The Ties That Bind (18 page)
Read The Ties That Bind Online
Authors: Electa Rome Parks
Christian and I were winding down because he had plans for later that night, which I’m sure included a woman. He didn’t tell me about his escapades like he used to. Also, I didn’t think there were as many anymore. I walked the short distance over to the dance floor to tell my wife good-bye and tell her she could hang out with her friends for a while longer if she wanted to. I was worn out and was going home to bed and some much-needed sleep.
Mia was still on the dance floor, giggling as they danced around with the only male in the bunch. I had seen him, actually all of them, around on base. I think his name was Malcolm. He was a tall, dark-skinned brother who already had a reputation on base as being a maverick. He had the usual arrogance that some of these hotshots projected. There wasn’t a lot of interaction going on between him and Mia because she was mostly talking to her girlfriend. I noticed Mia had a beer in her right hand; Mia usually never drank anything because she had seen the effects of alcohol firsthand on her mother, but tonight she was unwinding. That was cool.
“Hey, come here, baby,” I said as I gently pulled her into my arms away from the dance floor and noise.
“Listen, I’m beat, so I’m going home to bed, but you can hang out for a while if you want to.”
Mia looked at me with an expression of total, complete surprise because she thought I had come over to tell her it was time to leave.
She said, “Okay, if you are sure?” as she looked into my eyes and leaned her body seductively into mine.
I still had my arm around her waist. “I’m sure if you will give me a slow dance before I leave.”
Mia gave me this shy smile as I held her in my arms and we danced to the music. She felt and smelled so good. Fresh and innocent. And it felt so right with her in my arms. To be honest, I wanted to take her home with me and make sweet love to her. She had turned me on, and sex had been missing in our relationship lately, but a few minutes later Christian and I were out of there.
As soon as I hit the door, I was taking off clothes, leaving a trail down the hallway, and I went straight to bed and was out as soon as my head hit the pillow. For some reason, I don’t know what made me, but I woke up from my deep sleep around one a.m. according to the digital clock. I reached out for Mia and she wasn’t there. From the looks of her side of the bed, she hadn’t been there, either. I looked sleepily at the clock again and decided to call the bar, which didn’t usually close until around three a.m. on the weekend. I was worried and wanted to know what was up. I called the bar. The manager-owner, Curtis, was a friend of mine. He told me that I had just missed Mia. She had just walked out the door with Malcolm, and she was pretty buzzed. The other ladies had left at least two hours earlier. I lay back down and waited.
28
Mia
W
hen Malcolm dropped me off at the apartment I knew that Brice was going to be pissed, but I was hoping that he was sound asleep and I could slip into bed unnoticed. When my other two friends decided to leave, I wasn’t ready to leave yet because I was having too much fun. I hadn’t danced, laughed and had so much fun in a long, long time. I felt like a twentysomething person again. I felt young and not tied down with a mountain of problems. And the beer was also adding to my ecstasy since I wasn’t use to drinking. I knew I had a slight buzz, but I didn’t care. So when they left, Malcolm agreed to stay behind and make sure I got home safely. He wasn’t ready to leave either. Hell, Brice wanted me to enjoy myself, and it wasn’t really late yet. I was going to stay only another hour.
hen Malcolm dropped me off at the apartment I knew that Brice was going to be pissed, but I was hoping that he was sound asleep and I could slip into bed unnoticed. When my other two friends decided to leave, I wasn’t ready to leave yet because I was having too much fun. I hadn’t danced, laughed and had so much fun in a long, long time. I felt like a twentysomething person again. I felt young and not tied down with a mountain of problems. And the beer was also adding to my ecstasy since I wasn’t use to drinking. I knew I had a slight buzz, but I didn’t care. So when they left, Malcolm agreed to stay behind and make sure I got home safely. He wasn’t ready to leave either. Hell, Brice wanted me to enjoy myself, and it wasn’t really late yet. I was going to stay only another hour.
