Rapture 2: a BWWM, Alpha Male Romance (11 page)

FIFTEEN

Alika

Gigi and I walked into the nook that sat on the other side of the kitchen. She slid into one booth seat and I slid into the other. The rectangular-shaped table looked like one you would see during a working lunch. My laptop was there, Gigi’s laptop was there as well as a stack of papers. Both of our cell phones were nearby, and then to keep us nourished, there was the food and beverages. We had a partially filled picture of Bahama Mama, a serving bowl of fried chicken wings and French fries, and our jumbo glasses on their way to being filled again. It was going to be a long afternoon.

“So, they’re up at the house now?” Gigi asked in between sips of her drink.

“Yep. They’re there.”

“Did you meet them?”

“Nope. I came down here before they arrived. I figured I’d let Rush have his time, and then he could tell me when he thinks a good time would be to bring me into the fold. The last thing I want to do is get in the way. And really, he needs this time to bond. It’s been nine years,” I expressed, solemnly. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to know what the baby mama looks like,” I chuckled. “I already know the baby is beautiful. I mean, look at my man. He’s gorgeous, so I know a product of him is just as beautiful.”

“Yeah, I can’t believe that Jamie and Mr. Cambridge did that shit. I’m still wrapping my mind around it. To fuck around with somebody’s life like that! I would be out for blood. I mean, damn. I don’t know the back story or any of that, but right now the only story is that Hunter now has to get to know his own kid—from fuckin’ scratch! I don’t know if I would allow that if I was the mother. I’m just being real honest. I don’t think I’d want my kid in a family of folks who didn’t want her. You never want your kid to feel the slightest bit of rejection. The dozen or so times that Jamie has called me trying to plead her case, I couldn’t even be cordial. I just sit there and listen to her until she’s done. I’m not getting in it. Then the emails that she sends; I see them all. It’s the same story,message after message, all leading to,
‘
I’m so sorr
y
’. Excuse me, but it’s too late for that shit.”

“That’s how I feel too. She called me and asked me to have Rush call her. I let her know that all day long I would have his back and that I didn’t think what they did was right. I swear with all the shit I’ve seen and dealt with in life, I’ve never witnessed shit like this except in the movies, girl! I didn’t even know it could be real life!”

“Who you telling?” Gigi laughed.

About an hour into our conversation, slightly tipsy, and full off of wings and fries, my cell phone rang. I checked the caller ID to see that it was Tracie calling. Initially I was going to ignore her call because I knew she’d want to be on the phone for a while, but then I decided to pick it up and at least let her know that I’d call her back later.

I held my finger up at Gigi to alert her that I was about to take the call.

“Hey girl!” I answered. “What’s goin’ on?”

“You busy?”

“Yeah, sitting here chillin’ with Gigi on our way to being drunk and full off of too much grease!”

“Okay, well before you get there, I need you on Facebook like pronto.”

“Shit, I don’t even know if I still have my login for that thing. I don’t go on there anymore.”

“Well, try. There’s something I need you to see.”

I signaled for Gigi to come and sit on the bench seat next to me and I pulled my laptop to me and rubbed my finger across the pad to wake it from its sleeping state. “What is it that’s so important, Tracie?” I asked, while waiting for the screen to load.

“You’ll see. Just hurry up because you’re gonna want to see this.”

“Girl, you got me all scared and shit. I think my little buzz don’ went down.”

The room was silent with the exception of the faint sound of music playing from the living room, and the wind outside the patio door. When I had successfully logged into Facebook, I accessed my message inbox and went straight to the one from Tracie.

“I’m in the message you sent me. Is this where you want me?”

“Yeah. Girl, click on that link. It’s to a page that I follow, called
Black and Missing but Not Forgotten
.”

“Okay. I’m there. What am I—”

Oh shit
!

“You see it, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I see it…” I replied, slowly. “But what does it mean?”

“It means that somebody put in a missing person’s report on that fool.”

