“Lost In The Sauce”

Written by Artavius Wilson

Waco, Texas…

  The torrid and steamy mist fulfilled the entire bathroom, as Tay stepped out of the
shower, simultaneously grabbing a cotton towel from the curtain rod, and wrapped
it around his waist. Standing in front of the mirror, he used one hand to wipe the
glass, clearing away fog caused by the steam to view his reflection. He reached for
a small wooden hair brush on the counter sink, and commenced to stroke his hair,
but briefly stopped to flex his biceps, and pose with a cocky expression. He wasn’t
conceited about his handsome looks and muscular physique, but he had no shame
in displaying it.

  He dropped the brush back down, and palmed a tube of toothpaste, when a loud
ringing telephone attacked his ears.

  “Oh, crap! I bet that’s Brittany,” he said, rushing out of the restroom door towards
the steady ringing phone. He snatched up the cordless phone, and glued it to his ear
instantly. “Hello,  hello,” he answered out of breath. A girl’s voice replied.

  “Hey baby. Are you getting ready yet? I should be at your house in a few. I just
have to go by Kandi’s house for my shoes,” she said.

  “Yea, I’m just about dressed. You didn’t forget my digital camera did you?” Tay
asked her.

  “Oh, dang!…I did forget it Tay…but baby I don’t have time to go back home and
get it. I’d have to rush through traffic, and you know how I hate driving on I-20,”
Brittany explained.

  “Brit, damn! I called you early this morning to remind you, and if you show up
without it, I’ma be pissed. I gotta have pics of me and you tonight…And of me in
my Armani tuxedo,” he scolded.
  “Uhh, ok. I’ll go back and get it…My dad finally gave me the keys to my new
mustang so I’ll see how good it drives.”

  “Thanx baby. Love you for that, but hurry cuz our limo get’s here at five o’clock.
We’re going to eat first.”

  “Ok, see you soon.” she hung up.

  Brittany Shell was Tay’s high school sweetheart. They had been dating since ninth
grade, and tonight was their senior prom. He was in love with Britany, and thought
she was the world. She possessed a cheer leader’s body, beauty pageant face, long
brown hair, honey bronze skin, a smile that would light up a dark cave, and the
most miraculous green eyes. She was all he wanted in a girl, and even his mother
loved her. Even though, Tay didn’t know how much that would change after his
mother found out he had recently got Brittany pregnant.

  Tay stood in his bedroom at the foot of his bed. He had his tuxedo and other
garments laid across the mattress, as if he were trying to image it all together. He
was still staring at the concoction when his mother-Pamela-walked into his
bedroom.

  “Boy, you haven’t got dressed yet?…Are you waiting for the clothes to jump on
you?…You know what time the limousine is arriving, and I don’t want that poor
driver waiting,” his mother told him.

  “Mom, I’ll be ready. Brittany is on the way, and Kandi should be here with Mike
soon too,” Tay assured her. Mike was Tay’s best friend, and he was taking Kandi,
Brittany’s best friend, to prom. So, they all were transporting in the same
limousine.

  “Well, make sure. And yal’ have a terrific time,” she said.

  Tay proceeded to get dressed, making sure everything was perfect. He stood,
admiring himself in the mirror when he heard tires on the gravel outside in their
driveway. He walked to his bedroom window, and pulled the blinds aside to peek
out. It was Mike and Kandi getting out of the red Camry. He was surprised with
how elegant they both looked, and smiled in out admiration as he observed the duo
walking up the pathway. Mike was attired in a powdered blue and white tuxedo, a
very light shaded blue collar shirt underneath bearing a white tie, gold and
diamond cufflinks, and pearl white shoes. His outfit reminded Tay of Harry from
the movie Dumb & Dumber in the ballroom scene.

  Kandi was just as nice. She wore a powder blue dress designed to fit tightly on
her body, and display every curvaceous figure of her shape. Tiny gold specs were
embroded around the breast line, and down her waist. Tay couldn’t help, but think
how attractive she looked. He was still in a slight daze when they rung the
doorbell. Ring!!

  “I got it!” Tay yelled, before scurrying to let them in. He swung open the door.
“Hey, why aren’t you two love birds looking jazzy and snazzy,” he said in a
dramatic manner as they entered.

  “Oh, thanx man. We try,” Mike said beastly, tilting his chin upwards to tighten his
neck tie.

  “Yea, you almost look good as me, my pal,” Tay joked, glancing at Kandi who
was smiling in silence.

  “So, where’s Brittany?” Kandi finally spoke.

  “Um, she should be here any second now. Let me call her, and get her location,”
Tay said, walking to the telephone while gesturing Mike and Kandi to sit down on
the couch. They both squatted softly on the couch, as if not to mangle their clothes
in any manner, and watched Tay as he dialed some numbers, then put the phone to
his ear.

  Tay let the phone ring until a voicemail picked up. He hung up, and called again.
Still no answer. “What the crap,” he muttered.

  Mike looked curious. “What happened?”

  “She’s not answering,” Tay replied, dropping the phone in frustration. “And I told
that green eyed brat the limo would be here at five. It’s five-forty! Where is she?”
Tay asked indirectly.
  “Maybe she’s running late because she had to go back home for your camera. She
mentioned it when she came by my house for her shoes,” Kandi said.

  “Oh yea…You’re probably right,” Tay agreed. He took a seat himself.

“Hello. 9-1-1 dispatch.”

“Hey!…There’s been a horrible accident, and you need to get someone out here
fast!…People are hurt!” A woman’s voice screamed erratically.

  “Calm down please. Can you tell me your exact location?”

  The woman’s voice got even more erratic. “Yes!…We’re on I-20 and Lavender
road!” Screams roared in the background. “Hurry, hurry please!…My husband is
hurt, and I think it’s a young girl trapped under a flipped car!”

  “Ok ma’m. Help is on the way now.” Dial tone…

The Waco Herald News

Young Teenaged Girl Killed In Accident

Waco, Tx…Friday. Eighteen year old Brittany Shell died fatally when she was
driving on I-20, and attempted to switch lanes, but was clipped by another car,
spinning her into oncoming traffic. It was presumed by investigators that she was
traveling at unsafe speeds. Brittany was planned to attend her senior prom that
night…she recently had received a track scholarship to the University of Baylor.
She also was found out to be pregnant at the time of her death. This sad and tragic
event was a shock to many. She will truly be missed by family and friends, for she
was loved by many…

 
  

One year, three months later…

  Tay stood in his bedroom, then sat on the edge of his bed. Suitcases full of clothes
and miscellaneous things rested on the floor near his feet. Sun rays from the
blazing Texas sun pierced through his windows, around the blinds, and reflected
off a photo Tay was holding in both hands. He stared at the image as if searching
for something. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his left shoulder, and looked up. It was
his mother. He was so focused on the photo of Brittany, that he hadn’t heard her
come in his room.

  “Tay, it wasn’t your fault son. You gotta stop blaming yourself for God’s work.
God does strange things sometimes that we don’t understand, but you must always
trust him no matter what. No matter how unexplicative,” She explained in a
sorrowful tone.

  Tay looked up at her with teary eyes. “But if--,” he began.

  “No buts!” She interrupted. “It wasn’t your fault. Now, get your things together.
Your brother will be here to pick you up shortly,” she said, and turned to exit the
room.

  Tay’s older brother-Don-had convinced him to move to Dallas, Texas where he

and his fiance lived. Don thought it would be best for Tay, and more importantly,
there were tremendously more job opportunities in Dallas than Waco. Plus, their
sister Olivia and a few cousins lived in Dallas also, so Tay would have much near.
Tay really didn’t care. He just wanted to flee away from all the bad memories that
haunted him in Waco.

  The nearly three hour drive to Dallas felt like an eternity to Tay, but Don babbled
the entire trip. Mostly about how much he would enjoy the big city.

  “Bro, there’s so many things to do. Some’n every night to do. Plenty clubs,
concerts, malls, women, good jobs, and did I mention…A LOT of women,” Don
said grinning from ear to ear at Tay, moving his eyebrows up and down.

  “That’s cool,” Tay forced a smile.

  “Believe me bro, you’ll love it.”

  “Really, I’m not worried about the girls. I just wana find a good gig, buy a car,
and work on my website developing skills,” Tay said.

  “Oh. I forgot you know all that computer stuff. People pay a lot for websites to be
built. You’d still be in college if it wasn’t for…” Don cut himself off when he saw
the depressing look take over Tay’s face.

  Tay had been a football star through out his whole life. He led his high school
team to two state championships. Many major Universities had offered him full
scholarships by eleventh grade, but he was turning them all down to attend Baylor
so he could be with Brittany. Unfortunately, Brittany died, but he still signed to
Baylor even though his football dreams were quickly diminished when he re-tore
his ACL in the first week’s practice. Doctors put a red flag on Tay, saying he
couldn’t play, and probably would never heal well enough to play. Tay was looked
at like a diseased rat after that, but he couldn’t blame them. He was useless to a
football team now. The stress caused him to drop school.

  Tay just gazed out of his passenger window silently as they drove. It seemed like
the closer they got to Dallas, the more trees disappeared, and more concrete
freeways appeared. He knew life would be different in Dallas, but he had no idea
how much…

  When they finally reached their destination of townhouse-like apartments, the sun
was just about becoming absent from the sky.

  “Home sweet home!…Looks like my soon-to-be wife is home, so you get to meet
her,” Don said to Tay as he helped with luggage. Tay followed his big brother, who
was smaller than him, as they trotted up a stone pathway reaching a  door. Don
fumbled with his keys before finally opening the door. They entered, and Don’s
fiance - Anitra - was sitting on the sofa. She had her legs folded up on the cushions,
and she wore red sweat pants, and a t-shirt with 97.9 Radio emblazoned across the
front. Tay focused on her hand, which owned a diamond ring the size of a crater!

  “I’m still paying for it,” Don said dryly, catching Tay’s eye on the ring. “This is
my brother Octavius, but we call him Tay,” Don introduced. Anitra looked up at
Tay as an aknowledgement, but didn’t speak. Don didn’t inform Tay that Anitra
wasn’t too fond of him moving in with them, but it was easily read by her
demeanor.

  Tay heard children’s voices coming from upstairs as Don showed him to a guest
room, and left him alone. Tay sat on the rather small bed, then lied back on it. He
could hear bickering in the living room, but no clear words. He closed his eyes,
and dosed off unintentionally.

  Tay didn’t wake up until the next morning when Don came into the bedroom, and
slapped his foot, which was hanging off the bed.

  “Hey boy!…I’m bout to go to work. It’s a list of places that are hiring on a sticky
near the computer. Go on their websites or call them about openings. If you score
an interview I can take you, because my job consists of driving around all day,”
Don told him.

  “Um, ok,” Tay replied, rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes. He lifted himself up
on his elbows to look at a small alarm clock on a near dresser. It displayed 7:02.
Suddenly, he heard the children in the hallway, then Anitra yelling.

  “Hurry up kids!…I’m late!” She yelled. The kid’s foot steps moved quickly, and
shortly, the sound of the front door closing signaled that everyone was gone.

  Tay staggered up, and ruffled through his untouched luggage for a change of
clothes. He put them aside, then went to take a shower. After getting dressed, he
made his way to the computer, which had the yellow sticky lying beside it with
numerous business names jotted on it in scribbly writing.

  “Hm, I need to check my email,” Tay whispered to himself, grabbing the

computer mouse. He clicked it, and a blue screen popped up demanding a
username and password. The username had been automatically filled in.
ANITRA1979...He knew he could just sign in as a guest, but saw no fun in that.
Tay was a computer wiz, and hacking a simple login password was easy as
kindergarden to him. He drummed his fingers on the keyboard, typing in a quick
password override, and the screen quickly changed.
  “Welcome, you’ve got mail!” A robotic voice came from the computer’s speakers.
Tay originally just planned on checking his email, but the curiosity was too
overwhelming to resist. Plus, it was just her email. Not like he was digging through
her purse right?…He moved the mouse, clicking on a small mail icon, and a list of
new emails displayed. He initially, just skimmed over the subject lines, and didn’t
see one he thought worth opening. Then, he paused at one that read Friday Night
Date. He clicked it, and the message revealed:

  Anitra darling…I was just confirming our little date for this Friday at our favorite
spot in uptown. I look forward to seeing you, and I have quite the surprise for you
after dinner. You know…That little thing that makes your toes curl when I do it…
lol…Anyway, just email me back or text my cell…bye babe.

  Tay scratched his forehead in bewilderment. What the hell?…He clicked on the
back icon to see the previous page, so he could find out the email’s sender. He read
the sender’s screen name in disgust. Marcuslove69?…He shook his head, thinking
momentarily, as he rubbed his chin with his fingertips. This sender certainly wasn’t
Don, he thought. Though, that would mean that Anitra was going behind Don’s
back with this Marcus

Dude. Couldn’t be…They’re engaged right?…But why?…Tay didn’t want to

assume the wrong thing, and he was actually wrong already for snooping in
Anitra’s email, so he really didn’t have the right to be diving in their business. Or
did he?…

  His train of thought was broken when he was startled by a telephone ringing. He
looked to the left, spotting the phone on a small corner table. He rolled back the
office chair he sat in, swiveling to it, and picked it up.

  “Hello,” he answered.

  “What you doing bro?” It was Don.

  “Uh, nada. On the computer…Checking out jobs,” Tay lied. “You?”

  “I was just checking on ya. I’m waiting on a customer to get home. So I’m really
just burning time, but I’ll call you later.”

  “Ok. I’m cool. Bye.” Tay hung up.

  Feeling the need for fresh air, Tay figured he’d step outside for a moment. Clear
his mind. He picked up a basketball, which was left by the children on the living
room floor, and walked out on the front steps.

  Boom! Boom!…Loud music and bass sounds roared from a brand new looking
Caddillac Escalade, which drove by and swung into a empty parking spot a few
yards away from Tay.

  ‘Damn!…That’s a nice truck,” Tay said to himself, using one hand to shield his
eyes from the sun’s blaze. He dribbled the basketball in his other hand, but it
bounced off the corner of the steps, and darted out towards the Caddillac truck.
“Oh shit!” Tay blurted, stepping down to chase after the ball. He quickly caught up
with it, but as he bent over to pick it up, a Nike shoe came down on the ball. Tay
looked up at the foot’s owner.

  “What’s up home’z. Yo ball almost hit my brand new truck. I didn’t spend
seventy thousand bucks so people can play dodge ball with it,” a short Hispanic
guy said in a stern voice.

  “Oh, sorry--,” Tay began.

  “I’m just kidding amigo!…Take a joke,” the guy said, picking up the ball, and
handing it to Tay.

  Tay thought he was going to have to fight the guy for a second there, who looked
like he belonged on a rap music video. He wore a red Chicago Bulls jersey with
matching ball cap, a thick gold necklace which hung to his stomach, and a
medallion that looked like a treasure chest. It was corroded with diamonds. The
Rolex watch on his wrist was even more magnificent. It sparkled a million times,
as sun rays penetrated in and out of it’s precious jewels.

  “I’m J.J…I haven’t seen you round’ here before. You new?” The guy asked.

  “Um, I’m Tay. I just moved here with my bro. Over in 9-B,” Tay replied, pointing
to his brother’s apartment.

  “Oh…Yo bro must be the dude that works for the cable company. He’s cool. He
hooked my cable up for free,” J.J said, smiling.

  “Yep. That’s him…I like your truck. It’s nice man!…I need to get a job where
ever you work so I can get one of those,” Tay joked.

  J.J grinned. “Oh, I don’t’ work for nobody. I’m my own boss. But check it out…If
you look’n to make some cash, I got a gig for you. I know you just moved here,
and probably looking for a job.”

  “Oh yea. I need to make some money. That’ll be cool,” tay said.

  “Ok, well, just come knock on my door whenever you free, and we’ll talk. I live
in 13-B,” J.J pointed.

  “Alright, I will. Maybe after--damn!…Who’s that?” Tay asked J.J, gesturing at a

young female, who was walking out of her apartment.

  “I don’t know home’z, but hey…I gotta get inside. Don’t forget to come holla at
me amigo. K!” J.J said, rushing off towards his residence.

  “Ok!” Tay blurted, while making his way over to intercept the young lady before
she reached her vehicle. She was dressed conservative, as if she was headed to
work at an office. She had on tight black slacks that showed the contour of her nice
legs and butt, and a white collard, silk shirt that was a size too small for her breast.
She possessed long black hair, which draped down over her shoulder blades,
caramel brown skin, and luscious pink lips. Tay caught her just before she engaged
her car.

  “Hey there pretty lady. I couldn’t help, but notice you from over my way, and I
had to come speak,” Tay spoke in his best charming voice, smiling.

  She looked him up and down like a peasant. “Well, you have spoken. Anything
else I can help you with, sir?” She asked in a sassy tone.

  “Ah, don’t act like that. I just wana know your name. I’m Octavius, but I go by
Tay. Yours?”

  She looked off to the side in order to dodge Tay’s staring eyes, and sighed. “My
name’s Ashley, and I’ll admit it…You’re cute, but I don’t associate my self with
drug dealers,” she said.

  “Drug dealer?!” Tay looked as if she’d just called him an alien. “I’m not a drug
dealer. I just moved here with my big bro from Waco yesterday. In B building,” he
explained.

  Ashley put a hand on her hip. “Well, I seen you over there with that Mexican guy,
and everyone knows he’s a drug dealer,” she said incredulously.

  “I just met him a few minutes before I met you. So, baby you got the wrong idea.
But I’m really wanting to get to know you. So…can I have the honor of calling you
sometime?” Tay looked like a child begging for ice cream, but his smile was so
aphrodisiac to her, that she gave in.

  Ashley hesitated, then grinned before telling him her phone number. “And how
old are you?…Cuz I’m twenty three, and you look young. You have a nice body,
but you got a baby face,” she asked.

  “I’m grown sweet heart. You’ll find out for yourself. So, when can I call you?”

  “I get off at nine o’clock tonight. And speaking of work…I must go. Bye now Mr.
Grown,” she said, walking around him to her car, and getting in.

  Tay grinned from ear to ear, waving at her as she drove off in the wind. Still
waving, when he could only see her tail lights. He finally turned, and went back
inside. He wasn’t in the mood for job searching anymore, because his mind was
kidnapped by Ashley. Though, he still called a few places, booking a interview for
the following day. It was at a car dealership, and for a sales position. He really just
wanted to show Don that he at least, made an effort today.

  Around five-thirty, Don arrived home, and he walked in carrying a box of

chicken, as Anitra’s two children followed him inside.

  “What’s up bro. You hungry?” Don asked Tay, sitting the box of chicken on the
dining table.

  “Uh, a little….Hey, I met this fine girl today! She lives in the next building. She
has a body like a model, and long hair like a Indian,” Tay said with much
enthusiasm.

  “Oh yea. I think I know who you’re talking about. Does she drive that green
Saturn?”

  “Yea. That’s her.”

  “Ah, she does look good. I see her all the time,” Don said, as he picked up the
piece of paper Tay had scribbled details about his interview on. “So, you got an
interview for tomorrow huh?”

  “Yep. I think it’s close to here. At a dealership,” Tay replied.

  “It is close. Walking distance almost even. But I’ll take you on my break…Hey, I
forgot to tell you that me and Anitra are gonna go to the court house, and get
married this week.  We’ll have a small reception later. We just need to get married
now, so our credit scores will combine, and make our beacon score better for our
home loan. We got a nice house getting built near Lake Ray Hubbard. Eight
bedrooms, granite counters, pool…the works!” Don said, as if he couldn’t wait.

  Tay grew a disappointing expression, and attempted to hide it, but Don noticed it.

  “Don’t’ worry. It’ll be room for you,” Don said.

  “Oh. I’m not worried about that. I’ll probably have my own place by then
anyway…But, let me ask you bro…Are you really ready to marry Anitra?” Tay
asked, like it was a difficult question.

  Don’s face turned serious. ‘Well, Tay…I’ll put it like this. I’m get’n old man.
Thirty-two, and I might as well settle down. I love her, she loves me, and that
bachelor life get’s old after a while. Plus, I’m bout to have a child with her, and I
don’t want another man raising my child. You have time to play around, but me…
I’m just ready to settle down,” Don said in monotone voice.
  Tay didn’t respond to his remarks, but raised off the sofa, and changed the
subject. “So, you brought home some yard bird, huh?…Mom use to cook chicken
so much at home, that I thought I was gonna start laying eggs!” Tay joked, and the
kids laughed as he imitated a chicken.

  They all ate, then sat in the living room to watch a popular television show called
Cheaters. A reality show about people catching their spouses cheating on camera.
Fidelity was scarce!…The show was pretty amusing to Tay, but it just reminded
him of that email he read earlier.

  Sounds of keys jingled at the front door, and Anitra walked in. She didn’t’ speak
to anyone, but only glanced at Don who barely glance back, before she made her
way upstairs carrying a tote bag with 97.9 Radio printed on it. She must really like
that radio station, Tay thought.

  The sound of a door slamming came from upstairs, causing Tay and Don to look
at each other, as if they’d read each other’s mind. Must be that time of the month.

  “Well, It’s bout that time,” Tay said, rising to his feet.

  “Time for what?” Don asked.

  “Time to call Ashley. She’s off work now. So, I’ll be in my room put’n my game
down,” Tay said walking off, imitating an old school pimp walk.

  “If you say so. Well, I’m bout to go upstairs and lay down. Turn off the t.v before
you go to sleep,” Don said, also getting up.

  Tay laid back on the bed, as the telephone rang on his ear.

  “Hello, this is Ash,” a voice answered.

  “Hey pretty lady! What you doing?” Tay asked.

  “Who’s this?”

  “Tay…from today…in the parking lot,” he said like, don’t you remember?

  “Oh, hey…You sure don’t waste any time calling someone do you?”
  “Well, you were on my mind all day. What can I say?…Were you busy?”

  “No. I’m just sitting on the couch watching t.v,” she replied.

  “Oh…Well, when do you have free time? I’d like to hang out with you sometime,
and get to know you. I mean…That’s if you want to get to know me,” Tay said, not
asking.

  “Mm, I do want to get to know you, be we should just talk on the phone for now.
So I can feel your vibe. See what you talk’n bout.”

  “That’s fine with me. Cuz I wana know everything about you. I know you’re
beautiful enough to be Mrs. Texas, so if you’ve got a mind and heart to go with
your looks, I’m sprung,” he said. Ashley blushed on the other end.

  They continued talking for hours until they both were too exhausted to move their
lips. The two agreed to contact one another the next day before ending the call.
While Tay and Ashley were having their sensual conversation, upstairs in the
confines of Don’s bedroom, carried another…

  “After we go to the court house, the only thing left to do will be to deposit our
twelve thousand dollar down payment from my savings account,” Don said. He
lied in the bed beside Anitra.

  “Yes, we should be moving in our house by next month. I spoke with the real
estate agent, and everything’s been arranged accordingly. But Don, you know I
don’t want your brother moving in with us. You knew I didn’t agree with him
coming here to begin with,” Anitra complained.

  “He’s my little brother, I can have him here if I want. I pay bills! Have I told you
that your two kids, that aren’t mine, they couldn’t live here?”

  “Tay’s not your child…and speaking of child, it’s one in my stomach you need to
be worried about other than your brother. I’m done with the issue…We’re going to
the court house Thursday. Friday, I’m going out with Janice and friends. It’s girl’s
night out,” Anitra informed.

  Don didn’t respond. He just gave her an expression, as if brushing off her
statements, and turned over on his side, his back to her.

  Tay woke up the next morning at seven-forty-five. He noticed everyone was

already departed from the apartment, and growling sounds in his belly persuaded
him to fix his self a bowl of cereal. He sat at the dining table chewing a mouth full
of Cheerio’s, reading over the info pertaining to the interview he had today at the
dealership. He swiveled to the telephone and picked it up, dialing Don’s cell
number.

  “What up,” Don answered.

  “Hey, ,what time are you coming to get me?…My interview is at nine-thirty,” Tay
asked.

  “I’ll be there at nine. The place is only a few minutes away,” he replied.

  “Ok, I was just check’n bro. See ya then.” Tay hung up.

  Nine o’clock came, and Tay was waiting on the front steps when Don’s gigantic
cable van pulled up. The white whale stopped at the edge of the curb, and Don
nodded his head, gesturing Tay to come hop in. The van’s door was so high, Tay
had to nearly jump to climb in it.

  “Hey, listen. I’ma drop you off, go finish my job, and I’ll  be back to get you
shortly,” Don told Tay.

  “That’s cool. Handle ya biz. I was told that the interview might take a while
anyway.”

  Tay was dropped off in front of the dealership, and he walked into the entrance of
the building with wandering eyes.

  “Hello!…Are you here for an interview, sir?” A grey-haired, old receptionist

asked him from behind a desk.
  “Yes ma’m. I am. I was scheduled for nine-thirty,” Tay replied.

  “Oh, I’m sorry to inform you sir, but our G.M manager had to leave on an
emergency, and all interviews for today have been canceled. I apologize for the
inconvenience,” the old woman said in a apologetic tone.

