Reggie's Girl Ch. 06

Chapter 6

The late afternoon sun blasted everything in sight so that, to eyes used to the constant gray of the concrete jungle, Miami was a sort of city of gold. At least the parts of it that they drove through.

Bailey couldn't stop jabbering, tugging Jasmine's arm as she pointed out this or that interesting thing, but Jasmine did not have much to say. Neither did Ted. A strange tension hung between the two of them, which puzzled Jasmine.

She had thought they'd enjoy each other's company even more in Reggie's absence, since he had left for Miami the day before. But it was almost as if their friendship had undergone a subtle and mysterious change, which neither she nor Ted wished to examine too closely.

Jasmine was almost grateful when the long, scenic drive ended, enabling her to get out of the claustrophobic confinement of the car. They stood in the gravel driveway admiring the stupendous mansion before them, so daunting in its magnificence that even Bailey fell quiet.

Once they were inside, they were intimidated for another reason. A party was in full swing and the vast majority of the attendees were beautiful young women, from every race, it seemed - and only Jasmine and Bailey were not in bikinis.

Other than a few curious glances, the newcomers attracted little attention. They were able to navigate through the scantily-clad crowd to the other side of the house, where they came to the edge of a packed infinity pool. Here were the first men they saw since they entered.

The racial diversity of the women did not cross over to the guys. They were mostly black and Latino, interspersed with some biracial bros. The two genders did share the swimsuit dress code, and here the women were just as unencumbered as the men - Jasmine had never seen so many nipples in her life!

"Heyyy, you made it D!" Xavier greeted, appearing at her side. Apart from them, he was the only one fully dressed. "And you brought your friends too, welcome."

"Thank you," Jasmine said, while the others mumbled their thanks as well. "Uh, we aren't ready to get wet right now, but I remember Reggie saying something about a pool table once..."

"Oh, you play?" Xavier asked, and at her nod turned to leave and beckoned to them to follow. "Alright, let's see what you got, then."

They went inside, turned left, then down some steps into a large room; this one was completely empty. He flipped on the lights and they saw a gorgeous pool table in the center of the room. The balls appeared to be made of glass as they were transparent save for the colorful bands that bore their numbers. Jasmine had never played on anything as fine as this.

Beating Xavier twice in a row restored some of her confidence, allowing her to ask, "Is it always like this here? The partying, partial nudity, performative girl-on-girl action..."

"Nah, not really. We wouldn't set foot in here under normal circumstances, but," Xavier shrugged, "this is a special occasion."

"Yeah? Is it Reggie's birthday, or-"

"It's not for him, it's for me and the other guys out there. He promised us this if we all graduated in the top ten in our classes. As you can see," Xavier spread his palms and smirked, "we did it!"

"Wait, what?" Jasmine gave him a confused smile.

"Hell, Reggie had planned it for last weekend." He grinned at her and winked. "But his little boo thang got cold feet and, well, the rest of us just had to grin and bear it."

"What does Reggie care if you graduate college or not?" Ted asked from the leather couch across the room.

"Man, who do you think got us into college in the first place?" Xavier scoffed, as though the answer were obvious. "He wouldn't even look at us unless we agreed to go. He said we'd need it when we got older and needed to settle down. Man, when it comes to books? Reggie don't play. But he's looking out for us so, hey, nobody's complaining."

"Looking out for you?" Ted echoed incredulously. "The man is exploiting you-"

"By giving me a steady job and a fallback for later in my life? Yeah, you're right," Xavier mocked. "Think I'll call my mama up and tell her I'm moving back in."

"Your 'job' is anything but steady," Ted argued. "Every single time you're out on the block, you are putting your life in danger-"

"From who exactly?" Xavier laughed. "The gangs? Youngins keep getting shot in their bullshit wars all the time - don't matter how sweet and innocent they are. Might as well be a man and get that money at least, e'rybody's in danger over there. And the cops? Fuck them fucking pigs! My uncle was a pastor, man. A goddamn church pastor, and he's got Parkinson's now from the beatdowns those motherfuckers gave him - and he was like you, too."

He pointed his cue stick at Ted. "On that uplifting-the-race-from-within shit. Black people are they own worst enemy with their crime and bad family values, huh? Well, look where being 'one of the good ones' got him!"