I scanned the screen at a quickened pace. It was a picture of Curtis sitting in his car, looking into the camera smiling, with a kid on his lap, and a woman kissing him on the cheek. The picture was attached to a flyer that read
:
Missing Man from Antioch, C
A
.

Fuuuck
…

I clicked on the comments and there were all kinds of people saying that they were sharing it in their cities and state and stuff like that. Then out of curiosity, I looked at the time that he’d been missing, and it said that he went missing on or around October 1, 2014. I gasped. My mouth went dry. October 1
st
was the day I came to the Bay Area and the last time that
I
saw him. When I left him at that hotel, he was in the shower, so I knew I was in the clear. But suddenly, when the realization hit me, I began to shake uncontrollably. Gigi grabbed the phone from my hand and told Tracie that I would call her back in a bit.

“Girl, what’s wrong? You know that person?”

“Gigi…” I whispered. “That’s the person…”

“What person, babe?”

“The person that I was running away from the night I met Rush.”

“That’s
the
Curtis?” she asked.

“That’s him,” I confirmed.

“Oh…wow. He’s missing?”

“I guess so. That’s what this flyer says.”

I was numb and feelings I thought were long-buried were resurfacing with a vengeance.

“Alika, you’re shaking. Calm down,” Gigi instructed, softly, while leading me into the living room. “Talk to me about what you’re feeling.”

I started to rock back and forth in my seat, my arms wrapped around me as I did so.

“I don’t know, G. I just go back to that night…that day. I could’ve died.”

“But you didn’t, Alika. You’re here, and you’re okay,” she consoled.

“I know,” I remarked, bouncing my leg uncontrollably. “All I knew was that I had to survive so I kicked into survival mode. I let him have my body while he said the most hateful things to me,” I cried. “Can you believe it? A rapist thug who wears condoms? He had the nerve to replace his condom each time he ejaculated like I was the dirty one, Gigi!
Like I was the dirty one
!”

Once I began to cry, I couldn’t stop the flow of tears. I felt bad for being happy that he was missing. I felt bad for hoping that he was dead. I felt bad for the baby in the picture who may never see his or her father again. I felt bad for the woman kissing him on the cheek not knowing what a devil she loved! But then who knows? Maybe she did know!

Gigi rocked me back and forth in her arms and rubbed her hand down my back in an attempt to calm me.

“I swear I thought I had left it all behind, Gigi. This monster! This devil!” I sobbed. “He’s missing, and I could’ve very well been missing with him. Clearly, I’m not the only person who hates his fuckin’ ass! I hope they find him in the bottom of a ditch somewhere! I hope somebody has fucked him like he fucked me and didn’t give a fuck how it left him feeling!”

I cried for what seemed like forever, and the entire time Gigi was right there. When I finally looked up, it had begun to get dark outside.

Before long Rush would be coming for me, so I wanted to get my face back to normal before that happened. I went into the restroom and washed my face, then came back out to find Gigi sitting in the living room watching TV.

“Thanks for being here for me today, Gigi. I’m so thankful for you and so happy that you’re in my life.”

“I’m thankful for you too, Alika.”

“I would love for you and Tracie to meet. I was thinking of inviting her out here for a few days. We could all hang out and then my two girls can become acquainted.”

“That would be awesome,” Gigi said, smiling at me. “You good now?”

“I’m good. I’m gonna close up the windows and get this chicken into a plastic container and take it up to the house with me. I never get to cook anymore,” I laughed. “I don’t need Rush forgetting that his woman knows how to burn!”

“Girl, please! I’m sure he’s not worried about your skills in the kitchen!”

“Mmm hmm, and this coming from the woman who already has a husband. Thanks, but no thanks!”

“As if you won’t be getting wifed up soon. Please stop playin’! That man is crazy about you.”

“And I’m crazy about him too.”

“Really?” she said sarcastically. “I would’ve never known that.”

“
Anyway
!” I laughed. “I think you should camp out here tonight, or let us send you home in a car because you’ve been drinking.”

