"Mr. Hollywood," I asked interested in the convenient nickname given to this "mystery guy". I really didn't want to believe that this had been the woman in Donovan's apartment and I especially didn't want to believe that this bitch was friends with my most dearest of friends. This girl housed an evil spirit. You could smell the stench of hate and manipulation and bitterness coming off of her.
"That's an interesting name, what he do," I added. Violet's eyes darted towards me like daggers. "Bitch don't be asking me no question like that, I don't know who tf who are," she snapped.
Chrissy and Ginger were just as shocked as I was to hear Violet lose her shit. I knew the girl was evil, but damn I didn't think she would be bold enough to get so loud with me in a public space. Initially, I wanted to let her have it right then and there, but I thought about Bella and how disappointed she would have been that her friends were having a catfight in the middle of the club. Chrissy and Ginger were staring back and forth between Violet, each other, and me, waiting to see what was going to happen next. They might as well had been at the movies the way they were sitting on the edges of their seats, with popcorn in hand and all. My mind went completely blank as I tried to quickly come up with witty and clever comebacks that would sure shut that bitch up. Confrontation always threw me off guard simply because it wasn't my thing. If I had an issue with someone I would either pull them aside to speak on it, or just kept it to myself cuz I probably didn't care about them much. I took of deep breath in attempt to collect my nerves before speaking. I slowly glanced up toward Violet with plenty of contempt in my eyes, but my voice remained pleasant.
"Well in that case, you ladies enjoy the rest of your evening," I started off sweetly, being sure to avoid any eye contact with Violet as I spoke directly to Chrissy and Ginger. I looked down to the floor straight in front of me before slowly drawing my eyes up to meet Violet's. I used the same death stare she had been giving me that whole night where she was burning a whole through my soul. I crept toward her, sashaying in my 4 inch spiked heels. I wanted to be close enough to her that I could speak in the lowest volume possible. The look on Violet's face was a mixture of excitement and thorough confusion, I had her just where I wanted her. "Now Violet," I started off slowly and deliberately. "I know it's probably ridiculous of me to ask you for a favor, but I really need you to do me a favor. Okay," I asked halfway demanding she said yes. Violet sensed my demanding tone as well, snapping her head towards me and widening her eyes as if it would help making my point more clear. She never actually verbalized what was going through her head, but from her body language and her facial expressions, you could tell she thought I had lost my damn mind. Violet didn't actually respond to my request for a favor so instead of waiting for her response, or giving her the opportunity to snatch the upper hand in that scenario, I followed up with my favor. "Make sure when you get to ya place to night you let...," I made a thoughtful face and lifted a finger up to my chin as I pretended to forget that God awful nickname Violet and Ginger used for Donnie earlier. "What did y'all call him? Mr. Hollywood," I asked looking around at all the of the girls, but of course they just stared on in confusion. "Yes Mr. Hollywood," I answered myself with a pleasant smile. "Make sure you tell Mr. Hollywood," I repeated sarcastically with a giggle, "when you see him tonight that I said 'What's up'. He'll know who I am. We go way back," I finished before winking at the girls. I stepped my right foot back first, walking away from the three bitches with a good eye on all of them. When I felt out of reach for them to all jump on me at once, I turned my back to them.
As I was walking across the floor, I maintained my calm, cool, and collected energy on the outside, but I was losing my shit internally. The whole day had been a huge disappointment one right after the other. I felt somewhat guilty as I thought about how Bella had brought me out to cheer me up, but somehow I ending up feeding into the bull shit. I had maxed out on my drama limit for that day and it was draining for me as I tried to maintain my happy face. I scoped the floor out for Bella. I had to let her know that I was leaving before I could actually go anywhere. I knew she would want me to explain what was going on, but it wasn't a conversation I was interested in having. Not while I was still fresh off the emotional roller coaster ride I had gotten stuck on all day. It didn't take me long to find Bella though.
She was still where I left her, still entertaining the flock of birds that had swarmed around her by the bar. I rolled my eyes as I walked closer to her. I understood the men's attraction to Bella. I mean, how couldn't I? She was truly magnetic. But what I didn't understand was her tolerance of them. Not even a drink could get me to pretend to be interested in the nonsense any fuck boy was talking. But Bella was forever gracious and humble. It's like she felt personally responsible for each person that crossed her path in some weird way. She was the one who had to make them feel important just in case no one else had that day. The most amazing part about all of this was she did it without opening up and giving too much of herself.
