The Stalker Chronicles (6 page)
Read The Stalker Chronicles Online
Authors: Electa Rome Parks
Tags: #Fiction, #Suspense, #Thrillers, #Crime, #Urban Life, #African American
Chapter 9
Dre'
Holding up my empty glass, I caught the bartender's attention. “Give me another round, man.”
As the twenty-something African American male mixed my Bacardi and Coke, I turned and surveyed the enormous room. It was eye-catching with its sleek, clean, and sexy modern design. The usual crowd was not out in force this evening, unlike two Fridays ago, when it was standing room only. I assumed many of the regular patrons had made plans to attend the Maxwell and Jill Scott concert, which was the talk of the town.
I reached for my drink, which the bartender had placed in front of me, on a white napkin, and took a big gulp. This workweek had been a killer, and I needed a weekend break, preferably with a fine female companion, to recoup. However, I noticed the few women at the bar were coupled up, and as I glanced around, no one in particular caught my eye, anyway. I realized the evening was still young, and I intended to hang out a bit longer.
I pulled out my cell, dialed the familiar digits, and listened to it ring a couple of times.
“Hello.”
“What's up, man?” I asked.
“Nothing much. What you getting into tonight?”
“I'm here at the spot.”
“You getting started early, aren't you?” Xavier asked.
“Man, it's the weekend, and it couldn't have come any sooner. I've told you that all of us normal, ordinary people aren't fortunate enough to work from home and pen tall tales.” I laughed good-humoredly, taking another gulp of my drink and relishing the mellow mood it was putting me in. My job was a high-pressure one, and at times like this, I simply needed to relax and regroup.
“Dre', you know you are closing million-dollar deals and bringing home big-ass commission checks. Who are you fooling? That shit makes your dick hard, and you wouldn't trade it for the world.”
“What can I say?” I laughed again. “Your pretty young thing still got you hemmed up?”
Xavier chuckled. “No, I put her on a plane last night, but I think she is still a little pissed.”
“Why? I figured she would leave with a big smile on her face.”
“Dre', you stupid man.” He laughed.
“I'm just glad you came to your senses and are getting back out there.”
“I was never gone, man. Besides, I fooled around with Bailey out in L.A. She was something to do, and hanging with her made the time go by quicker.”
“You could have fooled me, because when you first came back to Houston, I was worried about your ass for a minute.”
“Why?”
“Because you were all hemmed in at your house, acting like you were afraid to venture outside and be seen in public.”
There was a telling silence.
“You there?” I asked.
“Yeah, I'm here. There may be some truth to that. I was in a bad place. There is no doubt about that.”
“Damn, man. Forget about that psycho once and for all.”
“It's not as easy as it sounds, but I'm coming out of it. Better days are ahead. I can feel it.”
“On a serious tip, do you think you should talk to someone about what happened?” I asked, bracing for his response as I scoped out the new crowd of beautiful women who had entered the building.
“I know you aren't talking about a shrink.”
“Yes.”
“Dre', I'm not that far gone. It's just different. It's hard to explain... . It's difficult being back here because this is where it all went down. Believe it or not, I know you and I joke around about a lot of it, but it was a traumatic experience. I'm not going to lie. I'm adjusting day by day, and it's not going to happen overnight.”
“I know I kid around a lot. That's just me. But I'm here for you. Got your back. Always will.”
“I know that, and I appreciate it, Dre'.”
“What's up with baby girl? Why her drawers in a bunch, or does she wear any? Why she pissed off at you?”
“Bailey is trying her best to inch her way into a relationship, and I'm not having it. No way, no how.”
“What's the deal with all these desperate women you attract?”
“Who you asking?”
“Did you hurt baby girl's feelings?”
“No, not intentionally. I enforced some ground rules, and evidently, that didn't sit well with her.”
“Do what you have to do, man. I'm not mad at ya. You are definitely going to have every gold-digging chick out there trying to hook up with you now, palms wide open. If you thought you could get the drawers before, you haven't seen anything yet. Didn't I tell you about the two women I met here two weeks ago? They were seriously into you. Talking about having your babies and picking out china patterns.”
