Between a Rock & a Hard Place

Four Months Later

"Come on, girl, just come on out and hang out with us," Laney pleaded to Camilla.

"Hell no, Laney, I am not going to be your little match-making puppet!"

"Cammy, come on, just meet him please! He is a great guy" Laney reasoned, her voice slightly echoing from the speakerphone.

"If he is such a great guy, then why are you trying to hook him up with me and not one of your trifling friends who always complaining about not finding a good man?" Camilla inquired as she fixed her hair as she stared at her reflection. She was standing in front of her mirror, in her bedroom. She was already dressed and ready to go, but she wanted to prank Laney before leaving.

"Because those no-good bitches don't deserve a good man," countered Laney. Camilla laughed, finding her friend's honesty hilarious. "So, are you coming out and hanging with us tonight?"

"If I go out tonight, what am I going to wear?" she pouted, as she sprayed her favorite perfume Burberry on herself.

"Um... wear that red dress that you wore to the Sade concert from last year," Laney suggested. Camilla smirked, because it was the dress that she was wearing at that moment. "It's perfect for this evening. And plus, Buster is going to love it."

'I know this bitch did not say that his name was Buster,' Camilla thought as slipped a pair of earrings in her ears. "Buster? Please tell me that his name is not Buster?" Camilla giggled.

"Yes, bitch, his name is Buster and before you start to go into a conniption fit about his name, Buster is a common name, all right?"

"For whom, Laney?" Camilla inquired, as she made the decision of not wearing a pair of gold, metallic high-heeled sandals. She chose another pair instead. "It's a common name for rappers and for children's shoe stores, yes, but for grown-ass men? No," she said as she slipped on her shoes.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever bitch, so are you coming or what?"

"Yes, I'll be there in a few," Camilla informed her friend.

"Well, good, and I hope Buster will get your mind off of Elias, because your ass need to be focusing on another man, especially with one that you actually have a shot with."

"Ouch, bitch," Camilla said, sarcastically, "That shit hurts."

"Sorry, but it's the truth."

It's been four months since the fondling incident that occurred in Camilla's bedroom, on that weekday morning. Since then, Camilla has been suffering from an infatuation on Elias. It started out in an un-detecting manner, like the ignition of a fire. First, she would make a series of glances at him, whenever they were in the same room. Her eyes would take quick glimpses at him, as he performed ordinary tasks. Whenever her dark brown eyes would make contact with his brown eyes, her belly would quiver and she would feel extremely flushed. After a couple of weeks had gone by, that simmering had turned into a full flame. Now Camilla would go out of her way, just to see Elias. Now, whenever there was a party, Camilla would sit through hours of listening to shitty dance remixes and witnessing people acting like buffoons, just so she could speak and spend time with him. It was during these moments when the flame of her infatuation grew brighter and stronger. Through their conversations, she both learned that they have a lot in common, which surprised the hell out of her. Six months prior, Camilla thought he was just a pampered, rich boy who loves to party. Now, her opinions dramatically differ. After telling her about bits of his life and other things that allowed his personality to shine through, Camilla grew smitten. Plus, the fact that he was now single just added to her infatuation with him.

Whenever Elias would touch her, whether if it was an accidental brush of skin with skin or a friendly hug, her body felt like there was an electric current running it. There would be goose-pimples, the fine strands of hair on her arms would rise, her breathing would become shallow and she felt nervous, as well as, shy around him. Then there were the times, when they were standing in close proximity within each other. During those moments, Camilla's flesh-flushing, electricity would intensify. Her fingers would crave to grab a hold of him or to touch him, during those moments. However, Camilla loved the feeling. It was then that she realized that she had a crush on her housemate. Knowing that she had a crush on her housemate made Camilla feel terrible, but knowing that Laney knew that it was going to happen, made her feel even worse.

And, of course, Laney had to rub it in with every chance that she received.

