Chapter 7 #2
After pecking his lips again, she searches his eyes.
Although she’s not quite sure what she’s looking for, she knows it’s something.
Maybe honesty, sincerity, sinisterness, or even a motive?
Just anything, but unfortunately, all she sees is nothing.
Nothing good or bad, simply vagueness. His eyes are unreadable yet focused on her.
Does he see me? Or is he looking right through me?
“You really want me to stay,” she asks for confirmation.
“Every part of me does,” he asserts before eliminating the tiny space between them. “Now, lay down before this gets cold.”
Without another word or question, Sunjiya turns around, saunters to the bed, and pushes the robe off her arms. When it falls to the floor, she climbs back on the bed.
Once she’s comfortably lying on her back, Akeem tenderly wipes her legs, thighs, and stomach.
After taking the towel back into the bathroom, he joins her in bed.
Before he can slide his arm under her to pull her into him, she pushes any doubt or negative thoughts about staying to the side and rolls into his chest.
“I have a confession,” she begins, deciding to just go with it.
“And what’s that?” he asks.
“I came over here to seduce you, get my back blown out, and sneak back into my room.”
“And in the morning, what was going to happen?”
“We would have gone to meet Honey,” she says matter of factly.
As his large warm hand caresses her back, he says, “Just like that? Back to business? You was gonna pretend I didn’t kiss your sweet pussy until you came and fucked you till you screamed my name.”
“Damn. You just gon’ say it like that?” she asks, half amused at his arrogant but factual words.
“That’s how it is or would have been but you didn’t want to do that.
If you did, you would have kept going to the door.
I’ve learned already that you do what you want and try to remain in control.
Even when I had you restrained, you tried to one up me.
That’s why I never got close when you had your little weapons,” he says and her head shoots up.
“You knew?” she questions, astonished.
“Yeah. I had been in the apartment before you and in the bathroom. I knew what was in there and what wasn’t when I went to grab your bag. I can’t do what I do if I don’t pay attention to shit,” he admits.
When he first realized she had taken the scissors and little blade, he kept it to himself.
Part of him wanted to see if she was really going to try to use the shit on him; the other part was amused.
He admired her tenacity and will but thought the shit was funny.
Those two little items are no match for him in any way.
“That’s fucked up. You knew the whole time,” she says while shaking her head with a grin.
She lowers her head back to his chest. Sleep overtakes her, hard.
She yawns and it triggers one from him too.
For the first time in a long ass time, Sunjiya willingly falls asleep in a man’s arms and actually sleeps with both eyes closed tightly.
“Try that shit again,” he insists, sounding as frustrated as he had said the exact same words less than two minutes ago.
“It’s going to do the same thing,” Sunjiya insists while shaking her head.
Although she knows, hell, they both know the call isn’t going through, Sunjiya dials Honey’s number again.
Just like it did the other three times she tried and the two times he did as well, the line rings then immediately sounds off the busy signal. “She cut it off,” Sunjiya says.
“Fuck,” he grits. “This shit’s not making any sense.
She wanted to talk to you,” he says while scratching his beard.
As usual, this morning, Akeem was up early.
He was out of bed, showered and dressed before Sunjiya even considered opening her eyes.
While she slept another hour, he replayed all the events of the night and mentally prepared for their planned conversation with Honey.
Her not responding to them wasn’t part of the plan. “This is weird,” he huffs.
“I know and I even checked the number last night. As soon as we got back here, I called to make sure it was her real number,” she says and his eyes widen, questioning her. Reading them, she adds, “And her voicemail picked up. Her voice, saying her name.”
“What the fuck happened?” he asks out loud, not expecting an answer because he has his suspicions. Somebody got to her. Maybe Marcelin. Akeem stops pacing and scratching his beard. “You packed?” he asks.
“Yeah. I packed this morning just in case,” she admits.
“Good. We’re going to the club to get to the bottom of this and we might not come back.
