Three hours, four beers and two shots later she felt herself toeing the line of control. She was having a lot of fun with Dick, and didn’t want things to get out of hand. Or maybe she did. Her cycle had been the same for so long. Meet guy, let Conrad vet guy, usually fuck guy, dump guy, meet guy. Maybe tonight she’d break the cycle.
Dick smiled at her with big dimples and glazed-over eyes talking about something she couldn’t remember or understand, but he looked excited about it and she found him cute, fun to watch.
It was only midnight, but Chump’s had already started winding down, with only the most hardcore patrons still drinking in full capacity.
“Let’s get outta here,” Dick said. “Can we go to your place though? Mine is… messy.”
“Yeah. Okay. Cool,” Keisha said. “Let me call an Uber.”
“Nah, I’m good. I got this,” he said, patting the keys in his pocket.
“You sure?” she slurred.
“Oh yeah, watch.” He proceeded to strut ten steps while touching his nose with his forefinger.
She laughed and leaned into him and he put his arm around her and walked her to the car and drove her home.
Dick bobbed and weaved with one hand on the wheel and one hand creeping up her thigh while Slayer pulsed through the speakers. Even with her senses dulled, Keisha’s heart hammered in her chest, but halfway through the car ride, she let all her fears and inhibitions go. She’d ventured out seeking something different, something dangerous, and here he sat beside her.
He parked on her block and she led him upstairs babbling about her special Ouija board, but he didn’t pay any attention to her. He followed and she talked and he didn’t answer her or ask any questions.
Outside her door she kept going, oblivious that he wasn’t listening.
“So that’s what we’ll do okay? I want to show you my Ouija board.”
“What are you talking about?” Dick said.
She keyed the lock and twisted the deadbolt open.
“Come on in and I’ll show you.” She giggled and patted his chest.
He didn’t answer her giggle or meet her eyes. He looked all business as he stepped into her place. “Got anything to drink?”
“Of course.” She padded to the kitchen, returning with two bottles of beer.
“Got anything stronger?” he asked, taking a barstool at the island in the kitchen.
Keisha frowned, pouring him three fingers of bourbon.
“I thought we’d sit in there. I want to show you something.”
He refused to move, took two massive gulps of beer and picked up the tumbler. Took a sip.
“Not bad,” he said.
Difficult one, she thought, but nice to have one she couldn’t completely control for once, she was so used to making them squirm. If he wouldn’t come into the living room, she’d bring the board to him.
She set it on the counter in front of him.
“What the hell is this?” His voice came out in a slur.
“The board I was telling you about. Here it is.”
“I didn’t come here to play any kids games. Why the fuck do you even still have clothes on?” Dick grabbed the waistband of her pants and pulled her close. He put one hand on her ass and one on the back of her neck and pulled her in. She gasped, then moaned, as she mashed her mouth into his, licking up the bourbon taste off of his tongue. He squeezed her ass and pulled a little on the hair at the base of her neck as she ran her hands through his hair.
Tingling and turned on, she rubbed her hands up and down his back and Dick lifted up her shirt, squeezing her breasts through her bra. He nibbled her ear and kissed her neck and…
Someone knocked on the door. Three quick raps, then it stopped. Keisha went back to kissing Dick and then there was a full on pounding from the door.
“What the hell? It’s like 2am?” Dick said. He walked to the door ready to punch someone’s lights out.
“No. Stop,” Keisha said. “Just… stay here.”
“No way,” he said. “You can’t answer the door alone in the middle of the night.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “I know who it is. Just stay. I promise, I’ll be right back. And then…” She flashed him and went to the front door.
Poor Brady MacGregor stood out on her doorstep, his eyes red and wet. He tried to hide the rage on his face, but Keisha saw through.
“What are you doing here? Haven’t I made it clear that I don’t want to talk to you? At least not for the time being? Plus coming to my apartment in the middle of the night? C’mon, man.”
“Yeah well, that’s what I don’t understand. Why you don’t want to talk to me? We had fun. We got along. I was there for you when you broke down and told me your story—”
“I didn’t break down.”
“You know what I mean. I was there for you to listen and I know you felt better afterwards, plus, I thought we got along pretty fucking great before that, but maybe I’m nuts. And then you ghost me? For what? Because some Ouija board told you to? I don’t buy it. And no you haven’t made it clear. You’ve just ignored me. From where I’m at, that board of yours looks like a real convenient excuse to do whatever you want, whether that’s punish or reward yourself or just fuck with other people. And now you’re in there with some bad looking dude who grabbed you before he even talked to you and then drove you home drunk as shit. I should’ve stopped it then.” His chest heaved, out of breath.
Keisha couldn’t believe it. She didn’t know what to say.
“First off, you stole from me, remember?” She poked a finger in his chest. “And now you’ve been stalking me, you creep? Dude, I don’t owe you anything, but even if I did, I wouldn’t even know what to say to you right now. This is fucking crazy.”
“Yeah? Well, so is letting a spirit on a board run your fucking life.”
She slapped him, a solid smack on the jaw and he stood there and took it. Didn’t flinch. She raised her hand to hit him again, and he caught her wrist. The one she’d cut a few days ago. He saw the pain on her face and felt the bandages and released her.
“What happened?”
“It was…” she almost told him the truth, but settled on, “nothing.”
“You make your new bad boytoy take your little test?” he asked.
A tear welled up in her eye.
“Will you please just go, and leave me alone. Please.”
“Fine,” he said. “But I don’t fucking understand you. Not for a second.”
Keisha didn’t reply. Brady turned and walked away. She watched him go, thinking about what he’d said, taking a deep breath, and getting herself under control.
Stalking her? Following her? Showing up in the middle of the night? On top of the way he’d just talked to her? Who the fuck did he think he was? She felt a rage take her over and with each breath she remembered what the board said.
Kill him.
Maybe Conrad was right after all.
She cleared her mind and when she went back inside, all the anger turned to lust. Before Dick could ask her who was out there or if everything was okay, Keisha pounced on him picking up where they left off and then some. They shed each other’s clothes and explored each other’s bodies. They never made it to the bedroom.
Keisha jumped up onto the kitchen table sending the Ouija board, planchette and Conrad’s ashes clattering to the floor without a second thought as she opened herself up to Dick and the two of them rocked away to paradise.
When it was over, Dick carried her to the bedroom where they did it one more time before they both fell asleep with arms and legs intertwined.