Jacob & Aaliyah: You Belong to Me

by Domaneque Banks

  "Thank you lady, but no talk about work tonight. We all here to have a good time. If it's anything you two need don’t hesitate to ask." Jacob said before turning around to greet more guest.

  " Girl you been working with him how long and you still haven't let him hit?” Tori said.

  "Damn Tori, if you wasn’t so stuck on just sex you would know that everything is not built on two people fucking all the time."

  It killed me that she just expected me to give the goods away to Jacob just because he was handsome and successful. I couldn’t front like I didn’t like him, but I didn’t want to mix business with pleasure. If me and Jacob were to ever get serious and build something and he wound up hurting me, it wouldn’t be good for neither of us. I had to protect my heart at all cost. For the time being I just wanted to see if he was even worth investing my time too. In the past I had made my fair share of mistakes in choosing men and I promised myself that the next time around I would never let another one fuck me over.

  Catching the bartenders attention I decided to start the night off with my shots. Picking my choice of poison I decided to live life on the edge for once and get Hennessey shots instead. Hell, the night was young and I don’t know whether it was the way that Jacob eyed Tori and flirted with her, but I was seriously feeling some type of way. I just wanted to drown my feelings in the alcohol and dance the night away... placing the shot to my lips I let the liquor travel through my body and begin to wash my worries away.

  Chapter 7 - Jacob

  "Yo is that your assistant over there the one you was telling me about?" Quentin asked spying Aaliyah over at the bar.

  "Yes that’s her. She fine ain’t she?" I asked.

  "Hell yeah and old girl that’s with her, that must be her sister because they look like twins damn near." Quentin said.

  "Naw bruh, that’s just her friend." I told him as I kept staring at Aaliyah from across the room.

  It was so many beautiful women in the place that night but for some reason Aaliyah had my full attention. She looked beautiful as hell and all I wanted to do was step to her in the right way and let her know I was feeling her. Over the last month I was amazed by her work ethic and drive. She already had proved herself more than once. Especially since she could put up with my attitude and ways. She was sexy as hell and even though she was an employee of mine I was starting to care less about that factor. I just knew that this woman kept me on my toes and I was attracted to her for more than just what I thought her body had to offer.

  "Stop looking like a lost puppy and go talk to her." Quentin said trying to chump me.

  "Man chill, Imma make my move. I just gotta wait till the party starts to settle down, these people have to be entertained.”

  " I’m your right hand man. I got this, go get your lady." Quentin said boosting up my courage.

  Shit I had enough liquor in my system to do just about anything tonight. Shit I was gonna make Aaliyah mine. Stepping over to her, I took the drink out her hand and grabbed her hand so she would dance with me.

  "What you doing Jacob?" She stuttered. I knew she was tipsy as hell.

  "I'm just trying to dance with you. I need to tell you something." I said whispering in her ear.

  "What could you possibly have to tell me?" She said pulling her head back so she can look me in my eyes. Damn she was still beautiful even though she near drunk as hell.

  "I like you man. For real I want you." I couldn’t believe I had finally said the words aloud.

  Aaliyah didn’t say anything back she just placed her head on my shoulders and we danced to Joe's I Wanna Know. The song was playing right at the perfect moment.

  "Jacob,"

  " Yeah,"

  “What If I said I like you too?" Aaliyah said.

  "I could dig it." I truthfully answered.

  I knew off rip that Aaliyah had her reservations about me. If she was gonna take a chance on getting to know me better she would have to just trust me.

  "So what are you saying?" I finally questioned.

  "Ugh Jacob." She whined, “why you keep asking me all these questions.”

  All of sudden I was getting agitated. I didn’t know what type of game Aaliyah was playing, but I didn’t like it. Here I was opening myself up to her and all she could do was question my intentions I felt insulted.

  "You know what Aaliyah just forget I said anything." I said getting pissed.

  "Omg I like you too! Damn are you happy now?!" Aaliyah said loudly. The crowd at the table beside us was staring. So we could have more privacy, I decided to take Aaliyah out to my car just to talk and let her sober up.