I’d just rather be ready. If somebody got to her, two things might be happening: we’re getting close to Tanjaya and so is Marcelin.
Imma grab my shit then hit him to feel his grimy ass out,” he says as he treks toward the door but she stops him.
“Wait. Call him in here. I want to hear his voice and what he has to say,” she insists.
Akeem makes his way back to the sofa. With his phone on speaker, he dials Marcelin’s number and he answers after the first ring.
“Bonjou,” Marcelin greets. “Sa k pase? I hope you have good news,” he says and Sunjiya’s eyes widen in anticipation of Akeem’s response.
What is he going to say to that? she wonders.
“Just news,” Akeem responds coolly. “The lead to Crescent Falls turned out to be a dead end. It wasn’t shit. I’m about to head to Atlanta. Face recognition software spotted her there,” he embellishes and Sunjiya relaxes.
They need more time and the goal is to keep Marcelin baited but truly in the dark about what’s really going on.
If Akeem informs Marcelin that the contract is over and he’s no longer working for him, without a doubt Marcelin would find someone else to find or even kill Tanjaya.
Akeem wants to prevent that until he has Tanjaya.
Then and only then will Akeem give Marcelin all the details.
They will be the last thing he hears right before Akeem sends a bullet through Marcelin’s weak body.
“Perfect. As soon as you find her, call. I don’t want her to get away,” Marcelin says.
“You will know when I have her,” is all Akeem offers before ending the call.
“I don’t like his voice,” Sunjiya says with a hint of disgust.
“I don’t like shit about the nigga,” Akeem admits. “But he didn’t sound like he got to Honey. He’s the type of nigga who shows his hand and likes to brag about shit. If he had gotten to her, he would have said it to show me up. He was too quiet. I don’t know what happened with her,” Akeem says.
“Maybe she got scared,” Sunjiya says.
“Let’s find out,” he urges. “Where’s your bag?”
“In the bedroom.”
“Grab it while I get mine. We need to get to that club,” he says with urgency.
When he storms out of Sunjiya’s room, she rushes to the bedroom.
She’s dressed but her small toiletries are still on the sink in the bathroom.
She stuffs them into her suitcase, then walks back into the main area of her suite.
Akeem taps on the door. She opens it, he grabs her bag, and they head downstairs.
He bypasses the front desk and they go straight to the parking lot.
After starting the engine, he turns to face Sunjiya.
Her pretty face has looked worried since the first unanswered call to Honey.
“This shit is just a setback. We’re going to find your sister,” he says with so much confidence.
“I hope so,” she says solemnly while nodding.
He backs out of the parking space, and about thirty minutes later, they are back at Lazy’s.
It’s eleven o’clock on a Monday morning and the parking lot is half-filled with cars.
Inside of Lazy’s, time seems to stand still.
No matter the day or time, titties, pussy, and ass are on full display and some of the patrons get so caught up they lose track of time.
Wives, children, and even jobs are quickly forgotten and Sunday night customers find themselves still inside on Monday mornings.
“You stay in here and I’m going to go see if she’s here,” he says once he’s parked.
“No. I’m getting out. If she’s in there, she’ll talk to me before she talks to you,” Sunjiya insists. “Plus, maybe another dancer knows Tanjaya too. We’re both getting out. We’re partners,” she adds in a softer tone.
“After last night, we’re more than partners,” he says and she smiles.
Honey’s disappearing act this morning caught them both off guard and they really hadn’t had any time to talk about last night.
It’s heavy on both of their minds but this Honey situation takes precedence.
“I know you remember what I said,” he says.
“I promise I do. I remember everything,” she assures him before stretching over the middle console.
She leans in to kiss his cheek but he turns and their lips meet.
After kissing him, she looks into his intense eyes.
“Especially those lips,” she says, then winks.
“Now, let’s go find Honey so I can get to my sister. ”
He kisses her this time then kills the engine.
After making sure the gun in his Ones is secure, he gets out and opens her door.
