Alfonzo (20 page)

***

Freddie
watched from a safe distance. The block
was very a
ctive.
A party was taking place at the home. He didn’t venture too close although the darkness helped shield his identity. He saw the
burly figures
get into a car and pull off followed by those detectives.
I
nstantly
,
he s
topped to let the mutt pee before continuing
down the block.
He strolled casually past the house to assess areas of weakness and found three.
The door to the brownstone opened and he
peeped
inside.
There were s
tairs in the foreground and possibly a living-room entryway on the right.
The mutt barked at a bespectacled kid standing on the steps.
“
Shhhhh
.”
He cautioned and tugged on the leash.

The mutt sniffed the ground as it walked.
Stupid
fuckin
’ dog!

Headlights at his back propelled him forward. The area was busy tonight, he’d
review other options.
He
’d been
paid for the job
and
sure he could leave, take-off with the money but this
became
personal. The Diaz punk left scars. Each time he peeled away his clothes he
’d see
the cut. His father scarred him once and the bastard paid for it. Yeah, he’d make him pay and his little girlfriend!

At the next block he tied the mutt to a fence then disappeared.

***

Shanda was sitting on the couch, arms crossed
and
eyeballing her best friend, “You’re seriously going, even after everything my dad told you about him?”

“I don’t care, I’m going!” Selange exclaimed.

Eversince, she started hanging with
Alfonzo,
Shanda
was on
a mission to discourage her from dating him. She enlisted the help of her father of all people. Selange didn’t understand her friend’s s
anctimonious
attitude especially since many of her male acquaintances were pot smoking thugs. Alfonzo wasn’t like those guys despite what Shanda or her father said.
Alfonzo
awakened
an
emotion
she
hadn’t felt before
with any guy. Besides, s
he didn’t want to continue searching in the dark for answers
. How long was it going to take for her life to return to normal,
months,
maybe
years
? Well, she decided she wasn’t going to mope around, feeling sorry for herself. She had to start living and Alfonzo made her feel just that…alive.

The nights were
difficult.
She didn’t want to
sleep
alone with the nightmares. She needed someone who understood how she felt. Alfonzo
was the only one who did.
She found a
semblance of normalcy
with him and enjoyed his company. Sure, h
e was tough on the outside but he was nothing like Jay. He wasn’t a thug.
He
was a
perfect gentleman on dates and displayed a sense of humor, something unexpected due to his stern demeanor.

“
My father’s saying
he’s
a drug-dealer
and
there are
people trying to kill him
.”

“Give me a break, as many drug-dealers you hang
around
and
your dad’s
stressing
over
my
friend.
Jay’s a hood-rat and you’re all mushy-mushy with the dude and you have the nerve to be clocking me, a
re you
guys
serious?
”

“
We’re
trying to look-out for you
.
”

“
Shanda
I
appreciate the concern but he’s your dad not mine
and he’s got his priorities twisted
.”
She replied indignantly.
How dare Mister Johnson try to influence who she dated when he couldn’t control
his own daughter.

Shanda
tossed
her natural-looking weave
over her shoulder
.
She was doing th
at
a lot eversince she came from the salon. She wasn’t accustomed to the length
,
yet
,
“
Selange
chill
, don’t get bent out of shape.” Then she changed the subject, “Jay’s coming over tonight. How do I look?”

“You look good
Sha
’, you know you do!
”

Selange grabbed her purse,
“Is it okay if I take your car. I
do
not
want unnecessary attention tonight?”

Her friend
shrugged,
“ Go
ahead
. I plan to hang out here anyway.”

Selange
rushed through
the
kitchen door and headed out t
o the garage. She was late. Alfonzo’s
birthday party
started over an hour ago
.
She ran her hands down the back of the
sexy Vera Wang sleeveless dress
careful not to wrinkle it as she got inside Shanda’s car.
Tonight s
he dressed to entice
. S
ecretly
,
she
hoped Alfonzo
c
ouldn’t resist her
..
.
because it was getting hard resisting him.

Lights danced along the topiary as the car rolled away.
Shanda rushed to the window
.
H
er friend already rounded the cul-de-sac,
“Oh shit
, I forgot to
tell
her
a
guy
named
Freddie
called
!”

