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Authors: Electa Rome Parks

Tags: #Fiction, #Suspense, #Thrillers, #Crime, #Urban Life, #African American

BOOK: The Stalker Chronicles

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Chapter 30

Dre'

“Baby, I'm glad you don't mind that we aren't going out tonight,” I said, placing a movie into the DVD player.

“Dre', you know that doesn't mean anything to me. I just enjoy spending time with you,” Milan stated, snuggling up to me on the sofa now that the dinner dishes had been washed and put away. “It doesn't matter where we are.”

“I promise 111 make it up to you,” I said, wincing slightly.

“What's wrong, babe?” Milan questioned, closely studying my face.

“Nothing. I think I have a slight case of indigestion. I'll take a couple of Turns and will be good as new.”

“What are you trying to say? You don't like my cooking,” Milan said jokingly.

“Baby, you know I love your cooking, and I absolutely adore you,” I said, pulling her closer.

“You are so sweet, and I never would have thought it.”

“Wait. Hold up. I don't know how to take that. Is that a compliment or a dig?” I asked.

“No. I mean from outside appearances you come across as no-nonsenseâtough.”

“I am tough. Don't you know I'm from the hood?” I teased.

Milan laughed that laugh that I loved. Her face simply lit up like Christmas lights when she was happy. I noticed sometimes, when she didn't think I was watching, there was such a deep sadness. My goal was to make her smile and giggle and be happy.

“You are so silly.”

“Seriously, I guess I know what you are saying,” I stated.

“You don't act anything like Xavier. He's such a womanizer and sounds so full of himself. I despise men like him. They are so superficial and self-absorbed. Heaven and earth don't move when they enter a room and flash a smile. And all these stupid women oohing and aahing, pumping up their egos, hanging on their every word like they are Moses writing on the stone tablets, doesn't make matters better.”

“Wow. I can't believe you are talking about my friend like that. He's not like you describe him at all. Baby, you have to get to know him before you jump to preconceived conclusions.”

“I'm sorry. That's the way you make him sound.”

“He does date a lot of women, but why shouldn't he? He's single and free. As long as he keeps it real and adult and mature, no one gets hurt. What's wrong with that?”

“People do get hurt, and that's a very real problem in my book.”

I paused and looked at Milan curiously, because she sounded extremely passionate in making her point, as if she was taking it personally.

“From what you've told me, Pilar was hurt.”

“Pilar was crazy,” I stated simply.

“Why don't you stop saying that?” she asked, with a hint of anger in her voice that came out of nowhere.

“She was. Pilar was a straight-up psychotic, crazy-ass lunatic.”

“You never know what drives a person to become the person they are. Everyone doesn't have a perfect childhood, so you shouldn't be so judgmental.”

“I agree. Hell, my childhood wasn't peachy keen, either, because I sure as hell didn't grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth. But crazy is as crazy does, and I call them as I see them.”

“Me too,” she barely whispered.

“Huh?”

“Nothing, babe. Nothing at all. Forget it.”

When I reached for her, to pull her closer, I felt her body stiffen.

“Quit pouting,” I joked, looking down at her.

“I'm not.”

“Yes, you are. We can agree to disagree,” I said, placing a light kiss on her lips.

“Sure, I agree. Now, let's drop it and watch the movie,” Milan stated.

I kissed her on the cheek, tickled her side, and smiled.

“What?”

“Do you know how much you mean to me? I can't imagine life without you now. Girl, you have me all sprung like mattress coils.”

“You are silly.”

“I'm glad you accepted the key to my house. I want you to come and go as you please, because I do understand you need your space as well. I enjoy coming home from work and having you here, though.”

“And in the kitchen?” she joked.

“Yeah, but mostly in the bedroom,” I said, gently kissing her neck. “You are so sexy. You know that?”

“Stop,” she said, gently pulling away. “Let's watch the movie. We can save that for later. We have plenty of time.”

An hour into the movie, my cell phone rang. I picked it up as Milan continued to watch the sappy romance she had chosen about finding your soul mate in life. Personally, I thought that concept was a pile of bull, but I didn't tell her that.

“What's up, man?” Xavier asked.

“Watching a movie with Milan.”

“How sweet.”

I laughed because Xavier was always getting on my case about how much time Milan and I spent together.

“Why? What's up?”

“I'm about three blocks from your house, and I was going to drop by, but I didn't know you had company.”

“Stop by, anyway.”

“Are you sure?” he asked. “I wouldn't want to interrupt anything.”

“I'm positive. It's about time you and Milan met. In fact, we were just talking about you.”

I noticed Milan had stopped watching the movie and was now anxiously staring at me.