  “You’re kidding me!…And you didn’t bother to call, and let me know?…What
kind of business are you people running?”

  “I’m sorry, but--.”

  “Save it lady,” Tay put up his hand interrupting her. Then turned to exit the door,
semi slamming it, and muttering, “bullshit.”

  He glanced at his watch. 9:32. He shook his head, then looked up, targeting his
eyes on a city bus rolling up to a bus stop. He immediately started jogging towards
the oversized public transportation with Go Dallas Mavericks! emblazoned across
it. The automatic door opened, and he stepped on.

  “Hey, can this bus take me to Sun Colony apartments on Plano road?” Tay asked
the bus attendant before completely stepping inside the bus.

  “Sure, it’ll take you anywhere in the Dallas metroplex. Ya just gotta put a dollar-
fifty in that ther’ machine,” the chubby, hill billy looking guy replied, pointing at a
cash machine.

  Tay reached in his pocket, digging out two dollar bills, and inserted them in the
machine. It discarded a ticket, and two quarters in a lower coin dispenser. Tay took
the change, and found a empty seat. It took approximately seven minutes for the
bus to arrive in front of Sun Colony. Tay jumped off, and ran up the side walk
quickly. Once inside the apartment, he called Don.

  “Say bro, I’m already back at the apartment. Those stupid people had me coming
up there, and my interview was canceled. Some’n about the manager being
absent,” Tay told Don.

  “Ah, that’s b.s. How did you get home?” Don asked.
“I went ahead, and caught bus home. I didn’t feel like waiting outside. It’s too
hot!”

  “Oh, well it’s alright. You’ll find some’n else. I’ll call you later. I’m in the middle
of an install right now.”

  “Ok. Holla at me later.” Tay hung up, and soon as he did, the telephone rung.
Thinking it was Don calling right back for something he forgot, Tay answered with
a simple, “Yea.”

  “Is that the way you were taught to answer a phone?” A female’s voice asked. Tay
was caught off guard.

  “Who is this?…Ashley?” Tay asked unsurely.

  “The one and only,” she replied.

  “Hey. What are you up to?…Bout to go to work or some’n?” Tay asked her.

  “Um, nope!…I don’t work today. If you’d paid attention to me last night during
our conversation, you’d know that. Wensday is my day off, and I’m up early
because the early bird get’s the worm.”

  “Oh. Well, can I be your early worm?” Tay joked.

  “You’re silly boy. Anyways…I’m bored. So, come over here, and watch t.v with
me.”

  “Right now?” Tay asked.

  “No, tomorrow…Of course right now. 12-C is my door number in case you forgot
that too. And make it snappy!” She chuckled, and hung up.

  Tay ran to the bathroom to quickly observe his appearance in the mirror. He
grabbed a bottle of Curve cologne off the sink counter, and sprayed a few sprays in
front of him, leaning into the mist. He sat the bottle back down, then hurried out of
the apartment.

  Ding! Ding!…The sound of Ashley’s doorbell alerted as Tay pressed the buzzer.
Ashley swung the door open smiling.

  “Hi!…Bout time you got here,” she joked. Tay was stunned for a few seconds,
gazing at the lovely figure that stood before him. She was wearing some too small,
pink soccer shorts, a pink halter top displaying her flat stomach, and a butterfly
navel ring. A pink scarf was wrapped around her head, and her hair hung in a long,
curly pony tail.

  “You coming in or what?…My cold air is escaping,” she asked him, turning
around to walk off. Tay followed her inside, observing the interior of her habitat.
The furniture was a dark green leather-like material, and crystal glass figurines
decorated sixty percent of the living room. Tay thought he was going to break
something if he sneezed too hard.

  Ashley sat on a sofa, and Tay flopped beside her, as she pulled a a pink blanket
over her bare legs.

  “You sure do like pink don’t ya?” Tay asked.

  “Sure do!…Now, what do you want to watch?” Ashley picked up a remote from
the coffee table.

  “I don’t care beautiful, I’m here to watch you,” Tay said, scooting closer to her
and simultaneously, sliding his left arm around her shoulders.

  “You’re a mess. Guess we’ll watch my favorite show Forty Eight Hours,” she
said turning to a channel, then laying the remote back down.

  They quietly watched two back to back episodes of the show about police
detectives who had forty-eight hours to solve a murder case upon assignment. It
was interesting to, because the show was a reality show, but Tay found himself
more intrigued by Ashley’s long hair, and began sliding his fingers through it.

  “Um, do you like playing in my hair or some’n?” Ashley asked sarcastically.

  “Yep, it’s very pretty,” he replied, picking her right leg up and placing it across
his lap. Then, pulling the blanket back over them both. He gripped Ashley’s inner
thigh gently with his hand, and she smiled at him.
  “Are you trying to call me fat?” She asked, smirking.

  “No…You’re far from fat. I just like your thighs.” Tay rubbed his hand a little
higher up her thighs.

  “You seem to like a lot about me.”

  “Maybe,” Tay smiled.

  “Maybe?…Is that why I feel something growing hard under my leg?” She asked,
grinning.

  “Oh, that’s your fault…for being so sexy.” Tay grabbed her hand, and placed it
under the blanket on top of the bulge in his jeans.

  “Boy!…What you doing with all that?” She asked, giving the bulge a gentle
squeeze.

  “Guess I was born with it,” Tay’s dimples showed from a huge grin. He stared at
her as she caressed her palm up and down his bulge. Tay leaned over to kiss her
lips, and Ashley pulled back at first, then kissed him back. Their lips collided with
sensual passion!

  Tay sat up, pulling her legs up on the sofa, positioning her body totally horizontal
on the couch.

  “What are you doing?” She asked, looking down towards her stomach where Tay
had moved his face, slowly kissing around her navel ring.

  “Are you ticklish?” Tay asked her, not looking up.

  “Nope. Only in one spot,” Ashley hinted.

  “Let’s see then,” he said, gliding his tongue slowly across her belly to her hip.
Then, licked in a circular motion, sucking her skin softly. She jerked
instantaneously with a burst of giggles.

  “Ok!…That does tickle,” she said, reaching down to push his head away, but Tay
rejected her hand, and slid his tongue down lower to her pelvis bone. Then, he
tugged the band of her shorts, enabling him to go even lower. He glanced up at her
to see her moaning softly. This encouraged him to go ahead, and pull down  her
shorts, trying to remove them. He thought she would surely stop him, but instead,
she raised her butt up a little so her shorts came off with ease. He noticed she
wasn’t wearing any panties underneath them, as he extracted the pink garment, and
fire rose inside of him. Picking her right leg up by her ankle, Tay kissed her inner
thigh from her knee, down to the edge of her crotch area. Then, using two fingers
to spread her vagina lips, he licked her clit slowly in round about motion. Then up
and down. Repeating these actions over and over. Ashley was moaning
continuously now. Her moans intensifying louder and louder with every felicitous
lick.

  Ashley couldn’t believe she was having a sexual interchange with a guy she’d just
met, but Tay’s method of seducing her was like voodoo. Impossible to resist. Tay
took his free hand, and inserted a finger inside of her tunnel of love, as he steadily
maneuvered his tongue, feeling her muscles grip his finger as it penetrated in and
out. Suddenly, he felt Ashley’s hand grab the top of his head tenaciously.

  “Oh!…My god!…Never like this,” She blurted, rubbing her palm over Tay’s head
vigerously. He sensed her body vibrate, and saw her stomach tense up, sucking in
and out fast, but erratically.

  “Ahh. Ooh boy!” She screamed, and Tay felt the gushing of her orgasm splashing
on his lips, and running down her butt onto the cushion of the sofa. She was
already cumming, and Tay realized it. So, he sprung up to her chest, removed her
shirt, and began gobbling her left nipple as he unbuttoned his pants. Ashley was
breathing hard as he swallowed her breast, and struggled to pull his throbbing cock
over his boxers. He finally managed to get it out with one hand, and pushed the tip
of his cock against her clitoris, gradually rubbing it up and down on it. Ashley
pushed her hands against his chest, halting him.

  “Ah, no…my clit is sensitive right now. Just put it in, but be gently with that
monster, k,” she whispered in his ear.

  Tay showed no hesitation before plunging inside of her slowly, giving short
strokes until he sensed she was loose enough to take it all. Their heartbeats touched
each other’s chest, as Tay gained momentum with penetration, fulfilling her.
Ashley’s moans and screams motivating him to please more. He was lost in the
sauce, and Ashley was falling in love with every deep stroke. Suddenly, she felt the
thick pipe slide out of her, and seemed helpless, as Tay roughly turned her over on
her stomach. Thinking to her self…I’ve came twice! How can there be more?…She
gasped, as Tay dove back inside of her from behind, his chest sliding up and down
her back. His motions were very slow and sensual at first. Almost still, but his
passion soon busted into overdrive! Stroking so fast and hard, that Ashley clenched
the blanket with her teeth, screaming through her bite!

  Tay!” She cleded. And without warning, his cock ejected from her, his chest lifted
off her back, and she felt warm liquid squirting all over her ass cheeks and lower
back.

  “Ah, damn girl,” Tay muttered, gripping his left hand on her booty, and relieving
his self with the other. “Sorry bout the mess.” Tay rose to his feet, looking down at
her.

  Ashley sighed long. “It’s ok. I’m bout to hop in the shower,” she said, pushing her
body off the sofa, and looking up at him. Tay stood naked with his pants at his feet.
The dripping sweat on his body enhancing the glow of his muscles and six-pack.
“You’re something else boy.” She shook her head, walking out of the living room.

  Tay heard sounds of the shower coming on, and put back on his clothes. He
studied a small picture frame on the wall containing a photo of a guy wearing a
navy uniform. The guy looked in his late twenties.

  “Hey Ash!…Who’s this navy dude?” Tay shouted over the sounds of the shower.

  A few seconds passed. “Um, that’s my step brother, Moe!” She yelled back.

  “Oh, just wondering!…Hey, I’m bout to go home and wash up. I’ll call you in a
few!”

  “Ok! Just lock the door!”

  Tay made his exit, locking the door behind him. As soon as he stepped out of the
apartment, he saw J.J climbing out of his truck carrying a brown duffle bag. He
was clutching the bag like a new born baby.

  “What’s up home’z!” J.J said to Tay, who was fixing his mangled shirt collar. “I
see you coming out of o’l girl’s apartment. You must of got in good with her
already?” J.J smiled.

  “Yea, we’ve been talk’n,” Tay replied.

  “Oh ya, amigo. You better watch out for that crazy army dude. I got into it with
him one day,” J.J warned.

  “That’s her step brother, and he’s in the navy,” Tay corrected.

  “Oh, well homie is over protective!…Anyway, remember the gig I told you
about?”

  “Yea. Why?”

  “Well, I need to know if you can do it this Friday. All you gotta do is drive, and
deliver a car to my cousin. I’ll pay you three grand.”

  “Three thousand?!…Just to drive?…Where?” Tay asked, not caring if it was to

New York for three grand.

  “Waco actually. My cousin has a car shop there. Do you know how to get to
Waco?”

  “Of course. That’s my home town. Straight I-35 south,” Tay replied.

  “Bueno. I’ll have the car here Friday morning. You just have to drop it off, and
he’ll have someone bring you back home. That’s if you sure you can do it?”

  “Yea!…I can…for sure,” Tay sounded unsure, but nodded his head.

  “Ok. Well, knock on my door about eight-thirty in the morning. I’ll have the keys
for you. I gotta get inside now tho. So, I’ll see you later,” J.J said walking off. Tay
watched him skip away, then headed inside himself.

  By the time Tay took a shower and settled down, it was nearly three o’clock. He
slumped himself on the sofa, and turned on the television. After channel surfing
through predominantly soap’s and Spanish channels, he stopped on the Judge Judy
Show. Five minutes of listening to Judy antagonize two people who were suing
each other over dvd movies was enough to put him to sleep.

  In Waco, Texas, a telephone rung… “Hello, Jake’s Paint and Body shop,” a man
answered.

  “What’s up Jake, this is Jose. I got someone to bring the car to you this Friday. He
should be there by noon. Just have someone bring him back. Along with the eighty
grand. Tell her we’re back in business,” said J.J

  “Ok amigo!…No problemo`” Jake replied. Then hung up.

  Don walked into the apartment to see Tay still sleeping on the couch. He picked
up the television remote, and turned up the volume to it’s maximum peak.

  “Huh, huh!” Tay jumped up startled. Only to see Don and the kids laughing.
“Don, you play too much…What time is it?” Tay asked sleepily.

  “Bout five-thirty bro. You sleeping like you’ve done something to be tired,” Don
said, sitting on the love seat, and throwing a pillow at Tay.

  “Well, actually I have done some’n for your info,” Tay caught the pillow, and
threw it back at Don.

  “Yea? Like what?”

  “Ashley in the next building for one,” Tay said smiling.

  “For real?…Damn, you pulled that off fast…You must of licked that twat!” Don
laughed.

  “You know it!” Tay laughed too.

  “Well, you might meet some more women, cuz we’re going to the club Friday
night. Anitra is having her girl’s night out, and the kids will be at her mother’s. So,
we’re gonna go hang out,” Don informed.

  Tay pondered about what Don said about Anitra’s girl’s night out, and couldn’t
help, but relapse to that email he read. Friday Night Date. Though he wanted to say
something about it, he didn’t. Instead, he asked about the club.

  “What club are we going to?”

  “Club Blue…It’s one of the best clubs in Dallas. Always crowded, and full of
women. It’s actually called Club Cirque now, but I still call it Blue. I usually don’t
go there, because it’s more your age group, and them youngster’s be in there
fighting all the time. But you’ll like it. Cool place,” Don said.

  Tay thought about telling Don about his deal with J.J Friday, but didn’t. He knew
Don would disapprove of it, and probably try to prevent him from doing so. One,
because he didn’t know J.J from a peach and a banana; and second, because the
ordeal probably had something illegal to do with it. So, Tay just decided to keep It
to himself, aware that he’d be back before Don got home from work anyway.

  Tay spent the majority of that remaining night talking to Ashley on the telephone.
Mostly about their new renowned relationship. The subject only changed when Tay
told Ashley about Anitra’s email, and asked her opinion.

  “Well, It sounds pretty bad to me, but I don’t think you should interfere. My
mother always told me that cheaters and liars are like fool’s gold. It looks pretty at
first. Even shines like the real thing…But soon or later, they’ll tarnish, and show
their true colors,” Ashley suggested.

  Friday morning came faster than Tay could blink, and he found himself standing
at J.J’s front door, ringing the buzzer. J.J opened it fully dressed, as if he’d been up
for a while.

  “Homie, what’s up! I see you made it, and ready to go. Come in so I can get you
on your way,” J.J said, waving Tay inside. His apartment looked like a Catholic’s
church. St. Mary’s and wooden crosses everywhere. Ironic, Tay thought.

  Tay stood in the doorway while J.J went to another room, and returned holding
car keys and a duffle bag.

  “Listen amigo. The directions are on the paper inside the bag. Jake is the guy you
ask for once there. Give him the car keys and bag, and he’ll do the rest. Got it?” J.J
asked.

  “Sure…Jake, keys, bag…done,” Tay replied vaguely.

  “Cool. The car is outside beside my truck. Black Honda Civic. Call me if you
have any trouble. My number’s on the paper too.”

  “Ok, well I guess I’ll get going. See ya later.” Tay walked out. He trotted to the
Honda, climbed in tossing the bag on the back seat, and drove off.

  Now, Tay wasn’t dumbfounded. He knew he was most likely, implicating himself
into a potential drug deal or trade. That dope was probably stashed in the trunk, but
he was willing to take the risk for a quick three grand. What Tay didn’t know
though, was that J.J was apart of one of the largest drug gangs in Texas, and that
the car he was driving now didn’t just have a little dope inside the trunk like he
thought. But seventeen  kilos of cocaine stashed in it. Hidden and welded inside
the doors and bumpers. The drugs would be very difficult to detect by a cop, but
still. It was enough to get you thirty years in federal prison, or get killed over. The
kilos valued at eighteen thousand dollars apiece, basically had Tay driving a Honda
Civic worth a quarter million dollars!

  Tay drove, having no problems all the way to Waco. He reached a building on a
secluded road with Jake’s Car and Body emblazoned across the roof in red paint.
No other buildings were within fifty yards of it, and it seemed like a normal
business. Customers walking in and out, sounds of power tools working from
inside, and a We’re Open sign hanging in the front window. Tay parked, grabbed
the empty duffle bag, and headed inside. A bell chiming noise jingled as he entered
the front door, walking into a small office. There was a middle-aged Hispanic guy
sitting behind a desk stuffing his mouth with a burritto, and a closed steel door that
assumingly led to the back. The guy behind the desk looked at Tay, and told him to
have a seat, which sounded like, “lava eat,” with all the food in his mouth. Before
Tay even sat down all the way, another bald headed Hispanic man came in from the
steel door, and immediately spoke to Tay.

  “No problemo` finding my place amigo?…I’m Jake,” he said.

  “No, no problem,” Tay replied.

  “:Bueno. Let me have the keys and the bag, ay,” Jake instructed, and Tay did so.
Jake left back out of the steel door, and Tay sat patiently biting his fingernails and
watching the man devour his lunch.

  After a minutes passed, Jake returned holding the duffle bag, that now, seemed to
be full. He handed it to Tay.

  “Here amigo!…that red car outside is waiting on you. Your ride home. Tell J.J
that I sent ninety instead of eighty, cuz I owed him ten,” Jake said.

  “Ok. I’ll tell him. Thanx,” Tay said, then turned to leave. He got outside where he
spotted the red Lincoln LS idling, and walked around to the passenger side. He got
in, seeing a young Spanish lady in the driver’s seat. She looked around twenty-
seven years old. Her hair was long and black, but kind of looked like a wig. Her
face suffered from acne, but she was still attractive. Though, the feature about her
that stood out the most to Tay, was a Marylin Monroe-like mole above her lip.

  “You can put your bag on the floor. I’m Sareena,” she told Tay, gearing the car
into drive.

  “I’m fine. I’ll just hold it in my lap,” Tay replied, as if he didn’t trust her. She
shrugged her shoulders, and drove off.

  The whole trip back to Dallas was complete silence. Sareena didn’t even look in
Tay’s direction until they pulled into Sun Colony apartments. She stopped the car
near J.J’s door to let Tay out, but grabbed his arm as he did.

  “Tell J.J that Sareena said gracias`,” she said. Tay nodded, and got out of the car.
It was something about her he couldn’t pinpoint that uneased him. He proceeded to
J.J’s door, and it opened before he could knock.
  “Welcome back essay!…Come in my friend,” J.J invited.

  Tay stepped in, and handed the duffle bag to J.J. “Sareena said thanx, and Jake
told me to tell you that he sent ninety instead of eighty.

  “Oh yah. I forgot that essay owed me ten grand,” J.J said unzipping the bag. He
reached inside it, pulling out a stack of money, and handed it to Tay. “Here’s your
three grand,” he said.

  “Thanx,” Tay stuffed the cash into his pocket.

  “You did a good job. If you want, you can do this for me every Friday,” J.J
offered, looking for an answer.

  “Um, yea. I can do that. It’s nothing’…but hey, do you know where I can buy a
car for cheap?” Tay asked.

  “I always have cars. Don’t worry. I’ll sell you one for the low since you’re my
boy now. I’ll let you know when I got one for you.”

  “Cool, well I guess I’ll talk to you later,” Tay said, turning to leave, but was
stopped.

  “Hey…keep our biz between us amigo,” J.J put a finger up to his lips to
emphasize.

  “Uh, of course…” Tay left.

  Ninety grand!…J.J must sell a lot of dope, Tay thought. He was picking up the
phone to call Ashley.

  “Hello,” Ashley answered.

  “Hey, what you doing babe?”

  “Packing clothes. Me and my mother are flying out to San Fransisco to visit my
step brother,” she informed.
  “Ah, so I wont be able to see you this weekend?…When are you coming back?”

  “I’ll be back on Monday morning so it wont be long. I know you’re going out
with your brother tonight, but since I’m leaving…you can come give me some
loving before I go.”

  “Oh, I sure can do that!…I’ll let you finish packing so I can come over.”

  “K, bye.” She hung up.

  Later that night, Tay and Don arrived at Club Blue. It was located downtown
where it seemed only skyscrapers and one-way streets existed. They had to wait in
a ridiculously long line, but gradually made it inside the over capacitated club.

  “I see why they call it club blue!” Tay yelled to Don over the music. The interior
of the club was built entirely of blue neon lights. Illuminating the room. Tay
thought how cool this must look when someone was drunk.

  It was useless to try to muscle through the massive crowds, so they found seats by
the bar, and got drinks. Tay sipped his tequila sunrise, peering through the sea of
humans, when he spit out his drink in shock! He had seen a girl that looked exactly
like Brittany Shell. His late high school girlfiend. He attempted to make sure of
what he saw, but the girl vanished into the crowd of dancing bodies.

  “What’s wrong bro?” Don asked Tay confused, staring at him with a weird look.

  “Ah, man…Nothin’. I thought I saw some’n crazy!”

  Don was opening his mouth to speak again, when a guy walking by bumped the
drink in Don’s hand, causing it to spill a little on the guy’s shirt. The bypasser
stopped, and gave Don a mean look.

  “Say man!…You spilled drink on my shirt!” The guy said, upset.

  “My bad, but you bumped into me dude,” Don replied.

  “I didn’t bump you. And now we got a problem!” The guy shot back.
  Tay rose to his feet right in the guy’s face. Tay’s intimidating height and muscular
build caused the guy to freeze up.

  “What’s the problem?” Tay asked the guy with a look of threat.

  “Uh…he…uh, spilled drink on my hundred dollar shirt,” the guy stuttered in a

much different tone than he had spoke to Don.

  Tay grabbed the cup out of Don’s hand, and splashed the rest of the drink on the
guy’s shirt. “Well, now you gotta buy a new shirt,” Tay told him.

  The guy looked flabbergasted, but only stared at Tay who dared him to make a
move. The guy blew steam out of his ears, and stormed off. Tay sat back down.

  “Ass hole,” Tay said.

  “You shouldn’t have done that,” Don said.

  “Why not?” Tay asked quizzically.

  “Cuz you wasted my drink on that dumb ass!” Don chuckled.

  “Well, here. You can have mine.” Tay grinned, giving him his drink.

  Suddenly, an actual fight broke out on the dance floor, causing pandemonium to
spread throughout the club like a forest fire.

  “Damn!…I told you these youngsters be trippin’. Let’s get the hell out of here!”
Don told Tay. The two jumped off their bar stools, and tried to escape the jungle.

  A few miles away in uptown Dallas. The wealthiest division of the city, in a
upscale Italian restaurant. Sat a man and woman having dinner.

  “Antipasto misto!…Cheese from prichute!” The man said to the woman across
the table from him, while looking at his plate and rubbing his hands together.

  “Marcus, can you really speak Italian?” The woman asked him incredulously.
  “Of course I can, Anitra. I learned it from here,” Marcus replied chuckling.

  Anitra shook her head, sipping a glass of red wine. She looked at her purse when
ringing sounds came from it abruptly. Reaching inside it, she pulled out her cell
phone, and looked at the number calling. It was Don’s number. She frowned at
Marcus, then put the phone back in her purse. Marcus read her mind. He leaned
closer to her.

  “Tell me again…Why are you marrying this Don guy?”

  “I don’t want to go through this right now,” Anitra complained.

  “But you must…You say you love me, and I hear you say it many times when we
make love…but then, you insist on marrying this guy.”

  “Please Marcus!…You’re still married to your wife!…You say in the process of

divorce, but she still lives with you. So, honestly, I don’t think she’s going
anywhere. You just want your cake and eat it too!…And I have my obligations to
why I’m getting married,” Anitra said, staring at her glass, as if fish were
swimming around it it.

  “Is that so?” Marcus asked sarcastically.

  “So, so!…Now, can we finish our dinner please?” Anitra picked up her fork…

  Back downtown meanwhile, a rucous went on outside of Club Blue where Tay
and Don stood out front. You could hear arguments, as people waited on valet to
bring car keys. Suddenly, Tay felt the hair on the nape of his neck stand up, as he
saw the girl from earlier again that resembled Brittany. He didn’t let a second pass,
as he hurried over to her, and tapped her shoulder. For, she faced the opposite
direction at the time. She whipped around instantly.

  “Um, may I help you?” The girl asked, lifting an eyebrow.

  Tay didn’t speak initially. Only studied her face. She resembled Brittany so much
it was scary!…Same skin tone, face features, and even same green eyes.
  “Oh…um. I thought you were someone else, but if you don’t mind me asking…
What’s your name?” Tay asked her.

  “My name’s Shell. Short for Shelliana,” she replied.

  “That’s a pretty name…and so are you. I’m Tay,” he grinned.

Commotion came from across the street, taking Shell’s attention, then Tay heard
Don’s voice yelling.

