The Love We Hate

CHAPTER 7

Danielle stood in front of the mirror over the sink in Khandi’s tiny bathroom. She applied red eyeshadow and then finished it off with a touch of sparkling gold. She stepped away from her reflection and gave herself an appraising look.

Movement in the doorway caught her attention. Her eyes landed and locked on her friend in the mirror's reflection. She let out a quiet breath of relief even though she hadn’t really thought she was in danger. After a quiet moment, Danielle took in Khandi’s appearance. Her friend was dressed in a yellow crop top and tight leather pants. She looked great. Actually, Khandi looked perfect for what Danielle had in mind.

Staring back at her own reflection, Danielle acknowledged that she wasn’t looking bad either. She had always kept a few clothes at her friend's house since before they were even out of their teen years. They always came in handy whenever Danielle managed to sneak away from her family for a little good time. It seemed nothing had changed despite the passage of time.

She gave the mirror one last look. The red eyeshadow matched her top. Danielle had changed into a red, one-shoulder sexy crop top that had one long sleeve and a cut out just above the cleavage of her thirty-four B cup breast. She had paired it with a tight black miniskirt, large earrings, and sexy heels the same color as her top.

Khandi cleared her throat, and Danielle looked back at her friend. “What?”

Khandi pinched her lips as though she were sucking on a bitter lemon. “Chip won’t like this.”

“Chip doesn’t know, and no one is going to tell him. So there is nothing for him to like or not like,” Danielle responded. She rolled her eyes and left the bathroom.

Back in Khandi’s bedroom, Danielle lifted the left side of her crop top until she could reach her bra. She had improvised a little slot in her bra, where she hid a small blade of a knife. As a Marvick, she could never be too safe.

She picked up the knife blade, barely the size of her finger, off the bed and secured it in place in her bra, ensuring it couldn’t be seen and she wouldn’t accidentally injure herself. Then she began rearranging her top back down.

“Damn, it’s such a shame you always cover that up.”

Danielle rolled her eyes again at her friend’s constant comment about her tattoo. It was almost hilarious that Khandi could comment on the tattoo and not the knife, but that was her friend.

The tattoo had been a petty show of rebellion she had dared a few years ago, but never went all the way to actually allow any of her brothers to see. Or anyone else, for that matter. Khandi was the only living soul who knew about it and had seen it.

The words ‘I make my own destiny’ were inked with a calligraphic design into the skin just below her left breast. Danielle ran her finger over it for a second before covering it up.

“Chip would skin me if he saw it.”

Khandi shook her head. “Your brother needs to chill.”

An incredulous bubble of laughter escaped Danielle’s lips. “Are you volunteering to tell him that?”

“I ain’t stupid.”

Danielle picked up her purse. “Well, neither am I.” She checked her purse to make sure she had her phone, which was switched off, of course, and her money. Then she looked up at her friend. “Come on… Let’s go have some fun.”

Barely an hour later, they entered the Purple crystals club and Shaggy’s song Only Love featuring Gene Noble was blazing from all the hidden speakers with a DJ’s twist. The beat had every soul in the place moving like they had left all their burdens at the door and were determined to enjoy the night.

Danielle felt immediate relief and almost all the tension she had been holding on to for weeks slipped away. Almost.

She looked around with a trained eye. The club was packed and people moved around with the confidence of cockroaches in a dark kitchen. They were everywhere. Dancing and rubbing against each other with abandon. Nobody even paid them any attention. Danielle and Khandi were just two anonymous beautiful women in a sea of hundreds of anonymous human beings.