Malcolm and I talked and danced and the time just flew by. He was so easy to talk to and had all kinds of crazy tales about growing up in New Orleans. He said that even as a young boy he always wanted to be a Marine. He saw it as exciting and dangerous. I knew I was flirting a little too much, and his hands were “accidentally” landing and touching places where they shouldn’t when we were dancing, but I didn’t care. I was free. I didn’t have a care in the world.
Malcolm was very attractive and sexy. The brotha was a solid six-foot, with dark chocolate skin, bald head and these sensuous lips. He had it going on. Sex was nonexistent in my household lately mainly because I wouldn’t give Brice any. Sex was the one thing I could control unless he simply forced himself on me. So it had been a while and I was getting turned on. My nipples were hard as rocks. It had been a long time since a man other than my husband had made me feel attractive and sexy. I could tell by the sultry look in Malcolm’s eyes that he was definitely turned on. When the dancing and horsing around got a little out of hand, I decided he had better take me home. At one point, he had pulled me onto his lap and his hands were inching a little too far up my back and near my breasts. I could feel his hard-on through his black jeans, so I knew it was definitely time to go.
In the car, on the drive over to my apartment, Malcolm was talking nonstop. He was totally out of it. “Listen, Mia, I really like you. I mean . . . I know that you are married and all, but you know we hear rumors on base. Sergeant Matthews can be a cold-blooded muthafucka. He has a reputation on base—you don’t mess with him. When he was a drill sergeant, he made life a living hell for a lot of privates coming up through basic training. But you’ve got to give him his props. He’s the man. He’s well respected on base. I guess we have a love-hate relationship for him.”
“Why are you telling me all this?”
“Mia, like I said before, I like you. You can’t be happy with him. He’s too controlling. We are two adults, and from the vibes I’ve been getting tonight, you like me too. I could make you happy and make you feel good. No one would have to know. No strings attached. I wouldn’t want to get you in trouble with your old man.”
He was able to pick up on how unhappy and in need of love I was, so I couldn’t even be mad. I politely told him no thank you, got out of the car and ran upstairs to our apartment. As my no luck would have it, Brice was not asleep and was waiting for me. He didn’t waste any time.
“Mia, where the hell have you been? It’s almost one thirty.”
I didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “Brice, I was at the bar where you left me.”
“What could you have possibly been doing there after one in the morning?” he asked as he took a deep breath and tried to remain calm.
My next sentence was my big mistake. “I was hanging out with the girls and talking,” I said without looking at him, getting ready to go into the bathroom.
The next thing I knew, Brice jumped off the bed, grabbed me by the shirt and shoved me into the dresser.
“Don’t you even try to come up in here with those goddamn lies. I know that you left the bar with Malcolm.”
“What were you doing? Spying on me?”
“No, what were you doing, Mia? Do you want him to fuck you? Isn’t one soldier enough for you?” he asked as he approached me again. “I am so sick of your shit, girl.”
I don’t know what came over me. All I knew was that I couldn’t and wouldn’t let him hit me again. I couldn’t take it anymore. My instincts took over. I ran out the front door and down the steps, sobbing hysterically. I didn’t know where I was going, but I just kept running as if my life depended on it. I knew I couldn’t stop. I vaguely remember Brice running after me, but he wasn’t dressed, so he stopped at the stairway screaming for me to come back. I was murmuring, over and over, something about how I wasn’t going to let him hit me again.
I ended up frantically pounding and crying at Christian’s door. His neighbors must have thought a madwoman was in the building. I was crying and couldn’t catch my breath. Snot was running down my face, my sleeve was torn, but I kept banging on the door for Christian. I didn’t care what woman he had up in there. And I didn’t care what they were doing. I just had to get in, see him and feel safe and secure.
Christian finally opened the door with hasily pulled on pajamas, no shirt, looking sleepy and perplexed. I flew inside and into his arms. I had my arms around his neck, my head on his stomach, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Christian, I can’t take it anymore. He did it again. I can’t take it.”
“Wait a minute. Slow down,” he said as he led me over to his sofa. By now I had completely collapsed in his arms.
“Now, Mia, calm down. Tell me what happened,” he said as if he were talking to a baby while he smoothed my hair out of my face.
