A Dangerous Love 5: No Love Lost

by J Peach

  Chapter 24

  Peaches

  “Can I ask you a question?” I pulled him to a stop by a roll of six courts that had long netted ropes underneath to catch the balls. I pointed, “Let’s play, bet I get more shots,” I playfully shot an invisible ball.

  “Okay. If I win you have to make me dinner for a week and give me a massage after every meal,” Ron bargained, making me laugh.

  “You know you suck at basketball, right? I’m just saying. But when I win I can use that massage for a week. You can’t cook so that’s out, I wanna live to see twenty-five.” Ron pushed me, causing a laugh to slip through my lips. “Stop, I’m just being honest. I want a dance—”

  “Hell n’all, get the fuck outda here.” He shook his head.

  I wasn’t sleep on Ron, baby could move, pop, shake, vibrate, hip roll, grind hard, everything. And I heard about those dancers, they could move their bodies like no other. With a rotation of the hips, the popping, thrusting of their pelvis…

  “I want a dance, don’t be shy, Jerron. After every massage I want a dance, I’ll have my ones ready.” I smiled at him.

  He was shaking his head. “One dance.”

  How was that fair when he was going to have me cook and give his ass a massage for week? “Six dances.”

  He shook his head. “One—”

  “Seven,” I stated, cutting him off as I walked closer to him.

  “Two?”

  Shaking my head, I crossed my arms. “That’s sexist. You want me to cook and give you a massage for a week, but only want to give me two dances. Oh, so you think because you’re a man and I’m a woman that you’re better than me? What you want is a must, but me being a woman, what I want doesn’t matter. That’s sexist.”

  Ron’s face scrunched up and I had to hold my breath to not laugh. “No, I don’t think that—”

  “Then why you get a week on two things and I only get one week and two days on another?”

  “Fine three—”

  “Six?”

  Again he shook his head. “Three.”

  “Jerron, for real? Only three?” I flattened the tip of my tongue on the bottom of my top lip, already knowing he was about to give in.

  “Okay, five. But only if you give me one.”

  I gaped at him, that man was unbelievable.

  “Why would I award you if you lose? That’s stupid, Jerron.”

  Ron let out a heavy breath. “Fine, seven dances if I lose, but when I win I want everything I asked for, including five dances.”

  Shid, seven dances from him? I was game. “Okay, Deal.” As I held my hand out he looked at it and laughed before shaking it. “Boxers only, Jerron.”

  “Of course. What’s the point in a dance if you’re not in a thong?”

  Laughing, I bumped him. My palms started to get sweaty as we waited for the couple in front of us to finish. I rubbed them on my jeans.

  Ron must have noticed because he started laughing. “Nervous? I suck so you have nothing to worry about, right?”

  I was nervous as hell. “You do suck, so why would I be nervous?” I stared at him with a questioning look.

  Ron shrugged. “Sweaty palms though, you ain’t gotda lie, Peaches. It’s okay to be scared, if you want to back out now before they’re done, you— Uh, guess you can’t now, huh?” He said as they couple in front of us finished.

  I can’t stand him.

  Ignoring him, I took off my purse and sat it on the net. Then I reached inside and got six dollars out. It was two minutes a game, three dollars per person. The winner got a stuffed bear or a stuffed basketball as a prize.

  “Peaches, put your money back, I got it.” He balled his hand around mine and moved my hand.

  “I could’ve paid, Ron, you got the bands.” I thought it was only fair, the bands were fifteen dollars each.

  “So, I picked the place, I got it.” Apparently Ron didn’t think it was fair, he didn’t seem to like the idea of me wanting to pay.

  “Yes, sir.” Playfully, I saluted him.

  “Make me hurt you.”

  I laughed at that. “Now you want to abuse me? I’ll give you six dollars to try.”

  Saying that made him laugh and muff me.

  “Get the ball, man. I ain’t played in a week so you might have a chance.”

  I burst out laughing at him as he started stretching. “Really, Jerron?”

  “You can start.”

  He didn’t have to tell me twice. I wanted to win, hell, I wanted those damn dances. After wiping my hands on my jeans, I grabbed the ball and started.

