Daniel

Something about the latest encounter I had with Terri was strange. Granted, every encounter with her is quite unusual, but what just happened seemed way out of the norm for her. She seemed weak and helpless. Those two observations alone sent me over the edge. Instead of being hurt and confused about why she chose such a horrible time to go out on a date, I stayed around to see what this date was all about. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think the woman was in trouble. The way she put so much emphasis on how she was protecting me made me think about our relationship at first; but now that I think about it, there could have been a more obvious in-your-face situation that I needed protection from.

Punctuality is an important thing for Terri, but the shakiness in her voice as she expressed what time she was expected to be ready led me to believe that she was frightened. Someone--could be anybody, was out there threatening my woman, and she wanted me to simply sit back and be left in the dark about it. Of course it didn’t surprise me because she couldn’t help but to treat me like a child when in reality she’s the one who needs to be nurtured and looked out for. Terri is a strong independent woman, I’ll give her that, but she definitely has her childish moments. And for a woman of forty years, it shouldn’t have to be like that. The more I got to be around her made me realize that the large gap between her early twenties and now was full of emptiness and the repetition of the same old dry routine. Sure, Laila was there for her for a little while, but that was it. She had no one there to push her to become a better version of herself. Laila is obviously too scared to really say what’s on her mind sometimes, just like all of the other people who work around Terri and that’s the exact opposite of what she needs in her life.

I sighed as I stood perched behind one of the thick brick walls of her four-story apartment complex. Hiding what I really felt inside was not one of my strong points…as well as leaving things as they were--especially if I don’t feel comfortable doing so.  For a split second, I felt like one of those weird stalker boyfriends but according to her I wasn’t her boyfriend and since this is the first time I’ve ever done something like this I wouldn’t label myself with such a treacherous word.

The sound of hard footsteps began climbing the stairs in the direction of her tiny balcony at precisely 8:28. The man who owned the steps came into sight as the light on the porch hit him. He was tall—taller than me. He had on an all black outfit so it was a little difficult trying to decipher exactly what the hell he had on. I watched as the mysterious man literally counted down the seconds until he could bang on her door.

Terri opened the door looking stunning as usual with a black skintight dress on. What caught me off guard was the look of discomfort and anxiety in her eyes. Her mouth carried an obviously fake smile but her mannerisms were full of hatred. Was it hatred for the man she was about to go out with or hatred for something that previously happened in her life? Like when I just confessed my undying love for her.

I backed my body up against the wall and inched my ear as close to them as possible in order to get a better understanding of what they were saying.

The man had a rich deep voice. So rich that I could barely make out what he was saying. All I could hear was a throaty chuckle.

What Terri said was loud and clear, even if it was in a desperate whisper. “Can we go ahead and get this over with?”

And with that, I stealthily followed them to their destination.

Terri

“Are you not enjoying your soup? I think it’s absolutely delectable!” Jerome exclaimed, showcasing the smile I once fell in love with. Ever since we got in the car and traveled into Beverly Hills to this annoyingly fancy restaurant, I had a permanent scowl etched on my face.
“It’s hard trying to enjoy something when you practically have a gun pointed at my crotch” I said a little to loudly, planting my eyes on the extravagant sweet corn soup. The small black nine-millimeter gun made an appearance as soon as I made an attempt to scream for help. Jerome took the long crème colored tablecloth as an opportunity to mask his true intentions. To anyone else, we probably looked like an average middle-aged couple out on our monthly date night. Deep inside, I knew Jerome wasn’t going to shoot me if I got up, but I really didn’t want to test him.

“I wouldn’t have it there if you were being cooperative” he said through clenched teeth.

“This whole thing you’re doing is so outrageous. I don’t want to be here and you forcing me against my will is only making me more pissed off. Once you’re done with this little tirade, I will make sure to have you locked up for many years to come.”

“I’d love to see you try. Matter of fact, go right ahead. I’ll just let you know beforehand that I’ve got a few police officers on my side. A few of my buddies helped to throw this shindig together. Isn’t that great?”

You’ve got to be kidding me..

Out of pure desperation and despair, I sighed and wiped away my forthcoming tears. “Jerome, please” I choked out a sob. “Just let me go. I finally have my life at a good point. Why can’t you let me be happy? Why are you making me relive my past, huh?”

