Light Skin, Long Hair Ch. 04

Deon sat down on his hard, lumpy, creaking bed, and put his head into his hands. He took a deep breath. After spending the last few weeks moving around from shelter to shelter, he was finally able to secure himself a lease in a shoddy apartment. He had one bedroom and a bathroom, as well as a small kitchen. It wasn't anywhere near ideal, but at least he had a place to live now.

Deon had hit rock bottom. He knew he had to get his life together, and fast. Unemployed, with no job prospects, and battling addiction and drinking problems, there were so many things wrong in his life. The story about him being in graduate school and working part-time had all been lies to cover up the sad truth, which was that he had absolutely nothing. He had come from another city when he had gotten a job in town, and his brother had been kind enough to let him live in his home for awhile while he got back on his feet, but when Deon returned to his old ways, Marcus grew tired of it and kicked him out. After showing up to work drunk one too many times, and racking up a few drug-related charges, he had been fired. And now he was on his own.

He wanted to reach out to someone, and he figured it was time to come clean. Jasmine had ignored him when he tried to get in contact with her earlier, and understandably so. She was getting tired of his excuses. They hadn't spoken in a few weeks, so maybe she would give him a chance after taking a break.

He called her on her phone. No answer. So he left a voicemail. "Jasmine, it's Deon. I want to talk to you. No, I need to talk to you. Look, I know you don't want to hear from me right now. I get that. I messed up, and I'm really, really sorry. But I'm done with that now. I'm ready to... get serious. Just let me come by and see you. I promise I'll tell you everything. No more games. Alright? Let me know. Bye."

Deon continued to unpack and place his belongings in their places in the apartment. An hour later, he heard his phone ping. When he checked it, there was a message from Jasmine. "8:00." was all it said.

* * * * *

It had been a few weeks since Jasmine and Philip's date, and so far, thing were going well in their new, budding relationship this time around. They talked on the phone and had gone out a few more times. They were flirtatious at work, but no one knew about their involvement; they were able to keep it discrete. As much as it surprised her, Jasmine was starting to think that maybe things could actually work out with Philip. That's why Deon was the furthest thing from her mind when he called her that evening. She didn't have high expectations for him or his visit, but figured that she at least owed him some closure about the end of their relationship, so she decided that she would let him visit.

He rang the doorbell at eight.

"Hi," he said when she opened the door. His face looked so incredibly somber and his eyes so full of emotion that Jasmine couldn't possibly turn him away. "I'm really glad to see you." He gave her a warm hug, and then walked inside. Jasmine closed the door and watched him from behind as he slipped off his shoes in the hallway.

"What do you need?" she said coolly, trying to hide the sudden rush of feelings she felt upon seeing him.

"You," he said, gripping her around the waist.

Jasmine gasped, shocked at his forwardness. "Deon! Let go of me. I didn't say you could..." But he cut her off, putting his mouth on top of hers, and kissing her deeply.

After a few seconds, she pulled back from the kiss, out of breath. But before she could speak, Deon kissed her again, this time, tightening his hold on her waist, pushing her back against the wall. Giving into him against her strong will, Jasmine found herself pulling him closer. They backed up the wall until they were in Jasmine's bedroom, and Deon pushed her back onto the bed.

They made out fervently, and before long, they were down to their skivvies on the bed. Deon really was the Adonis Jasmine had pictured him to be. She couldn't help but to survey the rugged terrain of his cut abdominal muscles, kissing and licking them, and tracing the V where his abs met his groin with her tongue. He trembled with anticipation as her tongue approached his manhood.

She licked back up his body until she reached his neck. "You're going to learn to stop teasing me," he said playfully.

She laughed as he hastily took charge and pressed her back onto the bed. She wrapped her legs around him, letting him know exactly what she wanted. He gave it to her. They made love for hours that night, and loud too. Jasmine was sure that her neighbors would hear them, but she didn't care, because the sex was so good. They had to have done every position in the book by six AM, the time that they finally went to sleep.

When they awoke at ten, Deon was in a hurry.

"Jasmine," he said, kissing her on the cheek, and waking her.

"Hmm?" she responded sleepily, smiling up at him.

"I've gotta go. I completely forgot that I have a meeting with my advisor this morning."

"Oh. Okay," she said, sitting up, rubbing her eyes. "That's fine. I'll see you again tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, definitely. I'll come by. Maybe you can treat me to some of your cooking again?"

Jasmine laughed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, we'll see about that one. Alright. Have a good meeting."

They kissed. "Bye. I'll see you tomorrow."

Jasmine fell back asleep, feeling completely blissful. If Deon was going to get his act together, and it looked like he was, then they could resume their blooming relationship. There was still the matter of Philip, but that was for a different day...

Deon was sorry that he had lied to Jasmine again, but he just couldn't bring himself to tell the truth about his whereabouts after last night. The truth was, he had to appear in court for a charge, and he had completely forgotten about it. He could delay telling the truth, but for how long was the question. Eventually, he knew, everything would come to the light...

* * * * *

The next day, Jasmine had a glow about her at work. She got lots of compliments that she looked pretty, even though nothing had changed about her appearance. Just her demeanor. She couldn't wait until she saw Deon later in the day... she was quite honestly craving him. When the clock finally struck five, she hurried out to her car to leave.

