Novel Treatments / RENDEZVOUS WITH A RUNAWAY: Excerpts
“Be careful, my brother. That’s a white woman in there. In the slave days she could have you flogged just for looking at her.”
“Oh yeah? They would have to kill me first.”
Junior stepped into the laundry room and stood next to Derek. ”I’m sure in your case they would.”
“Hey. What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Shhh,” Derek said. ”She’s starting to wake up.”
“About time,” Bobby said, peeping his head back through the curtains. His eyes molested her every limb. ”I think tomorrow I’m finding some work for her to do. I’ll show you what I think about slavery.”
Megan rolled over, slowly sat up, and stared toward the curtains.
“I trust you had a good nap,” Derek said.
She stood, stretched, three sets of eyes watching her, and she folded her arms across her bosom. ”There was this big . . . this . . . Derek, Bobby was being mean to me.”
Derek cast a look over his shoulder and the Big Kid frowned. ”Man, you need to put a muzzle on your pet. She’s always starting something.”
“Cool it, Bobby. Those dreams again.” Derek snapped two fingers together. ”You awake now, Megan?”
“Why do you say that, Derek? You said it the other day.” Her lips remained separated as she rubbed one eye. She smiled. ”Of course I am awake. I am always awake.”
“Sure you are,” Bobby said, chuckling, and Derek gently elbowed him.
.........................................................................
Never before had Derek felt so alone. And somewhere in the distance, barely audible through the cold, concrete walls of the jail, the girls kept yelling, “Don’t worry, Derek.”
Words meant to comfort. But their implication was guilt. If only he could yell, “Shut up.”
..........................................................................
They took seats around the tip of the long platform, for safety’s sake, near the front door. Their eyes spyed the red-haired young woman who was smiling down, rotating her hips and peeling her bra. All other eyes in the room were on them.
Derek knew what these folks were thinking. Three niggers with a white girl. In here, of all places. A redneck biker hangout. And Derek’s trouble came with an extra topping. He realized there was nothing for Megan to do, but why was she staring at him? And why was she sitting directly across from him?
Coincidence—or a prank from heaven?
“You filthy dog,” her eyes kept saying. Not Bobby, not Junior, just Derek. As though she pardoned the lust from the others, but would not accept it from him.
How dare them admit her to a strip joint without proper identification. In fact, out of the four who came in together, Derek was the only one who was legal. Now she was here, ruining his chance for a good time.
Terrific. His conscience was not only alive and well, but it had moved into Megan’s body, and it was using her eyes to stare at him.
..............................................................................
Again he set the carburetor down. ”Okay, you’re standing there with that same sad face. What has she done now? Pee on the carpet?”
Bobby glanced over one shoulder, and then cocked his head inside the den. ”Your holy little pet is a backstabber.”
“Give me a break, will you?”
“Back . . . and . . . front.”
Derek tried not to show his contempt. ”Exactly what does that mean, Bobby?”
“Man, you need to talk to her. Right now she’s upstairs prancing around, one button holding her blouse, no bra. And her pants finished drying an hour ago. I don’t know how much more of this I can stand.” Bobby moved his mouth like he was about to cry. ”You know I ain’t had none in awhile.”
The ceiling creaked with her feminine impressions. Derek closed his eyes and visualized the tease show in the kitchen. The bits and pieces he had personally witnessed had caused him enough transgressions already.
Nathan. Derek snapped out of it. He almost forgot King Troll was up there. Is that why she was acting like this? Was it turning her on? Or was she a sexually ignorant, innocent girl who simply ran away from a boring environment? Did she even know about hormones? If she didn’t, best to leave the matter alone.
Derek almost laughed. He said, “I think she thinks she’s one of the fellas. And I don’t have time to explain to her how every little thing a woman does, bothers a man. Okay, one of us needs to be upstairs. You’re the cook. I’ve got to finish this carburetor.”
“I’m going,” Bobby whined in a soprano voice. ”I just came down to get my weed.”
“That’s really going to help. Hungry and horny.” The man and the boy studied each other. ”Just mention the dryer has stopped. Maybe she’ll get the hint. Go on.”
Bobby grunted, mumbled something incoherent, and stayed in the doorway.
“Something else bothering you?”
“Nathan.”
Derek couldn’t get away from Eddie. And poor old Nathan. The chosen one. The only bond between Bobby and Eddie. The white boy they equally hated.
...............................................................................
He needed to leave but couldn’t just yet. If Mrs. Hathaway was to come downstairs and start a conversation from the laundry room somebody had better answer in the den. Otherwise, curiosity would erupt and the den would light up on her cleaning map. How much longer could Megan hide behind the bar? Her back and legs were still aching from yesterday.
...............................................................................
He and Eddie were at it again. It reminded him of two other recent incidents. Okay, the clash on the stairs was at Eddie’s house. And the bumping into each other in the store was on neutral ground. However, the townhouse was on Derek’s turf, and he wasn’t backing down. This time he would risk the math. Third strike, Eddie.
...............................................................................
“I heard what you said, Derek. You keep running your mouth and it shall ruin our relationship.” “I was just agreeing with everyone else.” “It’s time to take your stand, Derek. One side of the fence or the other.” Derek shrugged then stared at a spot on the floor. She was a woman to him now and they both knew it. Mother Nature had unwrapped the child in her and thrown it away. “Or would it be best for all concerned if I pack my things and leave?” Megan blushed and waved her arm. ”Go in there to make the decision, Derek. I don’t want you to see me while you do it.”
...............................................................................
Cute. Real cute. Megan and her funny little faces. As she talked he had to endure them all. He wanted to break out laughing. He couldn’t. The two of them were alone and he feared it would lead to a staring contest. A contest between the minds.
You need to log in to urbis or create an urbis account to review this writing.
Reviews
Sort Reviews by Newest | Oldest | Highest Quality | Lowest Quality | Newest Comments |
On page 2, paragraph 5: You have “How dare them,” which should be “How dare they,” if you want to be grammatically correct. Perhaps you don’t, I don’t know.
Anyway, I found these pieces of a whole very interesting, compelling. I like the sexual innuendos, sex is understated, not explicit, holds the attention. The characters interest me so far. I’d like to see more.
- add/view comments (1)
Showing 1 - 1 of 1
Review item
Add to faves
GENERAL
REVIEW QUEUE
Ratings & Rankings
