Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Rashawn Kentrel Williams
When I approached the truck, Elise’s seat was reclined, and she was asleep in the driver’s seat.
I gently tapped on the window, and her eyes fluttered open.
She glanced up at me, her tear stained face pulling at my heart.
As she sat up to hit the locks, I noticed the big grey stain that spread across the entire lower half of her yellow dress.
Once I heard the locks click, I tugged the door open and pulled Elise out of the truck. The moment her feet were out of the truck, I noticed the grey splatter also trickled onto her white Keds with the sparkly mustard laces to match her dress.
“What happened, bae?” I questioned, wrapping my arms around her. Elise’s hair was in knotless braids that she pulled up into a high bun. Either the sleep or whatever happened had her bun leaning and braids falling to her shoulders.
“I don’t want to talk about it. I got myself together now.” Elise melted into my chest, her sweet signature scent faint but present.
“Nah, what happened. The way you were crying on the phone, you gotta give me something.”
“No, I promise I’m fine. I’m sorry I made you drive all the way out here for nothing.”
“You asleep in a strip mall parking lot. That ain’t nothing.
I hate when you shut down like this. I want you to tell me when shit is going wrong with your parents, too.
I want you to be able to vent to me about everything.
We are supposed to be working towards something.
I already know something went down between you and your parents and that’s always where you seem to shut me out.
Ion fuck with them so it didn’t use to matter to me, but now it does. ”
Elise huffed, pulling away from my embrace.
“Did you know that Faith is still a stupid bitch?” Elise questioned, folding her arms across her chest. My eyes fluttered because her response caught me off guard.
I knew Elise was infuriated because that was the only time she cursed.
That, and when I was trying to let my dick or tongue speak to her soul.
“Ion know shit about what Faith got going on. I ain’t seen her since high school graduation,” I admitted.
“Well, she is. Faith purposely spilled the water I was using to clean the paint off my brushes on me,” Elise divulged, flailing her hands in front of her stained dress.
“If ruining my dress wasn’t enough, then she tried to hit me.
But I caught her hand midair and almost broke it off,” she vented, then closed her eyes and tilted her head back until she was facing the sky.
“Lord, please forgive me, but I wanted to rip her arm off and beat her with it.”
“Yeah, alright,” I scoffed.
“Hush, Rashawn,” Elise groaned, stomping in place.
“Come here, my big baby, I’m sorry,” I apologized, pulling Elise into my embrace.
“I just don’t understand how she could still be so mean spirited after all of these years.”
“Your light is contagious. I love being around you, soaking it up. That shit does something to me. It has been that way since we were eighteen, when you came into the room with me your first weekend at college. Just like your light sucks me in, it can also stir resentment in others. That’s their problem.
Not yours. If you want, though, I can get my cousins to jump her for fucking with you,” I offered.
“No, Rashawn!” Elise pulled away again.
“I was just playing,” I chuckled. Sort of. “How did you end up crying in a random parking lot after what Faith started?”
“My parents got on me for causing a scene,” Elise rolled her eyes and tears quickly rimmed them. “I don’t want to talk about that, though. I want to get out of this dress.”
“So you came here?” I looked around, allowing her to change the subject. “I could’ve grabbed you something on the way if you told me.”
“Yes, I came here. We still have time to participate in Halloween. We can start this year instead of waiting for next year.”
“You want to dress up?” I wondered.
“Yes,” she nodded, her eyes brightening at the thought.
“You know Essex was dressed up as Fred from Scooby Doo today. Y’all never far behind each other. This is the first Halloween I’ve seen him dress up too,” I informed her, reaching into her truck to kill the engine and grab her keys from the cup holder.
“Really? I know Nariyah said she was going to get him to dress up. But Nash told her heck no, so I thought Essex would follow suit,” she snickered.
“Nah, he out there matching with Nariyah and Nova. Looking all cute and shit,” I grabbed Elise’s hand and led her toward the entrance. “I can’t wait until we can share moments like that with a son or daughter.”
“Let’s slow our roll and focus on getting through your probationary period,” Elise advised.
“I’m nine months in. In ten days, we will be ten months in. What you don’t have faith in me?”
“I do. I just don’t want to get either of our hopes up until that time comes.”