  Tapping Victoria on the shoulder I told her I was taking Aaliyah outside to cool off. Even though she and Quentin had been chatting amongst themselves. They weren't paying us any attention.

  "You good Jacob. I told her to slow down with the shots." Tori chuckled.

  "Trust me, she is in good hands." I stated.

  " You ready?" I asked her.

  " Yes let's go." Aaliyah said locking hands with mines.

  Aaliyah

  I couldn’t help but to giggle to myself. Jacob actually was buying the fact that I was helpless and drunk. I wasn’t playing with his feelings though. I really did like him. As much as I wanted to front like I didn’t want him, I couldn’t deny the attraction was there. I worked closely with this man damn near every day and the fact that he had started to warm up to me made me feel wanted. It made me feel needed.

  I knew I was a tough cookie with my walls built up, but I wanted a relationship, a boyfriend or husband. Someone that didn’t cheat and lie and play games with my heart. What if Jacob really was that person and I was cheating myself because of what went down with Devonte? Would that even be fair to miss out on the idea of love just because it didn’t work out with someone else? I was tired of constantly worrying about if I was making a mistake just because me and Jacob worked together. If I was ever going to be happy and not worry about what other people thought about the choices I was making I would have to leap and take my chances.

  Stepping outside the fresh air felt so nice. It was cool, but not really cold. I guess the liquor had warmed me up a bit. Holding Jacob’s hand, he led me to his car. As we sat inside he studied my face trying to read my mind.

  "You're gonna have a mean hangover in the morning." Jacob chuckled.

  "Ugh..." I groaned pretending to start to feel sick.

  "Omg Aaliyah you straight?" Jacob asked.

  I realized he was really worried about me, unlike most nigga's they would of saw the perfect opportunity to take advantage of a female, but Jacob was being so kind and concerned. I had never really seen this side of him before tonight.

  "Here, lie back," Jacob said reclining the seat back.

  "Jacob, really I'm fine go back into your party. This is your night I don’t want to ruin it for you." I truly meant it. All night I was drinking like a crazy person and trying to suffocate my feelings for this man and was making myself look like a complete fool, I was surprised that he wasn’t getting turned off.

  "Be quiet Aaliyah and just rest your eyes. Don’t worry about that right now. My only concern is you," he said softly.

  My heart instantly melted after hearing those words. To know that Jacob really, truly respected me and cared about my well being meant everything to me. How could I possibly stop my feelings now? Stroking my hair as I laid back in the passenger seat I thought of confessing to Jacob and telling him that I wasn’t nearly as drunk as he thought I was, but I didn’t want to ruin the moment. SWV's Rain was playing softly in the background and before I knew it I was fast asleep....

  The next morning...

  I woke up and realized we were still outside the casino, Jacob was laying across my chest, and the sun was beaming in my eyes. Besides the fact I had a slight headache I felt fine, Jacob was knocked out snoring, I couldn’t believe that he ditched his entire party to stay outside with me. Nudging him to wake up he finally did.

  "How you fee
ling?" Jacob asked.

  “I'm fine...just feeling a little whoozy," I said trying not to laugh.

  "Okay, Imma take you home so you can get some rest. I know your girlfriend has to be worried sick about you.”

  "Oh shit, I completely forgot about Victoria. She didn’t even have a key to my place, she must be worried sick." I said frantically trying to find my cellphone in my purse.

  “She didn’t even have a key to my crib." I stated dialing her number.

  Calling Tori’s phone it went straight to voicemail.

  "Victoria should be fine, I left her last night with Quentin, my best friend," Jacob told me.

  " I don’t know him like that. How do I know he didn’t snatch my friend up and kidnap her?” I giggled. Trying to play it cool.

  "Look, she isn't answering the phone, could you please call him to see if they are together?. I asked Jacob.

  "Sure no problem. If your girl is with my boy I promise you don’t have a thing to worry about.”

