Piece Keeper (3 page)

She folded her arms across her chest and nodded.

“What I’m trying to do is make sure you’re safe and
that what happened to you doesn’t happen to someone else.”

“I didn’t ask you to do any of those things.”

“That’s what love is… doing what needs to be done
without being asked.”

“Don’t talk to me about love, Black. We aren’t that
cool.”

He took the final swig from his bottle and tossed it
in the nearby trash. “Fair enough. You don’t have to decide now…
just think about it. Take a look around the place and try to relax.
I’m going to get started cooking.”

Teresa half-heartedly smiled as she slid from the
stool and went off to explore the house. Walking down the three
steps from the kitchen into the living room she felt chill bumps
prickle her neck as the central air kicked in. It must be set by a
timer, she thought as she ran her hand across the back of her neck.
Cocaine white suede was the color of the sectional that sat in the
spacious living room. A 62 inch television was mounted to the wall.
Looking around the living room she spotted surround sound speakers
mounted in each corner of the room. Across the room were sliding
glass doors. She slid the blinds to the side and looked out into
the backyard. A gas grill sat near the pool. She also took note of
the crotch rocket and basketball court. Making her way down the
hall past the restroom and two rooms with closed doors, which she
assumed were guest rooms, she came upon a flight of stairs.

Going up the stairs she followed the path down the
hall peeking her head into the first bedroom that she came upon.
There she saw men’s clothes scattered on the floor, several
shopping bags, and three boxes of shoes, two from foot locker and
one from Macy’s which she assumed were dress shoes. This has to be
Black’s room, she thought before continuing on down the hall. The
door to the room directly next to Black’s was cracked. She slightly
pushed it open and saw that the room was filled with pink and red
roses as well as pink and red balloons. She smiled as she stepped
further into the room. She plucked a single pink rose from one of
the vases and inhaled the scent. She laughed as she walked over to
the bed. There was twice the amount of shopping bags on her bed
than she’d seen in Black’s room. Propped up against the bags was a
box with a bow on it. She was hesitant about opening it because she
didn’t know what his intentions were. She did not want to accept
anything he offered because she didn’t want to lead him to believe
that there was a chance of the two of them getting back together
again. Lifting the top to the box she looked down inside and felt a
shortness of breath as her eyes watered with tears. Picking it up
and looking at it she smiled and rushed to the bathroom to
change.

After changing into the gift from Black her spirits
were lifted a bit. She knew that eventually the topic of
conversation would change to who raped her or worse what happened
between the two of them. To be honest she couldn’t decide which
subject was more painful to speak on. She followed her senses down
the stairs, through the living room, and back into the kitchen. The
smell of fresh fried catfish made her mouth water and stomach dance
with anticipation. As she stepped into the kitchen he had his back
to her. But as he turned to face her she noticed he had his sleeves
rolled up to his elbows and he donned an apron that said “Irish do
it best”.

He smiled when he saw her wearing the gift he got
her. “I see you found your room.”

She rolled her eyes and smiled. “You did too
much.”

“Teresa—”

She cut him off midsentence. “But thank you… You
remembered.” She looked down at her pink pajama set.

“I remembered.”

“Where did you find ‘em?”

“I’m the man. I make things happen remember?”

She pulled at the pajama top looking down at the
cartoon character emblazoned across the front. “I can’t believe you
found a vintage Rainbow Bright pajama set.” Although she was too
young to have grown up on the popular cartoon from the 80’s she was
introduced to the character by her mother whom she often watched
the VHS with before she died leaving her as an orphan. Teresa
cherished the memories.

“You like it?”

“I love it. Thank you.”

He turned back to the stove and flipped over the
catfish with a pair of tongs. The doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it,” she told him. “Keep cooking.”

“Wait,” he said as he turned to face her.

“Yes?”

“So does this mean you’re staying?”

“I’ll stay, but…”

“But what?”

“Don’t be expecting no booty.” The bell rang again
and she walked off holding up a finger. “Hold that thought.”

