by Stacy-Deanne
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“You’re so spoiled, Dex.” Sonjay wiped tears. “So used to getting everything you want. I’m not some case you can win.”
He kept his back to her but she could tell he were hiding tears.
“I’m selfish too.” Mascara ran down her cheeks. “I’m a cheater and a liar. I’m a fake. You and Klein deserve better.”
“I don’t want better.”
“You’re perfect, Dex.” She folded her arms on the table. “The proposal, tonight has been everything I ever dreamed of.”
“Was it like this when Klein proposed?” He whirled around, anger busting through his face. “I know it wasn’t because you don’t love him. You never did. Why are you marrying him, Sonny? Huh?” His eyes watered as he walked to the table. “I need you to breathe. I need you to carry on.” He leaned over her. “I need you to live. It’s not your responsibility to make Klein feel better about himself. You aren’t doing him any favors.”
“I can’t leave him.” She licked tears from her lips. “I won’t.”
“Mm.” With tight jaws, he threw his arms up, bouncing in place. “I’m done.”
“Done?” She stood. “With me?”
“With you, with this.” He walked around, swinging his arms. “Done with it all. I can’t do this anymore. This is driving me crazy.”
“Dex, please.”
“I can’t do it anymore!” He got in her face. “It’s over, Sonjay.”
“No, wait.”
“I’m not waiting anymore.” He pushed her hands from his face. “Not anymore.”
“Dex, hold on.”
He blew out the candles. “I’m going home.” He took off his tuxedo jacket. “I don’t want to hear from you again.”
“You can’t do this.” An agony she’d never experienced rumbled through her bones. “You said you love me!”
“Yeah, we both said things.” The muscle in his jaw twitched. “It’s insanity to keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result. I’m not waiting on you anymore.”
“No.” She sobbed. “Please, listen. You’re just upset.”
“I’m handsome, intelligent and I got money. Fuck, I’m one of the best attorneys in the state. You were right when you said I deserved better than to be dangling on a string.” He headed out the room.
She ran to him, grabbing his arm. “I won’t let you leave me.”
He pushed her hand away.
“Dex, please. I know it’s not the ideal situation but be patient—”
“I’ve been more than patient. You’re never leaving Klein and I won’t be the side-fuck anymore.”
“Please, listen.” She gripped his lapels. “I love you, Dexter. With every part of my soul.”
“I’ve wasted my time long enough. I can’t keep fighting for a woman I’ll never have.”
“Look at me, Dex.” She stroked his jaw while his eyes darted away from her. “You won’t be able to go one day without thinking of me. You need me to breathe and live, remember?”
He swallowed, tears surfacing above his bottom eyelids. “I’ll manage.”
“Can we talk about this?” She pointed to the table. “Have this lovely dinner and—”
“No. It’s over, Sonjay.” He left the room.
“Dex?” She ran after him as he continued to the bedroom. “What about me? You can’t leave me here.” She stood in the bedroom doorway as he got his satchel from the dresser.
“You’re free to stay.” He stuffed items into his bag. “The hotel’s paid for, for the weekend.” He put the satchel on his arm. “Been nice knowing you, Sonny. I wish you and Klein the best.”
“Dex, damn it.” She chased him to the entrance. “Okay, I’ll tell him. I’ll tell Klein about you and me.”
He opened the door, straightening the strap of his bag.
“I’ll tell him tonight!”
“Too late.” He gestured to the diamond on her finger. “Can I have my ring?”
She hesitated, slipped it off and gave it to him.
“I’ll find a woman who appreciates this.”
“I appreciate it. You’re just mad now. Tomorrow you’ll be calling me, begging me to go to your place.”
“I don’t think so.”
She sulked. “You don’t mean this.”
“Every man has his breaking point, Sonny.” He put the ring in his pocket. “This is mine.”
“Dex.”
He closed the door in her face.
****
Channing stomped out the doors of the Eastern Heights bar.
“Channing, wait.” Anderson ran up behind her. “What’s the big deal?”
