“How long you been working here?” Nicole asked jokingly as she picked up the glass and held it for him to pour the champagne.
Ickie poured the drink and the champagne bubbled running over the glass and spilling onto Nicole’s hand. Setting the bottle on the table he quickly took her wet hand and slowly licked the champagne from her fingers.
Nicole pulled from his grasp as she wiped the excess alcohol from her hand with a cloth napkin. “Thank you, for the drink…and the foreplay,” she said sarcastically.
“My pleasure, Nick. Where the rest of your girls at?”
Nicole placed a cigarette in her mouth, lit it, took a puff and blew the smoke in Ickie’s direction. “Why?”
“Cause I asked.”
Nicole turned her head away from Ickie. No longer paying him any attention she began nodding her head to the music. Ickie silently eased away from her table as he watched a man slide into the booth next to Nicole and pour himself a glass of the champagne he had just bought. He stared at the two. He felt himself getting angrier with each shot he watched her take. She played him and she would pay. She’ll be too drunk to even know what hit her, he thought as he formed a plan in his head. The night progressed slowly from then on as he watched guy after guy get shot down by Nicole. The alcohol was starting to take its effect on her and the vultures were circling as they watched her stumble towards the door. Ickie slithered in her direction opening his suit jacket flashing the butt of his gun at a brother looking a little too overprotective beside her. Upon seeing the gun the guy quickly backed down. Ickie then took Nicole by the arm.
She looked up ready to scold him then stopped once she realized who it was. “Oh, Ickie, thank you. These brothers in here like…like...”
“Dogs in heat.”
Nicole laughed. “Yeah, they found the wrong bitch tonight though.”
Ickie chuckled.
She continued to slur. “You are so sweet, Ickie.”
Sweet? he thought. Fuck sweet. He guided her towards her car and blocking out whatever it was that she was rambling on about. He paid extra attention to her clutching tight to the leather bag. The gesture piqued his interest. “Where your keys at?” he asked as he reached for her bag.
She pulled back from his grasp. “Back up, Ickie.” She quickly dug into her bag and pulled out the .38. “Bang, bang!” She mimicked the sound of a quick round before laughing. Seeing that Ickie was unfazed she waved the gun once more, still laughing, then dropped the weapon back in her purse before grabbing her car keys.
“Girl, you silly as hell.” Ickie looked at her cautiously.
She fumbled with the key chain before managing to unlock the door, open it and climb in behind the wheel. She closed the door, put the key in the ignition, and turned the engine.
Ickie stood outside the car tapping on her car window. Nicole hit the down button and as the window rolled down he peered inside. “You shouldn’t be driving.”
“I’m fine.”
“At least let me call someone.”
“Thanks but...”
“Let me ride home with you and I can catch a cab from…”
Nicole rolled her eyes and grunted in frustration. “Get in man, damn.”
Ickie rushed around to the passenger’s seat before she could change her mind, opened the door, and got in. Quickly Nicole pulled off into traffic before he could close the door.
***
Nicole woke up in a hotel room fully clothed lying in bed. Her head was spinning. Slowly she sat up in bed as she tried to figure out where she was and how she had gotten there. She was alone as far as she could tell. Bits and pieces of the night came back to her in a blur. She thought about Ickie. Had he gotten the room for her? Did he try to do anything to her? She looked down and checked her clothes. Other than her missing shoes nothing on her was out of place, not even a button undone. Her mouth felt dry and her stomach was growling. Sliding from the bed she observed the room. She felt panic sweep over her as she moved about desperately looking for her leather bag. How could I have been so stupid? She thought as she burst into the bathroom. Stopping in her tracks she stood with her mouth agape as her eyes fell upon Ickie laid out in the tub with her gun on top of him and the leather bag thrown carelessly on the tiled floor.
Ignoring the body in the tub she went straight for the leather bag. “No, no, no!” She murmured to herself repeatedly as she paced the small bathroom. She was unable to recall a huge portion of the night and she had no idea how she had ended up there nor what she could do to fix her current predicament. A knock at the door took her out of her trance. Nicole rushed to the door shaking with anxiety. “Yeah?”
“Housekeeping.”
“Not now. I’m staying an extra day.”
The woman didn’t say another word. Nicole put her ear to the door and listened as she heard the cart move away from the door and the housekeeper knock on another door. She returned to the bathroom being careful not to touch anything. She let her eyes scour the area looking for her missing merchandise from the leather bag. Making her way back to the room she sat at the desk and thought about her next move. Only one name came to mind. Courtney Awsum. He had once told her that should she ever need anything she could count on him. She couldn’t go to her girls. She’d lost three bricks of cocaine and had a dead man in the tub. On top of that she had no idea how either happened. She’d had one job: cop the coke and put it up. Whip was supposed cook it when they got back from Chicago. Maybe the girls were right when they’d previously warned her that she had a drinking problem. But it was too late to dwell on that now. All out of options, she picked up the phone and called Courtney.