“Why is it that you think you can move on and act like nothing happened? I already told you, Ter. You are going to pay me back what I lost.”

“What the hell are you talking about? Stop being so fucking vague and get to the point! This whole act is getting tiring. I just wanna go home.”

“The way those motherfuckers beat me into human pulp was something that I’ll never forget.” His whole demeanor suddenly transformed into something softer. He then focused his eyes onto his appetizer, some type of basil-based tomato salad.

My heart sank into my chest. What on earth…?

“Who, Jerome? Who are you talking about?”

I was abruptly interrupted by a set of waiters who showed up to place our next courses of food onto the table. As they placed the Squid-Ink Farfalle Pasta with Maine Lobster in front of my place setting and the Grilled Tandoori Quail in front of Jerome’s my eyes never left his. He looked so distraught after what he finally confessed. I was baffled. I wanted to know what in the hell he was talking about. Who beat him up? And why was I being punished for another person’s actions?

Daniel

After I handed my keys over to the valet, I strode into the fancy establishment and walked straight up to the hostesses. Three teenage girls, all of different races, were engaged in a discussion about a guest they had just seated. Upon my arrival, the tallest one stopped talking and greeted me. The others followed shortly behind her.

“Welcome to Tago. What’s the name under your reservation?”

I looked between the three of them and gulped. Shit, I didn’t think this far into it.

“Uh…well, uh-“

“Are you Daniel Jones?!” the petite Asian asked in an outburst. Her dark brown eyes instantly widened at the sight of me.

Unsure what to say and being completely surprised that someone recognized me so early in my career, I began fumbling over my words again. “Y-yes. But um-“

“Oh my god. I’m such a huge fan! Can you please sign this paper for me? I-“

“Sarah!” the olive-toned one finally spoke up. “Not on the job. You know we’ll get in trouble!”

As the three of them began to argue about something irrelevant, I cleared my throat and made a movement that showed I didn’t have much time on my hands. “Ladies. Is there any way I can get in this place without a reservation? My…uh, my friend is in there and I need to talk to her. It’s really urgent.”

“Well…we do have a table near the kitchen. No one ever wants it unless it’s a full house” the Asian one said with hope in her eyes.

I smiled at her willingness to help. “I don’t care if I have to sit on the floor. I need to get in that dining room.”

“You’re lucky, Daniel” she said with a spark in her eyes. “Although I’d voluntarily lose my job if that meant helping you out, there’s only two more names on the reservation list and their tables are still open.”

“Sweet.” I flashed a smile, making all three of them blush. “I really appreciate this!”

Before one of them could guide me to the table, I signed a piece of paper from the guestbook and gave them one last appreciative smile.

Terri

Right as the waiters walked away, I unconsciously adjusted my seating position, making Jerome’s gun dig between my knees. My eyes widened. That was way too close for comfort. My heart began to race all over again. “Can you please move that thing? It’s making me nervous.”

“Not until I trust you.”

“You can trust me. I won’t go anywhere. You grabbed my attention when you mentioned something about someone hurting you.”

“Mmhmm…” he skeptically drew out. I blew out a breath of relaxation as he lowered the gun and brought it back towards him.

“Please finish. I would like to know what I’m being accidentally blamed for.”

“Accidentally? Hardly! You made them do that to me!” I could tell that he was beginning to get frustrated with me and I didn’t know why. He was the one throwing around all of these obscene accusations.

“Do what?” I calmly asked, although I wanted to scream. This was getting nowhere..

What I saw from the corner of my eye made me nearly fall out of the black wooden chair. Daniel was excusing himself trying to get to a place at the back of the room. What the hell was he doing here? Did he follow me?!

Jerome noticed that something behind him caught my attention so of course he turned around and began searching for whatever I was looking at. “What is it?” he asked.

“The guy you have watching me.” I instantly began to form a lie. “He’s creepy. Did you have to drag him along?”

“Yes” he simply stated. His eyes darkened.

“Sorry” I cleared my throat and dabbed the napkin across my mouth. “I didn’t mean to stop the conversation like that. Now can we get back to what we were discussing?”

The moment Jerome turned around to be nosey a few seconds ago gave me time to catch Daniel’s eyes. He looked at me sympathetically. As if he knew all about the situation I was currently in..

“Do you remember the guy you lived beside in 1997? The guy who always wore those ripped up jeans and colorful baseball caps?”

