by Niquel
I changed into my black slacks, red polo shirt, and twisted my matching Sub Stop visor around the front of my head. I launched my bag into the backseat, drove across two intersections, and parked directly behind the first floor building. There was a big, bright neon sign that flashed Sub Stop above the front entrance.
I walked inside and greeted my co-worker named Alisha, who was standing behind the cash register. My boss constantly mispronounced my name because of her. Alisha was a very sweet girl. She was short, brown skinned, with thin, round glasses and always styled her hair into a neatly braided bun on the top of her head.
I really enjoyed my job and working with her, but I couldn’t stand my bitch of a boss, Cindy. She was always complaining to me about everyone but wouldn’t grow a set and fire them.
Luckily, my shift was only five hours tonight and I planned on making the night fly by as quickly as possible starting with prepping all the veggies for the next morning.
I washed my hands and picked out a medium set of gloves. I thinly sliced fresh zucchini, cherry tomatoes, black olives, and pickles for the breakfast rush. The store opened at six A.M. sharp and I wanted to lend a helping hand to the opener, Kayla, so that she wouldn’t have to rush to get it done in the morning.
I went into the dark cement cellar underneath the store, to retrieve two giant twelve pound bags of French roasted coffee. I left the coffee in its designated spot inside a huge steel case, directly in the middle of the kitchen.
It was pretty slow tonight so I started wiping down the serving area and covered the unused bread in special aluminum sleeves that will keep them fresh to be reused tomorrow. I took the extra pre-made dough out of the fridge and placed it in a metal bin to add the secret ingredients and yeast, so that it would rise by the morning.
I heard an annoying, deep, raspy voice yell from the front of the store, and then a heavy-set woman appeared in the back room.
“Alecia, get out there and help her, there’s a line!” Cindy barked at me.
“The customer always comes first,” was our motto, so I grabbed a fresh pair of gloves and ran out front to find only one other person in line.
“Welcome to Sub Stop, what can I make for you tonight?” I ask.
“I’d like a foot-long sub, on hearty Italian and Mozzarella bread.”
“What would you like on it?”
“Grilled chicken with Alfredo sauce, provolone cheese, pickles, and banana peppers.”
“Would you like it toasted?”
“No,” he said in a very stern voice.
I quickly wrapped it, evenly slice it in two, and hand it off to Alisha to ring it up.
“Here you go sir, enjoy.”
“Thanks.”
“Your total is $5.50.” I overheard Alisha say.
I looked at the clock and it was already 9:59 P.M. The store closes in 60 seconds! I followed the man out, told him goodnight and promptly locked the door behind him.
I immediately continued wiping down the remaining trays, covered the unused veggies with cling wrap and handed them to Alisha to be stored in the fridge.
She swept the floor before I started mopping and Cindy came around barking orders at us before we could finish.
“Don’t forget corporate is coming on Monday. I want this place spotless.”
I didn’t give a damn about corporate coming, because I was off until Tuesday. My boss Cindy was a short, stubby, heavy-set lady, with curly, box dyed blonde hair, a missing side tooth, and a semi-red complexion.
On the way out the door Alisha asks, “What are you up to tonight?”
“I’m heading to Auburn for a party.”
“Have fun I’m going home to snuggle with Lance and put Junior to bed.”
“Have a good night Alisha.”
I walked around the corner and ran across the dark parking lot to my car. Once inside, I locked the door and let Allan know I was on my way.
Allan’s house was a 45 minute drive from my job and the highway was right across the street. After a short trip, I found myself at the beginning of their street. There were a ton of people gathered outside, crowding the road. I put my left blinker on to signal that I was pulling into the driveway and miraculously they all moved.
I parked by the tree and texted Allan. There was no response as usual, so I removed my hat and work shirt and tucked them under the front seat. Wearing my black tank top underneath, I took my bag and went inside. The music was so loud; I could feel the bass vibrating in my throat.
Allan’s door was closed when I finally got to it and I heard loud moans streaming from the other side. “I swear to god if he’s fucking someone in there I’ll kill him!” I said aloud. I burst through the door to discover a bunch of drunken scum bags watching porn on his TV.
“Where’s Allan?”
“He should be upstairs,” One of the perverts said.
I walked across the hall to the bathroom, changed into my sexy red dress and fluffed my hair in the mirror. I clicked my heels back into Allan’s room and put my bag in his closet.
One of the guys in his room said with a southern accent, “You sure clean up real nice, beautiful.”
“Thanks.”
“Al sure is a lucky guy.”
I continued the search for Allan, which lead me upstairs where I ran right into Jake.
“Damn Alecia, you look sexy as hell.” He leaned in real close to my ear and whispered, “I’d still like to see where that tattoo is.”
“Ha, very funny, where is your brother?”
“He should be over there somewhere,” he said, while pointing across the room towards a set of big black speakers.
I left Jake’s side and wandered towards the speakers. Suddenly a pair of hands clasp around my waist, stopping me dead in my tracks. I quickly turned around with my right hand curled into a ball, ready to strike the pervert and saw it was Allan.