He laughed to himself as he removed the last piece
of fish from the skillet. He heard her as she approached the
kitchen. With his back still turned he laughed. “Don’t even go
there, Girl. I ain’t messing with you like that.” He turned to face
her, smiling from ear to ear, but suddenly felt his stomach do a
somersault as the smile vanished and anxiety instantly kicked in.
He stood face to face with Teresa who was standing next to his
fiancé, Morena.

“Mess with her like what, Cariño?” That’s what she
called him. It meant love or passion in Spanish.

He cleared his throat. “Morena, what are you doing
here?”

“What am I doing here?”

“Yes. You know I have to work this case and—”

“And here I am getting in the way of you working.”
She eyed Teresa from head to toe then turned back to Black. “This
case, huh?”

“It ain’t even like that, Baby Love.”

Teresa felt her heart crack as she stared at Black
venomously. That was the pet name he’d given her and he now was
calling another woman, his future wife, the same name? What an ass
he was. She looked at Morena and thought, not only has she replaced
me as his fiancée but she’s being called the same name… something I
thought was special between the two of us. She remained silent
waiting to see what his response would be. While her eyes were
still trained on Black she could feel Morena burning a hole in the
side of her face. She had no idea what was going through the
woman’s mind. Teresa wondered if she would get buck and swing on
her or not. Although Teresa had no intentions of sleeping with
Black she doubted that Morena would believe her. Here she was in a
house alone with him wearing pajamas while he cooked a meal for the
two of them to share. It certainly seemed like a romantic setting
and she would have thought the same.

“It’s not what you think,” Black stated.

“I think you’re trying to fuck your ex!” Morena
exclaimed.

“See that’s what I meant.”

“What is all this, Black?”

“Morena I—”

Teresa chuckled and threw her hands in the air
before turning to leave.

“Teresa, wait!” Black shouted as he moved towards
her.

Morena stepped in front of him blocking his path.
“No you ain’t about to chase her with me standing here.”

“She needs me. I can’t—”

“I’ll be damned if you can’t. That bitch is not
sleeping under the same roof with my man.”

Black heard the front door open and close. He wanted
desperately to chase after her but he knew she’d never come back;
not tonight anyway. He stared into Morena’s smooth brown face. The
hurt in her eyes softened his heart. Her long, curly hair sat
perfectly on her shoulders. Her big brown eyes stared back at him
begging for an answer to make this alright with her, to make it all
go away. But he had no answer. He loved her but he felt an
obligation to Teresa. The two stared at one another silently. His
eyes roamed from her lips, painted a beautiful rouge, down to her
long luxurious neck. A perfect set of breasts sat snuggly in the
tight fitting black dress with a split up the middle by her legs.
Six inch black heels with the toes out added to her six foot height
and accentuated her long legs even more. She towered over Black as
she fell into his arms like a love sick teenager.

***

More than two hours had gone by and Teresa and Black
still hadn’t shown up. After storming off James had felt like such
a fool for the way he’d behaved. After calming down he dropped off
the squad car and drove his personal vehicle over to Teresa’s where
he waited. He’d knocked on the door and no one answered. He wanted
to call but after his foul actions he was afraid she wouldn’t
answer. He had to admit to himself that if he received one more
rejection from her he didn’t know what he would do. He needed to
see her face to face so that she could see the sincerity in his
eyes. At least that was his plan anyway. But the longer he waited
the angrier he became. Here he was going the extra mile to make
things right between the two of them and she didn’t even have the
decency to come home. He couldn’t take it any longer. He removed
his cell phone from his hip and scrolled the phone book for her
name. Staring at the phone he ran through different things he would
say if she answered. His palms became sweaty as a drop of blood
dripped from his nose. He dropped the phone on the passenger seat,
got out of the car, and slammed the door closed. Taking fast paced
steps to her apartment building, he walked in and strolled down the
hall to her unit. Stopping in front of her door he paused. Leaning
forward he pressed his ear against the door to see if he could hear
anything. Once he was certain no one was inside he removed the
spare key she’d given him for emergencies and let himself in.
Cautiously walking in, so as not to disturb anything, he quietly
closed the door behind himself and locked it. He knew it was wrong
to be here but he somehow felt closer to her by being in her
apartment around her things.