“Demetrius? Of course I remember him.” I smiled at the thought of my sweet old neighbor. After I kicked Jerome out that dreadful day, he came over to console me—even though we barely talked before the incident. I had always found him cute with his short chubby self. Every month, he would hold a house party in celebration of another semester of college being completed. He’d always invite me to them, partially because he felt obligated to since I was his neighbor and all. Of course I’d have to turn him down due to my exhaustion from having to work two jobs and dealing with school at the same time.

That’s when it hit me.

Jerome was insinuating that Demetrius, my sweet Demetrius, was the one who supposedly beat him up.

“No…Demetrius?” Oh c’mon…he couldn’t hurt a fly, I told myself. “No…”

“Yes. I came to your place the next day to apologize and make up for what I did to you but you weren’t home. I guess the little brute heard my knocks and decided to come out and make your business into his business. I couldn’t even get a word out before he knocked me out. He must have had a few friends over at the time because they joined in on the action.”

“Oh my god”

“I woke up on the side of a ghost road somewhere in Oregon.”

Once again, my heart sank in my chest. My eyes just couldn’t help but to alternate between Jerome and Daniel, who was casually sipping on a glass of champagne while observing us. I felt like I was living in some sort of dramatic romance movie, with half of the romance of course.

“Wow, Jerome. I am so sorry that happened to you.”

“Don’t feel sorry for me now, bitch-“

“Don’t call me that.”

“That’s what you are. No normal person gets her thug—a guy she’s been leading on for God know how long—to handle her dirty laundry for her.”

“Well actually..” I stopped myself from being a smartass and got back to what he was suggesting. “Look, first of all…no normal person does what you did to me all of those years ago and comes back to threaten my life in such a manner like this. And second of all, I had no fucking idea Demetrius was going to go off on you like that. I had nothing to do with it!”

“I don’t believe you. It makes perfect sense.”

“It does, you’re right…but I didn’t do it. You’ve got to believe me. I wanted to initially strangle you until your last breath when you told me you gave me gonorrhea, but I never told anyone to beat you up. I swear.”

“I-I…I don’t believe you, Terri.”

“Let’s be hypothetical here. What if I did do it? Why would you come find me so many years later? How do you know so much about my life?”

“I’ve been watching you for the past five years. It took me a while to make something of myself-“

“You’ve been watching me? Like…stalking me?”

“In a way.”

“But why?”

“To see how I was going to destroy you, of course…but you’ve already been destroying yourself.”

“What?” I whispered.

He looked at me with a smirk on his face. “I’ll just put it like this…if your life was capable of being put up for auction, no one would want it.”

“I seriously doubt that, Jerome. I’d like to think I’m doing pretty good for myself.”

“I’m speaking in terms of your personal life. Everything that includes romance, socialization, and the mental aspects of it. Think about it…the more successful you’ve become, the more lonely you’ve gotten.”

“That’s not entirely true.”

“Right. You have that red-headed girl as a friend, but it’s so obvious that you’ve been missing a huge chunk out of your life. A companion. That is until that little pasty thing you call a boyfriend showed up.”

“Stop right there” I nearly growled as I squinted my eyes. “He has nothing to do with this. I’ve already told you and this is the last time I am going to repeat it. I had nothing to do with you getting beat up! But honestly, I would have loved to have a front row seat.”

Daniel

It was hard trying to understand exactly what was going on at that table but I knew for sure that Terri was in trouble. Every time we made eye contact, it looked like she was silently crying out for help. I noticed that she was clenching her teeth and struggling quite a bit as she conversed with the man. As I continued to pay more attention, I also noticed that he was only using one arm to eat while the other was tucked under the table.

What was that all about?

Minutes and minutes passed before Terri began getting riled up. I saw her attempt to get up from the table but he leaned over and whispered what I can only assume was a threat into her ear because she sat down immediately. Getting up to check on her was an idea I threw out the window because I had a feeling things were about to get real nasty. There’s a reason why I decided to come in stealth. Even if she had noticed me, he didn’t.

I waited for their desserts to come before I called the police.

“911. What is your emergency?”

“Yes. My friend is on a date and I think she’s being held hostage.”

I paused to reflect on how ridiculous that just sounded but then I caught another glance at Terri. Lord help me if what I’m doing is wrong and random . This thing could turn out into two possible ways: I’m right and I’m her hero for the night or I’m wrong and I end up looking like the stalker I previously mentioned.