“Whoa, whoa! Don’t hit me,” he laughed.
“You scared the shit out of me Allan!” I said while slapping his chest.
He curled his top lip, slowly twirled me around and scanned my body from head to toe with his eyes.
“I can’t wait to peel that dress off, hold you down, and fuck the shit out of you later.”
My panties were instantly soaked. “I can’t either.”
An up tempo song came on and we started dancing together. I shifted my back towards him while grinding my ass up against his groin. He grasped my waist tightly from behind and rocked his hips back and forth with mine.
I spun around and placed my arms around his neck, pressing my body up against his while we moved to the beat. He was wearing a black and white striped collar shirt with a pair of black jeans and black boots.
I glanced behind him and noticed a girl staring at us from afar. I had no idea who she was and attempted to ignore the hateful glare coming from her face.
“Excuse me, Babe, I have to run to the ladies room.”
I purposely walked by the girl and rolled my eyes. After doing my business, I washed my hands, looked in the mirror, and gave myself a pep talk. “Maybe it’s nothing, just calm down Alecia!”
I strolled back down the narrow hallway and pushed my way through the crowd of drunken partiers, spotting Allan dancing from across the room. I thought he was dancing by himself, until he turned around and revealed the mystery girl dancing in front of him.
As I tried to get a closer look, he slightly shifted her into the air. She wrapped her bare legs around his torso and bounced up and down on him, while tightly gripping his shoulders. The crowd erupted with cheer, when they shared a kiss after. A flood of emotions took over me, I wanted to punch him, and strangle her with her own fake extensions. This mystery girl was very short, with smooth dark skin, a curve-less figure and huge gold earrings that dangled from her head. I couldn’t help but wonder who she was, why he was dancing with her like that, and why he just kissed her!
Jake popped up behind me and said, “By the look on your face I can tell you want
answers. Well, her name is Stacey and they used to date.”
“So she’s his EX?” I yelled.
“Something like that.”
“Why would he invite her, knowing I would be here?”
“No clue, but you can dance with me to make him jealous if you’d like,” he said with a huge smirk on his face.
“Not right now, Jake. I’m not in the mood to dance anymore.”
Allan finally turned around and our eyes connected from across the room. He looked back at Stacey and dropped her onto the floor. I shoved Jake out of my way and told him I was leaving.
“Alecia! Alecia!” I heard roaring through the crowd but chose to ignore his pleas.
He ran in front of me, placing his hand up, motioning for me to stop, “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” I yelled.
“How dare you invite me here and invite that bitch too.”
“What bitch?”
“Stacey, your lovely ex.”
He stood there motionless and I could tell by the pathetic expression on his face that he didn’t want me to know that information, and was completely shocked that I did.
“I-I don’t even know what to say Alecia,” he said with a slight stutter.
“You don’t have to say anything, your actions spoke for you.”
“Come back here Ice, I can explain.”
“What is there to explain? You invited us both here probably hoping only one of us would actually show. Then once the coast was clear you chose to let her dance with you like a complete slut. Then, then you had the nerve to KISS her!”
“Okay first off, I didn’t invite her here, and that ‘kiss’ was an accident.”
“That was one hell of an ‘accident’, Allan!” I yelled.
“Whatever.”
“So what’s the deal between you two anyway? Did you break up recently?”
“We were never in a relationship. She was just something fun to do when I got bored and wanted to fuck.”
“Oh, so you called her whenever it was convenient for you and she came on demand?”
“Right.”
“Just like me, right?” He clearly wasn’t listening to what I said because he stupidly had the nerve to agree.
“Fuck you, Allan. I’m leaving.”
“Alecia wait, why?”
“You’re a piece of shit and I can’t believe I let myself get sucked in to this. I actually thought you were different, but I guess this is a common theme for you. Charm the panties off any and every bitch you meet, right? To get the one thing you truly ever wanted, sex with no strings attached.”
He stood there in silence as I grabbed my bag from his room. I stormed down the hallway with my things and bolted to my car, once inside I rested my forehead against the steering wheel and began to cry. Great sex had gotten the better of me and usually I have better sense then this! A few minutes passed, and I heard a gentle tap on my driver side window. I looked up and Jake was there.
I partially rolled down the window and he said, “I saw you storm out of the party, what’s wrong?”
“Your brother is a royal dick and I’m going home.”
“Let me in and we can go for a spin. You shouldn’t be alone right now, I know a great place to unwind.”
“I guess...we can.” I said, as more tears began streaming down my cheeks, I didn’t want him to see me crying like this, but I couldn’t stop.
“Why are you crying, it’s not even worth it.”
“Of course you’d say that, you didn’t just get your heart ripped out of your throat in front of an entire audience.”
Backing out of the driveway, I ask, “Where to?”
“Take a right, and follow this one-way street all the way to the end.”
At the end of the street there was a small outdoor playground.
“We’re here,” he said.
There were two adult sized seats and three small seats for children. The children’s swings had special harnesses attached to the front of them, so they couldn’t fall out. We got out of the car and raced straight for the swings.
“Sit down and I’ll push you,” he said.