It wasn't long before Bella looked up and the two of us locked eyes. A large grin developed on her face as she hopped of her bar stool and shuffled across the floor in my direction.
"Cori, baby," Bella exclaimed. "Where have you been all night my love, I missed you," she continued as she locked my head in close under her arm and attacked my cheek with sloppy drunk kisses.
"I was just...eh...around," I responded hesitantly. Bella didn't seem to notice any apprehension in my voice though. I was relived by that because I honestly just wanted to get my "good bye" in and get out.
"Around?! Well not around you. Come, mama. Dance with me," Bella exclaimed as she attempted to yank me further away from the bar. There wasn't much floor space to dance because of all the stages and multiple bars, but Bella would dance her ass off in that club, nonetheless.
"Actually, I can't," I stated plainly. Bella stopped abruptly to meet my eyes with a sad, disappointed look.
"What do you mean you can't?" It was clear Bella was getting annoyed with me.
"I was actually coming over here to tell you I was heading home...," I paused to examine Bella's facial expressions. "And to maybe see if you wanted to leave with me." I winced in anticipation for a slap on my arm or something, but instead she just stood there pouting. I didn't speak immediately because I assumed she was going to have an argument against me leaving, but she didn't. Instead she just stood there staring at me like I was her mother and I told her she couldn't play with her friends outside.
"You don't have to go with me, Bella. I just didn't wanna leave without sayin' something to you first."
"No it's not that Cori," Bella whined.
"Well then what the hell is it, ma," I demanded.
"Why are you leaving," she asked as she threw a mini temper tantrum. "I've been out of town all this time and this was supposed to be our night out to have fun," Bella continued.
I sighed as she continued with her rebuttal. I really hated to disappoint her and she did have a point. it had been forever since the two of us had any fun with each other, but that day just wasn't going to be it. For whatever reason, the stars did not all align themselves in their prospective places for me. I wanted to get home before anymore curveballs came flying around the corner.
"I'm sorry, Bella," I started. "I know you wanted this to be a girls night and for everything to be turnt up for us cuz it had been really long. But you got all your stank friends here and today has just been a long day. This alcohol is starting to kick my ass and I gotta go lay down." Bella didn't respond at first. She just looked over me, examining as if that would help make my explanation anymore believable. It was obvious that Bella knew something was bothering me, but we were both drunk as hell and in the middle of a strip club didn't present the right time nor place for her to investigate any further.
"Alright Cori. Fine, whatever you say," Bella snapped with a faux attitude.
"Alright well...you stayin'," I asked playing with my fingers, halfway nervous to hear Bella's response. I knew she was just pretending to be upset with me, but I didn't want to annoy her any more than I already had.
"Uh..yeah," Bella replied as if I should have already known the answer.
"Well excuse me," I said defensively. "I was just making sure. I guess I'll get gone now. Please make sure you call on your way home, I don't care what time it is," I stated plainly before pecking Bella's cheek and giving her a quick squeeze goodbye.
"Wait," she protested. "At least take this," she said as she stuffed my cleavage full of a thick wad of cash. "Get your drunk ass in a cab. You have no fucking business alone in these NY streets at this hour." I froze as I stared down at the money spilling from my chest. I hated when she gave me large sums of cash and she was well aware. I started to open my mouth to fuss at Bella, but without a word, she raised finger in front of me before slowly opening her hand to tell me to stop. I sighed deeply, now debating if I should just accept the money for the moment and return it later, or argue her to death until she took it back. As if she could hear my thoughts out loud, Bella shifted her weight to one hip as she stared down her glass and waved her hand to gesture me out of the door.
I obeyed Bella's command. Without another word or gesture, I swiftly turned in the opposite direction of the bar where the main entrance to the club was. It took me some time to maneuver through the all of those men. You would have thought they hadn't seen a single woman in years the way they were openly professing their thirst. If I wasn't trapped in a sea of men grabbing at me for a dance or to "holla at me right quick," I was tangled in a mess of men grabbing at women whose paths' I happened to cross. Once I finally made it outside though, it felt as if I could finally breathe fresh air. It was definitely a relief to be alone again. I hear myself think again and I could focus better to process all the events that had transpired. More importantly, I could finally get away from all of the eyes observing how foolish I made myself look. It doesn't make much sense, looking back, but when I was experiencing that day as it was happening, I felt as if everyone knew and they were all laughing at me.
