Consideration

IHY Chapter 5 Consideration

Ten years ago. Turners home summertime middle of the day. Megan walks inside the house to see her friend Keisha.

"Megan, what the hell happened to your face? "Keisha says while reaching her hands to hover over Megan's left eye.

"You should see the other guy." Megan says defiantly

"I'm not joking; who the hell."

"Me and Ike broke up."

"I'll kill him!"

"Keisha, come on."

"No, what the hell is wrong with him putting his hands on you."

"It's over now!"

"The hell it is?"

"Can you keep it down in here? I'm trying to sleep. What the fuck happened to your face, Meg."

"None of your..."

"What happened to your face." Craig cuts her off sternly. Megan stares at him; she has never seen fury in her eyes.

"It was Ike? But we will call the police on him and get this solved."

"Who the hell is Ike?"

"Her ex-boyfriend."

"Oh...Where is he."

"Boy, sit your ass down. You aren't going to do anything."

"I..." Craig looks at Megan, her right eye bruised and her arms bruised. Megan stares back at him, seeing his face contort in anger.

"I need to go."

"Go where? You are going to leave right now."

"Yeah, I got to go." Craig leaves his parents' home abruptly.

"Craig, where are you going? Craig!? Keisha screams while following him out the door." Craig!"

----

"Craig!" My sister screams, waking me up from my sleep.

"Where is Megan?" I feel around for her and feel nothing. The clothes she had on the floor were gone.

"Uhh" I stammer still half sleep.

"Did she wake you up in the middle of the night? So, you get you back in your bed." {Sure, let's go with that.} I shake my head up and down as her phone chimes.

"Oh, never mind she answered by text. She went to her mother's house. I'll let you go back to sleep."

"Please." I lay my head down again, trying to fall back asleep, but I could only think about Megan. {Did I do something wrong? Should I text her? No, that's a bad idea. Wait. Why is it a bad idea?}

"Fuck it. I'm going to text her."

Dr. Teeth [Hey, do you wanna talk about last night?]

I await her response; Thanks to the power of technology, I can see she has seen the message. Still nothing; she left me on reading. To take my mind off of this, I decided to go for a run.

While running, I think about a new story idea. I remember Angel and her proposition for creating something. After my nice brisk run, I got ready for work. Miss Cheryl called out today, So I would have to run the produce section myself. While walking out of work, I am greeted by Keisha on her way onto shift.

"Hey Craig, just to let you know. Megan will be staying with us for a couple of days."

"Dang! You didn't even ask me. You know, this roommate thing just isn't working out. It's supposed to be a fifty-fifty agreement."

"Oh really, because I don't remember the part where I agreed to see a little Asian girl with cum dripping on my... I'm sorry, our floor."

"I walked into that one."

"I'm happy you did because I would surely sue if I did."

"I mean, it would be funny."

"Disgusting is the word you were looking for, Craig."

"Sure."

"So, we're going to her old apartment to pick up her stuff. We gonna need you to come along."

"Sure, thing, boss. I'm happy to be the muscle in these situations."

"You are not going to be anything; last time you tried to play hero."

"Oh, please don't."

"You set me up for it."

"I have regrets; please stop."

"Good. Alright, be good, you too don't fight. She went to see her mother today, so who knows what Megan would get when she comes over."

"I'm ready for anything."

"Okay, I need to organize this back area. Because I don't know what they're thinking after they unloaded that truck last night."

"Produce is squared away, and I tried to help them, but..."

"Yeah, I know they're real protective over their cans. See you later tonight, Craig."

I got into my car and drove home, expecting Megan to arrive, but I didn't see her familiar vehicle outside the apartment. I get comfortable since no one is home. I cook some dinner, feeling curry chicken tonight, grabbing my phone to text Angel about my story idea.

Craig [Hey Angel, would you like to meet up late in the afternoon at Key Cafe?

Angel Marie [Hey C, I would love to meet up.]

Craig [Awesome, I can't wait to see ya then] She hearts emoji my reply.

The front door opens up, and Megan walks into the apartment. She takes off her jacket and places it on the couch.

"It smells good in here; what ya making." She says, walking towards the kitchen stove. She was acting like everything was typical between us. Like the last 24 hrs, her whole energy was off.

"So, you never responded to my text message."

"And?"

"I."

"I don't wanna talk about it. Let's not talk about it, okay."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because I don't want to; I just want to forget about it."

"Why the hell? Was it not good?"

"I mean, it was okay, I guess." She says, shrugging her shoulder. I had better.

"Okay? There is a wet spot in my sheets because of you."

"I told you to. Wait." I walk behind her as she stirs the food in the pot. Wrapping my arms around her waist, she doesn't pull away.

"Last night was fucking beautiful," I whisper in her ear. Gently nibbling on her ear lobe. She presses her hips into me.

"I don't remember telling you." She moans as the apartment door buzzer rings. She quickly pushes away from me.

"Someone is at the door." She says, leaning on the counter and tilting her head to the door.

"We're not done talking, Megan," I say to her while walking towards the door and peeping through the peephole. It was her mother; her eyes looked red from tears. I opened the door for her, and she stared at me as if she didn't know who I was.