Together, they walk to the front. Although there’s no line, there are still two people at the door.
They are not the same people from last night but their purpose is the same.
While the smaller one checks Sunjiya, the meaty security guard pats Akeem down.
Like his predecessor from last night, he misses the gun near his ankle.
They enter, pay at the booth, then divide to conquer the club.
The scene is vastly different from last night.
People are not crowding the tables or beds.
In fact, it’s practically empty, maybe ten or twelve, a fraction of the hundreds crammed in here just mere hours ago.
The emptiness exposes the true dilapidated state of the club.
The neglect is loud and evident. Each crack, chipped paint, and broken table, bed, or chair leg is on full display.
The alcohol and women provide enough distraction for the men seated around the stages but Sunjiya is sober and not fazed by the women.
Her vision isn’t compromised and the raggedy state of the club is disappointing.
The goal right now is to leave here with Honey’s real name and hopefully her address.
Akeem works the ladies and Sunjiya deals with the men.
While he finesses the two bartenders and the two dancers that approach him, Sunjiya wanders to the back of the club.
One of the security guards stops her right when she tries to enter the door marked Dancers Only.
“So you think you can just walk past a nigga like that?” His deep voice booms over the music. His long arms fold across his massive chest and he glares down at Sunjiya for an answer.
“I was supposed to meet Honey back here,” she says, embellishing the truth.
Her eyes study his face for something, anything, but his expression remains stoic and unreadable.
Then, out of nowhere, his lips curl into an unexpected smile.
The softness of his smile contradicts everything about his appearance, surprising Sunjiya. “Is she in there?” Sunjiya probes.
“Baby girl, cut that shit out and give me a hug,” he says before pulling her in for a big bear hug. “You had a nigga concerned and shit. You good?” he asks with genuine concern.
He must think I’m Tanjaya. He knows her.
At this moment, Sunjiya is at a crossroad. She can either go into her long explanation about her and Tanjaya being twins or she can roll with his assumption and play along. After a few seconds of contemplation, she decides on the latter in hopes that he might be able to help.
“I’m good,” she says, answering as Tanjaya.
“Real shit?” he asks while staring into her eyes. “’Cause that nigga was foul as fuck. I hated when his bitch ass brought you here,” he says with disgust while shaking his head.
“Yeah, I’m good. Just need to talk to Honey before I leave.”
“Where you headed?” he asks, but when she diverts her head, he nods in perceived understanding. “I get it. Can’t have err'body in yo’ bizness. Just stay the fuck away from here or Miami.”
“I will but is she in there?” she asks, bringing the conversation back to Honey.
“Nah. You know she don’t work days. Plus, she called out tonight and the rest of the week. I don’t know what’s up with her but Ano mad as shit. That nigga been cussing all fucking morning.”
“Damn. I hope she’s okay,” Sunjiya says.
“It’s probably something with her kid,” he says.
“Let me call her then. You got her new number?” she asks, taking a chance that he might be able to give her a number that works.
“You know Honey don’t fuck with anybody once she leaves here. Hell, she’s worked here five years and I still don’t know her real name. She don’t play,” he says while shaking his head. “I’ll tell her you was here when she gets back though.”
“I appreciate that,” she says while nodding. “Anybody back there?” she asks.
“Nah. It’s slow. They all on the flo’ and Miss Kat went to get food for him,” he offers.
“Okay. Definitely tell Honey I came back,” she says.
“I got you,” he assures her. “You be easy.” He pulls her back in for another of his bear hugs.
“No nigga should handle his girl the way he did. I’m glad you got away.
Real shit, I’m happy fo’ ya. But stay away.
Don’t even think about him or this fuckin’ place again.
You deserve better, baby girl,” he tells her with so much sincerity and love.
Before letting her go, he gives her a big squeeze then lightly brushes her cheek with a brotherly peck.
“Thanks, Ced,” she utters before walking off.