  Jacob dialed Quentin’s number only for it go straight to voicemail.

  "Damn that’s odd he didn’t answer.”

  "What you mean? Let's go to his house. I gotta find my homegirl.” I said growing worried.

  Pulling off onto the Las Vegas streets, I tried to call Victoria again. She still wasn’t answering.

  "I hope your home boy hasn’t hurt my friend.”

  "Quentin isn't even that type of dude Aaliyah. He would never disrespect a female or pressure her to do something that she isn't ready to do." Jacob barked getting offended.

  At this point I didn’t care if he was. I just wanted to know that my friend was safe in one piece. It took us forever to finally make it to Quentin's place. When we arrived we saw two police cars outside.

  "What the fuck?" Jacob muttered as we both stepped out of the car.

  "Excuse me, are you two family?" The police questioned us as we approached the steps.

  "What is exactly going on here officers? I'm a lawyer, my name is Jacob Young and this is my assistant Aaliyah Powell ..this is my best friends place. I'm just trying to find him after we lost contact last night. " Jacob stated showing the police officer his identification.

  "Look I'm sorry to have to break the news to you, but your friend and the female companion were in a bad car wreck. We just came here to notify a family member but nobody was answering the door."

  " What do you mean an accident?" I yelled almost in tears.

  “The driver Quentin Williams, we believe was heavily intoxicated. Both him and the female, a Victoria Bradshaw were both found killed along the Las Vegas Beltway. The car was completely totaled. I'm sorry to have to break this kind of news to you guys. You two may want to contact their families as soon as possible before we can locate them." The officer said sincerely sorry.

  "Omg!" I screamed as the tears flooded my face. My best friend and my sister was dead. I couldn’t believe the words that were coming from the officers’ mouth as he said them. The pain and level of shock that I felt in that moment was unreal. My body felt completely numb and all of a sudden I felt dizzy as I passed out onto the ground.

  Chapter 8 -Jacob

  Aaliyah had been in the hospital overnight under heavy observation after finding out about what happened to Victoria and Quentin. I couldn’t lie, my soul was torn and my heart felt conflicted. Me and Quentin had both driven home wasted plenty of nights and never had we gotten into an accident. It wasn’t adding up or making any sense. I knew that Aaliyah was gonna blame Quentin about the accident. I couldn’t even fault or blame her if she did. After all he was the one who had been driving the car.

  For some reason, I just didn’t believe Quentin was gone until I saw his body in the morgue. He was badly bruised and looked as if he were asleep. The whole thing just felt as if it were a bad dream that I couldn’t wake up from. I told Quentin's mother I would handle all of the funeral arrangements as far as expenses. I guess a huge part of me felt guilty for the fact that it was because of my party that Quentin and Victoria were now gone.

  "Mr. Young... Mrs. Powell is awake and asking for you.”

  " Thank you," I replied as I headed to her room.

  I had no idea how she would react. Would she be full of anger or cry? Would she want me to leave if I didn’t tell her what she wanted to hear? I swear walking down the hallway to that room felt like one of the biggest obstacles that I would ever have to face in my life.

  Opening the door, Aaliyah was lying in the bed. Not saying anything just looking into space as if she was not in tune with the world. I called her name but she didn’t respond at first.

  "Aaliyah are you okay?" I asked again sitting down in the chair beside her bed.

  "How am I supposed to be okay? I don’t think I 'll ever be okay..." She responded.

  "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault.”

  "No, this isn't your fault. Quentin was the one who made the decision to drive drunk, not you Jacob!" She insisted grabbing my hand.

  Snatching it away I became furious.

  "It is my fault. I'm the one who threw the party and provided the alcohol. If it weren’t for me Quentin would still be here. " I started to sob burying my head inside Aaliyah's stomach.

  "No," she sighed rubbing my head. “Jacob, please stop blaming yourself for something you had no control over. How do you think I feel? I'm the one that invited Victoria to Vegas and now she is gone. I have known her since I was a teenager. She has been more a sister to me than my own and now a part of me is dead too." Aaliyah said softly.

