“I think my boyfriend is cheating on me. He’s been acting kinda distant. He doesn’t even want to have sex anymore. What guy ever turns down sex?” Aubrey sounds so defeated.
We were are all at a loss for words and sat there mummified for what seemed like forever.
The first week of school passed without a hitch. We skipped going out to the club my first weekend here. Aubrey’s heart had been broken and she wanted to stay in and have a girl’s slumber party instead. So, that was what we did. I was actually secretly glad that we didn’t go out. I wasn’t really into seeing the night life, yet. I am still too afraid I would secretly have a nervous breakdown right in the middle of the club and ruin everyone’s good time.
I didn’t see Roman again at all after those first two initial encounters. I thought about calling him on the weekend just to say hi, but I couldn’t muster up enough courage to do so. Maybe it was for the best, I really didn’t need a distraction to take me away from what I came here to do. I want to start a new life; to make something of myself, and Roman was possibly the most distracting distraction known to the female race. Roman’s handsome smiling face pops in my head. I can’t help the smile that has crept up onto my face.
“Have you studied the bones yet?” Kevin asks holding a femur bone in his hand. He rotates it around and around and shoves it right in front of my face breaking me away from my daydream.
“No, I haven’t,” I slap his hand away.
“So you didn’t fucking study that means you didn’t fucking learn anything this week, did you?” He announces sarcastically.
“I did learn something new though,” I say, excitement in my eyes.
“What?” He asks sounding bored. He breaks our eye contact in order to study the femur bone nonchalantly.
“I learned that you guys call soda, pop,” I giggle.
Kevin puts the femur bone on the desk and turns his body to face me. His hazel eyes are blazing with humor and he starts laughing.
“You really are an idiot,” he says, turning back to his textbook.
“Kevin, that’s a mean thing to say,” I whisper.
I push my chair back to get up.
“Where are you going?” He asks, sounding worried.
I don’t answer him and I walk out. I don’t really know where I am going. I know I had to get out of the classroom before I started to cry.
What happened to that strong girl I used to be? Where I fight back until my opponent whittles away into their uttermost shameful self.
Where is that girl I used to be?
I find a women’s restroom and I rush in, close the door, and then I let myself cry.
Why did Kevin’s words hurt so much?
I splash some water on my face and use some rough paper towels to dry my tears. I take a few deep breaths before leaving my temporary sanctuary.
I find Kevin leaning against the wall, one knee bent, and his foot press against the wall as well. His hands are in the pockets of his jeans and he’s staring at the ground. He looks up and gives me a wry smile. He pushes himself off the wall and stalks over to me.
“Are you okay?” He asks when he’s standing directly in front of me. He eyes me suspiciously, “Were you crying?” He looks worried now.
“No,” I lie and move around him to walk back to the classroom.
Kevin grabs my arm and pulls me back to him, and then he grabs both of my arms and places me in front of him.
I am trapped.
“Angel, if I hurt your feelings, I am sorry,”
“I’m fine. Can we just get back to class?” I make myself gaze into his eyes so he can see I am sincere. He stares back and his eyes bore into mine searching for the truth. I see his eyes move back and forth, and for whatever the reason, Kevin let his gaze drop.
“Fine,” he flatly states. And just like that, Kevin lets go of my arms and struts back to class, without waiting for me.
I hightail it out of class A.S.A.P. again. I have been doing this for the past week and each and every time Kevin has been just as fast. Today was different. After our hallway incident, Kevin didn’t speak to me again. It was like he was in his own little world, and I was invisible.
I even brushed up against his arm, trying to get some kind of reaction out of him. He tensed up, but that was it, he just continues to ignore me. I really did want to do something more drastic, maybe sit on his desk, and force him to talk to me. But I let him be, I know Kevin wouldn’t be able to keep away from me for long. It’s just not in his DNA to leave me alone.
