Читать книгу All The Wrong Places - G.I.F.T.D - Страница 10

Brand New

“Ol’ scandalous-ass bitch!” Boon yelled, after slamming the door and locking it behind him. He hadn’t even realized it, until the masked gunman had brought it to his attention—Taz wasn’t there. His first thought was to call the police, but Boon thought better of it.

“I can’t report this shit. Snitchin’ ain’t in me and they get buried in Chi-Town,” Boon thought aloud. He looked around his crib at the mess the robbers left. He felt himself getting angrier by the minute. So many different thoughts ran through his mind at once: retaliation, paying someone to whip Taz’s ass, or maybe involving his brothers. He knew he couldn’t involve his brothers, though; they were the ones who’d shared a hearty laugh when Boon found out that Zo’s baby wasn’t his. Boon was so furious that smoke was nearly visible coming from his ears.

“Fuck everybody!” he yelled in a rage. He went to his bedroom and found his car keys, which were lying on the floor in front of his bedroom window. Before picking them up, he stopped in front of the mirror on his dresser to assess the wound on the side of his head. The bleeding had stopped and the gash was barely visible, due to the dried blood around it. Boon was thankful to have left his wallet in the glove compartment of his car.

The sun was slowly rising and peeking through the blinds, as Boon was getting dressed in jogging pants and a T-shirt. He was going to the hospital to get sewn up, and then he would go get a new phone. His mind was on his choice of women in his past. None of them turned out to be good for him, not one— except for CiCi. However, CiCi wouldn’t take him back now.

She knew too much about him and his “skanches,” as she referred to Boon’s lovers. Boon shook his head to clear it and tried to figure out who to call to keep him company at the ER.

He went into the kitchen and fished his phone out of the sink. Although it was only partially submerged in the water, it was clearly on the fritz. Miraculously, he was able to view the first two contacts in the phone, and he quickly wrote the numbers down. Amerie, whom he had met the night before, was the first one. Ariel, his sister-in-law and Drakus’ wife, was the second. “Hell no,” he muttered, at the thought of calling his brother’s wife; she’d just tell Drakus and he’d alert the entire family. Fuck it, I’ma call CiCi when I get there. He put the wet phone in a Ziploc bag and headed out the door.

After making sure he got to his car safely, Boon drove to a nearby gas station to use a payphone. He called CiCi three different times and got the voicemail with each attempt. “Dammit!” he yelled, as he slammed the phone back on the hook, without leaving a message. He then dialed Amerie’s number, and much to his surprise, not only did she answer, she sounded wide-awake.

“Hello?” she said in a tone that seemed to wonder who the hell would be calling her at 6:15 a.m.

“Sorry to call so early. C-can I speak to Amerie?” Boon stammered, nervously.

“This is Amerie; who’s calling?” she asked, with the curiosity still evident in her tone.

“It’s Boon, the gentleman you met at the frat party last night.”

“Oh! The cutie in the Polo. You don’t waste time, huh?” she teased.

“I would’ve waited, but I kinda got a li’l situation I need some help wit’ right now.”

“Like what? Ain’t givin’ you no money, boy,” Amerie said solemnly.

Boon chuckled. “I got plenty money, baby. That’s the problem though. I got robbed last night and was hit with a pistol. I know this will be a crazy first date, but can you come sit wit’ me while I get stitched up?” Boon asked, pouting, as if she could see him.

“Oh my God! Are you okay?”

“I will be, with you there, and some pain medication.”

“Sure, I’ll come. I was only taking my morning jog. What hospital do I meet you at?” Amerie asked.

“Cook County,” Boon told her, and she said she’d be there in 20 minutes, at the most.

By the time he saw Amerie walk into the waiting room, Boon had just signed in. Her tan skin was flawless and she looked perfect with no makeup on at all. She had her hair pulled back in a ponytail, and had on a green and yellow Nike jogging suit that hugged her frame. To complete the outfit, she was wearing matching, green and yellow Nike Huaraches on her feet. Boon’s first thought was that she was an Oregon Ducks fan; his second thought was about how many ways he’d like to peel that jogging suit off and give her the dick.