“Sir?” The operator tore me from my thoughts. “Why do you think she is being held hostage?”

“I know this is going to sound crazy, but please hear me out” I began biting the nail off from my thumb. How the hell do I put this into words without sounding like I’ve gone mad? “I followed her to a restaurant because her behavior was really suspicious earlier. Now she’s out with this guy who I’ve never seen her with or heard her talk about-“

“I’m gonna cut you off right there, sir. You’re calling 911 because you’re stalking your friend?” The lady almost sounded like she wanted to laugh. I’d probably find it hilarious too if I were in her shoes because trying to describe this was a pain in the ass.

“It’s not like that. The man is throwing threats at her left and right and I have reason to believe that he’s got a gun hidden somewhere under that table.”

“A gun?”

“Yes. I can’t see it, but I know it’s there. Whether you believe me or not, it’s about to get really ugly in here. I refuse to just sit back and watch the woman I’m in love with be tortured by some sick son of a bitch.”

“Look” her tone instantly became serious. “I can send an officer on patrol to check this situation out, but I urge you to stay put. You don’t know the full situation. And if she really is being threatened, you do not know what this man is capable of. Do you hear me?”

“Yeah…alright. But if your men aren’t here in thirty minutes-“ The appearance of a police officer grabbed my attention. He was sitting at a table all by himself. He wasn’t in uniform but he was equipped with a badge and a gun holster. “Wait. I see an officer who’s already here. He’s staring at their table. Don’t you think that’s weird?”

“Are you close enough to get a name for me?”

“Um…not exactly. He’s not in uniform.”

“Okay. Sir, the only thing I can do for you at this point is sent an officer to console you-“

“But-“

“If something happens between the time the officer gets there and now, don’t hesitate to dial 911 again. Okay?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“No problem. He should be there in no less than fifteen minutes. You have a good night.”

“Same goes to you” I replied before hanging up.

What if I was really in over my head about this? My gut instinct was telling me that I needed to act quickly, but my brain kept making me second-think. Terri would never speak to me again if I messed her night up, but then again she would have been gotten up and cussed me out for being here in the first place.

Fifteen minutes passed and there was no sign of a cop appearing. I gave him a few grace minutes but it was a still a no show. You’d think the cop that was already here would at least check the situation out.

Terri and her mysterious date were still firmly seated with no indication of being ready to get up. So taking the initiative, I stood up and walked over to the table where the undercover police officer was seated. The middle-aged officer who was pretty bulk and had a greying beard, looked up at me in confusion.

“May I help you?” he asked, flicking his eyes between mines and their table. I looked back at them. Terri was facing us and her date’s back was to us. Her expression was full of shock but not enough to get him riled up.

I boldly slid the extra chair out and sat in front of him. “Are you a cop?”

“Yes” he said before nervously clearing his throat.

I cocked my head to the side and smirked. “Don’t you think it’s odd that I called the cops about twenty minutes ago and I still have yet to see anyone show up?”

“Son, that’s none of my business. I’m off duty.”

“Says the guy who has a holster and a badge. And don’t let me forget that oh so very obvious radio you’ve got going off every two minutes”

“What do you want?” he asked coolly, but was clearly annoyed.

I leaned in closer to his face and crinkled my eyebrows together. “I want to know why you’re telling your police buddies to back off. I called in an emergency and I find it very disrespectful that I am blatantly being ignored.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. All I do know is that you need to back up or we’ll be having an issue, son.”

“I’m not your son. And if you don’t do something about this, I will take matters into my own hands and the peaceful atmosphere of this restaurant will be ruined.”

“I don’t want to have to escort you out of here, but I will.”

“For what? I’m simply talking to you in the calmest voice I can muster up, considering the fact that my friend over there is being held hostage.”

He let out a hearty chuckle. ”What the hell makes you think that?”

“Look at her. Pay attention to her mannerisms. I know her better than anyone and she’s not acting herself. Matter of fact, do you think that’s the face of a happy woman on a date?”

“What are you? Some type of jealous boyfriend? I’m sure the woman can handle herself” he chuckled out, once again. Of course I’d be mocked..

