placed a hand towel over the commode so I could sit on it and dry off. The moment I bent over to dry my feet, I felt the pain shoot up through my side. My breath caught in my chest as I slowly sat back up to assess the damage. My ribs had turned a nasty shade of purple, and I wouldnât be surprised if one of them had been cracked. It wouldnât have been the first time. If it was broken, Iâd have to just deal with it, because the triage nurse had already made it clear that the next time I dotted that door, she was going to call the police on Jackie. She was a no-nonsense woman, and I wasnât ready to call her bluff.
âBaby girl.â
See, he had to go there. Baby girl is what he used to call me when we first started trying to build together. He called me that because he said he was going to raise me in the business like a father would his daughter, so that I knew the ins and outs of the game and could carve my own notch in the world. Well, if this is how he treats his other daughter, then his ass was an ACDC case waiting to happen. Still, when he called me baby girl in that silky voice, it did something to me.
âBaby girl, you donât know how sorry I am for what happened.â He scratched at the door like a wounded cat. âBetween Bilalâs mouth and that fucking purple haze, I just snapped. Gina, you know that haze is the damn devil in a dime bag, especially that shit from Uptown.â He was trying to get me to laugh, and my dumb ass had the nerve to even crack a smile. âBaby girl, I know what I did was fucked up, but when you sided with that nigga, I just saw red and snapped.â
No the fuck he didnât. With the towel wrapped around my waist and my breasts swinging freely, I stormed across the bathroom and snatched the door open. âSided ⦠I sided with Bilal?â I snapped at him. âJackie, it was a freaking sandwich, and I extended the offer to everyone in the living room, including you!â I jabbed my finger into his chest.
âGina, lookââ
âNo, you look!â I dropped my towel. âLook at my sideââ I pointed at the bruise. ââlook at my faceââ I pointed to the throbbing point on my cheek. âLook at my hair!â I snatched the towel off my head so he could see the mess heâd made of my new hairdo.
For a while, Jackie just stared at me as if my bruised body were someone elseâs handiwork. He reached at me, but I backed away. I tried to storm around Jackie, but he grabbed me by the arm. When he tried to spin me around, I slapped him across the face, surprising both of us. Jackieâs eyes flashed rage as he pulled me to him, and I tensed up for the blow that I was sure was going to follow, but Jackie didnât hit me. Instead, he hugged me to him and kissed me. He started with my head and moved to the bruise on my face before kissing a trail down my body.
âGet off me, Jackie, I hate you!â I said harshly, trying unsuccessfully to pull away from him. âI hate you for what you did to me,â I sobbed.
âI hate me for what I did to you, too, baby girl.â When Jackie looked up at me and I saw the lone tear twinkling in his eye, I was in love all over again.
Iâm still not sure how it happened, but I ended up lying on the floor while Jackie planted soft kisses on my face. With one hand, he held both of mine pinned above my head while he explored me with the other. Every spot on my body that Jackie touched came alive with the intensity of a hundred suns, and I soaked it all in. When his fingers slipped inside me, I almost bit my tongue off. His prodding was aggressive, but not clumsy like a man looking for change in the couch. Jackie could be a brute with most things, but he knew my body and what it took to please me.
In no set pattern, Jackie ran his tongue over my collarbone and made his way down, giving each nipple equal attention. Blowing softly on the
Mandy M. Roth, Michelle M. Pillow