  “Tay!…Tay!…Come on! I got my keys now. And these fools are over there
fighting again,” Don yelled.

  Tay looked in his direction, then back at Shell as if ignoring him. “So, do you live
in Dallas Shell?” He asked.

  Shell began to reply, but her words were drowned out by sudden gun shots!
“Ahh!” Shell screamed, as everyone panicked and began to run for cover. Tay’s
hands hit the pavement, and the gunfire quickly ceased. He looked up, and Shell
was gone. Then, he looked around for Don, and saw him lying on the ground
holding his side.

  “Don!” Tay screamed, running over to his aid. “Bro!…You alright!” Don had
been struck in the hip by a stray bullet. Blood was spouting out the side of his shirt
like a water sprinkler. The image was grotesque. “You go be ok bro!” Tay cried,
reaching in Don’s pocket for his cell phone, and dialing 911. He glanced up, and
the police were already pulling up…

  Back at the Italian restaurant, Anitra and Marcus still sat.

  “You were right Marcus. This dish is delicious!…I’m glad I ordered the same
thing as you,” Anitra said, taking a bite of cheesy pasta.

  “I’m sure it doesn’t taste as good as you will tonight,” Marcus said devilishly. He
chewed on a mouth full of food in slight disgust. Anitra noticed his face
expression, and grew concerned.
  “What’s wrong?” She asked, watching him closely.

  Marcus grabbed his throat, and barely coughed while waving his free hand at the
waiter.

  “May I help you signor?” The young Italian waiter asked Marcus.

  “Yes.” Marcus cleared his throat. “Did you inform your cook to only put cajun
pepper in her dish?” He asked with a scratch voice.

  “No, signor. I’m afraid not. I must of mistakenly thought you said both,” the
waiter replied shaking his head.

  “My god!” Marcus screeched, as his eyes rolled back, his body tumbling out the
side of his chair while he hugged his throat. Anitra screamed for help!

  Shortly, a ambulance showed up, and rushed Marcus to the emergency room at
Parkland Hospital near downtown. Anitra followed in her own car anxiously. She
was advised to wait in lobby 2-B once she got inside. After a nail biting, long wait,
Anitra was informed that Marcus had just suffered an allergic reaction, causing
him to spas out, and that he would be released soon. Anitra decided to wait for him.

  Meanwhile, six floors up, Marcus was being rolled on a gurney into a dark room
where patients waited to be discharged. The nurse parked him beside another bed,
and left. Marcus could see the silhouette of a man’s figure in the neighboring bed.
The man spoke to Marcus.

  “They letting you go too huh?” The man asked Marcus.

  “Yea. I guess so…I just had an allergic reaction…Stupid waiter. The only bad
thing, was that I was on a date. And I was gonna get some after,” Marcus said
laughing. The other guy struggled to laugh with him.

  “Oh, that’s a bummer, but you’re better than me. I got shot by a stray bullet
tonight. Innocent bystander. Luckily, they said it wasn’t’ life threatening. And that
in a few weeks, I’ll never know it happened. I say that’s easy for them to say. Shit
hurted.”
  “Damn. Sorry to hear that. At least you’re ok though,” Marcus sounded
sympathetic.

  “Yea, thanx. My fiance` Anitra is gonna freak though. She takes everything over
board,” he said as the nurse came in the room, and grabbed his bed.

  “Ok. Time to go Don Williams,” the nurse said, pulling Don out of the room.

  Tay stood anxiously, as Don came walking slowly out of the hallway into lobby
5-B, where Tay had been impatiently waiting for Don to come out.

  “Ah, bro. you alright?” Tay asked.

  “I’ll survive. Just get me home. Anitra is going to have a cow,” Don said, rubbing
a huge white bandage on his hip. He only wore a tank top now. Tay assumed that
the doctors must have discarded his bloody shirt. Tay helped him as they walked
onto an elevator.

  “I tried to call Anitra, but she didn’t answer,” Tay told Don, pushing a button on
the elevator’s keypad.

  “Oh, she probably was still out with her friends,” Don said. She actually was just
three floors down, but the hospital didn’t allow cellular phones to get signal inside
the building.

  The elevator opened, and Don immediately commenced to step off, but Tay
grabbed his arm to stop him.

  “Wait!…This is the wrong floor. I must have pressed 2-B instead of 1-B,” Tay
said, allowing the elevator to re-close. Tay pressed 1-B this time. A woman and
man barely missed the elevator as it closed, but Tay and Don didn’t see them. The
elevator dropped one floor, and they exited the hospital.

  “Don got shot?!…What do you mean he got shot?”

  “I’m telling you Anitra. He was lying in a bed right beside me, and I didn’t even
know It was him. He told me he had been shot by a stray bullet, but was ok. Then,
he said your name, and the nurse came in and said his name. That’s when I knew,”
Marcus explained.

  “You didn’t recognize him”

  “The room was too dark. I could only see his shadow.”

  “God!…I’m glad you didn’t say anything about me without knowing…You didn’t
did you?” Anitra took her eyes off the road to look at Marcus. She was driving him
back to his car at the moment.

  “No. Of course not,” Marcus said innocently.

  A sigh of relief came from her. “This is too much. I just need to get home,” she
said, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

  On the way home, Anitra practiced in her mind how she would act surprised to
find out that Don had been shot. She couldn’t help, but believe tonight’s events
were too close for comfort…

  A few weeks passed. Don was completely healed, their house was ready to move
into, and Tay had made four more trips for J.J. He had been lying to Don about
where he got money, telling him that Ashley’s father had hired him as help for his
landscaping company getting paid four hundred dollars a week. Plus, that Ashley
was giving him money also. Tay had bought a car from J.J too. A blue Caddillac
STS for only six grand. It was a great deal, because the car was practically new.
Today was Ashley’s birthday, and Tay had taken her out to dinner as a gift. They
were on their way back home from the restaurant now.

  “That was some good eat’n huh?” Tay asked Ashley while driving.

  “Yea baby. Thanx. Even though I didn’t eat much. Good thing they had doggy
bags.” Ashley looked at the take-out bag in her lap. “…Um, Tay. I have some’n to
tell you,” she said with a straight face and monotone voice.
  “What?…You wanted some’n else?” He asked.

  “No, it’s not that…It’s well…I’m pregnant,” she admitted, as if she’d just
revealed the day the world would end.

  Tay gagged. “Huh?…You’re pregnant?…You sure?”

  “Yes. I’m sure. I took three pregnancy test…But don’t worry. I’m not keeping it,”
she said lowering her head.

  “Why not?…I mean, how did you know I didn’t want you to have the baby?” Tay
asked like, how could you make the decision without me?

  “I’m not ready to have a child at this present time. So, I’m not having it. I’ve
already scheduled my abortion appointment. It’s my decision,” she said, as if she’d
just drew a chalk line across the road.

  Tay felt fury boiling inside of his chest, and steaming out of his ears, as he
attacked the steering wheel with his fist.

  “Don’t be mad at me Tay, please,” Ashley pleaded as they pulled into their
apartments.

  “I’m not!…Just disappointed,” he replied, apparently angry enough to strangle

her at any second. He parked the car, and they both got out.

  “Well, can you go and get my mail for me?…I’m carrying this food,” Ashley
asked, holding out her mailbox key. Tay snatched the key without words, and
walked towards the mailboxes while Ashley went inside.

  He struggled in frustration to open the lock, but finally yanked the small, steel
door open and pulled out the stack of envelopes. The biggest one slipped out of his
hands, falling to the ground, frustrating him even more. He bent over to pick it up,
reading the front of it. The mail was from her step brother Moe, and felt like a
birthday card. He turned it over, and tried to peek inside it, but ripped it on
accident. “Damn!…I didn’t mean to do that. Might as well read it now,” he said to
himself.
 

  Happy B-Day Ashley!!

Hope you enjoy your birthday. I wish I was there with you. I miss you a lot!…I
cant wait til I come back to Texas. I’m miserable here. I still think about that
weekend you came to visit me. Having sex with you was like heaven!…And I’m
not just saying that because I hang around a bunch of navy men 24/7. But when I
come back to Texas, everyday will be like heaven!….Love Moe!

                                                       Love ya,

  Tay’s eyes burned through the card like laser beams. His forehead wrinkled like a
ninety year old man’s, and his nostrils flared with every deep breath. Images and
thoughts zoomed through his mind in light speed transitions. Deceit!

  He turned, and headed straight for Ashley’s apartment. His steps brutalized the tar
pavement with force! The door swung open with the strength of a tornado, and he
walked in.

  “What took you so long baby?” Ashley asked him as he came in. She was on the
sofa.

  Tay threw the card at her like Roger Clemens on steroids, and it hit her chest,
falling to her lap. “Fools gold!” He yelled.

  “What?” Ashley was confused.

  “Fool’s gold!…you tarnished just like your mother would say!…Moe’s your step
brother huh?…Well, yal’ must believe in incest!…You’ve been playing me like a
fiddle!” He shouted, pointing his finger in her face like a pistol.

  Ashley looked startled, as she held up the card to read it. She sighed, keeping her
head down to avoid Tay’s piercing eyes. She was caught red handed in her
mendacity.
  “Yea, that’s what I thought!…Bye bitch!…And go get your abortion. It probably
isn’t mine anyway hoe,” Tay scolded, before storming out the apartment.

  When Tay got home, he called J.J, and asked him if he knew of any good
apartments he could move into with reasonable rent fees. J.J informed Tay that he
had leased out an apartment in north Dallas for a get away spot, but hardly ever
used it anymore. He told Tay he could move in it, and take over the lease. The
monthly rent was only six hundred dollars per month, so it was affordable. Tay
didn’t care how much it was. He just wanted to get away from Ashley. He didn’t
even want to see her face. He might punch it.

  “That’s just what I needed J.J. Thanx,” Tay said graciously.

  “No problemo home’z. Just come bay and get the key whenever you ready. And I
have a little furniture in there too. You can have it,” said J.J.

  “Ok, thanx…I’ll be by there later for the key. Bye, Tay hung up the phone, but
missed the phone holder twice in anxiety. He went to lay down, and forced himself
to sleep so he wouldn’t have to think about Ashley.

  The following day, Tay was up early loading all of his things into his car, and
saying goodbye to Sun Colony apartments. He traveled to his new residence,
which resided right off the 635 freeway. The apartment complex appeared recently
built. Maybe three years ago at the most. Mari Posa Villas was the name
emblazoned on the front of the entrance’s sign, as he drove through the gate. He
parked, and searched for door 323, which he finally found on the third floor of
building 3. He entered it using the key J.J had given him, and the smell of tobacco
punched his nose. Though, the place was very clean, but it didn’t have much inside
it. A couch, coffee table, a small television, and a big picture of Jesus on a cross,
which hung on the wall. Thanx for the furniture J.J, Tay thought. At least the
bathroom was fully stocked with hygiene products and towels. This was indeed, a
get-away spot, but it was great for Tay to start off with.

  After putting away most of his clothes and hanging up a few pictures, Tay decided
to go to the Galleria Mall. It was only ten minutes away, and he needed to purchase
a cell phone, and a lap top so he could work on his websites.
  This mall was gigantic!…It had floors the size of football fields. Four of them!
Every store you could imagine was inside it from Prada, Louie Vouton, Gucci,
Macy’s, and even a Play Boy store. Plus, it had an enormous ice skating rink built
clear in the center of it, giving the mall a extra pinch of elegance.

  Tay was exhausted by the time he walked the second floor. He was an ex-football
player, and didn’t have enough endurance for this place. He had bought a cellular
phone for a good bargain, but finding a lap top for a reasonable price was
considerably difficult. Like catching fish with no bait. He was standing in a
electronic store examining one, when he heard his name being called out by
someone.

  “Tay!”

  He looked around to see who It was, and saw his high school buddy, O’bryan.

  “What’s up Tay!…What are you doing in Dallas?” Asked O’bryan, as if happy to

see Tay.

  “Chillin. I live here now…Off 635. You?” Tay replied.

  “Oh, I live here too man. In Richardson district tho. Give me yo’ number, or get
mine so we can hang out sometime man.”

  Tay handed him the cell phone he’d just bought, and O’bryan stored his number
in it.

  “You trying to buy a lap top?” O’bryan asked, handing back the cell.

  “Yea, but this joint is ridiculously high man. The cheapest one in two grand.”

  “Forget this store man. You can buy my lap top from me. It’s just like the one
you’re looking at. It had wireless internet, and a hundred gig hard drive. I never
use it, so you can get it. I’ll sell it to you for four hundred bucks.”

  “Oh yeah!…I’ll buy it from you now,” Tay said.

  “Well, I gotta go home to get it. But I can bring it by your crib. Then, we can go
out some where or some’n.”
  “Ok, cool…Well, I’ll call you when I make it home,” Tay said.

  They departed, and Tay proceeded to buy a dvd player, and a few movies before
leaving the dinosarous mall. On the way home, he passed the restaurant that he
took Ashley on her birthday, and the thought made him angry all over again. He
almost called her to speak his mind, but held back, not wanting to give her the
satisfaction.

  Later that evening, O’bryan showed up at Tay’s apartment. He walked in

breathing hard as ever.

  “Damn!…Do you get a discount for living on the third floor?” O’bryan entered
carrying the lap top. “I’m tired as hell dude.” He handed Tay the computer, and
flopped himself on the couch without asking.

  “I hate the stairs too. Not my choice…Hey, this is a good lap top. Thanx man,”
Tay said, opening the lap top.

  “I told you so. Now, where do you want to go tonight?…A club, or Deep Ellum?”

  “Clubs are good on Mondays?…And what’s Deep Ellum?” Tay asked.

  “Hell yea!…Clubs are jumpin’ every night in Dallas, and Deep Ellum is a strip of
streets downtown where people just walk around, and bar hop all night. A lot of
girls be out,” O’bryan was smiling.

  “Oh, well…I’d like to try out Deep Ellum. Dallas clubs haven’t been too good of
an experience for me. But let me change clothes. It won’t take me long,” Tay said.

  O’bryan volunteered to drive, and the duo headed downtown, as I-75 was being
used as a race track by O’bryan. Accelerating to speeds no less than eighty-five
mph the entire way. They exited off on Elm street, and made a u-turn. Deep Ellum
was just as he had described. A miniature French Quarter, minus the allowance of
drinking alcohol outside. Four parallel streets with bars and clubs running up and
down them. People of all races walked around frolicking, while policemen rode
around on bicycles patrolling the area. Hotdog stands were set up every twenty
yards. Selling five dollar hotdogs, and three dollar bottles of water. Pigeons walked
near the curbsides pecking for bread crumbs, and barriers blocked cars from
driving onto the streets. You had to park in a far parking lot about two blocks down
for a small fee of ten bucks.

  “You wana bet who’ll get the most girl’s phone numbers tonight?” O’bryan asked
Tay as they walked.

  “Come on O’…You wouldn’t have a chance,” Tay replied, as if O’bryan had a

better chance of running through a swarm of bumblebees naked with his balls
covered in honey, and still being able to have children after the fact.

  “Ok, well we’ll see buddy,” O’bryan said, grabbing a bypassing female’s arm.
She stopped, and exchanged a few words with him, but Tay couldn’t hear because
he’d stepped back. A moment later, the girl walked off.

  “What happened?” Tay asked O’bryan.

  “She said she had a boyfriend, and that he wouldn’t appreciate her giving her
number out…Stuck up braud,” O’bryan sounded disappointed.

  “Ha!…Negative one for you!” Tay bantered, and teased as they continued to
walk. They trotted and trotted, seeming like it was a huge, human merry-go-round.
Tay stopped to tie his shoe, kneeling down on one knee, and it felt good to rest for
a second.

  “Damn!…Now, she’s cute!…And her friend,” O’bryan blurted.

  Tay glanced up to see who he was referring to. Two girls stood in line at a hotdog
stand. Tay focused closer. “Is that?…I think--that is her!” Tay said, quickly rising
to his feet.

  “You know them?” O’bryan asked.

  “Kind of…Come on, follow me,” Tay waved him to follow, as he moved swiftly
over to the ladies. He spoke to one. “Um, excuse me miss…Can I buy your…
whatever you’re ordering?” Tay asked her. She looked at him with an eyebrow
raised.
  “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” She asked Tay back.

  “Yea. I met you at Club Blue a while ago. We were talking outside when someone
started shooting, and you disappeared. Remember?…Your name is Shell right?”
Tay asked, as if he didn’t know.

  Shell paused for a moment. “Oh, I rememba’ ya now babe. That night was boocoo
crazy!” Shell said.

  Tay noticed her cajun accent, which he didn’t notice the first time they’d met.

  “Good you remember. So, can I buy your food?” Tay asked again.

  “Sure. Why not. Tomorra’s my birthday, so this can be your gift to me,” she
chuckled.

  “Oh. By the way. This is my boy O’bryan,” Tay pointed at him. Shell and her
companion waved at O’bryan, who stood quietly beside him.

  After getting their food, Tay walked with Shell for thirty minutes, graduall
building a rapport between them, as O’bryan and Shell’s friend followed suit. Tay
loved how down to earth Shell was, and her slurred accent gave her an extra sex
appeal. She had no children, lived alone, and was forced to move to Texas after
hurricane Katrina tore her hometown of New Orleans to a pile of mush under feet
of sea water. Plus, she had just broken up with her boyfriend not too long ago. Ah,
the best kind, Tay thought. Vulnerable, lonely, and in need of attention. Though,
Tay had to be careful. He also knew that these types of women sometimes put up a
guard after having their heart broken. So, he decided to play the me too role.
Telling Shell about Ashley doing him wrong, instantly giving them affinity.
Something in common. Tay’s first rule when it came to meeting women was to
make them believe you and her had something in common. This way, personalities
didn’t matter, because opposites attract anyway. As they say.

  “So, what are yal’ bout to do?…It’s get’n late,” Shell asked Tay.

  “Um, I guess go home, and be lonesome. Got nothing else to do…Unless, you
gonna come chill with me,” Tay said, not asking, but asking.
  Shell paused. She knew going over a guy’s house she just met was usually out of
the question, but Tay had this irresistible, magnetic attraction about him that made
her feel comfortable with him. Like she’d known him for years.

  “Um, I prolly can come over. Where do you live?” She asked.

  “North Dallas. 635 and Preston,” Tay replied.

  “Ok. Well, I gotta take my friend home. Then, I’ll try to come. I’ll call you.”

  “Sounds good to me. I’m bout to go straight home. Just hit me once you’ve
dropped her off.” They departed.

  O’bryan took Tay home, and the two agreed to hang out again soon. Tay ran up
his three flights of stairs thinking about how Shell was so reminiscent to Brittany,
and that her nickname was Brittany’s last name. Weird. He didn’t know if he really
adored Shell as much as he felt, or if he was subconsciously trying to fill the empty
void of loosing Brittany because Shell was the closest thing. Either way, Tay was
love struck. Like he had drunk a love potion seducing himself to her, controlling
his mind.

  He walked in his apartment glancing at his watch, and noticed it was pretty worn.
Time for a new one. But more importantly, that It was later than he thought. Two-
twenty! He flipped open his cell phone, and called Shell.

  “Hello,” Shell answered in a tired voice.

  “Hey, are you still coming by?” Tay asked her.

  “Um, yea. It’s just taking forever cuz there’s a big wreck on 635. Do you still
want me to come?”

  “Yea. Of course. I wana see you. I’ve been waiting,” he quickly replied.

  “Ok. Well, you gotta stay on the phone with me so I don’t fall asleep,” she told
him. And Tay did just that. Remaining on the phone with her until she arrived at his
complex.

  Shell walked into his apartment with total exhaustion on her face. “You didn’t
warn me about the zillion stairs I had to walk up,” she said coming in, and
dropping her purse on the couch.

  “Sorry. You’re not the first to complain. Glad you made it though. I planned for us
to watch a movie…but it’s late, and you look extra sleepy. So, let’s just lay down
and listen to some music,” Tay said. She agreed.

  Moments later, the two lied in the bed under the covers. They both laid sideways,
and Tay was holding her from behind with one arm. He had disposed of all his
clothes besides his boxers, and Shell had removed her Baby Phat jeans. Leaving on
some panties and a small t-shirt. The room was pitch black, and completely silent
besides the sound of the air vent blowing out sixty degree air. Tay had turned down
the air purposely, so Shell would be cold, and want to cuddle close to him. His
chest pressed against her back, as he felt his horniness arousing against her butt. It
was stiff as clay dirt. He knew she could feel it, but she made no reaction or
movement. Then, he glided his palm down her him to her butt, rubbing her baby
soft skin slowly. Suddenly, out of no where, he froze. As he heard a faint snoring
coming from Shell’s nose. Damn!…She had fallen asleep!…Tay sighed in
disappointment, and closed his eyes.

  Tay fell asleep for an hour, but woke up, unable to stay dosed off. He eased off
the side of the bed, making sure not to wake Shell, and went to the kitchen. He
poured himself a glass of water, and walked to the living room where he stood,
guzzling the h20. He sipped out of the Dallas Cowboys mug, reminding himself to
buy some dishes the next day. He noticed Shell’s purse lying on the couch, and his
curiosity shot him to the Dooney & Burke bag like a human cannon. Slowly,
unzipping the purse,  and looking over his back, he fumbled through the contents.
There was the usual; make-up, keys, lip gloss, and a wallet. He opened the wallet,
discovering a couple of credit cards, and a license. He extracted the license, and
read over it:

Name: Shelliana Pitts

Age: 22   Ht: 5’’6

Eyes: Green   D.O.B: 9-08-83 

Hometown: New Orleans, La

  “Dang, today really is her birthday. I must like Virgos,” Tay whispered to himself.
Then, he got an idea…

  He snuck on some clothes, and checked the time. 6:30. He grabbed his car keys,
and tip toed out of the apartment, driving to an near 24 hour Wal-Mart. There, he
purchased a birthday card, a gold picture frame, paper, and a few vanilla scented
candles. Rushing back home, he snuck back inside, and peeked in the bedroom
where Shell still slept. She was hugging a pillow tightly, as if it might run away if
she let it go. He quietly, sat in the living room, and wrote a poem about love at first
sight. When finished, he inserted the piece of paper into the gold picture frame,
grabbed the other items, and crept to the bathroom. Next, he propped the card and
frame on the counter sink. Then, he placed the candles around them, lighting each
one adust. He turned off the light switch, and admired his romantic concoction.
The glow of the candle flames glared off the bathroom mirror, and vanilla aroma
filled the atmosphere.

  After removing his clothes, Tay slid back in bed, shoving Shell so she’d wake up.
She barely opened her eyes.

  “You up Shelly?” Tay asked her.

  “Not quite…What time is it?” She replied, rubbing her eyes with the back of her
hand.

  “Early. That’s for sure.”

  “Do you usually wake up this early?”

  “Yep…Early bird get’s the worm.”

  “Well, you can have the worm…I’m a night owl,” she chuckled.

  “You’ll be ok. Hey, can you do me a favor, and got get me some tissue out the
bathroom please?”

  “Why you can’t get it yourself?”

  “Cuz I want you to get it for me…Please?”

  “Mmm. Only cuz I’m nice,” she said, reluctantly crawling out of the bed to her
feet.

  Tay gazed at he voluptuous, plump booty as she walked away, grinning devilishly.
Seconds later, he heard Shell clamor, and hurried to the bathroom.

   “You are so sweet for that babe!…When did you do this?” She asked Tay with a
big smile. Now awake.

  “While you were snoring. Hope you like.”

  “I don’t snore…but I do like this. Thanx,” she said, reading over the poem. Tay
walked adjacent to her, putting his arms around her waist. She stared her green
eyes into his, and then pecked him on the lips. Tay gave her a rough kiss back,
igniting an explosion of lip locking and tongue twirling!

  Both were out of breath as their faces separated. Tay went over to the bathtub, and
twisted a knob, turning on the shower head. Steam rose, as he stripped off his
boxers, then assisted Shell In removing her attire, and pulled her nude body into
the tub with him. The warm water sprinkled over their heads like a waterfall, as
they stood face to face. Shell shivered as Tay lathered a small, soapy towel over
her shoulders, and down to her perky breast. Caressing her hardened nipples. He
gently pushed her against the wall, kissing her wet lips and neck, while palming
her ass cheeks tightly. Shell felt Tay’s snake rising like an anaconda in the water,
thrusting against her thigh, and thought, oh boy!…Tay lifter her right leg up,
propping her foot on the tub’s side wall. Then, slithering down to one knee, he
placed his face between her thighs, spreading her labium lips with both hands. He
began massaging her watery clit with his mouth. The spraying water splashed on
his face, as he softly sucked her tender skin, gently stretching her clit back with
every suck. Shell’s eyes were glued to the ceiling, and her mouth was gaped wide
open, letting out deep moans, as she tried to hold her body up from sliding down.
For, the wall was slippery, and her legs were growing weak the more Tay licked
her. Tay paused when he felt Shell’s body tremble, as if she sensed the early stages
of an orgasm. He rose to his feet, and stepped out of the tub, pulling her with him.
Then, snatching a towel off the towel rod, he quickly dried their bodies off as much
as he could in ten seconds, and guided her back to the bedroom. He sat on the edge
of the bed, pulling her by the hand towards him, and she pushed his beefy chest,
causing his back to hit the mattress. He laid flat, but his mammoth cock pointed
vertically, fully erect like the Statue of Liberty!…Shell climbed up over him
astride, grabbing the base of his dick, as if to hold it stationary as she lowered her
moist pussy on top of it. Her eyes widened like olives in a mayonaise jar as the
first three inches slid up inside of her, and Tay held her hips as she slow grinded
further down his love stick.

