Chapter 8
NAIJHEL
FIVE DAYS LATER
She looked more lovely than I could have imagined in the short black dress that showed off her ample curves and thick legs. Delaney wore a black cape over the formfitting dress, giving her an even more elegant appeal.
The black, high-heeled shoes brought her closer to my six-foot height, although she was still much shorter than me. I handed her a bouquet of pink tulips, and she glared at me.
“I’ll be back. Let me put these in water.”
I watched as she walked back inside the house. She had pushed the door closed just enough for me to see her walking away, but not wide enough for me to slip through without forcing my way.
That was fine. I could be patient, . . . to an extent.
When she returned and locked her doors, I took her hand. “I can walk just fine on my own, thanks.” Then she visually cringed, and I knew she was thinking about my cane.
I wasn’t self-conscious, so it didn’t bother me.
I didn’t even attribute her not wanting to date me to the fact that I walked with a cane.
Most people said that I could be arrogant; they weren’t wrong.
I knew that I was a fine muthafucka and that women wanted me.
Hell, I had so much to offer that I wanted myself.
I held out my hand, indicating that I would follow her to the car. Although I could tell that she struggled not to, it was impossible for her not to twist as she walked down the driveway to the car.
When Shane held the door open for her, he caught my gaze and shook his head. He knew I had been watching her ass because that cape only hid so much. He also had told me that I was playing with fire by chasing her. Shane knew who she was.
“You look very lovely tonight. I know that you weren’t thrilled about coming out, but I wanted to thank you for joining me.”
“Why did you decide to buy tickets to this performance? They were a bit pricey. You could have done something else for a second date.”
“I wanted to impress you, and I knew these tickets would be the quickest way to get you to say yes to a second date. I believe when you care about something or someone, you find out what matters to them, and then you move heaven and hell to give it to them, when they’re deserving.”
“How did you know that I wouldn’t take those tickets and go with someone else?”
I mugged her. “Because you don’t want to play those games with me, beautiful. You already knew that wouldn’t go over well with me. I think we both know that I’m not a man who you toy with.”
“Someone’s full of themselves, I see.”
“We’re going to have a lovely night tonight, okay? Can we put our swords away?”
“We’ll see.”
It wasn’t a long ride from her house, so we made small talk along the way as we discussed theatrical performances that we enjoyed over the years.
After we arrived, I could tell that she was curious as she looked around and did not see any long lines. We presented our tickets and were escorted inside down to the front row floor seats at the stage.
She gasped as we took our seats. “Where is everyone?”
“By everyone, who are you referring to?”
“The audience.”
“We are the audience, beautiful.”
“Naijhel, is there no one else coming? Is there really a play?”
“There is. It’s just the two of us and the actors.”
“But how?”
“I rented the hall tonight for a special performance for just you and I.”
Although she wouldn’t say it, I could tell by the sparkle in her eyes and the cute little twist on her mouth that she used to hide her smile that she was impressed.
I watched her throughout the performance, and I loved how much she enjoyed herself.
Delaney’s range of emotions were on full display, and she did not limit expressing herself for the sake of trying to hide them from me.
She experienced the play in its entirety and everything that it brought out in her.
She laughed, she cried, and she rejoiced.
In the end, Delaney put her mask back in place when the performance ended. She returned to her usual reserved self, and she politely thanked me for bringing her as I whisked her off to our next destination.
“This is a unique dining experience, Naijhel,” she declared as we walked up the metal stairs of an old train.
“I thought you might appreciate it,” I stated, waving my hand for her to proceed through the first car.
Our table was set up in the third car complete with a violinist and a cellist. After we were served our meal, I noticed that I was still talking, and she was a bit more reserved than before.
I set my fork down and stared into her eyes. “I know that I’m not a boring date, and I’m not so self-consumed that I don’t realize that I’m doing all the talking. So please, gorgeous, tell me what’s on your mind.”