Out on the street was quiet and empty. There were a couple bars on the same block as the strip club, but they were really tiny and you could hardly ever hear their music outside. I began to panic that maybe I wouldn't find a cab on this side of town after midnight unless I called someone, but I didn't want to go back inside the club either. I quickly scrolled through my call log in an attempt to find a number for a cab company, but had no luck. Letting pride get the best of me, I decided the best decision would be to walk towards my apartment until I came across a cab. Luckily for me, I barely made it a full block before a bright light came beaming towards me on the opposite side of the road. When I realized the light was coming from a yellow cab, I hurled myself into the street without thinking, hoping the driver would see me and stop. He did, thankfully and yelled at me for almost causing an accident before asking me "where the hell" I was heading.
"I'm very sorry sir, I just wanted to make sure you saw me. My apartment is just a few blocks away on 7th ave." I responded in a hushed voiced. I was hoping he heard me so I didn't have to repeat it.
We pulled off down the block before the cab driver made a U-turn in the direction of my apartment. He didn't try to make conversation during the fifteen minute ride. He hardly even acknowledged that I was in the car. It was almost as if, he forgot he had picked me up. I wasn't complaining though. I enjoyed the peace and quiet. It gave me time to think about what I was going to next. I'm sure after our slight confrontation, Lola was going to reach out to Donovan. She had to. And of course it would be a half truth in order to make her look like the victim and me, the bad guy. She just seemed like the type to me. I must have gotten lost in my own head because my peace and quiet was abruptly interrupted by the harsh, deep voice of the cab driver.
"Excuse me miss! We're here!" Startled by the sudden loud noise, I jumped in my seat a little before fumbling through my purse for the cash to pay him. After locating a wad of singles, I handed the money to the driver, apologized again for my absent mindedness, and scurried out of his car.
For whatever reason, after sitting down in that cab, the effects of the alcohol really started to take over. My head was pounding, my eyes could barely focus in on the scenery, and my legs felt like jello. Despite my lack of motor skills in that moment, I was able to make my way up the three flights of steps without falling or nearly breaking one of my ankles. I even managed to locate my keys inside of my purse within seconds. As I walked down the hallway, I moved closer to one side so I could use the wall for support. Besides some slight stumbling and a few hesitant steps, I think I was walking pretty well. I knew I was getting closer to my door, so I raised my eyes from the floor to be sure I didn't run into it accidentally. My heart began to beat like a bass drum in my chest because when I looked up there was a tall dark figure standing right in front of me, just a few feet away.
I couldn't tell if he was someone I knew are not. I was still a little too far away to make out any details, but I knew for sure it was a man and by the way he was standing it looked as if he was waiting for me. And then, like he could hear me thinking, he started to walk towards me. I froze in fear and then I started to back up slowly, still holding on to the wall for support. Just when I was about to make a run for it, he reached out to grab my arm. I assume it was to help me find my footing. I'm sure I didn't look real stable on my legs. We made eye contact and suddenly my heart returned to it's normal rhythm.
"Donovan? What the hell are you doing here," I asked in confusion. I didn't expect to see him anytime soon. I definitely didn't expect to see him waiting for me at my front door. Before he could answer my question, I snatched my arm away from him. I found my footing again, leaning against the wall. I wanted Donovan to take me seriously, even more so because I was drunk. I didn't want him to think he could joke his way into my front door.
"C'mon Cori, don't be like that, ma. You didn't respond to any of my texts so I just had to come and make sure everything was okay."
"But you knew I wasn't here," I responded sarcastically. He wasn't knocking, but just simply waiting. "Why not just go home," I asked, continuing with my sarcastic tone.
"Please don't act like that Cori. Please," he pleaded. "I was hoping that since it was late, you would be on your way home so I took my chances." He didn't say another word and neither did I. The both of us stood there just staring at each other, waiting for the other person to break the silence.