I took deep breaths to control myself and said, “It’s Brice again. He is so jealous, and he thinks that I have something going on with Malcolm, and he was mad and started pushing and shoving and was going to hit me, and I had to get away.”
Finally I was totally out of breath. “You were the only person that I could think of to come to.”
Christian sat back on the sofa with his hands on his head. “Damn, what the fuck is wrong with my man?”
By now I was sobbing softly and lying against his chest while he rubbed my back. “Christian, can I stay here tonight? I’m not going back over there. I don’t know what he might do.”
Christian looked at me like I had asked him to murder someone for me. He hesitated and said, “Okay, Mia. But first I have to call Brice and let him know that you are here. Okay?”
I didn’t say anything, so I guess he took that as a yes. He released me and walked over to the phone. He turned his back to me, and I really didn’t hear most of the conversation. The phone call was short and sweet and he hung up.
With a frown, he walked back over to the sofa where I was still lying. He looked as bad as I felt. “Christian, if you want me to go, I will.”
“Mia, I want you here. Really I do. It’s just that . . .”
“I know this puts you in an awkward position, what with you and Brice being best friends.”
“Mia, I’m your friend too.”
I sat there and thought about that for a few minutes. “You know, you always say that, but I know and you know that your loyalties and ties lie with Brice. I know that and knew that from the very beginning. But there is going to come a day when you are going to have to make a choice. Then what, Christian? What will your choice be?”
With that I got up and excused myself to his bathroom. When I got out, Christian had one of his long button-down shirts laid out for me to sleep in and a blanket and pillow on the sofa for himself.
“Thanks again, Christian,” I said as I came back from changing into his shirt. It smelled of Christian. Fresh, clean and masculine.
“You know I can’t put you out of your own bed. I’ll take the sofa. Please.”
“Are you okay now? Is there anything I can get for you?” Christian asked with deep concern etched into the frown lines on his face.
“No, I’m fine. I’m okay. Go to bed.You look tired and I’m sorry about all that stuff I said earlier. I was just talking crazy. You have been a good friend to me from day one.”
“Listen, Mia, if you want to talk, you know I’m here for you.”
I shook my head because I was afraid if I said anything else the tears would flow again and never stop. Christian took that as his signal to exit. After he was gone, I laid on the sofa, tossed and turned, unable to sleep. I tossed and turned back and forth. Finally, after about an hour of that, I got up and walked into Christian’s bedroom and pulled back the sheet, getting into bed next to him.
“Mia, what the hell?”
“Can I sleep in here? Please.”
“I don’t know. This isn’t right.”
“I need you right now. I just want to lie here next to you, that’s all. Nothing more.”
“Mia, Brice wouldn’t . . .”
“Fuck Brice. Think about me for a change and how I feel.”
“Okay, okay,” he said reluctantly as he covered me up with the sheet.
I snuggled under the sheet and slid my body over near Christian with my back to him, and there was complete silence for a few minutes.
“Christian?” I asked. “Could you hold me?”
He didn’t say anything. He simply put his arms around my waist and pulled me close into a spooning position, with his stomach pressed against my back. My shirt had come up around my waist, and my legs and panties were up against him and I could feel his warmth and his hardness, but nothing sexual happened. I remember saying good night and falling asleep safe and sound in his arms.
29
Christian
M
ia stayed with me for the remainder of the week before Brice convinced, begged her to go home. I don’t know what promises he made this time, but she went. He had called constantly the first few days, but Mia wouldn’t have anything to do with him, and my apartment looked like a floral shop.
ia stayed with me for the remainder of the week before Brice convinced, begged her to go home. I don’t know what promises he made this time, but she went. He had called constantly the first few days, but Mia wouldn’t have anything to do with him, and my apartment looked like a floral shop.
The first few days, we both pretty much stuck to our usual routines. Mia went to class and I went to work, but in the evenings she would have a hot dinner waiting for me and we would sit down and eat together. I even got her to laugh a few times.
After dinner we watched TV, read or just talked. A lot of times Mia would study while I sat in the living room just to be in her presence. I had already told Brice that he had to respect me and not come by my apartment and make a scene. Miraculously, he stayed away. My love for Mia grew stronger.
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