  Never in a million years did I imagine this day. The day that I would be in a place where I would lose my partna, my boy. Quentin had been there through all of my accomplishments. He never turned his back on me and was my brother in any sense of the word. Trying my best to gain my composure I tried to get myself together knowing that I had a lot of arrangements to help make.

  "Have the police contacted Victoria's mom?" Aaliyah asked.

  "Yeah they have. She said she is coming here to see you as soon as she can. Probably tomorrow. She wants Tori’s body to be back home immediately, but the police are still waiting on the autopsy results to come in for her and Quentin.”

  "Okay, well I'm fine we have to get out this hospital. I have calls to make also like to my sister and my mom even though I have no true relationship with them. I still need to call and tell them what happened." Aaliyah grimaced.

  " I'll go see what the doctors say about discharging you."

  “Okay thanks, can you hand me my cell phone out of my purse?" Aaliyah asked, pointing towards the hospital closet. Handing her the purse she took her phone out and immediately started contacting everyone. I decided to give her the space she needed to do her thing. I know I damn well I needed to be doing mine. I had to shut down the office, make sure all of my clients knew that I would out of the office, and help plan two funerals. My life was going downhill so fast and there was no way I could stop the ride. The worst part about it was now Aaliyah had to suffer too.

  Danyelle

  It was damn near 1 am in the morning when my cell phone started to ring. I was pissed because Travis had stormed out of here earlier all because I wouldn’t give his ass two hundred dollars. I was done with giving him anymore money and just as soon as Mac gave me the go, I would be leaving him. Noticing he was still gone I went ahead and answered the phone thinking it was him calling me to come get his ass from somewhere.

  "What Travis?!" I barked!

  " Ummm no, this is Aaliyah." Aaliyah said into the other side of the phone.

  "Well what do you want? It's late and I'm sleeping." I replied sarcastically.

  She had some nerve calling me, waking me up out of my sleep.

  "Look I'm sorry, but I had no choice but to call you. Victoria is dead. She died in a car accident visiting me here in Las Vegas I just thought you should know. " Aaliyah said sounding defeated.

  "Okay Aaliyah, Victoria was your best friend not mine. Besides you always used to shove her
ass in my face anyway when the two of you were together. I'm happy the bitch is gone, now you can stop being all up her ass and stop turning your back on your real family!" I spat.

  " You know what? You are one selfish ass bitch!" Aaliyah screamed into the phone. “I just lost my best friend and all you can think about is your damn self. Talking about you happy she is dead. Bitch, I should have gutted you like a fish, just like I did Devonte!!!" She snapped hanging up the phone.

  "What the fuck?" I said not sure how to respond to her outburst. I know she didn’t just say what I thought she said. I was freaking out and not sure how to respond to what Aaliyah just said. Maybe she was just upset and was just blurting out shit. I would be going crazy too If I had lost two people that were close to me within a span of months of apart.

  One thing about I it I didn’t regret anything that I said. For as long as I remembered Aaliyah worshiped the ground that Victoria walked on. It was like she came into the picture and nobody else mattered. Hell, when I needed the help I would literally have to beg Aaliyah to give me any money but let it be Tori who needed something, her ass would running to help her. I despised that bitch for taking away my sister.

  Lighting a cigarette, I paced back and forth. I still couldn’t shake what Aaliyah had said. I mean it didn’t make sense. We all agreed that when Devonte just up and left her that it was strange, but hell I mean niggas leave females all the time. I figured that she just drove him away with her constant nagging and bitching, but now that I thought about it Devonte had just gone off from the face of the earth. Nowhere to be found. I ran into everyone in Detroit and not one single time had I bumped into him and our side of town was small.

  "Man you tripping. I'm pretty sure he just left town." I said to myself, throwing the butt of the cig back into the ashtray.

  I was about to put my phone on the charger when Travis came stumbling in the hotel room all loud and drunk.