*****************

The 'double date/blind date/group outing' was a complete and total bust. The guy that Laney had set her up with was a nice guy, but Camilla wasn't attracted to the man. She wasn't attracted to Buster, even though he was a handsome man. He possessed what Camilla likes to call the 'Fine Brotha Qualities of Good Looks': a pair of deep dimples, flawless skin, a nice body and a gorgeous smile. She was sure that he wasn't going to end up a lonely, old man. During the dinner portion of their date, Camilla spotted a few women giving him eye-fucks throughout the time. But she wasn't one of them. Even after downing three gin and tonics and two glasses of Hennessey, as well as, being an audience member for half of the duration of the Maxwell concert, nothing could persuade Camilla to find that man attractive. After spending four hours of listening to un-stimulating conversation, she feigned a migraine to get out of the rest of her date. Everyone tried to persuade her to allow Buster to escort her home, but she quickly shot that offer down. She was relieved when they or he didn't press any further.

Camilla arrived home to find the mini mansion that was her home filled with people. It's been months since Elias' last house party. After his relationship with Katerina ended, Elias wasn't active with his club-hopping/partying habits. Instead, for those months, he stayed home, much to Camilla's delight. It was during this time, they managed to get to know each other better.

The house was full of bright lights and there was loud music playing. There were people chilling and lounging about, while drinking and conversing. Then, there were people who were dancing with each other, as well as, grinding on each other. All and all, they were people who were having a great time. Camilla slipped through available pockets of spaces to get through the throngs of party-goers. She was heading towards her bedroom, when a thought had popped into her head. A ripple of anticipation rolled through her, when she realized that there was a chance that Elias was going to make a late night visit to her bedroom. Pushing through crowds of people and hopping over drunken bodies, she made her way to her bedroom.

Camilla was upstairs, in her bedroom, for close to ten minutes when she decided to go back downstairs. She tried to convince herself that it was because she needed to get a drink of water, but she knew the truth. She knew that she couldn't retire for the remainder of tonight without seeing Elias. She didn't see him all day, because she was busy preparing for her date, so she needed to feed her visual addiction.

She found the object of her desires in the kitchen. His ex-girlfriend was also in the kitchen as well. He was sitting at the dining table, playing a round of poker with four friends. The ex- girlfriend and three friends of hers were sitting behind them, on the bay window's bench. She was truly playing the role of Queen Bee as she sat there while gossiping with her friends. Camilla strolled over to the fridge and pulled the stainless steel door open. Camilla's eyes had cleverly gazed at Elias. Thankfully, ever since the refrigerator was adjacent and was two feet away from where he was sitting, her gazing wasn't too blatant.

Camilla would search through the fridge, but would also stare at Elias. Her eyes would glance at a jar of dill pickles and then would stare at Elias' profile. Her eyes would dart to the quart of homogenized, whole milk and then to the thick muscles in his arms. Her eyes continued with its' visual melody: first, it was a box of Hot Pockets and then his thick thighs that were encased in a pair of blue jeans. The song became bolder, when her eyes transferred from the bottom two shelves of beer to where his chiseled abdominals would be, if his shirt wasn't in the way. Her eyes danced between the jar of grape jelly and his pouty, pink mouth. Then, it had to a climax when her eyes left the pack of raw chucked beef to his groin area. She couldn't see anything, due to the baggy jeans. Finally, after realizing that she was taking too long and will more likely draw suspicion, Camilla actually began searching for a bottle of water. Her eyes taken note of the empty Tupperware containers that used to hold the pierogis and the kiszka that she made on the prior night. She knew that he had eaten the leftovers, as well as, majority of the food.

She knew that he loves to eat her cooking, which is why she cooked food all of the time. She remembered the compliment that Elias had given her, after the first time he tasted her cooking. He told her that her talent at cooking Polish food was greater than the one of his mother, a Polish woman who spent most of her entire life cooking. The memory of hearing that compliment brought a smile to her face, as she continued to search for some water. She eventually found a bottle of Perrier water, which was hidden behind a bottle of Kahlua mix.

