Black Buck(57)

“You’re right, D. It doesn’ make any sense. You’re the one who’s been all tense. You haven’ said anything about Jason or if you even apologized. It’s like you’re all shut up inside.”

“I did apologize to him, jus’ like you told me to. And now I got you here ruinin’ my fuckin’ day of relaxation.”

“Sorry, D,” she said, tapping her forehead. “I forgot you were the only one with problems. Like I don’ have my own worries, tryna get my nursin’ degree, managin’ my dad’s shops, or havin’ to prevent you from killin’ someone. You’re right, D. I’m sorry.”

I stood there and took large swigs of champagne and stared at her. What happened to her? She used to be my ace, my ride-or-die, and lately she was just getting on my last fucking nerve, like she was blind to all of the shit I was going through. I silently stepped into the jacuzzi and closed my eyes. The champagne lifted me, and I finally relaxed.

We stayed like that for a while until I felt splashing water on my face. I opened my eyes and she was eating a fig, smiling.

“Oh, so now you wanna play?” I flicked water back at her.

She jumped across the jacuzzi and landed on top of me, causing the water to overflow and her flute to shatter on the floor. I grabbed her and held her on top of me. Her hands gripped my face and our tongues rolled over each other to a rhythm only we knew. She moaned, and I was harder than a diamond. I kissed her neck. She bit my lip. I entered her. She thrusted, thrusted, and thrusted on top of me like she was possessed.

Someone banged on the door, but we didn’t stop. “Is everything okay?” they asked. “We heard glass breaking.”

“Yes!” Soraya shouted as the water sloshed and spilled over the jacuzzi’s edge.

I gripped her tighter, going deeper. She threw her head back, screaming toward the ceiling loud enough for the receptionist upstairs and the men selling salty hot dogs and roasted nuts outside to hear. I squeezed my eyes shut, pleasure overtaking my body like an exorcism.

“Faster,” she said, pushing against my chest. “Faster.”

I opened my eyes and pushed her off of me.

“What the hell, D?”

I jumped out, scrambled toward the flat-screen, and turned the volume up. There was a white man with white hair, pale-blue eyes behind rimless glasses, and translucent skin exposing rivers of blue veins. He exited a black limousine and reporters surrounded him. Words scrolled at the bottom of the screen: “Sumwun’s lead investor, Lucien Quartz, speaks.”

“Darren, are you serio—”

“Sh!” I said, glued to the TV.

“Well, it’s all very troubling, very troubling indeed,” Lucien said in a posh English accent. “Believe it or not, I’ve advised Rhett Daniels to close up shop, just for a bit, in order to respect the dignity and pain of the public. But he refused. I was the lead investor of Sumwun because I saw how much promise it had, but now I not only doubt the direction and overall strategy of the organization but also Rhett Daniels. That will be all, thank you.”

As he headed up a set of marble stairs somewhere in San Francisco, reporters followed him shouting, “But, wait, one more question, Mr. Quartz!” “Please, Mr. Quartz, tell us about . . .” “Mr. Quartz! Mr. Quartz!” Without another word, he disappeared through a pair of revolving doors.

“Fuck,” I said, sliding down the wall onto the soaked floor.

“You gotta be kiddin’ me, Darren,” Soraya said, sitting in the jacuzzi.

“I know.” I shook my head. “I can’t believe any of this. I dunno what we’re gonna do. It’s like—”

“No,” she said. “You have gotta be kiddin’ me. You can’t think about anything other than that company. Not even while we’re havin’ sex. How do you think that makes me feel? Do you think it makes me feel special?”

“What are you talkin’ about? Didn’ you jus’ see the TV? Don’ you know what’s goin’ on? This isn’ about you, Soraya, and I frankly don’ know why you’re makin’ it about you.”

She threw her hands in the air, laughing. “Frankly. Since when did you start sayin’ that? I honestly don’ know who you are, Darren. You and Rhett sayin’ you love each other? You jus’ met the guy three months ago and you don’ even tell me, your girlfriend, that! If you ask me, you need to get the hell away from Sumwun.”

“Good thing no one asked you,” I mumbled.

She got out of the jacuzzi and grabbed her robe. “You’re right, Darren. No one did ask me. But if someone did, I’d say that maybe Jason wasn’ so wrong about what he said.”

I jumped in front of her, water dripping off my body, my face so close that I felt her breath.

“What?” she asked, looking me up and down, chuckling. “You gonna hit me? Beat me up like you did Jason?”

I just stared at her, grinding my teeth, my knuckles choking against taut skin.

“Yeah,” she said, opening the door. “That’s what I thought. If you find the old Darren, gimme a call. I miss that guy.”

The door slammed behind her. I grabbed the bottle of champagne, sank into the jacuzzi, and chugged until it was empty.

“Fuck the old Darren,” I announced to the empty room. “I’m Buck.”