“Okay, cool. See you in a few minutes.”

Milan didn't waste a second when I hung up the phone.

“What's up, babe?”

“That was Xavier. He's in the area, and I asked him to stop by.”

“You what?” she asked, turning so she was looking directly at me. For a brief moment, I thought I saw panic cross her face.

“He's going to stop by for a minute. This will give you and him an opportunity to finally meet.”

She didn't respond.

“I hope you don't mind.”

“Sure,” was all she said.

Milan continued to sit on the sofa for a few minutes, pretending to watch the movie. I could tell she wasn't as into it as she was before.

“What's wrong?” I asked after observing her for a few minutes.

“Nothing. Why?”

“You seem antsy all of a sudden.”

“I don't feel good. My stomach feels really queasy,” she said, clutching it with the palm of her right hand and gently rubbing.

“I have more Tums. Do you want a couple?”

“No, I'll be okay. Just give me a few minutes.” About fifteen minutes later my doorbell rang, and I thought Milan would jump through the ceiling. She literally froze, like she was caught in the headlights of a fast-moving car.

“That must be Xavier,” I said. “Are you all right? You don't have to be nervous about meeting him. He'll like you just as much as I adore you.”

I got up to open the door and looked back at her as I made my way across the room.

She nodded her head and managed a slight smile.

It took just a few seconds to walk to the front door and let Xavier in, but when I turned around again, Milan was gone.

“Milan,” I called, walking back into the sunken living room with Xavier. “She must have gone to the bathroom,” I said to Xavier, who was walking behind me. “She was on the sofa a second ago, anxious to meet you. Grab a beer in the fridge. I'll be right back.”

“Take your time, but tell Milan I can't wait to meet the woman who has domesticated your ass.”

I walked to the bathroom, the one downstairs, which was typically reserved for guests. I called out to Milan but didn't receive a response. Finally, I ventured upstairs and found the bathroom door in my master bedroom closed. I walked to the door and could have sworn I heard Milan arguing with someone. I definitely heard more than one voice.

“Milan?” I called out, knocking on the door.

Suddenly the noise ceased. “Yes,” she said, sounding very sick and weak.

“Are you okay?”

“No, I'm not. I just threw up dinner, and my head is pounding like someone is hitting it with a sledgehammer. I think I feel a migraine coming on.”

“Poor baby. Do you need anything? What can I do?”

“No. Just give me a few minutes.”

As I walked away, I heard vomiting sounds coming from behind the closed door. I walked back downstairs to find Xavier catching the last half of the movie we had been watching.

“Everything all right?” he asked, looking back at me.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Where's Milan?”

“Upstairs, with her head buried in the toilet, vomiting.”

“That doesn't sound good. Maybe she has that stomach virus that's going around.”

“Earlier my stomach was upset, and now Milan suddenly gets sick. Maybe it was something we ate or the bug you mentioned.”

“Well, I hope she feels better.” Pointing to the TV set, he said, “I didn't picture you as the sappy romantic guy.”

“And you'd be correct. Milan is the romantic, so I have to please my woman.”

“You have to please her now?” He laughed.

“Man, you know what I mean. Don't start.”

Xavier and I talked for another thirty minutes or so, and Milan still hadn't made her way back downstairs. My eyes continued to wander to the stairway; it was obvious I was not into the conversation. Finally, Xavier got fed up with my lack of attention.

“Dre', go. Go check on your woman. I'm out of here, anyway.”

“Man, you don't have to leave.”

“I can sit at home and talk to myself. That's basically what I'm getting here.”

I laughed. “She has been in the bathroom for a while now. I just want to make sure she's all right.”

Xavier gulped down the last of his beer and got up to leave. “I'll holla at you tomorrow. We have to meet for b-ball soon so I can whup up on that ass.”

“I was thinking the same thing, except you would be on the end of the whup ass.”

“In your dreams. Tell Milan I said hello, and maybe we'll have the opportunity to meet soon, because I have the impression she is not going anywhere if you have your way.”

“I'll tell her.”

“Again, I hope she feels better.”

“Thanks, man.”

“Peace. I'm out.”

I locked the door behind Xavier and almost sprinted up the stairs, two at a time. When I entered the bathroom, Milan was washing her flushed face and getting ready to brush her teeth with the extra toothbrush she kept at my house.

“Feeling better?” I asked, pulling her into my arms and nuzzling her neck.

“I'm feeling a little better now. Let's go meet your friend,” she said softly.

“Xavier is gone. He just left.”

“You're kidding. I was looking forward to meeting him.”

“There will be other times for that. He said for you to feel better.”

