c. 10
2609 Words
Just as I pulled the jersey fabric over the jumpsuit that hugged my body, Erica began banging on the door. I walked over to let both her and Keenan inside as I walked back to the mirror, humming along to Alicia Keys as she blasted through the speaker.
“ Okay, I see how you coming. “ Erica jigged.
“ Don’t gas me up. “ I tried not to smile. “ Are you guys ready? “
“ We waiting on you. “ she held up her phone as she snapped a few pictures of herself, grabbing Keenan and forcing him to smile. I reached for my wallet and my phone as we exited the room. We took the elevator door to the lobby and met Yvonne, my sisters’ friend, outside. We climbed inside of the SUV and began the drive towards downtown.
“ I will be the designated driver, so you guys can drink whatever you feel like drinking. “ she danced as she and Erica sang along to Tevin Campbell.
“ I’m good on that. “ Keenan sighed.
“ I second that motion. “
“ Are you two really not going to drink? This is Vegas! “ Erica turned around in her seat. “ Ya’ll will enjoy this weekend, especially if you leave it up to me. “
We shortly pulled up to the restaurant which was very nice. We walked inside, immediately being escorted to our reserved table. We sat down as the server greeted us and to order beverages. I scanned the menu and marveled at their choice of vegan cuisine. There were so many different dishes I had never heard of and they all sound so appetizing.
“ I told you I would take care of you, ‘Lijah. I gotcha’ drooling. “ Erica winked.
“ Get the whole damn menu if you want, it’s on the house. My husband is the chef here. “
“ Damn girl, you blessed. “ Keenan mumbled as we all silently agreed with assuring nods.
The waiter came around again to take our food orders. I settled for the vegan grilled chicken with vegan white cheddar mac and seasoned kale. As I handed the waitress my menu, I could have sworn I had seen Andrew’s ex-wife out of the corner of my eye, but I’m sure I was tripping out a little. I turned my attention to a quiet Keenan.
“ How’s everything going with you and ‘Mere? “ I started.
“ Wonderful. He took me to meet my mother and we almost had to call the police. “
“ What? Why? “
“ They were crazier than he explained. That was three months ago and they still won’t stop calling my phone. I’ve had to change my number twice. “
“ Damn, why didn’t you tell anybody? “
“ I don’t want to trouble you guys with my burdens. “ he shrugged.
“ I am your brother. Just like I told you earlier, I got you just like you got me. Don’t ever feel like you can’t talk to any of us. “
“ I know, I just.......nothing. How’s everything going with you? What are you working on? “
“ I have an idea, but I’m not quite sure about it yet. Still tossing it around. “
“ I’m sure it will be something great. “ he sipped from his glass of water. “ I’m proud of you. “
“ Thank you, Keenan. That means very much coming from you. “
We joked around, reminiscing our childhood memories until the waitress emerged from the kitchen with our food. We enjoyed our food, left adequate tips, and then headed back to the car and towards the strip club. The line was wrapped around the building, but as we expected, Yvonne had connections so we just walked right in. The small hints of perfume in the air and men crowded around the stage with their drinks caused me to focus as Erica and Yvonne led us to the bar.
“ Come on boys, take some shots. “ Erica demanded as she picked up another small glass and placed it to her lips.
“ I’m not........ “ Keenan was interrupted by Yvonne placing the glass to his lips as he drunk the liquid, turning up his mouth as she returned the small glass to the counter. I sighed deeply.
“ I’ll match you. Whatever you drink, I’m with you. “ I picked up the glass and smelled it first.
“ Come on now, baby boy, drink that s**t! “ Erica smiled.
I downed the shot, shivering from the sensation that it left in my throat and chest. I placed the glass down as the bartender placed more on the counter. I shook my head as Yvonne continued to feed Keenan the tequila as I did the same. Every moment after that was a blur. The only things I remember clearly were getting on the stage and twerking with the strippers, calling Andrew on the phone and crying about food, taking a stack of ones and tossing them in the air, and kissing a few of the dancers as I continued to indulge in the festivities. I remember walking out of the club and throwing up on the sidewalk as everyone in line laughed. I remember Keenan holding me back, barely, and stuffing me into the car so we could head back to the resort. I remember Yvonne helping Keenan and I toss Erica onto her bed before we struggled to leave the room. I remember Yvonne receiving a call and asking us if we were okay. I remember telling her yes. I remember looking at Keenan as he smiled at me. I remember my back against the wall as I looked up at him. His hands roaming my body. I remember his lips crashing into mine. I remember liking it. I remember him opening the room door and picking me up. I remember us falling on the bed followed by him wincing in pain from one of the gold pins stabbing him. I remember us laughing while he undressed me. And the last thing I remember is the pressure of his d**k sliding into me.