“Over here, babe,” Boon waved his hand in the air to let Amerie know where he was seated. It was also a ploy to let everyone in the waiting area know that she was there for him.

“How in the hell did this shit happen?” Amerie asked, once she was seated next to Boon.

“My dumbass had to take a leak bad as hell when I first got home. I ran in and didn’t lock the door behind me. When I came back into the living room, three niggas was in my house with guns. One hit me, and I woke up like this,” Boon lied. How could he tell her he was fucking his ex-girlfriend and fell asleep, only to wake up in the midst of the robbery, and find out that she was the one who had set the whole thing up?

“Damn, boo, at least you’re alive.” Amerie was caring, and Boon began to feel that tingle in his heart, all over again. “What made you call me? I’m sure you called your family after you called the cops.”

“You were the first person I thought of when I regained consciousness,” Boon lied, again.

“My family would exaggerate the situation; mainly, because I’m the youngest.”

“And the cops?” Amerie asked, as she put her hand on Boon’s thigh.

“I’m from Chicago; we don’t call 911. Besides, I’m alive and they only got some jewelry and some chump change,” Boon smirked.

“All right, macho. So what—” Amerie was interrupted by the loudspeaker calling out a few names.

“I need a Jamela Howard and a Daniel Watson. Please, report to the nurse’s station.”

Boon’s ears perked up like an alerted canine. Instead of instantly standing, Boon looked around to be certain he’d heard correctly. Just as sure as shit stinks, Mela was walking toward the doctor. She was obviously pregnant, and to top that off, she was with Yo.

“Daniel Watson, last call,” the voice on the loudspeaker blared again.

“Boon, let’s go. He’s called your name three times now.” Amerie was tugging at his arm for him to get up. By now, Mela was looking around suspiciously, waiting to see the man who would respond to that particular name. Reluctantly, Boon got up and walked with Amerie to where the doctor was standing.

As they walked up, Mela spoke first. “Damn, Boon! The fuck happened to you?” she asked. She actually seemed concerned, but Boon didn’t even acknowledge her.

“Dag, homie, that’s a big-ass gash, fam!” Yo exclaimed.

Boon’s jaw gave away the fact that he was clenching his teeth, although he said nothing. Both couples followed the doctor to the back towards the triage rooms.

“Uh-um…” Amerie cleared her throat, as if to get Boon’s attention, but he ignored her because he was beyond pissed.

“Mister Watson, you’ll take room three right here,” the doctor pointed to his left and stuck the chart in the tray on the door.

“It’s like that?” Mela scoffed. “Fuck you and ya li’l Barbie doll too, nigga!” Mela snarled, as she walked off with the doctor.

Boon smirked; it was all he could do to keep from spazzing out in the room. Inside, he was a fireball; an intense rage was building in him and he felt his eyes get watery. He was mad enough to kill at that very moment. I shoulda choked the life outta that bitch.

“Ummm, Boon?” Amerie broke into his thoughts of murderous rage. “Are you okay? I just called your name six times,” she stated, as Boon sat in a chair by the door, fighting his anger.

“I apologize, beautiful. Just got lost in a serious thought for a minute there,” he replied.

“So I noticed.” Amerie sat down right next to Boon. “You wanna tell me who your friends were just a minute ago, or do I wait until you’re stitched up and healed?” she asked, as he looked into her mesmerizing eyes. She had gorgeous eyes; the kind that seemed to be able to see right through you. It almost made it impossible to lie to her. And at that moment, Boon wasn’t even considering doing so.

“The girl was my ex-girlfriend, Mela. The guy was my good friend, Johan, or Yo, as we called him.” Boon took a deep breath and exhaled.