Xavier laughed. “Yeah, you told me. You also informed me how you turned the tables and used our friendship to your advantage.”
“Ain't no shame in my game. Besides, I didn't lie, and it worked. I hit it until the early morning hours.”
“Well, personally, I'm not going through what I went through with Pilar ever again. Even though I still don't feel I sent mixed signals, from this point on, I'm going to make my intentions very clear with every female I date. If their feelings get hurt in the breakdown, then they need to step if they can't handle the truth.”
“I hear you, my brotha. Just make sure you do it after you hit it, and then you can quit it,” I suggested, downing the last of my drink.
“Man, just handle your own business. Don't worry about mine.”
“I intend to do just that,” I declared as a brown beauty slowly walked my way, making intense eye contact. I flashed a smile and quickly hung up with Xavier. It looked like the evening was going to be interesting, after all. In the time it took her to cross the room and arrive by my side at the bar, I decided that there was something familiar about her. I felt like I had seen her or met her before. I couldn't put my finger on where, though.
When she strolled up beside me, with whatever intoxicating fragrance she was wearing, and I realized she was even more beautiful up close, all thoughts except getting with her went out the door.
Then she looked over at me with beautiful, expressive eyes, smiled, and said in a sexy tone, “Hi. My name is Milan.”
“And I'm Dre',” I stated, extending my hand. “Milan, what a beautiful name for a gorgeous lady.” I swear to you when our hands touched, electricity ignited, and I knew I was in for an adventure. Just like that, I was pulled in.
In hindsight, I realized I should have listened to my first instinct, that inner voice whispering in my head. But I guess that's why it's called hindsight, because at that moment I was feeling no pain.
Chapter 10
Xavier
After hanging up with Dre', I couldn't do anything but shake my head and laugh out loud. He was quite the character, and I loved him like a blood brother. I didn't know why I had never written about him in one of my novels, changing the name, of course. Hell, he would make a great character, but I knew the answer to that question already. I realized Dre' was the keeper of too many of my own secrets, which he might be inclined to reveal were I to offer revelations about him. I'm not going to lie. Back in the day, I was no joke. Neither one of us was. Dre' and I sowed enough wild oats to last two lifetimes each.
After working out like a madman for a solid two hours in my home gym, I had worked up quite a sweat. I wandered upstairs to the kitchen and drank another eight ounces of bottled water, leaning on the granite island. For the life of me, I didn't know what I would do with myself for the remainder of the night.
If I was honest with myself, I had to admit I did enjoy having a steady woman in my life. It was the staying faithful part that always messed me up, no matter what good intentions I started off with. I thought about Kendall, my ex-fiancée. In fact, I had been thinking of her a lot lately. I didn't know why. Well, yes, I did. I was casually flipping through the pages of Jet magazine in the checkout lane of the grocery store a few weeks ago, waiting my turn. And lo and behold, there she was staring back at me, larger than life, in the society column of the magazine. She was as beautiful as I remembered, if not more so. Kendall appeared to be happy, glowing even. The article spoke of her marriage to a prominent Houston surgeon. Apparently, they had had a lavish wedding ceremony, for which the guest list was a who's who of Houston, and then had honeymooned for a month in Paris. I recalled how she and I had spoken of traveling to Europe on many occasions. Due to my busy tour schedule and her classes, we never made it. It was something we were going to do once our lives settled down.
If I had never met Pilar, that could have been us. It's funny how life can throw some serious detours your way that send your life spiraling in a totally different direction. During my grim reflections, my cell vibrated and bounced left and right, like it was having spasms, across the countertop, where I had placed it earlier.
“Hello.”
“Hey, sweetie! Whatcha doing?”
“What's up, Bailey? I see you are safe and sound back in la-la land.”
“Oh, now you ask. You didn't seem concerned earlier, because you sure didn't phone to check on my safe arrival.” I could hear the sassy attitude already saturating the phone.