  “Yea baby, ride it,” Tay muttered, as she sped up her motion, propelling from the
top of the mountain, to the base of it with every bounce.

  “Ooh, I feel you in my stomach babe,” Shell blabbered between steady moans.
Tay felt her love juices soaking his scrotum, and dripping down his inner thighs.
She was so wet from the passionate love making, that it sounded like someone
squeezing a drenched sponge every time she came down on him. Suddenly, Tay
sensed the urge of his ejaculation coming rapidly!

  “Oh, baby you better slow down. You bout to make me cum,” Tay advised her.

  “It’s ok, I’m on the shot,” she replied, not slowing down a pinch, but speeding up
if anything.

  “Ok, I’m cumming!” He blurted, as his eyes rolled back. The extreme sensation
like a volcano erupting, causing his body to loose control, and clench her hips. The
pumping release immobilized him.

  Shell felt the harsh throbbing inside of her, and instantaneously rose her self off
the pulsating rod, grabbing her hand around it, as it still squirted puddles onto his
stomach. Then, she plunged her mouth down on it, slurping until she felt the dick
stop throbbing, and bedraggle.

  Tay was in love!…He loved the way Shell took control! She fell on the bed
beside him, and they laid quietly for a moment. Their naked bodies uncovered.

  “I don’t  usually do that,” Shell stated out of no where. “I mean…give it up that

easy. I don’t want you thinking I’m a hoe or some’n,” she said.

  Tay looked at her like, who me?… “I wouldn’t think that. Plus, we didn’t even
have to have sex. You being here with me was enough. Since the first night I met
you, you’ve been stuck in my head like a tumor,” Tay told her.

  “Why are you so sweet to me?…Are you trying to make me fall in love?” She
asked. Tay was looking like, maybe so. “Cuz if you are, be carefull…cuz when I
fall in love, I love hard. And I get crazy when heartbroken,” She said this like
giving a warning of death.

  Tay didn’t know whether to take the statement as a good thing, or a threat. “Well,
you don’t have to worry about that with me. Cuz if I give you my heart, you can
put it in a bottle, because it’s yours to keep,” Tay said.

  “Mmhmm.” Shell looked at him skeptically…

  Shell didn’t’ leave to go home until eight o’clock that evening, and the two had
sex twice more before she did. The two seemed full of lechery.

  The following two and a half months consisted of Tay and Shell spending a
tremendous amount of time together. Eventually becoming a couple. Shell had
recently moved in with Tay, and even bought new furniture to garnish the
apartment. She worked in the medical field at a cancer oncology center making
decent money, and Tay was still making runs for J.J every week, so they were
living pretty comfortable, but Tay wanted to start entrepreneuing, and quit his
illegal doing. He had developed his own website, which he planned to use in order
to promote night clubs, and events in Dallas, and he had recently placed ads online
searching for potential clients who needed promotion. One guy emailed Tay,
stating that he owned a private club, and needed a dedicated promoter for
permanent hire. Tay was to email him back if he was interested in the job, and he
did.
 

  A harsh, cold gust of wind rushed into the apartment, as Shell walked in the door,
quickly closing it behind her.

  “Gosh!…It’s freak’n freezing out there!” Shell said shivering, and sitting a bag of
Mc’Donalds on the coffee table in front of Tay, who sat on the sofa with laptop in
his lap.

  He looked up from the keyboard at her. “It is December…I bet it’s colder than a
Eskimo’s pussy huh,” Tay joked.

  “Shut up!…You’re stupid,” Shell laughed. “I hate the cold season,” she said,
sitting down beside him. She glanced on the computer’s screen, trying to observe
what Tay was doing. “What’s all those codes and stuff?” She asked him.

  “Um…html codes, java script, flash…basically, a bunch of crap you wouldn’t

understand,” he replied.

  “Oh…well hurry up so I can check my myspace and email…Hey, are we still

going to Waco for Christmas?…To your mom’s,” Shell asked.

  “Yep. Nothings changed,” Tay was staring at the screen, typing away.

  “Okie dokie. Just making sure…Um, hey--,” she begun, but stopped when Tay
sighed as if she was beginning to bother him. “One more question, and I’ll let you
work,” she promised.

  “What baby?” His eyes never left the computer screen.

  “You wana have a threesome?” Shell asked nonchalant.

  Tay froze his typing, and finally looked at her. ‘What?…A threesome?”

  “Yea.”

  “Where did that come from?…And you mean like…me, you, and another female
right?”
  “Right!”

  “Are you serious?…Cuz if you are, I don’t know why you thought you had to ask
me that. That’s every guy’s fantasy.”

  “I’m serious. Cuz I’ve always thought of doing a menage a trois. I’ve had an
experience with a female before…a while back, but never a threesome. So, I asked,
but you’d have to find the girl. Cuz I don’t know of any down for that…Which I
know of,” Shell explained.

  “Hmm, ok…I’ll keep that in mind,” Tay said questionably.

  Christmas eve had arrived, and Tay accompanied by Shell, drove on their way to
Waco. It was night time, and the moonlight was kissing the road.

  “I finally get to meet your mother. I hope she like’s me,” Shell said to Tay.

  “My mama like’s everyone with a name. Don’t worry,” Tay mumbled.

  “Hope so…” Shell said, as if her life depended on it.

  “Oh, by the way. We’re going to a night club tomorrow called Outlawz. It’s
always jumpin’ on holidays,” Tay informed.

  “Oh, good. I need a drink…or two. Can’t wait.”

  They pulled into Tay’s mother’s driveway, and a light came on from inside the
house. Tay parked, and struggled with their luggage, which was mostly Shell’s.

  “How much clothes do you need for two days?” Tay asked Shell, trying to tote the
bags.

  “Well, one bag is for my clothes, one for my shoes, and the other is for my make-
up,” Shell replied.

  “You got a bag just for your make-up?” He asked, as they got to the door where
his mother was already waiting. Shell nodded her head.
  “Hey darlings!…Yal’ finally made it huh? And I see yal’ brung gifts too. Put em
under my little Christmas tree,” Pamela said, as they came in. She was wearing a
purple, silk night gown, and socks.

  “Hey mother. This is Shelliana, or Shell,” Tay introduced.

  “Nice to meet you. She’s pretty Tay,” Pamela complimented.

  “Oh, thanx ma’m. Nice to meet you too,” Shell said.

  “Well, children I’m off to bed. I was only awake to wait for yal to arrive. If I
would have been sleep, yal would’ve been stuck outside. I can’t hear anything once
I close my bedroom door…Anyway, goodnight,” Pamela said, turning to walk off.

  Tay and Shell proceeded to Tay’s old bedroom. Everything was intact just as he
had left it the day he moved out. Like no one had stepped foot in it since then. His
mother did live alone, but the thought she’d go in there for something one day.

  They got dressed for bed, and slipped under the covers. Shell rolled on top of Tay,
and kissed him.

  “What are you doing girl?” Tay asked.

  “You heard you’re mama. She can’t hear anything once she closes her door.”

  “You’re bad,” Tay said grinning.

  The following morning, Tay was awaken by the smell’s of his mother’s delicious
cooking. Shell was snoring, as he rolled out of the bed, and walked to the kitchen
where Pamela stood over the stove.

  “Good morning mama cita,” Tay said.

  “Hey son, how are you?” She asked with her back to him, stirring in a big pot.

  “I’m good…Will be better after I eat some of this food,” Tay said, rubbing his
belly.
  “Well it’ll all be ready soon, but we have to wait on your brother and sister to get
here,” he said.

  “Oh, I’m in no rush. Take ya time mama dear.” Tay turned, and walked back to
the bedroom, and Shell was now awake. Sitting on the bed Indian style, looking
through Tay’s old high school scrapbook.

  “Hey!…What are you doing?” Tay asked, grabbing the scrapbook from her, and
stuffing it in a dresser drawer.

  “I was being nosy…Who’s that girl in there that kinda looks like me?…Your ex
or some’n?” Shell asked. Tay had never mentioned anything about Brittany to
Shell before.

  “Some’n like that…Hey, you better get ready now. Shower and stuff. Cuz my bro
and sis are on the way,” Tay said, quickly changing the subject.

  “Ok. Well, you better get ready too then, huh?” She said, springing off the bed.

  Shortly, Don, Anitra, her kids, and Tay’s sister Olivia, had all arrived. Everyone
was sitting around a big oak wood table, which was covered with a feast of
assorted dishes catered by Pamela. There was turkey dressing, chicken spaghetti,
honey smoked ham topped with pineapples, collard greens, lemon pie, pecan pie,
and much more. Delicious aromas filled the house, as everyone dug in their plates
voraciously, and gossiped among each other. The food made Tay miss living at
home. The only thing Shell could cook, had to come in a can or box.

  Abruptly following dinner, everyone huddled in the living room, and exchanged
gifts. Tay couldn’t stop admiring a gold and diamond watch Shell had given him.

  “I noticed that your old watch was begging for retirement,” Shell told Tay.

  “I love you for this one too,” Tay said, as Shell handed him another gift. He
unwrapped it, revealing a small remote of some sort. “What is it?” Tay asked her.

  “You know how you always complain about bird droppings on your car?…Well,
no more. I rented you a garage out in are apartments,” Shell said defiantly.

  “Ah, thanx. I needed that,” Tay smiled. He sat down the remote, and picked up a
huge present, handing it to Shell.

  “Hm?…What is it?…It’s big, but light…not heavy,” Shell said, holding the big
box.

  “Open it, and see,” Tay said grinning.

  Shell ripped off the wrapping paper, tore the box open, and saw a bunch of
Styrofoam balls. She dug her hands in them. Nothing. She looked at Tay confused.

  “Keep digging,” Tay told her, and she did. Pulling out a small jewelry box.

  “Boy!…You’re silly. This big o’l box for this?” Shell giggled.

  “Element of surprise,” Tay said.

  Shell gasped with her mouth open, as she opened the jewelry box, exposing a
beautiful platinum ring drenched with princess cut diamonds. She was speechless
like she caught a sudden case of aphonia.

  “You don’t have to thank me. Just hug your new fiance!” Tay told Shell with open
arms. She leaped into him, as everyone watched in astonishment. For, Tay hadn’t
informed anyone about the ring. Not even his mother. Tay was aware how soon it
was, but he knew one hundred percent that he was in love with Shell…He was lost
in the sauce.  

  Later that evening, Tay and Shell were preparing to go out to the club he had
mentioned the night prior. Well, actually, Tay was waiting on the couch while Sell
applied her make-up…Which took an hour.

  “I’m ready baby,” Shell said, coming out of the bathroom, throwing her purse
strap over her shoulder. Tay gave her a look of, about time, then grabbed his car
keys. They exited the house, and pulling out of the driveway, Tay wondered what
old friends he would see at the club tonight. He knew many people would be in
town for Christmas, and it would almost be like a reunion.

  They arrived at their destination, walking up to a massive long line, which

stretched from the club’s entrance, to the street forty yards away. Tay wandered his
eyes, noticing a second line with only third of the people standing in it, assuming it
must be the VIP line. He grabbed Shell’s hand, pulling her, as he fled in that
direction.

  “I’m gonna pay extra, so we can skip that long line,” Tay told Shell.

  “Oh, good!…Cuz it’s too cold to be waiting in that long ass line,” Shell replied,
trying to keep up in her three inch heels.

  A few minutes later, they were entering the club. The interlude to Club Outlawz
was equivalent to the rowdiness of Mardis Gras` on Bourbon street!…It was
overwhelmingly crowded, and the air was polluted of dense tobacco smoke. Like a
fumitory. The interior of this place consisted of two floors. The bottom was
basically a dance floor, and the second had balconies that overlooked the first, and
two bars. Tay and Shell fought their way through the herd of humans upstairs to a
bar.

  “Hey!…Can I get two Red Bull and vodkas please!” Tay yelled to the bald
headed bartender.

  “Sure!…Seven bucks!” The bartender replied. 

  Tay opened his wallet, and handed the guy a ten. “Keep the change!” Tay said,
and the bartender smiled while picking up a bottle of vodka. Tay pointed to a
empty bar stool, and advised Shell to sit down on it. She did.

  “I think I’m gonna stay seated here!…It’s too crowded for me to walk. You can
go tho. I’ll wait for you,” Shell told Tay, as the bartender handed them their drinks.

  “Ok, well I’ma make a few rounds, and I’ll be back!” Tay said, as they
simultaneously sipped their cups. They both hissed, and contorted their faces, as if
the bartender had mixed their drinks too potent.

  “Ok, I’ll be here!” She said, and Tay walked off.

  The smoke in the air was so thick that it was difficult to breathe. Tay was moving,
but encountered a number of “How ya been’s”, and “Haven’t seen you in a
while’s”, before finally reaching the bottom floor. He stood in one spot bobbing his
head to a T-Cuz song, peering into the crowd. His eyes scanned the room, and
instantly jerked back to a familiar face. She was coming right in his direction now,
and Tay grinned as he observed her sexy appearance. Her displayed breast
cleavage turned him on alone. She reached within three feet of him, and he
grabbed her arm gently. She whipped her head back.

  “Hey Kandi!” Tay said excitedly.

  Kandi looked surprised, then produced a huge smile. “Hey Tay!” She replied,
hugging her arms around him. “How ya been?” She asked him.

  “I’ve been good!…I live in Dallas now. I’m just down here for Christmas!” Tay
told her.

  “Oh yea? I moved to Lewisville. Like twenty minutes from Dallas! So, maybe we
can hand out sometimes!”

  “Yea, we can!…So, who’d you come here with tonight?” Tay asked. 

  “Oh, I popped up alone. Didn’t plan on being here long! You?”

  Tay hesitated before replying… “Um, someone that want’s to meet you!” Tay
lied.

  “Meet me?…Who?” Kandi looked bewildered.

  “You’ll see. Give me a few minutes. I’ll be right back with her,” Tay said rushing
off.

  A thousand thoughts ran through his mind as he struggled to get back upstairs to
Shell. He hadn’t seen Kandi since that tragic day her best friend, and his late
girlfriend, Brittany, died. Though, it seemed immoral, he couldn’t ignore his
attraction to Kandi. And even more immoral, he had quickly conspired a plan to
forge a threesome with Kandi, himself, and Shell.
  He finally made it to the bar where he had left Shell sitting to find the stool
empty. Shell was gone!…But where?…He walked to the balcony overlooking the
first floor, and peered down into the pool of people. He glanced near the restrooms,
and there Shell was…talking to Kandi!…And not just talking, but smiling, and
having a contentious discussion!

  Shell had went to use the restroom, and in the process, had bumped into Kandi.
They began a friendly conversation, and Kandi learned that Shell was there with
Tay. Kandi figure that Shell was the person who wanted to meet her. Luckily, Shell
quickly realized what Tay was up to, and played along.

  Tay hastily bought two more drinks, and rushed back downstairs, protecting the
two cups in his hands from bumping bypassers. He walked up on Shell and Kandi
while they still conversated.

  “I see you two have met!” Tay said, handing the two ladies a drink apiece.

  “Yep!…We were just talking about you!” Shell said.

  “Mmhmm. And Shell said I should come hand out with yal’ in Dallas whenever
we all get back!” Kandi said smiling, looking at Tay, then back at Shell.

  “Is that so?…Well, let’s have a little fun in this sardine packed club, and we’ll
exchange number before we leave,” Tay said.

  The three hung close for the next hour until they all decided they’d had enough
smoke, and escaped the havoc. They exchanged phone numbers in the parking lot,
and departed abruptly after.

  “She’s nice…and pretty,” Shell said to Tay on their way back to his mother’s.
“But I don’t know if she was reading between the lines or what.”

  “Me neither, but she seemed comfortable hang’n out with us. So, we’ll see what
happens,” Tay replied.

 
  In another car, Kandi drove alone thinking to her self…It was good seeing Tay
again. It’s been a while, but he looks the same. Still handsome. Kinda weird how
he wanted me to meet his girlfriend though?…She reminds me of Brittany in a way,
which is even more weird. I wonder why they both insisted that I hang out with
them so much?…Could it be they  wana…No!…That’s crazy!…But then again…
Shell was sort of throwing me hints. Touching on me a lot, and telling me I could
spend the night at their place whenever I came over. Hmm?…I always wanted to
experiment with another female…in a curious way. But a threesome is wild! And
with Tay!…That would seem real funny. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just taking things
the wrong way…

  The next morning, Tay and Shell said their goodbye’s to his mother, and they
transported back to Dallas. For, Shell had to got to work, and Tay needed to check
his emails. Once home, Tay got on his lap top, and found a few new email waiting
in his inbox. Some from people asking questions about his service fees, and details
of his services, but no serious inquiries. Though, he did receive another email from
that one guy who claimed to own a private night club. He had left his name and
phone number for Tay to call him. Tay decided to call him now.

  “This is Cory,” the guy answered.

  “Uh, hey…This is Tay. I was calling about an email you sent me about promoting
your club.”

  “Yea. I recall. I was waiting on your call actually. What other clubs have you
promoted before?” Cory asked Tay.

  “Um…Club Blue,” Tay lied, saying the first club that came to his mind.

  “Well, my club is very private, and is only open on Thursdays. It’s been having a
good sized crowd, but I want a much bigger crowd, and more diverse. So, I need
you to promote my spot on the internet, and by putting my flyers out at different
locations. I’ll pay you every Thursday. Four hundred to start out.”

  “Sounds ok to me. When do you want me to start on it?”

  “Today!…It’s Monday. If you can come meet me now, I can give you the flyers
out my truck. I’m at the Galleria Mall right now.”

  “Ok, I can meet you. I live close to the Galleria. Give me like ten minutes, and I’ll
call you when I’m in the parking lot,” Tay said.

  “Gotcha,” Cory hung up.

  Tay pulled into the Galleria’s front entrance, remembering that it had ten parking
lots!…He parked in 4-Blue Garage, and called Cory.

  “Hey, I’m here…parked in 4-Blue,” Tay told him.

  “Ok, what kind of car are you in?”

  “A royal blue Caddillac STS.”

  “Ok, be right there,” Cory said before hanging up.

  Moments later, a white Range Rover pulled up directly beside Tay’s car. A
middle-aged black guy wearing stylish sunglasses and a white linen suit got out of
it, and walked to the rear of the Rover. Tay unbuckled his seatbelt to get out, but
Cory was already at his window with the box of flyers.

  “Hey, this is four thousand flyers. You shouldn’t run out for a while, but if you do,
I have more,” Cory informed Tay, handing him the cardboard box through the
window.

  “Ok. Gotcha,” Tay replied, placing the box on the passenger seat.

  “Look, I’m in a rush, so I gotta run. But just come by the club Thursday. You
might like it. I’ll put you on the VIP list, and you can bring whoever you want with
you. I’ll also pay you then. The directions are on the back of the flyers,” Cory
talked fast.

  “Aright, see you thurs--,” Tay was talking to Cory’s back, because he was almost
back in his truck by now.
  Tay returned home, and tore open the box of flyers to examine them. There was a
very sexy woman’s picture on the front. She was wearing a red bathing suit, and
words were printed on the bottom half. Tay read over them:

~Club Iniquity~

Love Below Thursdays

For Sexy Couples & Single Females Only

The Wildest Adult Lifestyle Party!

Where Freaky People Have Fun!…B.Y.O.B (No high bar tabs)

Tay stared at the flyer in bewilderment. “What the hell?…Is this a swinger’s club
or some’n?” He asked himself. Then, he produced a smile at the thought, trying to
imagine what went on in this erotic place. He was more than curious now.

  When Shell arrived home from work, he showed her the flyer, and told her about
his ordeal with Cory.

  “A swinger’s club?…That’s wild!…Ya know, I think I heard one of my co-

workers talking about this place on day. Said it was some kind of erotic sex club. I
wana see if for myself. Can I go with you?” Shell asked, as if begging. “Matter of
fact, you should invite Kandi to go with us. If this place is really like that, it should
be a good way to bring Kandi out,” Shell suggested.

  “That’s a good idea. I’ll ask her…And we have to get some liquor. It’s a B.Y.O.B
club,” Tay said.

  “Ooh. I can’t wait to see this!…This is gonna be a trip,” Shell said excitedly,
smiling like a child in a candy store.
 

  Tay started his promoting for Cory by posting ads on his website, then by driving
to Deep Ellum, and dropping flyers inside every bar. Plus, he posted some on the
outside walls of every building. He figured with the large amount of people that
paraded through Deep Ellum every night, he’d only have to repeat this twice a
week.

  He also gave Kandi a call, and asked her if she wanted to accompany him and
Shell to Club Iniquity. He even told her what type of club it was suppose to be, but
she still agreed to go. Everything was in plan…

  Thursday evening was upon, and Tay sat in the living room stuffing liquor bottles
into a leather bag. Shell was in the bathroom applying her make-up, and Kandi was
supposedly on her way over. Tay glanced at his watch. It was nine-thirty.

  “Shell!…Please don’t take an hour to do your make-up like usual…I told you that
you look better without it anyway!” Tay yelled out loud so she could hear him.

  “I’m not baby!…I’m almost done!” She replied.

  Tay shook his head, as if he didn’t believe her, and continued to load the liquor
when the doorbell rang. He packed the last bottle, then sprung up to answer the
door.

  “O’ly!” Kandi said, walking in.

  “Hey, you look nice…Shell’s almost ready. She says,” Tay said incredulously.

  “Thanx. I didn’t know the dress code, so I just wore a dress,” Kandi said, looking
at her self. Her dress was fashionably sexy. Black, and hugging her body tightly,
showing the true shape of her curvaceous contour. Three inch black heels on her
feet complimented the dress. Tay was undressing her with his eyes when Shell
walked into the living room, bringing a sweet odor of perfume with her. Shell also
wore a dress, but it was red, and much shorter, stopping at her upper thighs.
  “I’m ready!…Told you I wouldn’t take long,” Shell said to Tay, while waving at
Kandi.

  “This is a first. Well, let’s be on our way,” Tay said, picking up the leather bag.

  “What’s that?” Kandi asked, gesturing at the leather bag.

  “Vodka, Grey Goose, and Patron,” Tay replied.

  “Oh, I’m not good when I drink Grey Goose,” Kandi said, shaking her head and
chuckling.

  “That’s good. You’ll have more fun that way,” Shell said as they exited the door.

  Tay followed the direction on the back of the flyer, driving them to a secluded,
white, gated building on a secluded road. On the side of town where mostly strip
clubs and “massage parlors” existed. The gate was open, and Tay pulled into the
parking lot, finding a empty spot near the side of the building. The three of them
got out, and could see various couples walking towards the front. Mostly middle-
aged, black couples.

  “I can’t believe we’re at a swinger’s club!” Kanid said, as they walked to the
front.

  Tay led them inside, entering a small room where a chubby lady with three chins
sat behind a counter. The triple chinned woman spoke to Tay immediately.

  “It’s fifty dollars per couple, and ten for the extra lady,” she told Tay.

  “Oh, no…I’m suppose to be on the VIP list. My name is Tay,” he said.

  The lady glanced down on a printed list, sliding her finger down it, and stopping
at Tay’s name. “Oh, I’m sorry…Just sign this consent form. Each of you, and have
a good time,” the lady said, handing Tay a form and pen. They all signed it, and
walked through the curtain.

  The three necomers gasped as they entered. The interior was aphotic, dark and
gloomy, but classy looking with black and gold trimmings. Crystal chandeliers and
white drapes hung from the ceilings, and the only light came from numerous
candles and televisions, which hung on each wall displaying porno movies. Half of
the room was a dance floor, which people were dancing half naked,  and some
totally nude. The other half of the room was filled with black tables and chairs.
There also was a stairway leading to a second floor that explained the short
ceilings.

  Tay gestured for Shell and Kandi to follow him to a empty table where they
seated.

  “This is wild!…I only seen this type of stuff on t.v!…Do you see that?” Kandi
said, pointing at the dance floor.

  “I know girl, and we the youngest in here too. I need a drink,” Shell said wide
eyed.

  “Well, first time for everything. I see a bar over there. I’m bout to go get some ice
and cups. I’ll be right back,” Tay said, rising out his chair, and walking to the bar in
the corner of the room. A guy was already standing at it waiting on something. He
spoke to Tay as he approached.

  “Hey, this your first time youngster?…I can tell new faces,” the guy said to Tay.

