Page 26 of See No Evil

Hell yeah, I’m coming over tomorrow night…

His lips curled as his fingers practically beat his phone keyboard to death.

“A! Why do you look like the cat that ate the canary?” Axel interrupted his thoughts.

“Huh?” Legend quickly hit send, then slipped his phone back into his pocket.

“Don’t ‘huh,’ me, sneaky bastard.” Axel laughed. “Man, you were grinnin’ so wide, it almost looked obscene. Good news, I take it?”

Legend had been avoiding this conversation for a long while. It was going to go one of two ways. Axel would tease the shit out of him, because he spoke so badly about women and relationships the past couple of years ad nauseum, or he was going to try and get all into his business, make him spill his guts and confess he was a hypocrite. Hell, it was more realistic that it would be a combination of both.

“Since the time we were kids, Legend, only three things can make you grin like that—money, food, or pussy. Which is it?”

“Okay, check it. Hear me out, Axel. What I’m about to ask you is going to sound childish, but it’s been so long since I’ve felt like this, man, that I don’t even remember how it’s supposed to go.”

“Remember what?”

“I’m tryna tell you. So, before you were actually in love with English, when y’all were just datin’ and getting to know one another, when did you realize that, uh, there was somethin’ special between you? A spark? What tipped you off?”

Axel shifted his weight from one leg to the other, and his complexion deepened. Then, there it was—a seedy, all-knowing grin.

“I don’t want to be in a relationship, Axel, so stop lookin’ at me like that. I’m just asking because—”

“You lyin’ sack of shit. I wasn’t looking to be in a relationship when I met English, though I wasn’t opposed to it, either. Now here I am, three years later, married to the love of my life, and we got a son. Oh, shit… Mr. ‘Fuck Love’ stuck his foot in his mouth.”

“Axel… don’t start.” Legend held up his hand, and began walking in the opposite direction, trying to avoid direct eye contact.

“Who is she?” Axel hollered after him. “You’ve been keepin’ secrets, you fucker!”

He could hear the man running after him as his dogs jumped all around, excitedly playing with one another and causing a big fuss. Axel’s laughter echoed throughout the vast area, coming from all directions as he jogged away from the inevitable. Axel caught up with him, just like many things as of late, and as they looked at one another, they both burst out laughing.

Legend caught Trigger hunching down and taking a dump.Well, that pretty much sums it up. I’m in deep shit.Axel patted his arm, his eyes keenly on him. “Come on. What’s up?”

Legend took a deep breath, sorting his thoughts.

“I’ve been in school for a minute now, and, uh, there’s this girl. This woman.” He rubbed his hands together, feeling nervous for some reason. “I like her, man. We’ve been talkin’ a lot. Spending time together. We’ve got crazy chemistry. She said she only wants to be friends, but her actions, her words,everythingelse says otherwise. Normally I would bounce if a woman is playin’ games, being hard to get, but I think she’s just scared of getting hurt.” Axel nodded in understanding. “She’s feelin’ me. I can tell. We’ve got this almost magnetic connection. Finish each other’s sentences… she can understand me, and I can understand her. She didn’t judge me for my past, or rule me out. It’s like; she understands without me havin’ to explain everything. She makes… she makes it easy for me to just… talk.”

“Okay, so, let’s break this down. What do you know about her so far? Any concerns?”

“Uh, well, I could at least tell you her name. It’s Desiree. You probably don’t know who this is, but she looks like a young Debbi Morgan. Like, identical. About the same complexion, deep dimples, same eyes, lips. Only her body is much thicker…”

“I don’t know who Debbi Morgan is.”

“I figured you didn’t. She’s been in a lot of movies, but probably ones you never saw. She was on the show, ‘Power,’ too. Hold on.” Legend pulled out his phone, and first showed Axel a picture of Desiree. “This is Desiree.”

“Oh, yeah. Nice! I see why she turned your eye. She’s real pretty, man.”

“I know. Now, here is an old photo from 1991 of the actress Debbi Morgan…”

“It looks like the same lady!”

“I told you…” Legend smiled with pride. “My mama and grandma used to watch the soaps together, and I’d see her on the TV. I had a crush on her as a little boy.” He put his phone up. “So, uh… let’s see… Oh, she’s got a kid. A twelve-year-old daughter. I haven’t met Kaylee yet, because Desiree is careful about who she brings around her child, but from what I can tell, she seems like a good mother. I’m not going to lie though, Axel. My usual charm and shit aren’t working. We haven’t fucked yet, and it’s driving me crazy.” Axel looked genuinely surprised. “I know… I need my playa card revoked. I know she wants to, but she’s stalling. I leave her place so sexually frustrated; I feel like I’m going to explode. You might see me on the news tonight: ‘Man with freckles detonates from swollen blue balls.’”

Axel burst out laughing. Legend ran his hand across his mouth, practically drooling at the thought of her body. “Like, if I could put together my dream girl, she’d be it. She’s ambitious.We’ve got a lot in common, too. She’s been through some shit, Axel. She’s tough, but still soft, if that makes sense.”

“Yeah, I know exactly what you mean…”

“We’ll spend like two hours on the phone every night, but it feels like only a few minutes. Oh, I forgot to mention, she did let me speak to her kid on the phone once… only for a few seconds because her daughter asked who she was talkin’ to. She introduced me as a friend of hers from school.”

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