Thirty minutes later Nicole found herself forcing down cof-fee as she waited impatiently. She really needed a drink. After calling Courtney she had called down to the desk to book the room for another night which proved to be yet another mistake on her part once she found out that the room was in Ickie’s name. She’d quickly hung up and called Courtney back to inform that there was one more problem for him to fix. Nicole was no fool she knew that no one did anything from the kindness of their heart but, whatever the price he asked, if he brought her out of this winning she would gladly pay whatever.
Her nerves were on edge as she stood in the bathroom en-trance and stared at Ickie’s lifeless frame. What the hell did he do to make me do this? She thought to herself. She whipped her head in the direction of the door as the sound of knocking took her out of her trance. Please let that be Courtney, she silently prayed to herself as she rushed to the door.
“Who is it?” She stood in front of the white painted steel door and yelled at the presence on the other side. Anxiety was killing her.
“It’s me!” A deep baritone voice answered back.
She snatched the door open and walked away not looking back to see if he was alone which he wasn’t. He was followed by a man and a woman both wheeling in suitcases behind them.
“Nick, these are my associates,” Courtney explained bring-ing her attention to the tag-alongs. “Do as they say and every-thing should flow smoothly.”
Nicole nodded yes as she began biting her nails.
“Good.” The woman with a British accent was relieved that there would be no resistance. She picked up her suitcase, sat it on the bed, and removed new clothes and shoes. The tags were still on the garments. She handed the clothes to Nicole. “Go change. Do a quick wash in the sink of all visible areas. Hands up to your elbows, face, neck, behind your ears. Any place that may have blood splatter.”
Nicole was astonished. “Blood splatter? I didn’t kill this guy!”
Courtney raised his eyebrow at her defensive outburst. “Are you going to do what they say or are you going to debate your innocence?” He was obviously annoyed.
Nicole made her way to the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Ten minutes later she was changed holding her old clothes in her hand. The man who had yet to speak opened a black hefty garbage bag and Nicole promptly dropped the clothes into it.<
br />
Courtney took her by the arm and led her to the door. “Go out into the hall, bypass the elevator straight to the end of the hallway and get onto the service elevator. Take it down to the basement. Get off of the elevator and take a left. Walk until you see a black caravan. The door will be unlocked. Get into the van. The keys are in the ignition. Drive yourself home.” His instructions were precise. Courtney was thorough if nothing else and could not omit the last bit of information Nicole needed. “I couldn’t get the product you are missing in such short notice but underneath the passenger seat of the van is a bag of cash. It’s the money you spent on the product.”
Nicole let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you so much, Court-ney. I owe you one. I’ll pay you back every penny.”
Courtney nodded. “I know you will. The money part I know you’re good for it and as far as the mess in the bath-room… I know if I ever need anything you got me.”
“Anything! Just ask.” She gave him a hug and sighed once more as he kissed her forehead. It was all so perfect. “Court-ney?”
“Yes?”
“Can we keep this between us? Whip and the other girls don’t need to know.”
He smiled. “Not a problem.”
Whip dropped her travel bag on the floor near the door. She’d just made it back in to Indy from the business trip to Chicago. Exhausted she shed her clothes dropping them on the floor as she made her way to the bathroom to take a shower. She turned on the bathroom light then turned the water on in the shower. Letting the water run Whip stood nude in the center of the bathroom looking at her reflection in the mirror hanging on the wall. Her mocha complexion was complimented nicely by her soft curly hair. She climbed into the shower just as the bathroom began to fill with steam. After a few minutes of basking in the warmth of the steady flowing stream she heard banging on her front door. Hopping out of the tub she wrapped herself in a towel she rushed to the door.
“Who is it?” She hollered as she tore down the hallway. She was annoyed that someone would have the audacity to interrupt her moment of tranquility.
“Courtney.”
Whip paused in mid-step upon hearing the response. She bit into her bottom lip and considered the reason for his abrupt visit. Getting over her apprehension she took the final four steps to the door and opened it. “Sorry. I was in the shower.” She turned away and headed back to her bedroom.
Courtney entered the apartment then closed and locked the door. “It’s alright. Didn’t mean to be an imposition but I stopped by ‘cause I needed to talk to you about something important.”
“I’m listening,” she yelled from her bedroom with the door wide open.
Courtney stood at the head of the hallway and hollered back towards Whip’s open door. “It’s about Nick.” No longer concerned with decorum Courtney made his way down the hall towards her bedroom. He stood in the doorway and took in the scene. She had one foot on the bed and one on the floor as she applied lotion to her leg.
Whip made a few exaggerated movements as she glided her hand up and down her calf being sure to part her legs to give him a full view of her freshly shaven vagina. She paused and looked up at him with bare flesh glistening from the lotion. “Uh, excuse me. Can I help you?” She had a hint of attitude in her tone.
Courtney took his time examining her body. Starting at her feet his eyes scoured every inch of her mocha frame. “Yeah, you can help me.” He walked into the room like a black panther about to mate with his female counterpart. He picked her up by her waist and threw her onto the bed.
She stared back venomously. Her nostrils flared and she felt goose bumps race across her flesh in response to his touch. Like a wild animal she pounced from the bed landing on his chest. She wrapped her legs around his midsection and one arm around his neck to hold herself up. She dug her nails into his neck with her free hand until blood ran freely. Courtney pulled her by her hair yanking her neck back then suckled its taunt skin so fiercely she thought he might suck a vein out. They both grunted in ecstasy as he fell forward on top of her onto the bed.