  ***

  How the hell he did it is beyond me. I’m too pissed.

  I had a minute head start!

  He cheated, had too!

  I can’t believe this shit.

  “Baby girl, don’t mope, it’s too cute on you. Damn, it’s fuck’d up I suck,” he taunted as he held the medium sized stuff black bear.

  I just didn’t understand, he had a minute and beat me where I had two.

  “Y’all asses cheated. I was hitting shots and some wasn’t even counting.” That was a damn lie, I don’t know what happened. It was like once I got to five my ball just started acting up, hitting nothing but rim and back board. I don’t know how, but his ass cheated. “The bet’s off—”

  Ron’s head went back and he barked out a laugh.

  “Damn, who would’ve thought you’re such a sore loser? You know I use to ball in high school—”

  “That was what? Thirty years ago?”

  His laughter stopped and mine started.

  “Didn’t find that funny, huh?” I stuck my tongue out at him.

  He made a grab for me and I jumped away from him. I thought about running, but I had on heels so running wasn’t going to go well for me in that grass.

  “You trying pull old jokes, though?” He snatched me up and jerked me to him.

  “It wasn’t a joke, you are old— Ahh! Ron, I was playing, stop!” A scream left my mouth and I clung to the back of his shirt as he threw me over his shoulder.

  “Hell n’all, don’t try to play now. Keep on with them old jokes.” I bit into his back. “Ah, shit, what the hell you biting?” He let the right side of his body drop slightly, playing like he was about to make me fall before biting me on my right thigh.

  “You’re not old, I was playing! Stop biting me!” I was crying with laughter as he put me down. I thought he was through, that was until he grabbed me by the waist and his fingers started digging into my sides. “Ahhh, Stop!” I was so ticklish it didn’t make any sense and I hated that about myself. I’d always hoped to grow out of it, but that never happened.

  “Jerron, stop it. People are looking! Ahhh, stop!” I was laughing so loud and hard tears started spilling from my eyes. “Ron!” My stomach was so tight to the point that it hurt. “Ron, my stomach, stop!” It came out weak from my hard panting and laughter, but he heard me.

  “I quit, I quit.” He stopped, but didn’t let me go.

  “That wasn’t funny, my damn sides hurt and I can’t breathe,” I laughed, elbowing him.

  “It was funny as hell with your snorting ass,” he joked.

  Gasping, I made a move to turn so I could hit him, but his fingers went back to my sides.

  “Okay, okay I quit.” His ass should’ve been the one quitting, not me. “I don’t snort either.” Jerking in his hold, a pout found its way to my lips as my arms folded. “You got my sides hurting, playful ass.”

  With a roll of my eyes, I stopped walking. Ron came around to my front. Looking down at me and seeing my pouty face, he laughed.

  “Aww, look at that pout, that lip,” he stated before suddenly grabbing my lip. And not with his hands either.

  He didn’t seem to realize it at first, not until my body went still. His seemed to do the same, hell, I didn’t even think he was breathing.

  Neither one of us moved, we just stood there with my bottom lips in his mouth. After what felt like a minute or so, my fingertips
found his jawline and I pressed my lips to his. Ron’s lips pushed back, but instead of taking the kiss further, he pulled away.

  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that,” I apologized like an idiot.

  I watched as he took a step back. Then his thumb and index finger rubbed his bottom lip before his tongue swiped across it.

  “Don’t be, that was me. Come on.” Instead of taking my hand like before, he nodded his head to the right and started walking.

  I let out an embarrassed groan and started to follow behind him.

  “Ron, hold on.” I grabbed his arm. He stopped and turned to look at me. “Can we not do this?” I asked, causing him to sigh.

  “I’m trying not to, Peach, believe me. Why you think I pulled back?”

  I shook my head. “I just don’t want things to be weird between us.”