"Look, I'm tired Donnie. I had an eventful ass day that I was no where near prepared for, including having a girls night with your Lola. Oh and not to mention, Bella is back and town, so you should just go before she gets back. Donovan looked at me with confused eyes and then he sighed heavily as he gathered the right words to speak.
"Cori, I'm so sorry. You have no idea, like that girl is nuts and I'm so so sorry. I don't kn-," I put a finger up, signaling for him to stop talking.
"Don't do that Donnie. I can't do this right now. I read your texts okay. I don't have the energy to hear the bull shit in person, okay," I demanded. Donovan looked as if my words had just crushed his spirit. I think he was having a difficult time with accepting that I didn't want to speak to him. He didn't attempt to respect my wished either. I'm not really sure what happened, but somehow I ended up pressed against the wall I was leaning on, sandwiched in between what was keeping me stable and Donovan. Of course he was close enough for me to feel the warmth of his breath on my nose. He was staring deep into my eyes, trying to communicate his pleas without continuing with his begging. I knew in that moment that I was in trouble. My breath was caught right in the center of my chest as I tried to think of what my next move should have been. How did you fight off a man when he looked good enough to eat and he smelled sweet? It obviously required some type of strength I didn't posses within myself. He looked through me with those magical eyes and asked, "Can I please come inside, Cori? I promise I'm not on no gamin' shit. I just want to talk to you, real shit only." He pressed his lips gently against my forehead before returning to gaze at me. Then he lowered his head until our cheeks touched. I shuddered, getting anxious from his touch. I knew he was going to try to kiss me again so I attempted to slide past Donovan.
My escape plan was a fail though. I kept looking over to the left of me then back to Donovan, waiting for the right moment to move. Catching on to what I was about to do, he grabbed ahold of my arms, pressing me back against the wall.
"You seem a little nervous," he stated with a smirk. "Does that mean you're letting me?" I didn't know how to respond to Donovan's question and I honestly couldn't continue to stare at him in my hallway while he looked at me with bedroom eyes. I would have jumped him right then and there. Trying to maintain my composure, I finally managed to slip past Donovan and reach my door. Without anymore talking, I unlocked the door and stepped inside. Donovan was still standing there His hands were now in his pocket as he stared at the floor nervously. Maybe he thought that I really wouldn't let him in because his eyes were full of shock when I held out my hand, inviting him to come in.
"That's an interesting name, what he do," I added. Violet's eyes darted towards me like daggers. "Bitch don't be asking me no question like that, I don't know who tf who are," she snapped.
Chrissy and Ginger were just as shocked as I was to hear Violet lose her shit. I knew the girl was evil, but damn I didn't think she would be bold enough to get so loud with me in a public space. Initially, I wanted to let her have it right then and there, but I thought about Bella and how disappointed she would have been that her friends were having a catfight in the middle of the club. Chrissy and Ginger were staring back and forth between Violet, each other, and me, waiting to see what was going to happen next. They might as well had been at the movies the way they were sitting on the edges of their seats, with popcorn in hand and all. My mind went completely blank as I tried to quickly come up with witty and clever comebacks that would sure shut that bitch up. Confrontation always threw me off guard simply because it wasn't my thing. If I had an issue with someone I would either pull them aside to speak on it, or just kept it to myself cuz I probably didn't care about them much. I took of deep breath in attempt to collect my nerves before speaking. I slowly glanced up toward Violet with plenty of contempt in my eyes, but my voice remained pleasant.
