Deliverance (Fem x Stem)

36

Teyanne Sully

Some redhead chick with butterfly locs was grinding her little booty up on me, she smelled like barbecue and perfume, but maybe that was just the half empty plate of ribs she had in her hand while she was tryna toot that lil thing back on me. I was goneee, and the room was spinning. I gripped on her ass for dear life, my jeans wet with sweat, my mouth bone dry.

"What's your name?" she calls out over the music.

"T-Teresa!" I answer back.

I giggle a little because I hadn't planned to say that. Teresa? Who's Teresa? She takes a bite out of her food and stops dancing, turning around to take me in. "I thought you was a nigga when I started dancing on you, but you'll do. Come here Daddy." She takes an aggressive bite out of her food and I start kissing up on her neck.

"You gotta girl?" she asks me, setting down her now empty plate and pulling me closer. "Nahh, not right now," I say smoothly, cupping her chin with my hands and kissing her mouth. She tasted good. Like barbecue and Heaven. I couldn't stop kissing her. I wanted to devour her. "I've been looking for you," Gia snatched me off of the girl and I swiped at my mouth.

"The fuck?" I growled at Gia.

"Who is she?" redhead with the butterfly locs asked.

"I'm her friend. Let's go," Gia grabbed my arm and started leading me towards the exit. "Where's Lilliana?" I ask. "She's taking an Uber to my house, I had to get her outta here before she saw you devouring another girl's soul," Gia laughed half heartedly. We stepped out into the night air, my head sort of clearing up.

"You shoulda just sent me and Lilliana in an Uber together back to your crib. Ion want her...going places alone," I say. "Because you don't want her to run away from you?" Gia asks me in a mocking tone.

"That isn't-

"What did I tell you about putting yo hands on these females?" Gia reprimands me as we get into an Uber. If Gia sent Lilliana to her crib in an Uber, then why don't we take Gia's car back?

We're in the Uber, the scent of that redhead alive in my nostrils. "Ima text her we're on the way," I start to reach for my phone but find it missing. "Damn, I think I left it back at the party," I comment.

"Too bad, I'll tell Asia to get it for you. She's the one having the party," Gia says. "I feel like I'm bout to puke," I moan, a feeling of nausea suddenly overtaking me. "Well don't in the car," Gia rolls her eyes. She asks the man to pull over and I hang my head low as I let the contents of my stomach out.

"All this drinking, all this taking drugs. It's gon have to stop if you wanna rock with Lilliana. She's a good woman and you're gonna fuck shit up and she not gonna want you. You got a good thing, Teyanne. You shouldn't mess this up."

She hands me a napkin to wipe my mouth. Then a travel size bottle of mouthwash to spit out onto the pavement to get the taste of puke out of my mouth. "I told her there would be drinks and weed and shit at the party," I grumble, closing the passenger door.

The driver takes off down the quiet streets. "Okay, but I'm not even talking about this party. I'm saying that when y'all are up there in Dallas, the type of shit you be pulling ain't cute."

"So y'all been talking?" I smirk.

"She's a cool girl. I don't appreciate how you treat her, Teyanne."

I roll my eyes, giving her the mouthwash back. "You don't know how she be at home. She be nagging and complaining about every little thing."

"So that gives you the right to put your hands on her?" Gia asks me angrily.

The car goes silent.

"That's what I thought," she snaps at me, "I'm gonna help you get your act together so that you can be worthy of Lilliana."

"She wants me to take anger management classes so ima do that. What more do y'all want from me?" I shrug. "You're so goddamn childish and immature Teyanne, and not in a good way. You're gonna fuck shit up. Sometimes you even just speaking fucks shit up," Gia tells me.

I snap my mouth shut and let her rant, turning my head towards the window. "Y'all need relationship counseling, you need anger management, and she needs damn self defense classes. It's sumin more y'all gon have to do."

"Okay, and I'm open and willing to do all of this," I threw up my hands. "You know what I think the problem is," Gia gives me a smug look. "You should want this for yourself. It shouldn't take Lilliana or me to tell you these things."

"Look, I'm working on myself," I point at my chest.

"So what have you been doing, Teyanne? Because I'm dyinggg to know," Gia asks. I look down at my lap. "That's what I thought. You're spoiled and you rely on everyone else to take care of you. I'm not sugar coating shit, and I'm not tryna be mean. I'm just laying the facts out there for you. So what Lilliana and I are saying is: either get your shit together and start wanting better for yourself and for your relationship, or leave her the fuck alone and let her be happy elsewhere."

I let her words marinate into me, knowing that they were true. Gia had never been fake, she had always kept it real with me, even when other people wouldn't tell me shit. If I said I had blue skin, the only thing that wouldn't tell me that would have been the mirror and Gia. And Lilliana.

"I've fucked up, haven't I?"

"You're lucky she still wants to try at something. She wants to save you guy's relationship," Gia informs me. "And now I have something else to tell you. And you're not gonna like it, but you seem calm enough for me to tell you it now."

"What is it?" I ask cautiously.

"Lilliana isn't at my house." Gia let's that sink in the air for a moment. Shock fills me. "What?" I say. "She's heading back to Dallas, in my car, and she's getting her things and staying somewhere far from Houston and Dallas while you two both heal separately."

"What?" I scream, grabbing Gia's shoulder and shaking it. "Why would you let her do that?"

"Why are you so scared she's gonna leave you? Have you been giving her a reason to wanna leave you?" Gia asks me in that same mocking tone.

"Gia, how could you?" I scream.

"You both need some time apart if you're gonna make this work," Gia tells me calmly as I rage. "Now calm down so we can start getting your sorry ass together. I'm giving you guys both a month away. And we obviously got some work to do."

"A month?" I'm damn near hyperventilating.

"A month. We got some work to do, my friend," Gia says.