On the road, she saw a car that looked a lot like Deon's. She looked more closely at it and determined that it was, in fact, him.

Chipper to see him earlier than expected, and curious as to where he was going, she decided to follow him and surprise him.

She kept an eye on his car, and made sure to keep at least two cars between them to be discrete. Soon, she noticed that they were headed into a sketchy part of town.

What's he doing over here? She wondered to herself. He lived over by the college, where he attended graduate school, he had said. But by the looks of it, they were going to either a liquor store, or a housing project, because that was all that was over in this corner of the city.

Deon pulled past the visitor parking area, and into the neighborhood. He was going to someone's house. Now her curiosity was piqued. Jasmine pulled into a spot in the visitor lot and hopped out, quickly patrolling the area on foot.

Between two buildings, she saw his green car pulling off the winding street of the neighborhood into a parking spot in front of another building.

She cut between the two buildings quickly, and stealthily. She watched from behind a tree as Deon got out of his car, climbed up some stairs, and turned the key to walk into an apartment unit.

He lives here! Jasmine thought. He's been lying! Now it all made sense, as to why he didn't want to invite her over. She felt so hurt and betrayed, that her worse fears had turned out to be true, this whole time. It was time to confront him.

She climbed the stairs and knocked on the door.

Deon opened it, and before he could get any words out, his mouth hung open.

"How could you? You've been lying to me this whole time!" Jasmine yelled.

"No, look, I can explain!"

"Explain, what? You told me you lived by the college."

"Jasmine, no, this is my brother's house, I promise—"

She interrupted before he could finish. "Just stop with your lies. I know this is your place. That's why you never wanted to invite me over. What else have you lied about? Are you even in school at all?"

He didn't say anything, and then looked down.

"I knew it. Liar. We are finished. For good this time. Don't call me anymore, don't contact me at all. I don't ever want to see you again."

"Wait! Jasmine, please! I'm so sorry! I promise, I'll change! I love you!" Deon pleaded. But it was too late. She had turned her back on him, and was walking back down the stairs.

As he watched her go, he became filled with rage. Yeah, he had lied, he thought, but he was still a great guy! A girl like her would never have given him a chance if he hadn't faked himself up anyway. So why was it his fault? Now she was gone, for good. Another woman walking out of his life. The rage intensified, and for a second, he felt compelled to do something violent as she walked in heels down the steep stairs, but restrained himself and went back into his apartment, where he punched a hole in the wall instead.

After fuming about this for an hour, he settled down, and decided that Jasmine was a stuck up bitch anyway, and that he didn't need her. There was still Alexis. She had been pretty devoted to him, even though he hadn't reciprocated at all... but maybe she would still care for him. He called her and asked her to come over. At first, she thought that it was for the usual reason. But when he gave her a different address, she was surprised. He said that he had something important to share, so she agreed to come over.

He gave her a hug when he greeted her at the door, a first for him, showing affection for the woman who had at one time been nothing more than a booty call to him.

However, this time, something was different. Alexis was usually thirsty for his affection, but seeing his place seemed to make her cold. She hardly hugged him back. She looked around, and an ugly look crossed her face.

"Well, come in," he said, waving her inside so that he could close the door. But Alexis didn't budge. She just stood there at the threshold.

"What in the hell kind of place is this? I thought you lived all the way across town."

"I moved, okay? Look, just come in, and we'll talk about this."

"In here? I wouldn't set foot in this place if you paid me," said Alexis, with disgust.

"What? But I thought you loved me."

Alexis laughed sarcastically. "Oh, no. You've got it mistaken. See, I thought you were a smart brother who was going places. That was when I loved you. But it turns out that you're just a scrub. So, no. Goodbye." And with that, she turned on her heels and walked away.

For Deon, this was too much. The woman that once would have kissed his heels was now turning on him in disgust, looking down on him. Laughing at him like he was less than a man!

In a blind rage, he grabbed the lamp that sat on the table beside the couch, and struck Alexis in the back of her head with it as she descended the stairs.

* * * * *

"I just can't believe he pulled one over on me like that!" Jasmine lamented to her mom on the phone, as she cooked dinner for herself that night.

"You're still young, sweetie. You have to live and learn. Everyone will go through disappointments in life, especially when it comes to relationships," said her mother in her comforting tone.

"Yeah, I know, but still," Jasmine complained as she stirred a pot. She heard the evening news starting from the TV in the living room over the counter island. "Hang on, mom. I'm going to turn up the news."

She went into the living room and picked up the remote to turn up the volume so that she could hear the news from the kitchen.

"Alright, I'm back," she said as she walked back to the stove and resumed stirring.

"What about that Philip fellow you went out with? He seemed like a nice fellow."

"Yeah, he's great—hang on a second, Mom," said Jasmine as what looked like a familiar face appeared on the news.

"A local man... severe blunt force trauma... critical care," were the words that Jasmine managed to make out before she got to the TV.

Deon's mugshot was shown clearly on the screen. "Deon Watkins, 31, is being held in the county jail without bail," the reporter said.

Jasmine's phone hit the floor.