  Tay nodded. “Uh, yea. Seems wild. I brought my girl, and another friend girl,”
Tay replied.

  “Well, you’re lucky. You already have two women. It get’s crazy in here. Though,
most of the real action goes on upstairs. The bottom floor is just for mingling
really. You’ll see,” the guy said, grabbing a bucket of ice from the bartender. He
walked off.

  Tay got his ice and cups, then returned to the table. He poured them all drinks,
purposely making Kandi’s drink substantially more potent than his and Shell’s.. He
wanted to fuddle her. They sat drinking and observing for nearly forty minutes,
frolicking. Tay was beginning to feel the effect of the liquor, and Kandi’s eyes
screamed intoxication.

  “Let’s go dance yal’. I love this song. Usher is my fav,” Shell said.
  “All three of us?” Kandi asked.

  “Yea, come on,” Shell said, pulling Kandi’s hand as she got up.

  Tay followed them to the dance floor, and positioned himself between the two
ladies as they danced, but faced Kandi. He hugged her waist, as Shell reached
around him, rubbing Kandi’s butt. Kandi noticed who’s hands were on her ass, and
smiled. Thinking, Shell’s drunk. The more they danced, the more sensual their
actions got. Tay felt the progression of their sexual moods rising, and
recommended that they go upstairs, remembering what the guy at the bar had told
him.

  Hand in hand, the trio staggered upstairs, reaching the top, and found a room full
of white sofas. White curtains semi-blocked off sections from view, movement was
going on everywhere, and falsetto moans from multiple woman could be heard
sounding off. Tay falteringly, led them to a empty sofa, on the way, passing two
couples engaging in a naked orgy. The couch they sat in faced another, where a guy
was laid back getting his dick slobbered on by a dark skinned lady. Kandi gasped
at the obscene sight, grabbing Tay’s thigh in shock, but accidently felt the bulge
that had just stiffened inside of Tay’s jeans.

  “Oh, sorry!” Kand said, removing her hand quickly, and placing it over her
mouth.

  “Don’t be, it’s ok,” Shell said, grabbing Kandi’s hand, and placing it back on
Tay’s bulge. “It’s big huh?” Shell asked Kandi, who blushed in silence. Tay could
tell the liquor had Kandi more susceptible.

  Suddenly, Shell sprung up off the sofa in front of Kandi, and kneeled down
between her legs. Tay held Kandi’s face gently, turning it towards his as he kissed
her soft lips with heavy passion!…Kandi kissed him back, sucking on his bottom
lip. Tay could taste vodka on her breath, as their tongues intertwined. Same time,
Shell was busy pushing up Kandi’s dress to her waist, revealing her satin
underwear. Shell glid her hand up her inner thigh into the side Kandi’s panties,
feeling her warm vagina’s exterior drench her fingers. Quickly, Shell removed the
panties, pulling them down her legs, and over Kandi’s heels. Then, she used her
elbows to spread Kandi’s legs more, allowing her to crouch in between, and
plunged her mouth on the effusively wet pussy. Her tongue spouted out erratically.
The exhilarating sensation caused Kandi to break away from Tay’s lips, and let out
a instant moan of pleasure!

  Tay could only watch momentarily, impressed by how Shell caused Kandi to mew
like a cat louder and louder. This was definitely not Shell’s first rendezvou, Tay
thought to himself. Then, he reached for Kandi’s chest, pulling out her voluptuous
breast, and sucked both vigorously while unbuttoning his pants with one hand. He
extracted his fully erect python out, and grabbed Kandi’s hand, placing it around
the hard cock. She instantly and tenaciously jerked it off blindly. For, her head was
tilted back with her eyes to the ceiling.

  Tay tapped Shell’s shoulder, signaling her to stop, and trade him postions as if this
was a tag team match. Shell halted, got up out of breath, and exchanged Tay spots
like a substitution. Tay crammed down between Kandi’s legs, and pulled her close
to him so that her butt was at the edge of the sofa cushion. Then, he began rubbing
the tip of his dick on her slithery clitoris slowly. Seconds later, Kandi screamed
“Oh god!” As she felt Tay’s love cannon plummeting inside of her internal walls,
sending stupendous stimulation all through her body!…Tay’s hips rubbed against
her inner thighs, as he repeated to penetrate with maximum force!

  Shell was trying to kiss Kandi’s lips at the time being, but the obtrusive body
rocking strokes from Tay wouldn’t permit Kandi to keep her head steady. She was
looking like a bobble head doll. Shell was sliding off her own panties, when she
noticed the couple sitting on the opposite couch staring at her. They were quietly
spectating the sex show playing before them.

  Abruptly, Tay’s pounding subdued, and his cock slipped out dangling, as he rose
to his feet. Kandi released a sigh of relief, but was quickly pulled to her feet also.
She could barely stand alone, but Shell sprung up to assist her. By this time, Tay
was already lying flat on the sofa, looking up at them.

  “Get on top, and ride me Shell,” Tay instructed, and Shell immediately climbed
astride on his lap. Then, he pulled Kandi’s hand, instructing her to crouch over his
face. She hesitated at first, looking at Shell who was now, levitating up and down
his lap. Then, awkwardly positioned her self over Tay’s face. Her knees on his
shoulders. Tay spewed his tongue out, as Kandi’s pussy lathered his mouth, and he
frequently squeezed her ass cheeks while doing so. He could barely breathe now,
smothered by Kandi straddling her cunt up and down from his chin to his nose.
Kand was erratic.

The unknown couple sitting across from them still watched the entertainment, as
Tay was being used as sexual seesaw, both women on top of him moaning loudly.
The intimate scene proceeded for a long duration.

  “Ah!…I’m coming!” Shell blurted amatively, as Tay felt the tense, periodic
gripping of Shell’s orgasm on his cock. Shell shivered, then froze in her position,
rubbing her hands on Tay’s six-packed stomach in satisfaction.

  In front of Shell, Kandi had her back to her, clasping the arm of the sofa for
leverage, screaming and applying an excessive amount of pressure on Tay’s face.
Kandi was climaxing too now!…The intense spasms paralyzing her for a few
seconds, as her love juices spattered everywhere. Kandi finally regained
composure to lift her self up, leaving Tay with the sweet taste of his results. Tay
wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, looking down at Shell who was at the
time, lubricating his cock with her mouth. Tay ran his fingers through her hair, as
his ejaculation commenced, surpassing the feeling of gratification, and when Shell
saw the cumshot spout, she began to tenaciously jerk the squirting hose while
fondling his sack with her tongue. The spasms felt so sensational that Tay closed
his eyes, thinking he would never stop cumming, because the release felt endless,
shooting out like fire works on 4th of July. The menage a trois was over and done…

  They were back downstairs, and headed for the exit, when Tay was stopped by
someone.

  “Hey!…You can’t leave without your money,” Cory told Tay.

  “Oh, What’s up Cory. I didn’t see you earlier, but enjoyed the club. Nice spot,”
Tay said smiling.
  “Sorry, I got here late, but I saw you upstairs…doing you thing,” Cory winked.
“Anyway, here’s your loot,” Cory said, handing him some money.

  “Thanx…Well, I’m gonna get these girls home. I’ll give you a call tomorrow,”
Tay pointed at Shell who was being used as a crutch by Kandi, that was too
impaired to walk alone.

  “Oh, well be safe,” Cory said with a friendly wave. They left.

  During the next five months, Kandi became very close to Tay and Shell, almost
seeming like they had a tri-relationship going on. She was at their place about
every weekend, and things were going well.

  Shell had surprised Tay by coming home one day with his name tattooed on her
ankle. Tay went and got her name in return on his left chest in the style of a ink
stamp print. Telling Shell her name was stamped on her heart. She thought it was
so sentimental.

  Tay’s promotion for Club Iniquity was going well, and he had become a regular
there, going every Thursday. Tay thought his life was smooth sailing…until this
night…

  It was Thursday, and Tay was at Iniquity as usual. He had come alone tonight, and
he stood with Cory by the bar conversating while sipping beer.

  “You know Tay. Ever since I started dealing with you, the club has surely
increased profit, and a lot more younger women come now. I think it’s better with a
mix of age groups,” Cory said to Tay.

  “Yea. It’s important to have a variety. Plus, your crowd will die out if you don’t
keep gaining new, loyal comers,” Tay replied.

  Cory took a sip of his beer. “You’re pretty smart to be young. That’s why I like
ya!…If we keep this up…” Cory stopped in the middle of his sentence when he
noticed Tay was paying attention to him, but instead, staring across the room like
he’d seen a ghost. His eyes were wide as dinner plates. His pupils locked on
someone sitting at a table. Someone Tay never expected to ever see in Iniquity, and
someone he really didn’t want to see!…The woman that once, ripped his heart out
of his chest, and shot it a gazzillion times. She was right there…It was Ashley!

  “Ay man…you see some’n you like or what?” Cory asked Tay.

  “Oh, nal…I thought I saw someone I knew.”

  “Oh, just checking. You zoned out on me for a minute there.”

  “Sorry bout that…Hey, I’m bout to go to the restroom. I’ll be back,” Tay said
hurrying off. Cory looked at him suspiciously as he did.

  Tay walked inside the restroom, and paced around thinking to himself…What
was Ashley of all people doing here?…That bitch!…That beautiful bitch. I hater
her still with a passion for playing me like a fool, but deep down, I kinda miss her
sexy ass. I won’t show it though. I have too much pride. It’s been almost a year
since she fucked me over, but I’ll never forgive her for that…But, I shouldn’t be
childish. So, I’ll be civil, and speak if she does. Kill her with kindness.

  Tay exited the restroom, and returned by the bar. Cory was no longer there,
probably upstairs now, so he sat down on a empty bar stool. He saw that Ashley
and her two companions were still sitting at the same table drinking, and
lollygagging. It was midnight, and the club was at it’s usual capacity. The dance
floor was full of naked bodies, and all the tables were occupied.

  Suddenly, Tay attention adverted to one of Ashley’s friends getting up from their
table. She was walking towards the bar. The lady looked about thirty years old, in
need of a diet, and was very light skinned. She reached the bar, and asked for a
small bucket of ice. Then, she glanced at Tay, who was currently trying to act as if
he didn’t notice her, but she spoke to him anyway.

  “Hey, what are you doing sitting over here alone for?…I know you have a lady in
here. You’re too handsome not to,” the woman said, smiling with a hand on her
hip. She had so many gold bracelets on her wrist that Tay couldn’t count them.
They jingled as she moved her arm.

  “Um, nal…I’m just chilling. I do promotion for this club,” Tay replied.

  “Oh, well this is me and my friend’s first time here. It’s wild!…Do people really
be having sex upstairs?” She asked with extreme curiosity.

  “Yep, it’s wild. But it’s your choice to go up there, or just mingle down here.”

  “Well, we might take a peek, but we’re just observing. Having fun. You can come
drink with us if you want. We got plenty liquor,” she offered.

  “Oh, I don’t think that’ll be a good idea.”

  “Why not?…You don’t drink?” She asked stunned.

  “No, I know your friend Ashley, and we’re not exactly on good terms right now,”
Tay informed.

  “Really?…Well, I wont intrude on yal’s business, but if you change your mind,
the offer still stands,” she said grabbing the ice, and walking off.

  Tay watched her walk back to their table, and immediately say something to
Ashley in her ear, pointing in his direction. He quickly looked off to avoid eye
contact with Ashley, staring at a television that displayed Mr. Marcus pounding
some skinny asian chick. He waited a few seconds, then looked back…Oh no!…
Ashley was coming his way!…He braced his self for the interaction.

  “So, you wasn’t going to speak?” Ashley asked Tay, standing in front of him.

  “Why would I?…Why should I? Tay asked her back, not looking at her.

  “Tay!…Don’t act like that. I’ve been wanting to talk to you, but you disappeared.
And your brother moved from my apartments, so I had no way of contacting you,”
she said sincerely.

  “Why would you wana talk to me?…Or miss me?…Where’s Moe?” Tay shot
back.
  “I don’t talk to Moe anymore. At all.”

  “Yea, that’s what your mouth says. A lie don’t care who tell it,” Tay said
skeptically.

  “I’m not lying. When he found out the baby wasn’t his, he stopped talking to me,
and moved back to San Fransisco.”

  Tay looked at her now. “What baby?…I thought you had an abortion?”

  “I was, but I changed my mind. And when I had it, Moe took a paternity test, and
it wasn’t his,” She explained.

  “Huh?…So who’s is it? Not mine!” Tay said innocently.

  “Yes it is. I only had sex with you and Moe.”

  “How do I know that?…You’ll tell me the moon is blue.”

  “Tay!…I’m not lying!…It’s yours,” she defended, raising her voice. Tay stared at
her with squinted eyes, then got up. Telling him to follow him to the sofa near the
stairs for more privacy.

  “So, where is this baby now?” Tay asked Ashley suspiciously.

  “Um, our baby is with my mother in Plano at the moment. It’s a girl. She’s almost
two months, and her name is Emorie. I’ve been trying to find you to inform you…
And don’t think I’m trying to get anything from you. I don’t need nothing. I have a
great job now, making forty-two dollars an hour. So we’re good. I just want you to
be in your baby’s life. Emorie’s life.”

  Tay slammed his face down in his hands, and spoke with his head down. “Damn
it Ashley!…This can’t be. First, you fuck me over, now you telling me I got a baby.
You messing up my life. I go at fiance at home. This isn’t good, or right at all,” Tay
said frustrated.

  “I’m sorry Tay,” Ashley said teary eyed.

  “Tay thought about how Shell would take this surprising news if he told her. He
knew she wouldn’t’ be fond of it. All women knew how ‘baby mama drama’
interferes with relationships, and always assumed that men fooled with their baby
mothers forever.

  Tay looked at Ashley, who was barely crying now, and began to feel sorry for her
for some reason.

  “Come on Ash, don’t cry in here. Look, I’ll come see the baby, and I’ll go from
there. What’s your number?” Tay asked her. She sniffled while giving him the
number. “I’ll call you tomorrow and see if you want me to come by…Now, stop
looking sad. If anyone should be sad, it’s me. You came here to have fun, so enjoy
yourself…And yo’ freaky ass would be in a club like this,” Tay smiled.

  “Whatever!…My friend brought me here. Why are you here perv?” She asked,
cheering up.

  “I do promotion for this club, so I’m always here. Anyway, your friend invited me
to come drink with yal, and after all this I need a drink. A few,” Tay said chuckling.
They both got up, and went to join her two friends.

  The following morning, Tay was driving a black Honda, on his way to Waco. This
would be his last trip for J.J, because he didn’t want to catch a case now that he had
a baby and all. The whole trip he thought about being a father, and what was going
to happen now. He surely didn’t inform Shell about the baby, or that he had got
drunk last night, and ended up having sex with Ashley in the club. He had cheated
on Shell with the woman that cheated on him before. Somehow, Tay didn’t regret
it.

  He finally pulled into Jake’s shop parking lot, and was surprised how it wasn’t
busy. Only two cars were in the lot, and he didn’t even hear the usual power tools
working from inside. He got out of his car, walked inside, and instantly dropped
everything he was holding. Shocked from what he witnessed. The Hispanic man
who usually sat behind the desk, lied on the floor in a pool of blood!…His head as
sundered, and brain tissue blossomed from his skull like sea weeds. His eyes were
open, but Tay didn’t think he was seeing anything now.  A plate of warm burrittos
sitting on the desk gave Tay the idea that this horrific event didn’t occur too long
ago. The plate still gave off warm scents. He noticed the steel door that usually
stayed shut, was wide open. Jake!…Tay grabbed his stomach in an attempt to hold
his food contents down, then built up enough courage to step around the corpse,
and walk through the steel door. He was searching for Jake, as he entered the
garage-like room, nervously looking around. It didn’t take him long to find Jake
either…The dead amigo was sprawled face down on the concrete floor with
massive shotgun holes in his back!…Jake’s arms were spread out like he was
trying to make snow angels. An opened iron safe sat near Jake’s lifeless body.
Nothing was inside of it. The gruesome sight caused Tay to be no longer able to
succumb from puking up his breakfast. His hand grabbed the corner of a tool box,
as he bent over, spouting out his guts. He wiped his mouth, then turned to run back
out the front entrance of the shop. Running to the Honda, he hopped in, and
reached for the ignition. Damn!…He remembered that he’d dropped the car keys
when he first entered the shop. He got back out of the car, and ran in for the keys.
Seconds later, tires on the Honda spitted up rocks of gravel, as Tay drove away,
fearing for his life!

  Tay headed back to Dallas, and called J.J immediately.

  “Hello,” J.J answered.

  “Hey man!…We got a big problem!” Tay barely go this words out.

  “What’s wrong home’z?” J.J asked concerned.

  “Jake’s dead!…So is his front desk guy. I walked in, and found them shot dead!…
I just ran out!” Tay replied, exiting the freeway.

  “Oh shit!…Fuck amigo!…Shit’s went bad. I’ma call you back!” J.J hung up.

  Tay pulled into a gas station, filled up, and drove directly back to Dallas, speeding
the entire way.

  FBI agent Chris Burnes took a long drag on a cigarette, burning it to the filter,
before thumping it to the ground in front of him.
  “Shit!…Just when our investigation was reaching a breaking point, they break
broom sticks off in our ass’s!” Burnes said to agent Adams as his side, while
stomping the cigarette butt into the gravel. They had been investigating the
Merachi drug gang for a year now, and only had been able to sniff out two of their
members who had slipped up, and been dealing with one of their undercover
agents. One of them was Jose Jurez aka J.J, and the other was Jake Guerra, who
lied deceased in the building they were walking up to.

  The two agents bent down under the yellow crime scene tape, walking into Jake’s
shop. They instantly covered their mouths and noses, as a malicious odor
brutalized their nostrils.

  “Jesus Christ!…This guy smells like horse shit!” Adams said, speaking through
the palm of his hand, and looking at the dismantled corpse.

  “Yea, that’s a bad way to get fired by your boss,” Burnes joked, and uniformed
men walking around chuckled. Then, he noticed a plate of burrittos sitting on the
desk. “Looks like he didn’t get to finish his lunch either,” Burnes said.

  A uniform peeked in from the open steel door. “Hey, we got another on back
here,” a young officer informed them. The two agents hop scotched over the
slaughtered body, and followed the officer.

  “He’s over there kissing the floor,” the officer pointed.

  Burnes walked over to the dead man, and kneeled beside it. “Hand me some
gloves,” he ordered the young cop, who quickly obeyed. Burnes slid on the gloves,
and turned the dead body’s head for a closer observation. “Yep, this is one of our
guys Adams. Dammit!…We were so close to you bastard,” Burnes talked to the
corpse, as if Jake could hear him.

  “You think It was a robbery?” Adams asked Burnes, who rose to his feet shaking
his head.

  “Nal. Don’t think so…Not many people have the nuts to up, and rob a Merachi
member. And by the way this guy’s back Is blown out, whoever did it, came here
with murder as a first priority,” Burnes said.
  “But what about the empty safe?” Asked Adams.

  “Extra incentive.”

  “So what?…You think he was took out by his own people?” Adams asked
incredulously.

  “Mmm…Maybe. Why, I don’t know. But I do know the difference between a

pussy and a asshole when I see it,” Burnes replied, staring at Jake.

  “Hey!…We got more fingerprints over here on a tool box,” a forensic guy yelled.
Burnes and Adams looked in his direction.

  “Well, what the hell are you waiting for dip shit?…Get em’ processed, and get the
name…

  When Tay arrived home, he waited for J.J to call him back, but never received the
call. So, he called J.J back, but after several attempts, never got an answer. Then,
Tay decided to just drive over to J.J’s apartment. Maybe something was wrong
with J.J’s phone.

  Tay jumped in his Caddillac, and traveled to Sun Colony apartments where he
found J.J’s truck non-existent.

  “Damn!” Tay blurted, driving through the parking lot. Then, he noticed Ashley’s
car, and remembered that he was suppose to go by her place to see the baby. He
parked, and jogged to her door, knocking on it like the police. She answered
quickly.

  “Hey, you don’t have to beat on the door. I’m not deaf,” Ashley said, as Tay
walked in pass her.

  “Have you seen that Mexican guy with the Escalade truck?” Tay asked her.

  “Um, when I came home from the grocery store earlier. I seen him rushing to
leave. He had bags like he was going on a trip,” She said.
  Tay thought to himself quietly…What’s going on?…Was J.J getting out of dodge,
because he knew something really bad was going down?…Or even worse, because
he maybe thinks the same people that killed Jake, would be after him next?…

  Tay was in the dark, but almost right. The boss of the Merachi gang had found out
that Jake and J.J were making side deals, and pocketing the money. Not only that,
but dealt with an undercover fed, bring heat to them. So, the boss ordered them
both to be killed. J.J assumed this, and was on his way to Mexico, trying to avoid
his assasination.

  “Why do you ask?” Ashley asked Tay, who stood in a daze.

  “Um…um. I uh, gotta ask him something about my car I bought from him,” Tay
lied.

  “Oh. Is something wrong with it?…I’ll get it fixed for you if so,” she said.

  “Nal, never mind…Where is the baby?” He asked.

  “In her crib, but I’ll go get her, hold on.” She turned and walked off.

  Tay sat on the sofa, trying to make sense of everything that had happened.
Moments later, Ashley came back into the living room holding a baby, and
carefully handed her to him. He received the infant in his arms, and stared at the
baby’s face. She possessed all of his features. Eyes, chin, cheeks and all.

  “She look’s just like me,” Tay mumble to himself in disbelief.

  “I told you she’s yours,” Ashley said, sitting down beside him, and teasing at the
baby. “Hey Emorie. That’s yo’ da-da you’re looking at.”

  Tay didn’t know what to think, or how to feel. He still couldn’t believe he had a
baby even though he held it in his arms. Emorie barely opened her eyes, and
smiled. Making Tay so emotional, that he forgot all about the murder incident.

  “Tay, you know, I’m getting a new house built in Arlington. A nice home!…Total
cost of it is two hundred thousand…And I want you to come live with me…with
us,” Ashley looked at the baby.
  “Ash, I told you I have a girl. Shell, who I already live with. What are you talking
about?” Tay asked confused.

  “I know what you told me, but I want you…and I want you to be around Emorie.
I love you.”

  The three words struck Tay like lighting. I love you.

  “So, you expect me to just, up and leave Shell for you? For no apparent reason?…
I cant do that. It’s wrong. She’s been down for me, and…I love her,” Tay said.

  “If you love her, then why did you have sex with me last night?…Obviously, you
don’t love her too much,” Ashley said folding her arms.

  “Look!…Last night…just happened. And that doesn’t mean I don’t love her. I
have feelings for you, but Shell’s who I’m with,” he defended.

  “Well, did you tell her about Emorie?”

  “Nope. She’d have a break down.”

  “So, you’re just going to keep us a secret?…Just toss us aside?” Ashley looked
angry.

  “I didn’t ask for all of this, Ash. I don’t want no drama, and I had a good life
going on before you popped back in it. I’ll be in my baby’s life, but that’s all I can
promise.”

  Ashley dropped her head in silence. “Can you just leave now, please,” she said,
looking at the carpet.

  “Why?” Tay asked.

  “I just wana be alone right now. I’ll call you,” she said sadly.

  “Ok…But don’t blame me for how things are. Remember the reason I’m not with
you,” Tay handed her Emorie back. Ashley said nothing else, as he walked out of
the apartment.
  Tay drove back home, constantly thinking about the complicated twist Ashley had
put him in. He pulled into his complex, remembering that he’d drove the Honda
back from Waco. So, he parked his car in the lot, and put the Honda in his garage.
Entering the apartment, he smelled hot food, and heard dishes clanking in the
kitchen.

  “Hey babe, I’m cooking seafood gumbo. Hope you’re hungry,” Shell said to Tay
coming in.

  Does that come in a can? Tay thought. “I’m kinda hungry. Smells good tho.” He
said.

  “Um…Me and Kandi wanted to go out tonight to a club. You wana go?” Shell
asked.

  “No, I’m not in the mood for clubbin’. Plus, I gotta do some stuff for Cory. Yal’
go have fun without me,” Tay replied, floppin on the sofa.

  “Ok. Well don’t say I didn’t ask you.”

  The two ate dinner, and Tay was surprised that it was actually edible. Almost
good! He was so full of shrimp and crawfish, he grew lethargic. Very sleepy. He
decided to retire to their bedroom for a nap. He dosed off, having a dream that
Shell found out about the baby, and wanted to break up…Though, he was snapped
out of the dream when Shell’s voice woke him to reality.

  “Tay! Tay!…I’m bout to go to the club with Kandi. I’ll be back in a bit,” Shell
told him.

  “Ok. Bye babe,” Tay said sleepily. He heard her leave out the front door, and
raised up on his elbows, looking at the clock. 10:15. He crawled out of bed, and
went to the living room, flopping himself on the couch. He grabbed the remote,
and turned on the television to channel surf, but he couldn’t figure out how to work
the remote. She had recently purchased a new plasma television, and it hadn’t been
programmed yet. The only thing he could get was Dr. Phill, and Tay hated to hear
him talk.