I let out a big sigh and continue to walk down the Washington Avenue Bridge, in order to catch my bus. All thoughts of Kevin disappeared when I felt my mystery mans presence. I can’t see him but it feels like, for some strange reason I could always sense him before he would come into view.
My eyes search for him but I can’t seem to locate him. There are too many people, mostly students, standing around the bus stop.
I gasp as he appears out of the crowd. His arrival is like that of a rose blooming on fast forward. The people milling around the bus stop, slowly peel away like the petals on the rose. Finally, I see him emerge.
Today he’s wearing a silvery blue three-piece suit, white dress shirt, and a black silk tie. He’s absolutely breathtaking. I stand with my mouth agape and wait for him to reach me.
“Hi,” he smiles shyly, not matching his intimidating demeanor at all.
“Hi,” I smile back.
“I had an emergency I had to attend to out of the country and I just got back.” He explains to me about his absence this last week.
But, it wasn’t necessary. He didn’t owe me any explanation.
I am just happy he’s here right now.
Being practically a stranger to this man and having him care so much as to explain why he hasn’t been around, makes me feel giddy. My grin widens.
“Did you have a nice trip?” I ask.
“I did but my mind was here in the states.” He studies my face as he speaks. “Did you have a good week at school?”
“Yes, it was a lot easier than I thought it would be.” I feel my face blushing.
“I was hoping for a phone call from you, during my time away.” He moves his attention to a piece of lent on his sleeve. He brushes it away before returning his dark intense eyes back to me.
“I-I didn’t know if you were busy or not,” I explain, feeling so expose from the way he was looking at me.
“I will never be too busy for your call.” He tells me, his lip curve up at the corner again slowly forming that shy smile of his.
I turn away not wanting him to see the relieved and giddy look on my face and so I glance down Washington Ave. A big, shiny black truck catches my attention. It’s gliding towards me like a panther ready to kill anything that stands in its way. The truck comes to a screeching halt along the curb, to where I am standing. I look through the window to give the driver a nasty look. He looks back at me with his crooked grin and rolls down his window.
“Who is he?” Roman asks with a hint of distaste and anger in his voice.
“It’s one of my classmates,” I answer nonchalantly, hoping I didn’t give away any of the hurt feelings I have towards Kevin.
“Hey, Pink, need a ride?” Kevin yells from his truck.
I didn’t want to stop talking to Roman yet. But, I need to mend things with Kevin. I am still mad at him, but I am happy that he is here.
I turn to Roman. “I’ll see you…tomorrow?”
Roman doesn’t say anything back to me right away; he stares into my eyes again and looks to be contemplating something.
“I don’t feel right about you going with him.” Roman finally speaks. “I will take you home myself.”
“Roman, I will be okay.” I tell him and before he could say anything else, I continue as fast as I can. “I will be fine with him…he’s harmless.” I am not sure if I’m even telling the truth.
Roman looks away from me and nods his head. I take one of his hands with
both of my hands and give them a little squeeze. I don’t know how else to make this situation better for him. He returns his gaze to me and smile. I smile back and drop his hand.
“I’m going to go now,” I say, hesitation in my voice.
I make my way over to Kevin’s truck. Roman is right behind me.
“Yes, please,” I say to Kevin as I reach the passenger door.
Roman moves in front of me to grab the handle before I can.
“He’s not going to get out of his truck to open the door for you, like a gentleman would?” Roman says utter disgust lace through his words.
I turn to Roman and give him a sheepish smile.
God, why can’t this go smoothly?
“It’s okay Roman, he’s just my classmate.”
Roman sighs and opens the door for me to get in. I climb into the truck and look from Roman to Kevin. They are staring at each other, no one saying anything. Roman has the door open still, his hand gripping the top of the door so hard his knuckles are white.
“Kevin this is Roman. Roman this is Kevin,” I introduce them to break the silence and hopefully the tension.
“Where are you taking her?” Roman asks sounding demanding and intimidating all at once.
