“What am I going to do?”
The tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked at her wrists. They were already red and bruising. The obvious fingerprints were apparent against her fair skin. Anyone with a brain would know that she was manhandled. Now what? she wondered as she pushed away from the door, and let the events of the evening fill her mind.
Nothing could ever be simple. She minded her business, and still trouble found her. She couldn’t go out with Stone and Emerson. They were finished, before it even got started.
Chapter 8
“I thought that you were going out with them today at four o’clock?” Tina asked Toni as she stood in the kitchen with nothing to do. Everything was done. Toni could take Sundays off if she wanted to, but Bliss was her life.
She carelessly rubbed her wrists beneath the bracelets she wore to cover the redness and bruising. Tina must have noticed because she placed her arm over Toni’s shoulders and led her outside to the back. No one was out there.
She placed her hands on her hips.
“Okay, what the fuck happened on the date last night?”
Toni looked away. She thought about both men, and even used thoughts of them to wipe away Vince’s touch and kiss.
“Nothing. It was nice, but they’re really not my type.”
“Not your type? Who the hell are you kidding? What happened to make you change your mind?”
She looked away and then the tears hit her eyes. She quickly wiped them away. As she turned Tina grabbed her wrist and Toni gasped as she pulled it to her chest.
“Oh my God. You’re hurt.” Tina reached for her again.
“No. Don’t. I’m okay. It’s nothing.”
“Nothing?” Tina asked. “Did Stone and Emerson tie you up and have their way with you or something?”
“No! Geesh, Tina, what the hell kind of woman do you think I am?”
“A scared one. Who hurt your wrists?”
Toni looked down at the ground then toward the Dumpster. She inhaled then exhaled. She felt Tina touch her shoulder. The next thing she knew, she was in Tina’s embrace.
“Talk to me, honey. I’m your best friend. We have no secrets.”
“Really?” Toni asked with an attitude.
“Hell yeah. You know I like Charlie and his brother. You know I want to tag-team them.”
Toni chuckled. “Everyone knows that.”
“They do not,” Tina said then stepped back but held Toni by her shoulders. “Spill the beans.”
“I had an amazing time with Emerson and Stone. I wanted to go home with them. I wanted to have sex with them.”
“No big surprise there. What happened?”
“I got scared. I started thinking about how I don’t really know them. Maybe I can’t trust them. A lot of fears ran through my mind so I asked for more time.”
“Hence the date for today. I still don’t get why you want to cancel it.”
Toni was silent a moment. She stared at Tina, and felt the one stray tear escape her eye.
“Vince,” she whispered.
She saw Tina squint and then her eyes widened. “That motherfucker hurt you again? When? Where did it happen? What happened?”