"Craig, my goodness, how are you?"

"Good; how are you, Mrs. Winston."

"I am great; at first, there for a second, I thought your sister had a man in the house. Well, she does, just not in that way.

"Thank you, I guess."

"Is Megan here?" I turned around, and Megan was gone from behind. You see, a small wall was between the front door and the kitchen. She was convenient, all of a sudden, behind it.

"Meg," I speak out for her.

"Hi, mom." She says behind the wall before walking out in the open.

"Megan." She walks past me with urgency. "We need to talk."

"There is nothing to discuss, Mother; you said what you needed to say, and I."

"Don't make a scene in front of Craig." I look at them and shrug my shoulder. {I don't want to be involved in this family drama.}

"Can I talk to you in private?"

"You could use our room." My eyes shot over to Megan. Her face looked panicked and embarrassed. "I meant my room."

"Thank you, Craig. Well, come on, Megan." Megan's arms folded; it was weird seeing her like this. Usually, she was so sure of herself, but then her mother appeared. It's an entirely different person. About an hour passed before they emerged from the room, and I had already finished cooking dinner. Putting Keisha's plate aside before I started eating my portion. I had to respect the real breadwinner around these parts.

"Craig, are you cooking dinner?"

"Yeah, I just made some Chicken Curry. You are welcome to stay for dinner, Mrs. Winston."

"You know, I think I will. Is Keshia still at work?"

"Yeah, she is."

"Your sister is a hardworking woman; I didn't know you were such a Michelin star chef, Craig. It smells delicious."

"Thank you." I hand her a plate of curry, and she sits on the stool on the other side of the kitchen counter. She takes a bite of the curry and smiles as she digs in for another.

"Craig Turner, you will make some girl a lucky lady."

"Enough, Mom, don't stroke his ego." Megan says, looking over at me and grabbing a plate.

"I didn't make that for you." I say her smiling.

"That's rude." I see a small smile forming on her face. I hand her a spoon; she nods at me.

"Thank you, Craig." She says, walking over to sit with her mom; I grab myself a plate and do the same.

"So, Mark, are you single?" Mrs. Winston asks me between bites of her food.

"Uh, yeah. Mrs. Winston. I ah, yeah."

"Please call me Monica, and that is too bad. Maybe I could hook you with someone at the church."

"Mom. Don't." Megan interjects, staring at me.

"What? Craig would be a good husband for some of the single girls at church."

"No, he's not going to get hooked up with one of those girls from church."

"Trying to keep him all to yourself?"

"What, ewe. I'm trying to save him from those harpies you call innocent girls."

"Ewe?" I say, looking at her as if we didn't have each other's private parts in our mouths almost 24hrs ago. She looks up at me briefly, then swirls her food around on her plate.

"Interesting," Mrs. Winston says, looking back and forth at us. "You know, Honey, real love can be terrifying; trust me, I know; I'm a divorcee. On that note, Craig, thank you for dinner." Monica gets up from her chair. I take her dinner plate and put it in the sink.

"Oh, thank you for that, dear."

"Your very much welcome."

"Craig, dinner was delicious, and Honey, if you need to come home for whatever reason, you are always welcome. I love you." She says, then plants a kiss on Megan's cheek.

"I love you too, Mom. Let me see you out."

"Good night, Monica, and make sure your text Megan to let us know you got home safely."

"Oh my, okay, I will do just that, sweety. They both walk out the door, with Megan shaking her head in annoyance."

"I clean our plates and place the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. I get ready for bed and sit on the couch as Megan returns to the apartment. She sits next to me on the couch.

"And so, we are alone."

"Uh-huh. I'm tired, and I'm going to bed."

"Is that code for us to, you know?"

"No, dude. God. Last night was a one-time occurrence, and don't try to sweet talk my mom either. She.."

"She what?"

"Nothing."

"I'm confused here; you said you liked me,"

"I know what I said."

"It was kind of a two-time occurrence, but hell, math is hard." She flicks me off, walks away, shakes her head into Keisha's room, and shuts the door. I was effectively stonewalled; last night wasn't all that great.

{Alright. Cool. I can take a hint.} I return to my room and close the door behind me. Megan was a Rubik's cube I didn't need to solve because I had another story I needed to get posted on the website. I wrote into the late evening, conversing with Keisha as she arrived home. As I drifted off, my need to use the bathroom woke me up from my nap. As I walked out his door, I saw Megan walking away from my door. Her hands dug into her unwrapped hair.

"I love it when your hair is down, Meg," I tell her, causing her to freeze as if she were caught stealing something valuable. She turns around in a brief moment of panic but then immediately recollects herself.

"What?" She says, her eyes looking left and right, trying not to make eye contact.

"What are you doing?"

"I can't sleep; I had a knee issue. So, I'm trying to stretch it out."

"You want me to rub it like last time." Megan has a glazed look on her face as if she is contemplating him doing so.

"No, I don't want you to touch me."

