Chapter 11
“Your girl must be coming back today,” Kaylynn said, watching as I busied myself with cleaning the guns in the training room.
“She’s not my girl, and yes, she is.”
I chuckled to myself. My mind had been so preoccupied with thoughts of Romi that I hadn’t even thought about another woman. I didn’t know what it was about her, but it was like she’d bewitched my ass. The pull she had on me was crazy as fuck. I was beginning to see what happened to Deuce when he met Salima. Now, I wouldn’t act like that nigga, but I understood.
“You really like this girl, huh?” Kaylynn asked.
“You stay in my business.”
“Answer the question.”
“Yes, I’m feeling her, damn. What do you want me to say?”
“Nothing, nothing. I’m happy to see you on your way to being locked down.”
“I ain’t said all that.”
She laughed. “Deuce and Maceo said the same thing, and look at them… married. Salima and Shar turned some hos into house husbands.”
I laughed. “Man, get outta here. I can’t deal with you right now. I need to finish cleaning this shit, and if I’m correct, you have a session in about ten minutes. Go get to work.”
She kissed her teeth. “I’ll be back, cousin.”
She mushed my head and left the room, leaving me to focus on the task at hand. After thirty minutes, I was done, just in time to hear a knock on the door. It opened, and Romi stepped in.
“Hey,” she said, closing the door. “They sent me straight back.”
“You good. How are you?”
She looked tired and somewhat defeated.
“I’m here. Just ready to get this over with.”
“Damn, you didn’t even want to see me today?” I jested.
“It’s not you. Just… a lot going on.”
“Anything I can help with?”
She looked at me like she wanted to ask me something but quickly shook her head.
“No. I’ll be fine.”
“You sure? We can talk about it?”
“I’ve talked about it enough. This is something I have to deal with on my own.”
“Says who?”
She waved her arms around. “Who else am I gonna depend on? Can we get started?”
I remained quiet for a moment before speaking so I could choose my words carefully.
“If you want to talk?—”
“I don’t want to talk about it. What is talking going to do? Nothing. I’ve talked about things until I’m blue in the face, and where has that gotten me? That man broke into my house and snatched me up. He made me let him into my salon where he had a whole fucking delivery truck waiting to store his shit. I had to shut my shop down for a whole week so he could do what he needed to do. That is gonna cost me thousands of dollars because I still have to pay my staff.
“How do you compete with a man that has the law on his side? His father doesn’t even fuck with him like that, yet he goes out of his way to cover up his son’s transgressions. And no, I can’t prove that, but that has to be the case because there is no other explanation. How would it look to have the son of a prominent city official behind bars for selling drugs and harassing his pregnant ex?”
She began pacing and breathing hard, and I realized she was beginning to have a panic attack. I went to her and grabbed her hands.
“Take some deep breaths, mama. You’re getting yourself all worked up. Breathe.”
I took some deep breaths, encouraging her to do them with me. Her lips quivered as she tried to regulate her breathing.
“You’re doing good,” I said, massaging her hand with the pads of my thumbs. “Stay with me. Close your eyes.”
She closed her eyes and continued to breathe in and out. I released her hands and slowly ran mine up and down her arms before moving behind her to massage her shoulders. She began to relax, and after a minute or so, her breathing returned to normal.
She turned to look at me with a tear-stained face. I grabbed the tissue and offered it to her.
“Thank you,” she said, dabbing her eyes. “I’m sorry I’m such a mess. It’s just pregnancy, then all of this going on… I’m feeling very overwhelmed.”
“I get it. How about we skip today’s lesson and try something different?”
“No. You’re already giving me these lessons for free. I don’t wanna waste any more of your time.”
“I appreciate that, but sometimes we all need a break. Work. Life. Kids. Shit can drive you crazy. I think you need some fun.”
“Fun?”
“Fun and relaxation. Give lil’ mamas in there a break ’cause I know she’s stressed too. Why don’t you come with me somewhere.”
“Should I trust you?”
I chuckled. “Baby, if you don’t know, you better ask somebody about Smoke Dillinger.”
