Page 31 of Search My Soul
As much as I teased him about it, I’ll admit that I’ve been thinking about that night more than I probably should have. Soul handled my body like we had been lovers for years. He knew exactly where all of my spots were, and he made sure to hit every single one of them. Most men were selfish when it came to sex, only caring about their own pleasure, but not him. He made sure that I came multiple times before he got his first one, which was something I had never experienced before.
That man brought my body more pleasure than I’ve ever dreamed about and it pissed me off, but I couldn’t get that feeling again. There was no man or toy that could duplicate the way that he made me feel. I would never tell him that because his ego was big enough. Instead of texting him back a message, I decided to send him a little something of my own.
Clearly, I must’ve been feeling myself because I was acting out of character. Dressed in a two-piece lingerie set, I angled the camera on top of my dresser before climbing to the middle of my bed. My toys were always close to me because you never knew when you might get that itch. Lately, I had been using my toys more than usual, and it was because I needed the feeling that only he could give.
Propping my legs on the bed, I spread them wide. My acrylic covered nails traveled lower past my belly button until I reached my clit. With my head tilted back, I used my fingersto swirl around my bud. The initial contact made me jump, and the images of him deep stroking me on his bathroom counter flashed through my mind. My moans grew louder and louder as I brought myself to ecstasy. After I finished, I took it a step further, licking my essence off my fingertips.
I clipped the beginning part of the video and then sent it to him with no caption. I’m not even sure what possessed me to do it when I knew that I would have to face him soon. However, there was no shame in my game, and if he wanted to get under my skin, then I was gonna do the same to him.
I continued getting dressed, even though he had yet to send me the address to the auto shop. After a few moments passed, I began to regret sending him the video. The overthinking side of my brain took over, and I began questioning whether I had gone too far. I was pretty certain that our attraction to each other was mutual, but what if I was wrong? What if it was only a one-time thing, and he really wasn’t as interested as I thought he was? What if he was showing it to all of his friends or posting it in the group chat?
By the time I finished getting dressed, there was still no response outside of the address to the shop. I wondered if he would even be there or would things end up being awkward between us. I guess it wouldn’t matter, considering the fact that we weren’t friends. We didn’t exactly run into the same circles outside of Murk, so the odds of me running into him weren’t very high.
Instead of getting a ride from one of my friends, I opted to Uber a ride to the shop. While I could have bought another car, this one held a lot of sentimental value for me. I worked my ass off to provide myself with the things I needed and that car was one of my first purchases.
As the Uber drove toward the auto shop, my mind went back to what happened last week. A part of me wanted to pack mybags and head to the nearest airport, but I had business to take care of. As soon as I got the money counted, I reached out to my father for the information on the loan sharks. I loved my father, but I didn’t trust him as far as I could throw him, and I refused to put that type of money in his hands. For all I knew he’d gamble that shit too and have both our lives in jeopardy.
I’d barely caught a wink of sleep since the night we left that house. My nerves were on edge waiting to hear any type of updates. While we lived in a larger town, news still traveled pretty fast. Even though I had no idea what his name was, I was certain that the topic of a shooting would come up eventually. I only took out the amount of money I needed for my father. The rest of the money was still in the bag tucked inside a tote in my closet. Majesty called my phone back to back last night, but I ignored her calls. Right now, it was in her best interest to keep her distance from me. She had gotten me into some bullshit, and I still wasn’t sure how things would play out.
I sent a message to Rob this morning to let him know that I wouldn’t be in for work. He cussed me out and told me that I better make sure that I was there by the weekend. I still wasn’t sure what to do next. A part of me wanted to take a vacation to get away from everything, but I also wanted to be close just in case something happened. Desperation placed me in a position I never wanted to be in, and now I found myself looking over my shoulder every time I stepped outside.
I couldn’t take my mind off the amount of money we found in the house. It reminded me of a scene from one of those mafia movies my grandfather used to watch. All I could picture was me being tied up in someone’s basement, being tortured while begging for my life. It might seem dramatic, but my intuition never steered me wrong. Unfortunately, in this case, I chose not to listen to my gut, so any consequences I suffered wouldbe rightfully earned. I think that was why I hadn’t touched the remainder of the money.