"Well in that case, you ladies enjoy the rest of your evening," I started off sweetly, being sure to avoid any eye contact with Violet as I spoke directly to Chrissy and Ginger. I looked down to the floor straight in front of me before slowly drawing my eyes up to meet Violet's. I used the same death stare she had been giving me that whole night where she was burning a whole through my soul. I crept toward her, sashaying in my 4 inch spiked heels. I wanted to be close enough to her that I could speak in the lowest volume possible. The look on Violet's face was a mixture of excitement and thorough confusion, I had her just where I wanted her. "Now Violet," I started off slowly and deliberately. "I know it's probably ridiculous of me to ask you for a favor, but I really need you to do me a favor. Okay," I asked halfway demanding she said yes. Violet sensed my demanding tone as well, snapping her head towards me and widening her eyes as if it would help making my point more clear. She never actually verbalized what was going through her head, but from her body language and her facial expressions, you could tell she thought I had lost my damn mind. Violet didn't actually respond to my request for a favor so instead of waiting for her response, or giving her the opportunity to snatch the upper hand in that scenario, I followed up with my favor. "Make sure when you get to ya place to night you let...," I made a thoughtful face and lifted a finger up to my chin as I pretended to forget that God awful nickname Violet and Ginger used for Donnie earlier. "What did y'all call him? Mr. Hollywood," I asked looking around at all the of the girls, but of course they just stared on in confusion. "Yes Mr. Hollywood," I answered myself with a pleasant smile. "Make sure you tell Mr. Hollywood," I repeated sarcastically with a giggle, "when you see him tonight that I said 'What's up'. He'll know who I am. We go way back," I finished before winking at the girls. I stepped my right foot back first, walking away from the three bitches with a good eye on all of them. When I felt out of reach for them to all jump on me at once, I turned my back to them.
As I was walking across the floor, I maintained my calm, cool, and collected energy on the outside, but I was losing my shit internally. The whole day had been a huge disappointment one right after the other. I felt somewhat guilty as I thought about how Bella had brought me out to cheer me up, but somehow I ending up feeding into the bull shit. I had maxed out on my drama limit for that day and it was draining for me as I tried to maintain my happy face. I scoped the floor out for Bella. I had to let her know that I was leaving before I could actually go anywhere. I knew she would want me to explain what was going on, but it wasn't a conversation I was interested in having. Not while I was still fresh off the emotional roller coaster ride I had gotten stuck on all day. It didn't take me long to find Bella though.
She was still where I left her, still entertaining the flock of birds that had swarmed around her by the bar. I rolled my eyes as I walked closer to her. I understood the men's attraction to Bella. I mean, how couldn't I? She was truly magnetic. But what I didn't understand was her tolerance of them. Not even a drink could get me to pretend to be interested in the nonsense any fuck boy was talking. But Bella was forever gracious and humble. It's like she felt personally responsible for each person that crossed her path in some weird way. She was the one who had to make them feel important just in case no one else had that day. The most amazing part about all of this was she did it without opening up and giving too much of herself.
It wasn't long before Bella looked up and the two of us locked eyes. A large grin developed on her face as she hopped of her bar stool and shuffled across the floor in my direction.
"Cori, baby," Bella exclaimed. "Where have you been all night my love, I missed you," she continued as she locked my head in close under her arm and attacked my cheek with sloppy drunk kisses.
"I was just...eh...around," I responded hesitantly. Bella didn't seem to notice any apprehension in my voice though. I was relived by that because I honestly just wanted to get my "good bye" in and get out.
"Around?! Well not around you. Come, mama. Dance with me," Bella exclaimed as she attempted to yank me further away from the bar. There wasn't much floor space to dance because of all the stages and multiple bars, but Bella would dance her ass off in that club, nonetheless.
"Actually, I can't," I stated plainly. Bella stopped abruptly to meet my eyes with a sad, disappointed look.
"What do you mean you can't?" It was clear Bella was getting annoyed with me.
"I was actually coming over here to tell you I was heading home...," I paused to examine Bella's facial expressions. "And to maybe see if you wanted to leave with me." I winced in anticipation for a slap on my arm or something, but instead she just stood there pouting. I didn't speak immediately because I assumed she was going to have an argument against me leaving, but she didn't. Instead she just stood there staring at me like I was her mother and I told her she couldn't play with her friends outside.
"You don't have to go with me, Bella. I just didn't wanna leave without sayin' something to you first."
"No it's not that Cori," Bella whined.
"Well then what the hell is it, ma," I demanded.
"Why are you leaving," she asked as she threw a mini temper tantrum. "I've been out of town all this time and this was supposed to be our night out to have fun," Bella continued.
I sighed as she continued with her rebuttal. I really hated to disappoint her and she did have a point. it had been forever since the two of us had any fun with each other, but that day just wasn't going to be it. For whatever reason, the stars did not all align themselves in their prospective places for me. I wanted to get home before anymore curveballs came flying around the corner.