  His fingers brushed against my chin as he stared down at me,. “Peaches, I get that. I also know what you going through with Blaze and I don’t want to be your rebound guy. Believe me, I’ve been where you are and I don’t want to confuse you or put any more on you than you already have. You wanted a friend, so I’m being that for you. As long as you don’t make it weird, it won’t be. I might make it weird sometimes, but pay it no mind. Like when I get that dance, a nigga gone be weird as fuck with a brick in his pants.”

  Laughing at Ron, I rolled my eyes at him before wrapping my arms around his waist.

  “Jerron, you know I love you right?” Meaning every word, I hugged him tighter.

  Even though we used to mess around, I could always talk to him about anything without being judged. Ron wasn’t the judgmental type and I loved that about him. He was an amazing guy.

  “Baby girl, I know. We share the same feelings. I think I love you more, though.”

  Smiling up at him, I stood on my tips and kissed his cheek.

  “Impossible. But about that dance…”

  “I’m still getting my dance so there’s no need to talk about it.” Ron laughed before pulling me into his side. “Come on.”

  Chapter 25

  Peaches

  We walked around, playing different games outside, talking and laughing. I even talked him into having a shooting rematch because I wanted my damn dance. Of course he won again and he added two more weeks of me making his black ass dinner.

  I didn’t mind because I was really enjoying his company. There wasn’t one dull moment while we were together. Maybe a little weirdness, but I could live with that. Ron was an amazing guy and I liked him.

  “You want some cotton candy?” I asked, already headed towards the booth.

  “Mhm. There’s a pizza stand right there. You want something from there?” I was starving, I hadn’t eaten lunch. I had been so busy sitting in my car and talking to him that I hadn’t noticed the hour had gone by until Vanessa, my co-worker, came back to work. So I was starving, my damn stomach felt like it was in my back and I was about to be sick.

  “We can get this first then go over there. That pizza smelling good.”

  He paid for my cotton candy and two bottles of water then we went to the pizza stand. The both of us got four slices each.

  I reached in my purse and got the small bottle of hand sanitizer. “You want some?” I asked, holding the bottle out to Ron.

  “Thanks.”

  After using the sanitizer I started pulling the cheese off my pizza.

  “You still weird, what’s the point in doing that?” Ron asked, pointing to the sausage and cheese sitting on the side of the pizza bread.

  “I don’t know, I’ve been doing it since I was a kid. The cheese is the best part so I always save it for last. Just a habit, I don’t even realize I’m doing it until someone points it out.” Picking up my bread, I bit into it.

  “You’re ruining the pizza by doing that,” he said, pointing at my plate.

  “Your face is ruining my appetite, so look away please,” I joked.

  He pushed my head to the side and laughed. “Oh, it’s like that. You do know I drove us here, right?”

  Feigning a gasp, my hand went to my chest as my eyes widened. “You’d leave me? Why would you want to do that, Jerron?”

  “Yo ass crazy, man. I really missed you, though.” He told me.

  A smile spread across my lips and I looked away from him before glancing back.

  “I’ve missed you too, this was fun. I honestly can’t remember the last time I had this much fun. You showed up just in time.” Ron didn’t know how true that last bit really was. Not only was I focused more, but I wasn’t hurting as much as I was either.

  His return was a good thing, he wasn’t a distraction to me at all. Even so, he made time for me.

  “Ron, why did you leave?” That had been the question I wanted to ask earlier but got distracted by the basketball nets.

  He hesitated at first, but answered. “I met a girl.”

  That caused my brows to rise and I turned fully towards him.

  Ron and I started messing around when I was fifteen. It was nothing serious at the time, just a little kissing and dry humping. But before any of that we were best friends.

  King and my dad were hard so it wasn’t always easy with creeping with Ron which was probably why I stayed a virgin for so long. And if Sly hadn’t got to me that one night then Ron would’ve been the first to eat my pussy. Instead, he was second.

  Just as quick as our oral sex started it stopped. And just as fast as that he was gone.

  “You left because of a girl?” That was hard to believe, he’d never even told me that he met someone. He wiped his hands on a napkin and nodded his head. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “That was the plan that night I came over. The first time I left do you remember that last night we were together? The last time I spoke to Ms. Sweet? It wasn’t planned, Peaches, but I met Monica and we just clicked right off bat.

