Raging Blue (14 page)

Chapter 29

Blue

Large empty spaces where Jay’s belongings once adorned the walls and filled corners now seemed to loom over each room. Even his absence was obnoxious.

Blue poured a glass of wine to sip while getting dressed. With no idea where she would go, Blue took a quick shower, then threw on a pair of skinny jeans, an embroidered tank, a leather jacket, and boots. Taking her last gulp of wine, she grabbed her bag and keys before heading for the door. If she had to, she would enjoy her own company.

Lost in her thoughts, Blue paced the hall as she awaited the elevator. When the doors opened, she bumped into her neighbor from a few doors down.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention,” Blue said after bumping into him. Still digging in her purse in search of her cell phone, she apologized again. “Sorry.”

“Ms. Holiday. No problem at all,” he said in that peculiar accent. “It was my pleasure,” he teased with a friendly smile. “Going out?”

Blue hesitated, wondering why he would care. “Not exactly.”

“Oh, okay. Well, maybe you wouldn’t mind joining me for a cup of tea?”

“Now?”

“Yes!”

Blue thought for a moment before she replied, “Okay…” She surprised herself by accepting his invitation.

“Kalisto,” he said, finishing her sentence. “My name is Kalisto, remember?”

“Of course, I remember,” she lied.

Kalisto pushed the call button for the elevator again and motioned for her to step on when the doors opened. So far, he was the perfect gentleman.

On the ride down, Blue looked him over, sneaking peeks at his olive skin, jet-black hair, and steel gray eyes. She had never spent personal time with a man outside of her race before. Kalisto was striking, almost fake looking. He belonged in Hollywood. Blue knew they would garner attention while they were out.

As they walked two blocks to the nearest coffeehouse, people ogled them as they passed by. Blue could read the curiosity in their expressions. Being the perfect gentleman, Kalisto led the way into the cozy establishment. She settled into one of the comfy chairs near the window while he placed their orders.

Blue smiled and shook her head. What am I doing out with my beautiful neighbor? Blue let her smile fade as Kalisto returned to the table with their orders and took the seat next to her. Conversation came easily, and she entertained the idea of getting to know him better. Kalisto was different for her, but she welcomed the distraction. At least they could be friends.

From her peripheral, Blue noticed a man charge toward the coffeehouse, pushing people out of his way. Initially, she paid him no mind, until he ambushed her table. Jay was huffing, his chest rising and collapsing violently as his breath rushed through his nostrils. His mouth curled upwards.

“What are you doing here with him?” Jay yelled into Blue’s face.

Blue noticed the slackness in his bottom lip as he spoke, and then the twitch. The bloodshot eyes revealed that he had been drinking along with snorting coke. Her mind flashed back to that night.

For a moment, Kalisto looked confused, but then took a protective stance in front of her.

“Oh, so you want to step to me,” Jay said to Kalisto
, spit flying out of his mouth.

“Excuse me?” Kalisto asked calmly.

“Jay, leave this man alone. This is our…
my
neighbor. We were just leaving.”

Kalisto looked at Blue. The expression in her eyes said,
I’ll explain later.
Kalisto shrugged and began to follow Blue’s lead, keeping his place between her and Jay.

“Oh, so now you’re screwing the neighbors?” Jay yelled, staring Kalisto down.

“Are you serious, Jay?” Blue stopped there. Arguing with him in his current state would be futile. “Let’s get out of here, Kalisto.”

“You’re just trying to get back at me. You want to make me jealous.” Jay jabbed his fingers at Blue as he yelled.

Kalisto held his hands up, blocking Jay from touching Blue as she tried to walk away.

“Calm down, sir,” Kalisto said.

“Who are you talking to, man? Get away from my wife!”

“Your wife!” Blue yelled from behind Kalisto’s back. “You sent me divorce papers, remember?” Blue shook her head again and said to Kalisto, “Let’s go.”

“You made me do it. You should have taken me back.”

She hastened her steps, trying to make it to the door and away from Jay. She pitied him, but not enough to underestimate him in his inebriated state.
Glancing back, she stole a quick look to see how close he was. Kalisto was immediately behind her, but Jay was fast on his heels. For a fleeting moment, Jay looked like he would break down and cry.