CHAPTER TWENTY—
ONE

Alfonzo’s
cousin
Jessica answered the door and
quickly ushered Selange inside to join the other guests.
The place was packed; r
evelers danced to rhythmic salsa music
, swaying effortlessly to the
infectious beat.
She twisted her body to the side as she navigated through the crowd
s
earching out the birthday man. She clutched the small gift box smiling at familiar faces until she emerged near the kitchen. She lost Jessica and peered in the kitchen.

A
l
fonzo’s aunt
Carmen
waved, “
Hola
Selange! M
ira Maria
que
ella
está
aquí
!”

“Selange hello.
Alfonzo’s downstairs
with the others waiting for you!
” Maria shouted over the
loud
music
. Her high heel shoes clicked atop the terracotta floor as she carried the tray of
quesadilla’s
to the enormous center counter where u
sed copper pots hung
from a black metal display rack. She sat the tray down beside the other selection of colorful food and wiped her hands on a dish towel.

“It smells really good
Miss Diaz
are you sure you don’t need my help?
” Selange
asked
.

Maria covered the quesadillas with cellophane then removed a steaming pan from the oven.
“No…no…you go have fun. I’ll send down food.”

“Si,” Carmen interjected.

The women laughed as Selange departed.
“What a beautiful young woman. Alfonzo has good taste.” She heard one of the women remark.

Alfonzo took another sip of Bollinger and turned
toward
the staircase w
h
e
n
a certain pair of legs came into view. He recognized them immediately
.

“Whoa, who’s that?” One of his buddies exclaimed.

Alfonzo smiled, “Back-off,
she’s with me
.” He said proudly
when Selange
came into view.

She spotted Alfonzo in the dimly lit basement at the bar with some friends
and he smiled
.
He stood out in the crowd of people in his cream short sleeve shirt and dark trousers. His arm gripped the edge of the bar as he turned on the stool to await her approach.
His friends stared
and
she
blush
ed
under the
ir
scrutiny
but
sashayed
in his direction with the confidence of a runway model.

Alfonzo checked her out
grinning,
she looked hot in the form fitting sleeveless dress and high heel shoes which displayed her killer legs. He played it cool
and
the muscle in his neck puls
ed u
nder the strain.
The guys slowly dispersed covertly nodding
their approval.

“You better keep this one,” Horatio whispered as he relinquished his spot near Alfonzo.

She waved at them before taking the empty stool at his side
and announced
, “Happy Birthday.”

He felt hot or was it
the
liquor
causing the heat
?

“
Thanks babe, you look
ni
-i
ce
.” He
responded checking her out from head to toe
.

“So do you.” She lifted the small box, “I have a gift for you
.”

“I was hoping for a different type of gift first,
“ he
said and got off the stool and stood over her.

“Oh really?”

She blushed and he thought it was cute.
He spread his arms on either side of her, hands pressed against the counter, trapping her on the stool. The small gift box sat on the counter ignored as he stretched his neck to kiss her.
His mouth demanded a response and she acquiesced with timid passion.
He retracted his mouth, “Best present I ever got.”

A romantic song played on cue.
P
eripher
ally
she noticed several
people
move to
the dance floor
as she
pushed the box
toward
him, “Don’
t you want to see what it is
?”

“Okay,” he smirked then
unwrapped
the
case and opened it. His smile faded as
he
removed
the expensive
platinum Rolex watch.
He hadn’t expected something this expensive. “This…this is
really
nice
, thank you
.
Mucho gracias.
”

“I noticed your other watches but I haven’t seen you with a Rolex.”

She paid attention to fine details. His collection of timepieces did not include a Rolex, she was right.

“Do you really like
it,
your initials are inscribed
inside
.”

He removed his
Patek
Philipe
Celestial
w
ristwatch and
replaced it with her gift.
“I love it, seriously thank you…come here.” He hugge
d her tight
with one arm
and shoved his more expensive Swiss timepiece in his pocket. “Come dance with me.”

She stood taking his hand and he backed out on to the floor with the others.
His arms
went about the slim waist as he moved with her to a slow song.
“You could
’ve
brought your friend Shanda.”

“She has a date.”

His eyes went dull, “Jay?”

“I guess.”

Alfonzo’s hands slid to her hips, “The dude is trouble.”

She didn’t come to discuss Jay and changed the topic,
“So birthday boy did you get everything you wanted?”