Gigi started laughing hysterically. “Girl, it takes more than a few Bahama Mamas to knock me on my ass. I’m used to Tequila shots! You forget my man is Latino. We get down! That was a cake walk!”

“Gigi…” I said, frowning. “Seriously.”

“Seriously, babe. I’m good. I promise you, I’m good. Wanna see me run up and down the stairs without missing a beat?”

“I kinda do!” I chuckled.

In all her silly glory, she took her scrunchie from around her wrist and trapped her curls into a ponytail, and off she went. By the time we heard Rush come through the door, she was on her third trip down the stairs, and we were both laughing so hysterically that Rush was looking at us like we had lost our damn minds.

“Yeah…
ooo
kay,” he commented, looking from Gigi to me, suspiciously. “You guys good?”

“Oh, we’re better than good, Hunter! We’re great!” Gigi said, coming over to give Rush a light hug. “I was just leaving so you and your lady love could discuss the day’s events. You got yourself a real prize here,” she acknowledged, pinching me on the cheek.

“I know. But thanks for telling me,” he replied, flashing me that smile of his.

“Damn, you’re fine, Rush Cambridge,” I flirted.

“Oh my God. Yeah, it’s time for me to go home to my man,” Gigi stated. “Oh shit, he’s out of town. Damn.”

“See, Gigi!” I exclaimed. “I told you! You should just stay here for the night.”

“What she said,” Rush added.

“Y’all are so cute. I’m going home, but thanks. Now, let’s blow this spot.”

We all headed out together. Rush and I walked Gigi to her car and watched her drive through the gates then headed inside where I was prepared to hear all about his day. But what I had already decided was that I wasn’t going to mention anything to him about Curtis. That part of my life was over and whatever had happened to that man, I was sure he had brought on himself.

Closed chapter
.

SIXTEEN

Rush

“What’s in this orange bowl, babe?”

“Just some fried chicken that I made for me and Gigi,” I responded, smiling.

“Why didn’t you order from Chaos? We could’ve had someone go pick it up.”

“I wanted to cook. I needed to stay busy,” she confessed.

“Oh, I see,” I said, looking into her eyes. “Here, let me put the bowl in the fridge. I might come down later and devour it. But first I wanna devour you.”

When I made it upstairs and into our bedroom, Alika was walking toward her closet and disrobing as she went along. I stared at her from the door for a few minutes, admiring the glow of her skin and the shape of her body. I knew women who went into the gym all day every day, and didn’t have half the body she did. It was a true work of art. From the roundness of her hips, to the voluptuous shape of her ass, it was sheer perfection. She had crash landed into my life and hadn’t stopped making my heart rumble since that time. On her way back outside her closet, she caught me staring at her and walked toward me with her arms outstretched.

She buried her head into my chest. “Why are you way over here?” she asked.

“I was just admiring the view. That’s all.”

“Oh, okay. Well, I was about to hop in the shower, you wanna come?”

I gave her a knowing look, and then quickly swooped her up into my arms, causing her to shriek out loud, and then follow it up with laughter.

“Rush!”

“Oh no! There’s no turning back now!” I guffawed.

We made it into the restroom where I put her down and backed her into the wall nearest the Jacuzzi tub. I commenced to kissing her all over: her lips, then her neck, and along her shoulder blade. I slid the thin bra strap down her arm, and then gripped her shoulders as I continued my kissing assault over all exposed places. I reached around her back to free her beautiful breasts from their silk captor, and proceeded to caress, in sync with her moans.
Damn
,
I love to hear that sound coming from her
.

“
Baaaby
…that feels good,” she whispered, placing her hands atop mine.

I kneeled before her, and her hands found their way into my hair and massaged along my scalp, as I relieved her of the silk panties. I wanted…no, I needed to unshield the area that I wanted to lick, touch, and penetrate so badly. It seemed like forever since we’d made love, and my dick was hard as fucking steel. But as usual, as bad as I wanted her, I also reveled in taking my time with her. I knew the prize at the end, and it had always been well worth the wait. Dominating her body, feeling her wiggle in anticipation, hearing her call my name, and feeling her dig her nails into my back, made it all worth it.

