn't want to let go and almost wished he'd taken Kaitlyn back to his place before dropping Nyla off.
"Tomorrow." Her tongue flicked over one of the studs in his bottom lip and he bit down to control the feelings he wanted to express with less clothes and more mouth.
"Later, Kaitlyn."
"Later," she mumbled, her attention on her phone.
"Window?" He pointed.
"Door." Nyla took his hand and pulled him through the kitchen. "I wish you were staying," she whispered when they stepped outside.
"I do too." He couldn't stay but he also couldn't suppress wanting to feel her so he pushed her against the house before letting his mouth devour hers.
"Dom," she moaned as he made subtle rocking movements with his hips to rub between her thighs. "Let me touch you," she begged when he stopped her hand from sliding into his jeans.
"I can't." Pulling away from sucking on her neck he said, "Or I won't stop," and quickly kissed her. "Go inside."
She stood in her spot, dumbfounded he was leaving her like that.
"Fuck." He adjusted himself in his shorts as he rounded the house.
Hearing Austin's voice, Dom stopped when he thought he heard Nyla's name come from the loathsome neighbor.
"She's a cute redhead," he said into the phone and Dom realized he was talking about Kaitlyn. When there was no other voices but Austin's, Dom crept closer to his front porch. "Her dude's there right now. He's packin' too. Only reason I haven't blasted the punk-ass bitch. When he leaves I'll call you up and I'll see if I can get Nyla to come over with her friend."
Dom was on a warpath until he heard Nyla's giggles through the open windows of the house and he stopped, closing his eyes, taking a few breaths. There was no stopping the fury but he had a grasp on it and he calmly walked up Austin's steps.
"I'll have to call you back," Austin said into his flip phone before clapping it closed.
Before he could say anything else, Dom had him on his knees and his face smashed between the rails of his front porch. Pushing his gun to the back of Austin's head, he took a minute to keep control of the rage wanting to spill over and pull the trigger.
"If you fuck with my girlfriend or my friends, I will end you," he snarled.
"Okay, okay," Austin panted, slowly raising his hands in truce.
"Fuck." Dom's trigger finger cramped and he was having a hard time not allowing it to take over. "No-one will miss your sorry ass. If you ever talk to Nyla again, I will string you up by your insides. Leave her alone." He growled, applying more pressure at the back of Austin's head.
"Okay, I said okay. I won't talk to her."
"Punk-ass bitch." Dom kept the gun aimed at him while backing away. "Don't fucking move until I'm in my truck, then go into your house and lock your doors because you won't know when I'm coming for you." His threat sounded promising so Austin did what he said.
Exhaling a long breath, Dom pulled his cellphone from his pocket and called Boney.
"What up?"
"Hey, you take Jeff home?"
"Naw, man, he's chillin'. Stop over."
"I can't. Can you keep an eye on him tonight? Let him stay over."
"Yeah, sure. You cool?" Boney asked.
"I'm gonna stay with Nyla," Dom responded knowing he wouldn't disagree with him.
"I ain't playin'. When you're done with her, send her my way." He chuckled.
"It's not fucking funny, Boney. Shut the fuck up."
"Just fuckin' with ya, Dom. Jeff's cool for the night. Hit it hard." He hung up before Dom could bitch him out.
Dialing Nyla, she answered with a grin he could practically hear. "Hey."
"La, do me a favor. Make sure the doors are all locked up, okay?"
"Sure, but why?"
"Just 'cause. You know it's not a safe neighborhood."
"Bolted and chained, Dom," she said after a few minutes. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Will you close and lock your windows? The ones in your dad's room too. Turn on the air and I swear I'll throw you some money to pay the high bill."
"Dom, you're scaring me." She softly giggled through her fear.
"You doing it? Your bedroom window too, babe."
"What happened? Are you still outside of my house?"
"Yeah. I want to make sure you close up the house." He saw her look out the curtain.
She crept around to each window and made sure they were locked. When she got back to the kitchen she whispered, "Okay."