"You don't see it because you've been exposed to violence all your life," Ted explained, rising to his feet. He walked towards Xavier as he spoke. "But Reggie doesn't care about you. He's making money turning our community into junkies and drug dealers. You could just as easily be one of the fiends you deal to, it's all the same to him."

"Yeah? Then how come we're here instead, got money in our pockets, a college education and are surrounded by beautiful women? Huh? How come you're not lying face down with a bullet in your head right now?"

Jasmine, who was trying her best with Bailey to blend into the furniture, could not suppress a shiver at the graphic image. The danger Krow posed to Ted suddenly felt a lot realer.

"That's just an old IOU my father called in," Ted protested. "My father's in prison by the way, for killing a man, so it says a lot that that's the kind of company Reggie keeps-"

"Man, you are something else!" Xavier blustered, staring at Ted in disbelief. "You should be thanking God 'that's the company Reggie keeps', it saved your life! Shit, you got no honor, do you? No wonder your girl got with Reggie instead!"

Ted charged towards Xavier then abruptly stopped when Jasmine stepped forward in front of Xavier, her hand outstretched to keep Ted at bay.

"Okay, that's enough. Let's all just calm down."

"Karma's a bitch, huh, little man?" Xavier snarled over her head at Ted.

"I said enough!" Jasmine flared, glaring back at him. When she turned to Ted, he had already stepped back, his jaw set.

"Whatever," he fumed, before turning on his heel and striding out. Jasmine exchanged harried glances with Bailey before she ran out after him. "Ted? Ted! Wait up!"

She caught up to him just outside the den and grabbed his arm. "Ted please-"

"I am done, Jasmine!" he announced, coming to a halt. "Finished! I don't give a fuck! I'm going back to New York!"

"Back to being trapped in that little apartment?" Jasmine asked with a heavy despair. "Back to having a bull's eye on your back? Ted, Krow is out for blood, do you understand? New York isn't safe for you until he's gone!"

"I can't stay here, Jasmine. I can't, I'm sorry."

"Okay," she nodded. "Okay, we'll just go somewhere else then. Wherever you want. I'll tell Reggie to arrange it as soon as he-"

"Nooo, Jazz," he grated. "You already too deep in this mess! You should be getting your life back to normal, not asking gangsters for favors on my behalf! Christ, I've already ruined your life-"

"Ted Williams, don't you dare say that," Jasmine warned. "The only way you could ruin my life right now is if you do something dumb, like run back to certain death because you let some jackwad get under your skin. I am literally begging here. Don't. Do it."

He heard her out then he nodded, his face carefully blank. "Right. Cool. I'll just go get me a drink now."

Jasmine watched him go with a blend of frustration and helplessness. She wanted to assure him all would be well, but how could she, when they were in the same boat?

As she stood there, Xavier suddenly walked by at a quick pace, followed by Bailey.

"Reggie's here," she said to Jasmine. "Let's go say hi."

Jasmine came along but not out of any real desire to see Reggie. In the days before the trip, they hadn't had much to say to each other. With Bailey gone, his house had been a quiet, peaceful oasis for her, whether its owner was home or not.

She had been escorted to whichever arena or stadium her job called her to by Tiny, and Reggie tended to leave the house at dawn and return after she'd gone to sleep. He made no demands on her time whatsoever; in fact, they barely saw each other.

It had seemed he had no use for her gratitude or else he simply didn't expect it, for he gave her no opportunity to express it. She had not returned to his bedroom since their last night together, and as she had no intention of making a late-night visit there for any reason, they had both remained aloof.

Once the three of them were outside the front of the house, a faint whiff of cigar smoke wafted to Jasmine's nose. She turned her head towards the familiar scent and the sight she beheld knocked the breath out of her.

Despite the sun's glare reflected on their sports cars, she could see some new arrivals, middle-aged men laughing and talking among each other. One man in particular caught her eye; she'd recognize that big watch adorning that deep bronze wrist anywhere. Not so much the cream Panama hat that sat on his head.

The early evening breeze fluttered his open-necked cream shirt. A pair of light-colored slacks completed his unfamiliar look. Without a stitch of black anywhere on his person, he looked just like any rich man on holiday ready to have a good time.

He was listening to one of the men speak as he raised a cigar to his lips. Its tip glowed red before he lowered it and blew out a stream of rippling blue smoke. He then said something and his companions burst out laughing.