I sat down on the thin rubber seat while he began to gently push me. My feet rose out of the sand as I flew higher and higher into the midnight sky, feeling the fresh air blow through my hair. I’ve never been to a park this late, but it was very nice and refreshing. It made me feel like a young kid again.
Suddenly the swing slowed down, then came to a complete halt.
“What’s wrong, why did you stop pushing?”
He circled around the front of the swing, grasped my face in his hands and planted a soft kiss upon my lips. I felt an instant spark between us as he pressed his lips harder against mine.
“Jake, what are you doing?” I said, ripping my face from his grasp.
“Giving you what you deserve, love.”
“This would be more of a forbidden love. You know we can’t be together, Jake.”
“So, I’m glad we came here,” he said, changing the subject.
“Me, too.”
“I come here from time to time when I need an escape from the world.” I felt like I was getting to know him on a more intimate level.
“So, do you have a girlfriend?”
“No, but I have my eye on someone special.”
“I see, so why wasn’t she at the party?”
“She was,” he said leaning in closer for another kiss.
“Jake, what are you doing?”
“Listen, Alecia, I don’t know what it is about you but, I’ve been attracted to you since the first time I saw you. Watching you prance around that little red car of yours, grinning from ear to ear, you had such a beautiful aura around you. That’s why I made sure I spoke to you. I just knew you were meant to be mine.”
“We can’t do this, Jake. Even though I’m pissed off at your brother right now, this just isn’t right.”
He picked me up off of the swing and held me closely, grazing his lips upon mine, as he grasped my back tightly with his hands. His lips weren’t as soft as Allan’s; they had a slight rough texture to them. He kissed me for a little while longer and it felt so explosive. There was definitely something there but I couldn’t let it go any further.
“Jake-”
He placed his index finger against my lips and whispered, “Don’t speak, just let this happen.”
I ran my fingers through his dark, spiky hair, and stared into his hazel eyes. He slowly put me down, grazing my ass with his hands before he placed me on my feet. I found myself rubbing the front of his zipper, curious to feel his erection.
What the hell am I doing? I pushed myself away from him and ran off. I left him at the park standing in between the swings. He didn’t chase after me which was fine, because it would have made it harder to leave.
I immediately phoned my friend Nikki, while I sped down the highway.
“Hello?”
“You will not believe what just happened.”
“What, what?”
“Jake and I just shared a kiss.”
“WHAT?” she screamed at me. It wasn’t a typical scream like “what just happened”, it was an “are you out of your fucking mind” scream.
“They’re brothers!”
“I know, I know, but Allan was being a major dick at the party so I left, and Jake came to comfort me. We went to this beautiful park by their house. It was quiet, clean, and peaceful there.”
“So what exactly happened with Al?”
“I caught him gyrating on the dance floor with this mystery chick that I later found out to be his ex!”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes and that’s not the worst part.”
“Well what is?”
“They shared a kiss Nik, right in front of everyone!”
“What a fucking tool!”
“I know! He also tried to pass her off as and I quote ‘something fun to do’. So indirectly, I asked him if sh
e was just like me and he said yes!”
“Wow, well I commend you for leaving but, it still doesn’t justify the fact that you kissed his brother.”
“I know, I got caught in the heat of the moment and also reached for his junk.” The call immediately ended. My best friend had just hung up on me, and I couldn’t blame her. This whole situation sounds insane! I shut my phone off because I didn’t want to be bothered anymore. I already regretted what I did and I knew I should have stopped it, but I chose not to. It was as if I almost wanted it to happen.
There were a bunch of intoxicated homeless guys, in ripped jeans and torn shirts, running through the parking lot of my complex when I finally arrived home. I took the keys to my apartment out of my bag and stuffed them in my bra, leaving the rest of my things in the car. I quickly ran for the door and slammed it shut behind me. While removing the gold square key out of my bra, I accidentally dropped it on the ground. I heard the elevator ding as I bent over to pick it up.
“Nice ass, sweetheart.” I didn’t bother to turn around and see who it was; I just said “thanks” and opened the door.
I abruptly closed it behind me and removed my shoes so that I wouldn’t wake Lacey. I navigated through the entire apartment in the dark and sat down on the edge of my bed. I flipped on the light and turned my phone back on. The battery was extremely low, so I plugged it in to the charger and it vibrated like crazy.
I replaced my red dress with brown boxer shorts and a matching tank top that I previously left on the bed. Tossed my hair into a ponytail and slid underneath my cheetah print covers. The curiosity was killing me, so I checked the messages.
Creep: Alecia call me, we need to talk about what just happened.
Creep: I know you felt what I did, we shouldn’t fight this.
Creep: Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable, but Al doesn’t deserve you.
Nik: Sorry I hung up on you. I know I don’t personally know Jake, but I was looking forward to getting to know him so he would leave you alone.
Nik: Alecia please call me!
I didn’t feel like talking to either of them right now, so I put my phone back down and went to sleep.
6:30 A.M fast approached and my alarm went off. This pissed me off immensely because I forgot to disable it last night. I shut it off and attempted to go back to sleep.