Tip-toeing across the linoleum floor he kept looking
over his shoulder as if he was expecting her to return at any
moment. He wanted to leave, but the urge to stay and learn more
about her was overwhelming. Stepping into the kitchen he stood in
the center of the room and inhaled. Closing his eyes he let the
memory sensor in his brain detect the last meal she’d prepared
there. He inhaled once more taking in the scent of old chicken
grease. His mouth began to water as he imagined her sitting at her
kitchen table eating. Pulling out the chair he eased into the seat,
placed both hands flat on the table, and massaged oak with his
palms. Laying his face on the table he felt the coolness chill his
skin. “Ahhh,” he cooed.

Rising from the table he made his way to the
refrigerator and opened the door to look through it. He removed the
lid from the Tupperware bowl and retrieved a chicken leg. Placing
the lid back on the bowl he closed the door and bit into the
chicken. With each bite he imagined himself nibbling at the fruit
between her legs. Oddly enough he was beginning to relax. He walked
through the apartment as if he belonged there. Stepping into her
hallway bathroom he dropped the chicken bone in the trash, opened
her medicine cabinet, and began rummaging through her things. He
read her prescription bottles and birth control pills. His nose
wrinkled up looking at the tube of Monistat 7. Placing all her
things back the way she had them, as best he could, he closed the
cabinet and made his way towards her bedroom.

Once again he stood in the center of the room and
inhaled. He could smell her, the scent of Teresa as he called it
the first time she’d given him a hug. He never could remember the
name of her perfume. Just the scent alone gave him an erection.
Walking over to her closet he slid the doors open and began
thumbing through her wardrobe. After he’d seen enough he closed the
door. Just as he was about to leave he paused staring down at her
clothes hamper. He flipped the lid and dug both hands into her
dirty laundry. Removing a pair of her panties and her robe he held
her underwear in front of his face, stuck out his tongue, and
licked the crouch area. Suckling the sweat from her vagina on his
tongue he let his saliva marinate in his mouth before swallowing.
Dropping her undergarment back into the hamper, he slid his arms
into her robe the best he could trying not to tear it. He pulled
back the comforter on top of her bed, climbed in the covers, and
hugged one of her pillows. He felt a sense of calmness as he felt
sleep begin to fall over him. Before he was completely asleep he
heard the sound of voices. Jumping from the bed and pulling the
comforter back into place, he crept over to the door and gently
closed it. He stepped into the closet, closed the door, pressed his
ear against the wall, and listened closely.

“Thank you for understanding,” he heard Teresa’s
voice explaining. “Just give me one second. I’ll get the cash. I
tried calling my friend James for a ride but he never
answered.”

“I understand,” a strange voice replied. “I started
not to stop though, considering how you’re dressed.”

“Tell me about it. You know at least six cabs passed
me by before you stopped. Thanks again,” she said as she handed him
the money. Transaction completed, she let him out then locked the
door behind him.

James continued to listen as he heard her move down
the hall towards the bedroom. He felt his stomach become queasy as
the bedroom door opened. His thoughts raced as he tried to remember
if he left anything of his out that she could find. He held his
nose as he felt blood beginning to drip. He had no idea how he
would explain why he was hiding in her closet wearing her robe. He
held his breath as he heard her moving about the room then heard
abruptly leave the room. He listened for a few minutes. Once he
felt as if she would not return for a while he eased the door open.
Stepping out of the closet he paused. Looking down at the floor he
saw a pair of pink pajamas, panties, and a bra. He began to kneel
to pick up her panties but dismissed the thought and moved towards
the entrance to the hallway. Peeking his head out, he looked down
the hall and saw that the bathroom door was cracked open.
Tip-toeing he made his way to the bathroom door where he heard the
shower running. Peeking through the crack in the door he could see
her reflection in the mirror from the neck up. He stood for a
moment and watched her shower. She looked so peaceful to him with
the lathered soap glistening off of her neck and suds slithering
down her body.