"I'm sorry, Bella," I started. "I know you wanted this to be a girls night and for everything to be turnt up for us cuz it had been really long. But you got all your stank friends here and today has just been a long day. This alcohol is starting to kick my ass and I gotta go lay down." Bella didn't respond at first. She just looked over me, examining as if that would help make my explanation anymore believable. It was obvious that Bella knew something was bothering me, but we were both drunk as hell and in the middle of a strip club didn't present the right time nor place for her to investigate any further.
"Alright Cori. Fine, whatever you say," Bella snapped with a faux attitude.
"Alright well...you stayin'," I asked playing with my fingers, halfway nervous to hear Bella's response. I knew she was just pretending to be upset with me, but I didn't want to annoy her any more than I already had.
"Uh..yeah," Bella replied as if I should have already known the answer.
"Well excuse me," I said defensively. "I was just making sure. I guess I'll get gone now. Please make sure you call on your way home, I don't care what time it is," I stated plainly before pecking Bella's cheek and giving her a quick squeeze goodbye.
"Wait," she protested. "At least take this," she said as she stuffed my cleavage full of a thick wad of cash. "Get your drunk ass in a cab. You have no fucking business alone in these NY streets at this hour." I froze as I stared down at the money spilling from my chest. I hated when she gave me large sums of cash and she was well aware. I started to open my mouth to fuss at Bella, but without a word, she raised finger in front of me before slowly opening her hand to tell me to stop. I sighed deeply, now debating if I should just accept the money for the moment and return it later, or argue her to death until she took it back. As if she could hear my thoughts out loud, Bella shifted her weight to one hip as she stared down her glass and waved her hand to gesture me out of the door.
I obeyed Bella's command. Without another word or gesture, I swiftly turned in the opposite direction of the bar where the main entrance to the club was. It took me some time to maneuver through the all of those men. You would have thought they hadn't seen a single woman in years the way they were openly professing their thirst. If I wasn't trapped in a sea of men grabbing at me for a dance or to "holla at me right quick," I was tangled in a mess of men grabbing at women whose paths' I happened to cross. Once I finally made it outside though, it felt as if I could finally breathe fresh air. It was definitely a relief to be alone again. I hear myself think again and I could focus better to process all the events that had transpired. More importantly, I could finally get away from all of the eyes observing how foolish I made myself look. It doesn't make much sense, looking back, but when I was experiencing that day as it was happening, I felt as if everyone knew and they were all laughing at me.
Out on the street was quiet and empty. There were a couple bars on the same block as the strip club, but they were really tiny and you could hardly ever hear their music outside. I began to panic that maybe I wouldn't find a cab on this side of town after midnight unless I called someone, but I didn't want to go back inside the club either. I quickly scrolled through my call log in an attempt to find a number for a cab company, but had no luck. Letting pride get the best of me, I decided the best decision would be to walk towards my apartment until I came across a cab. Luckily for me, I barely made it a full block before a bright light came beaming towards me on the opposite side of the road. When I realized the light was coming from a yellow cab, I hurled myself into the street without thinking, hoping the driver would see me and stop. He did, thankfully and yelled at me for almost causing an accident before asking me "where the hell" I was heading.
"I'm very sorry sir, I just wanted to make sure you saw me. My apartment is just a few blocks away on 7th ave." I responded in a hushed voiced. I was hoping he heard me so I didn't have to repeat it.
We pulled off down the block before the cab driver made a U-turn in the direction of my apartment. He didn't try to make conversation during the fifteen minute ride. He hardly even acknowledged that I was in the car. It was almost as if, he forgot he had picked me up. I wasn't complaining though. I enjoyed the peace and quiet. It gave me time to think about what I was going to next. I'm sure after our slight confrontation, Lola was going to reach out to Donovan. She had to. And of course it would be a half truth in order to make her look like the victim and me, the bad guy. She just seemed like the type to me. I must have gotten lost in my own head because my peace and quiet was abruptly interrupted by the harsh, deep voice of the cab driver.
"Excuse me miss! We're here!" Startled by the sudden loud noise, I jumped in my seat a little before fumbling through my purse for the cash to pay him. After locating a wad of singles, I handed the money to the driver, apologized again for my absent mindedness, and scurried out of his car.