“Perfect,” Danielle muttered under her breath.

~~~

The woman was very beautiful. She had just the right amount of curves in all the right places and was tight and slender everywhere else. The little black dress she wore, which looked like someone had painted it on, and had clearly run out of extra material, gave him very little room to doubt her intentions. For heaven’s sake, he could practically see the outline of her hard n*****s. Trey let a smile curve his lips. He could easily picture a good time with her.

He took a sip of his drink as he watched her. She was a fantastic dancer, too; he realized. She moved flawlessly, even in her tall black heels. The woman looked at him as she twisted her body in a sexy curve and then dropped down to the floor in a squat before she popped effortlessly back up with a smooth curl of her hips, rocking to the music.

“Damn,” Trey chuckled and shook his head. The invitation was definitely crystal clear. And after that move, he could see the possibility of sinking into her body without even removing the scrap of material masquerading as a dress.

The music changed under the masterful manipulation of the DJ hidden somewhere in the shadows. Trey didn’t pay it much attention. He set his drink down on the table he had been seated at for over an hour and walked over to the woman.

He had a pleasant buzz going from all the alcohol he had consumed to let his guard down and finally enjoy himself.

Introductions were unnecessary. She smiled as he approached her like she had just won the lottery. When Trey was close enough, the woman turned around and gave him her back. Before Trey could question her intentions, the woman pressed her barely covered ass against his groin and twisted her waist like a belly dancer.

Talk about grabbing a man’s attention, Trey thought. Not that he was complaining. No. Trey was enjoying a little show. He placed his hands on her waist and encouraged her to continue showing off her dance moves. He had every intention of getting a good glimpse of what was on offer before taking the party to a more private location.

~~~

Danielle was halfway through her first cosmopolitan. She wasn’t yet feeling the happy, bubbly feeling she was after, but she was well on her way. The remaining tension slowly fading away was a good indicator of that.

Her friend sat next to her, nursing her own drink. Danielle could see Khandi wasn’t having as much fun as she thought she would be. Probably more drinks were needed, she thought. Especially if they planned to hit the dance floor.

In one large gulp, Danielle swallowed the rest of her drink and raised the empty glass towards the bartender.

“Another one!” Danielle shouted to be heard above the music.

Khandi frowned and leaned towards her ear. “Pace yourself!”

Danielle shook her head. She reached out for Khandi’s glass and pushed it towards her hand resting on the counter. “You need to catch up!”

A chuckle broke out of Khandi’s mouth and was swallowed up by the beating music. She took the glass and finished it in two swallows, then set it down before looking at Danielle with raised brows. “Happy?”

“Barely.”

Danielle turned her head back to look for the bartender. She spotted him immediately on the other end of the bar, ogling a pair of very large, very fake breasts. Danielle didn’t have much patience for that. She placed two fingers between her lips and let out a loud whistle, immediately grabbing the guy’s attention. She raised her empty glass and gave him the sweetest smile she could muster.

“Very ladylike,” Khandi muttered with a disapproving shake of her head.

Danielle didn’t care for being ladylike. She needed another round and maybe some shots as well, for good measure. After all, she didn’t have all night.

~~~

The alcohol Trey had consumed was really working as it pumped through his bloodstream. His head felt fuzzy, and the loud beat of the music had stopped bothering him hours ago. He knew he wasn’t drunk, but he was definitely intoxicated.

But even with his senses sluggish, his thinking capacity was still at its peak. At least that was what he told himself when he firmly pushed away the woman who was hanging on to him as though he were a pole in a stripper club.

What had started out like some fun dancing with the promise of a good night soon lost its appeal. Trey liked his women bold and sexy. And she seemed to have both, but the woman just lost her appeal as though the lights had suddenly come on and he realized she wasn’t what he was looking for.

With a confused frown, he didn’t even bother to apologize as he walked back to the bar. He didn’t need one for the road, but he could use some water and a few seconds to gauge if he needed to call Trick to come pick him up.

He had just reached the counter exactly where the bartender was flirting with a woman with her boobs almost spilling out of her dress when a sharp whistle came from the other end of the bar.

Trey followed the bartender’s gaze and saw the woman with a raised empty glass and a smile that was everything but genuine.

At first, he only chuckled and shook his head, amused by the woman’s behaviour. Then something about her caught his attention. Trey’s eyes narrowed. He tilted his head to the side to get a better view.

Long brown hair was swept over her bare shoulder. Trey could only see her in profile now, but he could tell she was slender and beautiful. Even the dim lights of the club couldn’t hide that. He still couldn’t understand why he was suddenly interested, though.

Just then, the young lady seated next to her leaned over and said something. As though in slow motion, Trey watched as the woman turned to respond to her friend. That was when he saw her full face and all the puzzle pieces fell into place in his head.

Trey drew in a quick breath. “Danielle Marvick,” he murmured silently as shock made his spine tingle.