The weeks rolled by and May brought Darien's graduation. Devin and Rya sat out in the audience to represent her family. They were the only family she had left. Devin could be a distraction most times, but it was times like this that she remembered their childhood. A part of her had hoped Marcellus would show up, but the reasonable side of her knew he would not. They had successfully avoided one another for six weeks. Yes, she was counting. She had grown accustomed to his touch and she had been tempted to seek him out on occasion but had decided against it. Instead, she had thrown herself into her books and preparations for graduation. She assumed Marcellus had gone back to his life before their date.
Marcellus stood at the back of the auditorium. He had wanted to stay away but knew this day was too important to Darien for him not to acknowledge it in some way. He had not seen her in six weeks. Six weeks of not touching her. Six weeks of not kissing those soft full lips. Six weeks of not being inside her tight body. She looked beautiful as she walked across the stage smiling and waiving at Devin and Rya. Marcellus smiled to himself. He remembered those rare moments when she had smiled at him that way. Those times were over and done with now.
When the ceremony was over he put on his sun glasses and made his way to his car. Church was waiting for him. As the graduates and their families all spilled out of the auditorium, Marcellus looked back and his gaze collided with Rya's. He placed his index finger to his lips, telling her to keep their secret. She nodded slightly and turned her attention back to Darien and Devin.
Church watched from the review mirror as Marcellus just rode in silence. "You ok, Marcellus?"
"Yeah, Churchboy, I'm good."
"I know it's hard to let her go, but you have to." Church usually did not get into the personal affairs of Marcellus. He never had a reason to until now. Marcellus' reaction to Darien had him acting in ways that Church had never seen. They had been friends since they were both on the high school football team. Church was on his way to the pros before he got sidelined with a knee injury in college. Marcellus had encouraged him to finish school. Church went and got a degree in Heath and nutrition and then became a personal trainer. When he and Marcellus had gotten back in touch with one another, again Marcellus had convinced Church to partner with him. He needed someone he could trust, and with Church, whose real name is Keylin, Marcellus knew he had chosen right. Under the guise of being a bodyguard, Church was able to see and hear things that Marcellus would miss. Church glanced at his boss and friend from his review mirror again. "You can go and claim her soon."
Marcellus had a hint of a smile on his face. "I don't think she will have me."
"There are ways around that. You know that more than anyone."
"Naw, after our last time, I don't think she will want anything to do with me." Marcellus ran his hand down his sun kissed face. He was in awe of Darien. Nothing he did, normally, worked with her. He would buy expensive gifts for women, with Darien that wouldn't work. He would take them on exotic trips. He had done that with her and it had not worked. He had given out wads of cash at times. Darien took that as in insult. He smiled when he remembered going back to his home in Miami and finding the cash, he had left her taped to the full length mirror with the words "no thanks" written in lipstick underneath it.
Darien. She was an enigma, something so different. Marcellus was not used to defiant women who would stand up to him. Hell, he was not used to anyone that stood up to him, except Church. The fact that Darien was so independent made him want to choke the hell out of her in one moment, and hold her close the next. What was he going to do? She was slowly driving him crazy.
Church stopped the car and Marcellus got out. They had made their way to the foot of Ferry Street. Lake Erie flowed along and with it came the smell of sewage and fish. Marcellus hated coming down here, but this was one of the few open places he knew of in the city. It provided him and his associates the anonymity that they needed to conduct their business. Marcellus watched Moe walk toward him, but paid more attention to the man leaning against the car behind Moe. "What's up with Meech?"
"He's just being Meech." Moe had hoped Marcellus would not notice that Meech was high.
Marcellus shook his head. How dumb did Moe think he was? Why would he attempt to cover the fact that Meech had been snorting his shit, unless they had been snorting it together? Nothing irked Marcellus more than a dealer who used the product. That usually just made for bad deals, snitching, and murders. Too bad, he had really liked Moe. Marcellus looked over at Church. Church only nodded.
"Yo! Meech," Church called the skinny white boy over to where he and Marcellus were. They both noticed that Meech seemed more sluggish than usual, and he needed a shower badly.
'Meech, I need you and Moe to load the keys in the back of truck."
Meech nodded and he and Moe began taking the suitcases from their vehicle and loading them into the mini-van, that Church would drive to the next location. Marcellus would take the car that he and Church had ridden in. Once the van was loaded, Church went back over to Meech and Moe. "Meet me in the Falls. We will go to the casino and spend a little time at the club. Both men nodded then left.
"Call Jimmy and tell him to take care of them." Marcellus then walked to his car and drove off.
Darien was all smiles as she let herself and Rya into her apartment. She spotted the lavender tulips sitting on the granite counter top and she stopped. Rya ran toward the bouquet and inhaled deeply. She looked for a card, there was none. "I guess we'll never know who sent these."
"Throw them out or take them with you." Rya was confused by Darien's words. The flowers were beautiful. "They are from Marcellus. You can take them with you or they will go in the garbage."
