Love Lost (Love's Improbable Possibility) (36 page)

When we made it outside I immediately noticed that I was climbing into a BMW 7 Series with Wop at the wheel instead of the stretch Royce we'd pulled up in. I asked Petey what was up with that.

“This here is where we part, duke. I hope you had a good time tonight. I got some things to wrap up inside so I’ll check in wit’ chu in a few hours, Ock,” Petey handed me some heat, after which giving me dap.

He only gave me a piece when he wasn’t escorting me somewhere that he wasn’t too sure
about. I hate surprises but the little bit of buzz I had left told me to just chill. So, I jumped in the Beamer and asked Wop, “Where to now, duke?” He just peeled off screeching the tires and all.

While driving, not only did I have to deal with the suspense of
my destination, but I had to also endure the torture of listening to my twenty-year-old comrade carry on a conversation with one of his lady friends.

“Yeah, girl! I told you I’m working now. I’ll be off soon and
granddaddy dick is coming your way. Im’ma bust that cherry and make you call me daddy! You gonna tell me who pussy dat is. You like dat don’t you?” he sang into his cell. Giving me another reason to be grateful for my age.

My phone vibrated taking my mind off their ex
change. It was a text message: How long will you be
?

It was Rayna. It’s not like I forgot about her but I was trying to oblige my
goons before I indulged and retreated for the night–
well morning now
. I needed to know where we were going.
This is starting to annoy the fuck out of me!

I’m not sure but will find out soon
!
I texted back.

Shortly thereafter, we pulled up in front of the
Four Seasons
in Beverly Hills. I looked at Wop, “What the fuck?”

“I ‘on’t know, Chief. ‘Dis where ‘dey told me to drop you
,” he responded looking terrified. He could pick up my loss of patience. The door attendant walked up to the car door and opened it.

“Mr. Jacobs?” he asked. I nodded in agreement. “I’ll escort you to the
lounge,” he continued.

I gave Wop an angry g
lare looking for some answers. Like a kid, he shrugged his shoulders. If I hadn’t had my piece on me I wouldn’t have been so cooperative. I shook my head and followed the bellman.

The
Four Seasons
was nice. I’d been there once or twice back in the day. I saw they'd undergone a few upgrades and renovations since my last visit. It was ghost town in there. I guess it was because of the hour; it was almost three a.m.. He led me into a lounge there on the first floor. I was extra curious about what the hell was going on because the restaurant was apparently closed. The chairs were hung upside down on the tables and most of the lights were off. As we were nearing the bar in the lounge, I noticed a woman sitting on a stool alone. I immediately thought, “
No these mufuckas didn’t get me an escort! They are wildin’! This shit ain’t my style!
”

My thoughts then jumped to Rayna. I would much prefer being with her than fooling around with this bullshit. I was about to call Petey when Rayna turned around and smiled so softly. She could tell I was in complete disarray. That familiar face calmed every nerve. I noticed right away that she had removed the
makeup she wore during her number at the club. Her face glowed underneath the soft lighting of the bar. Her hair was relaxed and straight, it was rather long. I assumed she wore weaves often because I’d never seen her with such long hair in that relaxed style. 

“I thought you were going to blow our cover.” Her fresh face smile lit the entire room
as I sauntered over to her.

“What cover?”

“Mine and Petey’s. We’ve been planning this for weeks now. He said you hate surprises and would never get into a car not knowing your destination. I was prepared to have to call you and blow it.”

“It definitely blew my
buzz. I was getting heated for a minute.” I spat.

“Well, let me help you with that.”
She pushed a martini glass toward me.

“What’s this?” I quizzed. Not that I cared because I would’ve drank poison if she had asked me just to get that ass.

“It’s a dry martini…Ciroc. It goes down smooth,” she forewarned with an anticipatory smile.

I took a sip. “Damn. You’re right. This will sneak right up on a brotha!”

She laughed and sang, “I told you so!” I really dug her sense of humor.

After another sip I probed, “So, what now? I can tell you’re trying to get me drunk. That could only mean one thing.”

“And what’s that?” She looked faux affronted.

“You want something
,” I stated matter-of-factly.

“And what could that be?”
she played along crossing her legs, exposing her right thigh through her long black silk dress. She leaned into me awaiting an answer. I chuckled knowing she was attempting to seduce me.

I pulled out my pocket watch to check the time. I knew it was late, or rather early
, but wanted to be sure.

“Why do you
carry an antique style watch?” I glanced up to find Rayna wearing a quizzical gaze.

“Why? Do you not like my watch?” I
narrowed my gaze as I returned the watch to my jacket pocket. I couldn’t hide my smirk.

With wide eyes Rayna quickly exclaimed, “No! No! It’s not that.” She smiled bashfully. “It’s actually a very sophisticated
piece. It’s intrigued me since the first time I saw you pull it out in your boardroom during my proposal. I’ve always wondered…” her voice trailed off.

Rayna was cute when embarrassed and flustered. I wanted to toss her ass on the bar and put my face at the apex of her thighs. I reeled in those heavy desires.
Instead, I pulled out the watch again, this time I removed it and the globe attached to it that she had given me in Mexico and placed it on the bar top. I used it damn near everyday but rarely give much thought to the significance of it because it’s become a part of my daily rhythm. Watching the gold exterior glistening under the overhead lights of the bar flooded back memories. 

