13. Deuce
DEUCE
The second Kim walked up on us at that restaurant; I knew shit was about to get complicated. Because that wasn’t coincidence, not at all. Kim knew exactly what she was doing. And the small smirk she tried hiding after seeing me with Alisha irritated the hell out of me.
The whole rest of dinner, I could feel Alisha energy shift, not dramatically but enough where I noticed it. She got quieter and observant. Watching me more than usual, one thing about my wife Alisha noticed everything.
“You only know her from the shop, right?” she asked casually while cutting into her salmon.
I grabbed my drink slowly. “Yeah.”
“She seemed real friendly.”
I forced a small smirk. “She's your client ain’t she?”
“Mhm.”
She looked at me strangely after that. I was already plotting how the fuck I was about to deal with Kim after tonight. Because pulling up on me publicly while I’m with my wife was a no no.
Still, I couldn’t let Alisha sit in suspicion too long.
So naturally I turned the charm back on heavy.
By the time we made it back to the hotel suite, I had her laughing and relaxing again.
She still had the ability to make me forget everything for little moments too even with all the bullshit surrounding my life.
The suite lights stayed dim while Detroit glowed outside the windows and Alisha stood near the bathroom mirror taking her earrings off while I watched her.
Her honey brown skin was glowing underneath the lights, her long hair falling down her back.
Thick in every place I loved touching. Despite all the mistakes I made I genuinely loved her.
“You staring,” she laughed softly, catching me watching her through the mirror.
“Can you blame me?”
She rolled her eyes smiling.
“Boy please.”
Then she walked over toward me slowly wearing nothing but her bra and panties.
Kim might’ve brought drama, but Alisha brought peace.
I pulled her into my lap while she laughed softly against my mouth.
And for a little while I let myself get lost in her completely.
No FBI, no Kim, no lies, just me and my wife.
Later that night after she finally fell asleep against my chest, I laid there staring at the ceiling trying to think.
I got more pissed off the more I replayed that restaurant shit. Kim wasn’t stupid, she knew Alisha was already suspicious. So why the fuck would she approach us like that unless she wanted problems. Carefully, I slid out of the bed trying not to wake Alisha.
She stirred slightly before settling back against the pillows. Seeing her sleeping peacefully like that made me even angrier because everything I built was starting to crack because people around me kept moving emotionally instead of logically.
About thirty minutes later, I was pulling up outside Kim condo. By then I pissed off, the second she opened the door, she knew something was wrong.
“What happened?”
I pushed past her. “The fuck was that tonight?”
Kim blinked. “What?” she asked.
“At the restaurant.” I yelled.
“Oh my God.”
“Nah don’t do that,” I snapped turning toward her. “You knew exactly what the fuck you was doing.”
Her face hardened. “I saw y’all out.”
“You approached us intentionally.”
“So what?”
“So what? You trying to fuck my marriage up?” I barked.
Kim laughed bitterly, "Your marriage?”
“Yes, MY marriage.”
“And what am I?”
The emotion in her voice only pissed me off more because I was too stressed for emotional shit.
“You acting reckless.”
“No,” she snapped back. “I’m tired of being hidden.”
I rubbed my hands over my face trying not to completely lose it.
“Kim this not the time.”
“When is it ever the time for me?”
“There you go with this bullshit again.”
“No THERE YOU GO,” she yelled louder. “Everything always about Alisha!”
The room got quiet then she said. “You only love me in private.”
I was too angry to process emotions correctly right then. I didn’t have time for this shit! I was too damn close to losing everything.
“You trying to fuck up my life!” I yelled finally.
Kim flinched slightly but she still stood there staring at me emotionally. “No, I’m trying to be a part of it.”
That vulnerability should’ve softened me but instead it pissed me off worse.
“Do you understand the Feds on my ass right now?” I snapped moving closer. “Shipments getting hit and yo punk ass daddy questioning my wife. What the fuck am I supposed to be doing?”
“Well maybe if you stopped treating me like a secret…”
Before she could finish, I grabbed her roughly by the throat. “Stop fucking playing with me.”
Kim eyes widened immediately with hurt. That look sobered me up some because despite everything I never wanted to become that type of man.
“Deuce…” she whispered.
“Look what you making this become.”
Tears filled her eyes immediately. “What am I making it?”