"Right, Well, Good night." I walk to the bathroom, leaving the door open. I pull out my penis to aim, reveling in the ecstasy, tilting my head back. My eyes close briefly, then open, to see her staring back at me.

"Didn't know you were into Golden Showers."

"Ewe". She turns her head in disgust and sits on the couch. She turns on the tv.

I finish using the bathroom and sit next to her. She doesn't protest with the company.

"So, what are we watching?"

"I thought you were going to bed?" {Until now}

"I think I got a second wind."

"Whatever." She continues to search the channels until stopping at a basketball game. {That's a surprise.}

"Oh, this was a good game. The Hawks pulled off a comeback in the fourth quarter. Trae Young went off."

"He's so good." She agreed with me.

"I know. Wait, so are you back to watching basketball?"

"Unfortunately. It hurts every time, but it's just a part of me. Oh my god, Atlanta's defense is atrocious right now. Why do they have number 12 on the bench right now? He is their best defender, and his sub is not playing hard enough." She says, leaning forward on the couch and getting into it.

"Yeah, he is, but they're going to play him more later in the third part for the comeback.

"They need to get those stops and stop going for mindless threes. You said Trae goes off in the fourth I wonder what his Field goal percentage will be in the end?"

"It's ugly, but he put up big numbers."

"He is the reason they are down, and his center, the one with weird hair, isn't getting second-chance points. Crash boards already there, so passive." {God, she is so sexy when she talks basketball; the confidence in her voice gets me.}

"Stop staring at me with those fuck me eyes, dude." {Caught!}

"Ya got me, so about coaching again."

"Predictable. I would need to improve at coaching. I'm horrible with people. Hell, if I weren't a good player in school, none of my teammates would talk to me. I know that because I never hear from any of them."

"Would you want to hear from them?"

"God, no!"

"You love basketball, though, and you know basketball. You would study playbooks and other team tapes all the time. Don't get me wrong, you're pretty athletic, but your mind for the game was your strongest point."

"You sure it wasn't my height? You sound like my college coach; she wanted me to stay and help her coach the girls after my injury."

"And you turned her down."

"I wanted to play; I was so offended by the offer. I got furious at my coach for it. It felt like she was giving up on me. Not proud of it, but I got nasty with her. Never apologized because I was afraid of making it worse."

"Seintophobia."

"What?"

"Fear of apologizing. You hate feeling vulnerable, like you're not in control of the situation. Like the person won't forgive you, and you'll have an egg on your face. Why bother, right?"

"Don't go making little words up, Craig."

"It's like 12 letters; what is your definition of little? Never mind. Look, if your coach loves you as a player and possibly a person. Enough to ask you to coach with her. She would understand; you should talk to her.

"Perhaps."

"You got this, babe."

"don't call me babe."

"Meggy"

"I will fucking murder you."

"What do you think of Cragen?"

"Did you just combine our names? You fucking weirdo?"

"Maybe."

"Are you trying to piss me off?"

"The last time I did, it was pretty good."

"Ugggggh, just shut up."

"Ah," We sat silently as the halftime show played on and the third quarter droned on.

"What if I fail Craig? What then?"

"You mean that thing people do?"

Your one to talk; I haven't seen you applying for other jobs since your last job interview." {Now the fangs our out, I see.}

"Touché' but I am trying other avenues."

"Sure, you are... banging little Asian girls from college."

"You know I am on your side, right, like I want you to win."

"Drop it, dude; I'm a fucking retail worker now."

"So, you're quitting the Megan I knew would never."

"The Megan you knew is dead."

"Sure, she is."

"Let's just watch this stupid game." She turned to lie on the couch as we watched the game silently. Her long legs stretched out on the sofa; her feet end now placed on my lap.

"Really"

"No, complaining; I was here first; don't act like you don't like it." She wiggles her feet on my lap; I look down at her feet, then edge my eyes up at Megan. Her face is engaged on the TV screen. She continues to wiggle her foot on my lap. The motion is already starting to affect my dick. It begins to harden under her feet. She doesn't skip a beat and begins to rub one of her feet on the protruding outline of my boxer. I bite my lips and tilt my head on the couch in pleasure.

"Can you cover me? I'm starting to feel a little cold." She says to me, not breaking eye contact from the TV. Quickly, I grab a blanket on the ledge of the couch and cover her legs and feet.

"Thank you." She says to me as my fully erect penis escapes the fly of my boxer. My member brings her feet to the head and works them down.

"Fuck" is all I could whisper as I looked at her. Wanting more than this tease, as precum started to leak out of my penis as she worked it up and down. My hands grab the blanket as I shoot streams of cum over her feet and into the fabric.

Megan wipes the bottom of her feet on my boxers and gets up from the couch. She walks into the bathroom and closes the door. There is a sound of the sink coming on behind the door.

I grab the blanket and place it in the washer. As I turn around to see Megan walking out of the bathroom, she looks at me for a second. Her eyebrows raised with a smirk.

"Night, Craig."

"What? Good. Good night. She walks into Keisha's room and gets in bed. I stare at the door and decide not to press the issue. I return to my room to get some much-needed sleep.