Smiling himself, Reggie turned at that moment and locked eyes with her. He appeared cool and disengaged from his friends as he watched her, making no move to acknowledge her.

Two warring impulses held her immobile as on one hand, she itched to go get her camera and capture this compelling, familiar stranger on film; she also wanted to just walk up to him, rest her hand on his chest and kiss his cheek in greeting. She didn't know which was a worse idea!

Bailey turned at that moment, her red hair brushing Jasmine's cheek. She must have caught sight of Reggie but rather than call out to him, she turned back to Jasmine in uncharacteristic silence, her curiosity palpable.

Jasmine couldn't look away, she was still fixated on Reggie. A certain recklessness in the way he tossed aside the cigar and began approaching her instantly put her on her guard. She stood rooted to the spot, breathing not at all until he got to her. When he stood towering over her, she tilted her head back, offering her lips.

Before she could question her sanity, Reggie had already bent and taken her mouth with all the entitlement of a husband. Jasmine gasped in surprise, and his tongue immediately entered her mouth to dance with hers.

She wanted to object, but there was something different to this kiss. To Reggie. She couldn't quite put her finger on it and as the kiss went on, it just got harder to think...

It was Reggie who broke off the kiss abruptly. His hands came up to support Jasmine's unsteady body as it swayed.

"Hey, Bailey, how ya doing? Damn, you lookin' fine in that dress, whooh! Enjoying the party? Sure? Great, you mind if I borrow your girlfriend for a bit? Thanks Bay, yo X! Get this lovely lady a drink, come on now," Reggie rebuked as he walked into the house.

As she was marched along, Jasmine at last found her tongue. "Wait, I can't go away. Ted and I needed to talk."

"I need to talk to him, too. Where is he?"

"Uh, he went for a drink." His brusque manner was rather intimidating.

Reggie turned to a room where the music was blaring loudest. No mincing through the crammed bodies this time, the crowd just parted for them and they strode to the mini bar. Ted stood nearby and looked up as Reggie left her side to approach him.

Jasmine had no way of knowing what was said but, for once, Reggie addressed Ted with respect. Ted listened, his eyes widened and then he broke into an amazed smile. Presently, he turned to her and as Reggie kept talking, his eyes grew distant and withdrawn.

"Oh," she saw rather than heard Ted reply.

Reggie lifted a friendly hand and Ted clapped it without hesitation, even leaning in for a half hug. He said something and Reggie, returning to Jasmine's side, looked back and said, "Don't mention it, kid. You're welcome."

"What is it?" she queried, frowning a bit.

"You and I need to talk," Reggie answered. "But not here. I told Ted, he understands."

That was no comfort. "It's not bad news, is it?"

"Absolutely not." His tone was resolute. "Look, I've got this little spot by the water, not far from here, where we can talk in privacy. It would mean a lot to me if you'd drive out there with me."

What was going on? He was being so... humble. It was strange.

"Okay," she agreed with a hesitant nod.

"Great. Let's go."

When they were barreling down the road in his Range Rover, leaving the mansion's jutting silhouette behind them in the gathering dusk, Jasmine tried to get him to open up. It was no use.

"We'll talk after dinner, sweet love. You like seafood?" Reggie asked, switching the subject.

It was frustrating, but that eased some when they arrived at his "little" place (a storied beachfront villa that, though well-kept, held an abandoned quality in the quiet air). On a terrace on the first floor, dinner was already prepared and laid out on a table for two.

Reggie held out her chair for her before taking off his hat and sitting down opposite her. They made little small talk as they ate.

"It's a lovely place," Jasmine commented as she brushed her hair out of her face yet again.

"A little windy though," he said with a rueful glance at the madly flickering candles between them.

She looked out over the turbulent blue-green waves of the sea to the west. A copper sunset blazed to the west, bathing everything in radiant shades of rose and gold: the wispy clouds above it, the isolated stretch of beach, all the way to the dancing flowers in the gardens below. Even the sleeve of her plain white tee was touched by the dying sun's glory. In the face of such cinematic beauty, it was hard to mind a little breeze.

"It's still perfect," she murmured as she turned back to him. Their eyes met and there was a pregnant pause. He then leaned back in his chair.

"I bought this place a month after I first got married," Reggie said almost at random. His gaze was intense but faraway, giving the impression his mind was elsewhere.

"Oh, so you bought it for your wife?" Jasmine asked with an encouraging smile.

"I bought it to get away from her."

