8. Reighvyn
TWO DAYS LATER
I had spent the last couple of days avoiding Dove. It had been easier than to face her after all that damn moaning she was doing while I washed her hair.
Her body was soft, warm, and smelled like cinnamon and brown sugar.
Her hair was soft and felt like a kitten’s fur.
I was cool until she started moaning and talking about how good it felt.
All the fantasies I used to have about her little ass returned and flooded straight to my dick.
I forgot what I was supposed to be doing.
When she asked what was wrong, I had half a mind to tell her that I wanted to spread her legs at the sink right then and give her something to moan about. I would never disrespect her like that, though. She had too much shit going on already, and I had enough baggage of my own.
I finished her hair and walked the fuck up out that kitchen. After that, I stayed ghost as much as possible, going for long runs, swimming, and checking out the island.
Running from the situation was up when I walked into the house and found her on the couch in the living room. There was no avoiding her with the way her warm, russet-brown eyes pinned me in place.
“Where have you been?” she asked softly, looking up from the TV.
She was curled up on the sofa, and her thighs were on display in peach, cotton pajama shorts. Her eyes were lazy looking, like she had been about to drift off to sleep.
“Just out and about, clearing my mind is all.”
That wasn’t a lie, but I didn’t want to get into what I had been clearing my mind about.
She bobbed her head and reached for the remote.
It was something about the way that she did it that made me turn my attention to the TV.
There were images on TV of me and other MMA fighters from my fight camp: Jeremy Broadwell, Kobalt Harden, and Holt Stern.
I caught the ticker at the bottom of the screen just before she flicked the TV to another channel and turned the volume down.
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I’m sorry, Reigh.”
“For what?” I was kind of irritated that she would change the channel and that she would apologize about that shit, like she hadn’t meant to watch it. What happened to keeping it real? I believed if you did some shit, then you stood ten toes down on it—put your weight on that shit.
“Watching that garbage. I wasn’t trying to support it, but I want to know what’s happening because I care about you. I know that we’ve been out of each other’s lives for a few years now, but that doesn’t change the fact that I still care as much as I once did, if not more so.
“You’ve been so closed off, and I get that you don’t want to talk about it, but I want to know how to be here for you. You can talk to me about anything, Reigh, same as you used to. I won’t judge, and I know how to keep a secret. Trust me,” she replied, chuckling bitterly and rolling her eyes.
I knew that she was referring to her situation. I sat down on the couch and released a long exhale as I pinched the bridge of my nose. I felt bad that I had just been irritated with her.
“What were they saying? I only caught the tail end of it.”
“That Jeremy, Kobalt, and Holt are part of the scandal too. That this could be a part of a bigger problem, and there may be an inquiry into the other fighters in your fight camp.”
I shook my head and stared at her. “I believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt, so I don’t want to speak or think bad about either one of ’em.
They might need to look into Holt, though, because he had a serious drug problem in the past. Kobalt could go either way, but I doubt it.
He’s good people. Now Jeremy, I wouldn’t believe that shit if I saw it.
Not saying that anyone can’t get caught up, but not white bread. ”
“White bread?”
“Yeah, that’s what I call him. He’s good peeps, and he tries to represent Christ in everything that he does. Growing up in the hood around a lot of black folks sometimes has him forgetting his ancestors didn’t rock with us like that. He needs to fight those allegations, though.”
“What are you doing about it? Are you fighting?”
“I’ve got an attorney who is looking into things. I have to be honest with you, though, Dove. My piss was dirty, but not with my knowledge.”
“Are you saying someone drugged you?”
“I’m saying that I don’t know how that shit got in my system. I didn’t willingly or knowingly take anything. So, we’re looking into it from every angle. When we take a test after allegations have been made, they take two samples from us. They take an A and B sample.
“The B sample is sealed and stored securely, so when I requested that it be tested after failing the A sample, I was present during the unsealing and testing of it. It came back positive. My head was fucked up for a while. Not in my feelings about it anymore, though. This shit is about to become a firestorm, ’cause there’s gon’ be hell to pay. ”
“I pray that you get the answers you’re looking for. Whoever had a hand in it needs to pay, Reigh. I know you’re not trying to outright accuse someone, but someone did something—and that’s what needs to be answered to.”
“Oh, they will, trust me, li’l bit. They will.” My chuckle was harsh and deadly.