Amerie waited a few minutes, and then urged him on. “Oh come out with it already. There has to be more to the story,” she stated. “You didn’t speak when either one of them spoke to you. Then the bitch went all hostile, like I wouldn’t drop kick her ratchet-ass or something,” Amerie huffed, with an attitude.

Boon smiled on the inside. “Okay, okay,” he began, taking another deep breath and exhaling before continuing. “I thought shit was going smooth with us. One day, I bought her favorite wine, massage oils, and all that good shit. I was gonna help her relax after a hard day’s work, ya know? She gets in and drops the ‘I don’t wanna be with you. Maybe another girl will love you how you wanna be loved’, bomb on me. Needless to say, I’m crushed.” Boon’s eyes dimmed, as he recalled that dreadful night, while Amerie hung on to every word. “Yo was my weed man at the time, aside from being my homie. Earlier that day, he’d told me to stop by and pick some up. ‘Even if my door is closed, just come in’, he told me. After Mela hit me with the fucked-up news, of course, I needed some bud.” Boon looked at the floor and paused. “I walked in Yo’s spot, ‘cause his music was blaring, as usual. He couldn’t hear me calling his name, so I walked back to his room; he had Mela bent over his dresser, screwing her brains out.” Boon stopped.

“Nann one of them ain’t shit, then,” Amerie concluded. “She gon’ cross him up too. That probably ain’t even his baby,” she snorted. “Just so you know, I ain’t that type of girl. That’s some thirsty shit right there.”

Before and after receiving his stitches, Amerie listened, as Boon regaled her with tales about his fumbled attempts at love. “You ain’t got no little dick, do you?” she blatantly asked him.

“Hell no,” he laughed, thinking about how serious women are about not getting pencil dick for a mate.

As they were walking to Amerie’s car in the visitor’s parking lot, they realized that they had only been in the ER for a couple hours. “What now?” she murmured, while unlocking the doors on her metallic grey Chevy Camaro.

Boon smiled, impressed with this woman’s choice of transportation. “Well, I need a new phone, so I’m gonna go grab one; and I was hopin’ to treat you to breakfast, seein’ as how you were kind enough to come sit with me this morning,” Boon offered.

“Ain’t gon’ lie, I am kinda hungry. Am I driving or are you?” Amerie quipped.

“I don’t like leaving my car, so I’d rather just follow you,” Boon suggested.

“So, where are we goin’?” Amerie started her car, as she waited for Boon’s reply.

“First, we go to the Sprint store; then after that, breakfast. If you bougie, we can go upscale, but if you down-to-earth, we can hit IHOP.” Boon searched Amerie’s face to see if she was either.

“Oh shit, I love pancakes. Go get your car and come on.”

She trailed Boon to the Sprint store first, and sat in her car waiting, while he went in to purchase a replacement phone. Once he got in his car, they drove down the street and pulled into IHOP’s parking lot, parking side by side.

The couple was immediately seated, and ordered coffee, while they perused the menus. Once they’d placed their orders, they sipped their coffee and sat in silence, taking in the scenery. It had only been a few hours since the last woman’s presence he’d been in had added insult to injury. Quite naturally, Taz setting him up made him apprehensive with Amerie, no matter how much she smiled and seemed safe. After what seemed like an everlasting, awkward silence, Amerie cleared her throat and locked eyes with Boon when he turned to face her.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Honestly, nah,” replied Boon, who was twiddling his thumbs and staring into those truth-serum-causing orbs that Amerie called eyes. “I just can’t seem to find the right chick. I think it’s because of me rushing things. I stay single for months, only to get into another deadend situation. It could be because I go for a certain type of girl. I look for opposites, but no formula I try seems to work for me.” Boon turned away from the eye contact, feeling awkward. Why am I explaining this to her?