It was during an intake of water, when Camilla realized that she was the center of attention. It was as if the party had stopped and everything was silent, for Camilla, as she noticed that everyone in the kitchen was staring at her. She was about to asked them what was the matter, when she realized that it was because of how she was dressed. She was dressed like a glamorized, sex kitten. She was still wearing the outfit that she wore on her date: a red, tight dress that reached the middle of her thighs and a pair of red, snake-skinned platform heels. It was her 'va-va-vavoom' dress: her 36C-25-41 frame was on display, her lovely breasts were perched high, and her waistline defined while her very feminine hips showed off and her ass appeared to be screaming out 'grab me'. Earlier that night, during her phone call with Laney, her friend suggested that she should wear something that would give Buster a boner. So, she wore the dress and fixed her short hair into a finger-waved style, as well as, applied some sultry makeup. If she knew that the date was going to be shitty, then she would've dressed down. Now, here she was: a glamorized, sex kitten that standing there, in the kitchen, holding a phallic-shaped bottle to her lips.

Camilla saw that the guys were ogling at her and the women were glaring at her. The women were staring at her as if they wanted her to combust in flames right then and there. The fellows were staring at her as if they wanted her to hop onto the table and allow them to bang her like a drum. She was started to get uncomfortable. Despite the discomfort she was feeling, her eyes still scanned over to where Elias was sitting. He was staring at her. For Camilla, she could see that his eyes held a type of intensity. Camilla realized that he was angry, perhaps irritated. 'Wait, is he... No...But why would he be angry at me?' she wondered.

"What's up? What's your name cutie?" The question snapped her from her thoughts. Her eyes darted from Elias to the person. The question was spoken by one of his buddies. For Camilla, she thought that he looked young; an age that was lower than her twenty-eight years. He appeared to be the stereotypical college kid: cargo shorts, baggy shirt, flip flops and had dreads that were unkempt. The dreads would've been okay and not abnormal on him, if he wasn't a white kid. "You look like you came here to have a good time."

'Oh no, he is trying to pick me up,' Camilla thought as she swallowed another swig of water. 'He's old enough to be one of my baby brother's friends. He looks like he still has his mother's milk still on his breath.' She had to take another drink of water to keep from laughing.

"Um..." Camilla started out by saying, after she sipped her water. "I'm in here to get a drink of water," she reported to him.

Frat Boy's eyes widened and his face become flushed, in a pale pink color, at the sound of her voice. She knew that her voice had aroused him. She wasn't surprised at all by the reaction. Her husky voice always garnered that type of attention from men and, at one point in time, from Laney as well. Her mama dubbed it to be 'a phone sex operator's voice'.

"S-s-so..." Frat Boy stuttered, another sign that her voice affected him, "...is this your first time coming—

"No, darling, I've had the ability to cum many times." For some unknown reason, Camilla decided to mess with this young man; like how a cat would play with a fatally wounded mouse. She saw the boy flushed further in embarrassment and she heard a few snickers from the others.

"No," he giggled, showing his discomfort, "I meant, is this your first time attending a Kat and Eli party? Cause, if so, you're in for a great time because the lovely and beautiful Kat, over there..." and with a grand sweep of his arm, he gestured over to Katerina.

Camilla noticed that her former housemate was still holding an expression on her face that said that she really wished for Camilla to combust into flames.

"...and my man, Eli, over here..."

Frat Boy gave a chummy-buddy type of slap to Elias' fore arm that was resting on the table. Camilla saw that Elias was staring straight ahead now and was taking a drink from his bottle of Corona.

"...throw excellent parties."

Her eyes darted back to the kid, who was oblivious to the tension that was filling up the room.

"I've been to one of their parties before," Camilla informed him. "It's kind of hard not to be invited to one of their get-togethers, ever since I live upstairs."

"Oh, you live here?" he said very cheerily. He turned towards Elias and gave the hulking man another slap on his forearm. ""Man, you are the motherfucking man right now!" he stated, sounding as if he was in awe. "You have two fine-assed women living with you, under the same roof! One fine-assed white chick and one fine-assed, big booty black chick living with you, like you are some pimp or something like that! You're lucky, man, real lucky!" With every declaration of Elias' good fortune, Frat Boy would slap at his arm. Camilla watched the interaction and was expecting for Elias to snap at the younger man. But, instead, he remained immobile and continued to stare straight ahead. "So, ever since you live here, Sweetness, you should hang out with us," the boy suggested.

'And get molested by you, have Kunt-terina the Russian Twat and her three robots act like bitches to me and watch Elias continue to have a staring contest with the cabinets? No, thank you. I'll stick with my original plans.'

