Page 44 of In the Safety's Zone
“And hopefully your ass does everything but sleep. You come back with a full nut sack I feel like the ancestors gone have something to say about it. Thankfully, your ass got that line bypass shit so we don’t have to worry about you being late. Let’s go, bruh.”
“We gotta make a stop.”
I pulled my strap over my head and picked up the shoes I was going to wear to carry them to the door. One thing our mama taught us was not to were shoes in the house and track the outside in. I still followed that to this day.
Jill’s ass might be good for something after all.
“For what?”
“Condoms. The only person I want calling me daddy is Aphrodite.”
A grin spread over his face and he pulled me to him by the back of my head in a brotherly hug. “That’s what I’m talking about, bruh. Make good decisions and protect you both.”
I watched the numbers creep up on the screen as I rode the elevator to the floor that Aphrodite instructed me to come to. The ride on the plane had been nice and I was happy I’d sprung for a first-class seat. I wasn’t the tallest man in the world, but being cramped beside a bunch of people who always seem to want to chat with me because I just haveone of those faceswasn’t what I was in the mood for today. I’d put my headphones on and tried to relax but I couldn’t deny I was a ball of emotions:anxiety, nervousness and excitement. I was fucking giddy to be on my way back to see my girl.
The phone screen wasn’t enough when I craved the solace only her presence could bring. It might’ve been infatuation but Phro just did something to me. It was relaxation and peace but a divine thrill of being in the presence of something so right; I was in awe whenever I saw her.
And that was just through the phone. She left me speechless in person, had me fumbling for my words and grinning like a fool. And I liked that shit. Aphrodite was the type that made me want to slow down and do more simultaneously just to ensure she was always good mentally, physically and emotionally.
The car stopped and the door opened, making my nerves skyrocket. I was already grinning with anticipation and I barely noticed how nice the hotel was. I was going to need to talk to her about switching the chain of hotels she stayed in because the security was too lax for me. I didn’t even need a card to get on the elevator and that shit was unacceptable.
Her door was toward the end of the well lit hall and I could tell from the location that it was a suite. The walls were a muted blue with eclectic art covering them and darker gray carpet n the ground.
I knocked on the door and waited pulling out my phone just in case I needed to have her let me in if she didn’t hear my knock. My wait wasn’t long but the person at the door wasn’t who I thought it would be.
An older white lady was at the door and looked at me the same way I was looking at her.Who the fuck are you?
I ain’t want an ounce of smoke with how the world was going today so I took a step back and held my hand up apologetically. “I’m sorry, I must have the wrong room.”
“Come on in, Anthony!”
I heard Aphrodite’s voice calling from deeper inside the room. The woman in front of me hesitated for only a moment before she stepped back and allowed me inside. Since the chick who opened the door looked like I might snatch her fucking purse, I kept my duffle bag slung across my chest like I was just as worried that she was about to rob my ass. Her eyes widened in shock but I ain’t give a damn if I offended her or not. We had a brief stare-off as I waited to see what was up.
“She’s in here.” Her lips were pressed tightly, like divulging that information pained her. She’d nodded her head towards a separate area of the suite and I followed behind her as she walked in that direction.
I observed the room confirming it was a suite and looked as though it had been well lived in. I knew she’d just gotten done with her match and I’d wanted to get there sooner but couldn’t get the flights that weren’t crazy priced last minute. And when we talked about it Aphrodite wasn’t that big on me watching her play, anyway. I wasn’t about to jinx her or have her nervous about me being there so until she got comfortable with the idea I was going to follow her lead. It wasn’t easy to do because I wanted to be supportive of her, but my feelings ain’t matter when it came to her boundary.
There was a kitchenette to one side that was more like a glorified bar and the living area was brightly lit by the large doors that led out to a balcony.
On the back right side of the room, I finally put eyes on my girl and a smile broke across my face and then fell just as fast.
“You good, Phro?”
She was on a bed moaning and my immediate reaction was to knock out whoever was making her sound like that. It sounded like a pleasurable pain and while I was getting jealous I had to chill because it was just a massage.
“Yeah, working the kinks out.”
She hadn’t lifted her head yet so I didn’t have a chance to see her pretty ass face yet. I adjusted my bag being careful not to catch it on my chain as I watched the masseuse do her job. I could feel the lady who’d opened the door staring a hole in my head like she was waiting on either of us to explain who I was. That lady would be kissing my ass before I gave in to her silent demands. I would only take my cues from my girl and she was just now sitting up from the table.
Thin lips sprang into action before Phro could even thank the masseuse or get down off the table.
“Aphrodite, you need to eat within the next two hours and then we can go over film of the matches.”
Her short brown hair was nondescript and was in a ponytail. She was wearing shorts and a shirt that looked like she was on her way to work out. I wouldn’t get in the way of what Aphrodite needed to do, but there was no way she was going to work out after she just got done playing a match.
Grabbing her towel, Phro turned to the woman and shook her head. “I’m done with tennis for right now, Terri. As you can see, I’m trying to let my hair down.” Her eyes landed on me and a smile lit her whole face. It was like everyone else in the room ain’t matter anymore because I was back in the presence of this girl.
“And what exactly does that mean?”