My lips flattened, and I bit back my response since Elise was already having a terrible day.
However, Elise definitely wounded my heart with that response.
Our situation had been a hot and cold journey on a pendulum of conflicting emotions.
The issues always rested with Elise; I always knew what I wanted.
While she was three hours away at college, it was easier to swallow, especially since I was young and doing my own thing back home.
Even back then, I wanted more, but Elise let her parents get in the way.
In a major way, rejection was definitely our protection.
I wasn’t ready to be a one woman man and probably would’ve ruined us when we were eighteen.
Now that we are grown as fuck and I’m out of the streets, I thought I did more than enough to make my intentions clear.
I dropped all of my hoes, changed my phone number, enrolled in school, and have been on the straight and narrow ever since.
Elise even had a nigga practicing abstinence with her for the past year.
Whenever Elise said shit like that, it felt like she didn’t have faith in me.
Like she was waiting for me to fuck up so she could end us before we got started again.
We maneuvered through the store, and Elise was enthralled by the over the top Halloween decorations for the interior and exterior of a home.
“This stuff is all so detailed,” she sputtered, admiring a ten foot animatronic wolf.
“Yeah, it is. You want it?”
“No,” she animatedly shook her head from side to side. “I don’t even have a yard to put it in. My neighbors would have a fit if I placed this in between that sliver of grass separating our driveways.”
“I could keep it for my yard.”
“No, thank you. I do want this, though,” she batted her lashes at me, skipping over to the light up Ghost Face wreath.
Scream was the only scary movie Elise watched growing up. Essex actually asked to borrow the DVD from my house so they could watch it after their parents went to sleep. It was their favorite, so we would sneak and watch it all the time.
I reached over Elise and grabbed the wreath. “Thank you, handsome.” She bubbled. Then her smile fell and her face turned devious. “I know what I want to be. You’re already wearing all black,” she waved at my black Nike jogger set. “We can both be Ghostface.”
“I’m with whatever you with,” I confirmed. “Where we going after you get changed?” I wondered.
“Hmmmm, I hadn’t thought about that yet.” Elise stopped moving and rubbed her chin.
“Relax. I already have somewhere for us to go. It’s out of the way, too. I was thinking we could go there soon, but let me see what time they close today,” I detailed, pulling my phone out.
“Where?” Elise inquired, leaning over to view my screen.
“Nah, let me surprise you. Lead the way to the costumes,” I urged.
Elise perked up and led the way. “We need to get changed and slide, it’s almost six o’clock, and it’s an hour drive.”
“Okay, they don’t have any cute Ghost Face costumes for women. They barely have anything left,” she poked her bottom lip out.
“Yeah, we last minute like a motha fucka.”
“Okay, well, they have one mask for you,” she confirmed, grabbing a mask and bending the corner to search for something else.
Elise took another five minutes and grabbed a black angel costume and held it up for me to examine. “This is perfect. I’m kind of like a fallen angel. Right?”
“You’re not a fallen angel, Elise. You’ll always be an angel. You’ll never lose your halo. No matter what bullshit your parents beat into your head,” I leaned down and pecked her cheek.
“I still want to wear this. Their costume shelves are practically empty. The dress looks a little short, though, so I’m going to size up.”
Elise swapped out the dresses and then went into the fitting room to get changed.
When she stepped out in the dress, fishnets, wings, and halo, all in black, my mood shifted.
She did a little twirl so I could get a full view as I approached her.
Her braids were hanging loosely over her shoulders, setting the costume off.
Then her titties sat up perfectly in that beaded bustier top.
“My boobs are just out a lot so I need to put my sweater back on. Is the dress too short?” Elise inquired, placing her hands by her side to do the finger tip test.
“You look amazing, Elise. My angel,” I grinned, pulling her closer to me by her waist.
“Thank you. Not for just the compliment, but for coming all of this way when my emotions were out of whack. For always seeing the best in me. And going along with my sudden change in plans. I know you planned to go trick or treating with Nova tonight.”
“Elise, if you call, I’m coming. You don’t have to thank me for that. I’ll always be here to protect you and your halo,” I leaned down and pecked her lips that time.
“And today I actually have a visible halo,” she beamed, pulling out of my grasp to motion her hands around her halo.