Read Unraveled - A Short Story Collective Online
Authors: KR Bankston
was asleep dreaming about sex, to wake up finding he was having sex. He also had to get her out of his bed and back into the living room before Lathan got up. He shook her gently and she didn’t move. Devon gently lifted her and took her back into the living room laying her on the couch. He sure hoped Lathan didn’t come out at that moment considering he was completely naked and so was she. Devon managed to complete his task and get back to his room safely.
Fortunately, Alisha had undressed before she came into his room.
Please, please don’t’ let anything come of this shit and anyone find out,
Devon thought again, Chrissalyn immediately coming to mind.
He wanted so much to be a part of her life. She was part of a dying breed in his mind, a really good woman, and he didn’t want anything to mess up his chances of being with her. He went and showered again trying to wash away the incident, finally returning to bed, laying down and allowing sleep to find him.
4
A
lisha was talking to Kina reminiscing on the previous night. “Girl, he is too funny,” she told her friend going on about her and Lathan sleeping together and him going back to his room leaving her on the couch.
“I’m like, shit, Devon already knows we’re together, so what’s the big deal
,” she giggled and Kina smiled slightly.
They were doing some shopping together this morning as Alisha was trying to find an outfit for the club they were headed to tonight.
“Did he ever tell you why he was mad?” Kina asked as she picked up the imitation leather halter.
It was black and she thought it would go nicely with the black decorative jeans she’d bought. They were low cut and showed her belly piercing. She wanted a top that did the same thing.
“No, just that he was tired,” Alisha replied holding up the red mini she’d found. “Besides, it was all good after I gave him what he needed,” she giggled and Kina laughed with her.
“So what was Miss Chrissalyn thang doing with Devon last night?” she threw out and Alisha became quiet.
“Hmph, I don’t know,” she replied still thoughtful. “Maybe he likes her or something,” she went on. “That’s a good thing though. Maybe now her fat ass can leave Lathan alone,” she replied haughtily once again checking out her butt’s reflection in the mirror.
Kina laughed with her as she decided she would buy the top.
“Wassup Alisha?” Sammy greeted her looking her over in the skintight low-rise jeans she was wearing.
“Hey Sammy,” she replied trying to sound nonchalant.
Truth was he still intrigued her, but he’d cheated on her, so she had to leave him alone.
“Whatcha buying now?” he asked chuckling lightly.
He knew Alisha loved to shop and normally he would be giving her money to do just that. Now however, she was on this kick that she was in love with this man from her job. Sammy smiled inwardly knowing he would have her back, it was only a matter of time. Alisha may have everyone else fooled, but he knew her. She’d never had a serious monogamous relationship in her life. She had a fear of commitment, yet she was always trying to convince herself she wanted one.
“Just a couple of things, nothing special,” she replied hoping that would end the conversation and he would just go on.
“Mm, OK,” Sammy replied looking into her eyes now. “So what’s on tap tonight? You hanging out with old boy?”
Alisha sighed gently knowing Lathan was going out with his boys tonight and she wouldn’t see him. “No, me and Kina heading to Oasis,” she replied calling the popular nightspot by name. Sammy nodded his understanding, making a mental note to be in attendance this evening.
“Sounds like a plan then,” he replied as he readied himself to leave. “See ya later Kina,” he told the girl as he turned his back to her, so she couldn’t hear or see what he said to Alisha. “When you tired of playing with old’ boy, call me. I’ll still give you what you need and you know I got it for you,” he told her softly, kissing her ear gently.
Alisha sighed lightly but didn’t speak. Sammy smiled again and left the two ladies standing looking at his back as he walked away.
“Girl, you still messing with him?” Kina asked curiously.
“No, he just doesn’t seem to get the message though,” Alisha replied, secretly filing away Sammy’s declaration in the deep recess of her mind. “Let’s go eat girl, I’m starving” she told Kina who eagerly accepted. They made their way out of the mall and headed for the parking lot, entering the vehicle and driving toward McKinney’s Steak house, their lunch destination.
*****
“Feeling better?” Devon asked Chrissalyn as they talked. He’d called her after awakening this morning.
“Yes, actually much better,” she replied honestly.
She’d thought about the evening and the things Lathan said, dismissing them as him being under pressure and perhaps having a bad night. She knew how badly Alisha wore on his nerves and she supposed every one was entitled to a bad evening.
“Good, then you won’t mind hanging out with me for a while,” Devon slyly asked.
Chrissalyn smiled to herself. She knew now without a doubt Devon was feeling her, but she still wasn’t sure how she felt about him. He’d always been nice and of course funny as hell, but he was seven years older than her.
You didn’t care that Lathan was 13 years older
, her mind told her. She sighed gently.
“What did you want to do?” she asked cautiously.
Chrissalyn knew he and Lathan were best friends, meaning she would see a lot more of Lathan away from the office.
Are you really ready to handle that emotionally,
she asked herself as she listened to Devon outline his plans for the day. She’d long since admitted her romantic attraction to Lathan when they met and how quickly they melded with each other, never to him of course, but to herself she knew she cared deeply for him. Still, once she found out about him and Alisha, she never pursued it and she deliberately went out of her to way to date and socialize more with friends and guys she met, finally putting the feelings in check..
Now if she decided to spend time with Devon, she knew that she may possibly have to confront those feelings once more. Not to mention the open hostility she already had to deal with concerning Alisha.
“Are you listening to me?” Devon inquired after she didn’t answer one of his questions.
Chrissalyn chuckled and apologized.