  “You need help, and I’m here for you. Your wife deserves better, and you must
learn to respect her as a woman, and treat her with dignity. A marriage can’t
survive without respect for one another,” Dr. Phill said to a man on his show.

  Hm, maybe I need Dr.Phill for my situation?…or not!…Tay thought. He was

growing frustrated when his cell phone rung. He pulled his cell phone out of his
pocket.

  “Hello,” he answered.

  “Hey, what are you doing?” It was Ashley.

  “Mm, nothing. Listening to Dr. Phill tell me how I should live my life. I thought
you were mad at me or some’n?” He asked her.

  “I was just upset earlier, but I’m sorry for acting like that,” she apologized.

  “Oh, I guess. So, what ya doing?”

  “Watching t.v just like you, but not Dr. Phill. I took Emorie over my mother’s
because I was suppose to go out with my friend, but she had to do some’n else. So,
I’m just sitting here lonely. Where’s your girl at?” Ashley asked, as if concerned.

  “She went out with her friend,” Tay replied.

  “Oh, well you should come over here for a while,” she suggested.

  “I don’t know about all that. You might kick me out again.”

  “Please Tay. I’m lonely and bored. And I need to give you something I bought for
you anyway.”

  “Yea, yea…What did you buy for me?”

  “You gotta come see,” she said.

  “Mm…bribery. I guess I’ll come by for a hour or so, but that’s it.”

  “Ok, fine.”

  “Well, here I come. Bye.” Tay ended the call.

  He really didn’t want to go, because he already felt wrong about everything, and
didn’t want to send Ashley the wrong messages. Though, he gave in anyway. He
just promise himself that he wouldn’t have any sexual relations with her…None!

    Tay assaulted Ashley’s door with his knuckles, and she quickly opened it. She
was wearing an oversized t-shirt with Dallas Cowboys printed across it, which
draped to her knees. Hiding whatever she wore underneath it, and a pink bandanna
on her head. Tay walked in, and was immediately attacked by a furry creature that
was trying to devour his shoe.

  “What the hell?…Get this thing off of me!” Tay said, kicking at a small dog like
he was playing soccer.

  Ashley hurried to pick up the tiny beast. “Don’t hurt him. He’s a puppy,” she said,
petting the dog.

  “Don’t hurt him? That bastard tried to eat my big toe,” Tay said sitting down on
the sofa.

  “He’s not a bastard. He’s a Pomaranian, and he just like’s to play. I bought him
today,” she defended the dog.

  “Well, I hope he never decides to play with my balls, if that’s how he plays. Feed
that thing.” Tay looked at the dog meanly.

  Ashley giggled. “You’re silly. I’ll put him in my room,” she said, walking away
with the pooch. She walked back into the living room holding a long jewelry box,
and handed it to Tay.

  “What’s this?” He asked.

  “The thing I bought you today,” she replied.

  He opened the box, extracting a gold Byzantine necklace. “Ah, I like this…How
much was it?” Tay asked, admiring the necklace.

  “You welcome. I paid bout four hundred for it.”

  “Dang. What made you do that?”

  “I just wanted to get you something, and I thought it would look good on you.”

  Tay put the necklace on, thinking to himself…Yea right. You’re trying to butter
me up. You just don’t go and spend four hundred bucks on someone just cause.

  Ashley pointed at the television. “This is a good movie. It’s about a guy who hired
a hit man to kill his wife, but his wife found out about it, and now she’s trying to
kill him,” Ashley explained, pulling a blanket over them, and laying her head on
Tay’s shoulder.

  Tay couldn’t believe he was having a blockbuster night with a girl he hated last
week. Ashley smelled good and mellifluous sitting all up on him. Something like a
peach body spray. Tay watched the television as if really into the movie, but
couldn’t tell you one character if he was asked at this moment. His mind was
clouded with the thoughts of whether he could see himself being with Ashley
again. He had grew attached to Shell, and he couldn’t imagine living without her,
so the chances were slim.

  Ashley’s hand rested on Tay’s thigh, and he felt her hand began to rub his crotch
area under the blanket. Tay wasn’t trying to go there with her, so he kept his eyes
glued on the television. She rubbed more and more until she felt his cock
amplifying stiff in his jeans. Tay had attempted to prevent if from getting hard by
ignoring her, but failed terribly. Ashley began kissing on the side of his neck, but
he acted as if she was even there, hawking the screen. She noticed that he wasn’t
paying her any attention, and unzipped his pants, reaching in for his piece.

  “Hey!…What are you doing? I’m trying to watch the movie here,” Tay said, as
Ashley pulled his long pipe out of his pants.

  “Let’s make love,” she said with a hand full.

  “Nal girl. I’m not trying to got there with you,” he said, like a fat man trying to
resist a t-bone steak.

  “Well, why is your dang hard as a rock?” She squeezed it gently.

  “Cuz you’re playing with it. Move!” He said, reaching under the blanket to move
her hand, but she quickly took hold of it again. “Listen Ash, I’m not about to have
sex with you, so just ease up,” he said sternly.

  Ashley smacked her lips in a stubborn gesture. Then, she pulled the blanket off
Tay’s lap, and lowered her head down, swallowing his dick. Tay instantly grabbed
the top of her head to stop her, but the warm sensation felt too good to resist. He
succumbed, letting her proceed. She was wrapping her lips around it, perfusing it.
Tay closed his eyes, and let out a faint moan. It seemed as if she was premorsing
the entire thing!

  “Ah shit, girl,” Tay whispered. She continued for several minutes. Then, she
stopped, and rose up, sitting over his lap astride. She quickly pulled the too big
shirt she was wearing over her head. She wore nothing underneath it, and held
Tay’s voluminous cock, as she declined her pussy on top of it. She had won…Tay
could no longer fight his temptation, as Ashley elevated up and down his cylinder
of love. The love making was like non other they’d ever had before, and she was so
wet, that Tay felt like an ocean wave was riding him. He was once again, lost in
the sauce. Falling back in love with Ashley.

  Tay left Ashley’s apartment about one o’clock that night. He got home, and Shell
was still gone, so he had time to take a shower. Rinse himself of Ashley’s scents,
and cleanse his body of infidelity. He got out of the shower, and laid in bed,
thinking in the darkness…What am I doint?…I’m falling for Ashley again, but I
love Shell…Though, I think I love Ashley too. That cant be right though. You can’t
love two women at once…can you?

  His train of thought was broken when he heard the front door open. He could hear
Kandi’s voice, and assumed she was staying the night over. He rolled over on his
side, and closed his eyes. The shower came on, and several minutes later, Shell and
Kandi came into the bedroom, climbing in the bed with him.

  “Tay…Tay…I know you’re not sleep already,” Shell said, shoving Tay, who
continued to play sleep. He was aware that Shell and Kandi were probably tipsy,
and wanted to have sex, which he lacked the energy and motivation for. Ashley had
drained him earlier, so he just played to be sleep.
  Shell finally gave up trying to wake him. “Well, Kandi…guess we gotta do
without him,” Shell said.

  Tay listened to the two girls moan, as they made out beside him until he actually
fell asleep.

  The next Saturday, Tay and Shell went to south Dallas for the June-teenth parade
held on Martin Luther King bulevard. It was an annual tradition of the black
community to celebrate the end of slavery. There was thousands of people in
attendance, and festivities everywhere. Muslims walked around in black suits,
handing out pamplets about their religion, and it seemed like Tay received another
one every time he dropped one. The parade stretched from I-75 to the Texas State
Fairgrounds. People stood on the sidewalks as gigantic floats passed, waving their
hands and cheering. You could hear speeches spoken by ministers, who had set up
large stereo speakers and microphones by the curbsides. The weather reminded Tay
that he lived in Texas. It was one hundred and four degrees, but it felt ten degrees
higher!…Sweat caused Tay’s shirt to stick to his back like fly paper, and Shell’s
make-up had perspired off. The sun was literally baking them.

  “Ooh, baby can we leave now?…I’m sticking to my clothes,” Shell complained to

Tay, wiping sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. She was about to
swelter and pass out.

  “Yea, I think I’ve had enough of this. Let’s get out of this torture,” Tay replied.
Shell looked relieved.

  When they got back to the car, Shell focused on Tay’s necklace as they got in.
“Where did you get that necklace?” She asked him.

  “…Uh, I bought it from O’bryan,” Tay lied, cranking the car.

  “Oh, I like it,” she said.

  They pulled off, and stopped at a red light down the street, but something caught
Tay’s attention. He noticed flashing lights behind him, and Shell looked back too,
seeing the police car tailgating them.
  “What is he pulling us over for?” Shell asked confused.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t do anything wrong. I guess for being black on a Saturday,”
Tay said, pulling over to a halt. It was a few moments before the officer got out of
his vehicle, but when he finally did, he walked up to Tay’s window with his
firearm out.

  “Get out of the car with your hands up!” The officers demanded Tay.

  “What the…I think you’ve made a mistake officer,” Tay said bewildered.

  “Get out of the fucking car with your hands up!” The cop said louder this time.

  Tay looked at Shell in the passenger seat, who was spooked, then slowly opened
his door to step out. The cop grabbed Tay’s arms roughly, and turned him around,
pushing him against the car while handcuffing him. Tay felt like Rodney King..

  “Why are you arresting me?” Tay asked the cop.

  “Are you Octavius Wade?” Asked the cop.

  “Yea, so? What did I do wrong?” Tay responded angrily.

  “You have a federal warrant out for your arrest, son. I’m taking you in,” informed
the cop.

  “What?…That’s crazy!…Shell, drive the car home. I’ll call you asap!” Tay yelled
back to her, as he was took to the patrol car, and placed inside of it.

  Tay sat furiated in the backseat, as he was taken to a federal building in Irving,
Texas. The main headquarters. They drove into a underground garage, and Tay was
escorted to an elevator that took them to the seventh floor. Then, two white men in
black suits met them, and took Tay to a small interrogation room. The two men
uncuffed him, and instructed him to sit down at a steel table. Tay was then, left
alone with a bottle of water.

  He sat quietly, rubbing his wrist, which hurt from the too tight handcuffs that left
imprints on his skin. The bottle of water sitting on the table in front of him was the
only thing for him to look at, and he just stared at it, as he thought to himself. What
is this?…It had to be about the murders in Waco…or the drugs…but how did they
know about me?…I’m denying everything.

  The two suited men re-entered the room, and sat down across from Tay. One was
holding a yellow notepad and pencil.

  “How are you doing Mr. Wade?…I’m agent Adams, and this is my partner agent
Burnes,” one of the men stated.

  “Not so good. Yal’ got me in here for no reason,” Tay replied hastily.

  “Oh, we have a reason for having you here Octavius, and we’ll get right to it,”
Adams said, rubbing his chin. “Where were you last Friday?” He asked Tay
quizzically.

  “Um, with my girlfriend. I think,” Tay replied unsurely.

  “You think?” Adams raised an eyebrow. “Hm, where you in Waco?” He asked, as
if he already knew the answer.

  “Mm…matter of face, I was…My mother lives in Waco. I went to visit her,” Tay
replied kind of like, so what?

  “Listen here!…He’s nice, but I’m not!…We found your fingerprints at a murder
scene, and we wana know what you were doing there!” Burnes shouted, looking
seriously.

  Tay picked up the bottle of water, twisted the cap off, and drunk a big gulp. “Ok!”
Tay said, as if surrendering. “I know what you’re talking about…but I had nothing
to do with it. I just went up to that shop to get an estimate on a paint job. I walked
in, saw a dead guy, and I burnt out!” Tay explained.

  “Well, we found your fingerprints in the back. What were you doing back there?”
Adams asked curiously.

  “I was looking for--,” Tay caught himself. “I went back there to see if anyone was
alive back there.”

  “So, why didn’t you call the police?” Asked Adams.

  “Man, I was scared!…I didn’t want anything to do with that. I just drove straight
home.” Tay took a few more gulps of the water.

  “You weren’t too scared. Because you said you seen a dead body, and still went
into the back of the building,” Adams made a point.

  Tay thought about the mental mistake he made, but couldn’t go back on it. “I
didn’t know what I was thinking to go in, but I realized I needed to get out of there
quickly.”

  Adams looked at Tay suspiciously. “We left you that bottle of water long ago, and
you never touched it, but now you’re drinking it like a camel. Nervous?” Adams
asked Tay, but Tay didn’t respond. Just bit on his fingernails.

  “Look kid!…We’re the feds!…Not the Dallas Police!…You expect us to believe

that crap?” Burnes said incredulously.

  “It’s the truth,” Tay said with a straight face.

  “So, you don’t know Jake Guerra? Member of the Merachi drug gang?” Asked
Adams.

  “Nope. I don’t know any Jake, or drug gang, or anything to do with drugs,” Tay
denied.

  “What about Jose Jurez, aka J.J?…Do you know him?…He’s disappeared on us
since this happen. Maybe you can tell us where he is?” Adams said.

  “Who?…I don’t know any Jose either…Look, yal’ have the wrong guy to be
asking questions,” Tay said.

  “Alright!…You keep this I don’t know routine up, and I’ll make sure you get
charged with conspiracy, drug trafficking, and whatever else I can come up with!”
Burnes yelled, raising out of his chair. Tay flinched back as he did.

  “Man, I’ve done nothing. Do what you gotta do. I don’t know squat. My name is
Bennett, and I ain’t in it,” Tay said, standing his ground.

  The two agents looked at each other in silence with disgusted expressions on their
faces. Then, Burnes cracked a evil smile.

  “Ok, I see how you’re gonna play ball. We might not have anything on you, and
we know you’re not a member of the Merachi gang, because we’ve been
investigating them for a year now. We don’t know where you fit in…but, we do
know you have more knowledge than what you’re telling us. That make’s us
mad…Octavius, do you know what perjury is?” Burnes asked Tay, staring in his
eyes.

  “Yea, so…?” Tay shrugged his shoulders.

  “Well, let’s just say you just committed it. We know that you know Jose Jurez,
because we checked your cell phone records, and saw that you called Jose’s phone
several times last Friday. The day of the murders. Quite a coincidence to me. So,
you just lied to two federal agents. That’s against the law in the United States,
son…So, guess what?…You’re going to jail. Read em’ his right’s Adams!” Burnes
ordered.

  Adams walked to Tay. “Stand up son. You have the right to remain silent, and you
have the right to speak. Knowing that anything you say, may, and will be used
against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot
afford one, one will be appointed to you,” Adams recited the Miranda Rights, as he
cuffed Tay. Then, walked him out to be fingerprinted.

  The agents had no real indication that Tay was involved in the murders. At least,
they didn’t expect he did. Though, they did know that Tay was associated with a
member of the Merachi gang somehow. The coincidence was too far fetched. There
was something he knew, and their scare tactics didn’t force any information out of
him, so they put a mediocre charge on him just to keep him in reach. Just incase
they needed to talk to him again.

  Tay was taken to a federal holding facility in downtown Dallas where U.S
Marshalls placed him in a cell. Which, two inmates in orange jumpsuits already
sat. There were two steel benches in the cell, and Tay sat down on one, as the other
two men eyed him. One of the guys was a old, white man in his seventies maybe.
His face was pugy like a boxer, his hair was gray, and he had a potbelly that made
him look pregnant.

  The other guy was younger, and Hispanic. He was bald headed, and had a big
tattoo of a star on his neck. It looked like the Dallas Cowboys emblem.

  The old man looked at Tay and spoke. “Whatcha’ doin here younster?” He asked,
scratching his head through a few hairs that were hanging from his scalp for dear
life.

  “Some bullshit…They tried to say I had something to do with some murders, or

drug gang crap. But I denied everything. So, they arrested me for perjury,” Tay
replied.

  “Whoa youngster!…How you get in some mess like that?” The old guy asked.
Tay looked at him like, I don’t know. “Well, you’re lucky. Cuz if they only charged
you with perjury, then that’s all they had on ya. They got nothing else. Just playing
mind games with ya. Assholes.”

  Oh, well…how much time can they give me for that?” Tay asked him.

  “Um, if no criminal history…they can’t give you no more than a year. Maybe
less. It’s nothing. I’ve done twenty years in the feds. Bastards took my life and
freedom long ago. You’ll be fine. Just plead guilty, and take your lil’ time, or
they’ll give you more. You cant’ beat the feds. They got a ninety-eight percent
conviction rate. Plus, if you really did have something to do with all that stuff, you
got off good. Cuz conspiracy can get you twenty years easy. Back in the days they
didn’t have conspiracy, but now the system’s all fucked up,” the old guy explained,
spitting as he talked.

  Damn…Tay was thinking to himself about doing a year in jail. Also, about how
Shell was probably feeling right now. She probably was crying, worried sick. He
wondered how she’d take him going to prison…And how Kandi would. And oh!…
Ashley and the baby!…Damn. He had just found out he had a baby, and now, was
about to go to jail.

  The Hispanic guy spoke to Tay. “Don’t worry essay. You won’t be here long. This
is where you go to court. We’re here to see the judge. They’ll send you to a prison
if you get time,” the Hispanic guy told Tay.

  “What drug gang did those fucker’s say you had part in?” Asked the old man.

  “Um, the…Me-Merachi gang. Some’n like that,” Tay replied unsurely.

  “Merachi!…” The Hispanic guy looked surprised. “Damn, they run the drug
game in Texas. I’m in here for drugs so I know. I got caught with twenty kilos of
cocaine. I use to score from one of their boy’s in Elpaso. Cars…with seventeen
keys stashed in each one.”

  Tay didn’t respond, but thought about what he’d just said…Seventeen kilos?…Oh
shit! That Honda in my garage has seventeen keys in it…And nobody knows I have
it.

  “Hey, how much does a kilo usually go for?” Tay asked the Hispanic.

  “It depends where you’re at, and how much you’re selling at a time. If someone
bought only one kilo from me, I’d sell it for as much as ninth teen grand. If in bulk,
then much less though,” he replied.

  Tay did the math in his head quickly…Shit!…I got over two hundred thousand
dollars in my garage!

  Tay spent the night in the cell. Early the next morning, a lawyer came to talk to
him about his case. You could tell the lawyer was your average court appointed
attorney by his worn, cheap suit, and dozens of unorganized papers he carried. He
wore a red bow tie, and oversized bifocals. The guy that use to be on the
infomercials trying to sell books on how to get free money from the government
was identical to him. He spoke to Tay in a deep voice, as if he had to pump out his
chest before speaking.

  “Hey Octavius. I’m Doug Morris. They didn’t know if you had an attorney, so
they sent me over to speak with you.”
  I bet they did,  Tay thought. He knew that having a court appointed lawyer was
useless in court. They were over worked, and under paid. Given dozens of cases
per week. So, if they even wanted to give your case any effort, they didn’t have
time to.

  “You know what you’re charged with right?” Doug asked Tay, fumbling through
papers.

  “Um, yea,” Tay replied.

  “Well, have you thought about how you’re going to plead to it?”

  “Yah. I’m gonna plead guilty,” Tay said.

  “You sure?…Because you have time to think It over. Though, your case is kinda’
difficult to fight. And if you do plead guilty, the judge will give you good time off
your sentence. Meaning, if the judge gives you a year, you’ll only have to do ten
months of it. Judge Lynn is nice, she’ll most likely do that,” Doug explained.

  “I’m sure…I wana plead guilty.”

  “Ok, well, this means we skip a lot of steps. I just submit your guilty plea to the
judge, and she’ll sentence you. Then, you’ll have to turn yourself in on a given date
at a federal prison to complete your time. They’ll release you from here today on
supervised release after you see the judge.”

  “Ok, I understand. Can I use the phone?”

  “Sure, right after you sign a few papers,” Doug said.

  Tay was brought before Judge Lynn, and she sentenced him to a year and a day.
Which, he only would have to serve ten month of, just as Doug stated. The lawyer
had informed the judge that Tay didn’t want to wait for a sentence hearing, so he
could begin his time asap. She informed Tay that he had to self-surrender himself
to F.T.C prison in Oklahoma City in thirty days. He also would be on probation
after incarciration.
  Shell was at Tay’s court hearing to pick him up, and her face looked like she’d
been crying crocodile tears for days. Her eyes were red as a coke can. She hugged
Tay as if he’d been gone for years once they reunited.

  “Baby, I couldn’t stop crying. I was worried to death. I couldn’t eat or sleep. What
happened?” Shell asked Tay, on their way home.

  “I’m sorry babe. They got me on some bullshit…Fuck’n perjury. Shit I had
nothing to do with,” Tay replied.

  “Well, why did you plead guilty then?” Shell asked confused.

  “I had to. You cant beat the feds. I just gotta do this little ten months. It’s not that
long. As long as you stay down with me. I hate to leave you alone though.”

  “Tay, ten months is a long time. I’ma miss you too much. Where you gonna be?”

  “A damn prison in Oklahoma. I don’t know why they sending me way up there
when it’s prisons in Texas. But you can still come visit me. It’s only two and half
hours from Dallas.”

  “I cant believe the Tay. You’re gonna miss Christmas and all that.” Shell teared
up.

  “Shell. It’ll be ok. Time will go by fast, and won’t nothing happen to me. I just
need to be able to trust you…as far as being down for me. Can I trust you?” He
asked.

  “Yea…You know you can,” she sniffled.

  “Ok. Well, we’ll be fine. I got a month to prepare at least. And spend some time
with you before I go.” Tay was trying to sugarcoat the situation.

  “Yea, I guess you’re right about that,” Shell mumbled.

  They arrived home, and Tay called everyone in his immediate family to inform
them about his bad news. His mother took it the worst, but tried to make him feel
better with lots of spiritual talk. Kandi came over when she found out about it to
give her comfort, and as for for Ashley…Tay would tell her in person tomorrow
when he could get away. Today, he just wanted to sit at home and relax his mind.
Plan for his departure from the outside world. The fact that he was going to jail
hadn’t really sunk in yet. He was actually more concerned about all the drugs in his
garage, and what he was going to do with it. He knew for sure that he wasn’t about
to hustle it on the streets. Far too dangerous with this amount of drugs. Plus, he
didn’t want too many people to know that he possessed it. He figured his only
option would be finding a drug dealer with enough money to buy it all at once. One
he could trust. One month surely wasn’t ample enough time to complete this task,
so he would wait until he got out of jail before making a move. Keeping the drugs
a secret. He wouldn’t even tell Shell about it, but tell her that the Honda was an
extra car he purchased, and for her not to let anyone know it was in the garage. The
Honda car keys would be taken to his mother, because he could trust them with her.

  The following morning, Tay got up and checked his cell phone, finding he had
twelve missed calls. Ten of the missed calls were from Ashley. Tay had turned his
phone on silent mode the night prior, so he wouldn’t be disturbed. Shell was gone
to work at this time, so it was safe to talk. He called Ashley back.

  “Hello,” Ashley answered.

  “Hey Ash, what ya doin?”

  “Nothing. Where have you been?…I’ve been trying to call you for three days.
You cant answer anymore?”

  “Something went wrong. You should’ve figured that,” Tay replied.

  “Like what?…And I did think something was wrong.”

  “I’ma come over and tell you about it.”

  “No. Tell me now. I have to go to work soon.”

  “Well, I’ll tell you when you get off work.”

  “Noooo! I wana know now. Tell me,” Ashley pleaded like a child asking for
desert before supper.
  “Dang, ok…I went to jail. Well, I have to go to jail,” Tay informed.

  “Huh?…For what?” Ashley asked, flabbergasted.

  “Doesn’t matter why. What does matter, is that I gotta go do ten months in the
feds.”

  Ashley gasped. “Are you serious? When?”

  “Serious as a heart attack. And I gotta turn myself in next month.”

  “No!…I’ma cry. Why Tay?”

  “It’s only ten months. I’ll be ok. You can visit me if you want. I don’t know if I’ll
have phones. I’ll be in Oklahoma City. Two hours away.”

  “Ah baby…I’ma come see you every weekend, and I’ll put all the money you
need on your books. I’m sad.”

  “Don’t worry yourself. It’ll be like a vacation for me. I’ll just read, and work out.
Get sexy.”

  “You’re already sexy.”

  “Well, get more sexy…I’m just saying. It wont be all that bad.”

  “I hear ya, but I cant help but be sad. I love you,” Ashley said like she meant it.

  Tay paused, as if choked by the words. He was beginning to believe that Ashley
truly love him. Or was she trying to emulate Shell in order to take her place?
Though, at the same time, he was deciphering whether he really loved Ashley. This
was too heavy on his mind. Like two thousands pounds of emotions his brain
couldn’t bench press.

  After ending the call with Ashley, Tay called Cory to inform him about his
mishaps. He was very disappointed, because he was loosing his promotion guy,
and good friend for almost a year. Cory told Tay that they would have a “going
away” party for him at Iniquity the Thursday before he went away. And for him to
inform everyone he want to attend it. When Tay got off the phone, he posted a
bulletin on his myspace page, and sent emails about his party. The internet was the
fastest and simplest source of communication to reach people by far.

