Moving Forward

Two

Aaliyah

I lay in bed, staring up at the small cracks in my ceiling. My mind wandered to the mystery boy I had met last night at the club, and as if on cue, my phone began to ring. Hesitantly, I eyed the small device, wondering who would be calling me at 12 A.M. on a Monday.

"Hello," I mumbled, trying to avoid waking anybody else up.

"Hey," a familiar voice seductively called out to me. "It's Ray from the club last night. I was wondering if you wanted to chill?"

Immediately, I sat up, a grin already making its way onto my face. "Sure," I said, praying that I didn't sound too excited. "When do you want to hang out?"

 "Umm," there was a pause, followed by a quiet conversation in the background before he returned, "I'm just chillin' right now, so let me know where you're staying, and I'll pick you up."

Eagerly, I gave him the address before clumsily getting out of bed. Across from my bed, I saw my roommate roll over, and I froze, scared that I had woke her up. When she resumed her heavy breathing, I tiptoed to my dresser, throwing on the first outfit I found.

 Closing my eyes, I sent a quick prayer up to God to make sure that my ass wasn't gonna get caught tonight, then I made my way out of my room. Somehow, (praise Jesus!) I made it outside without waking up Mrs. Harris, who was in charge of making sure curfew was made.

When I the toe of my sneaker made it onto the concrete steps of the building, I relaxed. The door softly shut behind me, and I sat on the top step, waiting for Ray.

"You look good tonight," Ray commented, smirking. He held a hand out to help me up, and I gratefully took it. "I'm glad you put in effort to look nice for me."

 Smiling, I tried to appear as nonchalant as possible. "I always look this good."

 "Well you look good enough to go with me and some boys to the club," he said. He lead me down the stairs, his fingertips brushing the curve of my ass. "You gonna let me buy you a drink tonight?"

 "I'll think about it."

______

 I stumbled into the empty hotel lobby, giggling. Ray looked back at me mischievously, and I smiled at him. Before I could question him on where he was taking me, he lead me to the elevators. We made our way inside, his lips immediately finding mine once the doors closed.

My head swam as my lips moved against his. His fingers roughly grabbed me by the hips, and I moaned when his tongue leisurely dragged across my bottom lip. I barely had time to open my mouth before the elevators doors reopened.

 Ray dragged me out of the elevator, quickly leading me down the hallway.

 "You got to be quiet, OK?" he whispered, pressing a finger over his lips. I nodded dumbly, giggling again when he gently pushed me into the room labeled 'Ice Vending Machine.'