REDEMPTION

FIVE

Ain't no feelin' like being free
When your mind's made up
And your heart's in the right place..
_______

After putting Ginger to bed, Baby planned to relax. She had just gotten fully relaxed in the tub when she heard her phone ringing from the bedroom. She snatched her eyes open and jumped up, grabbing a towel to cover her soaking wet body. Normally she would have let it ring, figuring that she could get back to whoever was calling her once she'd finished her bath. But these days, a missed call could mean a missed opportunity to speak to Rihmeek, and she couldn't have that.

It was hard dealing with the loneliness of being alone, and it was even harder wrapping her mind around the fact that she wouldn't be able to live with her fiancé for another fifteen years, but she took everything a day at a time. She urged herself to look forward to his calls and use them to push her through each lonely night.

With the towel wrapped around her body, she ran to the bedroom and grabbed the phone, answering as soon as she saw the call was coming from a blocked number.

"Yes!" she yelled out, hoping that she'd answered in time.

"You've received a collect call from..."

Closing her eyes, Baby thanked God that she hadn't missed it, pressed '1' to accept the charges, and waited for Rihmeek's voice to grace her line.

"Baby girl, what's up?"

The sound of his voice reminded her about how much she missed him, and she sighed out her sorrows with a heavy breath before replying.

"Nothing much. I'm good," Baby replied, careful not to ask him how he was doing. He was doing his time, and she never wanted to bring light to his harsh reality during their conversations.

"I was taking a bath when you called. I'm trying to get my mind right before my first day of work tomorrow." She ended her statement with a chuckle and awkward shrug. It seemed odd to engage in small talk in the midst of their current circumstances.

"Mmm, so what you tellin' me is that you ain't got shit on?" Rihmeek asked.

Slipping into some sexual shit wasn't the primary reason for his call, but once Baby mentioned being in the tub, it was hard for him to get the image of her naked body out of his mind. Closing his eyes, he licked his lips as he waited for her response. Knowing her man, Baby could hear the smile in his voice, and she couldn't help but return it with one of her own.

"Just a towel."

"Damn, so that body still wet, huh? How Miss Lady doing right now?"

Baby felt her cheeks get warm as Rihmeek referred to her lady lips down below. She definitely wasn't the virgin that she'd been when they first met, but the course of the conversation was making her feel as though she was.

"She's... doing okay," Baby replied slowly, feeling somewhat silly.

"Oh yeah? Well, this what I want you to do. Reach down and... with... fingers... I-"

Frowning, Baby pressed the phone even closer to her ear, desperately trying to make out what he was saying.

"Hello? Rihmeek?"

Baby pulled the phone away and looked at the screen, noting that she had no bars at the top. Her signal wasn't good, and if she didn't fix it and fix it fast, the call would drop.

"Rihmeek, if you can hear me, hold on! My reception is bad!"

With the phone balancing in one hand and the towel in the other, Baby placed it on speaker and ran out of the room and up the stairs, happy that she was alone other than Ginger who was asleep. Hopefully, she would have a better signal on the main floor.