“
It was my father’s. He’d wear it out when he put on his best clothing and took my mom out for the evening or when we, as a family, visited the mosque. I, too, found his possession and usage of it sophisticated.” I found myself entranced with vivid memories of my old man in a suit and dangling the watch in his hand as he talked to my mother or flipping the shell to check the time when needed. He was a cool and graceful dude. “It’s the only memorabilia that I have of him. When I was released from juvie and returned to my mother’s abandoned apartment, I found it ransacked. In panic, I searched for clues to learn what happened or who could have done it. As I cleaned up, I fumbled with a kitchen draw that was behaving stubbornly when I tried to align it on the track. I got frustrated with it…my situation of being alone and not knowing where my mother was and fearing the worse of her wellbeing, so I tossed the draw across the room. It landed upside down and I found this watch duck tapped to the bottom of the draw.”

I chuckled to break the buildup of emotions threatening in my
throat at the sharp memory even through my inebriated state. “Well, anyway, I felt like it was a sign from my old man telling me that I wasn’t alone. I’ve carried it with me ever since seeking to mimic his style and grace. I’ve been wearing it for so long that I don’t think about it.”

I looked over to Rayna whose face was blank. I didn’t wonder too long about what she was thinking because she breathed, “
I think you nailed it.” She blushed softly “Whenever I see you whip it out, I get…aroused.” She subsequently snorted in embarrassment from letting that slip. It was much to my delight.

Wrinkling my nose I asked, “Yeah?”

She giggled as she nodded her head confirming it. Rayna was fucking beautiful, especially in her natural state. She looked young and carefree, not her usual guarded self. I wanted to revel in the moment. I slowly grabbed the globe, lifted the watch from the bar top, dangled it over her shoulder, and slowly drug it down her neck onto her cleavage where I planned to trail my tongue. Rayna stilled in her seat.       

“You arouse
me
,” I murmured as I lowered the watch to slip under her dress and over her left breast. Rayna’s eyes were pinned to mine.

With my knee
, I parted her legs on the stoop. Her eyes dropped to her lap where her bare thighs were now completely exposed through the opening of her wrap dress. Rayna’s mouth collapsed as I brought the dangling watch down between her legs and allowed the heavy shell to rub against the bed of her panties. She was panting in no time.
Fucking gorgeous.
My dick throbbed in my pants. I needed to break the heated moment because I didn’t want her first time with me to be in a bar. Perhaps the second.

Rayna
beat me to it.

“Let’s go upstairs. I think we’ve taken up enough of their time down here”
she whispered.

I watched her collect herself as she moseyed from her stoop and away from the bar.
On our way out I asked, “How did you get them to keep the bar opened after hours; especially at this hour?”

“I just told them I knew Azmir Jacobs…”

We shared a hearty laugh.

We took the elevator to the
fourteenth. She opened the doors to the suite and I was immediately impressed. The room glowed from the soft lighting bouncing from the off-white color of the walls, carpet, furniture and many of the décor. The living area had a step down balcony with a crazy view of the mountains. The amazing thing is you didn’t have to go out to the balcony to enjoy it, the windows were large enough to see it all from inside. The furniture was trimmed in brass and other pieces were made of oak wood. It was laced with a butler’s pantry and two mini bars. I went into the bedroom and found a huge canopy bed, ceiling-to-floor mirrors, walk-in closet, and a bathroom decorated with marble walls, sink and floor. This was nice. Not to mention, a far cry from my last time here. On second thought I realized I’d never had a suite, just a room.

As I came from taking a call in the bedroom, I saw her waiting by the couch in the living room with a glass of champagne. I could
tell bubbly from a mile away. She asked, “Do you like it?” as soft music played from the stereo.

That night I heard Jamie Foxx, The Isley Brothers, Tony, Toni, Tone’, Sade, Teddy Pendergrass, Ledisi, Th
e Whispers and countless others I'd never forget. Rayna had her game on. I took the glass and sipped it.

“You're really trying to get me there, huhn?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m trying to relax you. It is…or
was
your birthday. That reminds me, I have a gift for you.

Take off your j
acket and relax while I get it.” With that, she left the room. And as I did as she asked I heard Jamie Foxx’s “
Storm
” where he croon about puddles in the bed and the weatherman predicting rain. I chuckled inwardly about the analogy between sex and the weather.

I continued to admire the room
as I stretched back on the sofa. A few seconds later Rayna returned with a tan gift box with a white ribbon. I could tell it was rather weighty by the sound it made when she placed it on the coffee table. She sat it directly in front of me while I sat up on the couch and gave a nod toward the box gesturing to open it. I loosened the ribbon and lifted the lid to find a brass lion in intricate carvings that had to have weighed ten pounds, at least, and stood erect with each of its muscles cut skillfully to emphasize its strength and armor. The lion’s facial expression was calm yet unapproachable, immediately causing me to feel relieved that I wasn’t face-to-face with it in a real-life setting. Oddly, I found myself hypnotically fixated into the figurine’s eyes caught in its sovereignty. It was chilling.

As I continued to observe the lion
, my hand rubbed against impressions along the ribcage. I turned my attention to it and saw there was an eloquent inscription that read
“
Azmir’s reflectio
n
”.

B
efore I could ask what it signified she sat down next to me and murmured, “It’s the meaning of your name. Your parents must have had premonitory abilities because your name means
resembling a lion
. And how eerie is it that you are just that among the people around you? You are a leader and command the authority of and allegiance to those around you.”

She reached over me to touch the lion that I held in my hands
affording me a better experience of her fragrance. Her soft fingers lingered over the stature appraisingly as she continued, “Note the fierceness in his stance and the prepotency in his eyes. This is you. Your dominance. Your supremacy. Your parents must have known.” I could tell she meant every word because her eyes retreated while she spoke. When they returned she realized her recent flight and shook her head slightly, shrugged her shoulders and snorted softly, “Well, at least that’s what those around you say…and what I feel while in your presence.”