In all the hood movies I used to watch, the thieves would fuck up by flashing their money too soon. A lot of the men out here did the same thing. You could always tell when one of the Jackboys hit a big lick because they would come out with new designer threads, watches, and even cars. They didn’t think about the way it looked to the outside world and subsequently their victims. Growing up in the hood, I saw a lot of people die from simply being reckless.
I would much rather get it out of the mud before I beg, borrow, or steal from someone else. My circumstances caused me to make some stupid decisions, but I wasn’t grimy. I was simply a young woman trying to make her way in life.
“All right, ma’am, your total is going to be $2,865, and that includes the repair and the parts.”
“What the fuck? Where do you think I’m gonna get that kind of money? You see what type of car I drive!” The lady in front of me yelled as she stood in front of the counter. I couldn’t say too much about her situation because I didn’t know who she was. However, I would’ve been upset too. I’ve always heard bad things about auto shops, which was probably one of the reasons I hadn’t taken my car in for any type of repairs. My father always said that women should never go alone because they were more likely to take advantage of them.
“You need to lower your tone. I called you on Monday to confirm the price and confirm that it was okay to proceed withthe repairs. You gave me your consent and that you approved of the price over the phone. Now, if it was too much for you, you should have said something to us prior to the service being rendered.”
“Well, I don’t have that kind of money, so what am I supposed to do? I have three children, and I depend on this car to get us back and forth. I’m barely making ends meet as it is. If I pay you that kind of money, my children and I will be sleeping in that car by the end of the month.” The woman cried. My heart went out to her because I couldn’t imagine being in that situation while having children.
“If you don’t have the money, you won’t be able to pick up the car today. We can hold the car for up to two weeks, but then after that, it will go to the impound.” Although the man at the front desk was only doing his job, he didn’t seem to have an ounce of empathy or compassion for what she was going through. The only solution he had was for her to pay in full or lose her car in the end. I had some cash on me, and I considered giving it to her, but the sound of his voice interrupted my thoughts.
“Hey, Rondo, what seems to be the problem? I came out here to a pretty woman crying, and you know I can’t have that.” Soul stood there looking fine as ever wearing a pair of overalls that carried the company’s logo. It wasn’t until I saw him that I realized the name of the company was his last name as well. Taylor Auto Shop. Wow, I never even put two and two together. His eyes were soft and concerned, something I wasn’t used to seeing from him.
“There’s no problem, sir. The young lady is here to pick up her car, but unfortunately, she is unable to pay her balance. I’ve explained her options to her and?—”
Soul held his hand up to stop the man from speaking. His eyes peered over to the young mom as she held onto her sleeping child.
“How are you doing, miss? I’m Soul Taylor, the owner of this shop.” He held his hand out for her to shake. His smile almost made me blush, and he wasn’t even talking to me.
“Hi, my name is Iris. I’m sorry for causing a commotion, but I wasn’t aware that the repairs were gonna be so expensive. He says that we talked over the phone, but I don’t remember agreeing to anything like that. The payment is more than my rent and utilities put together.” Soul allowed her to speak her grievances while he eyed her sympathetically.
“How much are you able to pay today?” he asked with a warm tone.
“I can pay $700 today and then maybe get on some type of payment plan. I just picked up a second job, so it shouldn’t take me long.” She rambled as she adjusted the small child on her shoulder. I studied Soul as he stood there with an unreadable expression on his face. The women behind me were whispering about how fine he was and what they wanted to do to him, but I wanted to see his heart. Even though we were nothing more than two acquaintances, I needed to know what type of man he was at his core.
“Rondo, how much were the car parts by themselves?” Soul asked without even looking back at him. The man at the counter typed a few things on his computer before answering.
“Six twenty five.”
“Alright, bet. Here’s what we’ll do. You pay for the parts, and we’ll call it even.”
“A-Are you sure? I don’t want you to think that I was trying to take advantage of you because that’s not it at all. We’ve just hit a rough patch lately, and I’m trying my best to stay afloat. I don’t mind paying off my debt.” You could tell the lady was in shock by his offer, and it made me emotional to witness. The world we live in can be cruel, and it was nice to see people doing nice things for others.