“I’m so sorry about this,” Blue said, looking back at Kalisto.

“It’s no problem.”

Suddenly, Jay reached around Kalisto and grabbed Blue’s arm.

“Get off of me!” she screamed.

“The lady said to get off of her,” Kalisto said.

When Jay didn’t release his hold on Blue’s arm, Kalisto pried her arm from his grasp and puffed himself up to Jay.

Jay narrowed his eyes at Kalisto. “Don’t touch me. Don’t you ever touch me!” he yelled, and then he pushed Kalisto with such force it knocked him into Blue.

She fell to the floor, and both men rushed to her aid. Kalisto grabbed her hand to pull her up. When Jay reached for her, she slapped his hand away.

Jay looked at Kalisto with fury etched in his brows. He narrowed his dark eyes and swung his fist hard. The hit connected with Kalisto’s mouth, which bloodied on contact. Kalisto was stunned by the unexpected punch. He tapped his lip, and upon seeing blood on his hand, he drew back and swiftly caught Jay with a right hook. The two men tussled, knocking over tables and moving chairs under their weight. Patrons scampered to get out of their way.

Blue tried to separate them without getting hit. By the time she managed to pull them apart, both men had busted lips and blood was streaming from Kalisto’s nose. He wiped the blood away with the back of his sleeve and then drove a left hook into the side of Jay’s head. Jay went crashing into the table and chairs beside him.

Blue gasped, then grabbed Kalisto by the hand and ran out of the coffee shop before Jay could make it back to his feet.

“This isn’t over, Blue!” Jay yelled.

She paused, casting her eyes back at Jay as he staggered to his feet. She waited for him to make eye contact as he finally caught his footing. He narrowed his angry eyes into slits and glared at her. If he were this bothered by seeing her with a neighbor, what would he think if he saw her with someone he knew well?
Blue smiled at the thought, making sure Jay witnessed her smile, and then trotted to catch up with Kalisto, who was walking ahead while tapping at his new injuries.

Chapter 30

Mia

Mia drove through the twirling two-lane streets of Atlanta at top speed. She was running late for her appointment with the
Realtor. One of the couples that attended the open house for Blue and Jay’s townhouse was really interested in buying the home, but they wanted to see it one more time. Jay had returned to New York, so he wouldn’t be able to meet with the agent.

Why did he go back?
Mia asked herself again. There was no need for him to return to New York. Blue wasn’t interested in him. If he would listen to her, she could coach him and secure the money they both needed to live off of.

Mia pressed her palm into the center of the steering wheel, causing the horn to blare at the inattentive driver in front of her.
              “Move it, stupid! The light changed hours ago!”

She could see his head snap up, and then he sped off seconds before the light changed to red again. Mia cursed him again before her mind drifted back to Jay.

Princeton was pressing her for an answer to his offer, while still drowning her in lavish gifts to nudge her to a definitive response. Besides his ridiculous demands for exclusivity, the baby issue, and the hints of possessiveness, the only other thing keeping her from saying yes was Jay. Princeton’s offer was attractive, but she wanted her baby. The more she thought about it, she wanted Jay, too. At this point, there was nothing to hide.

Jay was her type of man, full of arrogance and testosterone. With him, she could actually have a real family as opposed to floating from one prospect to the next. She found herself wanting that more now that she was pregnant. Mia blamed it on the hormones.

The real estate agent and a young black couple were standing in front of the townhouse, chatting, when Mia pulled up. She tossed the car into an uneven park.

“Good afternoon. Sorry for my tardiness!” Mia greeted each with a smile. “I hope I didn’t have you waiting too long.” Mia tried to sound sincere as she quickly surveyed the good-looking man and his wife. She was cute, but no big deal.

Mia wondered what he did for a living for him to even be able to afford Blue and Jay’s townhouse in trendy Buckhead. From the look of the Wilma Flintstone-sized rock on the woman’s tiny hand, this guy had to make a pretty decent piece of change.