“You think it’s a game?” She marched on, the night-chill sprinkling her arms. “You wanna get yourself killed, go right ahead.”
“You mean those idiots in there?” He stopped her. “I was just playing around with them. You don’t have to be scared.”
“Anderson, this isn’t Boston, okay? This is Eastern Heights in Thompsonville, Mississippi and that cocky stuff you do where you come from don’t work here.”
He grinned, dropping his shoulders. “What did I do that was so wrong?”
“You were goading those men in there.” She strutted on the sidewalk. “One who happens to be Nate’s cousin. You don’t get how powerful hate can be.”
“Whoa, wait.” He stopped her before she made it to the parking lot. “I’m not letting anyone hurt you. Come on, haven’t we had a fun evening?”
“If you call being glared at by racists everywhere we went, fun. Will you please take me home? Eastern Heights makes my skin crawl.”
Jimmy Lou, Nate’s cousin, walked toward them with his two friends from the bar.
“Shit.” Channing tried to leave but Anderson held her in place. “Anderson, enough of this. What are you trying to prove?”
“Still here, huh?” Jimmy Lou scratched through his bushy, brown beard.
“Unless something’s wrong with your eyes, that’s obvious, isn’t it?” Anderson asked.
“You bumped into my buddy in there.” Jimmy Lou gestured to the rugged, bald guy on his right who chewed tobacco. “And didn’t say nothing.”
“Sorry.” Anderson scoffed.
“That’s not good enough,” the long-haired, blond guy with the bandanna around his neck said. “They don’t teach you no manners in Boston?”
“Let’s go.” Channing turned to leave but the other two men blocked her.
“Leaving so soon?” Bald man snickered. “Why don’t you finish up the show you were putting on?”
Channing sighed. “We don’t want trouble.”
“Then you should’ve stayed on the other side of town.” Jimmy Lou squinted. “You’ve been living here long enough to know the rules.”
“Rules?” Anderson yanked Channing from between the other men. “Jim Crow is over in case you haven’t noticed.”
“She wants to leave?” Jimmy Lou raised his hands. “She can go but we’re not through with you yet.” He poked Anderson in the chest. “We gonna teach you a lesson.”
“Oh, I can’t wait for this.”
Channing nudged him. “Anderson.”
The men rubbed their fists.
“You’re a funny man aren’t you?” Long-hair crackled his knuckles. “Bet you’re a riot in Beantown but that shit don’t fly here.”
“Come on, Anderson.” Channing grabbed his hand, but he pulled back. “Let’s go.”
“We’re not going anywhere.” He widened his stance, crossing his arms. “It’s a free country. You want me to leave?” He mean-mugged Jimmy Lou. “You’ll have to drag me out.”
Bald Man spit tobacco juice on the sidewalk. “That can be arranged.”
“I’m done with this,” Channing yelled. “You got a death wish, Anderson? Fine. I’m not playing this game anymore.”
“Whoa.” Long-hair jumped in front of her. “We changed our minds. You can be part of this party too.”
“No,” Anderso
n growled. “Let her leave.”
“She should’ve left faster,” Bald Man said. “The privilege has been revoked now.”
“You lay one hand on her...” Anderson panted, chest rising. “I’ll show you how we get down in Beantown.”
“You ain’t going nowhere, faggot,” Jimmy Lou said. “You wanted to throw your weight around Eastern Heights? Then pay the price.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Jimmy Lou walked over to Channing. “You got a problem with Nate?”
Anderson grumbled, “Stay away from her.”
The others grabbed Anderson.
“Let me go.” He tussled. “Leave her alone.”
“I asked you a question, gal.” Jimmy Lou’s grey eyes narrowed as a vein pulsed in his neck. “You got a problem with my cousin then you got a problem with me.”
“I wouldn’t have thought twice about your cousin if he hadn’t hurt my daughter.”
“You’ve been causing my cousin a lot of trouble.” Jimmy Lou touched her cheek.
