The Beginning

Nicky

"Morning." Starla chimed as she transitioned from cushy carpet to the tile floor. She hissed at the chill that crept up through the sole of her foot.

"It's four in the morning." I glanced at the clock, then back at her. "Couldn't sleep?"

"With you literally giving Tess an exorcism?" Star searched for coffee mugs. "I don't think so."

"Top left." I directed, then snickered. "An exorcism?"

Stony as she poured her coffee, the scent awoke her jovial side. Star bounced with repressed giggles and turned back to me over her steamy mug. "Sounded like she met Jesus to me." She took a tentative sip.

"Don't tell her that." I advised. I'd never see her naked again.

Star rested a slim hip against the counter. "Why are you up?" She nodded at me.

At first, it was Tess that kept me up. Her silky skin beneath my palms, carefully tended curls trapped in my fist. I felt heat rise to my flesh as I pictured her hooded eyes, forcing themselves open to study each movement we made together. Tiny whimpers and salacious pleas echoed in my ears. Exhausted, damp, and covered in me, Tess snuggled in and let her eyes drift shut.

Near the same reverie-like slumber, my phone went off. Once I could ignore, but the subsequent texts amplified my inquiries.

Marcelo first asked if he was crazy.

Silas agreed that something was up with Uncle Dom.

Julian and Mateo, who usually only shared thoughts with one another, agreed.

The only two left out of the group chat were Vin and Ozzy. One I was sure helped Uncle Dom in whatever plan he had and the other couldn't keep his mouth shut.

Paragraph-like texts became a six-way call, and before long, we were making plans. The only problem was that they hinged on everything going to exactly as they were supposed to. We couldn't miss a step or misspeak a single word. If it was Uncle Dom who'd turned on us, it meant the whole system would be thrown out of whack.

I gave Star a crooked smile. "Exorcisms." I answered her. My phone buzzed against the counter. I woke the screen to a text from Santi.

"Don't forget about the fitting today." He reminded me.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head." I muttered to myself.

Star cradled her mug in both hands. Steady brown eyes watched me intensely.

"Ask me." I turned my phone over on the counter and recentered my attention on the petite woman.

"What?" Startled out of some faraway thought, Star sat upright.

"You got something to say?" Though my words were adversarial, I hoped my tone was curious.

"You're not going to kick me out if I ask, right?"

Between Tess and Star, I'd heard the question more than I cared to. "Spit it out." I encouraged.

"Are you serious about Tess?" Star wondered. Usually when a woman asked about my interest in another, it was whiny or disappointed. Star asked out of her protective nature rather than her own gain. "I mean serious serious."

"What are you getting at?"

"When you go back to California, you're not going to forget that she exists."

How could I? It was impossible to forget the way she smelt, the way she tasted. I couldn't bring myself to force away memories of the way her cheeks reddened with embarrassment or the way it sounded when she laughed from deep within her belly. Her hands were etched in the back of my neck and along my jaw.

It had only been a week since I'd been granted the opportunity to learn her all over again, and I couldn't deny that I was ensnared.

"I'm not going back." It felt good to admit.

"Because of her?" Star melted at my adoration for Tess.

"And Rico's gone." A lump formed in my throat. "Vin's the only one who wants the job--"

"And you can't trust that fucker as far as you can throw him." Star took the words out of my mouth, while she took heavy swig. Her swallow was stalled by the molten liquid. "She doesn't need another heartbreak, Nicky." Star refocused on her point.

"I'd like to state this on the record, Starla." My eye bore into hers. "She keeps trying to dump me. Do you understand?"

"She's scared." Star surmised. "Nate was just like you once. He dished out gifts more than rain fell from the sky, he told her that she was smart and funny and kind, and he was even the one who proposed." She clicked her tongue in a rapid tsk-tsk-tsk. "Next thing you know, he's seeing strippers more often than he's seeing her, and the video."

"Everyone's seen it, huh?"

"Lexi sent it directly to Tess, then posted it online for anyone who cared. Tess was humiliated." Shaking her head, Star remarked, "I honestly don't know how their relationship survived. Back in the day, Tess would've caught her that night right where they fucked and beat her ass until she was too tired to swing."

The same woman who turned pink when I talked about the way she begged during sex had a mean streak. The more I heard the more attracted I became. "Tess Bowen?"

"Yes, Theresa Paige Bowen. You don't remember she got into it with Reagan Echt?"

"No." Shock dropped my jaw. But if I remember correctly, Reagan's jaw was so far to the left that she had to get braces.

"She called Tess a dyke. Tess asked if Reagan had a problem with it and the rest is history." Star reminded me.

We shared laughter, that was quickly stifled when we realized how boisterous we'd become.

"She has changed a lot." Star noted. "Right before she and Nate got together, it felt like she woke up one day and just changed. She got all her shit together to go to school. When she couldn't pay the bills, she started collecting jobs. After Nate, she just never stopped."

"I thought she needed to pay for school." I observed.

"It's expensive, I agree, but four jobs expensive? This is the first time I've seen her outside of work in the better part of a year. Sometimes I stop by the bar just to spend time with her."

"You want to go shopping with her and Roni later?" I offered.

"With Hannibal out there?" Her confidence stolen in so few words.

"We don't know that it was him. No one has actually seen him." I informed her.

"You think someone is doing it for him?" Star's furrowed brow pinched closer together. "He's got lackeys?"

"I've got a lead on who it might be. If you can keep Tess company while I investigate, I'd appreciate it."

Star thought about it for a silent moment. Her coffee was cool enough to take another dramatic swig. "I don't have any money." she remarked.

I kissed my teeth, "Did I ask if you had money?"