The following day, as she was beneath the running water, showering for her shift she'd go to in a couple of hours, Brie's mind went back to the events of the night for the umpteenth time. She'd been brought home, safely mind you, and ever since had been revisiting and reminiscing the whole thing. The memories with the strange man who'd driven her back and forth and then Raye replayed, more so the ones with the strange girl, who became not so strange anymore.
There was something about her that piqued interest in Brie and no doubt it was her attractiveness but there was more to it. The girl had experienced a snippet into who Raye was; she was polite enough when she wasn't stressed and wielding a deadly weapon, she was also friendlier than Brie remembered from that night, but more importantly, there was a charm about her, an aura that although subtle was captivating nonetheless.
All this to say that the unexpectedness of their meeting disarmed Brie to the point where she entertained the thought of accepting Raye's offer for them to get to know one another in the hopes of being friends; friends, right. It was quite an offer, she had to admit after meeting someone as entrancing as the girl. There was certainly a barrage of things to learn about her that Brie wouldn't mind knowing.
Finishing the rest of her shower, Brie sauntered out of the enclosure, ultimately wrapping a towel around her body. Still, there were so many questions regarding Raye and everything else but for the sake of giving her mind a break, Brie concluded that she would take up the girl's offer partly so that when they meet again she would use that time to ask all the questions she had.
Once the girl was done changing into her underwear, she stood at the bathroom mirror carefully styling her hair. Brie was focused on getting the small braids right when her phone suddenly rang.
She paused everything she was doing to rush out of the room to get the device. Briskly she scooted over to the blaring phone that sat on her bed.
“Hello,” She answered and was met with silence. Quickly she glanced down at the screen to find that the phone number was withheld.
Again she spoke. “Hello?”
“Told you I'd reach out when you made up your mind,” Raye answered in a cool tone and for some unknown reason, Brie's heart started to race.
How was she able to do that— why did her body react that way? Clearing her throat, Brie clutched the phone closer to her ear, a passive expression on her face.
“Raye,” she greeted solemnly.
“Brie,” the girl on the other end replied, matching her energy.
“What makes you so certain that I've even thought of you, much less decided anything?”
The girl chuckled. “C'mon,” she said. “Are we really playing that game?”
“What game?” questioned Brie, a slight smirk pressed against her lips.
Chuckling again, Raye was both careful and softly spoken when she responded. “I'd like to think my confidence is what often sells me faster,”
“Now you just sound vain and that's not cute,”
“But here's the thing, there's a thin line between confidence and being vain— I'm never the latter,”
“I see, but I'm sorry to disappoint you, I still haven't made a decision about your supplication,”
“Hmm, you're a terrible liar, do you know that?”
Brie quirked a dark brow, also unable to hide her amusement for it oozed all over her tone “Am I?”
“Yes, your voice grew deeper than it usually is when you said that, it's how I know you lied,” Raye replied leaving the girl on the other end of the line stunted by the observation even she missed.
“How were you able to distinguish that?”
“It's a skill you pick up when you deal with dozens of people daily. You learn to pinpoint when and how they lie,”
“Mmh, you're good at detecting lies with others but not with me, so why don't you tell me the real reason you called?”
“It didn't work huh? What a shame,” Raye trailed off and a moment of silence fell between the two.
“Honestly, Brie, I reached out because I couldn't stop thinking about you, and I know it might seem weird or I might come across as too persistent or desperate but I couldn't help it. I feel something. I think it's called attraction or infatuation but whatever it is, it has consumed me," She confessed, breaking the silence and a soft curl played at Brie's lips.
“Ever since the incident and you were kind enough to help me I've wondered about you. I found my thoughts filled with nothing but you. It happened every night before I slept and the moment my eyes opened today to greet the new day,”
“What is it about me that you allow to haunt you like that?”
It was a genuine question and with it, Brie heard the girl suck in a breath.
“Everything. From your eyes to that awkward smile you gave me last night. The cute frown I saw when you were deep in thought and I know I haven't known you for long but I feel like I do a-and I want to get to know you if that isn't wrong to say.” Raye confessed again, inciting the girl she addressed to bubble with newfound excitement, one that conflicted her.
“To be honest, I'd be lying if I said that I don't share the same sentiments. Everything about the way we met, aside from being frightening, is so interesting. You of your own are intriguing to me, like I want to know more but dare I do such a thing? Hell, it scares me to even entertain those thoughts,”
“Why does it scare you?”
“The position and power you hold. You're a dangerous person, Raye. You work with dangerous people, beef with equally dangerous people and I don't know if that's the life for me. I don't want to be a part of that life, but it doesn't mean that my curiosity is dead.”
“That is the most complex part of me, my affiliation with the mafia. It's a bittersweet thing: sweet because I get to acquire so much with a community at my back. It's bitter because people are afraid to mess with me, in a good sense and that can be quite depressing. But one thing I can say to you to quell your concerns is that if we get to know one another, I'll do my best so that part of my life doesn't intersect with yours,”
Raye's tone was honest but as she was almost pouring her guts onto the table for her to examine, Brie wanted to know. She wanted to see if she'd be open and genuine with her.
“Is it true, that night when you were shot, it was because you slept with someone you shouldn't have slept with?” she questioned and the girl on the other end of the line laughed.
“Is that what they're saying out here?”
“Yes, it is and I'd like to know if it's the truth or not?”
“If it is the truth, would it make you think differently of me?” Raye asked.
“I'd just be curious to know if I'm among the others that you chose to get busy with,”
“Luckily, it's just you, right now. What happened was that I got caught in some place I shouldn't have been and men started shooting at me and the two guys I was out with. We got split up and that's when I fled the scene. I just started running everywhere,”
“I'm so sorry that happened to you,” Brie replied, genuine empathy laced in her voice. “Was it this Junior fellow I heard about too?”
“Somewhat. A few of Junior's men had been there. But you see what I told you last night, that a lot of inaccuracies tend to circulate? It's what people do, they love twisting and spinning tales to make it more scandalous than it actually is,” the girl replied, a bit of dejection in her tone and it saddened Brie. She could only imagine what the weight of that must feel like, to have the public make assumptions about things they didn't know nor would probably never know.
YOU ARE READING
Different Worlds (wlw) Editing
RomanceA leader of a prominent gang finds herself enamoured of the nurse who saved her life. Fate had brought them together it seemed but they quickly realized that the forces it probably had no good intentions for them.