  “You had already made it clear that what we were doing couldn’t be nothing serious so I wanted to see were things went with her. And I couldn’t be messing with you while with her. The only way that was gon’ happen was if I stayed away from you,” he explained.

  I was kind of taken back by what he said. If he met a girl I would’ve understood.

  “Ron, you didn’t just stay away from me, you moved and stopped talking to me. We were friends, best friends, I would’ve understood. And even if I didn’t, I would’ve pretended I did. But you just left without a word and to make it worse, I didn’t even know you moved until Leon told me.”

  It was right after my parents died that I went to his house to talk, only to find out he no longer lived in Gary, hell, Indiana for that matter. They died six or seven months after Ron stopped talking to me. And I never knew why he did that. Until now.

  “It wasn’t easy leaving, believe me, but it was best. You were sixteen and I was about to turn twenty-one. It was bad enough I was stuck on yo young ass and the only way I was gon’ be faithful was if I stayed away from you. It was easy with Monica, we were the same age and we both were going to the same college.”

  “I tried calling but I just couldn’t dial the number. I always found a reason why calling you would’ve been bad. Then a few months later I was talking to Leon and he told me what happened with yo folks. I was back in Gary the next day. Caught a flight at three in the morning. I stayed here for two weeks but y’all had already moved though.

  “It was like you and King’s ass just fell off the face of the earth because I couldn’t find you. Before I left to go back to school, I told Leon that if he saw you to give you my number, but I never got a call. That didn’t stop me from looking when I came back a few months after to visit my moms and pops,” he explained with a heavy sigh.

  It was good to know that he did try to get in contact with me. Even though I hated that he stopped talking to me back then, I was over it. Like he said, it really was best with me being sixteen. My dad and King would’ve lost it if they had found out about Ron and me. Even though we were friends first,
they wouldn’t have cared.

  That’s what I keep telling myself anyways.

  Telling him we couldn’t be together, I didn’t really feel that way. But with the overprotective men in my life and seeing what my dad put my mom through, I never wanted a serious relationship.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you when that happened—” He began to apologize.

  My head shook as I grasped his hand. “Don’t be, I had the girls and King. It was hard, but we got through it so don’t be sorry. You were where you needed to be, school was important to you.”

  Looking down at our hands, he turned his and entwined our fingers.

  “I still regret not telling you that I was leaving and not keeping in touch with you for two years. It wasn’t easy though, had a nigga down in St. Louis trying to stalk yo ass.” He laughed, making me chuckle.

  “I was pissed you left too, but when you showed up for my eighteenth birthday it was forgotten. Anyway, was this Monica chick worth ditching yo best friend for?” I asked, feigning an attitude.

  “Monica, mmm… Yeah— Why you hit me?”

  Not even gon’ front, I was expecting him to lie and say no, but that man gon’ say yeah.

  “You could’ve lied, Jerron.” Laughing, I shook my head at him.

  “You didn’t tell me to lie.”

  “Why should I have to? You should’ve known that was a trick question. Ugh! Anyway, tell me about this girl.” That man was crazy, like I was gon’ actually tell him to lie to me.

  “You want me to lie or tell the truth.” Ron saying that had me choking off my water. Laughing, he patted my back. “I’m playing. She was cool though, down to earth. It got better when I put you in the back of my mind. After two years of being together, she moved in with me. Moms and pops loved her. It was an easy relationship, no drama, everything was good. I proposed, plans were made, dates were set. No, she wasn’t pregnant, Peaches—”

  Laughing, I finished eating my pizza.

  “The relationship was good. But I fuck’d up though—”

  My eyes widened because I already knew what he was going say.

  “You cheated?” I asked.

  Licking his lips instead of answering my question directly he said, “I fuck’d up when I came back here two years after I left. That week I spent here kind of messed us up. She didn’t trust me no more, every time I came back to visit my folks, even when she was with me, Monica thought I was seeing that girl I spent most of that week with. She kept saying I was living a double life and then the fighting started.” His words faded as what he said settled into my head causing the wheels to turn.