Almost as if she heard his thoughts, Amerie said, “I’m glad you are honest with me. You’re not afraid of your feelings, and not many men share that characteristic.” Amerie reached across the table and grabbed Boon’s hand. “Women often talk about men not hittin’ on shit or how they ain’t good for anything. Well, I say for every type of man that exists, there is a woman who’s just like him. I think we might be a good look for each other. You just need some time off the dating scene for a little while.” She was about to continue, but the waitress approached the table with their food.

“May I refill your coffee?” she asked, after she’d sat the plates down on the table.

“Yes, please,” they answered, simultaneously. They both remained quiet until the waitress left.

“Amerie, I would love to begin dating and getting to know you better, but I’ve got so much baggage and bullshit that I don’t want nobody dealing with, including myself,” Boon blurted, as he poured strawberry syrup on his pancakes.

“I can understand that, but if you never come out to play again, you’ll be an old, dull-ass guy and hate yourself for it. I’d hate for you to miss out on what a girl like me can do for you.” Amerie winked her eye at him.

Boon nodded his head, contemplating, as he took in what she’d said. He shoveled a few pieces of his pancake in his mouth and let out an appreciative, “Mmmm.”

“As a matter-of-fact, breakfast is on me, and I say we take it in for the day. That way, we can get better acquainted and you can begin recuperating,” Amerie murmured, as she ate a forkful of food herself.

Boon didn’t want to be taken as a nigga who was green, but damn, how bad could it be? Amerie had her own money, car, and a great job. She was beautiful and she didn’t like how the other women had treated him. He pondered her offer; and after swallowing his food, he asked, “What’s your idea of getting better acquainted?”, while he fixed his coffee to his liking.

Amerie mused thoughtfully for a second, and then spoke. “Make no mistake about it, babe, you are an attractive man—a very attractive man, I admit; but I’m not tryna lay you down just yet. Not that I’m assuming those were your thoughts. I’m just putting that out there,” she assured him while she waited for a response.

“Understood. So, what did you have in mind?”

“Well, what about Netflix?”

Boon wasn’t quite expecting that; he liked Netflix, but he hadn’t watched it in a few months. “Sounds good.”

“Well, then, it’s settled. We can go back to my place, kick-back, chill, and start preparing a list of things you need to replace at your house. Whaddya say?” Amerie suggested, sliding her plate away from her; she was stuffed.

Boon had been so wrapped up in his breakfast with Amerie that he’d forgotten his house was in shambles from the robbery. “Sounds good. You ready now?”

“Yeah, let’s get the check and go. I even have a big case coming up that you may be able to help me with. That is, of course, if you don’t mind?” she hinted.

“On one condition,” Boon requested. Amerie raised her eyebrow, wanting to know his terms. “Lemme pay for this breakfast,” Boon stated, as he motioned for the waitress to bring their check.

Amerie smiled and exhaled softly. “Fine, but I get to pick the first movie when we make it to the house.” Boon nodded his head in agreement.

Boon followed Amerie to a luxury townhouse in North Chicago and pulled in the driveway behind her. It was a nice-looking, red, brick building that gave off a very welcomed feel. Her grass was neatly manicured and she had a two-seater, swinging chair on her front porch.

“Damn, you got old folk amenities on your porch and shit,” Boon quipped and chuckled.

“You so silly, boy. I sit there and watch my nephews play in the yard when they come over here,” she responded, chuckling herself. Amerie took her keys and shuffled through them to locate the one to the front door. Once she found it, she unlocked the door, put the code in on the security pad, and let Boon in. She turned on the lights and Boon was in awe. Not only was Amerie’s pad laid out, she had every game system that ever came out. The color scheme of her living room was lavender and grey, and she had two, enormous sectionals that seemed to seat at least 12 people each. There was a staircase immediately to the left of the entrance and a long hall in front of it. Boon could tell it led to the dining room and the kitchen.

“Ummm… make yourself at home. I’m gonna go shower and change. I’ll be right back down,” she said.

“I kinda wanna shower too. Do you have a washer and dryer here?” Boon asked.