Rya placed the flowers along with the vase in the kitchen trash bin. She went to the guest room to change her clothes. She had been staying with Darien for the last few days while her apartment was being painted. She actually liked having a roommate and if Darien were not moving away for her new job Rya would have suggested they room together, but her friend was only going to be around for another two weeks so she had to make the best of it.
Darien was sitting on the couch checking her email from her laptop when Rya came back into the living room. The girls had decided to have a movie night. They had ordered a pizza and were going to stuff their faces all night. Darien looked forward to it. Rya had cancelled her date for the night and Darien as usual did not have any plans. She had decided to relax until it was time for her to start her new job.
They were getting ready to sit down with the first movie when the pizza arrived. Not too long after the pizza arrived, Devin dropped by unannounced. "What are you doing here?"
"I needed to talk to you." Devin looked at Rya. "In private."
"Don't even try it, Devin. I don't have anything to hide from Rya."
Devin looked skeptical but then just blurted out that he needed to borrow some money. A feeling of déjà vu came over Darien. She finally realized that no matter how many times she tried to help Devin he would always get himself into more trouble. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes briefly, and then reopened them.
"Get out." Her statement was plain and simple; her words clear and concise. She was finally able to see her brother for the user he was. The memories of his last urgent visit came back to her and with them came thoughts of Marcellus. She had been fine without the memories and now here was Devin throwing them back in her face.
"C'mon, Dee, I need you."
"Why, do you owe money to some other criminal? You want to pimp me out to them, too?" Darien was livid. If she had a bat she would slug him right up side his head. "Get out, Devin. I don't have money for you or anyone else. You will just need to get yourself out of this one." Darien went to the door and opened it. Devin left out and turned around, but then turned to look at her and she slammed the door in his face.
Darien sat quietly thinking of the last few weeks. She was done doing Devin anymore favors. She had almost lost herself with the last one. Marcellus had been on her mind constantly. She would begin to miss him and then catch herself. Why was she missing someone that treated her like a whore? He had all but raped her the last time they were together, but her conscience reminded her that she had been dripping with excitement, literally. Darien would remember the part of their date when they walked by the lake at the park. She would remember their first kiss and then remember the heat that was Marcellus. She would force herself to remember how he took her on top of the piano in his loft. She had to stop this before she drove herself crazy.
"Are you ok?" Rya had remained silent.
"I'm cool." Darien remained quiet. She went to the kitchen and took out a can of ginger ale. She filled a cup with ice and poured the soda into it. Out of nowhere, she began to speak. "Between Devin and Marcellus I am going to lose my mind." She took a big gulp from her cup. "I can't wait to leave town."
"You will only miss us." Rya tried to make light of the situation.
Later that night in her room, Darien tried to read, but it was close to impossible to concentrate on her book when her mind only wandered to thoughts of Marcellus. What was it about this man? Was it the power? Darien could barely contain herself when she thought of the night he had taken her to the show in Miami. Marcellus had brought her to a climax with just the use of his experienced fingers. She tried to shake off the memories. It was a waste of time to think that she would ever be able to understand it. She barely knew him, but she had given herself to him completely. He had left her not once but twice, and yet she had been easy prey for more. How long would she be haunted by the memory of this man and his sex? She looked over at the clock. It was almost two in the morning. She decided to get some sleep.
At two in the morning, hell was just waking up and the Devil was wound tight. Marcellus sat in his office waiting for Jimmy. He had to know that his orders had been carried out. This one had been a hard decision. Moe was one of his right hand men, but when Marcellus had suspected him of skimming, he was irate. Then the day at the foot of Ferry Street made him realize Moe was for sale. It would not have been too long before Moe sold him out. Church was sitting across the room. They had discussed the situation earlier. Both men now just waited. Both wondering how long before they could walk away from this life and start living. They were both deep in their own thoughts when Jimmy walked in.
"Everything cool?" Marcellus had spoken.
"It's done." Jimmy was another friend from the old neighborhood. He had been running with Marcellus and Church since they were teenagers.
"Now let's get down to our other business." Marcellus sat down at his desk. He was preparing to go into details about some of their holdings when his office door burst open, and Devin was being forced through it. Church and Jimmy both reacted by drawing their guns. Marcellus stood and just shook his head. He could not do this right now.
Marcellus walked slowly from behind his desk. He ran one hand through is hair and the other remained in his pocket. Why was Devin so stupid? He had lost a package worth ten thousand dollars, and Marcellus had allowed that to go unpunished in order to get a taste of Darien. Now he had been suspected of stealing a key out of one of the packages. When would the stupidity end? Marcellus knew the answer. He had known what he would have to do weeks ago, but he had met Darien, and a part of him could not bear to bring sadness to her life. Killing Devin would do that.
Devin stood in front of Marcellus. He was nervous. Marcellus could smell his fear. He hated weakness in men. It meant they would never be any good to anyone. They served no purpose. "Lock him in the basement." Marcellus then walked out of his office. He wanted to distract himself from the very thoughts that came to him at the sight of Devin.