I immediately opened my eyes, the sunlight reflecting off the lampshade. I shuffled a bit before the cold air in the room gave me goosebumps. I could feel the bedsheets, damp. I sat up slowly, holding my head as everything slowly stopped spinning. I looked at the color of the walls and realized that this was not my room. My heart dropped. I didn’t want to even think about what I was thinking. I felt whoever it was in the bed move and grunt in a masculine way. But I knew that grunt. I slowly turned around as my eyes fixated on Keenan.
Lying there.
Naked.
The condom still on his semi-erect p***s.
“ f**k! “ I mouthed.
I scanned the room for my clothes. My jumpsuit was ruined. The zipper had been ripped away from the fabric, and the gold letters that were once attached were now scattered across the floor. A few of the pins as well. I picked up my drenched underwear, my mangled clothes, and my phone and wallet before easing out of the room. I didn’t care that I was naked. I bent my phone case backward as I pulled the room key out, sliding it in the lock and rushing inside. I slammed the door shut behind me and just stood there. I couldn’t even begin to process what could have happened. I tried to remember any small detail that came to mind, but I pushed that idea away when I could feel him caressing me. My phone began to vibrate in my hand as Andrew’s face lit up on the screen. I couldn’t answer it. I rushed into the shower, literally scrubbing myself clean of whatever I could. The guilt. The hurt. How could this happen? Why me?
Once I got out of the shower, I paced the floor until I could stop my thoughts from screaming out stupid solutions to this problem. I put on a white t-shirt and a pair of shorts, scurrying over to Erica’s room. I knocked on the door and she answered shortly. She chewed a piece of bacon in her mouth as I walked past her. She climbed back into the bed.
“ You don’t have a hangover? “
“ Pedialyte. “ she pointed to the purple liquid that sat beside her bed. “ I should be asking you that. “
“ I don’t, surprisingly. “
She returned to eating and watching the TV as if I was a tall piece of glass. I was trying to figure out how to say what I needed to say. I had to just come out and say it.
“ I think Keenan and I slept together last night. “
The reaction I expected her to have never arrived. I was confused. “ Are you sure? “
“ I don’t know, I........there was a cold spot in the bed, and my clothes were completely off. “ I panicked. “ He still had the condom on. “
She chuckled.
“ What’s funny? “
“ He and I slept together a while ago. “
“ Are you f*****g kidding me? “ I yelled.
“ Calm down, ‘Lijah. “
“ Don’t tell me to calm down. “ I began pacing the floor. “ How? “
“ We were in the moment. It was right after he found out that ‘Mere was his father. I took him out for some drinks, and then bam, right in the backseat. “
I sat down on the edge of the bed trying to process all of what she was saying.
“ It was bomb, Elijah. “
“ No, no, no, no, no. “ I shook my head. “ He’s our brother. “
“ He’s adopted. Correction, taken in. “
“ That doesn’t matter. He’s still the person that we go to when we have a problem. “
“ True, but you more than me. I’m not as close to Keenan as you are. “
As she spoke those words, the pieces of the puzzle began to all connect. It still didn’t make sense, but it all started to connect.
“ Besides, I think you have more important things to worry about. Elijah, you made forty thousand dollars last night. “ she shimmied.
“ What the hell are you talking about? “
She excitedly got up from the bed, reaching for the black duffel bag on the brown table, and placing it on the bed. I was afraid.
“ Go ahead and take a look, boo. “
“ Erica, what did I do? “ I almost cried.
“ I don’t know what Andrew did to your body, but you are flexible. That’s probably what got Keenan all worked up, you know, kissing all those women and men. “
“ Can we please stop acting like this is just a man off the street, this is Keenan. “
“ And Keenan gives some good d**k. “
“ I’m not going there with you. “
“ Come on, admit it? “ she teased me. “ He was good with that d**k. “
“ Erica...... “ I side-eyed her.
“ I will leave you alone if you just admit it. “
“ I don’t even remember anything, honestly. “
“ Stop lying and just say it. “
“ It’s...........it’s okay. It still needs a little work. “
“ Whatever. Andrew’s got that bougie d**k, huh? “
I watched her in disbelief. She was dead serious! How could she not see this was a problem? Or maybe I was blowing this out of proportion? No! I have a right to be confused and angry about everything that happened last night.