“Don’t touch her!” Anderson wriggled in the men’s grip. “Leave her alone. Let’s settle this as men.”
“I’ve done nothing to you,” Channing said. “It’s my daughter whose fighting for her life.”
“But, it was an accident.” Jimmy Lou pinched his lip, studying her. “You made everyone think he did it on purpose.”
“People make up their own opinions. I can’t control that.”
“You played on people’s sympathies. You changed the narrative to what you wanted it to be.”
“Your drunk, redneck cousin hit her daughter,” Anderson said. “He deserves everything he gets.”
“Nate’s suffering?” Channing lifted her head. “Great. I hope he suffers for the rest of his life.”
Jimmy Lou leaned back.
“I hope they lock his fat ass up and burn the key,” she said. “When that jury puts his ass in prison I’ll be right there in the first row cheering them on.”
Jimmy Lou grabbed Channing under her neck.
“Stop!” Anderson thrashed against the strength of the men. “Get off her, you son of a bitch. I swear to God if you hurt her.”
“Uppity little bitch, aren’t you?” Jimmy’s corn dog and beer breath made her want to vomit. “I’ve been waiting for my shot with you.”
Channing mumbled, “Go to hell.”
“Get off her,” Anderson screamed. “Now!”
“I love Nate like a brother, and I’m not about to let this black skank ruin his life.” Jimmy Lou’s fingers pierced her neck. “Is Boston your boyfriend?”
She moaned, pressing her lips together.
“You need a man don’t you?” Jimmy Lou ran his tongue across his top teeth. “Yeah.” He shoved his hand up her dress. “That’s what you need.”
She writhed. “Stop.”
“You bastard.” Anderson lunged for him, the men struggling to hold him. “Get your filthy hands off her.”
“Yeah.” Jimmy Lou moaned, rubbing inside her thighs.
Channing closed her eyes, sobbing.
“If you had a real man in your life, you wouldn’t be trying to ruin Nate’s.” He grabbed her buttock. “Isn’t that right?”
She grunted. “Get off me.”
“You like it, huh?” He snickered, his hand reaching the seat of her panties. “Heard you black bitches like it rough.”
“Motherfucker!” Anderson ripped free of the men and socked Jimmy Lou.
He fell back onto the sidewalk, laughing. “Oh, you’ll pay for that, Beantown.”
“Come on, fucker!” Spit flew from Anderson’s mouth. “You want someone to mess with then mess with me.”
“Hold his ass.” Jimmy Lou stood. “Let’s give him a Thompsonville welcome he’ll never forget.”
“No,” Channing screamed.
The men held Anderson’s arms out wide, and Jimmy Lou punched Anderson in the ribs.
He hollered, legs buckling.
“No!” Channing charged Jimmy Lou, slapping him.
“Ooh, she’s a lively one.” Long-hair cackled. “We’re gonna have fun with her tonight.”
“Yeah, we will.” Jimmy Lou trapped Channing in his muscular arms. “But first we take care of Beantown.” He kissed Channing’s forehead.
“Ugh.” She jerked her head.
“Then it’s you and us, darling.” He touched her chin. “I promise, you won’t ever forget tonight—”
“Jimmy Lou!” Nate emerged from the dark parking lot. “Let her go right now.”
Channing huffed and puffed, looking back and forth at Jimmy Lou and Nate.
“You hear me?” Nate stomped toward his cousin, the rim of his Mississippi State baseball cap hiding his eyes. “I’m not saying it again.”
“She’s ruining your life.” Jimmy Lou shook Channing. “You forget all the hell your momma’s gone through? The death threats, harassment? All because of this bitch. Let us shut her and her boyfriend up once and for all.”
“You’re not doing a damn thing but letting her go.”
“Let us handle this for you, man,” Bald Man said. “After this, she’ll drop those charges.”
“Are you insane?” Channing shouted. “He has to pay for what he did.”
“Just go, Jimmy Lou,” Nate said. “This ain’t helping me none. I don’t need you causing more trouble than I’m already in.”