“I’m helping her. Fuck this…”I mumbled as I raised myself out of the chair and began walking over to their table. Terri’s eyes grew wider with each step I took, forcing her mysterious date to see what the hell she was looking at. He caught eye of me and smirked, as if he were expecting me. The officer, who I suspected to be crooked, was right on my heels.

I was the first to speak. Her date, a darker-skinned black man looked up at me; challenging me with an eye duel. “Terri, you’re coming with me.”

“I don’t know what you’re doing here, but you need to leave” she nervously replied with pleading eyes.

“I am not leaving this place until I have you by my side!” That brought a few curious stares our way. To the innocent bystanders, I’m sure I looked quite odd with such a casual outfit on. “You need to come with me. Now.”

“She obviously doesn’t want to come with you so I suggest you back the hell up or there will be consequences” said her date.

“Terri, c’mon” I pressed, staring deep into her eyes. Without thinking, I grabbed her by the arm and began pulling her up. That’s when I heard it.

The gun.

It clicked.

I don’t know how I heard it amongst all of the guests in the building, but I did. I heard him chamber the round, putting it into position to fire.

Right as I was about to do something about it, the crooked officer touched my shoulder and forced me to face him, making me let loose of Terri’s arm. “I think you need to leave with me before you cause a scene.”

“I’m not leaving anywhere!” I roared. This whole act was beginning to piss me off. Nearly everyone, including the guests out on the patio, jerked their heads towards me. In order to get my job done, I had to first prove that he had a gun so I wouldn’t look like an idiot and I had to get Terri to safety.

Swiftly, I pushed the officer away from me and raised the tablecloth. Right in front of my eyes, I saw Terri’s beautiful brown legs trembling and the silver semi-automatic gun pressed firmly against her knees.

“Gun!” I screamed as loud as I could. “He’s got a gun!”

As soon as that came out of my mouth, it didn’t take long for everyone to react. Within seconds, dozens of people shot out their chairs screaming and rushing out of the restaurant’s designated exits not caring about their bills or who was in their way.

Reacting quickly, I grabbed Terri and pulled her up. Tears fell from her eyes as I ran out of the restaurant with her by my side.

Terri

I couldn’t believe Daniel did that. I remained in a state of shock as we pulled up to his apartment complex. He insisted we go to his in the case that Jerome was on the lookout for me.

“What a night” he exhaled with a half-smile, attempting to lighten the mood.

Instead of responding, I wiped away the rest of the mascara that was running down my right cheek.

“Terri, I honestly don’t know what to say to you. And I know you don’t want to talk about it, but-“

“I don’t. I just want you to hold me, Daniel. I need you” I inhaled deeply and choked out a throaty sob.

“Oh baby…” he mumbled before opening his door and walking over to my side of the car. “C’mon, let’s get you inside.”

Inside of his cozy apartment, I changed into one of his shirts and kicked my nude pumps the curb. Daniel was being all fidgety by trying to get me comfortable but all I wanted him to do was hold me like I said before.

“Daniel…” He looked up from the kitchen.

“We can worry about what happened tomorrow, okay?”

He quickly nodded his head and made his way over to where I was sitting on the couch. He then sat down and looked at me. “I don’t know what I would have done if I lost you tonight and it’s killing me. That’s all I can think about.”

“You did great” I smiled. He really did though. I never would have thought of such a brilliant plan. “I’m safe here with you”

Daniel let out a low groan as I cunningly positioned myself onto his lap. Each of my naked legs were wrapped around his waist. Staring into the comfort of his lovely blue eyes, I placed my hands on the both of his angular cheeks. “Thank you so much” I whispered before placing a soft kiss on his lips.

He of course returned the kiss and put his hands on the lower regions of my back. “I-I don’t know if we should be doing this, babe. You just suffered through a very traumatizing experience.”

“Yeah, whatever. Just make me feel good..” I hotly whispered into his ear. Maybe I didn’t have the lingerie to set the mood or the best timing but dammit, that was not going to stop me from having sex with Daniel Jones.

He aggressively held me closer to him as he flipped me onto my back on the couch and relaxed on top of me. “Terri…did you hear anything I said earlier? About…you know, loving you. I was serious.”

I continued to lay kisses along the side of his neck while rummaging my fingers through his hair. “You’re so sweet, Daniel”

There was a pause.

Maybe he was trying to figure out if I felt the same for him.

I did, I really did.

But I wasn’t ready to say it. Not just yet.

“I want you to make love to me.”