Mia held out her hand to greet them. They all offered their hands and polite smiles, but no one responded verbally. Being more than a half hour late, she could sense the annoyance behind their cordial smiles.

“Here are the keys. You can go ahead and show them around. I need to call my husband, so I’ll wait out here,” she said, handing the agent the spare set of keys that Jay left with her.

“Are you sure?” the agent asked.

“Sure, no problem at all. You already know the layout.”

“Okay,” the
agent said, smiling as she took the keys from Mia. “Let’s go have that second look,” she said to the couple.

Mia heard the agent rattling off many of the great amenities the home had to offer. Once they were past the threshold, she dialed Jay’s number.

“It’s me, Jay.”

“Me who?” he responded in a sleepy voice.

“Jay, stop playing games. It’s Mia. I’m at the house. That couple came back to look at the house again. I think they’re going to make an offer today. You need to come back down here so we can finish this up ASAP. Plus, we need to open the account.”

“I don’t have any money to come back down there now.”

“Jay! What the heck happened to all that money you took out of the bank? Why don’t you have any money?”

“I had to handle a few things.”

Mia suddenly wanted to toss the cell phone. Her ears grew hot. “Jay…I…” She grunted. “What the hell do you mean you had to handle a few things? How’d you spend all that money?”

“What difference does it make? It wasn’t yours.”

“Jay, I can’t do this alone. You need to be here if these people buy this house. Find a way to get down here.” She shook her head.

“Alright, let me see what I can work out. I’ll call you back later.”

“Come on, Jay. Don’t mess this up.” She ran her hand through her short crop. “Have you spoken with the lawyer?”

“Where am I going to stay if I come down there? Your place?”
He asked in a husky tone.

“Don’t change the subject, Jay.”

With a smile in his voice, he teased, “You want me there or not?”

Mia smiled herself. “I’m being serious. This is not a joke.”

“I wasn’t joking.”

“Just stay focused and work on getting to Atlanta ASAP. Call me back with your flight details.” Mia tapped the end button on her Blackberry.

Mia joined the others inside the house. When she entered, she found the couple engaged in a low discussion, while the agent appeared to make herself busy.

“This is looking really good, Mrs. Holiday. I have a feeling they will be making an offer today.”

“Oh, that’s great!” Mia feigned excitement. “My husband and I are really looking forward to moving on. We’re expecting our first baby. All of these life changing events are happening all at once,” she said, offering an endearing smile to the agent.

“Well, congratulations! That’s wonderful news. I wish you all the best. I’ll do whatever I can to make this a smooth and speedy process.”

As Mia looked toward the couple approaching them in the living room, she felt a slight pang in her gut at the sight of their happy, anxious faces and hand holding.

“What’s next?” the husband asked, rubbing the palms of his hands together in anticipation. “We’d like to get started on the paperwork ASAP.” His wife set her adoring eyes on him as he spoke. “My wife loves this place, and I just want to see her happy, so I don’t have to hear her mouth!” he teased, and his wife playfully slapped his arm.

“
Both
of us love the place,” she said, rolling her eyes at him. “When can we come into the office to place the offer?”

The agent looked at Mia and flashed a proud smile. “Can you meet me back at the office this evening? I have another home to show and can meet you there around seven. Does that work for you?”

The couple looked at each other in agreement.

“That works just fine. We’ll see you at seven,” he said, then shook the agent and Mia’s hand. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Mrs. Holiday.”

“Pleasure meeting you and your wife, as well. I know you will love the home. My husband and I sure did.”

“Great. We will see you later,” the gentleman said to the agent, before gently ushering his wife out with a soft touch to her back.

Mia walked out of the home behind everyone and locked the door. Just as she joined the others at the curb, a slowing car caught her attention. Mia turned in time to see Peyton King’s eyes shift from the real estate sign on the side of agent’s car to the group standing at the curb, before locking eyes with Mia. Peyton narrowed her eyes at Mia, and Mia narrowed her eyes right back. She held her defiant stare until Peyton’s car was out of sight.

Once the agent said her final goodbyes and promised to call Mia the moment the offer was on the table, Mia pulled out her cell phone. Jay answered after three rings.

“We might have a problem,” she said the second he picked up.