“
Ruuush
,” she panted, her breaths labored. But I was too busy taking ownership of her right thigh and placing it over my shoulder. “
Mmmm
,” she murmured. She knew what was to come.

When my tongue pried her slit open, my baby thrust her hips against my mouth. I knew she was eager—just as eager as I was to give her everything she wanted.

I unleashed my mouth on her, licking as much territory as was allowed, and suckling to give individual attention to each fold. As she lost herself and her legs started to weaken, I brought her down to the floor with me. For the next few hours Alika and I made love without ever having made it back to our bedroom, or into the shower. We were against the wall, then on the floor, then before long I was sliding in and out of her as she sat atop the countertop. For the finale, we ended up in the Jacuzzi where we made love amidst a warm whirlpool.

We never tired of one another, and with each orgasm it was as though we instantly recharged. It was the appetite that never went away. She was everything I needed to subsist.

~*~*~

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

With about two hours left before the sun came up, Alika and I lay in bed near sleep, but still engaging in small talk. It was as though both of us were trying to hold onto the night or something.

“How did things go with your girl yesterday, baby? I intended to ask you as soon as I got home, but seems you had other plans for me,” she laughed.

“It was good, baby. Thanks for asking.”

“
Of course I’m gonna ask
. It matters to me how things move along with you two.”

“Well, it was different. I’ll say that. For starters, she’s very pretty, and
very smart
. You two would like each other for sure. But guess what?”

“What?”

“She already knew that I was her father, Alika.”

“What? Oh, hell! I think I’m wide awake again,” she commented. “How?”

“She has a cousin—Jacob’s daughter, who overheard some things and relayed it all to her.”

“Oh shit.”

“Exactly.”

“Dang! That’s…
wow
…so what now?”

“All I could do was assure her that the person she heard so many bad things about would never even make it into the same room with her. And I plan to stick by that.”

“Damn, Rush. Baby, that’s awful. I’m so sorry. But it’s good that she’s willing to give you a chance. She
is
willing to give you a chance, right?”

“Yep,” I answered, smiling proudly. “She is.”

“Good. I’m glad. You shouldn’t have to suffer for something that was never in your hands to begin with. I’m happy that she trusts you to make things right by her. But I didn’t doubt for one second that would the outcome. You’re a wonderful person, Rush. Anybody can see that in the first few minutes of talking to you.”

“Yeah, baby. You say that because you’ve only ever been touched with as much love as I can muster. But it’s a different story for some. And that’s why it’s so easy for me to keep my word to Michaela that nobody will even enter her realm who doesn’t mean her well.”

“Aww, shit! Daddy unleashed! Michaela got Al Capone up in this bitch! Fools better know their place!” she exclaimed, laughing.

She didn’t know how close she was to that. Nobody messed with mine and got away with it. Nobody. People were either on my side and in my good graces, or they’d better stay far away. For that reason, both my father and Jamie had better keep their distance. The only reason they had been saved was because they were family.

“You’re funny, babe. Your man’s not a gangster. At least not anymore,” I kidded.

After finally getting a little bit of sleep, I awoke a few hours later riding high, and left for a short run. I had everything to celebrate. I had the pleasure of sleeping next to the most beautiful, most amazing woman every night. I had a daughter that liked me, who wanted to be around me, and get to know me.
Boys better beware. Her daddy will take no prisoners
! I smiled on the inside just picturing her little face and bright eyes. Daddy’s little girl already. I’d missed nine years, but I would move forward like there hadn’t been a day missed. I had to. She deserved to know her father and she deserved to have a father who would treat her like a princess. If I defied any other plans in life that was the one that would stick no matter what.

