Uncharted Territory

Chapter 4

New Year’s Eve “You’re not going to lie around in this bed all day. Get up and do what any other 25 year old would do! Go out, have a drink, go to a friend’s house…something” my Mom says, throwing my bedroom curtains open. “Go awaaayyy!” “No, I won’t. I’m not one of your little friends. I don’t take demands, I give them. Now get up, Robyn. You’re wasting away in this stale ass bedroom” she shouts. I sit up, blocking my eyes from the light coming through the window. “When was the last time you washed your ass, girl!? My God!” “I don’t know. The night of the sham of a marriage I almost walked into.” “That was days ago!” she shouts, pulling me up and throwing me into the shower. I stand there in the shower, allowing the warm water to flow over my long, golden brown, curly hair down onto my caramelized skin. And then, like clockwork, the tears start rolling down. I’ve held them in this entire time, trying my best to be strong. How could I not have known? “Ahhhhhhh!!!!” I scream from the shower, releasing all of the frustration and anger that I’ve held in over the past few days. “Robyn! What’s wrong!?” my mother shouts, bursting into the bathroom. Fully clothed, she climbs into the shower with me, holding my naked body in her arms. “It’s ok, baby girl. It’s ok” she whispers. ↔ After my come to Jesus moment in the shower with Mom, she calls up Charity. “I’m glad you guys called.” “Thanks for coming” I reply, letting her in. “I’m going to leave you girls alone. I’m sure you two can handle things just fine from here” she kisses me on the forehead. “So what are you waiting for!?” “What do you mean?” “I mean, it’s New Year’s Eve. Get dressed! We’re going to shake our asses tonight. Let’s go get ready!” Charity shouts, heading toward my bedroom with her bags. She plays an early 90s and early 2000s hip-hop and rap mix on my Bluetooth player while we get ready. She’s put on an all-white dress with white stilettos and a clutch to match. “Damn, girl, you’re wearing that dress!” I whistle at her. “Thank you! Go put yours on and let’s see what you’re working with.” I run into my walk-in closet, pull out the bangin’ red dress that’s been hanging in the back collecting dust and slide it on. I stop by the mirror I have in my closet, checking myself out. The dress is a cold shoulder, creating a V-shape right down between my breasts. It perfectly accentuates my small curves, making me look way thicker than I actually am. I’m nothing but bones, just like my Dad. I step out of the closet…. “Oh, wow!!! So we’ve got a little Delta pride going on tonight, huh? Baby, you are wearing that dress!” “Thank you. I’ve been saving it for something special” “Well, I’d say that tonight is quite special. Don’t you think?” “I agree. Here, zip me up” I say, elated that she’s here. I slide on some silver heels and grab a matching clutch. I decide to go with silver accessories. They will pop against all this red. ↔ It’s 11:30 on the dot, as we hit the front door of Ernie Biggs in downtown Little Rock. “Find us a seat. I’m going to get us some drinks” Charity shouts over the music. I find a couple of booth seats with a table in front, right off the dance floor. A few of our favorite songs come on and we rock the night out, shaking our asses on the dance floor each chance we get. “Hey, you better slow down on those drinks. You may not feel it now, but they will kick in. And when they do, you’re going to be somewhere over a toilet praying to God that you’ll never do it again.” “I’m good, really” I say sluggishly. Obviously, I’m not good, I’m seeing double, but I know that Charity is our designated driver so I’m not worried. Independent by Lil Boosie comes on and the dance floor goes wild. Charity and I run out, twerkin’ hard. “Whew, I really needed this!” I shout, jumping up and down to some random techno beat. I turn but Charity isn’t there. Instead, some random guy is staring me in the face. “I’m so sorry. I thought you were my friend.” “That’s quite alright” he winks. “Hey, you look familiar” I cock my head to the side, trying to remember where I’ve seen him before. “Nacho guy, remember? My name is Luke” he extends his hand. Then it all starts playing back in my head. “Oh, wow!” I say before I realize. I look him in his eyes, and then trail my eyesight down his chest to his crotch area. “Robyn” I slightly smile, reciprocating his handshake. He winks and steps a bit closer, whispering “So I see you’re plenty sober tonight.” “Ha, very funny” I yell out over the music. He gives me this sinister grin just as the song changes and whips me around so that my back is against his rock-hard chest. I can literally feel his breath on my neck. He begins to grind on my slim backside, molesting my waist and hips with his hands. I look back over my left should, grinding back on his manhood, teasing him. This man is nothing short of a chocolate god, with his full beard, short wavy hair, and dimples. Let me not forget to mention, his alluring honey dipped eyes. With each light that flashes in the building, I catch a glimpse of his eyes. They’re beautiful. Wait, or maybe I’m just drunk. Hell, I don’t know. What I do know is, this man is fine. ↔ “This has literally been the best night of my life! I so needed this, Charity.” “Hell, me, too. I didn’t realize that I could still drop this ass low to the floor.” “Ha, we are getting old, aren’t we!?” “Hell, yeah, we are. A few times I found myself getting out of breath out there on the dance floor. What I need to do is get my ass back in the gym.” “You and me both!” I giggle, climbing into the passenger seat of Charity’s car. I recline the seat and close my eyes. “You’re not falling asleep on me are you?” “I’ll try not to.” “Well sit back up. We need to make a pit stop by the store before heading back to your place. I didn’t tell you earlier but I’ve packed enough for the rest of the week. I’ll be staying with you until Friday.” “You know I don’t care how long you stay.” “Good, now wake up!” Charity says, hopping on the freeway, heading for my place. It takes about 15 minutes, but we pull up to a convenience store. “What do we need?” I ask, following behind Charity. “Snacks and wine, my dear. Snacks and wine” she says leading the way. “I’ve gotta run to the restroom. Get what we need. I’ll meet you at the car” I stagger my way to the restroom to take a leak. I quickly wash my hands and fix my hair. It’s dried out a little so I apply the water from my hands to my hair, somewhat reviving my natural curls. “Whoa, I’m so sorry” I shout, running into someone. “Hello, Robyn” Luke says staring down at me. Oh, man. There’s those honey dipped eyes again. I grow jittery, palms sweaty out of nowhere. Without notice, Luke scoops me up and backs me into the women’s bathroom, planting me on top of the sink. Our lips meet and it’s on and poppin’, as our yearning for one another peaks. We literally tear away at one another. He wraps his arms around my back, unzipping my dress, watching my breasts fall. He takes them to his mouth, moaning, grunting. Then, he stops. “What! What are you doing!?” I bellow, panting like a dog. Luke doesn’t say a word. He repositions my breasts, zips my dress, fluffs my hair, and walks away. He leaves me there on the sink in the women’s restroom of some shady 7-Eleven in downtown Little Rock with my panties soaked. “What the hell took you so long? I’ve been out here waiting for at least five minutes!” ​“Nothing. Let’s go home.”