I grabbed my keys quickly before I said something worse. “I can’t do this shit tonight.” Then I walked straight out the condo.
The drive back downtown felt tense, my head was pounding and thoughts were racing.
Everything was unraveling too fast around me.
And for the first time in a long time, I genuinely felt like I was losing control.
When I got back to the hotel suite though, my stomach dropped because the room was empty and Alisha was gone.
“Fuck.” I grabbed my phone immediately and called her.
It went straight to voicemail. That panic hit my chest hard and fast because Alisha never ignored my calls.
I rushed back downstairs already knowing exactly where she probably went.
The entire drive there my mind kept spiraling worse.
Did she see me leave? Did she follow me?
Did she know? Questions kept crashing into each other nonstop.
The second I pulled into the driveway and saw her car there I felt better. I walked inside carefully and the house was dark except for the kitchen light. When I stepped further inside, she was sitting at the kitchen island and her mascara smeared slightly.
“Alisha…”
“Don’t.” She laughed shakily while shaking her head. “You really thought I was stupid huh?” She asked.
“What are you talking about?”
“STOP LYING!” She screamed.
The way she screamed that shit echoed through the whole house. I’d never seen her this angry before.
“She knew you,” Alisha snapped standing up fast. “I saw the way y’all looked at each other.”
“Alisha…”
“And then you disappeared out of the hotel room! I woke up and my husband was gone,” she continued while tears slid down her face angrily. “Do you know how fucking humiliating that felt?”
“I don’t know that woman.” I pleaded.
“That’s a lie!” Her voice cracked hard on those words.
Then suddenly she grabbed the wine glass off the counter throwing it hard across the kitchen glass shattered on impact.
My wife officially crashed out. The second that glass shattered across the kitchen, silence slammed into the room, hard as hell.
Alisha's chest rose up and down fast while tears streamed down her face.
I realized right then shit had officially gone too far.
“Baby…”
“Don’t fucking call me that!” she screamed.
I ran my hand over my face trying to think and trying to calm down. Without completely losing my temper too. My whole life was spinning outta control in real time.
“You’re overreacting.” That was the wrong thing to say.
She laughed bitterly while shaking her head. “Overreacting?”
Then she pointed toward the front door angrily. “You disappeared in the middle of the night after some bitch approached us acting way too comfortable around my husband!”
“I don’t know her love.”
“You keep saying that like I’m stupid!”
I watched her storm upstairs, I knew following her was about to make things worse, but I went anyway. Because she could yell, cry, throw shit, but leaving me wasn’t an option. The second I walked into our bedroom; she was already yanking clothes out the closet and throwing them into a suitcase.
“What the fuck you doing?”
“I’m leaving.”
“No, you not.”
“Yes I am.”
She kept folding clothes angrily while tears slid down her face nonstop. Seeing her cry like that should’ve softened me, but pressure from everything else had my mind fucked up already.
“You not about to run every time you get emotional.”
That made her stop moving and she turned toward me. “Emotional? You cheating on me and I’m being emotional.”
“I said nothing happened.”
“And I said stop fucking lying!” She screamed. She grabbed another handful of clothes and stuffed them into the suitcase.
“I refuse to be one of them pathetic wives getting embarrassed while everybody laugh behind my back.”
“Ain’t nobody laughing at you.” I replied.
“How the fuck you know that?”
She zipped the suitcase hard before trying to walk past me, immediately I blocked her path.
“You not leaving.”
“Move.”
“No.”
“Deuce.”
“I said no.” I yelled.
“You don’t own me,” she snapped.
“I know that, but you are my wife.”
“And wives leave cheating ass husbands every day.”
“That ain’t happening here.” I knew my tone was getting darker and more controlling, but I ain’t care because she wasn’t leaving me.
“Move before I scream,” she warned.
“Do it then.”
Alisha looked at me differently suddenly like for the first time she ain’t fully recognized me.
Then I stepped closer, “You told me till death do us fucking part.”
The way I said it made her go completely still, even I knew I sounded crazy right then, but I didn’t give a damn, losing my wife wasn’t an option in my head.
Alisha's eyes searched my face slowly. Whatever she saw there made her finally step back toward the bed quietly.
I rarely lose my composure but tonight pressure had me damn near ready to crash out.