Her smile fixed a little, but either he didn't notice or didn't care. He went on, "It served me as well when my second marriage hit the rocks, too. It's the one place in the world I know I can have peace, solitude, freedom to contemplate. It kinda means a lot to me."

"I see."

His gaze now warmed and he smiled at her. "You're the first woman I've brought here," he informed her. "Looks like you'll also be the last."

Her eyebrows rose. "You're being very mysterious," she remarked.

"Not at all. I've arranged for ownership of this house to be transferred to you."

That was direct enough to send her reeling. "Wait, what?! When? Why?"

"Well, God knows you could use some peace yourself, Jasmine. You've seen a lot of hell in your life," Reggie lectured. "Plus, this is a much nicer address than Bed-Stuy; think how proud your mom will be."

"Nobody just decides to give away a freakin' house," Jasmine objected. "Not like this, and not for those reasons!"

"Well, then let it be my wedding gift to you and Ted." He picked up his wineglass and drained it in one go, then set it back down. He cocked a challenging eyebrow at her. "I mean, y'all gonna jump the broom eventually, right?"

"Well..." In truth, they'd never had a first kiss let alone planned for marriage. "Yeah. Someday," Jasmine mumbled.

"Then that's settled. Guess the best man won and then some, huh?"

Jasmine just gave him a hard stare and waited for the other shoe to drop.

"One catch," Reggie smiled, seeing her skepticism. "I'd like my child raised here, in this house."

Jasmine's heart tumbled in her breast but she schooled her features to remain blank. "I'm sorry, your child?"

"And yours," he elucidated, then rushed on when she opened her mouth. "You might want to think real carefully before you make any denials. This isn't the kind of thing you want to lie about, Jasmine, not even for the sake of that insane pride you got."

He leaned closer, his eyes boring into hers, and it took all her restraint not to look away. "The day you collapsed in my house, the first thing the doctor suspected is that you're pregnant. Are you?"

"I can't be!" she retorted. "Does that make sense to you?!"

"Why not?"

"You would never touch me without protection-"

"As I recall, I already did actually," Reggie interrupted, with the wistful tone of one savoring a fond memory.

"Once! And that was after that quack doctor had left!"

"It boils down to the same thing, though, doesn't it? If you weren't pregnant before, you might be now."

It was hard to refute the logic of that statement so she just sat doggedly shaking her head while she stabbed her food with her fork.

"You'd really hate my child that much?" she heard him ask softly.

That cut Jasmine to the quick. She raised her head and glared at him, unshed tears glittering in the candlelight. "That's unfair," she charged. "You've got no right, none whatsoever, to say that to me!"

"I apologize, Jasmine; hurting your feelings isn't my intention," he said formally. "You should know I've always admired your loyalty, but we both know you'll never have any for me. When I'm gone, you're going to be responsible for our child, but you might decide you won't even bother because it's mine!"

Jasmine made an impatient gesture with her hand. "As if! We both know you'd sue the pants off me in family court if I crossed you on this!"

His eyes narrowed. "You really think I'd do that?"

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't!"

"Girl, unlike Ted or your mama, loyalty to me is no burden - I reward it. And I take care of mine, regardless. But I won't be around forever," Reggie added, his voice sober.

"None of us will! Why is this even coming up now, exactly?"

In the brief silence that followed, her irritation faded to be replaced by an uneasy foreboding in the pit of her stomach. It was the same eerie premonition she'd experienced right before Ted had disappeared.

"What's going on with Krow?" Jasmine demanded abruptly.

"One of my buddies in the NYPD tells me he's been reported missing," Reggie replied. "Has been since Monday night."

Jasmine digested this news in wide-eyed shock. There was no doubt in her mind who was responsible for the disappearance. Or that Krow would never turn up alive.

"So Ted is..." She didn't dare say it aloud.

"Safe," he finished for her with a firm nod. "Yes, he is."

Her smile was elated. It was over! "Oh, Reggie!" Jasmine breathed, reaching out to squeeze his hand. "He can go back to his life now."

"He can."

"And so can I!" The prospect filled her with soaring hope. "But..." She gave him a confused look. "If Krow, uh, vanished on Monday, then there was no need for me to stay at your house all week."

His expression betrayed nothing. "I didn't know he'd gone missing till I heard it from a cop last night," he replied. "You were right to stay where you knew you were safe."