"Thanks. Last thing, La." He waited a second and knew with his last request she'd be a mess all night, but he couldn't sleep over without Maleek's approval. "Get your dad's gun."
"Dom—"
"Shh, hey, just trust me, okay?"
"I do, but what happened out there?" She was in the window again, desperately staring out at his truck.
"Get out of the window, Nyla, and sleep with your dad's gun tonight. I'll be out here all night if you need me."
"Dom, tell me right fucking now what's going on." Her angry voice still couldn't hide the fear but she was doing what he requested and pulled the gun box from the cupboard.
"I want to pop your neighbor, Nyla. I could make it look like an accident or a drive by."
"Dom, stop," she cautioned. "Please stop talking like that."
"I fucking hate the guy and I want to hurt him. I want to do more than that. He's a threat and I can't have that around you."
"What happened?" She closed her bedroom door and sat on the bed next to a bowl of popcorn between her and Kaitlyn.
"I heard him talking shit when I was leaving your house. Talking about waiting for me to leave then seeing if you and Kaitlyn would go over his house and he wanted to call his friend over."
"He's harmless. We've hung out before," she said to ease his tensions.
"Bullshit," he snapped. "Don't fucking lie for that asshole, Nyla!"
"I'm not! Calm down, okay?"
"I'll be out here in my truck all night. If I see him take a step toward your house, I'm shooting him."
"Dom, stop!" she barked. "I fucking mean it! Stop!"
"He's a threat, Nyla. I'm going to talk to your dad about him tomorrow and if your dad isn't against it, I'm going to beat the shit out of him."
"No you're not! You're not going to shoot or beat up anyone anymore!"
"He said he wants to blast my ass. I don't trust the fucker not to hurt you and I'm not going to let that happen."
"Dom, if you're in jail, you can't stop him from hurting me."
"If I'm in jail it's because I took his ass out."
"And then what about the next person that hurts me? You won't be around to protect me from the next person."
Tightly closing his eyes he dropped his forehead to the steering wheel.
"Please don't do anything, okay? For me."
"For you," he whispered. "I still want to talk to your dad and I'm still staying parked outside until the morning."
"Just come in. It's hot."
"Not without your dad's permission. And you're not waking him up. I'm tired as shit, La. I'm gonna try and stay awake but if you hear a noise or something that doesn't seem right, call me, okay? Don't call the cops first, they wouldn't show up for over a fucking hour. Just call me and take the safety off the gun and you use it if you have to."
"Dom, I sleep with all my windows open every single night and I've never had any problems with Austin or with anyone around here trying to break in!"
"With me in the picture, his chances of getting with you are gone and he'll just take what he wants. Don't ignore what I'm saying. I'm not fucking crazy! I've known scum like Austin my whole life, okay?"
"Okay." She wanted to appease him so he'd calm down. "You
're not crazy and I'm not ignoring you. I have the gun. I shut the windows. We're pouring sweat waiting for the air to circulate." She chuckled and wiped the perspiration from her brow that was more from nerves than being overheated.
"You're really important to me, Nyla, nothing can happen to you or my book is over."
"Nothing's going to happen to me or you. We're still writing this damn book." She nervously chuckled through her hands covering her face and wanted to tell him her true feelings for him. But he wouldn't even sleep with her, she couldn't profess her love in case it was too soon.
"I'll let you go so you and Kaitlyn can talk. Everything cool with all that?"
"Completely." She smiled. "When my dad leaves for work, will you come in?"
"Yeah. Goodnight."
"Night." Hanging up, she dropped her head back to the wall.
"What the fuck is going on?" Kaitlyn chuckled at her side.
"He's fucking perfect." Nyla opened her eyes then grinned at her before they burst into giggles.
"Didn't you come from the suburbs?" Kaitlyn asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"Pretty suburban girls like you aren't usually pining for hood rat boys."
"Dom's not a hood rat!" she said with offense.
