1,979 words
Felicity pinched the bridge of her nose as her co-worker Misty flailed her arms about in a dramatic motion to exhibit her frustration with Felicity's complacency. The two had been arguing about the nature of Felicity's significant other, Jahseh, who had a habit of being subversive to their relationship. Due to the surplus of women who routinely come up to "inform" her of her so-called cheating lover, the reaction to the overabundance of "respectful women" bragging on their relations with Jahseh has always been silence. Her domestic partner had always been promiscuous, and the initial shock of infidelity had long departed from the two's four-year relationship.
Misty, however, expecting some sort of reaction to what she thought was heart-wrenching news, escalated the situation getting closer to a non-confrontational Felicity, causing their employers to quickly spring into action, fearing the imminent response of assault. As the owner of the shop tried to calm down a flustered Misty, Felicity began to put away her laptop and folders of work, expecting to be sent home or fired. Slinging the large tote bag over her shoulder, she began to walk out of the building, the position of her job weighing heavily on her mind. Shutting the car door of the car she was only recently able to afford, she laid her head down on the steering wheel in deep thought. After wiping the few stray tears that had fallen during her contemplation, she started her car and headed to her South Florida home.
Walking through the front door, she was immediately greeted by the moans of an unknown female and the groans of her significant other. Sighing, she hung her keys on the rack near the doorway and made her way to the kitchen to prepare dinner. A while later, after the harsh moaning had stopped, a skinny blonde female wandered down the stairs only to be frightened by the glimpse of his partner casually in the kitchen preparing a meal. Felicity was aware of the woman nearby, but she considered her a nonfactor so she continued to go on about her business. The soft click of the front door shutting gave an indication that the woman had left. Jahseh soon made an appearance and descended down the stairs. His startled eyes met the presence of his girlfriend, but she paid him no mind as she seasoned the chicken in the sink humming softly to herself.
Jahseh checked the rolex on his wrist sensing the time. "What are you doing here?" He asks her, getting an apple from the fruit bowl and taking a bite out of it splattering juices on his face. He snatched a napkin off the table and cleaned his face, tossing it into a nearby trash can.
He made his way over to her standing directly behind her "You don't hear me talking to you bruh?"
Felicity stopped what she was doing, dropping the meat in the sink with a thud focusing on her boyfriend. "What is there to talk about exactly?" She answered him in a tiresome voice not really wanting to be bothered or in his presence. "I had a long stressful day at work, I just want to unwind and forget about today,"
Facing the thawed meat, Felicity went back to what she was doing. She huffed feeling Jahseh press his front up against her backside. "Jahseh could you not? I'm not exactly in the mood, and it seems like you fixed your issues with that other female that just left" she stated, rolling her eyes in the process.
"Baby, it wasn't even like that, I promise" he whined, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head on her shoulder. "Jahseh, you do realize I've been here for at least an hour right? You don't have to lie to me" she responded, moving the chicken onto a pan and removing his arms from her waist.
"Why would I be lying? I swear nothing happened with her. Baby?" he asked, wondering why she was not responding. She turned around abruptly to face him. "Jahseh, it's fine. Just drop it. Please." she muttered, whispering the last portion. Running a hand over her face, she grabbed the pan and turned back around to gently set the dish into the oven. Ignoring her boyfriend's presence, she began to set aside pots for making rice and vegetables as a side for the chicken.
Jahseh, on the other hand, was confused as to why she wasn't saying anything. If she knew he was cheating, then why wouldn't she do anything? He also was unsure of why she was even home in the first place, seeing as she wouldn't have gotten home for another four hours.
"Felicity, can you please speak to me mamas?" he said, walking over to the other side of the kitchen island to be directly in front of where she was working. "What is it that you want from me Jahseh?" she replied tiredly while looking him in the eyes. He was taken aback by her answer, as Felicity had always been a quiet and innocent girl, who had frequent issues with making eye contact. The directness of her response rendered him speechless for a bit, before regaining his composure and mumbling "What happened at work today?". Slightly cursing at himself for sounding more vulnerable than he would have liked, he awaited her response, only to be met by her rolling her eyes again. "One of my co-workers decided to start an argument and I left before I could get fired". This was news to him as well as she was strictly non-confrontational. He wondered what caused the sudden change in her demeanor and continued to press about the situation. "You? In an argument? About what?" he raised his eyebrow at her anticipating something more shocking. "It was about you Jahseh" she said as she took a deep breath. Now, this wasn't as surprising, he knew that she was strictly loyal to him and didn't stand when others tried to talk bad about him, but why was she acting like this over such a common occurrence? She noticed the confusion on his face and smirked to herself a bit. " My Co-worker Misty was just bragging about how good you are in bed, No biggie" she said with a sarcastic laugh. The mention of his old flings name was enough to make him realize where this conversation was going. Or so he thought.