At the same time, I wanted to make sure that Alika was okay and that she knew that the relationship I was forming with my daughter did not in any way threaten what we had. I needed to let her know that we were solid. I knew she had reservations about the new life I had signed us on for, but she didn’t voice any of her concerns. I had come to know her well enough to know that the reason she didn’t was because she didn’t want me to think she had problems with any of what was taking place around us. That’s a good woman, and definitely not one I would let slip away. So my job was to make sure that every step of the way she remained confident with her position as my woman.

“Hey baby,” she greeted, when she felt me sit on her side of the bed. She reached her hand out for me to grab. “You just came from a run?”

I held her hand inside mine and rubbed across the top of hers. “I did. I needed it. I had to run off some of this energy,” I confessed.

“Mmm, I can relate,” she said through a thin grin. “I’m surprised you’re up already. We
just
went to sleep.” Then she reached a hand up to her head, and chuckled. “I’m sure my hair took a beating. It’s about time for these braids to come out anyway. I miss my pixie.”

“I miss it too,” I said, lifting one of her curls and twirling it between my fingers. “But don’t mind me, I love your hair any way you wear it.”

“You’re the best, baby. I love—”

Alika stopped mid-sentence when we both heard my phone began to sing. “I love you too,” I said smiling at her before pressing the
Answer
button.

“Hello?”

“Rush, I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but—”

“Whoa! Hold the fuck up! Who is this?”

“It’s Janae!”

“Okay, you need to
calm the fuck down
, Janae.”

My first reaction was anger-filled because of her tone, and hoping that this wasn’t what I had to look forward to in sharing a child with her because we’d have to nip that shit in the bud ASAP.

“Do you read that damn sports rag,
Illusion
?”

“Nah!” I snapped. “I haven’t looked at that shit in years. Why?”

“Well, you
need
to! And sooner than later is best! I didn’t sign on for this shit, and now my baby is involved too! She’s too young for this bullshit, Rush!”

Alika glared at me, her eyes and lips tightened. Concern was written in bold letters all over her face. I think she sensed that the exchange wasn’t a friendly one. I held up my finger, and mouthed to her to, “Hold on a second.” With the phone still to my ear, I walked to the lounge area of our room so I could use my laptop to access the internet, and Alika had gotten out of bed, and was right on my heel. We took a seat next to each other as I got up a live screen. Once Illusion’s site was in front of me, the header hit me dead ass in the face:

“SEEMS RUSH WAS IN NO RUSH TO BE A DADDY!”

Are you fucking kidding me
!

My heart was pounding through my goddamn chest as I began to peruse. Just the header alone let me know this was all going to go from bad to worse. The article didn’t mention any names, but just based on what I was reading, I knew for sure that it was Jacob who had fed that information to the press. There was a picture of me and Michaela plastered across the screen, with the caption:
How could a man deny his own child for so long
? I swear to God, this whole situation had me wanting to call in a few favors so I could get behind those bars and give Jacob the ass kicking I owed him from years back.

“You do know your brother did this, right, Janae? This shit has his ass written the fuck all over it!”

I think I was more livid about my daughter’s face being plastered across the fucking internet for perverts and assholes to see. We were still technically in a private family moment and now the entire world was going to be in our business. I didn’t give two fucks about what others had to say because contrary to what Jacob had fed them, they would never know the whole truth. And even if they did, public habit was to go with the dirtiest story of all. And while the story was indeed dirty, it was by no fault of my own. My daughter and I were victims in this shit! And although Michaela was young, if I didn’t learn anything else from her yesterday, I learned that she was highly intelligent. It broke my heart knowing that she could possibly see something like this. If Jacob wasn’t locked away, I would already be sending Quinton to pay him a visit.

I felt Alika’s hand brush across the top of my hair and down to my shoulder. Under normal circumstances her touch would soothe me, but not this time. This time I could barely feel it because my anger was the dominant emotion, all else was turned all the way off.

“This is your father’s fault, Rush! I don’t care who leaked what! Had that man not been the devil that he is, none of this would be happening! Is there any way you can have this taken down?” she pleaded, with desperation in her voice. “I don’t want this for her, Rush! I don’t!”