“Sure. I’ll get you situated. Just walk towards the kitchen; there’s a bathroom just before you reach it. Towels and washcloths are in there. I’ll bring you some soap and throw your clothes in the wash for you,” Amerie said.

The duo met back up in the living room, on the couch, to watch TV after getting cleaned up. Boon was in a towel and a throwback Karl Malone basketball jersey that Amerie swore didn’t belong to an ex-boyfriend or one-night stand. She explained that she’d gotten it from a raffle she won at her sister’s school a few weeks back.

“Mmm… you lookin’ good in that jersey and towel,” Amerie murmured, flirting with Boon.

“Girl, you shot-out. I’m a li’l cold though, for real,” he retorted, rubbing the goosebumps on his arms.

“Hang on a sec, then. I’ll be right back.” She got up and walked upstairs. Boon thought that perhaps she’d gone to cut on the heat, or grab him a sweatshirt, at least. She returned with a king-sized, Chicago Bears blanket. Instead of giving the blanket to Boon, she sat beside him and threw the cover over both of them. The erection that followed was inevitable. Amerie smelled like Juicy Couture and was scantily clad in a Winnie the Pooh nightgown and some booty shorts. She snuggled close to Boon, as she used the PlayStation 3 controller to browse the available titles on Netflix. Amerie leaned across Boon’s lap to get comfortable in a lying position, and jerked upright, as quickly as she’d lain down.

She looked at the bulge in the towel wrapped around his waist and then into his eyes. “What’s good with that?”

Boon flushed with embarrassment. He didn’t know if she was asking because she wanted it, or if she was asking why it was standing up like that. He looked at his lap and then back at Amerie. “I am extremely attracted to you, but I promise you, I…um… I didn’t tell him to turn up on you like that,” he stammered.

“You ain’t on trial, Boon,” Amerie laughed, turning her attention back towards the TV. “Nice to know you workin’ with some real wood, though.” She clicked the controller to start the movie Ong Bak, which happened to be one of Boon’s favorite movies.

After the movie was over, they watched Ong Bak 2, and three other movies. By this time, Boon’s clothes had washed and dried. The couple was now online searching for deals on flat screen TV’s to replace the one that he’d lost in the robbery.

“I really just want to start over. I mean, I just moved to my new spot, so it’s not too late to find something else,” Boon stated.

“What are you going to do until then?”

“Hell, I don’t know. Probably, get a room for about a month or so at one of those extended stays with the stove and all the cookware; everything furnished. Just until I find another spot.”

“I wouldn’t have a problem with you crashing here. I mean, if you’d like.” Amerie sounded more anxious than she had intended to.

Boon was caught off guard. “I wouldn’t want to impose on your situation here, beautiful. Besides, I’d feel like I was rushing into you, especially knowing that I would love to become more than your friend.”

Amerie turned to face Boon and made eye contact. “We share sentiments in that aspect, but I’m a grown woman. If I want you to move in, that’s my choice; it’s yours to agree or disagree.” She stood from her computer chair. Boon was standing right in front of her, as she stepped closer to him. “If I say I’m cool with you being here, or I want you here with me, then that’s what I mean.” She looked down at Boon’s towel-clad waist. When she looked up again, Boon leaned in and began to kiss her. She didn’t back off. In fact, she leaned her head to the side and opened her mouth enough to allow room for a meeting of their tongues. Amerie felt her love getting moist and she stepped back. “Get dressed; we goin’ to get your things. You should plan to be here for a while.”

Boon grabbed her hand, as she began to turn away, and pulled her to him. He kissed her lightly on her forehead. “Thank you. I feel good here with you. I’m nervous as fuck, but it’s a good nervous.” He let her go and got dressed. He was feeling Amerie and she felt the same way about him. It was good to feel these feelings in slow motion. For no apparent reason, however, Boon’s mind began to attack him with thoughts of CiCi. He shook his head, as if to rid his mind of his thoughts, walked to the door to meet Amerie, and the couple hopped in her Camaro.