“ This is not okay, Erica. We have to talk to him. “
“ Really? “ she grinned. “ You think walking straight up to this man, after he knows damn well he has dicked both of us down, is logical? “
“ I don’t know. “ I stood up and paced the floor again.
“ Here’s what we’re going to do: we’ll play this by ear. If it comes up then we will discuss it. If not, we let it go. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. “
“ I am legally, but illegally married to a man that I deeply love. I’ve been dodging him since this morning. “
“ What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. “
There was this gut feeling confirming that wasn’t true. That even though I may not be the one to say anything, Andrew would still find out. Maybe it was the guilty conscience speaking but that would have to wait. Someone was knocking on the door and we both knew who it was.
“ Come in. “ Erica yelled as I shook my head.
“ I don’t have a key, silly. “ I walked over to the door and opened it. We made eye contact as he smiled at me. I stood to the side as he walked in and over to Erica, taking a piece of bacon off of her plate. “ Let’s go and get some brunch. “
“ I’ve already eaten. “
He then looked over at me as I awkwardly diverted my attention to the open curtains hanging over the window. “ I know you’re hungry, ‘Lijah. “
“ Not really. “
“ Oh, come on. “ he cooed. “ It’s right down the street, we can literally walk. “
I hesitated for a moment before my stomach gave him the exact answer he was looking for. He smiled, patted me on the back, and left the room. I looked over at Erica as she chuckled.
“ It’s a setup. “
“ I know. “ I turned on my heels to exit the room. Once I was back in my suite, I slipped on a simple shirt and short set, took care of my hygiene and took the elevator down to meet Keenan. He looked up from his phone, winking at me and adjusting his d**k in his grey sweatpants. At that moment, it all came to me. He knew exactly what he was doing.
He led the way to the restaurant as I walked about five feet behind him. My mind was still going with all of these questions and I was going to make sure I got my answers. We made it to the small café, walking inside and sitting down. After the young waiter took our order and the menu’s, Keenan just looked at me. He sat there with his hands folded and he looked at me. He then sighed, leaning back in the booth and crossing his arms.
“ Why me? “ I started.
“ Why not you? It’s just something about you, ‘Lijah, no man can deny it. " he smirked and I rolled my eyes. " I know you may think that it’s weird, but I find it sexy. “
“ Are you f*****g serious right now? “
“ Look, we are not related. It’s okay. “ he sipped his orange juice.
“ Regardless of what happened, you are still my brother. I can’t even look at you the same, Keenan, and I feel like you can't be trusted. “
“ That hurts, I won’t even lie. “ he flexed his jaw as he looked out the window. “ It’s not like it was intentional, okay? That’s why I didn’t want to drink, I knew this would happen. I’m comfortable with you. I know secrets about you that no one knows. Mixing those emotions with alcohol made me feel that you were mine. “
“ So you’re confused about your sexuality. “ I spoke in a ‘duh’ tone.
“ Not anymore. “
“ I hate your f*****g guts right now, Keenan. You know my love is with Andrew, and I feel like you made the choice to compromise that. You thought I was going to fall for you after last night? “
“ No, I just......I just want you to look at me differently. “ he reached out for my hand but I snatched away. “ Well, it’s not like you’re a saint. You weren’t against it. “
“ You......I.....no! That’s not how this is going down, bro. Don’t turn this around on me. “
I got up from the table and stormed off to the bathroom. I turned the faucet on and began splashing the warm water on my face. I grabbed a paper towel and dabbed my skin dry. I looked at myself and then down at the erection that I didn’t know I had. I rolled my eyes, trying to think of everything that turns me off, but nothing was working. I heard the bathroom door open, close and then I heard the lock turn. The footsteps slowly approached me and came to a halt once Keenan had me in his sight. He sucked his teeth and began to close in on me slowly. I felt the cold tile against my back as he pressed his warm body against mine. His plump lips seeming to throb as he looked down at me. My heart began beating faster and faster.
“ You know you can tell me to get off of you. “ he showed his perfect teeth as he raised his eyebrow. He licked his lips as I recalled how they felt on my brown skin. What the f**k was wrong with me?
“ We can’t do this, Keenan. This isn’t right. “
He hovered over me for about a minute before he nodded. He cupped my chin before walking out of the bathroom. I exhaled deeply and I began to cry.
That was the only thing that I could do.
- Writer
