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His powerful stride carried him to the passenger door. He opened it and slid into the seat beside me. A wonderful odor hit my nostrils and sent my senses into overdrive. He looked good every time I saw him, but now that we were closed into the tiny space of my Chrysler, his intoxicating odor became all I could think of.
This was exactly why I attempted to avoid him today. Conversation with him turned me on. Now, his aura was all over me, flooding the rest of my good sense with… “What’s the name of your cologne? It smells like a side of heaven.” I inhaled deeply because, yeah, I was gone.
Vito was a stark contrast to the man waiting for me at home. A man who seemed to have ears and eyes everywhere. Desi was easy on the eyes, but he would find some reason to ride down on me before the day’s end, especially if he knew another man was sitting in my car. His crazy possessiveness and abuse took away from his charming good looks.
I sighed. I didn’t need this today. I didn’t need this tomorrow. I didn’t need it any time in the next century.
I also didn’t need to stay in a relationship with Desi, but I had no way out. He threatened to kill me every time I left. When I mentioned leaving, he beat me so badly that I stopped telling him I would go. I tried to plan an exit strategy, but nothing solid stuck.
Still disgruntled that I quit my job to let a corner boy take care of me, my parents didn’t want me to move back in with them. When I told them I was pregnant, they wrote me off and told me I was on my own. They wanted no part of me or my choices, which they hated so much.
I lost the baby when Desi hit me so hard that my legs wobbled. I had fallen to the ground and landed on my stomach. After I left the hospital, I tried to return home, but Marcus and Sanavia Jones would have no such thing. They said I had made my choice and had to fend for myself. So, I hadn’t been back home in over five years. For five whole years, I hadn’t seen my parents. Hadn’t had a Sunday dinner, nothing.
Like every other abusive man, Desi limited access to my friends. I was completely alone except for him. I was empty inside and out, which gave him more power to do the evil things he did to me. Without a job or any money, the few dollars I had were used to purchase items for his house. Those few dollars were given to me by my abuser. I had no resources of my own, thus solidifying that there was no way out.
“Why are you avoiding me today?” Vito’s masculine tone cut through my thoughts and forced me to stare down my current dilemma. This man and his persistence to be in my space were going to get me killed.
The darkness in his eyes met mine and pulled me back into his orbit. “I wasn’t. I’m just in a hurry. I got here a little earlier than usual, so it just seems like I’m leaving sooner,” I reasoned.
He nodded. “If you’re just in a hurry, why are your hands shaking?”
“I’m just anxious to get home.”
“Anxious, huh?” His tone accused me of lying. His eyes rebuked my flimsy reasoning. “Tell me what makes you anxious to get home.”
“Do you accost every woman you meet at the grocery store and ask her why she’s anxious to get home?”
“Only you.”
“Well, I just finished shopping, and now I need to go. I have a lot to do. It’s that simple.” My eyes darted around the parking lot, looking for any resemblance of a familiar face. Desi could be watching me. He could be waiting. One of his family members or the thugs he hung out with could be spying on me from afar. I didn’t know who was watching and ready to run back and tell him what they saw. More importantly, I didn’t want to find out. “Listen, like I said, I have to go.”
“Is someone after you? Is someone bothering you? Because if they are, I will take care of them today,” Vito declared.
“No, I’m fine,” I assured. “Did you want something else, or…?”
“Next week, come back at the same time so we can talk. In the meantime, I’m going to put an end to who’s bothering you.”
I half-smiled. Was this guy serious? Judging by the no-nonsense scowl resting comfortably on his face, he didn’t tell too many jokes.
I checked the time on my dashboard. “That’s very thoughtful of you, but I’m fine. And I’m kind of in a hurry.” I’d been scolded enough times to know talking to Vito any longer would only lead to trouble.
He placed two fingers under my chin, directing intense, brown eyes to meet his. After a close look at me, he seemed to capture the dark pictures Desi forced me to take over the past two years. Coldness, hate, and unrequited love lived inside the windows of my soul; that much I was aware.
Vito pressed, “Are you sure everything is okay?”
“Yes, Everything is fine,” I lied.
“You know, if you were mine, I’d make sure you had a smile on your face every day. Your eyes would shine with brightness. There would be no darkness in them.”
But I’m not yours. I tore my gaze from his. “I should really get going.”
Suddenly, allowing him into my car felt like a grave mistake. Could he see through the makeup? Were the lies and secrets visible? Did he know I was an abused woman, one beating away from losing it all?
I didn’t want to be judged by this stranger. I had enough judgment from the people who were supposed to know me.
Grocery shopping was my only time to get away from the bullshit I faced in Desi’s house. I didn’t need a fine-ass man assessing my hidden bruises, looking through me to see the pain, understanding my need to be saved.
Vito flashed a signature smile. His lips looked like they were made to say beautiful words and for kissing. Lots of kissing. “I hope to see you next week.”