"Dom's not, but come on." She shrugged. "You live in the ghetto now. These guys around here." She took a minute to think her words over. "Dom's talking about killing some guy and beating the shit out of him and you're over here acting like he's perfect. You actually just said he was! Guys that have no problem murdering someone or beating the shit out of them and stealing their money, aren't really the type of guys smart girls like you need to be caught up with."
"Dom doesn't steal. And what about you?"
"What about me? I'm already fucked. My life is a fucking joke. I have family members that commit incest," she spit out with a cringe. "Half my family has killed themselves. My brother's a rapist and that whole incest thing! There's no hope for me anymore. I'm just a poor white-trash girl from a damned city I thought I'd get out of one day."
"Well." Nyla put the popcorn to the side then scooted close enough to lay her head on Kaitlyn's shoulder. "For one, Dom's a good book. He may have done some screwed up shit in his past, but people can change. And for two, when I say people can change, that means you too. Who knows, maybe even by the end of the summer you'll have saved up enough money to get out of this damned city." She chuckled and nudged her. "I'm not gonna let you give up when your life has just begun. You ever consider college?"
"Poor kids don't get to go to college, Nyla."
"My family wasn't wealthy! When my parents were together, their combined income made things comfortable when I was growing up. But I moved out at nineteen and got a part time job then started living off school loans. You can apply for financial aid, and it doesn't have to be for a college in this damned city. I can't speak for all of them, but the few friends of yours I met really sucked. You got me now." She nudged her again. "And Dom."
"He really needs you," Kaitlyn said through a yawn and laid her head onto Nyla's.
"I need him too."
The moon beaming through her window held her attention while her thoughts strayed to a future she was desperate for with Dom.
"Dom." Maleek pounded on the truck's door frame until Dom quickly bolted upright. "What in God's name you doing outside of my house at five in the morning?"
"Mr. Wood." Dom got out of the truck, trying to gather his bearings from abruptly waking and getting little sleep. "Your neighbor, Sir." He pointed toward Austin's. "Shit." He scrubbed his hands over his tired face then blurted, "Sorry. Last night after I dropped Nyla off, I was leaving your house after making sure she got inside okay and I heard him on the phone. He has no respect for your daughter, Sir, and I think he's dangerous. I made Nyla close up the house and I'll pay your air conditioning bill, but I don't trust him. I kept an eye on his house but must have passed out." His hands rubbed his face again while he tried to be alert and prepared for the conversation.
Maleek's eyes narrowed. "Why didn't you come in the house?"
"I didn't have your permission and I didn't want Nyla to wake you."
With a sigh Maleek leaned against the truck. "I like you, Dom. I do. And that's a hard thing to admit. Nyla's not going to be my little girl forever. She already fights me now." He chuckled. "I know she's an adult but she's my daughter and all I really want is her safe." He looked at Dom who nodded in agreement but nervously waited for Maleek to follow that up with he didn't trust him. "I'm an old man and tired beyond my years. I'd be stupid not to accept your help with my daughter. You're free to come and go, and if you're feeling inclined to look after my place or my daughter, you're welcome inside on the couch. I won't condone you two bedding together under my roof, but your company is always welcome." Standing upright he headed for his car. "I'm gonna be late," he grumbled getting in before Dom could respond.
The second Maleek pulled away, Nyla opened the front door and waved. Wearing a confident smile, he quickly rolled up the truck windows then headed inside where Nyla had breakfast waiting.
***
Boney's house always had that permanent lingering stench of marijuana. Like a skunk had been hit a few streets over and you could faintly smell it even after he aired the house out and bombed it with air freshener. With Dom not having smoked in almost a month, the smell was getting to him and he wanted to leave before it permeated his clothes.
"Man, come on," Dom mumbled getting to his feet, wishing him and Boney weren't headed to the same job site; that was the only reason he was waiting on him.
"Dom, can I come to work with you and just hang around until you're off?" Jeff asked while his eyes stayed on the TV.
"No, you know you can't do that. You need to go home and clean up anyway. You're too old for mom to still be cleaning up after you."
Jeff scowled over at him. "Why are you mad?"