She crossed her arms. “Why do they call you Smoke?”
“Because I’m pressure behind a trigger. Always have been. It was a nickname given to me by my grandfather. He taught me everything I know about guns.”
“You two close?”
“We are. Well, we were. He’s getting up there in age, and his mind ain’t what it used to be.”
Her face softened. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t be. He’s lived a long, adventurous life. He’s done a lot of things, and it’s time for his mind to rest.”
Not many people knew it, but my grandfather was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s about a year ago. We’d been keeping it under wraps and caring for him the best we could at home. Some days, he was lucid and talking. Others, he was quiet and closed off. At times, he thought he was back in his glory days.
My grandmother recalled several times where he got up at four in the morning talking about he had to hit the block. That was both funny and sad. Funny because I could hear him talking that shit. Sad because those days were long over for him, and it seemed to be all he could remember.
Romi sighed. “If you promise I’m safe… I’ll go with you.”
“On my mama, you’re safe. I mean that ’cause she would kick my ass if she knew I put anything on her name. She doesn’t play that.”
She smiled. “You must have lied a lot as a kid.”
“Nah. I was bad as hell though. Always fighting and shit.”
“Why does that not surprise me?”
“Let me guess, you were the straight A student. Maybe a band geek. You were probably on the principal’s list, and you tutored.”
Her mouth dropped. “You don’t know my life.”
“See, I was right. I’m a pretty good people reader, Ms. Mitchell.”
“Yeah, well, I was too once upon a time.”
“Aht, aht. We not doing that. Chin up. Playas fuck up too. Come on. We’re gonna get outta here.”
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see when we get there.”
She groaned as she followed me. The place I was taking her to was a little hideaway I had. Being in the family business could get stressful as a muthafucka sometimes. When I could disappear for a few days, I went to my favorite spot. Seeing how distressed she was gave me the perfect excuse to play hooky from work.
An hour or so later…
I pulled into the parking lot of Earth, Fire, and Soul Spa . This place was a hidden gem located deep in the backwoods. I’d stumbled on this place about a year ago through this woman I was dealing with. After my first visit, I was sold. There was a huge waterfall located in the back of the property, and they offered massage therapy next to it. It was nothing like a set of hands working the kinks out of my body with the sound of the waterfall and nature echoing behind me.
A nigga had never been so relaxed.
There was also a mud bath with an outdoor shower. The service I was sure Romi would enjoy was the head and hair spa. It included a head and scalp massage along with an arm and neck massage, steam therapy, and an eye mask. I’d indulged in that a few times, and every time, I was ready to snatch my masseuse up and bring her home with me.
“A spa?” Romi asked as we came to a stop.
“This shit right here is like heaven on earth.”
“I can admit, I was a little nervous while we were driving through the woods. I’m happy to see you aren’t taking me to my death.”
“Woooow! No faith in me, I see.”
“I mean, I don’t just hop in cars with strangers and let them take me places.”
“So I’m a stranger now?” I asked, pretending to be offended. “I spent the whole reception with you. I slept over at your house. I make you laugh, and I bought you snacks. I thought we were friends.”
She rolled her eyes. “You wanna be friends?”
I grinned. “You don’t wanna be my friend, baby?”
The sound of me calling her baby caused a smile to spread across her face.
“Come let me out of this car, sir.”
I smirked as I opened my door and got out. Rounding the passenger side, I opened her door and reached for her hand. She allowed me to help her out of the car. Hand in hand, we walked into the spa. The receptionist immediately recognized me and smiled.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Dillinger. How nice to see you again.”
“It’s good to be seen. This is Romi.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Romi. I’m Theresa. Is this your first time here?”
Romi nodded. “Yes, it is.”
“Then let me welcome you to Earth, Fire, and Soul Spa where relaxation is key. What can I interest you in today, Mr. Dillinger?”
“The waterfall package and the head and hair massage.”
“I’ve got you. If you two will follow me, I can get you started.”
She led us down the hall to the dressing rooms. There were already two robes hanging up, waiting for us.
“Undress, and you can meet us out by the waterfall,” Theresa said before closing the door.