“Thanks. That was nice.”

For the rest of the night, Milan and I cuddled on the sofa and watched movies. There wasn't any evidence of the sudden illness that had overcome her earlier. Milan was as good as new. Later that night, she showed me how much better she felt when I inched my way deep inside her.

Chapter 31

Xavier

A couple of weeks came and went after I dropped by Dre's crib. Now my curiosity about the enigmatic Milan had definitely been piqued. It wasn't that I was jealous of their relationship, but it had been a while since Dre' had been in a serious relationship, and I was curious as to what made this chick different. My man was acting all sappy, and it wasn't a good look.

Dre' had described her as the perfect woman: beautiful, sexy, intelligent, and domestic. In my opinion she sounded too good to be true. I had learned from experience that what glittered like gold was not always gold. There was no doubt that Dre' was falling hard for her. So regardless, she was one hell of a woman to be able to do that, because we both had had our fill of beautiful women. From my experience, they were a dime a dozen.

It was now becoming my mission to meet her. I joked with Dre' that she was a figment of his imagination. He shot back that the invisible visitor in my home was a product of my imagination. Last Friday plans had been made for Dre', Milan, and me to meet for drinks. Dre' showed up. I showed up. Milan was a no-show. She called at the last minute, stating she had to go out of town on business. Didn't she know that before that day? Who told their employee at the last minute that they were needed in such and such a city? Once again, Dre' and I ended up kicking it. I noticed he wasn't looking like himself. He looked tired, with dark, puffy circles under his eyes, and he appeared thinner.

“Man, looks like you have lost some weight.”

“A little.”

“What's the deal? Are you working out?”

“No, I'll leave that to you.”

“Man, you don't know what you're missing. We are not getting any younger. We need to stay in shape.”

“I'll survive, but I haven't had a big appetite lately. I need to double up on the vitamins, because I definitely feel sluggish, like I have the flu.”

“Milan is wearing your ass out.” I laughed. “That's all.”

“You might be right about that. She definitely knows how to please me in the bedroom. I have no complaints on my end.”

“She's the perfect woman,” I mocked.

“Almost.”

“I'm beginning to think she doesn't want to meet me,” I joked.

“We'll all eventually hook up.”

“Did I tell you I spoke with Bailey?”

“No, I don't think so. What's up with her? How is she doing?”

“We didn't talk long, but she claimed her so-called accident wasn't an accident, after all.”

“How so?” Dre' asked.

“Well, I always assumed she slipped and fell down the stairs at her apartment complex.”

“Yeah, that's what you told me too.”

“According to her, she was pushed.”

“Why would someone do that?”

“Exactly. That was my question as well. I asked her if it was an attempted robbery, and she said no. The police didn't find anything missing from the fanny pack around her waist.”

“Damn. There are some crazy people out there.”

“Get this. She said she thought it was a female that shoved her and caused the fall.”

“You're kidding. Whose husband is she fucking?”

“Man, you are not too far from the truth. Bailey said the female told her to leave
him
alone.”

“Who is
him?
Does
him
have a name?” Dre' quizzed.

“According to Bailey, that's all that was said. I guess it was assumed she knew who he was.”

“Well, I hope ole girl gets better soon.”

“Me too, man. She has lost a lot of work, and she sounded depressed, not like the fun, loving Bailey I know.”

“That's a bad break.”

“Literally. Tell me about it.”

“What's the deal with Miss Kendall?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. After that text I told you about, I tried texting her back and she never responded.”

“Do you think she changed her mind after having second thoughts?” Dre' asked.

“Honestly, I don't know what's going on with her. I was surprised she sent the text to begin with. You know I used to tell you how uptight she was, and this was totally out of character.”

“Women. You can't live with them, and you can't live without them. Who knows, maybe hubby isn't throwing down in the bedroom the way you were, and she misses that.”

I nodded in agreement.

“What are you going to do?”

“Absolutely nothing. Kendall made her choice. She's married nowâhappily, according to herâand she wasn't even willing to try to work things out with me after she found out about Pilar.”

“You weren't saying that a few weeks ago. Did she shatter that big ego?” Dre' laughed.

“No. I've had time to think. I admit I still love her, probably always will, but it's time to move on. If I can't have her totally, then I don't want her at all.”

“Hmmm, that's probably what she was thinking about Pilar.”

I glared at Dre', and he laughed.

“Man, you are supposed to be on my side.”

“The truth hurts.”

“You know what? We talk about Pilar all the time.”

“We do, don't we?”

“She changed my life,” I half muttered to myself.

“That she did... .”

“For the worse,” I said.

“Claim it back,” Dre' stated.