For whatever reason, after sitting down in that cab, the effects of the alcohol really started to take over. My head was pounding, my eyes could barely focus in on the scenery, and my legs felt like jello. Despite my lack of motor skills in that moment, I was able to make my way up the three flights of steps without falling or nearly breaking one of my ankles. I even managed to locate my keys inside of my purse within seconds. As I walked down the hallway, I moved closer to one side so I could use the wall for support. Besides some slight stumbling and a few hesitant steps, I think I was walking pretty well. I knew I was getting closer to my door, so I raised my eyes from the floor to be sure I didn't run into it accidentally. My heart began to beat like a bass drum in my chest because when I looked up there was a tall dark figure standing right in front of me, just a few feet away.
I couldn't tell if he was someone I knew are not. I was still a little too far away to make out any details, but I knew for sure it was a man and by the way he was standing it looked as if he was waiting for me. And then, like he could hear me thinking, he started to walk towards me. I froze in fear and then I started to back up slowly, still holding on to the wall for support. Just when I was about to make a run for it, he reached out to grab my arm. I assume it was to help me find my footing. I'm sure I didn't look real stable on my legs. We made eye contact and suddenly my heart returned to it's normal rhythm.
"Donovan? What the hell are you doing here," I asked in confusion. I didn't expect to see him anytime soon. I definitely didn't expect to see him waiting for me at my front door. Before he could answer my question, I snatched my arm away from him. I found my footing again, leaning against the wall. I wanted Donovan to take me seriously, even more so because I was drunk. I didn't want him to think he could joke his way into my front door.
"C'mon Cori, don't be like that, ma. You didn't respond to any of my texts so I just had to come and make sure everything was okay."
"But you knew I wasn't here," I responded sarcastically. He wasn't knocking, but just simply waiting. "Why not just go home," I asked, continuing with my sarcastic tone.
"Please don't act like that Cori. Please," he pleaded. "I was hoping that since it was late, you would be on your way home so I took my chances." He didn't say another word and neither did I. The both of us stood there just staring at each other, waiting for the other person to break the silence.
"Look, I'm tired Donnie. I had an eventful ass day that I was no where near prepared for, including having a girls night with your Lola. Oh and not to mention, Bella is back and town, so you should just go before she gets back. Donovan looked at me with confused eyes and then he sighed heavily as he gathered the right words to speak.
"Cori, I'm so sorry. You have no idea, like that girl is nuts and I'm so so sorry. I don't kn-," I put a finger up, signaling for him to stop talking.
"Don't do that Donnie. I can't do this right now. I read your texts okay. I don't have the energy to hear the bull shit in person, okay," I demanded. Donovan looked as if my words had just crushed his spirit. I think he was having a difficult time with accepting that I didn't want to speak to him. He didn't attempt to respect my wished either. I'm not really sure what happened, but somehow I ended up pressed against the wall I was leaning on, sandwiched in between what was keeping me stable and Donovan. Of course he was close enough for me to feel the warmth of his breath on my nose. He was staring deep into my eyes, trying to communicate his pleas without continuing with his begging. I knew in that moment that I was in trouble. My breath was caught right in the center of my chest as I tried to think of what my next move should have been. How did you fight off a man when he looked good enough to eat and he smelled sweet? It obviously required some type of strength I didn't posses within myself. He looked through me with those magical eyes and asked, "Can I please come inside, Cori? I promise I'm not on no gamin' shit. I just want to talk to you, real shit only." He pressed his lips gently against my forehead before returning to gaze at me. Then he lowered his head until our cheeks touched. I shuddered, getting anxious from his touch. I knew he was going to try to kiss me again so I attempted to slide past Donovan.
My escape plan was a fail though. I kept looking over to the left of me then back to Donovan, waiting for the right moment to move. Catching on to what I was about to do, he grabbed ahold of my arms, pressing me back against the wall.
"You seem a little nervous," he stated with a smirk. "Does that mean you're letting me?" I didn't know how to respond to Donovan's question and I honestly couldn't continue to stare at him in my hallway while he looked at me with bedroom eyes. I would have jumped him right then and there. Trying to maintain my composure, I finally managed to slip past Donovan and reach my door. Without anymore talking, I unlocked the door and stepped inside. Donovan was still standing there His hands were now in his pocket as he stared at the floor nervously. Maybe he thought that I really wouldn't let him in because his eyes were full of shock when I held out my hand, inviting him to come in.
Comments
Post a Comment