Romi looked at me, waiting for one of us to make a move.
“I can turn around if you’re uncomfortable,” I offered.
“Please?”
I turned my back to her. After removing everything from my pockets, I pulled off my shirt and kicked off my shoes before taking off my pants. Once everything was folded and placed in a locker, I slipped into the robe.
“You can turn around,” Romi said softly.
I turned to see her short ass in a robe that went past her knees. She laughed and pointed at the fact that mine damn near stopped at my thighs.
“Laugh it up,” I said, walking toward her.
“I’m sorry. It just looks so little on you.”
“I’m a big nigga, so I’m used to this shit.”
“I bet your thighs would look great in some hoochie daddy shorts,” she said, snickering.
I playfully mushed her head. “You got jokes, I see. Trying to look at my thigh meat.”
She held her stomach as she laughed harder. “Don’t make me pee on myself. I have a weak bladder with this baby.”
“Man, bring your ass on here, woman.”
I grabbed her hand and led her out of the room. She observed the amenities of the spa as we headed for the waterfall. The outside was set up like a botanical garden. It was on some Zen, one with nature type of shit.
“Oh. My. God,” Romi said as we stepped out. “This is beautiful.”
The masseuse waved us over with a smile. After a brief introduction, we were told to take off our robes and climb on the table. I tried to be respectful and not look at Romi as she came out of her robe, but as I climbed onto my table, I caught a glimpse of her getting under the sheet.
Damn.
From the back, she didn’t look pregnant at all, but that ass was sitting up just right. She had curves, and her skin was smooth and blemish free. I took in the tattoo etched down her spine. It was a vine with flowers, bees, and hummingbirds, all done in vibrant colors. That shit was sexy as hell.
I slid under the sheet and made myself comfortable. Our separate massage therapists asked about problem areas before finally getting started. We weren’t even five minutes in before she started moaning. I had to close my eyes and think of anything but the sound of her moans echoing in my ear as I gave her long, deep strokes. Too bad that didn’t work. If I hadn’t been wearing compression briefs, I would have been pitching a bigger tent than I was.
I’d never been so happy for a massage to be over because there was no way I could relax with her next to me. When they told us to sit up, I made sure to turn my back to Romi. I caught the eye of my masseuse as she smirked.
“I totally get it,” she said, winking. “Are y’all ready for the head and hair massage?”
“What’s included in that?” Romi asked, coming to stand next to me.
“It’s one of the most popular packages. It includes head, scalp, shoulders, neck, legs, hand, arms, and feet massage. We’ll be using essential oils, hot towels, and you’ll also have the option of hot stones. We will do a deep cleaning scalp therapy including hair washing with herbal shampoo, all natural products, of course. The high frequency machine is used to improve circulation, and it feels amazing on your scalp. In addition, we do a hair mask with steam therapy along with the hydrating warm eye mask. I promise, it’s the ultimate relaxation package.”
“I could use a hair wash,” Romi said, running her fingers through her locs.
“I’ve been told I have magic hands, so I’d be more than happy to service you,” my masseuse said.
“So it’s forget me, huh?” I said.
She giggled. “We are tending to mommy and baby. I’m sure she needs this more.”
Romi laughed as she elbowed me and rubbed her stomach. “The perks of pregnancy. You said I was going to relax, so let me relax.”
“I guess, man. Go on and take her. I’m gonna head to the sauna.”
Romi eyed me for a moment, subconsciously biting her lip. When she caught herself, she shook her head and took a step away from me. That made me smirk. I could only imagine what she was thinking.
“Have her meet me in the salon when you’re done,” I told the masseuse.
“Sure thing. Come along, mama.”
Romi started behind her but stopped and came back to me. She cupped my face and kissed my cheek.
“Thank you for this,” she said quietly. “I really needed it.”
“You’re welcome. Go on. Enjoy yourself.”
I watched as she followed behind the masseuse. Looking down at my dick, I shook my head.
“You just love to act up around this woman,” I mumbled.
I headed for the sauna. Maybe I could get my shit together in there.