  The days leading to Tay’s party, he split time between Shell and Ashley. Spending
one day with Shell, then the next with Ashley. Telling Shell he was going out to
different places while he still could whenever he was with Ashley. A reasonable
excuse. At least, enough to where Shell never grew suspicious about him leaving.
Though, Tay wasn’t aware of the big hole he was digging himself in.

  Tonight was the night. Tay’s going away party was here, and he entered Club
Iniquity accompanied by Shell and Kandi. It was eleven o’clock, and the club was
already jammed pack!…People had come that Tay didn’t even know were aware of
his party. He found it hilarious that most of them didn’t know what type of club
Iniquity was, but they would soon find out.

  O’bryan was there, and he came walking up to Tay as soon as he spotted him.

  “Hey man!…Why you never told me about this place? I like this joint!…You’ve
been holding out. I’m sorry you’re going to jail bro. That’s messed up, but I got
you if you ever need anything,” O’bryan said, holding a empty bottle of beer.

  “It’s cool. I’ll be ok. I’m just about to have some fun tonight while I’m still a free
man,” Tay replied.

  Everyone greeted Tay the exact way, and all the sympathy was starting to make
him feel down about going away. Thinking about everything he would miss. He
and the girls sat down at  a table, and they sipped mixed drinks while mingling
with everyone. It was a good time, and Tay felt tipsy, as he glanced towards the
entrance to see Ashley walking in with one of her friends. He didn’t panic, because
he knew Ashley wouldn’t cause any drama. Though, he was second guessing now,
because Ashley spotted him, and came walking straight up to their table!

  “Hey Tay. How are you?” Ashley asked Tay, smiling.

  Tay looked up at her with no expression. “Um…Hey Ash-ley. I’m doing fine,”
Tay spoke through his teeth, giving her a look like, what the hell are you doing?
“This is Shell and Kandi,” Tay introduced. Shell and Kandi waved at Ashley.

  “Good. Well I had to come to your party, and show you some love. I’ll see you
around, ok,” Ashley said walking off.

  “Where do you know her from? She’s pretty,” Shell asked Tay.

  “Oh, she…uh, always come’s to the club,” Tay lied.

  Shell said nothing else about Ashley, but Tay was thinking in his head…What
was Ashley trying to pull there?

  Kandi and Shell got up to go dance, but Tay stayed seated, sipping on his vodka
and cranberry. He could feel Ashley staring at him from a distance, and decided to
go see what was on her mind before a dilemma arose. He rose from his chair, and
walked over to her.

  “What’s up with you?” Tay asked Ashley.

  “Nothing…What?…I can’t talk to you cuz yo’ bitch is here?” Ashley asked
hastily.

  “First of all…Don’t disrespect my girl, cuz she hasn’t done anything to you.
Second of all, you knew what you were doing by coming up to our table. I told you
that me and you could be close, but I don’t want no drama,” Tay fussed.

  “I’m not starting any drama,” Ashley said innocently.

  “Well, make sure you keep it that way, because I’ll cut this shit short the minute I
think you are,” Tay said like a mother warning her child.

  “Ok, ok…I’m not…But, can I have a hug?” Ashley asked with open arms. Tay
glanced around as if to see if anyone was looking, then quickly hugged her, and
went back to his seat.

  Tay was furious, because he thought Ashley was playing games. He wouldn’t
allow Ashley to sabotage his relationship with Shell. If he broke it off with Shell, It
would be on his own terms. Not her’s.
  O’bryan came and sat down next to Tay, smiling. He looked like he had downed
too many drinks…an hour ago.

  “Hey Tay, I’m tipsy man,” O’bryan said with drowsy eyes.

  “It’s obvious,” Tay replied.

  “I’m having a blast…Who’s that fine chick I seen you talking to over there with
the long hair.”

  “That’s Ashley I told you about,” Tay informed dryly.

  “Oh yea!…Yo baby mama up in here!…Sh--.”

  “Oh, sorry. My bad…Well, I’m bout to go finish talking to this half naked honey I
just met. Cheer up man, it’s your party,” he told Tay, as he left the table, stumbling
over nothing.

  Tay continued to drink, and glued his eyes on Shell and Kandi, as they boogied on
the dance floor happily. Suddenly, a guy walked behind Shell and grabbed her ass,
but she slapped his hand away. The guy grabbed her ass again, and Shell turned
around telling him a few words. Tay couldn’t hear them, but by reading her lips, it
looked like, “stop it asshole!” The guy gave Shell the middle finger, and walked
off.

  Tay’s initial thought was to go kick the guy’s ass, but he restrained himself,
knowing that Cory would be pissed if he did. So, he just watched the guy stagger
across the room, apparently drunk as an Irish. The guy entered the restroom, and
suddenly it hit Tay. He remembered  this asshole. He was the same guy a lady
claimed tried to force himself on her upstairs a few weeks ago. Tay had advised
Cory to ban the guy from the club, but Cory gave him the benefit of the doubt,
because no one witnessed the incident. Another reason was because the asshole
worked for 97.9 Radio, the most popular radio station in Dallas, and gave Cory
discounts on promotional ads. Tay was already furiated, so the guy had just picked
the wrong ass the grab.

  Tay got up, and followed him into the restroom, but when he walked in, the was
already inside a stall urinating. Tay waited outside of the stall door for him to come
out, listening for the toilet to flush, but it never did. The guy didn’t even bother to
flush, he just zipped this pants, and turned to exit the stall. He opened the door, and
Tay’s fist crashed into his face like a head-on collision! The impact caused him to
fly back, landing on the toilet seat dazed. Tay stepped into the stall, grabbed him by
the shirt, and pulled him to his feet before punching him in the stomach. The blow
made the guy cough up spit on Tay’s face. Tay wiped his face disgusted.

  “Did you just spit on me asshole?” Tay asked, while wiping, and holding him up
with his other hand. The guy shook his head quickly with wide eyes. Tay took this
as a yes, and punched him again so hard, that he spun around and buckled his
knees like lawn chairs. Tay stood over him, as he laid on the toilet seat. Then,
grabbed his shirt collar, and pushed his head inside the toilet.

  “So, you like touching ladies that don’t wana be touched, hug?” Tay asked,
pulling the guy’s head out of the toilet. The guy spit out toilet water and urine, as
he came up. “How does that taste?…You want some more?” Tay asked him.
Before he could reply, Tay pushed his head back in so rough, it made a splash. This
time, holding him down until he saw bubbles of breath rising. “Where’s your
manners?…Didn’t your mother always tell you to flush the toilet?” Tay pulled him
back out, letting him go, and watched him slump on the floor. The liquid waste on
his face dripped onto his shirt.

  “Don’t ever let me see you here again piss face!…Ya hear? Or next time I’ll be
calling you shit face, if you get my drift.” Tay said angrily, as the guy slumped in a
daze. Tay washed his hands, and exited the restroom.

  An injured man came stumbling out of a restroom. His shirt was drenched, and he
held a hand over his nose, which felt broke. He peered around the club, then
headed for the exit door. His legs were wobbly as he walked across parking lot to
his Lincoln Navigator, and reached in his pocket for some keys. He winced in pain,
as he opened the door to get in, sat down relieved. Cranking the ignition, the time
displayed on his digital dashboard. 12:34...I still have time to hit the strip bar…
after I change my shirt, of course, he thought while driving out the parking lot. He
jumped on the freeway, and stomped on the gas pedal, accelerating to ninety miles
per hour. Moments later, flashing red and blue lights were shadowing him.

  “Fuck!…Not now, I’m drunk as shit,” he said to himself, pulling over to the
shoulder of the freeway. He tried his best effort to put on a sober face before the
cop made it to his window. The officer was a young black man.

  “Do you know how fast you were driving sir?” The young cop asked him.

  “Um, I…didn’t think I was speeding,” he replied dumbfounded.

  “Oh, you were alright! Ninety-one in a sixty-five. Can I see your license and
insurance, please?” Asked the cop.

  “Uh, sure….” Please don’t give me a sobriety test, he thought, handing the officer
the requested items. The officer smiled at the license.

  “Hey, I know you…I thought you looked familiar. You’re Marcus Love from 97.9
Radio! I listen to your morning show whenever I have early shift,” the cop said,
smiling.

  Marcus grinned, thinking this was a good thing for him. “Yea. That’s me. I
actually was on the way to the station now to prepare some things for tomorrow.
I’m late,” Marcus lied.

  “Oh yea. Do you think you could give a shout out to my girlfriend from me?
She’ll love me for that. She listens to your show every morning,” the cop asked.

  “Sure. Just write down her name for me.”

  The cop pulled out a citation booklet from his back pocket, and wrote something
on a ticket, handing it over.

  “She’s gonna give me some extra loving for this,” the cop said, grinning.

  “Allysha Thompson…I gotcha. I’ll shout out her name tomorrow.”

  “Thanx!”

  “You welcome. It’s no biggie,” Marcus said nonchalant.

  “Ok, well I’ma let you off with a warning. Try not to drive so fast though, K.”

  “Sure thing officer. Promise.” He waved at the cop, and drove off. A mile up the
freeway, Marcus tossed the ticket with the cop’s girlfriend’s name on it out the
window.

  Back at the party…Tay didn’t have anymore problems, but decided to round up
his girls, and leave early. He didn’t feel comfortable. It seemed like Ashley left
right behind them, and on their way home, Ashley called Tay’s phone five times.
Knowing that he couldn’t talk to her, because Shell was with him. He just
forwarded her calls to voicemail. He’d hear her messages later.

  The next morning, Tay drove to Waco to drop off the Honda keys with his mother,
and spend a little time with her before he went to jail. She cried a river about her
son going to prison, blaming herself for not being a better mother, which just made
Tay feel even worse. Then, as expected, she gave him numerous spiritual lectures.

  “God work’s in mysterious ways son. Keep faith in ye above, because the devil is
talking in your ear, and knocking on your door. But you must ignore him. The
people who are trying to make your life harder are not perfect themselves, and
probably may be unhappy. So, they want others to be unhappy along with them…
Just pray for them in your prayer’s son,” his mother said to him.

  They can go to hell for all I care, Tay thought. He figured this was the best time to
tell his mother about the baby, and did so. She seemed actually happy to hear this
news. Though, she told Tay the situation was something he would have to let his
heart decide, but to remember that a baby doesn’t make a relationship. A baby only
make’s parents. She made Tay give her Ashley’s phone number, telling him she
would be in Emorie’s life while he was gone to jail. This was his mother’s first
grand daughter. Don and Anitra had just had a baby boy recently, but his mother
always wanted a grand daughter.

  After a few more hours, and a few more sorrow goodbye’s, Tay headed back to
Dallas. He decided to stop by Ashley’s, because his last two days would be spent
with Shell only. He got to Ashley’s door, and rung the buzzer instead of beating on
it, as usual. She answered the door holding Emorie in her arms.

  “Surprised you came by…You don’t answer my calls,” Ashley said with a
disgusted expression.

  “I’m not here to hear all that right now, Ash,” Tay replied, walking in passed her.

  “I bet you’re not…Anyway, so when are you turning yourself in?”

  “Monday. I’m leaving early in the morning, because I gotta be there before two
o’clock in the afternoon,” Tay replied, sitting on the sofa.

  “Oh, so I guess Shell is taking you to Oklahoma?” She assumed.

“Yea…” Tay replied like, who else?

  “I guess. I don’t  know why you’re with her anyway. She looked trashy dancing
all up on that girl at yo’ party. Is she bi or something?” Ashley asked quizzically.

  “Mind your business. Why are we talking about her? She’s not here.”

  “Whatever. So, what all can you bring with you to jail?” Ashley changed the
subject.

  “Mm…pictures, legal papers, and money for my books.”

  “Oh, well I got you some money, and I got some pictures of me and Emorie in my
room. I’ll go get em’,” she said walking off. She returned moments later, and
handed Tay a stack of pictures, and a bank envelope.

  “That’s a thousand dollars. Your books should be good for a while. And my
pictures better be on your cell wall,” Ashley told him.

  “Thanx. You didn’t have to do that.”

  “You welcome, and yes I did. I’ll do whatever for you. I hate that your going
away,” she said sadly.
  Tay looked at her in silence, reading the hurt in her face. “Let me hold my baby,”
he said, reaching out his arms. She handed Emorie to him, and sat down beside
him. Emorie was beautiful, and all she did was smile and giggle. Tay stared at her
eyes, amazed at the resemblance, while struggling to keep her head from tilting
back.

  “That’s not how you’re suppose to hold her Tay,” Ashley said, taking the baby,
and demonstrating the proper way to her.

  “Well, this is my first born. I’m not a pro,” Tay said offended, as if she was
belittling him. He sat and watched Ashley, as she cradled Emorie, and fed her a
bottle of milk. Instantaneously, he gained a new respect for motherhood. Thinking
about how difficult it must be to raise a infant. The nine months of gestation,
seventy-two hours of labor, constant nurturing, and not to mention the sacrifice of
your social life. Tay was seeing Ashley in a new eye…As a mother.

  Suddenly, Ashley made an expression as if she’d remembered something. “Oh

shoot!…I forgot I have cookies in the oven,” she said, looking towards the kitchen.
Tay thought he had smelled a chocolate aroma.

  “You want me to hold Emorie while--,” Tay begun.

  “Oh, no, no. I got her,” Ashely said quickly, as if she would be better off holding
Emorie while trying to juggle three bricks simultaneously. She got up, and trotted
to the kitchen, baby in arms.

  Tay began scanning through the stack of photos Ashley had given him. There
were a few pictures of Emorie days after her birth, one of Ashley in a bikini, which
Tay paused to study momentarily before moving to the next one, then… “Hey!”
Tay blurted. “Where did you get this picture of me from?” He asked. It was a
picture of himself sleeping with his mouth wide open.

  “Oh!” Ashley was laughing. “I took that pic a long time ago when you fell asleep
over here one day,” she replied, still chuckling.

  Tay shook his head, and laid the stack of pictures down on the coffee table.
Ashley came back to the sofa, and placed a saucer of cookies on the table. “Want
some chocolate chip cookies?” She asked. Tay glanced at the plate, and picked up a
cookie without answering. He bit down on the cookie, making a sound like he had
bit a rock! She obviously had burnt them.

  “They’re chocolate chip cookies alright…chip a tooth!” Tay said, and they both
laughed. Ashley’s laugh faded, and a serious look appeared on her face.

  “Um, Tay…Are you still going to be with Shell when you get out of jail?” She
asked him.

  “Well, yea…Why wouldn’t I be?” He replied with an eyebrow raised. Ashley

looked disappointed, as if her grandmother had just died. “I mean, unless me and
her don’t work out,” Tay said, attempting to give Ashley an ounce of hope. “You
see, I’ll feel wrong to just leave Shell high and dry for no reason. A person with
remorse wouldn’t do that. I wouldn’t do it to you if It was you in her position. I
love you, and I wish we’d never split up. You know…had the problem that you
planted, which grew into the tree of complications we have now. But it happened. I
too, wish we could be a happy family and all that, but you gotta understand my
situation. And if you love me like you say, you’ll stay down for me. And If god has
it planned for me and you to be together…we will,” Tay said, basically telling her
to stay around, dedicate her self to him, and hope his relationship with Shell goes
sour. Though, Ashley heard it as; It was simply her fault, and she’d play the
sideline girl for a while, and hope for the best…if she loved him.

  Ashley didn’t respond, but gave an expression of “I understand”. Tay could tell
that his words were making some since to her. He had her mind mixed up like a
fruit basket. He topped it off by giving her some sexual loving to make sure her
mind was at ease before leaving. Tay was beginning to love how he could use his
dick as a sword to slice open a woman’s chest, and take her heart into his control.
He performed it at home with Shell on many occasions. They’d get into arguments,
and he’d just make love to her so good that she forgot why she was even mad in
the first place. Tay had tremendous love for Ashley, but Shell was like his heart and
soul.

 
  The day of  Tay’s self-surrender was here. It was eight o’clock in the morning,
and Tay had been making love to Shell since five o’clock. Getting their last sensual
sex in for the next ten months. Tay had everything he was taking with him prepared
to go. Pictures, a list of addresses and phone numbers of close people, money, and
directions to the prison.

  The two and a half drive up I-35 interstate to Oklahoma was the most soundless
period Tay and Shell had ever spent together. Shell drove, keeping her eyes on the
road, and Tay stared out of his passenger window thinking this was all a dream.
That he would wake up any second now. He never woke up, but watched the
scenery become more and more rural as they entered Oklahoma. They had to travel
down for miles on a country road to reach the prison, and almost turned around,
thinking they were going the wrong way. Finally, they approached the prison,
pulling up to the steel gates of F.T.C Federal Transfer Center. Shell had to roll her
window down to press a red button on a steel speaker box.

  “Can I help you?” A voice came blowing out of the speaker box.

  “Uh, I’m here to drop off Octavius Wade. Self-surrender,” Shell muttered.

  “Pull into the gate and drop him off at the front entrance,” the voice instructed.

  Tay’s stomach felt sick suddenly, as they drove into the heavily secured parking
lot, seeing a seven story, windowless building. Razor steel, barbed wire decorated
the area, and fence after fence surrounded the building. Escape was only possible if
you had wings.

  They pulled in front of the entrance, which was two black castle sized doors, and
Shell geared the car in park. Before Shell could even look at Tay, or speak, she
busted into a shower of cries. Drinking tears for water. Tay felt a sharp pain in his
chest.

  “Baby, baby…don’t cry. You’re going to make me cry. It’s gonna be ok,” Tay
said, hugging her head to his chest. “I love you Shelly.”

  “I-I…love y-you too,” Shell barely said, choking on a mouth full of tears.
Soaking Tay’s shirt, as she rubbed her face against his chest. It cut him so deep to
see her hurting over him. He raised her puffy face up gently with his hand, and
kissed her wet, salty lips. He could taste her tears, as she tried to kiss him back,
still crying.

  “Everything will be ok. I’ll call you as soon as I can, and write you asap,” Tay
said.

  “O-ok…” Shell sad doubtfully.

  Tay handed her his cell phone. (First mistake). Then, he got out of the car, and
walked into Lancelot prison. Not looking back, for he knew he would only see
Shell steadily crying…

  Tay entered the huge doors, gazing up at the high ceilings. Giant american flags
hung on the walls, and Federal Bureau of United States was painted on the tile
floor, which he walked on. Tay saw two benches, and a control station with mirror
windows. The kind that you can’t see in, but the person on the opposite side can
see you. Tay walked up to the window.

  “Hello!” Tay said to the window.

  “Have a seat on the bench,” a voice said, but Tay didn’t hear it clearly.

  “What?” Tay could see a sillouhette of a man now.

  “Sit down!” The man said louder. Tay frowned, and walked to a bench.

  Moments later, a uniformed guy came out of a door, and told Tay to come to him
by using his index finger. Tay got up, and followed the guy into a small room.
There was a metal detector and a table.

  “Put everything you have on the table, and walk through the detector,” the guy
told Tay.

  Tay did so, and the metal detector beeped loudly. “I have a metal screw in my
knee…Football injury,” Tay informed the guy, who was looking him up and down
curiously.
  “Mm, ok. Step over there, and strip your clothes off,” the guy pointed to the
corner of the room.

  Tay hesitated, then followed instructions. The guy inspected Tay’s body like an
examiner, then gave him some khaki pants and a t-shirt to put on. After Tay got
dressed, he was given an I.d card with his mug shot on it, and led to an elevator.
Tay noted that they got off on the seventh floor, as he was escorted to an office
where another uniform sat behind a desk.

  “Got you another one Harrison,” the guy told the man behind the desk, and left.

  Tay stood, holding his belongings.

  “Have a seat. I’m Mr. Harrison,” he told Tay. “I’m the unit counselor. I answer
any questions you may have. I’ve already read your file Octavius, and you don’t
have much time here. So, just do you stay here with no problems, and get out of
here. You’ll be on E block in cell 701. Find a friend, and get them to tell you how
the place runs. Here’s a visitation list. Fill it out, and bring it back. You can get
visits on weekends only, and up to four times a month,” Mr. Harrison handed Tay a
piece of paper.

  “Ok, um…Can I use the phone here?” Tay asked him.

  “Yea. There are phones in every block. Every inmate get’s three hundred minutes
per month only. It cost seventy dollars, and comes directly off your books. If they
took your money downstairs it will be on our books already.

  “Ok, that’s all I wanted to know,” Tay said.

  “Good, well come on. I’ll point you to your block.” Harrison got up from behind
his desk, and led Tay to a three-way passage way. D-block, E-block, and F-block
defined the three. Harrison pointed to E.

  “Go that way, and find your cell,” he said. Tay looked at him like, by myself?
Then Tay walked on, entering a open room the size of a school gymnasium. Picnic
tables circled four televisions that hung together form the ceilings like chandeleers
would. Men of different races walked around. Some sat at tables playing cards or
dominoes. Some watching television. Whatever they were doing at the time, it
seemed like they all stopped to focus on Tay, as he walked in nervously. He
attempted not to look nervous though.

  A huge black guy, twice the size of Tay, walked up to him.

  “What up homie. Where you from?” The giant asked Tay. He had corn roll braids,
a white tank top, which his chest was bursting out of, and green pants. Tay also
noted that all the inmates were wearing green.

  “Uh…I’m from Texas…Dallas,” Tay replied.

  “Oh yea. I’m from Texas too man.” He turned to yell at a group of guys sitting at
a table. “Hey, this boy’s from Dallas. Hook em’ up Ronnie,” he yelled to someone.
The guy rose from the table, and walked over to Tay. The giant left them.

  “What’s up. I’m Ronnie,” the guy shook Tay’s hand. “That big guy is Labo. He’s
like the big honcho around here. Anyway, when someone new comes here, the
people that are from his home state look’s out for them. I’m from Dallas too. What
cell are you in?” Ronnie asked. He looked young as Tay, and was short with very
dark skin. Skin that was mostly decorated in tattoos.

  “E-701, I think.”

  “Oh, you’re gonna be my celly then. Come on. I’ll show you what’s what.”
Ronnie led Tay to one of the cells, which surrounded the ambaged area. The cell
was rather incommodious. It wasn’t big enough for one person to live in, let alone
two people. There was a set of bump beds, a sink and toilet, and two lockers. Plus,
a small desk. One of the lockers had pictures of children and women on it.

  “You got the top bunk buddy, and the bottom locker is yours,” Ronnie told Tay.
He walked to the locker with the pictures on it, opened it, and pulled out a few
items. He laid the items on the desk. “Here’s some hygiene stuff and stamps until
you can buy commissary. You can buy anything here that a grocery store would
have, but only on Mondays. And after chow, you gotta get you some greens,”
Ronnie informed.

  “Greens?” Tay asked.

  “Yea, your uniforms. Didn’t you see everyone wearing green?…It’s what you
work in.”

  “Oh, work…We gotta work?”

  “Oh yea. They make you work here. Only pay you fuck’n twelve cents an hour
too. You’ll probably be in the dish room. Did you work in the free world?” Ronnie
asked.

  “Not really. Never actually. I sold cars you can say.”

  “Well, it’s mandatory here. They call out chow time about five o’clock, and we go
downstairs to eat. After that you can do what you want. Watch t.v, play ball, or
whatever. Lock down is at eleven-thirty tho’. You gotta be in your cell for lock
down,” Ronne explained.

  “Ok, thanks man.”

  “It’s cool. How much time you got anyway?”

  “A year, but I only gotta do ten months.”

  “Ten months?…You’re lucky. I got twelve years!…For wire fraud.”

  “Wire fraud?”

  “Yea. Me and my brother set up a fake charity in the name of Salvation Army on
the internet. People donated hundreds of thousands to it. We got greedy, and the
feds caught on to us. My bro got eight years. I got twelve.”

  “Damn, that sucks. How old are you?” Tay asked him.

  “Twenty two. Me and You are probably the youngest in here. Most of the guys
here came in for drugs, fraud, or tax invasion. Some even for DWI’s on a army
base. No violent crimes though. So, you don’t have to worry too much about
getting killed or anything.”

  Tay put the items on the desk inside of his locker, and Ronnie noticed him
surveying the photos on his locker.
  “That’s my daughter and girlfriend. Too bad I wont get to see her grow up for the
next twelve years,” Ronnie said sadly.

  “Damn, that’s sad man. I just had a baby. She’s three months,” Tay said.

  “Well, when you get out, stay out. It’s hard watching your child grow up only
through pictures…” Ronnie stared at his pictures for a moment. “Well, I’m bout to
go work out. I’ll see you at chow.” He walked out.

  Tay hopped up on his bunk, and laid on his back. He stared at the ceiling,
wondering how he was going to adapt to this hell hole over the next months.

  Shell drove on her way back to Texas, wiping the back of her hand on her cheeks
a thousand times. She lacked the will to stop crying. The apartment was going to
seem so lonesome without Tay. She knew she would be stressing for the next few
days. The trip back down I-35 seemed longer to her, and she exited off the highway
to stop at a gas station for a bottled water. It seemed she had cried out all of her
bodily fluids.