"Baby, I swear I'm sorry and-" "Save it Seh, it's fine" she cut him off, annoyed with the conversation. While he was somewhat angry about her interrupting him, he was also concerned as to why she isn't responding to his disloyalty. "Felicity, I love you" he said, hoping she would return it. She stopped stirring the vegetables and looked up. "I-I love you too" she replied, making him grin and walk around the island to plant a soft kiss on her lips. He tried to add tongue, only to have Felicity pull away, pushing him away slightly by his chest. Turning off the burner, she began to set down plates and silverware for them to have their nightly meal.
After the awkwardness of another silent dinner, Jahseh retired to the living room to watch television while Felicity headed towards her en suite to take a warm bath after straightening back up the kitchen. She poured bath salts in the tub, added bubbles, and a few drops of essential oils for scent. She removed her clothing and stepped into the lukewarm water resting her back against her bath pillow Jahseh got her on her 20th birthday. She made sure to lock the bathroom door so Jahseh wouldn't disturb the only peace she ever got for herself. She slumped further in the bathtub and ran her fingers through her damp hair. She was stressed out to her limit and beyond depressed what she witnessed in today's events. Thoughts raced through her mind.
She tried to divert her mind elsewhere and focus on the things that she could control and what she could change, but was failing miserably because she didn't know where to begin to get herself out of this situation. Felicity brought her knees up to her nude chest and hugged her knees, entangling her fingers in her wet hair and let out a sob. Her body rocked with every emotion as she tried to suck in a breath, but nothing seemed to work because she was honestly devastated with how her life was playing out. Misty had embarrassed her at work and now people knew what she was dealing with at home. A boyfriend who constantly cheats on her when given the opportunity and undervalues the ground she walks on. She sobbed like a child replaying in her mind what occurred hours before. Those groans of pleasures coming from her man and those moans of another woman enjoying what was occurring that should've only been destined for Felicity alone.
She bathed her skin and drained the tub, stepping out being welcomed by the temperature of her home. She wrapped a plush white towel around her body and hair and sauntered out into her bedroom where she dried herself off and moisturized her skin and took care of her hygiene. She buried herself under the covers in the guest room. She couldn't stand to be in their master bedroom. She squeezed her eyes shut trying to rid herself of today's events.
She fluttered her eyes open when the bed dipped signaling she was no longer alone and someone was in the room with her disturbing her sleep. She exhaled feeling Jahseh caress her love handles "You up?" His hoarse voice whispered into her ear, his hand slipping from her waist to grasp her butt kneading it like dough. Felicity;s breath hitched and she gasped and swatted his hand away and scooted further away from him, grabbing the pillow in the process to cuddle with it. "Jah please" she mumbled out stifling a yawn.
Jahseh turned her over on her back and nestled himself between her legs. He leaned down to kiss her, but sighed when she turned her head to the side. "Not tonight," she told him in a subdued voice. Jahseh turned her face towards him "Why?" he whispered to her with furrowed bushy eyebrows. "Not tonight," she repeated herself more firmly. "And I asked why," Jahseh told her with the same tone of voice.
Felicity's mouth became ajar as she stared at him in incredulity. "I heard everything," she whispered to him, closing her eyes suddenly to keep her tears at bay. Good thing for darkness. She opened her eyes when she got herself together. "What transpired and you have the nerves to ask why?" She felt Jahseh shift between her legs and hold himself up on his forearms, peering down at her. "Nothing fucking happened Fe," he assured her, calling her by her nickname. Felicity just stared at him in utter disbelief, but it wasn't noticeable due to how dark it was in the room. She caressed his face and leaned up to give him a quick peck on the cheek. "Goodnight Jah" she rushed out.
Jahseh got off her and sat down on the edge of the bed rubbing his hands over his face in a rough manner. "It's obvious you got a lot on your mind so convey your thoughts and tell me what and how you're feeling?" Felicity looked up at the ceiling blowing a strand of hair out of her face before looking over at Jah. "There is nothing I need to express tonight, I just want to sleep in hopes of looking forward to tomorrow. Goodnight Jah" she responded burying herself back under the covers to continue on with her sleep. Jahseh stood up "Goodnight Fe," he mumbled back to her exiting the room to leave her alone for the rest of the night.