“I struggled when I went through what I went through. I was happy and on cloud nine one day with a man who was good to me. Because of his lies and my choices, the next day, my life was down the toilet and seeping into the sewer.”
“Did you plan to marry him?”
“No. I was just enjoying what we had. We had gone to a concert, and we were having the time of our lives. The next morning, I woke up around six, and Neal was on the phone with someone, speaking in hushed tones. He was clearly upset. I was content to wait until he finished, but before he could, Mama called me.”
“Oh shit!”
“Oh shit is right. Mama cursed me up and down the block, after she asked if I was okay. My sister dragged my ass, after she asked if I was okay. They were both upset with me for becoming involved with a married man.”
“And your daddy?”
“Daddy was like, ‘Where dat nigga at. I’m beating his ass.’”
I chuckled because that sounded just like Mr. Flowers. He didn’t take shit off nobody, especially when it came to his girls.
“As he should have.”
“I was so embarrassed and then when Neal didn’t stand by me, but made it sound like I seduced him when he was vulnerable.
I was devastated. I was all alone, and though my family was there for me, I couldn’t help but remember how Mama and Ivy were upset with me and blamed me for not leaving when I learned the truth. They were right.
“I pushed everyone away and became isolated. I couldn’t handle everyone’s feelings while carrying the baggage of my guilt and shame too.
I took pills to cope throughout the day, pills to go to sleep, and pills to wake up.
I was a damn zombie because the pain was more than I could bear. I didn’t even recognize myself.
“I struggled to reconcile the man I’d loved with the man he actually was. It’s only been in the last five months that I’ve come out of hiding, and only because I stopped taking the pills. That was a dark and hard time in my life. Look at me crying. I’m sorry.” She apologized when I wiped her tears.
“Hey, let them tears fall, and let them be the last tears you shed over that worthless nigga.”
Tears were slowly falling down her face as she talked about her hurt and pain. I pulled her into my arms and rested my chin on her head as I rubbed her back. After a couple of minutes, she pulled back and stared into my eyes.
I started to pull back, but she leaned in, locked her arms around my neck, and pressed her lips against mine. I rubbed her back as I explored her soft, sweet mouth. The kiss was sensual, heated, and exploratory. Dove went straight for what she wanted.
When she straddled me, I tried to stop her, but she was moving aggressively as hell.
“Slow up, Dove,” I ordered, pulling back from the kiss.
“Why?” she asked breathlessly.
“Because you’re emotional as hell right now.”
“I’m not. I want you, Reigh. I need you.”
“You’re making a mistake, baby girl.”
She paused and frowned. “You don’t want me. I’m sorry.”
It wasn’t a question but a statement. My rejection had fucked with her head, and that was the last thing I wanted to do. I gripped her wrists as she pulled back from me.
“I’on know how you fix your lips to let that shit come out. I want you bad as hell right now, always have.”
“What do you mean ‘always have’?”
“Man, I used to have the biggest crush on you as a kid. I’ve had feelings for you since we were fourteen.”
“You never said anything.”
“Why? So you could shoot me down? Say some slick shit about my scars and shit?”
“I wasn’t like those other girls, Reigh.
You know that.” She placed her hands over my heart.
“Those scars never bothered me. They only bothered you, and I didn’t judge you based on them.
I always saw your heart. I never said I liked you, too, because I wasn’t sure how much longer you’d be around before y’all left again. ”
“Maybe it was for the best.”
“So is this,” she replied, locking her arms around me again, pressing her body against mine, and kissing me.
My dick jerked, and my balls ached. If she had been any other girl, I wouldn’t have thought twice about running up in them guts, but this was Dove. She was so much more to me than an easy fuck.
I gripped the back of her head and pulled her away.
“Nah. We ain’t going out like this, Dove.”
“Going out like this?”
“I will always respect you, always cherish you, and I will always treat you the way that you deserve to be treated. Whatever this is, what you’re on right now, it’s just for the moment.
That ain’t us. I ain’t gon’ lie; you bad as hell.
Got a nigga’s dick harder than a muthafucka, and my balls aching like hell. ”
“Then why don’t you want this?”
“Because I don’t plan on being one of your regrets.
I plan on being the best thing that ever happened to you, li’l bit.
I want to make sure that I’m what you want, and not because you’re going through some shit over another nigga.
So, when we do it, it won’t be because you’re in ya fuckin’ feelings ’bout that nigga.
This ain’t no; it’s just ‘slow-down’ for now. ”