Page 72 of Lily In The Valley
Mav
Always. Pull up. Sending you the address.
The club was a haze of lights and heat and motion. Bass thumped from the walls like a second heartbeat, and bodies moved through the air thick with sweat, smoke, and perfume. I found Mav near the bar, surrounded by women, energy, and noise. He dapped me up, drink already in hand.
“You good?” he asked.
“No.”
He flagged the bartender down to bring me a shot. “Then fix that.”
I threw it back without asking what it was. Let it burn.
Music blared. Women laughed. One of them caught my eye, but I looked away. Not yet. Not ready. But then I saw her. Tasha. Thick thighs. Brown skin lit gold by the strobe light. Hair laid.Eyes lined with black caterpillars. She saw me before I saw her. Tilted her head like,Really?Here?Now? I didn’t blink. Threw back my fourth shot and made my way over.
She leaned in close, voice low and amused. “Didn’t think I’d see you out tonight? Where’s your entourage?” She looked around, waiting for a surprise popup that wouldn’t come.
I smirked. “No entourage. Just me tonight?”
She raised a brow. “That right?”
I smirked. “You looking for somebody that’s not coming.”
She stepped closer, closing the gap between us. Her fingers toyed with the hem of my shirt. “I don’t know. Last time, you said you free, then you ghosted me. I’m just trying to make sure your little shadow not coming out to play.”
I almost flinched at the mention of Kelly, but I played it off with a laugh and shrug of my shoulders. “Nah, ain’t no shadows. Just me.”
“Aww. Got your heart broken?” Her tone was syrupy sweet as she dug for information that didn’t concern her.
“You worrying about the wrong thing.” I smirked, dragging my eyes down and back up her body. “You busy tonight?”
“Depends,” she said. Her nails dragged up my body, from my belt to the chins around my neck. “You looking for company or consolation?”
I laughed. The first one that felt something like real. “You wild. Tell me what you trying to do.”
“You’re lucky you’re cute as hell.”
I leaned closer to her ear. “Cute? Come on, Tasha. You know I’m better than that.”
She paused, looking me in my eyes. “I don’t know. You seem a little dangerous.”
“Nah,” I said, licking my lips. “Never that.”
She bit the side of her cheeks, hesitating. When she slid her hand down my chest, fingers playing with the metal of my belt, I didn’t stop her.
“Come home with me,” she whispered into my ear, like it was a dare.
I didn’t hesitate.
Her apartment wasa mess of candles, incense, and chaos. But it was warm. Loud with color. Alive. We didn’t talk much. We didn’t need to. Clothes hit the floor. Hands gripped whatever they could find. This wasn’t love. Wasn’t even lust. It was something meaner. Heavier. A kind of mutual vengeance. A transaction of pain. She moaned my name. Clawed my back. Pulled my lip between her teeth like she wanted to take a piece of me with her.
And for a second, I let her.
After, I sat on the edge of the bed, pulling my jeans back on. My shirt was wrinkled on the floor. I didn’t say anything. Didn’t look at her. Tasha sat up against the headboard, watching me with eyes too clear for someone who was supposed to be casual about this.
“You can’t even look at me,” she said, laughing to soften the seriousness of her question.
I stayed quiet.