Jimmy Lou let Channing go. “You want to go to prison, Nate? Be my guest.” He snapped his fingers at the others. “Let’s go.”
The men threw Anderson on the sidewalk.
Jimmy Lou glared at Nate as he passed him. “Sometimes I don’t understand you, kid.”
Nate nodded. “I can say the same about you.”
Jimmy Lou and his friends disappeared in the parking lot.
“Anderson?” Channing knelt beside him. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
Channing glanced up at Nate as he turned around and walked away.
****
“Be honest.” Anderson snickered as he pulled a chair out at Channing’s kitchen table. “You had a good time tonight.”
“Let’s see.” She got two bottles of sweet tea out her refrigerator. “You got into a fight with Zayden, we were hassled at lunch, and we almost got our asses kicked by a bunch of assholes.” She unscrewed the top off her bottle, joining him at the table. “You sure know how to show a girl a good time, Anderson.”
He laughed, his sore stomach reminding him to keep his mouth shut more often. “At least I’m not boring.” He sipped the sugary drink. “Goodness, you could get diabetes from this stuff.”
“Weird how Nate showed up like that.” She crossed her legs. “On one hand I wanted to hug him for saving our asses. Then I remembered why my daughter’s in the hospital and I wanted to kill him.”
“Are you okay?” Anderson grimaced as the tea made his jaws tingle.
“I wasn’t worried about myself, but those guys could’ve killed you.” She stroked the label on her bottle. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I’ve learned my lesson.” He raised his hand. “I’ll keep my big mouth shut from now on.”
She snickered, raising the bottle to her mouth. “I’ll believe it when I see it. Thanks for taking me to see Presley tonight.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I love visiting her.”
“She loves it when you read to her.” Channing beamed. “She can’t show it but I can tell.”
“She is so beautiful. She looks just like you.”
“Funny, I always thought she looked more like her father.”
“You think she’d like me?”
“Presley likes everybody.” She laughed. “Yeah, she’d love you and be trying to fix us up.” She looked into his eyes, shivered and looked away. “I think about you a lot. You creep into my mind no matter what I do.”
He sat at attention, euphoric sensation overtaking him.
“Do you think about me too?”
&nb
sp; “Every moment.” His heart pounded as if someone hooked it to jumper cables. “Channing, are you in love with me?”
She caught her lip between her teeth, her eyes begging him to move closer. “If I were, how would you feel?”
“Amazing.”
Her smile faded, her eyebrows lowering.
“What’s wrong?”
“Once you finish your story, you’ll be leaving.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Anderson rocked, studying Channing’s expression, but she’d always been so hard to read. “Boston’s my home.”
“I don’t want you to go.” She took his hand.
“No matter where I am, we’ll stay in contact.”
“I want you here.” Her voice caught in her throat. “I need to see you.”
“What do you want me to say? You want me to move down here?” He scoffed. “Come on.”
“What? Thompsonville not good enough for you?”
“That’s not fair.”
“Forget it.” She dismissed her suggestion with a wave.
“Believe it or not, I think Thompsonville is fascinating. It’s got character and pose. When I first got here, I thought it would be another backwards, hick town but I’ve learned more from the people here than I realized.”
She sighed, rocking.
“Just because I don’t live here doesn’t mean you and I don’t have options.” He leaned forward and kissed her. “Long-distance relationships can work if we put in the time.”
“Not my style.” She caressed his arms. “I’d wanna touch you. You can’t do that through a tablet or a phone.”
“You could come to Boston.”
“Excuse me?” She laughed. “What the hell would I do in Boston?”
“Live the life you’ve always wanted. Go after those dreams you’ve put aside your entire life.”
“There’s no way I can move to Boston.”
“Why not? You can get a job there and no offense but the schools are more advanced. Presley would get the education she deserves. I’ll help you get a job while you go to school.”
“Go to school?” She gaped. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“You’ll be a psychologist like you’ve always wanted to.”