  While waiting in line at the cash register, she felt her cell phone vibrate inside her
purse. She reached in it, realizing that it wasn’t her phone, but Tay’s. She forgot he
had given it to her before he got out the car. Someone had sent him a text message.
She tried to turn the phone off, but pressed the wrong button, and the text message
displayed on the screen. She read it: I’ll miss you, and so will your daughter. Me
and Emorie love you.

  Shell gazed at the phone screen confused. Huh?…She looked at the number
which sent the text message, and it was programmed in the phone as ‘Ash’. Who
the hell was Ash?…Ashley? Shell thought, which was evident to assume. Shell was
disarrayed, not knowing what to think of this finding. Was some woman saying
Tay had a daughter by her?…Tay told Shell he had no children when they first met,
but who was this Ash person?

  Shell turned to exit the gas station, but was stopped.

  “Hey!…You didn’t pay for that,” the cashier yelled at Shell. She was so
distraught that she’d forgot to pay for her water.

  “I’m sorry for that,” Shell apologized, handing the cashier some money, as he
looked at her suspiciously. She returned to her car, and got in, sitting there
momentarily. She stared at Tay’s cell phone. She thought about calling the number,
but didn’t know if she should. It could be one of his family members. She decided
to be acquisitive, and just text the number back, as if she were Tay himself. Maybe
she could get more information this way. Shell replied: On the way. Who is
Emorie?”

Ash replied: Stop playing. So, now you don’t know your baby?

  Shell flustered, and grew furiated. She dropped the phone on her lap, and began
rubbing her temples in a circular motion. She couldn’t bear it. The formidable
thought that Tay was cheating on her, and not only that, but had had a baby by
some female, was afflicting her.

  The phone in her lap alerted that another message was received, and Shell picked
it up.

Ash: Are you gonna text me back?

  Shell shoved the phone back in her purse, and began to bawl. She didn’t want to
know anymore from this Ash person. She wanted to ask Tay about this, and she
would as soon as they got a chance to talk.

  Tay received three letters his second week of being locked up, and they were all
from Ashley. Telling him how she missed him, and asking when she could come
visit him. Though, Tay had to wait to find out when Shell was coming first before
he could tell Ashley when to come so they would bump heads. So, he decided to
call Shell and see. The pay phone rung up to his ear now.

  “This is a call from an inmate at a federal prison. To accept this call, press five
now,” a recorded voice told Shell when she answered. Tay heard the tone of Shell
pressing five.
  “Hello,” Shell said.

  “Hey baby! How you doing?” Tay asked.

  “Not so good. I been stressing a lot,” Shell replied.

  “Ah, I told you not to worry. I’m ok. This place isn’t that bad anyway.”

  “Oh, it’s not just that. It’s…things we have to discuss.”

  “Like what?” Tay asked.

  “I’d rather talk to you in person. Whenever I come visit you.”

  “Well…ok, when are you gonna come visit? You can come on weekends only.”

  “Well, I’ll come two Saturdays from now. Cuz I have to work this Saturday.”

  “Ok. I cant wait to see you baby,” Tay told her.

  “Me neither,” Shell didn’t sound so eager.

  “Well, I gotta go. Write me so I’ll have something to read. I love you and miss
you.”

  Shell paused. “I…love you too.”

  “Bye.” Tay hung up.

  Tay called Ashley, and told her she could come visit him the coming up weekend
since Shell wasn’t coming. Ashley came, and brought Emorie with her, which was
uplifting for Tay. Tay forgot about being incarcerated when he held Emorie in his
arms. She brought him so much joy.

  Tay and Ashley sat side by side in the visitation room, which was the size of a
cafeteria, and consisted of ten columns of chairs. Two watch guards were stationed
up front to monitor the area, and make sure no visitors passed anything to inmates.
That was how drugs usually got smuggled into the prison. They also made sure no
touching occurred. You could only hug and kiss your visitor at the duration of your
visit.

  “They made me remove my bra when I came in. Something about it had wire in
it,” Ashley said to Tay, who was holding a bottle in Emorie’s mouth.

  “Yea, this place is tightly secured. They strip me before and after visit,” Tay said.

  “Dang…What do you do everyday?”

  “Not much. Work out, sleep, read, and work,” Tay replied.

  “Work?…What kind of work?”

  “Pots and pans…Bullshit. They make us work, and pay us twelve cents an hour.
Twelve cents!…It’s modern day slavery, I tell ya. This prison runs off the inmates,”
Tay said.

  “That’s crap. Well, t you come live with me when you get out, you wont have to
work. Just sit at home, and do your computer stuff,” Ashley said.

  Tay didn’t reply. He just looked at her, and back down at Emorie…

  Shell gripped her fingers around the steering wheel anxiously, as she drove up I-
35, on her way to Oklahoma. The computer systems at her work office had went
down, and the I.T technicians were off on weekends, so Shell’s boss had no choice,
but to give her the day off. Shell had nothing to do, so she decided to surprise Tay,
and go visit him today instead of next week. Plus, she was ready to confront him
about this “Ash” person. It had been eating her alive since the day she saw the text
message. Shell had her strategy of depriving the truth from Tay already intact. She
knew enough to act as if she knew more, and would. Hopefully, manipulating Tay
into telling on himself. She just wanted to know the truth. Though, she just didn’t
know how much truth she was about to embark on…

  Tay had Emorie laying across his lap, tickling her belly, and making her giggle as
Ashley watched with her arms folded on her knees.

  “She’s very ticklish,” Ashley sad to Tay.

  “Just like her mother,” Tay replied.

  “If you say so. I wish you could tickle me now…How you use to,” Ashley said
grinning.

  “yea, I bet you do,” Tay smirked.

  “Wade! Octavius Wade!” One of the watch guards yelled out to Tay.

  Tay looked up towards the front, seeing the guard signaling for him to come over.

  “Dammit, hold Emorie. They’re calling me over for some’n,” Tay told Ashley.

  “Ok, be right here,” she said, taking the baby.

  Tay got to the front desk quickly. “What’s going on?” He asked the guard.

  “You’ve got another visitor waiting to come in,” the guard informed.

  “What?…No one else is suppose to be seeing me today,” Tay said confused.

  “Well, there is. A Shelliana Pitts. Say’s she’s your fiance,” the guard looked over
at Ashley.

  “Damn…” What was Shell doing here? Tay thought.

  “You want us to tell her that you denied her visit?…We can do that.”

  “No, no,” Tay shook his head. He couldn’t do that. Shell would know something
was up. Plus, she drove a far ways to get here. That would be inconsiderate. He had
no choice. It was doomsday…”Let her in,” Tay told the guard.

  “You sure?” The guard looked towards Ashley again to give Tay some sense.

  “Yea, I’m sure,” Tay said unsurely. The guard smirked as he got up, as if he knew
he was in for a show. Tay went back to his seat, and quickly told Ashley what was
going on, and that he was going to simply tell the truth. Get it over, and for Ashley
not to talk at all. She looked nervous a bit, and her shaking leg confirmed it.

  Moments later, Tay’s fate came walking into the visitation room. The guard
escorted her in, and pointed to Tay, who had a look on his face like he was about to
be executed. Shell walked over to Tay, and he rose up to hug and kiss her. Ashley
gasped her mouth open at the intimate sight.

  “Have a seat,” Tay told Shell, pointing to an empty chair on the right side of him.
Shell sat down, glancing at Ashley, who sat on Tay’s left, holding Emorie. She
didn’t know if Ashley was there with Tay, because more people were sitting beside
Ashley.

  “So, why’d you come today? Tay asked Shell.

  “I got the day off, so I decided to come. You not happy I did or some’n?”

  “Oh, I’m glad. Just surprised…Anyway, I uh, gotta tell you some’n,” Tay said.

  “No, I have to tell you something first,” Shell insisted.

  “Oh, no. I think your’s can wait. Mine’s is a must now,” Tay said surely.

  “Ok, well tell me.”

  Tay sucked in a long breath, then blew it out slowly. “Shelliana…This is Ashley,”
Tay pointed to her. Ashley was silent. Shell looked at her dumbfounded. Then, she
remembered her. It was the same girl that came up to their table at Tay’s going
away party. Shell quickly put it all together, and knew what he was about to say.

  “That’s my baby Shell,” Tay admitted solemnly. “…But I got her pregnant before
I met you,” Tay added quickly to justify it.

  Shell looked at Emorie shocked. “So, you weren’t gonna tell me about this?”

  Sure I was. I was just waiting on the right time. I just found out myself not too
long ago, and I didn’t know how you would take it,” Tay said.

  Shell looked hurt, as if she might cry… “So…so, have you and her been talking
behind my back?” Shell asked, looking at the silent Ashley, then back at Tay.

  Tay paused. “I had to talk to her. She told me she had a baby by me.”

  “No!…you know what I mean. Have yal been talking?…Messing around?” Shell
asked. Her lips trembling. Eyes watery red.

  “Tay sighed, and looked at Ashley who gave him a, I cant help you, look. “One
time…I didn’t mean--,” Tay began, but Shell started spitting out tears, dropping her
face in her hands. Tay put an arm around her.

  “Baby, it was nothing. A mistake. I promise, I love you. Don’t cry baby. You’re
the one I want to be with.” Tay tried to console her.

  Ashley grew furious at Tay’s words…Nothing?…Mistake?… “So, I’m nothing to

you Tay?” Ashley asked incredulously.

  Tay looked at her. “Not now Ashley.”

  “Oh, so this is how you do?…You’re a fuck’n liar Tay,” Ashley said hastily.

  “Ash, I told you that I love Shell, and that’s who I’m with. Don’t act like I didn’t
tell you this,” Tay said.

  “You also told me that you loved me,” Ashley shot back.

  “I do, but not like I love Shell. I’m sorry,” Tay explained. Then, focused back on
Shell, who was still sobbing. “Shell, listen babe. You don’t have to worry about
nothing going on between me and Ashley. I just have to be in my baby’s life,” he
told her. Shell subdued her crying, and looked at him to show she was listening.
“My mother always told me to be a man first, and everything else last. And I have
to be a man and father for my child. But I don’t want this to ruin us. I want to be
with you. I love you. Do you love me?” Tay asked.

  Shell sniffled. “Yea…I do.”

  “Well, do you still want to be with me?…I need to know.”

  Shell acted as if her cries wouldn’t  let her speak. Opening her mouth, but not
saying anything. “I-I…wana be with you, but not if you fooling with her behind
my back.

  “Shell I swear, you don’t have to worry. Nothing will happen between me and
her,” Tay promised. Ashley was beginning to cry her self now. Afflicted by Tay’s
words that were punishing her ears. Tay was stuck in the middle of an impossible
situation. Emorie began to cry too, as if she felt her mother’s pain. Now, he had
three crying girls. Why me god? Why? Tay thought.

  The visitation came to an end, and Tay’s efforts to soothe Shell’s emoted hurt
seemed to have little effect, but enough to where he thought he hadn’t lost her.
Ashley on the other hand, was a lost cause. All he could do, was try to patch things
up with her at another time, so she wouldn’t hate him, and try to keep Emorie away
from him in animosity.

  Shell and Ashley left, and Tay was about to be escorted back to his cell, when he
was told that he had another visitor.

  What now?…Tay thought. He sure didn’t know who this could be. Whoever it
was, Tay had to meet them in a private room where he was taken. He sat in the
room at a table, waiting curiously for the unknown visitor. Shortly, a woman
wearing a business suit walked into the room, and sat across from Tay. She had
short blond hair, and appeared to be Spanish. Tay didn’t recognize her at first, then
he studied her more closely. Her hair almost through him off, but the mole above
her lip clicked in his memory instantly! He spoke her name, as he remembered her.

  “Saleena?” Tay said bewildered. It was the lady that had drove him home from
Jake’s shop sometimes.

  “No. I’m FBI agent Mendez,” the woman said, holding up a badge. Tay looked
confused at her. “I was working undercover to answer your question. Jake and J.J
were selling drugs to me and my brother before Jake got wacked by his boss,”
Mendez informed.

  Tay was puzzled still. “So…why didn’t you tell agent Burnes and Adams about
me delivering the cars?” he asked her quizzically.
  “Oh, I had my reasons,” she said. Tay raised an eyebrow. “You see, I was working
on another case the day Jake got killed, but I found out that no Honda was found at
the scene. Which I know that you always dropped off every Friday. So, I assumed
you had to have driven it back home after you came, and saw what you did,”
Mendez explained.

  “So…” Tay had an expression of, what does that mean?

  “So…to cut the crap. I wana know where the drugs are. I want them,” she said.

  “Why?…So you can put drug charges on me?” Tay asked offended.

  Mendez shook her head. “No idiot. I’m going to sell the drugs to a dealer I’m
working on, and pocket the money. That’s over two hundred grand worth in that
car.”

  Tay was appalled. “You’re a crooked cop?” He asked.

  “I’m a business woman. And if you know what’s good, you’ll give me what I
want.”

  “Why should I?” Tay asked, fishing for an answer.

  “Because I can have more charges put on you. Drug trafficking. You’ll get years.
Or…You can give me what I ask, and I’ll get your little charge dropped. Have you
released from here, and I’ll also give you fifty grand out of the deal,” Mendez
offered.

  “Mm…You can really get me out of here?”

  Mendez didn’t answer, just looked at him, as if he was belittling her.

  “Ok, ok…But I want sixty grand,” he demanded.

  “Look prick!…You don’t make the rules here. I do,” she said, slamming her fist
on the table.

  “Well, I wont give em’ to you. Charge me,” Tay said nonchalant.
  Mendez sighed in frustration, staring at him with evil eyes. “Ok fucker. But I
want my drugs now. You wont be released for a couple weeks. So, where are
they?” She asked upset.

  “I’ll tell my girl you’re coming to pick up the car. She’ll call you at a number
you’ll give me now. Give my girl the money, and she’ll give you the Honda,” Tay
explained.

  “Ok, you better not bullshit me kid, or I’ll have your ass.”

  Tay was happy about this. He was going to get out of jail, and get a sixty
thousand bucks for nothing. It was a win, win situation for him. He called Shell,
and told her to drive to Waco, and get the keys for the Honda from his mother. He
instructed Shell about what to do in the ordeal with Mendez when she visited him,
because the phones were monitored. Shell was abundantly glad that Tay was
coming home soon, and didn’t even ask many questions about the situation. She
was just joyous her baby was coming home.

  Tay didn’t inform Ashley he was getting out. He would surprise her whenever he
got to Dallas. Plus, she was still upset with him, even though she wrote Tay stating
that she understood his situation. He figured she’d get over it when she saw him.

  As Mendez had promised, Mr. Harrison informed Tay that he would be getting
released soon, but had to wait until the U.S Marshalls came to pick him up. They
had to take him back to Texas. It could be any day. Tay didn’t care, as long as he
got home. He was anxious to see Shell, and told his self he was going to make love
to her for ten hours straight once he did.

  Shell had followed instructions, and everything went as planned with the ordeal.
Agent Mendez picked up the Honda, and left Shell the sixty grand. Shell deposited
nine thousand of it into her bank account, because that was the most she could
deposit without the feds investigating where she got the money from. Shell had just
made it home from her bank not too long ago, and was sitting on the sofa when
someone knocked on her door. She thought it might be Kandi, as she answered it,
but when the door opened, a short Hispanic guy stood there.
  “Hey, is Tay here?” The guy asked Shell.

  “Um, no…He wont be here for a couple days maybe. Are you a friend?” She
asked back curiously. She had never seen him before.

  “Yea. We go back. Um, can I use your phone?…I thought he would be here, and I
didn’t bring my phone.”

  “Uh, sure. Let me go get it for you,” Shell said. She turned around to walk off,
and the crucial blow hit her right in the back of her head, causing her to fall to her
knees. Then, flat on her face to the carpet. She was out…

  Tay finally got picked up by the Marshalls, and sat on a prison bus in shackles,
while on the way to Texas. It took four hours to get to Dallas where Tay was
released out of the federal holding detention. Tay called Shell’s phone to tell her to
come get him, but she failed to answer. He figured her phone must be dead, and
decided to catch a city bus home. He saw Shell’s car in the parking lot, so he knew
she was home, and ran up the stairs full speed. He was already aroused thinking
about it. He got to the door, and it was barely cracked open. Not like Shell to leave
doors open, he thought. He walked in.

  “Honey I’m home!” He yelled. No response. “Shell!”

  He walked to the bedroom, then the bathroom. No one. Then, he returned to the
living room where his eyes adverted to a piece of paper on the coffee table. He
picked it up, and read some scraggly writing on it:

  I have your bitch girlfriend. I know you have my drugs, and I want them
back. Call me at 21-343-9022... J.J

  Tay flustered, growing upset and nervous at the same time. He couldn’t believe
this. It had to be a joke. Was it?…Tay’s mind was doing back flips right now. He
noticed Shell’s purse on the couch, and dug inside it for her cell phone. He dialed
the phone number on the note for J.J. It rung twice.

  ‘Hello,” J.J answered.

  “Um, is this J.J?”

  “Yep amigo. Who wants to know?”

  “This is Tay. I got some bogus note at my apartment, but I think it’s a joke.”

  “It’s no joke home’z. I got your senerita, and I want my drugs back, or you wont
get her back,” J.J said.

  “What?…Are you serious?…I thought we were boys,” Tay said in disbelief.

  “We were, but don’t matter now. You give me my shit back, or I’ll blow you girl’s
sweet brains out. Listen to this,” J.J put the phone up to Shell’s mouth. “Help me!”

Tay heard Shell’s voice being cut off. He erupted in fury.

  “J.J, you hurt her one scratch, and I’ll cut your balls off, and feed em’ to you!”
Tay yelled in the phone.

  J.J laughed. “Funny. Listen, you’re gonna meet me at 1717 Commerce street
tomorrow night at nine o’clock. It’s an old storage building. Bring my drugs, or
your girly here will never see day light again.”

  “But I don’t have the drugs anymore,” Tay explained.

  “Well, you better find them…And hey…Your girl is kinda sexy. I might taste her
little wet pussy while I wait,” J.J bantered.

  “You mutha fucker!…I’ll kill you!”

  J.J laughed, and hung up the phone.

  Tay screamed, and punched the wall so hard that his fist went through the plaster.
“Fucking bitch!…I’ma kill him!” Tay was shaking and walking in circles. “What
to do, what to do?” He mumbled to himself. I don’t have the drugs anymore, he
thought. Then, he did the only thing he could. He called Agent Mendez.

  “Hello,” she answered.

  “Hey, this is Octavius. I need the drugs back,” Tay told her.

  “What?…I gave you your money, and I got you out of jail. Why would I give it
back?” She asked confused.

  “Because J.J’s come back, and he kidnapped my girlfriend. He told me if I don’t

give him back the drugs, he’ll kill her!”

  “J.J did that?…Damn…Well, I cant give you the drugs back. Just tell the police,
they’ll handle it,” she said.

  Hell no!…Either you do, or I’ll tell everything. I don’t give a fuck if I go back to
jail if my girl dies!” Tay yelled.

  Mendez sighed. “Ok, ok…I’ll make sure you get your girl back. Just let me work
out something, and I’ll call you back shortly.”

  “Hurry up, and I’m not kidding!” Tay hung up the phone. He almost began to cry.
Not know if it would be tears of hurt or fury. “I gotta get Shell back,” he said to his
self.”…

  Tay pulled his Caddillac in front of 1717 Commerce street. It was a dilapidated,
brick building with boarded windows. It had a sign on the top of it that read EASY
ST RAGE. The ‘O’ in STORAGE was missing. Tay grabbed a duffle bag off his
passenger seat, and got out of the car. He glanced at his watch. 8:49. There were a
couple of cars parked on the street. A van, and to two Chevy’s, but no Caddillac
Escalade truck. Tay walked to the front door of the building, and turned the knob.
It was unlocked. He walked in, totally blind, because it was pitch dark, and he
couldn’t see a thing. Suddenly, light lit up the room, as someone hit a light switch.
It was J.J. He stood in the rear of the empty room, holding a .45 caliber pistol to
Shell’s head. Shell sat in a steel chair with her arms tied, and mouth covered in
duct tape.
  “See you made it home’z. Look’s like your chest got a little bigger too. Guess you
been working out in jail,” J.J said.

  “I’m not your home’z. And here’s our drugs, so let her go,” Tay said, tossing the
duffle bag towards J.J. It landed near his feet.

  “Let’s check it out,” J.J said, kneeling down to open the bag with one hand, still
pointing the gun with his other. “Ok. Look’s like it’s all there,” J.J closed the bag
back.

  “Now let her go!” Tay yelled.

  “Calm down amigo. Ok, deal’s a deal.” J.J pulled a switch blade out of his pocket,
and sliced through the rope that was around Shell’s wrist with one careless swipe.
The blade barely grazed her skin, spouting blood. She screamed through the duct
tape.

  “Son of a bitch!” Tay said, charging at J.J, but he stopped when J.J raised the
pistol at him.

  “Ah, ha. Don’t try it amigo,” J.J said, shaking his head.

  Tay froze, breathing deep, angry breaths.

  J.J snatched the duct tape off Shell’s mouth, and she screamed in pained. “Ahh!”

  “Shut up bitch!” J.J told her, grabbing her shoulder, and pushing her towards Tay
to the floor. “Get your slut. You’re lucky I didn’t have a condom, or I would’ve
fucked her little tight ass,” J.J bantered.

  “I’ll kill you for this fucker,” Tay warned, bending down to help Shell up. She
was trembling, and crying while holding her cut wrist. Tay put his arm around her,
and turned to leave, but J.J called his name.

  “Tay, wait!” J.J called.

  Tay turned around. “What?”

  “You know when I told you I’d let your girl live if you gave my drugs back?…
Well, I didn’t say I wouldn’t kill you.” J.J pointed the barrel of the gun at Tay, but
Shell jumped in front of him quickly.

  “You’d have to kill me too bastard!” Shell said.

  J.J grinned. “Well isn’t this sweet. Willing to die for your man…Well, guess I
gotta kill you both,” J.J said, shrugging his shoulders.

  Tay instantaneously, pushed Shell from in front of him, and the hollow point
bullet hit him square in the chest!…Shell screamed, as Tay dropped to his knees,
holding his heart. Then, twisted over on his back to the floor.

  J.J walked over to Tay, as Shell constantly screamed emotionally, and stood over
his body. Tay’s eyes were closed, but J.J wanted to make sure he was dead, and
pointed the gun at Tay’s face to shoot him again. Suddenly, Tay’s eyes opened, and
his foot kicked the gun out of J.J’s hand. Sending it wailing across the floor.
Surprised, J.J ran after the weapon, but Tay was up in a split second, moving like
he was back in his football days. Tay jumped on his back just before he picked up
the gun, and was choking one arm around his throat. Tay’s bicep cut off J.J’s air
circulation, and he fell forward to the ground, his face turning blue. Tay grabbed
the gun, then turned J.J over, and pushed the muzzle up his nose.

  “Didn’t I say I was gonna kill you for this!” Tay was tenths of a second from
pulling the trigger, when a dozen FBI agents busted into the room.

  “Don’t do it Octavius!…We got him, and you did a good job!” Agent Burnes
yelled to Tay.

  Tay restrained himself, then pulled the gun out of J.J’s nostrils, tossing the gun.
“You’re lucky home’z,” Tay told J.J, rising to his feet. The agents quickly
apprehended J.J, and took him away.

  The bullet proof vest Burnes had given Tay to wear saved his life, but his chest
still ached from the impact of the bullet. The agents had been waiting outside in a
van the whole time. Agent Mendez came walking up now.

  “Good job Octavius. You helped us nab our man,” she said.
  “Sure did. You’re a brave one,” Burnes said.

  Tay ran over to Shell, hugging her. She was still shocked, and very confused.

  “I thought you were dead baby,” Shell cried.

  “It’s ok. Everything’s ok now. Let’s go home baby,” Tay said, watching agent
Mendez pick up the duffle bag containing the drugs.

  “I’m gonna go ahead and take this, so it’ll get in evidence,” Mendez told Burnes.

  Tay shook his head, knowing those drugs would never make it to evidence. He
and Shell exited the building.

  When Tay and Shell arrived home, they took a long, hot bath together. After
getting out, they climbed in bed, but Tay decided to call his mother. He let her
know he was home, and she was glad, finding the news canorous. Then his mother
informed him that his brother, Don, had called her about divorcing Anitra.
Something about she was cheating on him with some radio guy, and that their new
baby might not be Don’s. Tay wasn’ t surprised, but he felt sorry for Don. He’d call
him tomorrow. Tay ended the call with his mother, and turned to Shell.

  “Shell, I love you,” Tay told her, rolling his naked body on top of hers.

  “I love you too,” she replied.

  “You know…On the way home from prison, I told myself that I was gonna make
love to you for ten hours straight when I saw you.”

  Shell smiled. “Well, I hope you keep your word.”

  “Oh…believe me I am. Start your clock!”

To be continued…