Vera's POV
I whirl around, nearly tripping over myself. The man who resembled Cam disappeared. I run to the entrance, looking for any sign of him in the crowded mall. My palms sweat, my heart beating rapidly, and my anxiety heightens. He's nowhere to be seen. I lean against the doorway of Baby Gap. I must be seeing things. I put a hand up to my forehead. Will it always be this way when I see someone who even resembles Cam? Act crazy this way? These baby safe pain meds have to be screwing with me. I turn back and head into the store, where Leah is patiently waiting in line with a cart full of baby clothes. I try to forget about what I'd seen, convincing myself that I'll never see Cam again.
Colin's POV
I grip the steering wheel tightly, this is no apartment. It's a bachelor pad, a house. I look down to my cell phone, I had been texting Vera throughout the night but got no reply.
"This it?" I ask Dwayne. He laughs, coughing, the billowing smoke surrounding us.
"Yeah, this it. You coming in right?"
I park along the driveway. Fox has to have a lot of money, house on the water and all. I look to the driveway, through the long glass windows making the entrance of the house. It's crowded, lights flashing from inside, music pulsing so loud we can feel it from inside the car. Whoever this dude is, he wants to be private. His house is far up a hill, a long way away from anyone else.
"I think I'ma go," I say hesitantly. Something about this place doesn't feel right to me, it's too isolated.
"Come on Kaep, just show your face for a little," Dwayne insists. He hops out of the car, swaying as he gathers his balance against the car. Fuck. I can't leave the rookie alone now. If something were to happen to him...
I get out of the car, hesitating before following Dwayne to the house.
**
If I didn't know better, I'd think it's a damn club. Smoke clouds around us as colorful lights flash from several parts of the ceiling, and a few from the ground. In the center of the household after we go down some stone steps is a large platform with two strippers dancing on two sleek poles reaching to the ceiling. All of the walls are glass, and they look out onto a smooth as glass pool, with the ocean beyond it.
"My boy Dwayne, there you are!" An overweight man come towards us in a fur coat, a damn Rick Ross look alike. His voice is heavy; his presence has the same effect. He puts an arm around Dwayne's shoulder and looks up at me through dark sunglasses.
"Kaepernick, my man," he breathes, laying a heavy hand on my shoulder. I feel uneasy around him, but I smile, trying to make the mood light. Something feels fuckin wrong about this place. I look up at the two strippers, they're both topless, rubbing against the slick metal. Dollar bills fly through the air as men reach forward to smack their bare backs, cheering for more.
"I'm a big niners fan," the man who must be Fox says, grabbing me by the arm.
"That's good to know, Fox?" I ask.
"Yes, thats 's," he says proudly, waving towards me to follow. He keeps an arm around Dwayne's shoulder. As we make our way into the crowded area near the strippers, I realize that most of the people inside don't notice who I am. They're either groping each other, dancing, or high. Fox talks about his house, the party he's having, and about the upcoming football season. He guides us up a spiral staircase and into a long hall.
Turning into a doorway, the smell of marijuana hits me. There are several women in the room, but they jump up and run out as soon as Fox comes in. One girl stays, on a large plush sofa. She's barely dressed, her chest hanging out of the black lingerie she's wearing. She blows smoke towards us.
"So, Kaepernick, take a seat," Fox says lightly, motioning towards the large red plush couch. The room is similar to a lounge, with dim lighting and soft furniture. I note my surroundings as we sit, the girl doesn't move.
"Make yourself comfortable," he says, clearly eager to have me here. Dwayne lies back on the couch. Fox starts talking to me about football, but I can't hear him. His words hit a wall in front of me, because all I can see are stacks of baggies beside the girl's feet. Pills. Fuckin pills.
"That's why I was saying ya'll shouldn't have traded him," Fox says. I nod my head and laugh when appropriate, trying to seem like I'm involved in the conversation. This is a fuckin drug house. Clearly this guy is making a lot of money from what he does. Memories of the frat house come to my mind, my addiction..... I crack my neck from side to side, gripping my forearms. It's been fuckin years Colin, you can do this. That's why this didn't fuckin feel right. All of my partying as an NFL player and I was cool with weed, drinking, women, but illegal drugs? Fuck. Becca would have a fuckin field day if my name got mixed up in this bullshit.
A cell phone beside the girl's leg starts to vibrate, she grabs it.
"Hello?" She asks, her voice soft and smooth. Her eyes dart to Fox. "Yeah, he'll be there in a moment." She hangs up.
"K is here to see you," she says, throwing the phone back onto the couch. She puts down her joint and turns away. She's bagging pills. Fox grunts.
"Damn, I'll be back," he says, heaving foward. He gets up and leaves Dwayne and I alone with the girl. As soon as he's out Dwayne moves toward her on the couch.
"Come any closer and I'll rip off your dick," she says, putting a hand up to Dwayne's face.
"Why you always gotta do me like that Tinashe?" Dwayne slurs, lowering his head back onto the couch.
She ignores him. "So, Colin, how do you like Miami?" she asks, her large lips are pronounced when she talks. Her caramel brown skin is softened under the dim lights. She moves curly brown hair over to her right shoulder.
"It's..it's fine," I say, my eyes on the pile of pills she's stacking. She follows my gaze.
"Did you want some?" She asks. I shake my head quickly. Narcotics, I was so stuck on narcotics in college. All kinds of pills. Who knows what the fuck those pills are.
"Come on, it's just a little pill," she says, her light brown eyes sweeping over me. She holds out her hand, raising an eyebrow. I look down to Tinashe's little palm, at the blue pill. There are so many different colors, and this light blue one is the one she chooses to hold out to me.
I look down at Dwayne who's lying on the couch beside me, he's knocked out, snoring.
"What are they?" I ask.
"Something Fox and the boys have been working on. Who knows what it is? But I do know what it does," She says, slowly standing up and walking towards me. Her footsteps are slow, her movements rhythmic. As soon as she gets close enough, she straddles my leg. Her hair skin is against me. She flips her brown curly hair back. My heart beats faster, but its not because of her. I recognize that only one woman can make my heart beat faster, and that's Vera. The reason my breathing is getting fuckin crazy is because of the pill she's holding out in front of me.
"It sends a chill through your body, like a wave...one that's cold, and hot, at the same time." She moves up on me, her hands moving across my chest. She straddles both of my legs now, her hips against me.
"And you feel like you're flying, soaring, above everything," she moans, holding up the blue pill in between her index finger and thumb right in front of my face. The hair on my neck stands up as I remember the high I used to get every night, those late nights of soaring in the frat house.
"I can't," I almost whisper.
"You can," she says, looking at me with deep brown eyes, before she pretends to lick it. I close my eyes, trying to fight the urge to pop it into my mouth. To feel the smooth surface against my tongue.
"I can't," I say, this time more forcefully. I try to think of something, of anything to get my mind off of it. But my mind is blank. I had always avoided places like this, so I could avoid this temptation. Now I'm in the thick of it.
"Do it!" She exclaims, her brown eyes wide. Before I can think, I snatch the pill into my mouth.