“Why does it matter to you, where I take her?” Kevin retorts.
“Let me make myself clear. You need to tell me where you are taking her or she doesn’t go anywhere with you.” Roman’s stare murderous now. He looks like he wants to reach across me to punch Kevin in the face.
“Kevin, please,” I beg.
“I’m taking her home,” Kevin snaps.
I let out a breath of air. I didn’t even realize I had been holding my breath the whole time.
“If anything happens to her, I promise you, I will come for you,” Roman growls.
“Roman, I will be safe with him,” I say before Kevin has the chance to say anything. I give Roman a reassuring smile. Roman breaks his death glare from Kevin and looks at me. He searches my face for reassurance and let out a loud sigh. I see it in his eyes, he wants to pull me out of the truck and punch the living shit out of Kevin. His turmoil is making me want to climb out of Kevin’s truck, but I can’t, I have to fix what is wrong between Kevin and me.
Roman drops his head and mumbles a few curse words.
He leans in close enough to whisper in my ear. “I’ll see you tomorrow, be safe.” He pulls away and closes the door.
Kevin peels away from the curb like a bat out of hell.
“Why can’t you just be nice for once?” I hiss.
“Fuck. That. Shit.” Kevin growls. “If I had been remotely nice to him, that fucker would have taken over the situation.”
“No, he wouldn’t,” I whine.
Kevin steals a quick glance at me and raises his eyebrow.
“You like this guy?”
“I’m not sure … I just met him a couple of days ago.”
“Alright, I will keep what I think of him to myself.” Kevin laughs.
“You really can’t help yourself…can you?” I groan.
“With?” He asks sounding every bit as interested with what was on my mind or what my opinion was.
“Being an ass.”
Kevin bites his upper lip and shrugs. I can’t help but laugh at his egotistical gesture.
“Are you hungry?” Kevin asks, quickly sobering me, stopping my laughter.
“Yes, I think so?”
“If you are not hungry you can just watch me eat,” he tells me. “I didn’t know talking to douche bags would make me work up such an appetite, because I am starving.”
“Where are we going,” I ask staring out the window.
“The Strip Club,” he says.
“Strip Club?” I ask turning my head to give him a disgusted look.
“Yes, that’s what I just said,” He gives me another quick glance. “Trust me, you will love it.” He chuckles softly.
I twist my body back to resume my stare out the window.
“They have the best steaks, mouth-watering goodness,” Kevin says.
I narrow my eyes and he laughs.
Kevin parks his truck along a curb and turn to me, when he shut off his truck. “We are here.”
“They opened up a strip club right in the middle of a neighborhood?” I ask, incredulously.
I look nervously out my window, and then back to Kevin. He’s smirking, casually leaning on his arm, which was resting on the steering wheel.
“Ready?” He asks, before opening his door and getting out. Kevin walks over to stand outside my door.
I hesitate for a couple more seconds before I open the truck door. Kevin losing his patients, pulls on the door, and ends up pulling me right out of the truck along with the door. I feel my feet losing ground and I feel myself falling, knees first. But I don’t, Kevin moves quickly and have me in his arms in record time. I am pressed against his hard chest and slightly off the ground. I feel a little winded and automatically, my head drops to rest on his chest and wait for my head to stop spinning. I start to feel vibrations coming from his chest.
He is laughing.
“You must be a little lightheaded from your hunger?” He teases.
He cannot stop himself from being a jerk.
I push myself off of him and he sets me down.
“Come on, let’s get some food into your body,” he tells me and pull my hand to walk us up to the Strip Club’s front door.
When we approach the Strip Club, it looks just like a restaurant. The building was black and almost looks old timey. I glance at the window and on the wall next to the front door, written in white lettering was the name, The Strip Club.
Kevin pulls open the door and step inside pulling me in with him. The hostess is standing by the door, she looks up, and her eyes lights up. She smiles warmly at Kevin.