After the third romp of their impromptu sexual escapade they both lay nude with the blanket halfway on the bed and halfway on the floor. Staring at the ceiling they took turns puffing a joint lost in their own thoughts. The sex was just as good as Whip thought it would be a problem in and of itself was because it meant she would want more. If he was feeling her as much as she was feeling him then there was an even bigger problem because that meant there would be more escapades. In her line of business she couldn’t afford to get caught up in emotions and desires. Not wanting to think about it further nor ruin the serene mood she broke the silence. “What did you need to tell me about Nicole?”
Courtney scooped her into his arms and held her to his chest. “Never mind.”
Whip pushed against his chest prying herself from his grasp. She sat up. “Whatever. You wanted something. You didn’t just pop up over her to seduce me.”
He rolled over turning his back to her. “Don’t act like you didn’t want this to happen.”
She pushed the back of his head muffing his face into the pillow. “Just ‘cause I wanted it, ain’t mean it had to go down.”
Courtney sat up and rose from the bed. “So it shouldn’t have gone down?”
She stared up at him and watched his pole begin to extend. She gasped as it began to pulsate. She was silently in awe.
“Are we going talk about this or are you going to stare at my dick?” He was taunting her.
Upset she climbed from the bed and stood directly in front of him. Staring up into his eyes she angrily poked his bare chest. “Talk about this? Who you fooling? You didn’t come over here to talk to me.” Without another word she slyly knelt down taking his jones directly into her mouth and suckled as if he were lactating.
***
Present Day
Kill the brain, the body must die!
~Cheyenne
“Thank you again, Governor Love. This is a great book!” The female patron gushed as Ally Love signed a copy of her latest title “Dust off the Ashes.”
“My pleasure. And please call me Ally. I’m not your Governor anymore.” She handed the book to the woman and smiled.
“No disrespect, Ally, but you have done more for the people in this city in the years you were in office than anyone has done in the past twenty years. And your new book…” The woman held the book close to her chest. “Dust off the Ashes will be a best seller and the fact that you’re donating all the proceeds to the battered women’s shelter proves that you are a God send. For that and everything else you’ve done you will always be my Governor.”
Ally hugged the woman. “Thank you. I sincerely hope you enjoy the book.”
The woman turned and exited the Oakley Auditorium in Ivy Tech’s Community College clutching the novel as if it were a sacred heirloom. The college had hosted for a lecture and book signing. Both had gone well but now things were wrap-ping up. She looked around the auditorium for her husband. Late again, she thought to herself. Checking her IPHONE for any missed messages she saw that there were none. Dropping the phone into her purse she began packing her laptop into her bag to leave.
“What’s good, Whip?” A voice called from the seats.
Ally’s back was to the seating area and she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She hadn’t gone by the street moniker in over twenty years. Who would dare address her as such in this arena? She turned around smiling half-heartedly as she placed her hand in front of her face in an attempt to block the spotlight that was shining in her eyes. She remained silent as she watched the shadowy figure carrying a knapsack approach the stage. When the person was near enough for Ally to get a clear view she tore away from the stage abandoning her belongings. The first thing she noticed was that she was wearing black from head to toe. Black hoody, jeans, boots and leather gloves. She also wore the four karat canary yellow diamond earrings she had given her one year for her birthday. Ally was shocked. “Oh my God
! When did you get home?” She threw her arms around the woman in a strong embrace.
“A couple hours ago.”
“Thank God, he brought you back home to us.”
“I’m home alright. It had nothing to do with God though.”
Ally took a step back and looked at her old friend. She smiled. “In any case it’s good to see you, I see you still have the earrings.”
Cheyenne ran both hands across the diamonds in her ear-lobes. “How are the rest of the girls?”
“Oh God… we haven’t gotten together since… well you know… since you went away.”
“I went away huh?” Cheyenne’s eyebrow rose. “Like a breeze in the wind.”
Ally tried to keep her tone even. “I wrote you and put money on your books. Why did you take my name off of the visiting list?”
“I was doing my time. I didn’t need anyone to do that time with me. I jumped in front of that bullet, Whip.”
“Don’t be so bleak, Cheyenne.” Ally looked around at the few stragglers that were still in the auditorium. “And I don’t go by Whip anymore. Just call me Ally. Those days are behind me.”
Cheyenne took a step back and looked at Ally analyzing her eyes and face. “Ally. Right. It’s a real shame though, Whip.” She held her hands up as if she were mixing ingredients in a pot over a stove. “When you was in that kitchen, you had the best whip game out there. Hit the product with a little water, baking soda, and bam! Man, you turned a thousand grams into a brick and a half every rip and it still tasted like butter.”
Ally felt her skin crawl listening to Cheyenne reminisce about the old days.
Cheyenne paused noticing her old buddy’s discomfort. She smiled with dark eyes. “But yeah, those days are behind you. Me, I don’t know so much.”
Ally turned to retrieve her things. “Well you came here for a reason, Cheyenne. So what’s up?”
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