“Sorry, I got a little distracted,” she replied and he scolded her gently.
“So, I’m picking you up in an hour,” he told her. “That enough time for you?”
“Yeah, barely,” she joked and they both laughed as they disconnected.
Devon was still smiling as he went about his task of getting dressed.
Please don’t let the drama from last night come back to haunt me
, he thought to himself once more as he entered the kitchen finding Lathan coming out of the laundry room.
“Sup man?” Lathan greeted his friend who returned the greeting. “Where you off to today?” he inquired seeing that Devon was dressed and in a really good mood.
“Picking up my baby,” he replied and Lathan gave him a quizzical look.
Devon chuckled before answering his unasked question. “Hanging out with Chrissalyn today,” he replied sticking his head back in the fridge and missing the deep scowl that immediately appeared on Lathan’s face.
“Oh?” he replied trying to keep his voice even.
What the fuck is he up to
,
he thought angrily. Why was Devon insistent upon dating Chrissalyn? Lathan knew his friend’s reputation with women and he never kept any of them around for any length of time.
“You know Chris ain’t like most of them broads you be dating right?” Lathan threw out protectively.
Even if he and Chrissalyn weren’t going to be together, he didn’t want her screwed over. Devon sighed deeply and turned to his friend looking him in the eye.
“I know that,” he began. “It was one of the things that attracted me to her,” he went on still holding his friends gaze. “Chriss is definitely a treasure and I plan to treat her that way,” he told Lathan before finishing his statement. “Now the question becomes, can you handle the fact that she and I are going to be together?” Devon threw out already assuming Chrissalyn would agree to a relationship with him.
Lathan was careful not to frown and betray the true depth of fear the question brought. He didn’t want them together. He didn’t want any man with Chrissalyn except him.
You’re too big of a punk to act on that though
, his mind taunted him before he pushed past the thought knowing Devon was expecting an answer.
“Man, look,” he began. “I just want what’s best for Chriss. She’s my friend and I definitely care what happens to her,” he went on. “I don’t want to see her hurt or used,” he finished looking at Devon hard.
His friend seemed to accept that explanation and nodded his agreement as he grabbed his keys and headed out the door.
Well you’re gonna hafta put up or shut up now
, he thought once again of Devon’s plans to be with Chrissalyn. “Shit,” he said aloud still very much dismayed at the current turn of events. Lathan dressed and headed out, he needed to talk, and outside of Chrissalyn, there was only one other person he trusted, His mind was still racing as he drove finally arriving at his destination, definitely pleased they were home.
Devon continued to think about his conversation with Lathan as he drove.
That joker is lying
, he thought of his friend’s declaration of protection when it came to Chrissalyn. Devon knew he was attracted to the woman, but he hadn’t made a move, instead preferring to hang on to the dysfunctional arrangement he had with Alisha. Thinking of her brought
back the night before and made him physically ill. She definitely wasn’t his type and he would have never slept with her. He often wanted to ask Lathan why he was slumming when he’d first met her. Aside from the figure and nice smile she possessed, she wasn’t attractive. Not to Devon anyway. She had bad acne, was rather plain, and definitely too dramatic for his tastes. He also knew her type, the kind who looked for a decent brother to latch on too and subsequently bleed dry. She hadn’t finished college and basically had no mobility outside of DCA.
He’d warned Lathan again and again about doing her raw, knowing one of these times she was going to come up pregnant and his friend would be stuck for life. He shuddered again, saying another silent prayer, that the mistake of last night never come back to haunt him.
Chrissalyn would never believe me and she would kick my ass under the curb
, he thought arriving at her house and pulling into the drive.
The thought of her immediately chased away all the darkness he’d been thinking and brought a smile to his face. He was 31 years old and tired. Tired of all the games of dating, tired of lying cheating women who only wanted to take what he’d worked hard to get. He wanted someone who loved Devon for Devon. He’d seen that quality in Chrissalyn.
She was always the same every time you saw her. She wasn’t prone to moodiness and he didn’t think he’d ever seen her whining.
She should slap the shit outta Alisha though
, he chuckled to himself, knowing that if she ever got that angry there would be hell to pay. Chrissalyn was very tolerant with a great patience span, but Devon was no fool. Those were the ones you had to watch, because when they finally got to the end that was it.
“Atomic combustion,” he mumbled aloud laughing at his own joke as he knocked on her door, anxious to see her and start their day.
They were at Famous Phil’s, a popular gaming and restaurant combination. Today it was packed, because it was Saturday and there were three birthday parties in full swing. Chrissalyn was completely relaxed as kids squealed delightedly at the various games.
“It’s cause I’m white ain’t it?” he threw back and she laughed.
Chrissalyn had to admit she was having a wonderful time with Devon. She’d seen a new side to him today that she’d never known existed. He was extremely caring she found as they talked about their passions and interests.
Guess you never know huh
, she thought as he continued to try and beat the game and failed miserably.
“Aww, its okay,” she tried to comfort him in his defeat.
Devon chuckled and told her to come on. They made their way to the parking lot and his car, getting in and heading out.
“So have I made my intentions obvious enough, or do I need to spell them out for you?” Devon asked getting directly to the point.
Chrissalyn looked over at him and smiled again. “I get it,” she said calmly and he nodded. After a few more moments of silence, she spoke again. “So what exactly do you want from me Devon?” she threw out looking directly into his eyes, sitting in the parking lot of the ice cream shop they’d stopped at. He sighed deeply before answering.