I thought,
Oh God, here we go
. Why was it that whenever you gave a woman some good dick, suddenly she became super possessive and obsessive?
Oh God, here we go
. Why was it that whenever you gave a woman some good dick, suddenly she became super possessive and obsessive?
“I'm sorry, baby. I meant to call, but I lay down to take a short nap after I dropped you off at the airport, and before I realized it, I was knocked out and it was this morning. I figured no news was good news. You can handle yourself.”
“Uh-huh,” she said, sucking her teeth.
“It's your fault. You wore me out,” I said to inject some humor into the conversation.
“Blame it on me.”
“You did my little nymph.”
“What time is it there? You're not out on the town?” she asked, changing the subject.
“Nope. I just finished my workout. Trying to get back into my regular fitness routine.”
“I hear you. You must keep that fine body of yours looking good for all your admirers,” she stated sarcastically.
“You seem to like it, because I didn't hear any complaints on your end. In fact, you couldn't get enough,” I teased back.
I could almost see the huge smile that lit up her face.
“We did have a good time. You and I are so good together, Xavier. Don't you think?”
“If you say so.”
“Oh, it's like that. Thanks, Xavier.”
“Bailey, I don't know what else to tell you. I'm not lookingâ”
“For a relationship,” she said, finishing my sentence for me. “I've heard that shit for an entire year now. It's old news.”
“Get used to it, because it's the truth and it's not going to change.”
“I understand I have no choice, and I simply enjoy hanging out with you, sweetie.”
“That's cool. Same here, Bailey.”
“I have my last few days of freedom for a while coming up before we start shooting our next movie project. You know how long those days can be. Wouldn't you like for me to come back to Houston and hang out with you? You never showed me around the city. We always managed to wind up in bed. Imagine that.”
“That's fine, as long as there aren't any expectations.”
“There aren't. I just want to chill, have a good time, and screw you senseless. Know what I mean?” she kidded.
“Well, since you put it like that. Sounds good to me.”
“Okay, sweetie. I'll let you know the details later.”
“Cool.”
“Okay, bye, love.”
“Wait. Bailey?”
“Yes?”
“Make sure you make reservations at a hotel close by.”
“But I thoughtâ”
“I can send you suggestions if you'd like.”
“Don't worry. I can find one myself. I wouldn't want to rain on your parade by staying with you.”
With that she hung up, but I had no doubt I would see her soon. And just as quickly she was an afterthought.
“Baby, wake up,” the mother said, gently lifting the child from underneath the warm blanket and into her arms.
The young child wiped the sleep from her eyes with the back of her tiny hand and yawned loudly. She looked around, unsure of her surroundings.
Then she remembered she was still at Uncle Danny's house. She had fallen asleep on the sofa in the living room while her mother and Uncle Danny went into his bedroom and closed the door. That was a long time ago.
“Come on, baby.” She loved when her mother talked nice to her, which was rare, and called her baby. Those were the few times she felt special and not invisible. She wrapped her arms tighter around her mother's neck.
“Are we leaving?” she asked innocently. It was now after midnight on a school night. She should have long been home, safe and sound in her own bed.
“No. Just be quiet, and be a good girl for me,” her mother whispered, like they were playing a game.
“Okay, Mama.”
“Just do what he says, and be a good girl.”
The young girl's eyes stretched as big as saucers when they entered the musty bedroom of Uncle Danny. To her surprise, he was buck naked, lying on his back, and she saw his thingy, which he didn't even attempt to hide. She looked to her mother for assurance, but her mother averted her eyes. Her mother placed the child in the middle of the bed, disrobed, and slipped beneath the sheets as if it was as normal as brushing her teeth.
Right before the young child went to her special place, the one in her mind, she heard her mother say, “Now, you can have both of us. Two for one. Tonight is your lucky night.”
That made Uncle Danny very happy, because he smiled and showed every rotten tooth in his mouth.
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