She shook her head and replied, “I’m fine.”
I reached out and took her hands over the table. Surprisingly, she didn’t pull back. Delaney met my gaze. “Seriously, tell me what’s on your mind. Whatever you want to know about me, ask. I’m an open book.”
“How did you get that limp, and why do you walk with the cane?”
Of all the things I had expected her to ask me, that wasn’t one of them. I expected that she would ask about the reason I was pursuing her again, since that was a point of contention between us.
It honestly caught me off guard, and though I struggled emotionally with it, I resolved to tell her the truth.
“My father was a victim of domestic violence. He battled it for years, but we didn’t realize how serious it was.
We knew that she could be emotionally abusive whenever she had been drinking, but we didn’t realize that she could be physically abusive at times too.
I mean, we saw things like her hitting him on the arm or chest, but we all took it to be something playful.
“My father was a strong, powerful man, but he didn’t believe in putting his hands on women, and he loved his girlfriend fiercely.
One night, he was texting me to come to his house.
He said that he needed me to help him move.
My brother, Brandon, was at the hospital because his twins were being born.
“I told my dad that I would be there as soon as I could get away. My dad often claimed he was leaving his girlfriend, and then he wouldn’t.
I thought it was another one of those cases, and my girlfriend, Tracy, was tripping on me about running over there again.
Tracy was quite a handful too. She was clingy and needy, and she often complained that I always went running when my family called. So I couldn’t get away right away.
“My father called me again, and he said that he found out that his girlfriend was cheating on him, and he was really leaving her. After he confronted her with the evidence, she had lied about it and then started an argument with him. After he gave me those details, I finally left my house with my girl angry at me, but I didn’t care.
I figured we would work it out later because I had to make sure my pops was good. ”
I inhaled and closed my eyes. All I could see was the blood. There was so much blood, and I could smell the metallic scent everywhere. There was another smell in the air. I realized that my pops had pissed his pants when he died. Delaney didn’t need to know all of that.
She reached out and touched my hand. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to go on.” Her voice was a soft, comforting caress against my heart, and it prompted me to open my eyes again.
“By the time that I arrived, it was too late. She had already stabbed him to death. When I arrived, he was lying there in a pool of blood, staring at the ceiling. His neck was slit, and she was on the couch above him crying. When I shouted at her and asked what had she done, she tried explaining that she didn’t mean to do it.
“I was angry and made a move toward her. I swear that I was going to kill her with my bare hands. She must have felt my energy or seen it in my eyes. Because the minute that I took that first step, she shot me in the knee a couple of times. She ran from the scene. They eventually captured her, and she’s now serving life in prison for murder. ”
Delaney stared at me for a long time. It eventually became uncomfortable, and I almost regretted telling her all that I had. I hadn’t shared that story with anyone outside of my family and my closest friends.
When she reached across the table and grabbed my hand to squeeze it, I relaxed.
The compassion and genuine sympathy in her eyes was evident and couldn’t be missed in the sheen and sparkle of her brown eyes.
“I’m so sorry that happened to you and your family, Naijhel. I think it all makes sense now.”
I nodded. “That’s why I was so supportive of Clayton when he came to me because he had an entire story about the abuse he had suffered at your hands.
Then when he provided the documentation, I didn’t bother questioning him further.
He had pictures, witness statements, doctor reports, and even a police report. ”
“All forged,” she replied softly.
I nodded. “Clayton knew what happened to my father. It was easy to believe him because I have seen manipulative women at work who present a sweet, docile front for some people but can be a different person behind closed doors.
“When I saw you, I saw my father’s girlfriend.
I’m sorry, Delaney. I’m sorry that I was part of making your life hell and a part of victimizing you and destroying your life.
I recognized in hindsight that Clayton used that to manipulate me into taking his case and fighting hard for him against you. ”
“My life isn’t destroyed, Naijhel,” she replied with a sweet smile. “In fact, it’s just beginning.”