Camilla moved away from the fridge and took a few steps backwards, to the exit. "No, thank you, but I appreciate the offer..." She realized that she didn't know Frat Boy's name. "... I'm sorry I didn't get your name, honey."

"Don't be sorry, Sweet Thang..."

Camilla had to bite down on the urge to not roll her eyes in irritation at the nickname. "...My name is Marley, like the reggae singer."

"Nice name," she lied.

"Why thank you—

"You're welcome, Marley."

"So, what's your name? I asked you before, but you've never answered."

"It doesn't matter if you know her name or not, cause she is about to leave," Katerina told him, with her deep accent. Her voice sounded harsh and it was laced with irritation.

"I know that, Kat, but I'm being polite—

"Shut up Marley," Kat demanded and then she turned her attention and her wrath towards Camilla, "You, leave!"

Under any other circumstances, when she wasn't under any influences of top shelf-high quality liquor, Camilla usually ignores Katerina's rude antics. But, tonight wasn't that night for Camilla.

"Excuse me?" Camilla said to her, with her anger rising, as well as, her propensity to fight. "Who do you think you're talking to?" She could feel that part of her persona, the roughneck who likes to fight, rising to the surface. "Cause let's get something straight..." Camilla had taken a few steps towards the table, ever since it was the object that stood in her way from getting to Katerina. "...I am not your motherfucking child and if you ever talk—

Camilla stopped in mid-sentence when she felt a hand pressed itself against the small slope that formed at her lower belly. She glanced down at the hand's owner to see that it was Elias. This time, he was gazing directly at her. He was still angry and now it seems that he was angry at her.

"Leave" he said to her.

"I—

"Leave!" he shouted at him and with his command, he gave her push that was gentle enough to not make her fall to the floor, but it was strong enough to cause her to take three steps backwards.

Unlike his previous touches, this one didn't leave her feeling like she was punch-drunk happy. With the push, Camilla felt a pull incur inside of her body. She was familiar to this feeling. It was the feeling of heartbreak. It felt like her heart had sunk down into her stomach. Her eyes stung with the tears that wanted to spring from their ducts. A lump that felt like the size of a golf ball lodged its way into her throat. She wanted to get away from this room as quick as possible and she wanted to get as far. She left the kitchen, but not leaving before seeing the look of smugness on Katerina's face and hearing Marley say, "Damn, Eli has his hoe in check!" to the small gathering.

Camilla doesn't remember how she made it back to her bedroom, without falling apart, but she did. As soon as her door closed, she leaned against it and burst into tears. She felt humiliated and hurt by him. She doesn't know how long she cried, but she figured that it was a significant amount of time. Her eyes were swollen, she had a slight headache and her butt was numb from sitting on the floor for such a time.

"Oh, God," she groaned, as she sniffed. She peeled her shoes off of her feet and threw them into her walk-in closet. She heard one of her shoes knock something over, but she didn't care to check. She stood up off of the floor. "Oh God, why am I crying about this?" she wondered out loud.

She grabbed her robe off of the hook that was mounted on the back of her closet's door. She threw the robe onto her bed and then stripped out of her dress. Dressed in only in her underwear, she slipped them off and then grunted in shame when she noticed the crotch was still moist from earlier. She slipped the robe on and made her way to the bathroom. Camilla took a quick shower, washed the make up off of her face and did the other things that were apart of her bedtime routine. She made it back to her bedroom, where she slipped into a tee-shirt and then gone to bed.

Sleep didn't come easily for Camilla, even though the alcohol that she consumed during her date was really trying to make her fall asleep. But she couldn't, due to the noise pollution from the party and also from mentally reliving the moment of when Elias has shoved her. It was playing in a constant loop and she wished that she could shut her mind off. She tossed and turned in her bed and was constantly getting her long legs tangled in the blankets. In a fit of rage, she kicked the blankets and sheets off of the bed. "Ugh," she grunted from annoyance. She sat up and turned on a nightstand lamp. She reached over to the nightstand again and searched through the top drawer. She searched through the drawer's contents and found what she was looking for: a pair of earplugs. She purchased them, after experiencing their first party, but hasn't used them for quite some time. She slipped each rubber plug into an ear and then was met with silence.