“Kevin,” She purrs. “You just made my day. Let me go check to see if your table is available.”
I pull my hand away from Kevin’s and I pinch his biceps. Well I tried to. His arms are rock solid.
“Ow,” He rubs his biceps. “Please don’t hurt my artwork. You wouldn’t go and pinch a Van Gogh painting, would you?”
I reach my hand back up to his arm and rub his bicep gently, slowly. It is almost like I can feel his tattoos coming to life under my fingertips. I feel Kevin go completely still. He might even be holding his breath. But, I am too focused on the amazing artwork on his arm to really notice or care. My thumb traces over roses, skulls, and an owl with a clock underneath it. Then a person coughs and pulls me out of my trance.
It is the hostess.
“Your table is ready,” she murmurs staring, awestruck, at Kevin. I now realize that the hostess has not looked at me even once.
Kevin grabs my hand again and pulls me along with him. Jeez, he’s grabbing my hand so frequently, it’s as if he’s afraid I might not know to follow him.
“You know, I am capable of walking after you, without you holding my hand,” I tell him.
Kevin drops my hand immediately and continues walking after the hostess, not saying a word.
Kevin pulls out my chair when we arrive at the table. I smile at him with a surprise look evident on my face. I sit down and he pushes the chair in for me. Kevin leans into me from behind and brushes his lips on my ear. A shiver went through my whole body.
“I like holding your hand,” Kevin whispers into my ear.
Kevin straightened himself and walks around the table to his chair to take a seat. He looks at our hostess and smile at her as she handed us our menus. The hostess place my menu in front of me quickly, but when she gets to Kevin, she does a slowly dip, where her boobs hangs right in front of Kevin’s face, as she places his menu and opens it up for him.
“Do you even need the menu or do you want your usual?” She asks with her sing-song voice.
I am now ready to throw up.
“I’ll take my usual, Christie. But, Angel will look at her menu,” Kevin tells her while watching me. He�
�s oblivious to the big huge tatas that’s hanging right next to his face. I giggle at him. He raises a perfectly shaped eyebrow at me. Christie finally gets the hint that she is not welcome anymore and takes the menu and leave without another word.
“She wants you,” I tell Kevin when my face is buried in the menu.
Kevin reaches over and pulls the menu away from my face.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing,”
“You better tell me, or I will pull your chair over here and make you sit next to me the entire time we’re here.”
“Good grief,” I sigh. “I said, she wants you,”
“Who?”
“Christie.”
“She has already,” Kevin watches my face intensely, and then chuckles loudly.
Bastard.
I turn my attention back to the menu to look for the most expensive items. I want to make him pay for always being such an ass. I want to burn a hole through his student wallet. I feel elated just thinking about the look on his face when I place my order.
“Why are you smiling at the menu, like a loony?”
“Everything looks good,” I lie.
“Get everything you want,” He tells me. “This will be my treat, for being so fucking mean to you today.”
My smile drops from my face and I look up to him. He arches his eyebrow.
“Okay, if you say so,” I give him my sweetest, most innocent smile I can muster.
Kevin smiles back all boyishly and handsome. He looks so happy right now and it’s verily contagious. His happiness forms a bubble around us, making everything else disappears. I love this. I love Kevin like this. I wish he was like this all the time.
The waiter standing by our table clears his throat, but we both ignored him. We are too busy, caught up in this ridiculousness call Kevin’s happiness.
“Hi, Kevin, it’s good to see you, man.” The waiter chooses to speak instead. He catches Kevin’s attention.
“Hey, Toby, good to see you too,” Kevin takes his eyes off of my smiley face to give Toby his warm welcome.
“The usual?” Toby asks.
Kevin nods and looks back at me, Toby does the same.
“Um, I will have the romaine royale, fried oysters, the devil’s eggs, calamari and cous cous, the foie gras, and for my main course, the filet mignon, medium well, please.” I smile innocently first at the waiter, then back at Kevin.
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