"I'm not. Does my shirt smell? Does it smell like pot?" Dom pulled his shirt from his stomach and walked over to Jeff's nose.
"I don't smell nothin'." He shrugged.
"Boney, man, you almost ready?" Dom called out.
Boney exited his room and grabbed his boots.
"Hey, ya know where Nyla lives?" Dom watched him.
"I do," Jeff spoke up.
"I have an idea," Boney responded.
"Her fucking neighbor is an asshole. I don't trust the guy and I really want to hurt him but... I won't."
"You want me to?"
"I really do." His guilty sounding response made Boney look up at him in surprise. "Nyla would be pissed, but she don't think the guy's a problem. I scared him Sunday night and I've been at her place every day this week, but I haven't seen him around. Once baseball starts, I won't be around her place as much, and I think he'll start fucking with her again."
Getting to his feet, Boney asked, "You want me to take care of him?"
"Yeah, Dom, you want us to take care of him?" Jeff spoke up.
Giving his brother a stern glare he responded, "You aren't taking care of anything, Jeff." Looking at Boney again, he couldn't mask the guilt while saying, "Just scare him a little."
"Yeah, alright." Boney grabbed his keys and changed the subject asking Jeff, "You playin' this year?"
"Dom said I could be on his team."
"You will be, but I don't make the decision, Jeff. I'll just talk to a few guys." He paused in thought. "I don't know who yet, Reese used to organize it."
"I haven't heard anything about that sick fuck," Boney grumbled on his way out the door.
As they walked out to the truck Dom said, "Hey, man, don't do anything about her neighbor until we talk it over. I want to be with Nyla at the time or she'll think I did it."
"No problem." Boney opened the door and shoved Jeff to get in first.
***
"When does baseball start?" Nyla asked, while Dom was hanging over the engine of his truck.
"Jeff hand me that socket." Dom pointed before glan
cing at Nyla. "Few days. Practice."
"What do you play, Jeff? What position."
"Pitcher," Dom boasted with a grin.
"Yeah, pitcher. You gonna come to my game?"
"Of course." Nyla grinned over at him.
"La, hand me the thing that looks like a screwdriver and has that hole on the end for a socket." Dom pointed downward.
"I can't fix a car, but I know tools, Dom." She rolled her eyes handing over the screwdriver.
"You are really smart and hella sexy, but this isn't what I was asking for." With a grin he jumped down from the bumper and grabbed her before she darted from his greasy hands. Pressing a kiss to her lips, she squealed from the dirt smeared across his face. "Will you get me a drink please?"
Wiping at her clean face she said, "You want me to walk up to the liquor store with Jeff?"
"No, just run inside and look in my fridge. There should be something in there." He swatted at her ass but she jumped away before his greasy hand made contact.
"Dominic, I swear to god, you're going to be washing my clothes!" she warned as she wandered inside.
"Dom, do you gotta kiss her when I'm around?" Jeff complained.
"Sorry, man." He chuckled.
"It's cool but you guys are always makin' out. Don't you have sex with her? Can't you do that then?"
Dom laughed and climbed back onto his bumper. "No, I don't, but we won't kiss in front of you anymore."
"You're not?" Jeff blurted. "You two aren't fucking?"
"Jeff, shut it, man. Keep your voice down."
"But why not? Don't you like her? She can be my girlfriend if you don't like her."
"Shut up, dude." Dom shook his head. "She's going to stay my girlfriend and I do like her, we just haven't gone all the way yet. You don't gotta screw a girl right when you meet her." A disapproving glance hit Jeff.
"I do before they figure out I'm retarded."
Releasing a sigh, Dom quickly hopped down and grabbed his brother's head. "You're not retarded," he said, because the only thing that word meant to his brother was a means to make fun of someone. "There's nothing wrong with you and you're an awesome guy. You look like me, so we know you're good lookin', and you're fun. Just stop trying to be like Jesse and Boney and you'll land a chick." He clapped his shoulder before climbing back over the engine.